Sample records for acceptable measurement properties

  1. ACCEPT 2: A public library of cluster properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Donahue, Megan

    2012-09-01

    The current public ACCEPT database of cluster properties includes radial profiles of Tx, n_elec, entropy, and cooling time. We propose to more than double the current number of clusters in ACCEPT and to expand the current suite of properties to include uniformly measured profiles of gas mass and hydrostatic equilibrium mass along with signatures of dynamical relaxation (centroid shift, power ratios, surface brightness concentration, temperature ratios) and global quantities such as core-excised Tx, Lx, and metallicities. We will explore the relationship between cool cores and dynamical relaxation, the reliability of hydrostatic mass profiles, and the dependence of the gas mass fraction on halo mass, redshift, and the degree of relaxation. ACCEPT2 will enable further community science.

  2. Measuring Attitudes toward Acceptable and Unacceptable Parenting Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Budd, Karen S.; Behling, Steven; Li, Yan; Parikshak, Sangeeta; Gershenson, Rachel A.; Feuer, Rachel; Danko, Christina M.

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the properties of a new rating instrument, the Parenting Questionnaire (PQ), designed to measure attitudes about acceptable and unacceptable parenting practices. In Study 1, subject matter experts representing culturally diverse psychologists, parents, and college students were consulted to identify 110 items receiving high…

  3. 48 CFR 28.203-3 - Acceptance of real property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Acceptance of real... Acceptance of real property. (a) Whenever a bond with a security interest in real property is submitted, the... concurrent owners; whether any real estate taxes are due and payable; and any recorded encumbrances against...

  4. 48 CFR 28.203-3 - Acceptance of real property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Acceptance of real... Acceptance of real property. (a) Whenever a bond with a security interest in real property is submitted, the... concurrent owners; whether any real estate taxes are due and payable; and any recorded encumbrances against...

  5. What Adherence Measures Should Be Used in Trials of Home-Based Rehabilitation Interventions? A Systematic Review of the Validity, Reliability, and Acceptability of Measures.

    PubMed

    Frost, Rachael; Levati, Sara; McClurg, Doreen; Brady, Marian; Williams, Brian

    2017-06-01

    To systematically review methods for measuring adherence used in home-based rehabilitation trials and to evaluate their validity, reliability, and acceptability. In phase 1 we searched the CENTRAL database, NHS Economic Evaluation Database, and Health Technology Assessment Database (January 2000 to April 2013) to identify adherence measures used in randomized controlled trials of allied health professional home-based rehabilitation interventions. In phase 2 we searched the databases of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, PsycINFO, CENTRAL, ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health, and Web of Science (inception to April 2015) for measurement property assessments for each measure. Studies assessing the validity, reliability, or acceptability of adherence measures. Two reviewers independently extracted data on participant and measure characteristics, measurement properties evaluated, evaluation methods, and outcome statistics and assessed study quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments checklist. In phase 1 we included 8 adherence measures (56 trials). In phase 2, from the 222 measurement property assessments identified in 109 studies, 22 high-quality measurement property assessments were narratively synthesized. Low-quality studies were used as supporting data. StepWatch Activity Monitor validly and acceptably measured short-term step count adherence. The Problematic Experiences of Therapy Scale validly and reliably assessed adherence to vestibular rehabilitation exercises. Adherence diaries had moderately high validity and acceptability across limited populations. The Borg 6 to 20 scale, Bassett and Prapavessis scale, and Yamax CW series had insufficient validity. Low-quality evidence supported use of the Joint Protection Behaviour Assessment. Polar A1 series heart monitors were considered acceptable by 1 study. Current rehabilitation adherence measures are limited. Some possess

  6. Measuring Acceptance of Sleep Difficulties: The Development of the Sleep Problem Acceptance Questionnaire.

    PubMed

    Bothelius, Kristoffer; Jernelöv, Susanna; Fredrikson, Mats; McCracken, Lance M; Kaldo, Viktor

    2015-11-01

    Acceptance may be an important therapeutic process in sleep medicine, but valid psychometric instruments measuring acceptance related to sleep difficulties are lacking. The purpose of this study was to develop a measure of acceptance in insomnia, and to examine its factor structure as well as construct validity. In a cross-sectional design, a principal component analysis for item reduction was conducted on a first sample (A) and a confirmatory factor analysis on a second sample (B). Construct validity was tested on a combined sample (C). Questionnaire items were derived from a measure of acceptance in chronic pain, and data were gathered through screening or available from pretreatment assessments in four insomnia treatment trials, administered online, via bibliotherapy and in primary care. Adults with insomnia: 372 in sample A and 215 in sample B. Sample C (n = 820) included sample A and B with another 233 participants added. Construct validity was assessed through relations with established acceptance and sleep scales. The principal component analysis presented a two-factor solution with eight items, explaining 65.9% of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis supported the solution. Acceptance of sleep problems was more closely related to subjective symptoms and consequences of insomnia than to diary description of sleep, or to acceptance of general private events. The Sleep Problem Acceptance Questionnaire (SPAQ), containing the subscales "Activity Engagement" and "Willingness", is a valid tool to assess acceptance of insomnia. © 2015 Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.

  7. 48 CFR 28.203-3 - Acceptance of real property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Acceptance of real property. (a) Whenever a bond with a security interest in real property is submitted, the.../Title_Standards_2001.pdf. This title evidence must show fee simple title vested in the surety along with...

  8. 48 CFR 28.203-3 - Acceptance of real property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... Acceptance of real property. (a) Whenever a bond with a security interest in real property is submitted, the.../Title_Standards_2001.pdf. This title evidence must show fee simple title vested in the surety along with...

  9. 48 CFR 28.203-3 - Acceptance of real property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... Acceptance of real property. (a) Whenever a bond with a security interest in real property is submitted, the.../Title_Standards_2001.pdf. This title evidence must show fee simple title vested in the surety along with...

  10. Validation of Acceptance of Coercive Sexual Behavior (ACSB). A Multimedia Measure of Adolescent Dating Attitudes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teten, Andra L.; Hall, Gordon C. Nagayama; Pacifici, Caesar

    2005-01-01

    The psychometric properties of the Acceptance of Coercive Sexual Behavior (ACSB), a multimedia measure of adolescent dating attitudes, were examined. The ACSB is an interactive instrument that uses video vignettes to depict adolescent dating situations. Analyses of the measure's factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and…

  11. 42 CFR 35.65 - Acceptable personal property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Acceptable personal property. 35.65 Section 35.65 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEDICAL CARE AND... credit of the patient fund and shall be available for expenditure pursuant to § 35.66(c). ...

  12. 42 CFR 35.65 - Acceptable personal property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Acceptable personal property. 35.65 Section 35.65 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEDICAL CARE AND... credit of the patient fund and shall be available for expenditure pursuant to § 35.66(c). ...

  13. 42 CFR 35.65 - Acceptable personal property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Acceptable personal property. 35.65 Section 35.65 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEDICAL CARE AND... credit of the patient fund and shall be available for expenditure pursuant to § 35.66(c). ...

  14. 42 CFR 35.65 - Acceptable personal property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Acceptable personal property. 35.65 Section 35.65 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEDICAL CARE AND... credit of the patient fund and shall be available for expenditure pursuant to § 35.66(c). ...

  15. 42 CFR 35.65 - Acceptable personal property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Acceptable personal property. 35.65 Section 35.65 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEDICAL CARE AND... credit of the patient fund and shall be available for expenditure pursuant to § 35.66(c). ...

  16. 32 CFR 37.550 - May I accept intellectual property as cost sharing?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... the same cost of lost opportunity to a recipient as contributions of cash or tangible assets. The... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false May I accept intellectual property as cost... Cost Sharing § 37.550 May I accept intellectual property as cost sharing? (a) In most instances, you...

  17. Effect of fat content on the physical properties and consumer acceptability of vanilla ice cream.

    PubMed

    Rolon, M Laura; Bakke, Alyssa J; Coupland, John N; Hayes, John E; Roberts, Robert F

    2017-07-01

    Ice cream is a complex food matrix that contains multiple physical phases. Removal of 1 ingredient may affect not only its physical properties but also multiple sensory characteristics that may or may not be important to consumers. Fat not only contributes to texture, mouth feel, and flavor, but also serves as a structural element. We evaluated the effect of replacing fat with maltodextrin (MD) on select physical properties of ice cream and on consumer acceptability. Vanilla ice creams were formulated to contain 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14% fat, and the difference was made up with 8, 6, 4, 2, and 0% maltodextrin, respectively, to balance the mix. Physical characterization included measurements of overrun, apparent viscosity, fat particle size, fat destabilization, hardness, and melting rate. A series of sensory tests were conducted to measure liking and the intensity of various attributes. Tests were also conducted after 19 weeks of storage at -18°C to assess changes in acceptance due to prolonged storage at unfavorable temperatures. Then, discrimination tests were performed to determine which differences in fat content were detectable by consumers. Mix viscosity decreased with increasing fat content and decreasing maltodextrin content. Fat particle size and fat destabilization significantly increased with increasing fat content. However, acceptability did not differ significantly across the samples for fresh or stored ice cream. Following storage, ice creams with 6, 12, and 14% fat did not differ in acceptability compared with fresh ice cream. However, the 8% fat, 6% MD and 10% fat, 4% MD ice creams showed a significant drop in acceptance after storage relative to fresh ice cream at the same fat content. Consumers were unable to detect a difference of 2 percentage points in fat level between 6 and 12% fat. They were able to detect a difference of 4 percentage points for ice creams with 6% versus 10%, but not for those with 8% versus 12% fat. Removing fat and replacing

  18. 10 CFR 603.550 - Acceptability of intellectual property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... contributions of cash or tangible assets. The purpose of cost share is to ensure that the recipient incurs real... AGREEMENTS Pre-Award Business Evaluation Cost Sharing § 603.550 Acceptability of intellectual property. (a) In most instances, the contracting officer should not count costs of patents and other intellectual...

  19. Relating sensory and chemical properties of sour cream to consumer acceptance.

    PubMed

    Shepard, L; Miracle, R E; Leksrisompong, P; Drake, M A

    2013-09-01

    Sour cream is a widely popular acidified dairy product. Volatile compounds and organic acids and their specific contributions to flavor or acceptance have not been established, nor has a comprehensive study been conducted to characterize drivers of liking for sour cream. The objective of this study was to characterize chemical and sensory properties of sour cream and to determine the drivers of liking for sour cream. Descriptive sensory and instrumental analyses followed by consumer testing were conducted. Flavor and texture attributes of 32 (22 full-fat, 6 reduced-fat, and 4 fat-free) commercial sour creams were evaluated by a trained descriptive sensory panel. Percent solids, percent fat, pH, titratable acidity, and colorimetric measurements were conducted to characterize physical properties of sour creams. Organic acids were evaluated by HPLC and volatile aroma active compounds were evaluated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with gas chromatography-olfactometry. Consumer acceptance testing (n=201) was conducted on selected sour creams, followed by external preference mapping. Full-fat sour creams were characterized by the lack of surface gloss and chalky textural attributes, whereas reduced-fat and fat-free samples displayed high intensities of these attributes. Full-fat sour creams were higher in cooked/milky and milk fat flavors than the reduced-fat and fat-free samples. Reduced-fat and fat-free sour creams were characterized by cardboard, acetaldehyde/green, and potato flavors, bitter taste, and astringency. Lactic acid was the prominent organic acid in all sour creams, followed by acetic and citric acids. High aroma-impact volatile compounds in sour creams were 2,3-butanedione, acetic acid, butyric acid, octanal, 2-methyl-3-furanthiol, 1-octene-3-one, and acetaldehyde. Positive drivers of liking for sour cream were milk fat, cooked/milky and sweet aromatic flavors, opacity, color intensity, and adhesiveness. This comprehensive study established

  20. 10 CFR 603.540 - Acceptability of fully depreciated real property or equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Acceptability of fully depreciated real property or equipment. 603.540 Section 603.540 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (CONTINUED) ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS Pre-Award Business Evaluation Cost Sharing § 603.540 Acceptability of fully depreciated...

  1. 49 CFR 1546.201 - Acceptance and screening of individuals and accessible property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Acceptance and screening of individuals and... FOREIGN AIR CARRIER SECURITY Operations § 1546.201 Acceptance and screening of individuals and accessible... or accessible property before boarding an aircraft or entering a sterile area. (b) Screening of...

  2. Knowledge and acceptability of patient-specific infection control measures for pulmonary tuberculosis.

    PubMed

    Gonzalez-Angulo, Yulieth; Geldenhuys, Hennie; Van As, Danelle; Buckerfield, Norma; Shea, Jawaya; Mahomed, Hassan; Hanekom, Willem; Hatherill, Mark

    2013-08-01

    Effective infection control measures are essential to reduce tuberculosis (TB) transmission in domestic, workplace, and health care settings. Acceptability of infection control measures is key to patient adherence. We used a prospective questionnaire study to determine knowledge and acceptability of potential patient-specific TB infection control measures in a rural South African community. Fifty adult TB suspects were interviewed at investigation, and 50 newly diagnosed TB patients were interviewed at the start and at the end of TB treatment. TB patients and TB suspects had similar knowledge of infection control measures at baseline. Fifty-seven percent of all participants reported knowing the cause of TB, but only 25% correctly identified microbial etiology. Basic cough hygiene was accepted by 98% of participants. Most participants (89%) accepted wearing of face masks in health facilities, but only 42% of TB suspects and 66% of TB patients (P = .016) would accept wearing face masks at home. Only 68% of participants accepted separate cohorting in health facilities and avoidance of co-sleeping with uninfected household members. At the end of treatment, TB patients demonstrated increased knowledge of TB and increased acceptability of certain household infection control measures. Acceptability of patient-specific infection control measures within households increases with acquired knowledge of TB. National control programs should maximize early TB education to improve adherence to infection control measures. Copyright © 2013 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. A Systematic Review of Measurement Properties of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Used in Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty.

    PubMed

    Gagnier, Joel J; Mullins, Megan; Huang, Hsiaomin; Marinac-Dabic, Danica; Ghambaryan, Anna; Eloff, Benjamin; Mirza, Faisal; Bayona, Manuel

    2017-05-01

    While clinical research on total knee arthroplasty (TKA) outcomes is prevalent in the literature, studies often have poor methodological and reporting quality. A high-quality patient-reported outcome instrument is reliable, valid, and responsive. Many studies evaluate these properties, but none have done so with a systematic and accepted method. The objectives of this study were to identify patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for TKA, and to critically appraise, compare, and summarize their psychometric properties using accepted methods. MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and SPORTDiscus were systematically searched for articles with the following inclusion criteria: publication before December 2014, English language, non-generic PRO, and evaluation in the TKA population. Methodological quality and evidence of psychometric properties were assessed with the COnsensus-based standards for the selection of health Status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist and criteria for psychometric evidence proposed by the COSMIN group and Terwee et al. One-hundred fifteen studies on 32 PROMs were included in this review. Only the Work, Osteoarthritis or joint-Replacement Questionnaire, the Oxford Knee Score, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index had 4 or more properties with positive evidence. Most TKA PROMs have limited evidence for their psychometric properties. Although not all the properties were studied, the Work, Osteoarthritis or joint-Replacement Questionnaire, with the highest overall ratings, could be a useful PROM for evaluating patients undergoing TKA. The methods and reporting of this literature can improve by following accepted guidelines. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  4. Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Social Anxiety - Acceptance and Action Questionnaire.

    PubMed

    Soltani, Esmail; Bahrainian, Seyed Abdolmajid; Masjedi Arani, Abbas; Farhoudian, Ali; Gachkar, Latif

    2016-06-01

    Social anxiety disorder is often related to specific impairment or distress in different areas of life, including occupational, social and family settings. The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the persian version of the social anxiety-acceptance and action questionnaire (SA-AAQ) in university students. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 324 students from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences participated via the cluster sampling method during year 2015. Factor analysis by the principle component analysis method, internal consistency analysis, and convergent and divergent validity were conducted to examine the validity of the SA-AAQ. To calculate the reliability of the SA-AAQ, Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability were used. The results from factor analysis by principle component analysis method yielded three factors that were named acceptance, action and non-judging of experience. The three-factor solution explained 51.82% of the variance. Evidence for the internal consistency of SA-AAQ was obtained via calculating correlations between SA-AAQ and its subscales. Support for convergent and discriminant validity of the SA-AAQ via its correlations with the acceptance and action questionnaire - II, social interaction anxiety scale, cognitive fusion questionnaire, believability of anxious feelings and thoughts questionnaire, valued living questionnaire and WHOQOL- BREF was obtained. The reliability of the SA-AAQ via calculating Cronbach's alpha and test-retest coefficients yielded values of 0.84 and 0.84, respectively. The Iranian version of the SA-AAQ has acceptable levels of psychometric properties in university students. The SA-AAQ is a valid and reliable measure to be utilized in research investigations and therapeutic interventions.

  5. Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Social Anxiety - Acceptance and Action Questionnaire

    PubMed Central

    Soltani, Esmail; Bahrainian, Seyed Abdolmajid; Masjedi Arani, Abbas; Farhoudian, Ali; Gachkar, Latif

    2016-01-01

    Background Social anxiety disorder is often related to specific impairment or distress in different areas of life, including occupational, social and family settings. Objective The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the persian version of the social anxiety-acceptance and action questionnaire (SA-AAQ) in university students. Materials and Methods In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 324 students from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences participated via the cluster sampling method during year 2015. Factor analysis by the principle component analysis method, internal consistency analysis, and convergent and divergent validity were conducted to examine the validity of the SA-AAQ. To calculate the reliability of the SA-AAQ, Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest reliability were used. Results The results from factor analysis by principle component analysis method yielded three factors that were named acceptance, action and non-judging of experience. The three-factor solution explained 51.82% of the variance. Evidence for the internal consistency of SA-AAQ was obtained via calculating correlations between SA-AAQ and its subscales. Support for convergent and discriminant validity of the SA-AAQ via its correlations with the acceptance and action questionnaire - II, social interaction anxiety scale, cognitive fusion questionnaire, believability of anxious feelings and thoughts questionnaire, valued living questionnaire and WHOQOL- BREF was obtained. The reliability of the SA-AAQ via calculating Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest coefficients yielded values of 0.84 and 0.84, respectively. Conclusions The Iranian version of the SA-AAQ has acceptable levels of psychometric properties in university students. The SA-AAQ is a valid and reliable measure to be utilized in research investigations and therapeutic interventions. PMID:27803719

  6. Sensory properties and consumer acceptance of sweet tamarind varieties grown in Thailand.

    PubMed

    Oupadissakoon, Chintana; Chambers, Edgar; Kongpensook, Varapha; Suwonsichon, Suntaree; Yenket, Renoo; Retiveau, Annlyse

    2010-04-30

    Sweet tamarind is a major edible fruit and flavoring ingredient particularly in south-east and southern Asia. Little research has focused on the fruit and almost nothing is known of its particular sensory properties. The aims of this research were to develop a lexicon for describing sweet tamarind, to compare varieties grown in Thailand, determine if orchard impacts sensory properties, and determine consumer acceptance of the varieties. A descriptive sensory lexicon of 25 terms was developed and six varieties were grouped into three clusters based on their sensory properties. The clusters appear to represent varieties that differ in their dark fruity notes and firm, fibrous texture. Generally, the orchard in which the plants were grown had little effect on sensory properties. In general, Sithong was liked by consumers along with Kunthee and Pragaithong. Intapalum was liked less but one small segment of consumers disliked Sithong and liked the Intapalum variety more. This research provides a foundation for further sensory and consumer research on sweet tamarind varieties by providing the initial data on the sensory properties of sweet tamarind, a lexicon that can be used for future research, and information on the consumer acceptance of tamarind varieties.

  7. Dielectric property measurements in the Electromagnetic Properties Measurement Laboratory

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cravey, Robin L.; Tiemsin, Pacita I.; Bussell, Kerri; Dudley, Kenneth L.

    1995-01-01

    The capability to measure the dielectric properties of various materials has been developed in the Electromagnetic Properties Measurement Laboratory (EPML) of the Electromagnetics Research Branch (ERB). Two measurement techniques which have been implemented in the EPML to characterize materials are the dielectric probe and waveguide techniques. Several materials, including some for which the dielectric properties are well known, have been measured in an attempt to establish the capabilities of the EPML in determining dielectric properties. Brief descriptions of the two techniques are presented in this report, along with representative results obtained during these measurements.

  8. Preliminary psychometric properties of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II: a revised measure of psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance.

    PubMed

    Bond, Frank W; Hayes, Steven C; Baer, Ruth A; Carpenter, Kenneth M; Guenole, Nigel; Orcutt, Holly K; Waltz, Tom; Zettle, Robert D

    2011-12-01

    The present research describes the development and psychometric evaluation of a second version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II), which assesses the construct referred to as, variously, acceptance, experiential avoidance, and psychological inflexibility. Results from 2,816 participants across six samples indicate the satisfactory structure, reliability, and validity of this measure. For example, the mean alpha coefficient is .84 (.78-.88), and the 3- and 12-month test-retest reliability is .81 and .79, respectively. Results indicate that AAQ-II scores concurrently, longitudinally, and incrementally predict a range of outcomes, from mental health to work absence rates, that are consistent with its underlying theory. The AAQ-II also demonstrates appropriate discriminant validity. The AAQ-II appears to measure the same concept as the AAQ-I (r=.97) but with better psychometric consistency. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  9. Measurements and Characterizations of Mechanical Properties of Human Skins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Han Wook; Park, Yon Kyu

    A skin is an indispensible organ for humans because it contributes to metabolism using its own biochemical functions and protects the human body from external stimuli. Recently, mechanical properties such as a thickness, a friction and an elastic coefficient have been used as a decision index in the skin physiology and in the skin care market due to the increased awareness of wellbeing issues. In addition, the use of mechanical properties is known to have good discrimination ability in the classification of human constitutions, which are used in the field of an alternative medicine. In this study, a system that measures mechanical properties such as a friction and an elastic coefficient is designed. The equipment consists of a load cell type (manufactured by the authors) for the measurements of a friction coefficient, a decompression tube for the measurement of an elastic coefficient. Using the proposed system, the mechanical properties of human skins from different constitutions were compared, and the relative repeatability error for measurements of mechanical properties was determined to be less than 2%. Combining the inspection results of medical doctors in the field of an alternative medicine, we could conclude that the proposed system might be applicable to a quantitative constitutional diagnosis between human constitutions within an acceptable level of uncertainty.

  10. The GAENE--Generalized Acceptance of EvolutioN Evaluation: Development of a New Measure of Evolution Acceptance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Mike U.; Snyder, Scott W.; Devereaux, Randolph S.

    2016-01-01

    The present study reports the development of a brief, quantitative, web-based, psychometrically sound measure--the Generalized Acceptance of EvolutioN Evaluation (GAENE, pronounced "gene") in a format that is useful in large and small groups, in research, and in classroom settings. The measure was designed to measure only evolution…

  11. 41 CFR 102-75.1155 - May an acceptable gift of property be converted to money?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... of property be converted to money? 102-75.1155 Section 102-75.1155 Public Contracts and Property...-75.1155 May an acceptable gift of property be converted to money? GSA can determine whether or not a gift of property can and should be converted to money. After conversion, GSA must deposit the funds...

  12. Physical activity questionnaires for youth: a systematic review of measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Chinapaw, Mai J M; Mokkink, Lidwine B; van Poppel, Mireille N M; van Mechelen, Willem; Terwee, Caroline B

    2010-07-01

    Because of the diversity in available questionnaires, it is not easy for researchers to decide which instrument is most suitable for his or her specific demands. Therefore, we systematically summarized and appraised studies examining measurement properties of self-administered and proxy-reported physical activity (PA) questionnaires in youth. Literature was identified through searching electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE using 'EMBASE only' and SportDiscus) until May 2009. Studies were included if they reported on the measurement properties of self-administered and proxy-reported PA questionnaires in youth (mean age <18 years) and were published in the English language. Methodological quality and results of included studies was appraised using a standardized checklist (qualitative attributes and measurement properties of PA questionnaires [QAPAQ]). We included 54 manuscripts examining 61 versions of questionnaires. None of the included questionnaires showed both acceptable reliability and validity. Only seven questionnaires received a positive rating for reliability. Reported validity varied, with correlations between PA questionnaires and accelerometers ranging from very low to high (previous day PA recall: correlation coefficient [r] = 0.77). In general, PA questionnaires for adolescents correlated better with accelerometer scores than did those for children. From this systematic review, we conclude that no questionnaires were available with both acceptable reliability and validity. Considerably more high-quality research is required to examine the validity and reliability of promising PA questionnaires for youth.

  13. Assessment of Respondent Acceptability for Preference Measures in Stuttering

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Franic, Duska M.; Bothe, Anne K.; Bramlett, Robin E.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To assess the feasibility of using one or more of four standard economic preference measures to assess health-related quality of life in stuttering, by assessing respondents' views of the acceptability of those measures. Method and results: A graphic positioning scale approach was used with 80 adults to assess four variables previously…

  14. Technical Adequacy and Acceptability of Curriculum-Based Measurement and the Measures of Academic Progress

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    January, Stacy-Ann A.; Ardoin, Scott P.

    2015-01-01

    Curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBM-R) and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) are assessment tools widely employed for universal screening in schools. Although a large body of research supports the validity of CBM-R, limited empirical evidence exists supporting the technical adequacy of MAP or the acceptability of either measure for…

  15. 41 CFR 102-75.1290 - What happens if the landholding agency requesting the property does not promptly accept custody...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... landholding agency requesting the property does not promptly accept custody and accountability? 102-75.1290... not promptly accept custody and accountability? (a) The requesting agency must assume protection and... accountability for the property. (b) After notifying the requesting agency, GSA may, at its discretion, pursue...

  16. Using Electrophysiological Measures to Assess the Consumer Acceptability of Smokeless Tobacco Products.

    PubMed

    Buzzell, George A; Das, Babita; Cruz-Cano, Raul; Nkongho, Lizette E; Kidanu, Azieb W; Kim, Hyoshin; Clark, Pamela I; McDonald, Craig G

    2016-09-01

    Adequate evaluation of novel tobacco products must include investigation of consumers' psychological response to such products. Traditionally, subjective scales of product liking have been used to assess consumer acceptability of tobacco products. However, subjective scales may miss cognitive changes that can only be captured by direct neurophysiological assessment. The present investigation explored the viability of using electroencephalography (EEG), in combination with traditional subjective measures, to assess consumer acceptability of five smokeless tobacco products. Given previous work linking product liking to arousal/attentional (executive function) enhancement, we focused on EEG measures of attention/arousal to objectively characterize cognitive changes associated with tobacco product use. During five separate laboratory visits, smokeless tobacco users used Verve discs, Ariva dissolvables, Skoal snuff, Camel snus, or Nicorette lozenges. The N2 and P3b event-related potential components elicited by an oddball task were used to index attentional changes before/after product usage. Additionally, resting state alpha band EEG activity was analyzed before/after product usage to index cortical arousal. Although analyses of the subjective results provided limited inference, analyses of the electrophysiological measures, particularly the alpha suppression measure, revealed robust differences between products. Skoal elicited significantly enhanced alpha suppression compared to all four other products tested. Additionally, alpha suppression was found to correlate positively with subjective measures of satisfaction and psychological reward, but was unrelated to perceived aversion. The present results provide evidence that electrophysiological measures can yield important insights into consumer acceptability of novel tobacco products and are a valuable complement to subjective measures. This study is the first to employ a combination of electrophysiological measures

  17. Addressing the Lack of Measurement Invariance for the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wagler, Amy; Wagler, Ron

    2013-01-01

    The Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) was constructed to be a single-factor instrument that assesses an individual's overall acceptance of evolutionary theory. The MATE was validated and the scores resulting from the MATE were found to be reliable for the population of inservice high school biology teachers. However, many…

  18. Impacts of monetary incentive measures on the acceptability for intelligent speed adaptation (ISA)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsuo, Kojiro; Sugihara, Mitsuru; Yamazaki, Motohiro; Mimura, Yasuhiro; Kanno, Komei; Sugiki, Nao

    2017-10-01

    In Japan, Mandatory Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) or Voluntary ISA could be a new paradigm for urban driving speed management such as traffic calming in community streets, once it is widely disseminated. This study aims to analyze the impacts of various monetary incentive measures and individual attributes on the acceptability for several ISA installation. We conducted a stated preference (SP) surveys for the subjects who had attended in a 5-month Advisory ISA field experiment. Then we applied disaggregate model analyses to the response data. The main results were: that the acceptability for Advisory ISA is highest followed by Voluntary ISA and then Mandatory ISA; that the acceptability for ISA that operates only on community streets is high; that the acceptability becomes higher as the age of the subjects becomes higher; and that the acceptability becomes higher as the amount of the monetary incentive becomes greater, but the marginal effect becomes lower. In conclusions, the monetary incentive measures for disseminating Voluntary ISA seems to be practical.

  19. Systematic content evaluation and review of measurement properties of questionnaires for measuring self-reported fatigue among older people.

    PubMed

    Egerton, Thorlene; Riphagen, Ingrid I; Nygård, Arnhild J; Thingstad, Pernille; Helbostad, Jorunn L

    2015-09-01

    The assessment of fatigue in older people requires simple and user-friendly questionnaires that capture the phenomenon, yet are free from items indistinguishable from other disorders and experiences. This study aimed to evaluate the content, and systematically review and rate the measurement properties of self-report questionnaires for measuring fatigue, in order to identify the most suitable questionnaires for older people. This study firstly involved identification of questionnaires that purport to measure self-reported fatigue, and evaluation of the content using a rating scale developed for the purpose from contemporary understanding of the construct. Secondly, for the questionnaires that had acceptable content, we identified studies reporting measurement properties and rated the methodological quality of those studies according to the COSMIN system. Finally, we extracted and synthesised the results of the studies to give an overall rating for each questionnaire for each measurement property. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42013005589). Of the 77 identified questionnaires, twelve were selected for review after content evaluation. Methodological quality varied, and there was a lack of information on measurement error and responsiveness. The PROMIS-Fatigue item bank and short forms perform the best. The FACIT-Fatigue scale, Parkinsons Fatigue Scale, Perform Questionnaire, and Uni-dimensional Fatigue Impact Scale also perform well and can be recommended. Minor modifications to improve performance are suggested. Further evaluation of unresolved measurement properties, particularly with samples including older people, is needed for all the recommended questionnaires.

  20. Service User- and Carer-Reported Measures of Involvement in Mental Health Care Planning: Methodological Quality and Acceptability to Users

    PubMed Central

    Gibbons, Chris J.; Bee, Penny E.; Walker, Lauren; Price, Owen; Lovell, Karina

    2014-01-01

    Background: Increasing service user and carer involvement in mental health care planning is a key healthcare priority but one that is difficult to achieve in practice. To better understand and measure user and carer involvement, it is crucial to have measurement questionnaires that are both psychometrically robust and acceptable to the end user. Methods: We conducted a systematic review using the terms “care plan$,” “mental health,” “user perspective$,” and “user participation” and their linguistic variants as search terms. Databases were searched from inception to November 2012, with an update search at the end of September 2014. We included any articles that described the development, validation or use of a user and/or carer-reported outcome measures of involvement in mental health care planning. We assessed the psychometric quality of each instrument using the “Evaluating the Measurement of Patient-Reported Outcomes” (EMPRO) criteria. Acceptability of each instrument was assessed using novel criteria developed in consultation with a mental health service user and carer consultation group. Results: We identified eleven papers describing the use, development, and/or validation of nine user/carer-reported outcome measures. Psychometric properties were sparsely reported and the questionnaires met few service user/carer-nominated attributes for acceptability. Where reported, basic psychometric statistics were of good quality, indicating that some measures may perform well if subjected to more rigorous psychometric tests. The majority were deemed to be too long for use in practice. Discussion: Multiple instruments are available to measure user/carer involvement in mental health care planning but are either of poor quality or poorly described. Existing measures cannot be considered psychometrically robust by modern standards, and cannot currently be recommended for use. Our review has identified an important knowledge gap, and an urgent need to

  1. Using instrumental (CIE and reflectance) measures to predict consumers' acceptance of beef colour.

    PubMed

    Holman, Benjamin W B; van de Ven, Remy J; Mao, Yanwei; Coombs, Cassius E O; Hopkins, David L

    2017-05-01

    We aimed to establish colorimetric thresholds based upon the capacity for instrumental measures to predict consumer satisfaction with beef colour. A web-based survey was used to distribute standardised photographs of beef M. longissimus lumborum with known colorimetrics (L*, a*, b*, hue, chroma, ratio of reflectance at 630nm and 580nm, and estimated deoxymyoglobin, oxymyoglobin and metmyoglobin concentrations) for scrutiny. Consumer demographics and perceived importance of colour to beef value were also evaluated. It was found that a* provided the most simple and robust prediction of beef colour acceptability. Beef colour was considered acceptable (with 95% acceptance) when a* values were equal to or above 14.5. Demographic effects on this threshold were negligible, but consumer nationality and gender did contribute to variation in the relative importance of colour to beef value. These results provide future beef colour studies with context to interpret objective colour measures in terms of consumer acceptance and market appeal. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Applying the Technology Acceptance Model and flow theory to Cyworld user behavior: implication of the Web2.0 user acceptance.

    PubMed

    Shin, Dong-Hee; Kim, Won-Yong; Kim, Won-Young

    2008-06-01

    This study explores attitudinal and behavioral patterns when using Cyworld by adopting an expanded Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A model for Cyworld acceptance is used to examine how various factors modified from the TAM influence acceptance and its antecedents. This model is examined through an empirical study involving Cyworld users using structural equation modeling techniques. The model shows reasonably good measurement properties and the constructs are validated. The results not only confirm the model but also reveal general factors applicable to Web2.0. A set of constructs in the model can be the Web2.0-specific factors, playing as enhancing factor to attitudes and intention.

  3. The Development and Validation of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution Instrument.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rutledge, Michael L.; Warden, Melissa A.

    1999-01-01

    Describes the development and validation of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE), a 20-item, Likert-scaled instrument that assesses teachers' overall acceptance of evolutionary theory. (Author/CCM)

  4. Understanding Patterns of Evolution Acceptance--A New Implementation of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) with Midwestern University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Romine, William L.; Walter, Emily M.; Bosse, Ephiram; Todd, Amber N.

    2017-01-01

    We validate the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) on undergraduate students using the Rasch model and utilize the MATE to explore qualitatively how students express their acceptance of evolution. At least 24 studies have used the MATE, most with the assumption that it is unidimensional. However, we found that the MATE is best…

  5. Results from VDOT's pilot project using volumetric properties and asphalt content for acceptance of asphalt concrete.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1995-01-01

    In 1994 the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) developed a specification for the acceptance of asphalt concrete based largely on Marshall compacted volumetric properties of the mix. A copy of the Special Provision is shown in the Appendix. ...

  6. Containerless high temperature property measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nordine, Paul C.; Weber, J. K. Richard; Krishnan, Shankar; Anderson, Collin D.

    1991-01-01

    Containerless processing in the low gravity environment of space provides the opportunity to increase the temperature at which well controlled processing of and property measurements on materials is possible. This project was directed towards advancing containerless processing and property measurement techniques for application to materials research at high temperatures in space. Containerless high temperature material property studies include measurements of the vapor pressure, melting temperature, optical properties, and spectral emissivities of solid boron. The reaction of boron with nitrogen was also studied by laser polarimetric measurement of boron nitride film growth. The optical properties and spectral emissivities were measured for solid and liquid silicon, niobium, and zirconium; liquid aluminum and titanium; and liquid Ti-Al alloys of 5 to 60 atomic pct. titanium. Alternative means for noncontact temperature measurement in the absence of material emissivity data were evaluated. Also, the application of laser induced fluorescence for component activity measurements in electromagnetic levitated liquids was studied, along with the feasibility of a hybrid aerodynamic electromagnetic levitation technique.

  7. [Measuring life satisfaction in children and adolescents--psychometric properties of the "Questions on Life Satisfaction" FLZ(KJ)].

    PubMed

    Henrich, Gerhard; Goldbeck, Lutz; Schmitz, Tim G; Besier, Tanja

    2010-06-01

    Measuring life satisfaction in children is becoming more and more important in clinical practice. This is the first study to evaluate the psychometric properties of the "Questions on Life Satisfaction for Children and Adolescents" FLZ(KJ) based on a student sample. 1 312 German students ( M=13.7 years, SD=1.4) filled in the FLZ(KJ). Item characteristics, reliability, convergent and discriminant validity were assessed. Age- and gender-specific reference data were reported. Items were well accepted by the students. Selectivity and internal consistency of the two modules were acceptable, with alpha scores of alpha=0.70 and 0.75. Associations with the KIDSCREEN-10 Index support the convergent valid-ity of the instrument. The FLZ(KJ) differentiated well between children with and without chronic conditions. The FLZ(KJ) are reliable and sufficiently valid, with psychometric properties comparable to the adult version of the instrument. The instrument is a useful tool in measuring life satisfaction in children and adolescents. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart.New York.

  8. 10 CFR 50.60 - Acceptance criteria for fracture prevention measures for lightwater nuclear power reactors for...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Acceptance criteria for fracture prevention measures for... of Licenses and Construction Permits § 50.60 Acceptance criteria for fracture prevention measures for... certifications required under § 50.82(a)(1) have been submitted, must meet the fracture toughness and material...

  9. 10 CFR 50.60 - Acceptance criteria for fracture prevention measures for lightwater nuclear power reactors for...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Acceptance criteria for fracture prevention measures for... of Licenses and Construction Permits § 50.60 Acceptance criteria for fracture prevention measures for... certifications required under § 50.82(a)(1) have been submitted, must meet the fracture toughness and material...

  10. 10 CFR 50.60 - Acceptance criteria for fracture prevention measures for lightwater nuclear power reactors for...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Acceptance criteria for fracture prevention measures for... of Licenses and Construction Permits § 50.60 Acceptance criteria for fracture prevention measures for... certifications required under § 50.82(a)(1) have been submitted, must meet the fracture toughness and material...

  11. User Acceptability of Physiological and Other Measures of Hazardous States of Awareness

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dickinson, Terry L.; Milkulka, Peter J.; Kwan, Doris; Fitzgibbons, Amy A.; Jinadu, Florence R.; Freeman, Frederick G.; Scerbo, Mark W.; Pope, A. T. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Two studies explored user acceptance of devices that measure hazardous states of awareness. In the first study, critical incident data were collected in two workshops from 11 operators working as air traffic controllers or commercial pilots. These critical incident data were used to develop a survey of the acceptability of awareness measures. In the second study, the survey was administered to 100 people also working as air traffic controllers or commercial pilots. Results show that operators are open to the inclusion of technology to measure HSAs even if that technology is somewhat invasive as long as feedback about the HSAs is considered to be useful and helpful. Nonetheless, a major concern is the legal complications associated with being recorded, particularly for older and more experienced operators. Air traffic controllers emphasized the importance of sharing technology information with supervisors in order to receive backup or assistance under conditions of task overload, whereas pilots emphasized the influence of work schedules on problems with awareness. Recommendations are offered concerning the implementation of devices to measure hazardous states of awareness.

  12. Developing a New Instrument for Assessing Acceptance of Change

    PubMed Central

    Di Fabio, Annamaria; Gori, Alessio

    2016-01-01

    This article focuses on the usefulness of going beyond the concept of resistance to change and capitalizing on the use of a model that includes positivity and acceptance of change. We first discuss the theoretical background of this new construct in the work and organizational fields and then evaluate the psychometric properties of a new measure for assessing acceptance of change. The results of exploratory factor analysis indicated a factor structure with five principal dimensions; besides confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) goodness of fit indices indicated a good fit of the model to the data. All the dimensions showed good values of internal consistency. The results of the present study indicate that the Acceptance of Change Scale (ACS) is a brief and easily administered instrument with good psychometric properties that can promote the development of clients' strengths and the growth of a sense of Self, thereby helping them choose their own way without losing any opportunities in their lives and their work. PMID:27303356

  13. Effects of cooking temperatures on the physicochemical properties and consumer acceptance of chicken stock.

    PubMed

    Krasnow, Mark; Bunch, Tucker; Shoemaker, Charles; Loss, Christopher R

    2012-01-01

    As a base for sauces, soups, and cooking liquids for meats, grains, and vegetables, stocks can be integral to the overall quality of restaurant menu items, however, science-based studies on the effects of cooking methods on the physiochemical and sensory properties of stock are lacking. The effects of starting (22 °C, 85 °C, and 99 °C) and cooking temperatures (85 °C and 99 °C) of chicken stock on clarity, color, viscosity, protein content, amino acid content, mineral content, and overall liking were measured. Protein content and viscosity were significantly higher for stocks cooked at 99 °C, but no effect on amino acid content, color, or clarity was observed. Calcium concentration in stocks cooked at 99 °C was significantly (P < 0.0001) lower (9.3 and 10.1 mg/mL, for stocks started at temperatures of 22 and 99 °C, respectively) than stock cooked at 85 °C (16.6 and 17.5 mg/mL for stocks started at temperatures of 22 and 85 °C, respectively). Stocks prepared at 99 °C scored higher on overall liking compared to commercial samples and those cooked at 85 °C (P= 0.0101). These data can be used by culinary scientists and professionals to develop more efficient techniques in the kitchen, and by product developers to optimize the overall quality and acceptance of stock. This work documents the effects of preparation method on the physical and chemical properties, and consumer acceptance of chicken stock. This information can be used by product developers, culinary scientists, and professional chefs to optimize stock-based products. Culinary educators can use this information to provide students with objective evidence-based rationale for the techniques underlying a celebrated culinary tradition. This is also an example of how research can facilitate collaboration between culinary and food science professionals. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®

  14. Measuring Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance in Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vermeer, Adri; Lijnse, Margot; Lindhout, Marleen

    2004-01-01

    The results of a study examining the psychometric quality of a pictorial scale to measure perceived physical competence, perceived cognitive competence and perceived social acceptance by peers and caregivers in individuals with intellectual disabilities are reported. The scale was administered twice to 100 subjects. The stability of the scale…

  15. Developing acceptance limits for measured bearing wear of the Space Shuttle Main Engine high pressure oxidizer turbopump

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Genge, Gary G.

    1991-01-01

    The probabilistic design approach currently receiving attention for structural failure modes has been adapted for obtaining measured bearing wear limits in the Space Shuttle Main Engine high-pressure oxidizer turbopump. With the development of the shaft microtravel measurements to determine bearing health, an acceptance limit was neeed that protects against all known faiure modes yet is not overly conservative. This acceptance criteria limit has been successfully determined using probabilistic descriptions of preflight hardware geometry, empirical bearing wear data, mission requirements, and measurement tool precision as an input for a Monte Carlo simulation. The result of the simulation is a frequency distribution of failures as a function of preflight acceptance limits. When the distribution is converted into a reliability curve, a conscious risk management decision is made concerning the acceptance limit.

  16. Grammaticality, Acceptability, and Probability: A Probabilistic View of Linguistic Knowledge.

    PubMed

    Lau, Jey Han; Clark, Alexander; Lappin, Shalom

    2017-07-01

    The question of whether humans represent grammatical knowledge as a binary condition on membership in a set of well-formed sentences, or as a probabilistic property has been the subject of debate among linguists, psychologists, and cognitive scientists for many decades. Acceptability judgments present a serious problem for both classical binary and probabilistic theories of grammaticality. These judgements are gradient in nature, and so cannot be directly accommodated in a binary formal grammar. However, it is also not possible to simply reduce acceptability to probability. The acceptability of a sentence is not the same as the likelihood of its occurrence, which is, in part, determined by factors like sentence length and lexical frequency. In this paper, we present the results of a set of large-scale experiments using crowd-sourced acceptability judgments that demonstrate gradience to be a pervasive feature in acceptability judgments. We then show how one can predict acceptability judgments on the basis of probability by augmenting probabilistic language models with an acceptability measure. This is a function that normalizes probability values to eliminate the confounding factors of length and lexical frequency. We describe a sequence of modeling experiments with unsupervised language models drawn from state-of-the-art machine learning methods in natural language processing. Several of these models achieve very encouraging levels of accuracy in the acceptability prediction task, as measured by the correlation between the acceptability measure scores and mean human acceptability values. We consider the relevance of these results to the debate on the nature of grammatical competence, and we argue that they support the view that linguistic knowledge can be intrinsically probabilistic. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  17. 32 CFR 37.540 - May I accept fully depreciated real property or equipment as cost sharing?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false May I accept fully depreciated real property or equipment as cost sharing? 37.540 Section 37.540 National Defense Department of Defense OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DoD GRANT AND AGREEMENT REGULATIONS TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS Pre-Award Business...

  18. Measurement properties of outcome measures for vitiligo. A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Vrijman, Charlotte; Linthorst Homan, May W; Limpens, Jacqueline; van der Veen, Wietze; Wolkerstorfer, Albert; Terwee, Caroline B; Spuls, Phyllis I

    2012-11-01

    OBJECTIVE To summarize and critically appraise the evidence on the measurement properties of clinician-, patient-, and observer-reported outcomes, measuring any construct of interest in patients with all types of vitiligo. DATA SOURCES Electronic databases including PubMed (1948 to July 2011), OVID EMBASE (1980 to July 2011), and CINAHL (EBSCOhost) (1982 to July 2011) were searched. STUDY SELECTION Two authors independently screened all records for eligibility. For inclusion, the study population had to include patients with vitiligo, for which outcome measures were developed or evaluated on their measurement properties. The initial search retrieved 1249 records, of which 14 articles met the inclusion criteria. DATA EXTRACTION Characteristics of the included instruments, study population, and results of the measurement properties were extracted. The Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Status Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) 4-point checklist, combined with quality criteria for measurement properties, was used to calculate the overall level of evidence per measurement property of each instrument. Independent extraction and assessment was performed by 2 authors. DATA SYNTHESIS Eleven different measurement instruments were identified. Strong evidence was found for a positive internal consistency of the Dermatology Life Quality Index. For other instruments, the evidence of measurement properties was limited or unknown. CONCLUSIONS Recommendations on the use of specific outcome measures for vitiligo should be formulated with caution because current evidence is insufficient owing to a low number of studies with poor methodological quality and unclear clinical relevance. To recommend outcome measures for vitiligo, further research on measurement properties of clinical relevant outcome measures for vitiligo according to COSMIN quality criteria is needed.

  19. The Swedish version of the Acceptance of Chronic Health Conditions Scale for people with multiple sclerosis: Translation, cultural adaptation and psychometric properties.

    PubMed

    Forslin, Mia; Kottorp, Anders; Kierkegaard, Marie; Johansson, Sverker

    2016-11-11

    To translate and culturally adapt the Acceptance of Chronic Health Conditions (ACHC) Scale for people with multiple sclerosis into Swedish, and to analyse the psychometric properties of the Swedish version. Ten people with multiple sclerosis participated in translation and cultural adaptation of the ACHC Scale; 148 people with multiple sclerosis were included in evaluation of the psychometric properties of the scale. Translation and cultural adaptation were carried out through translation and back-translation, by expert committee evaluation and pre-test with cognitive interviews in people with multiple sclerosis. The psychometric properties of the Swedish version were evaluated using Rasch analysis. The Swedish version of the ACHC Scale was an acceptable equivalent to the original version. Seven of the original 10 items fitted the Rasch model and demonstrated ability to separate between groups. A 5-item version, including 2 items and 3 super-items, demonstrated better psychometric properties, but lower ability to separate between groups. The Swedish version of the ACHC Scale with the original 10 items did not fit the Rasch model. Two solutions, either with 7 items (ACHC-7) or with 2 items and 3 super-items (ACHC-5), demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties. Use of the ACHC-5 Scale with super-items is recommended, since this solution adjusts for local dependency among items.

  20. Measuring and Promoting Acceptance of Young Children with Disabilities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Favazza, Paddy C.; Phillipsen, Leslie; Kumar, Poonam

    2000-01-01

    Results of two studies indicate the Acceptance Scale for Kindergartners was reliable with a sample of minority, low socioeconomic status children and that children exposed to all of the components of an intervention designed to promote acceptance of young children with disabilities had short-term and long-term gains in acceptance. (Contains…

  1. Advanced Ceramics Property Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Salem, Jonathan; Helfinstine, John; Quinn, George; Gonczy, Stephen

    2013-01-01

    Mechanical and physical properties of ceramic bodies can be difficult to measure correctly unless the proper techniques are used. The Advanced Ceramics Committee of ASTM, C-28, has developed dozens of consensus test standards and practices to measure various properties of a ceramic monolith, composite, or coating. The standards give the "what, how, how not, and why" for measurement of many mechanical, physical, thermal, and performance properties. Using these standards will provide accurate, reliable, and complete data for rigorous comparisons with other test results from your test lab, or another. The C-28 Committee has involved academics, producers, and users of ceramics to write and continually update more than 45 standards since the committee's inception in 1986. Included in this poster is a pictogram of the C-28 standards and information on how to obtain individual copies with full details or the complete collection of standards in one volume.

  2. Thermal Properties Measurement Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Carmack, Jon; Braase, Lori; Papesch, Cynthia

    2015-08-01

    The Thermal Properties Measurement Report summarizes the research, development, installation, and initial use of significant experimental thermal property characterization capabilities at the INL in FY 2015. These new capabilities were used to characterize a U 3Si 2 (candidate Accident Tolerant) fuel sample fabricated at the INL. The ability to perform measurements at various length scales is important and provides additional data that is not currently in the literature. However, the real value of the data will be in accomplishing a phenomenological understanding of the thermal conductivity in fuels and the ties to predictive modeling. Thus, the MARMOT advanced modeling andmore » simulation capability was utilized to illustrate how the microstructural data can be modeled and compared with bulk characterization data. A scientific method was established for thermal property measurement capability on irradiated nuclear fuel samples, which will be installed in the Irradiated Material Characterization Laboratory (IMCL).« less

  3. Development and Validation of Mobile Learning Acceptance Measure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharma, Sujeet Kumar; Sarrab, Mohamed; Al-Shihi, Hafedh

    2017-01-01

    The growth of Smartphone usage, increased acceptance of electronic learning (E-learning), the availability of high reliability mobile networks and need for flexibility in learning have resulted in the growth of mobile learning (M-learning). This has led to a tremendous interest in the acceptance behaviors related to M-learning users among the…

  4. Psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Trauma Specific (AAQ-TS): A study with Portuguese Colonial War Veterans.

    PubMed

    Pinto-Gouveia, José; Carvalho, Teresa; Cunha, Marina; Duarte, Joana; Walser, Robyn D

    2015-10-01

    The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Trauma Specific (AAQ-TS) is a self-report measure designed to assess-trauma-related psychological (in)flexibility, as conceptualized in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. However, there are no studies to date regarding its psychometric properties. This study explores such properties in the Portuguese version of the AAQ-TS, in Portuguese Colonial War Veterans. A Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was conducted in a sample from the general population of war Veterans (N=371). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) as well as reliability and convergent validity studies were performed in a different sample from the same population (N=312). For the discriminant validity a clinical sample with a war-related PTSD (N=42) and a non-clinical sample without PTSD (N=44) were used. The CFA suggested a re-specified 15-item model with good global adjustment and factorial validity. The AAQ-TS showed internal consistency, a good temporal reliability, convergent validity with psychopathological symptoms (related to PTSD, anxiety, depression and stress) and peritraumatic dissociation (altered awareness and depersonalization/derealization). The questionnaire also discriminates between war Veterans with and without a PTSD diagnosis. The major limitation relates to the samples' characteristics and sampling methods, which can limit the generalization of results. The Portuguese version of the AAQ-TS is a reliable and valid measure to assess experiential avoidance related to trauma in Portuguese Colonial War Veterans. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. The Assessment of Recovery Capital: properties and psychometrics of a measure of addiction recovery strengths.

    PubMed

    Groshkova, Teodora; Best, David; White, William

    2013-03-01

    Sociological work on social capital and its impact on health behaviours have been translated into the addiction field in the form of 'recovery capital' as the construct for assessing individual progress on a recovery journey. Yet there has been little attempt to quantify recovery capital. The aim of the project was to create a scale that assessed addiction recovery capital. Initial focus group work identified and tested candidate items and domains followed by data collection from multiple sources to enable psychometric assessment of a scale measuring recovery capital. The scale shows moderate test-retest reliability at 1 week and acceptable concurrent validity. Principal component analysis determined single factor structure. The Assessment of Recovery Capital (ARC) is a brief and easy to administer measurement of recovery capital that has acceptable psychometric properties and may be a useful complement to deficit-based assessment and outcome monitoring instruments for substance dependent individuals in and out of treatment. © 2012 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  6. The Acceptance of Dating Violence scale (ADV): Psychometric properties of the Spanish version.

    PubMed

    Fernández-González, Liria; Calvete, Esther; Orue, Izaskun

    2017-05-01

    The main aim of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Acceptance of Dating Violence (ADV) scale, which assesses attitudes that justify the use of aggression in adolescents’ dating relationships. A total of 1,579 high school students (49% girls) from Bizkaia (Spain), aged between 14 and 18 years (M = 15.79, SD = 1.16), completed this questionnaire along with the Irrational Beliefs Scale for Adolescents and the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory. The factor analyses suggested a one-factor structure, which fits data well for both girls and boys. Moreover, the ADV showed good internal consistency (α = .83) and was related to general justification of violence and dating violence (perpetration and victimization). Boys (compared to girls) and adolescents who had had a dating relationship in the past year (compared to those who had not) displayed a higher acceptance of dating violence. The ADV is a useful, brief and easily applicable instrument for the assessment of attitudes toward dating violence.

  7. Effect of flaxseed flour incorporation on the physical properties and consumer acceptability of cereal bars.

    PubMed

    Khouryieh, H; Aramouni, F

    2013-12-01

    Extensive research has revealed numerous nutritional and health benefits of flaxseed due primarily to its nutrients content. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of flaxseed flour addition on the physical and sensory characteristics of cereal bars. Four formulations of the flaxseed cereal bars were prepared by partially replacing oats with flaxseed flour added at levels of 0 (control), 6%, 12% and 18%. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in water activity, moisture and firmness values between the flaxseed bars and control. Flaxseed addition significantly (p < 0.05) decreased lightness and increased redness of the bars. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the 12% flax cereal bars and the control with respect to sensory attributes and overall acceptability. The overall acceptability for both 12% flax bars and the control was in between 'like moderately' and 'like slightly' on the 9-point hedonic scale. The overall acceptability was most highly correlated with flavor acceptability for both control (r = 0.80) and 12% flax (r = 0.82) cereal bars. Flaxseed bars provided 12% dietary fiber of the daily recommended value. These results indicated that flaxseed flour incorporation up to 12% substantially enhanced the nutritional qualities of the cereal bars without affecting their sensory and quality properties.

  8. Measuring Technology Acceptance Level of Turkish Pre-Service English Teachers by Using Technology Acceptance Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kirmizi, Özkan

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study is to investigate technology acceptance of prospective English teachers by using Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in Turkish context. The study is based on Structural Equation Model (SEM). The participants of the study from English Language Teaching Departments of Hacettepe, Gazi and Baskent Universities. The participants…

  9. Instruments Measuring Integrated Care: A Systematic Review of Measurement Properties.

    PubMed

    Bautista, Mary Ann C; Nurjono, Milawaty; Lim, Yee Wei; Dessers, Ezra; Vrijhoef, Hubertus Jm

    2016-12-01

    Policy Points: Investigations on systematic methodologies for measuring integrated care should coincide with the growing interest in this field of research. A systematic review of instruments provides insights into integrated care measurement, including setting the research agenda for validating available instruments and informing the decision to develop new ones. This study is the first systematic review of instruments measuring integrated care with an evidence synthesis of the measurement properties. We found 209 index instruments measuring different constructs related to integrated care; the strength of evidence on the adequacy of the majority of their measurement properties remained largely unassessed. Integrated care is an important strategy for increasing health system performance. Despite its growing significance, detailed evidence on the measurement properties of integrated care instruments remains vague and limited. Our systematic review aims to provide evidence on the state of the art in measuring integrated care. Our comprehensive systematic review framework builds on the Rainbow Model for Integrated Care (RMIC). We searched MEDLINE/PubMed for published articles on the measurement properties of instruments measuring integrated care and identified eligible articles using a standard set of selection criteria. We assessed the methodological quality of every validation study reported using the COSMIN checklist and extracted data on study and instrument characteristics. We also evaluated the measurement properties of each examined instrument per validation study and provided a best evidence synthesis on the adequacy of measurement properties of the index instruments. From the 300 eligible articles, we assessed the methodological quality of 379 validation studies from which we identified 209 index instruments measuring integrated care constructs. The majority of studies reported on instruments measuring constructs related to care integration (33%) and patient

  10. Instruments Measuring Integrated Care: A Systematic Review of Measurement Properties

    PubMed Central

    BAUTISTA, MARY ANN C.; NURJONO, MILAWATY; DESSERS, EZRA; VRIJHOEF, HUBERTUS JM

    2016-01-01

    Policy Points: Investigations on systematic methodologies for measuring integrated care should coincide with the growing interest in this field of research.A systematic review of instruments provides insights into integrated care measurement, including setting the research agenda for validating available instruments and informing the decision to develop new ones.This study is the first systematic review of instruments measuring integrated care with an evidence synthesis of the measurement properties.We found 209 index instruments measuring different constructs related to integrated care; the strength of evidence on the adequacy of the majority of their measurement properties remained largely unassessed. Context Integrated care is an important strategy for increasing health system performance. Despite its growing significance, detailed evidence on the measurement properties of integrated care instruments remains vague and limited. Our systematic review aims to provide evidence on the state of the art in measuring integrated care. Methods Our comprehensive systematic review framework builds on the Rainbow Model for Integrated Care (RMIC). We searched MEDLINE/PubMed for published articles on the measurement properties of instruments measuring integrated care and identified eligible articles using a standard set of selection criteria. We assessed the methodological quality of every validation study reported using the COSMIN checklist and extracted data on study and instrument characteristics. We also evaluated the measurement properties of each examined instrument per validation study and provided a best evidence synthesis on the adequacy of measurement properties of the index instruments. Findings From the 300 eligible articles, we assessed the methodological quality of 379 validation studies from which we identified 209 index instruments measuring integrated care constructs. The majority of studies reported on instruments measuring constructs related to care

  11. Parental Acceptance and Rejection: Theory, Measures, and Research in the Arab World

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahmed, Ramadan A.; Rohner, Ronald P.; Khaleque, Abdul; Gielen, Uwe P.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose. The purpose of this article is to summarize the rich and growing body of research that draws from parental acceptance-rejection theory (PARTheory) and associated measures as used throughout the Arab world. Methodology. This body of work includes more than 100 studies that explore the reliability and validity of Arabic adaptations of…

  12. Measurement Properties of the Smartphone-Based B-B Score in Current Shoulder Pathologies

    PubMed Central

    Pichonnaz, Claude; Duc, Cyntia; Gleeson, Nigel; Ancey, Céline; Jaccard, Hervé; Lécureux, Estelle; Farron, Alain; Jolles, Brigitte M.; Aminian, Kamiar

    2015-01-01

    This study is aimed at the determination of the measurement properties of the shoulder function B-B Score measured with a smartphone. This score measures the symmetry between sides of a power-related metric for two selected movements, with 100% representing perfect symmetry. Twenty healthy participants, 20 patients with rotator cuff conditions, 23 with fractures, 22 with capsulitis, and 23 with shoulder instabilities were measured twice across a six-month interval using the B-B Score and shoulder function questionnaires. The discriminative power, responsiveness, diagnostic power, concurrent validity, minimal detectable change (MDC), minimal clinically important improvement (MCII), and patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) were evaluated. Significant differences with the control group and significant baseline—six-month differences were found for the rotator cuff condition, fracture, and capsulitis patient groups. The B-B Score was responsive and demonstrated excellent diagnostic power, except for shoulder instability. The correlations with clinical scores were generally moderate to high, but lower for instability. The MDC was 18.1%, the MCII was 25.2%, and the PASS was 77.6. No floor effect was observed. The B-B Score demonstrated excellent measurement properties in populations with rotator cuff conditions, proximal humerus fractures, and capsulitis, and can thus be used as a routine test to evaluate those patients. PMID:26506355

  13. Systematic Review of Measurement Property Evidence for 8 Financial Management Instruments in Populations With Acquired Cognitive Impairment.

    PubMed

    Engel, Lisa; Chui, Adora; Beaton, Dorcas E; Green, Robin E; Dawson, Deirdre R

    2018-03-07

    To critically appraise the measurement property evidence (ie, psychometric) for 8 observation-based financial management assessment instruments. Seven databases were searched in May 2015. Two reviewers used an independent decision-agreement process to select studies of measurement property evidence relevant to populations with adulthood acquired cognitive impairment, appraise the quality of the evidence, and extract data. Twenty-one articles were selected. This review used the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments review guidelines and 4-point tool to appraise evidence. After appraising the methodologic quality, the adequacy of results and volume of evidence per instrument were synthesized. Measurement property evidence with high risk of bias was excluded from the synthesis. The volume of measurement property evidence per instrument is low; most instruments had 1 to 3 included studies. Many included studies had poor methodologic quality per measurement property evidence area examined. Six of the 8 instruments reviewed had supporting construct validity/hypothesis-testing evidence of fair methodologic quality. There is a dearth of acceptable quality content validity, reliability, and responsiveness evidence for all 8 instruments. Rehabilitation practitioners assess financial management functions in adults with acquired cognitive impairments. However, there is limited published evidence to support using any of the reviewed instruments. Practitioners should exercise caution when interpreting the results of these instruments. This review highlights the importance of appraising the quality of measurement property evidence before examining the adequacy of the results and synthesizing the evidence. Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Influence of Expectation Measure on the Sensory Acceptance of Petit Suisse Product.

    PubMed

    Teixeira Lopes, Maria Micheline; Passos Rodrigues, Maria do Carmo; Souza de Araújo, Ana Maria

    2018-03-01

    The consumer's expectation has an important role in the consumption of food products. It is one of the factors that influence the perception of sensory attributes and interact with the physiological, behavioral and cognitive factors influencing consumer decisions. The present study aimed to analyze the influence of consumer's expectations on the acceptance of Petit Suisse. Products of 4 different brands were used for the sensory analysis, 2 international brands and 2 regional ones. The 9-point regular hedonic scale was employed to carry out affective sensory and expectation measure tests (with and without product information). Concerning the present research, photos of the packaging of each product were printed in color and presented to the participants. These photos displayed the following pieces of information: the product brand, pictures, colors, product name, nutritional information and date of manufacture. International samples obtained higher grades when presented with their packaging, and obtained lower values both in the blind test and in the real expectation test evaluation. It can be concluded that the sensory analysis of the expectation measure showed that the brand influences the acceptance of the product, for the consumer's expectations for international brands had positively confirmed and disconfirmed acceptance. This study generated a significant contribution, especially for companies that aim for a wider market. The application of sensory analysis with a focus on expectation measure, it shows that the brand determines the purchase, based on the results of this study. Therefore, the product's visual identity must be invested in; it must arouse children and adults' attention. That is, it reinforces that the image of the product, the label and what it arouses in the consumers are extremely important for the final choice. © 2018 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  15. Reliability of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) Instrument with University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rutledge, Michael L.; Sadler, Kim C.

    2007-01-01

    The Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument was initially designed to assess high school biology teachers' acceptance of evolutionary theory. To determine if the MATE instrument is reliable with university students, it was administered to students in a non-majors biology course (n = 61) twice over a 3-week period.…

  16. Assessing medical professionalism: A systematic review of instruments and their measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Li, Honghe; Ding, Ning; Zhang, Yuanyuan; Liu, Yang; Wen, Deliang

    2017-01-01

    Over the last three decades, various instruments were developed and employed to assess medical professionalism, but their measurement properties have yet to be fully evaluated. This study aimed to systematically evaluate these instruments' measurement properties and the methodological quality of their related studies within a universally acceptable standardized framework and then provide corresponding recommendations. A systematic search of the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO was conducted to collect studies published from 1990-2015. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts for eligibility, the articles included in this study were classified according to their respective instrument's usage. A two-phase assessment was conducted: 1) methodological quality was assessed by following the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist; and 2) the quality of measurement properties was assessed according to Terwee's criteria. Results were integrated using best-evidence synthesis to look for recommendable instruments. After screening 2,959 records, 74 instruments from 80 existing studies were included. The overall methodological quality of these studies was unsatisfactory, with reasons including but not limited to unknown missing data, inadequate sample sizes, and vague hypotheses. Content validity, cross-cultural validity, and criterion validity were either unreported or negative ratings in most studies. Based on best-evidence synthesis, three instruments were recommended: Hisar's instrument for nursing students, Nurse Practitioners' Roles and Competencies Scale, and Perceived Faculty Competency Inventory. Although instruments measuring medical professionalism are diverse, only a limited number of studies were methodologically sound. Future studies should give priority to systematically improving the performance of existing instruments and to longitudinal studies.

  17. Assessing medical professionalism: A systematic review of instruments and their measurement properties

    PubMed Central

    Li, Honghe; Liu, Yang; Wen, Deliang

    2017-01-01

    Background Over the last three decades, various instruments were developed and employed to assess medical professionalism, but their measurement properties have yet to be fully evaluated. This study aimed to systematically evaluate these instruments’ measurement properties and the methodological quality of their related studies within a universally acceptable standardized framework and then provide corresponding recommendations. Methods A systematic search of the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO was conducted to collect studies published from 1990–2015. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts for eligibility, the articles included in this study were classified according to their respective instrument’s usage. A two-phase assessment was conducted: 1) methodological quality was assessed by following the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist; and 2) the quality of measurement properties was assessed according to Terwee’s criteria. Results were integrated using best-evidence synthesis to look for recommendable instruments. Results After screening 2,959 records, 74 instruments from 80 existing studies were included. The overall methodological quality of these studies was unsatisfactory, with reasons including but not limited to unknown missing data, inadequate sample sizes, and vague hypotheses. Content validity, cross-cultural validity, and criterion validity were either unreported or negative ratings in most studies. Based on best-evidence synthesis, three instruments were recommended: Hisar’s instrument for nursing students, Nurse Practitioners’ Roles and Competencies Scale, and Perceived Faculty Competency Inventory. Conclusion Although instruments measuring medical professionalism are diverse, only a limited number of studies were methodologically sound. Future studies should give priority to systematically improving the performance of existing

  18. Psychometric Properties of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II for Chinese College Students and Elite Chinese Athletes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Chun-Qing; Chung, Pak-Kwong; Si, Gangyan; Liu, Jing Dong

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) across two samples of Chinese college students (n = 183 and n = 366) and a sample of elite Chinese athletes (n = 330). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the existence of a…

  19. Measuring the youth bullying experience: a systematic review of the psychometric properties of available instruments.

    PubMed

    Vessey, Judith; Strout, Tania D; DiFazio, Rachel L; Walker, Allison

    2014-12-01

    Bullying is a significant problem in schools and measuring this concept remains problematic. The purposes of this study were to (1) identify the published self-report measures developed to assess youth bullying; (2) evaluate their psychometric properties and instrument characteristics; and (3) evaluate the quality of identified psychometric papers evaluating youth bullying measures. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using 4 electronic databases. Data extraction and appraisal of identified instruments were completed using a standardized method and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Thirty-one articles describing 27 self-report instruments were evaluated in our analysis. Quality assessments ranged from 18% to 91%, with 6 papers reaching or exceeding a quality score of 75%. Limited evidence supporting the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of existing youth bullying measures was identified. Evidence supporting the psychometric soundness of the instruments identified was limited. Many measures were in early development and additional evaluation is necessary to validate their psychometric properties. A pool of instruments possesses acceptable initial psychometric dependability for selected assessment purposes. These findings have significant implications for assessing youth bullying and designing and evaluating school-based interventions. © 2014, American School Health Association.

  20. Cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties of generic and cancer-related patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for use with cancer patients in Brazil: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Albach, Carlos Augusto; Wagland, Richard; Hunt, Katherine J

    2018-04-01

    This systematic review (1) identifies the current generic and cancer-related patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) that have been cross-culturally adapted to Brazilian Portuguese and applied to cancer patients and (2) critically evaluates their cross-cultural adaptation (CCA) and measurement properties. Seven databases were searched for articles regarding the translation and evaluation of measurement properties of generic and cancer-related PROMs cross-culturally adapted to Brazilian Portuguese that are applied in adult (≥18 years old) cancer patients. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the COSMIN checklist. The bibliographic search retrieved 1674 hits, of which seven studies analysing eight instruments were included in this review. Data on the interpretability of scores were poorly reported. Overall, the quality of the CCA process was inconsistent throughout the studies. None of the included studies performed a cross-cultural validation. The evidence concerning the quality of measurement properties is limited by poor or fair methodological quality. Moreover, limited information regarding measurement properties was provided within the included papers. This review aids the selection process of Brazilian Portuguese PROMs for use in cancer patients. After acknowledging the methodological caveats and strengths of each tool, our opinion is that for quality of life and symptoms assessment the adapted FACT-G version and the ESAS could be recommended, respectively. Future research should rely on the already accepted standards of CCA and validation studies.

  1. Mass properties measurement system: Dynamics and statics measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Doty, Keith L.

    1993-01-01

    This report presents and interprets experimental data obtained from the Mass Properties Measurement System (MPMS). Statics measurements yield the center-of-gravity of an unknown mass and dynamics measurements yield its inertia matrix. Observations of the MPMS performance has lead us to specific design criteria and an understanding of MPMS limitations.

  2. Lakefront Property Owners' Willingness to Accept Easements for Conservation of Water Quality and Habitat

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nohner, Joel K.; Lupi, Frank; Taylor, William W.

    2018-03-01

    Lakes provide valuable ecosystem services such as food, drinking water, and recreation, but shoreline development can degrade riparian habitats and lake ecosystems. Easement contracts for specific property rights can encourage conservation practices for enhanced water quality, fish habitat, and wildlife habitat, yet little is known about the easement market. We surveyed inland lake shoreline property owners in Michigan to assess supply of two conservation easements (in riparian and in littoral zones) and identified property and property owner characteristics influencing potential enrollment. Respondents were significantly less likely to enroll in littoral easements if they indicated there was social pressure for manicured lawns and more likely to enroll if they had more formal education, shoreline frontage, naturally occurring riparian plants, ecological knowledge, or if the lake shoreline was more developed. Enrollment in easements in the riparian zone was significantly less likely if property owners indicated social pressure for manicured lawns, but more likely if they had more formal education, naturally occurring riparian plants, or shoreline frontage. When payments were low (<1,000 yr-1), marginal gains in enrollment were relatively high. Some respondents may enroll in littoral (29.8% ± 2.2; mean ± SE) and riparian (24.4% ± 2.1) easements even without payment. Estimated mean willingness to accept values were 1,365 yr-1 (littoral) and $7,298 yr-1 (riparian). Targeting high-probability property owners with large shoreline frontages, more formal education, and high riparian plant coverages and conducting education to increase ecological knowledge and change social norms could increase conservation outcomes for water quality and habitat.

  3. Person-centredness in the care of older adults: a systematic review of questionnaire-based scales and their measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Wilberforce, Mark; Challis, David; Davies, Linda; Kelly, Michael P; Roberts, Chris; Loynes, Nik

    2016-03-07

    Person-centredness is promoted as a central feature of the long-term care of older adults. Measures are needed to assist researchers, service planners and regulators in assessing this feature of quality. However, no systematic review exists to identify potential instruments and to provide a critical appraisal of their measurement properties. A systematic review of measures of person-centredness was undertaken. Inclusion criteria restricted references to multi-item instruments designed for older adult services, or otherwise with measurement properties tested in an older adult population. A two-stage critical appraisal was conducted. First, the methodological quality of included references was assessed using the COSMIN toolkit. Second, seven measurement properties were rated using widely-recognised thresholds of acceptability. These results were then synthesised to provide an overall appraisal of the strength of evidence for each measurement property for each instrument. Eleven measures tested in 22 references were included. Six instruments were designed principally for use in long-stay residential facilities, and four were for ambulatory hospital or clinic-based services. Only one measure was designed mainly for completion by users of home care services. No measure could be assessed across all seven measurement properties. Despite some instruments having promising measurement properties, this was consistently undermined by the poor methodological quality underpinning them. Testing of hypotheses to support construct validity was of particularly low quality, whilst measurement error was rarely assessed. Two measures were identified as having been the subject of the most rigorous testing. The review is unable to unequivocally recommend any measures of person-centredness for use in older adult care. Researchers are advised to improve methodological rigour when testing instruments. Efforts may be best focused on testing a narrower range of measurement properties but to a

  4. Property Measurement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1980-01-01

    Van is used by Land Inventory Systems to measure and map property for tax assessment purposes. It is adapted from navigation system of the Lunar Rover wheeled vehicle in which moon-exploring astronauts traveled as much as 20 miles from their Lunar Module base. Astronauts had to know their precise position so that in case of emergency they could take the shortest route back. Computerized navigational system kept a highly accurate record of the directional path providing continuous position report. Distance measuring subsystem was a more accurate counterpart of automobile odometer system counts revolutions of wheels and encoders generate electrical pulses for each fractional revolution and the computer analyzed the pulses to determine the distance traveled in a given direction.

  5. Physicochemical properties and consumer acceptance of wheat-germinated brown rice bread during storage time.

    PubMed

    Charoenthaikij, Phantipha; Jangchud, Kamolwan; Jangchud, Anuvat; Prinyawiwatkul, Witoon; No, Hong Kyoon; King, Joan M

    2010-08-01

    Selected physicochemical properties and consumer acceptance of bread prepared from composite flour (wheat:germinated brown rice:germinated glutinous brown rice flours at 60:30:10 ratio) were evaluated during storage for 0, 3, and 5 d, and compared with wheat bread (0 d, control). During storage, color profiles and water activity (from 0.947 to 0.932) of crumbs of composite flour breads slightly changed, but moisture content drastically decreased along with increasing crumb hardness (from 4.16 N to 10.37 N). Higher retrogradation in bread crumb was observed particularly for 5-d stored bread (DeltaH = 2.24 J/g) compared to that of the fresh composite bread and the control (DeltaH = 0.70 and 0.51 J/g, respectively). Mean (n = 116) overall liking score of the fresh composite flour bread (0 d) was slightly lower than that of the control (7.1 compared with 7.6 based on a 9-point hedonic scale). At least 76% of consumers would purchase the fresh composite flour bread if commercially available. Breads were differentiated by textural (moistness, smoothness, and softness) acceptability with canonical correlation of 0.84 to 0.87. The signal-to-noise ratio values of the 5-d stored breads were lower than the control, due mainly to the non-JAR (not-enough) intensity responses for moistness, smoothness, and softness; the mean drop of liking scores for these attributes ranged from 2.42 to 2.98. Flavor acceptability and overall liking were factors influencing consumers' purchase intent of composite flour breads based on logistic regression analysis. This study demonstrated feasibility of incorporating up to 40% germinated brown rice flour in a wheat bread formulation. Practical Application: Our previous study revealed that flours from germinated brown rice have better nutritional properties, particularly gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), than the nongerminated one. This study demonstrated feasibility of incorporating up to 40% germinated brown rice flour in a wheat bread formulation

  6. A Brief Measure of Peer Affiliation and Social Acceptance (PASA): Validity in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Early Adolescents

    PubMed Central

    Dishion, Thomas J.; Kim, Hanjoe; Stormshak, Elizabeth A.; O'Neill, Maya

    2014-01-01

    Objective Conduct a multiagent–multimethod analysis of the validity of a brief measure of deviant peer affiliations and social acceptance (PASA) in young adolescents. Peer relationships are critical to child and adolescent social and emotional development, but currently available measures are tedious and time consuming. The PASA consists of a youth, parent, and teacher report that can be collected longitudinally to study development and intervention effectiveness. Method This longitudinal study included 998 middle school students and their families. We collected the PASA and peer sociometrics data in Grade 7 and a multiagent–multimethod construct of deviant peer clustering in Grade 8. Results Confirmatory factor analyses of the multiagent–multimethod data revealed that the constructs of deviant peer affiliations and social acceptance and rejection were distinguishable as unique but correlated constructs within the PASA. Convergent, discriminant, concurrent, and predictive validity of the PASA was satisfactory, although the acceptance and rejection constructs were highly correlated and showed similar patterns of concurrent validity. Factor invariance was established for mother and for father reports. Conclusions Results suggest that the PASA is a valid and reliable measure of peer affiliation and of social acceptance among peers during the middle school years and provides a comprehensive yet brief assessment of peer affiliations and social acceptance. PMID:24611623

  7. Nonlinear optical properties of flux growth KTiOPO4

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stolzenberger, Richard A.

    1988-09-01

    The properties of large flux grown KTiOPO4 second harmonic generators were measured. A technique which provides a sensitive assessment of crystal uniformity is described. Optically perfect second harmonic generation crystals of up to 1 cu cm were found to have nonlinear optical properties comparable with those grown by other methods. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was used to determine temperature acceptance width-length product (20 C cm), angular acceptance width-length product (13 mrad cm), and doubling efficiency (50 percent). Spectral bandwidth (4.5 A cm) and wavefront distortion (1/4 wave at 633 nm) were also measured. The dependence of these properties on crystal homogeneity is demonstrated.

  8. Teachers' Autonomy in Today's Educational Climate: Current Perceptions from an Acceptable Instrument

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strong, Luman E. G.; Yoshida, Roland K.

    2014-01-01

    This research evaluated the psychometric properties of Friedman's (1999) Teacher Work-Autonomy Scale (TWA) to determine whether it was an acceptable instrument to measure U.S. teacher autonomy in the present educational context. A second purpose was to ascertain the current status of teachers' perceptions of their autonomy from a sample of U.S.…

  9. A Cross-Cultural Validity of the E-Learning Acceptance Measure (ElAM) in Lebanon and England: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tarhini, Ali; Teo, Timothy; Tarhini, Takwa

    2016-01-01

    Despite the prevalence and significance of e-learning in education, there is a dearth of published instruments for educational researchers and practitioners that measure users' acceptance of e-learning. To meet this need, Teo (2010) developed the E-learning Acceptance Measure (ElAM). The main objective of this paper is to validate the ElAM (Teo,…

  10. Measurement Properties of Questionnaires Measuring Continuity of Care: A Systematic Review

    PubMed Central

    Uijen, Annemarie A.; Heinst, Claire W.; Schellevis, Francois G.; van den Bosch, Wil J.H.M.; van de Laar, Floris A.; Terwee, Caroline B.; Schers, Henk J.

    2012-01-01

    Background Continuity of care is widely acknowledged as a core value in family medicine. In this systematic review, we aimed to identify the instruments measuring continuity of care and to assess the quality of their measurement properties. Methods We did a systematic review using the PubMed, Embase and PsycINFO databases, with an extensive search strategy including ‘continuity of care’, ‘coordination of care’, ‘integration of care’, ‘patient centered care’, ‘case management’ and its linguistic variations. We searched from 1995 to October 2011 and included articles describing the development and/or evaluation of the measurement properties of instruments measuring one or more dimensions of continuity of care (1) care from the same provider who knows and follows the patient (personal continuity), (2) communication and cooperation between care providers in one care setting (team continuity), and (3) communication and cooperation between care providers in different care settings (cross-boundary continuity). We assessed the methodological quality of the measurement properties of each instrument using the COSMIN checklist. Results We included 24 articles describing the development and/or evaluation of 21 instruments. Ten instruments measured all three dimensions of continuity of care. Instruments were developed for different groups of patients or providers. For most instruments, three or four of the six measurement properties were assessed (mostly internal consistency, content validity, structural validity and construct validity). Six instruments scored positive on the quality of at least three of six measurement properties. Conclusions Most included instruments have problems with either the number or quality of its assessed measurement properties or the ability to measure all three dimensions of continuity of care. Based on the results of this review, we recommend the use of one of the four most promising instruments, depending on the target

  11. Influence of pig genetic type on sensory properties and consumer acceptance of Parma, San Daniele and Toscano dry-cured hams.

    PubMed

    Pagliarini, Ella; Laureati, Monica; Dinnella, Caterina; Monteleone, Erminio; Proserpio, Cristina; Piasentier, Edi

    2016-02-01

    This study investigated the sensory properties and acceptability of different Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) dry-cured hams. For each PDO, two genotypes were selected: IL×LW (reference hybrid) and Goland (commercial hybrid). According to descriptive analysis, genetic variance affected few attributes describing Toscano and San Daniele ham sensory quality. The commercial hybrid Parma ham was distinct from the traditional one, the Goland genotype being significantly higher in red color, saltiness, dryness and hardness and showing a lower intensity of pork-meat odor/flavor and sweetness than the IL×LW genotype. Consumer acceptance was mainly influenced by the PDO technology. A genotype effect on acceptance was only observed in Toscano ham. Principal component regression analysis revealed that Toscano ham was the preferred sample. Considering that the consumers involved were from Tuscany, it is likely that Toscano ham was preferred owing to their higher familiarity with this product. Sensory properties of ham samples were better discriminated according to their PDO than their genotype. Likewise, consumer liking was more affected by the specific PDO technology than by genetic type. Toscano ham was the most preferred and most familiar product among Tuscan consumers, indicating that familiarity with the product was the best driver of dry-cured ham preference. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  12. Assessment of Preferences for Treatment: Validation of a Measure

    PubMed Central

    Sidani, Souraya; Epstein, Dana R.; Bootzin, Richard R.; Moritz, Patricia; Miranda, Joyal

    2009-01-01

    Systematic measurement of treatment preferences is needed to obtain well-informed preferences. Guided by a conceptualization of treatment preferences, a measure was developed to assess treatment acceptability and preference. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Treatment Acceptability and Preferences (TAP) measure. The TAP measure contains a description of each treatment under evaluation, items to rate its acceptability, and questions about participants’ preferred treatment option. The items measuring treatment acceptability were internally consistent (alpha > .80) and demonstrated validity, evidenced by a one-factor structure and differences in the scores between participants with preferences for particular interventions. The TAP measure has the potential for the assessment of acceptability and preferences for various behavioral interventions. PMID:19434647

  13. Measuring trust in nurses - Psychometric properties of the Trust in Nurses Scale in four countries.

    PubMed

    Stolt, Minna; Charalambous, Andreas; Radwin, Laurel; Adam, Christina; Katajisto, Jouko; Lemonidou, Chryssoula; Patiraki, Elisabeth; Sjövall, Katarina; Suhonen, Riitta

    2016-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine psychometric properties of three translated versions of the Trust in Nurses Scale (TNS) and cancer patients' perceptions of trust in nurses in a sample of cancer patients from four European countries. A cross-sectional, cross-cultural, multi-site survey design was used. The data were collected with the Trust in Nurses Scale from patients with different types of malignancies in 17 units within five clinical sites (n = 599) between 09/2012 and 06/2014. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, multivariate methods and psychometrics using exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficients, item analysis and Rasch analysis. The psychometric properties of the data were consistent in all countries. Within the exploratory factor analysis the principal component analysis supported the one component structure (unidimensionality) of the TNS. The internal consistency reliability was acceptable. The Rasch analysis supported the unidimensionality of the TNS cross-culturally. All items of the TNS demonstrated acceptable goodness-of-fit to the Rasch model. Cancer patients trusted nurses to a great extent although between-country differences were found. The Trust in Nurses Scale proved to be a valid and reliable tool for measuring patients' trust in nurses in oncological settings in international contexts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. 41 CFR 101-27.506 - Determination of acceptability for credit.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ...-INVENTORY MANAGEMENT 27.5-Return of GSA Stock Items § 101-27.506 Determination of acceptability for credit... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Determination of acceptability for credit. 101-27.506 Section 101-27.506 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal...

  15. Evaluation of measurement properties of self-administered PROMs aimed at patients with non-specific shoulder pain and "activity limitations": a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Thoomes-de Graaf, M; Scholten-Peeters, G G M; Schellingerhout, J M; Bourne, A M; Buchbinder, R; Koehorst, M; Terwee, C B; Verhagen, A P

    2016-09-01

    To critically appraise and compare the measurement properties of self-administered patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) focussing on the shoulder, assessing "activity limitations." Systematic review. The study population had to consist of patients with shoulder pain. We excluded postoperative patients or patients with generic diseases. The methodological quality of the selected studies and the results of the measurement properties were critically appraised and rated using the COSMIN checklist. Out of a total of 3427 unique hits, 31 articles, evaluating 7 different questionnaires, were included. The SPADI is the most frequently evaluated PROM and its measurement properties seem adequate apart from a lack of information regarding its measurement error and content validity. For English, Norwegian and Turkish users, we recommend to use the SPADI. Dutch users could use either the SDQ or the SST. In German, we recommend the DASH. In Tamil, Slovene, Spanish and the Danish languages, the evaluated PROMs were not yet of acceptable validity. None of these PROMs showed strong positive evidence for all measurement properties. We propose to develop a new shoulder PROM focused on activity limitations, taking new knowledge and techniques into account.

  16. Sound-burst Generator for Measuring Coal Properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hadden, W. J. J.; Mills, J. M.; Pierce, A. D.

    1982-01-01

    Acoustical properties of coal can be measured accurately and with relative ease with aid of digital two-channel sine-wave sound generator. Generator is expected to provide information for development of acoustic devices for measuring thickness of coal in longwall mining. In echo-cancellation measurements, sound bursts are sent to coal sample from opposite directions. Transmitted and reflected amplitudes and phases are measured by transducers to determine coal properties.

  17. Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS): Critical appraisal of its measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Jung, James J; Borkhoff, Cornelia M; Jüni, Peter; Grantcharov, Teodor P

    2018-02-17

    To critically appraise the development and measurement properties, including sensibility, reliability, and validity of the Non-Technical Skills of Surgeons (NOTSS) system. Articles that described development process of the NOTSS system were identified. Relevant primary studies that presented evidence of reliability and validity were identified through a comprehensive literature review. NOTSS was developed through robust item generation and reduction strategies. It was shown to have good content validity, acceptability, and feasibility. Inter-rater reliability increased with greater expertise and number of assessors. Studies demonstrated evidence of cross-sectional construct validity, in that the tool was able to differentiate known groups of varied non-technical skill levels. Evidence of longitudinal construct validity also existed to demonstrate that NOTSS detected changes in non-technical skills before and after targeted training. In populations and settings presented in our critical appraisal, NOTSS provided reliable and valid measurements of intraoperative non-technical skills of surgeons. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Acceptability of healthcare interventions: an overview of reviews and development of a theoretical framework.

    PubMed

    Sekhon, Mandeep; Cartwright, Martin; Francis, Jill J

    2017-01-26

    It is increasingly acknowledged that 'acceptability' should be considered when designing, evaluating and implementing healthcare interventions. However, the published literature offers little guidance on how to define or assess acceptability. The purpose of this study was to develop a multi-construct theoretical framework of acceptability of healthcare interventions that can be applied to assess prospective (i.e. anticipated) and retrospective (i.e. experienced) acceptability from the perspective of intervention delivers and recipients. Two methods were used to select the component constructs of acceptability. 1) An overview of reviews was conducted to identify systematic reviews that claim to define, theorise or measure acceptability of healthcare interventions. 2) Principles of inductive and deductive reasoning were applied to theorise the concept of acceptability and develop a theoretical framework. Steps included (1) defining acceptability; (2) describing its properties and scope and (3) identifying component constructs and empirical indicators. From the 43 reviews included in the overview, none explicitly theorised or defined acceptability. Measures used to assess acceptability focused on behaviour (e.g. dropout rates) (23 reviews), affect (i.e. feelings) (5 reviews), cognition (i.e. perceptions) (7 reviews) or a combination of these (8 reviews). From the methods described above we propose a definition: Acceptability is a multi-faceted construct that reflects the extent to which people delivering or receiving a healthcare intervention consider it to be appropriate, based on anticipated or experienced cognitive and emotional responses to the intervention. The theoretical framework of acceptability (TFA) consists of seven component constructs: affective attitude, burden, perceived effectiveness, ethicality, intervention coherence, opportunity costs, and self-efficacy. Despite frequent claims that healthcare interventions have assessed acceptability, it is

  19. Brief scale measuring patient preparedness for hospital discharge to home: Psychometric properties.

    PubMed

    Graumlich, James F; Novotny, Nancy L; Aldag, Jean C

    2008-01-01

    Adverse events occur when patients transition from the hospital to outpatient care. For quality improvement and research purposes, clinicians need appropriate, reliable, and valid survey instruments to measure and improve the discharge processes. The object was to describe psychometric properties of the Brief PREPARED (B-PREPARED) instrument to measure preparedness for hospital discharge from the patient's perspective. The study was a prospective cohort of 460 patient or proxy telephone interviews following hospital discharge home. We administered the Satisfaction with Information about Medicines Scale and the PREPARED instrument 1 week after discharge. PREPARED measured patients' perceptions of quality and outcome of the discharge-planning processes. Four weeks after discharge, interviewers elicited emergency department visits. The main outcome was the B-PREPARED scale value: the sum of scores from 11 items. Internal consistency, construct, and predictive validity were assessed. : The mean B-PREPARED scale value was 17.3 +/- 4.2 (SD) with a range of 3 to 22. High scores reflected high preparedness. Principal component analysis identified 3 domains: self-care information, equipment/services, and confidence. The B-PREPARED had acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.76) and construct validity. The B-PREPARED correlated with medication information satisfaction (P < 0.001). Higher median B-PREPARED scores appropriately discriminated patients with no worry about managing at home from worriers (P < 0.001) and predicted patients without emergency department visits after discharge from those who had visits (P = 0.011). The B-PREPARED scale measured patients' perceptions of their preparedness for hospital discharge home with acceptable internal consistency and construct and predictive validity. Brevity may potentiate use by patients and proxies. Clinicians and researchers may use B-PREPARED to evaluate discharge interventions. (c) 2008 Society of Hospital

  20. Swedish Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (SAAQ): a psychometric evaluation.

    PubMed

    Lundgren, Tobias; Parling, Thomas

    2017-06-01

    Psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance are equivalent (with somewhat different connotations) concepts and refer to an unwillingness to remain in contact with particular private events. This concept is most often measured by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) and is strongly related to psychopathology and behavioral effectiveness. In this study, the preliminary psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the AAQ-II (Swedish Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-SAAQ) are presented. The study is done in two steps. In the first step, the 10-item version of the AAQ-II is investigated through principal component analysis (n = 147). Secondly, due to problems with the component structure, the instrument is reduced to a six-item version and its validity and internal consistency are investigated (n = 154). The six-item version shows good concurrent and convergent validity as well as satisfying internal consistency (α = .85). Furthermore, the Swedish six-item version of the AAQ-II showed one strong component. Test-retest reliability was satisfactory (r = .80; n = 228). In future research, predictive and external validity would be important to investigate in order to further ensure that the SAAQ is a useful measure for clinical research. In conclusion, the SAAQ has satisfactory psychometric properties, but more data need to be gathered to further explore the possibilities for the instruments in Swedish contexts.

  1. Effects of azimuth-symmetric acceptance cutoffs on the measured asymmetry in unpolarized Drell-Yan fixed-target experiments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bianconi, A.; Bussa, M. P.; Destefanis, M.; Ferrero, L.; Greco, M.; Maggiora, M.; Spataro, S.

    2013-04-01

    Fixed-target unpolarized Drell-Yan experiments often feature an acceptance depending on the polar angle of the lepton tracks in the laboratory frame. Typically leptons are detected in a defined angular range, with a dead zone in the forward region. If the cutoffs imposed by the angular acceptance are independent of the azimuth, at first sight they do not appear dangerous for a measurement of the cos(2 φ) asymmetry, which is relevant because of its association with the violation of the Lam-Tung rule and with the Boer-Mulders function. On the contrary, direct simulations show that up to 10 percent asymmetries are produced by these cutoffs. These artificial asymmetries present qualitative features that allow them to mimic the physical ones. They introduce some model dependence in the measurements of the cos(2 φ) asymmetry, since a precise reconstruction of the acceptance in the Collins-Soper frame requires a Monte Carlo simulation, that in turn requires some detailed physical input to generate event distributions. Although experiments in the eighties seem to have been aware of this problem, the possibility of using the Boer-Mulders function as an input parameter in the extraction of transversity has much increased the requirements of precision on this measurement. Our simulations show that the safest approach to these measurements is a strong cutoff on the Collins-Soper polar angle. This reduces statistics, but does not necessarily decrease the precision in a measurement of the Boer-Mulders function.

  2. Measurement properties of asthma-specific quality-of-life measures: protocol for a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Apfelbacher, Christian; Paudyal, Priya; Bülbül, Alpaslan; Smith, Helen

    2014-07-24

    Asthma is a frequent chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, and the assessment of health-related quality of life (HrQoL) is important in both research and routine care. Various asthma-specific measures of HrQoL exist but there is uncertainty which measures are best suited for use in research and routine care. Therefore, the aim of the proposed research is a comprehensive systematic assessment of the measurement properties of the existing measures that were developed to measure asthma-specific quality of life. This study is a systematic review of the measurement properties of asthma-specific measures of health-related quality of life. PubMed and Embase will be searched using a selection of relevant search terms. Eligible studies will be primary empirical studies evaluating, describing or comparing measurement properties of asthma-specific HRQL tools. Eligibility assessment and data abstraction will be performed independently by two reviewers. Evidence tables will be generated for study characteristics, instrument characteristics, measurement properties and interpretability. The quality of the measurement properties will be assessed using predefined criteria. Methodological quality of studies will be assessed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. A best evidence synthesis will be undertaken if more than one study have investigated a particular measurement property. The proposed systematic review will produce a comprehensive assessment of measurement properties of existing measures of asthma-specific health-related quality of life. We also aim to derive recommendations in order to help researchers and practitioners alike in the choice of instrument. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42014010491.

  3. Measurement properties of tools measuring mental health knowledge: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Wei, Yifeng; McGrath, Patrick J; Hayden, Jill; Kutcher, Stan

    2016-08-23

    Mental health literacy has received great attention recently to improve mental health knowledge, decrease stigma and enhance help-seeking behaviors. We conducted a systematic review to critically appraise the qualities of studies evaluating the measurement properties of mental health knowledge tools and the quality of included measurement properties. We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and ERIC for studies addressing psychometrics of mental health knowledge tools and published in English. We applied the COSMIN checklist to assess the methodological quality of each study as "excellent", "good", "fair", or "indeterminate". We ranked the level of evidence of the overall quality of each measurement property across studies as "strong", "moderate", "limited", "conflicting", or "unknown". We identified 16 mental health knowledge tools in 17 studies, addressing reliability, validity, responsiveness or measurement errors. The methodological quality of included studies ranged from "poor" to "excellent" including 6 studies addressing the content validity, internal consistency or structural validity demonstrating "excellent" quality. We found strong evidence of the content validity or internal consistency of 6 tools; moderate evidence of the internal consistency, the content validity or the reliability of 8 tools; and limited evidence of the reliability, the structural validity, the criterion validity, or the construct validity of 12 tools. Both the methodological qualities of included studies and the overall evidence of measurement properties are mixed. Based on the current evidence, we recommend that researchers consider using tools with measurement properties of strong or moderate evidence that also reached the threshold for positive ratings according to COSMIN checklist.

  4. 39 CFR 777.51 - Acceptance of donations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Acceptance of donations. 777.51 Section 777.51... ACQUISITION POLICIES Donations § 777.51 Acceptance of donations. Nothing in these regulations shall prevent a person from making a gift or donation of real property or any part thereof, or any interest therein, or...

  5. 39 CFR 777.51 - Acceptance of donations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Acceptance of donations. 777.51 Section 777.51... ACQUISITION POLICIES Donations § 777.51 Acceptance of donations. Nothing in these regulations shall prevent a person from making a gift or donation of real property or any part thereof, or any interest therein, or...

  6. 39 CFR 777.51 - Acceptance of donations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Acceptance of donations. 777.51 Section 777.51... ACQUISITION POLICIES Donations § 777.51 Acceptance of donations. Nothing in these regulations shall prevent a person from making a gift or donation of real property or any part thereof, or any interest therein, or...

  7. 39 CFR 777.51 - Acceptance of donations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Acceptance of donations. 777.51 Section 777.51... ACQUISITION POLICIES Donations § 777.51 Acceptance of donations. Nothing in these regulations shall prevent a person from making a gift or donation of real property or any part thereof, or any interest therein, or...

  8. 39 CFR 777.51 - Acceptance of donations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Acceptance of donations. 777.51 Section 777.51... ACQUISITION POLICIES Donations § 777.51 Acceptance of donations. Nothing in these regulations shall prevent a person from making a gift or donation of real property or any part thereof, or any interest therein, or...

  9. The Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS-62): Acceptance, feasibility, and initial psychometric properties in a UK student population.

    PubMed

    Broglia, Emma; Millings, Abigail; Barkham, Michael

    2017-09-01

    The burden and severity of student mental health continue to increase in parallel with increasing financial pressures on students and services alike. There is a need for a student-specific measure of distress that acknowledges their unique context. This study examined the feasibility, acceptance, and initial psychometric properties of a US measure, the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS), in a UK student sample. A sample of 294 UK help-seeking students from two universities completed the CCAPS-62 and Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE-10) as a comparator. The factor solution and reliability of the CCAPS-62 were examined. Correlations and clinical boundaries were determined between the CCAPS-62 subscales and CORE-10, and comparisons were made with US published norms. The CCAPS-62 demonstrated a strong factor solution that matched the intended subscales. All subscales had good reliability and correlated significantly with the CORE-10. The agreement on caseness between the two measures was 92.8% with 86.3% reaching clinical threshold on both the CCAPS-62 and CORE-10. Severity was most noticeable for academic distress, depression, anxiety, and social anxiety. Compared to US data, UK students showed higher clinical severity for all psychological symptoms. The CCAPS-62 is a reliable and psychometrically valid assessment measure to use with UK students without revision. The overall distress indicated is similar to that of the CORE-10, but the individual subscales are more informative of specific student concerns including academic distress, social anxiety, and substance abuse. Potential benefits of administering a student-focused assessment measure in student counselling services are discussed. University students attending counselling in the UK demonstrate clinical severity for academic distress, depression, anxiety, and social anxiety. Compared to university students in the US, UK students present with higher clinical severity on

  10. Thermophysical Property Measurements in the MSFC ESL

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hyers, R. W.; Rogers, J. R.; Robinson, M. B.; Rathz, T. J.; Curreri, Peter A. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Electrostatic Levitation (ESL) is an advanced technique for containerless processing of metals, ceramics, and semiconductors. Because no container is required, there is no contamination from reaction with a crucible, allowing processing of high temperature, highly reactive melts. The high vacuum processing environment further reduces possible contamination of the samples. Finally, there is no container to provide heterogeneous nucleation sites, so the undercooled range is also accessible for many materials. For these reasons, ESL provides a unique environment for measuring thermophysical properties of liquid materials. The properties that can be measured in ESL include density, surface tension, viscosity, electrical and thermal conductivity, specific heat, phase diagram, TTT- and CCT- curves, and other thermodynamic properties. In this paper, we present data on surface tension and viscosity, measured by the oscillating drop technique, and density, measured by an automated photographic technique, measured in the ESL at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

  11. Measurements of consumer attitudes and their influence on food choice and acceptability (AIR-CAT).

    PubMed

    Risvik, E; Issanchou, S; Shepherd, R; Tuorila, H

    2001-08-01

    A changing European food market demands insight into consumer attitudes and their influence on food choice and acceptability. This multidisciplinary area needs to bring together scientists from all regions of Europe and with very different scientific backgrounds. The primary objectives of this concerted action have been: to establish a base with state of the art methods for measurements of consumer attitudes; to review and test existing methods in practical applications in collaboration with European food industries; to perform comparative studies between laboratories on food products, where attitudes play different roles for consumer behaviour in the community countries, such as transgenic foods, irradiated foods, foods with different additives, declarations and process technologies, foods with different origin declarations, ecological foods and foods with strong health connotations (such as high-fat foods). The members of the action have published more than 130 publications related to aspects of how consumer attitudes can be measured and how food choice behaviour is related to acceptability, during the last four years. Studies have been conducted in relation to methodological aspects as well as particular studies related to specific food items and regions for food production. The paper will give a brief selection of relevant results from experiments reported through the action. During 2001 a textbook called "Food, People and Society, in a European Perspective", will be published. The book was initiated during the action and is later supported with additional authors. Altogether 29 chapters will cover the whole spectrum of topics from consumer food choice and acceptability to market perspectives and risk analysis.

  12. Mass properties measurement system dynamics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Doty, Keith L.

    1993-01-01

    The MPMS mechanism possess two revolute degrees-of-freedom and allows the user to measure the mass, center of gravity, and the inertia tensor of an unknown mass. The dynamics of the Mass Properties Measurement System (MPMS) from the Lagrangian approach to illustrate the dependency of the motion on the unknown parameters.

  13. A systematic review of the psychometric properties of self-report research utilization measures used in healthcare

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background In healthcare, a gap exists between what is known from research and what is practiced. Understanding this gap depends upon our ability to robustly measure research utilization. Objectives The objectives of this systematic review were: to identify self-report measures of research utilization used in healthcare, and to assess the psychometric properties (acceptability, reliability, and validity) of these measures. Methods We conducted a systematic review of literature reporting use or development of self-report research utilization measures. Our search included: multiple databases, ancestry searches, and a hand search. Acceptability was assessed by examining time to complete the measure and missing data rates. Our approach to reliability and validity assessment followed that outlined in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Results Of 42,770 titles screened, 97 original studies (108 articles) were included in this review. The 97 studies reported on the use or development of 60 unique self-report research utilization measures. Seven of the measures were assessed in more than one study. Study samples consisted of healthcare providers (92 studies) and healthcare decision makers (5 studies). No studies reported data on acceptability of the measures. Reliability was reported in 32 (33%) of the studies, representing 13 of the 60 measures. Internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha) reliability was reported in 31 studies; values exceeded 0.70 in 29 studies. Test-retest reliability was reported in 3 studies with Pearson's r coefficients > 0.80. No validity information was reported for 12 of the 60 measures. The remaining 48 measures were classified into a three-level validity hierarchy according to the number of validity sources reported in 50% or more of the studies using the measure. Level one measures (n = 6) reported evidence from any three (out of four possible) Standards validity sources (which, in the case of single item measures, was all

  14. Advanced Ceramics Property and Performance Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jenkins, Michael; Salem, Jonathan; Helfinstine, John; Quinn, George; Gonczy, Stephen

    2015-01-01

    Mechanical and physical properties of ceramic bodies can be difficult to measure correctly unless the proper techniques are used. The Advanced Ceramics Committee of ASTM, C-28, has developed dozens of consensus test standards and practices to measure various properties of a ceramic monolith, composite, or coating. The standards give the what, how, how not, and why for measurement of many mechanical, physical, thermal, and performance properties. Using these standards will provide accurate, reliable, and complete data for rigorous comparisons with other test results from your test lab, or another. The C-28 Committee has involved academics, producers, and users of ceramics to write and continually update more than 45 standards since the committees inception in 1986. Included in this poster is a pictogram of the C-28 standards and information on how to obtain individual copies with full details or the complete collection of all of the standards in one volume.

  15. Optical property measurement from layered biological media

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muller, Matthew R.

    1998-12-01

    Near infrared (NIR) photon reflectance spectroscopy is applied to measurement of blood concentration and its oxygen saturation within biological tissue. The measurement relies upon the changes in photon absorption of hemoglobin in the tissue as changes occur in the hemoglobin concentration and oxygen content. In the present study, NIR light is introduced at the skin surface and the optical properties (absorption and scattering) within the underlying tissue are determined from the resulting surface reflectance. Typically the tissue is modeled as a homogeneous mixture of bloodless tissue and blood, and the model incorporates the physical relationship between the surface reflectance and the optical properties of the tissue. The skin and underlying tissue, although heterogeneous, have a characteristic layered structure. These layers can be differentiated optically. The modeling and the inverse problem of measuring the optical properties in each of the tissue layers from the surface reflectance have been the subject of much attention by a number of investigators. Nonetheless, quantification of the relationship between surface reflectance and the optical properties of layered tissue has not been well understood nor well described. In the forward problem, tissue optical properties yield surface reflectance profiles (SRPs). Surface reflectance profiles, or SRPs, from diffusive media consisting of two layers are calculated using numerical solutions to the Boltzmann equation. Experimental SRPs are also measured in vitro from a test medium and in vivo from the calf of human subjects. This study provides a new approach to solving the inverse problem of determining optical properties from SRPs. To solve the inverse problem, an effective diffusion constant (Ke) is determined for the layered media. The Ke is the diffusion constant of an equivalent homogeneous medium which best fits the SRP of the layered medium. The departure from Ke of the SRP for a layered media is captured

  16. Effect of addition of thermally modified cowpea protein on sensory acceptability and textural properties of wheat bread and sponge cake.

    PubMed

    Campbell, Lydia; Euston, Stephen R; Ahmed, Mohamed A

    2016-03-01

    This paper investigates the sensory acceptability and textural properties of leavened wheat bread and sponge cake fortified with cow protein isolates that had been denatured and glycated by thermal treatment. Defatted cowpea flour was prepared from cow pea beans and the protein isolate was prepared (CPI) and thermally denatured (DCPI). To prepare glycated cowpea protein isolate (GCPI) the cowpea flour slurry was heat treated before isolation of the protein. CPI was more susceptible to thermal denaturation than GCPI as determined by turbidity and sulphydryl groups resulting in greater loss of solubility. This is attributed to the higher glycation degree and higher carbohydrate content of GCPI as demonstrated by glycoprotein staining of SDS PAGE gels. Water absorption of bread dough was significantly enhanced by DCPI and to a larger extent GCPI compared to the control, resulting in softer texture. CPI resulted in significantly increased crumb hardness in baked bread than the control whereas DCPI or GCPI resulted in significantly softer crumb. Bread fortified with 4% DCPI or GCPI was similar to control as regards sensory and textural properties whereas 4% CPI was significantly different, limiting its inclusion level to 2%. There was a trend for higher sensory acceptability scores for GCPI containing bread compared DCPI. Whole egg was replaced by 20% by GCPI (3.5%) in sponge cake without affecting the sensory acceptability, whereas CPI and DCPI supplemented cakes were significantly different than the control. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Satellite measurements of physical properties of Saharan dust

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, Tae Young; Fraser, Robert S.; Kaufman, Yoram

    1986-01-01

    The physical properties of Saharan dust obtained from AVHRR and VISSR images are studied. The techniques of Fraser (1976) and Kaufman and Fraser (1985) are used to derive the aerosol optical depth, mass, and single scattering albedo for the region extending from the west coast of Africa to the Barbados Island for the period of June 21-25, 1984. Optical properties measured by satellite are compared to aircraft measurements taken near Barbados Island during the same period. Remote measurement of thermal properties is also discussed.

  18. Assessment of respondent acceptability of preference measures: discriminatory power of graphic positioning scale versus traditional scaling measures.

    PubMed

    Franic, Duska M; Pathak, Dev S

    2003-01-01

    The objective of this study was to compare discriminatory power of two different measures-graphic positioning scale (GPS) versus traditional scale (TS)-in assessing respondent acceptability of three preference measures: visual analog scale (VAS), standard gamble (SG), and willingness to pay (WTP). Two face-to-face interviews were conducted at least 1 week apart in a convenience sample of women aged 22 to 50 years with no history of breast cancer or cancer requiring chemotherapy. Study participation required completion of two surveys: one evaluating health preferences for an acute condition (chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting) and one evaluating a chronic condition (breast cancer). Data were collected from March 2000 to June 2000 at Ohio State University. Respondents were randomized to either GPS or TS surveys. Data analysis was a two-step process. First, a four-way multivariate repeated-measures analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to assess respondent acceptability of three-preference metrics-VAS, SG, and WTP-in health-care decision making. Each of the four dependent variables, difficulty, clarity, reasonableness, and comfort in use in decision making, was measured on 9-point Likert scale. Second, a mixed design univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed for each dependent variable to optimize MANOVA analysis. Univariate ANOVAs, 2 x (2 x 3), were composed of three independent variables: assessment (GPS/TS), condition (acute and chronic), and preferences (VAS, SG, WTP). Of 126 respondents, 119 were usable and complete. MANOVA results showed (P <.05) for two main effects, condition (F4,114 = 6.375) and preferences (F8,110 = 9.290), and two significant interactions, condition x assessment (F4,114 = 3.421) and condition x preferences (F8,110 = 2.087). GPS has higher discriminatory power than TS in assessing respondent attitudes toward health preference measures. Results showed that respondents had more difficulty and less comfort when making

  19. Measurement properties of continuous text reading performance tests.

    PubMed

    Brussee, Tamara; van Nispen, Ruth M A; van Rens, Ger H M B

    2014-11-01

    Measurement properties of tests to assess reading acuity or reading performance have not been extensively evaluated. This study aims to provide an overview of the literature on available continuous text reading tests and their measurement properties. A literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase and PsycInfo. Subsequently, information on design and content of reading tests, study design and measurement properties were extracted using consensus-based standards for selection of health measurement instruments. Quality of studies, reading tests and measurement properties were systematically assessed using pre-specified criteria. From 2334 identified articles, 20 relevant articles were found on measurement properties of three reading tests in various languages: IReST, MNread Reading Test and Radner Reading Charts. All three reading tests scored high on content validity. Reproducibility studies (repeated measurements between different testing sessions) of the IReST and MNread of commercially available reading tests in different languages were missing. The IReST scored best on inter-language comparison, the MNread scored well in repeatability studies (repeated measurements under the same conditions) and the Radner showed good reproducibility in studies. Although in daily practice there are other continuous text reading tests available meeting the criteria of this review, measurement properties were described in scientific studies for only three of them. Of the few available studies, the quality and content of study design and methodology used varied. For testing existing reading tests and the development of new ones, for example in other languages, we make several recommendations, including careful description of patient characteristics, use of objective and subjective lighting levels, good control of working distance, documentation of the number of raters and their training, careful documentation of scoring rules and the use of Bland-Altman analyses or similar for

  20. Translation and validation of the Malay Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale.

    PubMed

    Swami, Viren

    2010-09-01

    The present study examined the psychometric properties of a Malay translation of the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale (ACSS; Henderson-King & Henderson-King, 2005). A total of 373 Malaysian women completed the ACSS along with measures of ideal-actual weight discrepancy, body appreciation, sociocultural attitudes toward appearance, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and demographics. Results showed that the Malay ACSS was best reduced to a two-factor solution, although an overall score of all 15 ACSS items showed the highest internal consistency. Results also showed that this overall score had good discriminant and divergent validity. It is expected that the availability of a Malay version of the ACSS will stimulate cross-cultural research on the acceptance of cosmetic surgery. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Peace, Equanimity, and Acceptance in the Cancer Experience (PEACE): Validation of a scale to assess acceptance and struggle with terminal illness

    PubMed Central

    Mack, Jennifer W.; Nilsson, Matthew; Balboni, Tracy; Friedlander, Robert J.; Block, Susan D.; Trice, Elizabeth; Prigerson, Holly G.

    2013-01-01

    Objectives The role of emotional acceptance of a terminal illness in end-of-life (EOL) care is not known. We developed a measure of peaceful acceptance at the EOL, and evaluated the role of peaceful acceptance in EOL decision-making and care. Methods We developed the Peace, Equanimity, and Acceptance in the Cancer Experience (PEACE) questionnaire to measure the extent to which patients with advanced cancer feel a sense of peaceful acceptance of their terminal illness. The scale was administered to 160 advanced cancer patients along with measures of other attributes hypothesized to be related to acceptance, including cognitive acceptance of terminal illness. EOL outcomes in 56 patients who died during the study were also examined. Results The 12-item PEACE questionnaire had two subscales: a 7-item Struggle with Illness (Cronbach's α =.81) and a 5-item Peaceful Acceptance (α = .78) subscale. Both subscales were associated with patients’ self-reported peacefulness (r=.66 for acceptance, P<.0001; r=−.37 for struggle, P<.0001.) Struggle with Illness scores were associated with cognitive terminal illness acknowledgement (mean scores 14.9 versus 12.4, P=.001) and some aspects of advance care planning (living will or health care proxy, mean scores 13.9 versus 11.5, P=.02). In addition, among patients who had died, use of a feeding tube at the EOL was inversely associated with Peaceful Acceptance (P=.015). Conclusion The PEACE questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure of Peaceful Acceptance and Struggle with Illness. Scores are associated with some choices for EOL care among patients with advanced cancer. PMID:18429006

  2. Self-Reported Acceptance of Social Anxiety Symptoms: Development and Validation of the Social Anxiety-Acceptance and Action Questionnaire

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacKenzie, Meagan B.; Kocovski, Nancy L.

    2010-01-01

    Mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions have been used in social anxiety treatments with initial success. Further research requires the psychometrically sound measurement of mechanisms of change associated with these treatments. This research was conducted to develop and evaluate such a measure, the Social Anxiety-Acceptance and Action…

  3. 45 CFR 2544.150 - How will accepted donations be recorded and used?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false How will accepted donations be recorded and used... FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS § 2544.150 How will accepted donations be recorded and used? (a) All accepted donations of money and other property will be...

  4. 45 CFR 2544.150 - How will accepted donations be recorded and used?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false How will accepted donations be recorded and used... FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS § 2544.150 How will accepted donations be recorded and used? (a) All accepted donations of money and other property will be...

  5. 45 CFR 2544.150 - How will accepted donations be recorded and used?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false How will accepted donations be recorded and used... FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS § 2544.150 How will accepted donations be recorded and used? (a) All accepted donations of money and other property will be...

  6. 45 CFR 2544.150 - How will accepted donations be recorded and used?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false How will accepted donations be recorded and used... FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS § 2544.150 How will accepted donations be recorded and used? (a) All accepted donations of money and other property will be...

  7. 45 CFR 2544.150 - How will accepted donations be recorded and used?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false How will accepted donations be recorded and used... FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS § 2544.150 How will accepted donations be recorded and used? (a) All accepted donations of money and other property will be...

  8. 41 CFR 102-38.290 - What types of payment may we accept?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false What types of payment... PROPERTY Completion of Sale Payments § 102-38.290 What types of payment may we accept? You must adopt a payment policy that protects the Government against fraud. Acceptable payments include, but are not...

  9. Determining Gravitational Attraction by Mass Property Measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Swank, Aaron J.; Sun, Ke-Xun; DeBra, Dan

    2006-11-01

    The acceleration generated by the gradient of the mass attraction field between the spacecraft and proof mass is one parameter critical to drag-free performance. The gravitational self-attraction properties between two distributed bodies is characterized by the mass, mass center and moment of inertia for each body. Mass property measurements can therefore be used to indirectly measure the mass attraction properties. Since the ultimate goal is to demonstrate the ability to predict the system gravitational mass attraction force and force gradients to a precision below that of the LISA requirements, the corresponding properties of mass, mass center, and moment of inertia must be precisely determined for the proof mass and satellite components. This work introduces a new method for measuring the moment of inertia using a novel five-wire torsion pendulum, which reduces errors due to translational degrees of freedom. The five-wire pendulum is integrated with optical angular sensing using diffraction grating angular magnification to provide a sensor with both a large dynamic range and high resolution.

  10. Addressing the Lack of Measurement Invariance for the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wagler, Amy; Wagler, Ron

    2013-09-01

    The Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) was constructed to be a single-factor instrument that assesses an individual's overall acceptance of evolutionary theory. The MATE was validated and the scores resulting from the MATE were found to be reliable for the population of inservice high school biology teachers. However, many studies have utilized the MATE for different populations, such as university students enrolled in a biology or genetics course, high school students, and preservice teachers. This is problematic because the dimensionality and reliability of the MATE may not be consistent across populations. It is not uncommon in science education research to find examples where scales are applied to novel populations without proper assessment of the validity and reliability. In order to illustrate this issue, a case study is presented where the dimensionality of the MATE is evaluated for a population of non-science major preservice elementary teachers. With this objective in mind, factor analytic and item response models are fit to the observed data to provide evidence for or against a one-dimensional latent structure and to detect which items do not conform to the theoretical construct for this population. The results of this study call into question any findings and conclusions made using the MATE for a Hispanic population of preservice teachers and point out the error of assuming invariance across substantively different populations.

  11. Measurement properties of existing clinical assessment methods evaluating scapular positioning and function. A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Larsen, Camilla Marie; Juul-Kristensen, Birgit; Lund, Hans; Søgaard, Karen

    2014-10-01

    The aims were to compile a schematic overview of clinical scapular assessment methods and critically appraise the methodological quality of the involved studies. A systematic, computer-assisted literature search using Medline, CINAHL, SportDiscus and EMBASE was performed from inception to October 2013. Reference lists in articles were also screened for publications. From 50 articles, 54 method names were identified and categorized into three groups: (1) Static positioning assessment (n = 19); (2) Semi-dynamic (n = 13); and (3) Dynamic functional assessment (n = 22). Fifteen studies were excluded for evaluation due to no/few clinimetric results, leaving 35 studies for evaluation. Graded according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN checklist), the methodological quality in the reliability and validity domains was "fair" (57%) to "poor" (43%), with only one study rated as "good". The reliability domain was most often investigated. Few of the assessment methods in the included studies that had "fair" or "good" measurement property ratings demonstrated acceptable results for both reliability and validity. We found a substantially larger number of clinical scapular assessment methods than previously reported. Using the COSMIN checklist the methodological quality of the included measurement properties in the reliability and validity domains were in general "fair" to "poor". None were examined for all three domains: (1) reliability; (2) validity; and (3) responsiveness. Observational evaluation systems and assessment of scapular upward rotation seem suitably evidence-based for clinical use. Future studies should test and improve the clinimetric properties, and especially diagnostic accuracy and responsiveness, to increase utility for clinical practice.

  12. Multi-Wavelength Measurement of Soot Optical Properties: Influence of Non-Absorbing Coatings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Freedman, Andrew; Renbaum-Wollf, Lindsay; Forestieri, Sara; Lambe, Andrew; Cappa, Christopher; Davidovits, Paul; Onasch, Timothy

    2015-04-01

    Soot, a product of incomplete combustion, plays an important role in the earth's climate system through the absorption and scattering of solar radiation. Important in quantifying the direct radiative impacts of soot in climate models, and specifically of black carbon (BC), is the assumed BC refractive index and shape-dependent interaction of light with BC particles. The latter assumption carries significant uncertainty because BC particles are fractal-like, being agglomerates of smaller (20-40 nm) spherules, yet many optical models such as Mie theory in particular, typically assume a spherical particle morphology. It remains unclear under what conditions this is an acceptable assumption. To investigate the ability of various optical models to reproduce observed BC optical properties, we obtained measurements of light absorption, scattering and extinction coefficients and thus single scattering albedo (SSA) of size-resolved soot particles. Measurements were made on denuded soot particles produced using both methane and ethylene as fuels. In addition, these soot particles were coated with dioctyl sebacate or sulfuric acid and the enhancement in the apparent mass absorption coefficient determined. Extinction and absorption were measured using a dual cavity ringdown photoacoustic spectrometer (CRD-PAS) at 405 nm and 532 nm. Scattering and extinction were measured using a CAPS PMssa single scattering albedo monitor (Aerodyne) at 630 nm. Soot particle mass was quantified using a centrifugal particle mass analyzer (CPMA, Cambustion), mobility size with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS, TSI) and soot concentration with a CPC (Brechtel). The results will be interpreted in light of both Mie theory which assumes spherical and uniform particles and Rayleigh-Debye-Gans (RDG) theory, which assumes that the absorption properties of soot are dictated by the individual spherules. For denuded soot, effective refractive indices will be determined.

  13. W-Band Transmission MeasurementS and X-Band Dielectric Properties Measurements for a Radome Material Sample

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cravey, Robin L.; Tiemsin, Pacita I.

    1997-01-01

    This paper describes measurements which were performed on a sample of radome material in the Electromagnetic Properties Measurements Laboratory (EPML). The purpose of the measurements described in this paper was to determine the one-way transmission loss through the flat panel of radome material for a frequency range of 84 to 94 GHz, for varying incidence angles. The panel, which was manufactured by Norton Performance Plastics Corporation, was provided to the EPML by TRW. The size of the panel is 40 in x 36 in x 0.422 in and consists of a foam material with one side coated with a smooth white coating (this side will be referred to as the front side). The dielectric properties of the foam material from the inside of the panel were also determined at X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz). The W-band free space measurements are presented first, followed by the X-band dielectric properties measurements.

  14. Property-Based Software Engineering Measurement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Briand, Lionel C.; Morasca, Sandro; Basili, Victor R.

    1997-01-01

    Little theory exists in the field of software system measurement. Concepts such as complexity, coupling, cohesion or even size are very often subject to interpretation and appear to have inconsistent definitions in the literature. As a consequence, there is little guidance provided to the analyst attempting to define proper measures for specific problems. Many controversies in the literature are simply misunderstandings and stem from the fact that some people talk about different measurement concepts under the same label (complexity is the most common case). There is a need to define unambiguously the most important measurement concepts used in the measurement of software products. One way of doing so is to define precisely what mathematical properties characterize these concepts, regardless of the specific software artifacts to which these concepts are applied. Such a mathematical framework could generate a consensus in the software engineering community and provide a means for better communication among researchers, better guidelines for analysts, and better evaluation methods for commercial static analyzers for practitioners. In this paper, we propose a mathematical framework which is generic, because it is not specific to any particular software artifact and rigorous, because it is based on precise mathematical concepts. We use this framework to propose definitions of several important measurement concepts (size, length, complexity, cohesion, coupling). It does not intend to be complete or fully objective; other frameworks could have been proposed and different choices could have been made. However, we believe that the formalisms and properties we introduce are convenient and intuitive. This framework contributes constructively to a firmer theoretical ground of software measurement.

  15. [Measurement properties of self-report questionnaires published in Korean nursing journals].

    PubMed

    Lee, Eun-Hyun; Kim, Chun-Ja; Kim, Eun Jung; Chae, Hyun-Ju; Cho, Soo-Yeon

    2013-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate measurement properties of self-report questionnaires for studies published in Korean nursing journals. Of 424 Korean nursing articles initially identified, 168 articles met the inclusion criteria. The methodological quality of the measurements used in the studies and interpretability were assessed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. It consists of items on internal consistency, reliability, measurement error, content validity, construct validity including structural validity, hypothesis testing, cross-cultural validity, and criterion validity, and responsiveness. For each item of the COSMIN checklist, measurement properties are rated on a four-point scale: excellent, good, fair, and poor. Each measurement property is scored with worst score counts. All articles used the classical test theory for measurement properties. Internal consistency (72.6%), construct validity (56.5%), and content validity (38.2%) were most frequently reported properties being rated as 'excellent' by COSMIN checklist, whereas other measurement properties were rarely reported. A systematic review of measurement properties including interpretability of most instruments warrants further research and nursing-focused checklists assessing measurement properties should be developed to facilitate intervention outcomes across Korean studies.

  16. 24 CFR 200.926c - Model code provisions for use in partially accepted code jurisdictions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... Minimum Property Standards § 200.926c Model code provisions for use in partially accepted code... partially accepted, then the properties eligible for HUD benefits in that jurisdiction shall be constructed..., those portions of one of the model codes with which the property must comply. Schedule for Model Code...

  17. 24 CFR 200.926c - Model code provisions for use in partially accepted code jurisdictions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... Minimum Property Standards § 200.926c Model code provisions for use in partially accepted code... partially accepted, then the properties eligible for HUD benefits in that jurisdiction shall be constructed..., those portions of one of the model codes with which the property must comply. Schedule for Model Code...

  18. Measuring the Acceptance of Evolutionary Theory in Texas 2-Year Colleges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Jack; Scott, Joyce A.

    2016-01-01

    Evolutionary theory is the central unifying theory of the life sciences. However, acceptance and understanding of the theory have been found to be lacking in the general public, high school, and university populations. Prior research has linked low acceptance of the theory to a poor knowledge base in evolution, to the nature of science, and to…

  19. Peace, Equanimity, and Acceptance in the Cancer Experience (PEACE): validation of a scale to assess acceptance and struggle with terminal illness.

    PubMed

    Mack, Jennifer W; Nilsson, Matthew; Balboni, Tracy; Friedlander, Robert J; Block, Susan D; Trice, Elizabeth; Prigerson, Holly G

    2008-06-01

    The role of emotional acceptance of a terminal illness in end-of-life (EOL) care is not known. The authors developed a measure of peaceful acceptance at the EOL, and evaluated the role of peaceful acceptance in EOL decision-making and care. The authors developed the Peace, Equanimity, and Acceptance in the Cancer Experience (PEACE) questionnaire to measure the extent to which patients with advanced cancer have a sense of peaceful acceptance of their terminal illness. The scale was administered to 160 patients with advanced cancer along with measures of other attributes that hypothetically are related to acceptance, including cognitive acceptance of terminal illness. EOL outcomes in 56 patients who died during the study also were examined. The 12-item PEACE questionnaire had 2 subscales: a 7-item Struggle With Illness subscale (Cronbach alpha = .81) and a 5-item Peaceful Acceptance subscale (alpha = .78). Both subscales were associated with patients' self-reported peacefulness (correlation coefficient [r] = 0.66 for acceptance [P <.0001]; r = -0.37 for struggle [P < .0001]). Struggle With Illness scores were associated with cognitive terminal illness acknowledgment (mean scores, 14.9 vs 12.4 for patients who were not aware that their illness was terminal; P = .001) and with some aspects of advance care planning (living will or healthcare proxy: mean scores, 13.9 vs 11.5; P = .02). In addition, among patients who had died, the use of a feeding tube at the EOL was associated inversely with Peaceful Acceptance (P = .015). The current study indicated that the PEACE questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure of peaceful acceptance and struggle with illness. Scores were associated with some choices for EOL care among patients with advanced cancer. (c) 2008 American Cancer Society.

  20. Property-Based Software Engineering Measurement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Briand, Lionel; Morasca, Sandro; Basili, Victor R.

    1995-01-01

    Little theory exists in the field of software system measurement. Concepts such as complexity, coupling, cohesion or even size are very often subject to interpretation and appear to have inconsistent definitions in the literature. As a consequence, there is little guidance provided to the analyst attempting to define proper measures for specific problems. Many controversies in the literature are simply misunderstandings and stem from the fact that some people talk about different measurement concepts under the same label (complexity is the most common case). There is a need to define unambiguously the most important measurement concepts used in the measurement of software products. One way of doing so is to define precisely what mathematical properties characterize these concepts regardless of the specific software artifacts to which these concepts are applied. Such a mathematical framework could generate a consensus in the software engineering community and provide a means for better communication among researchers, better guidelines for analysis, and better evaluation methods for commercial static analyzers for practitioners. In this paper, we propose a mathematical framework which is generic, because it is not specific to any particular software artifact, and rigorous, because it is based on precise mathematical concepts. This framework defines several important measurement concepts (size, length, complexity, cohesion, coupling). It is not intended to be complete or fully objective; other frameworks could have been proposed and different choices could have been made. However, we believe that the formalism and properties we introduce are convenient and intuitive. In addition, we have reviewed the literature on this subject and compared it with our work. This framework contributes constructively to a firmer theoretical ground of software measurement.

  1. Cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties testing of the Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale (Icon-FES).

    PubMed

    Franco, Marcia Rodrigues; Pinto, Rafael Zambelli; Delbaere, Kim; Eto, Bianca Yumie; Faria, Maíra Sgobbi; Aoyagi, Giovana Ayumi; Steffens, Daniel; Pastre, Carlos Marcelo

    2018-02-14

    The Iconographical Falls Efficacy Scale (Icon-FES) is an innovative tool to assess concern of falling that uses pictures as visual cues to provide more complete environmental contexts. Advantages of Icon-FES over previous scales include the addition of more demanding balance-related activities, ability to assess concern about falling in highly functioning older people, and its normal distribution. To perform a cross-cultural adaptation and to assess the measurement properties of the 30-item and 10-item Icon-FES in a community-dwelling Brazilian older population. The cross-cultural adaptation followed the recommendations of international guidelines. We evaluated the measurement properties (i.e. internal consistency, test-retest reproducibility, standard error of the measurement, minimal detectable change, construct validity, ceiling/floor effect, data distribution and discriminative validity), in 100 community-dwelling people aged ≥60 years. The 30-item and 10-item Icon-FES-Brazil showed good internal consistency (alpha and omega >0.70) and excellent intra-rater reproducibility (ICC 2,1 =0.96 and 0.93, respectively). According to the standard error of the measurement and minimal detectable change, the magnitude of change needed to exceed the measurement error and variability were 7.2 and 3.4 points for the 30-item and 10-item Icon-FES, respectively. We observed an excellent correlation between both versions of the Icon-FES and Falls Efficacy Scale - International (rho=0.83, p<0.001 [30-item version]; 0.76, p<0.001 [10-item version]). Icon-FES versions showed normal distribution, no floor/ceiling effects and were able to discriminate between groups relating to fall risk factors. Icon-FES-Brazil is a semantically and linguistically appropriate tool with acceptable measurement properties to evaluate concern about falling among the community-dwelling older population. Copyright © 2018 Associação Brasileira de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Fisioterapia. Publicado

  2. Simultaneous Measurement of Thermophysical Properties of Tissue-Mimicking Phantoms for High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Exposures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Jing; You, Jiang; Huang, Zhihong; Cochran, Sandy; Corner, George

    2012-03-01

    Tissue-mimicking phantoms, including bovine serum albumin phantoms and egg white phantoms, have been developed for, and in laboratory use for, real-time visualization of high intensity focused ultrasound-induced thermal coagulative necrosis since 2001. However, until now, very few data are available concerning their thermophysical properties. In this article, a step-wise transient plane source method has been used to determine the values of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat capacity of egg white phantoms with elevated egg white concentrations (0 v/v% to 40 v/v%, by 10 v/v% interval) at room temperature (~20 °C). The measured thermophysical properties were close to previously reported values; the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity were linearly proportional to the egg white concentration within the investigation range, while the specific heat capacity decreased as the egg white concentration increased. Taking account of large differences between real experiment and ideal model, data variations within 20 % were accepted.

  3. 41 CFR 101-26.506-4 - Acceptance and processing of requests.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Acceptance and processing of requests. 101-26.506-4 Section 101-26.506-4 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System FEDERAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS SUPPLY AND PROCUREMENT 26...

  4. Human annoyance, acceptability and concern as responses to vibration from the construction of Light Rapid Transit lines in residential environments.

    PubMed

    Wong-McSweeney, D; Woodcock, J S; Peris, E; Waddington, D C; Moorhouse, A T; Redel-Macías, M D

    2016-10-15

    The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of different self-reported measures for assessing the human response to environmental vibration from the construction of an urban LRT (Light Rapid Transit) system. The human response to environmental stressors such as vibration and noise is often expressed in terms of exposure-response relationships that describe annoyance as a function of the magnitude of the vibration. These relationships are often the basis of noise and vibration policy and the setting of limit values. This paper examines measures other than annoyance by expressing exposure-response relationships for vibration in terms of self-reported concern about property damage and acceptability. The exposure-response relationships for concern about property damage and for acceptability are then compared with those for annoyance. It is shown that concern about property damage occurs at vibration levels well below those where there is any risk of damage. Earlier research indicated that concern for damage is an important moderator of the annoyance induced. Acceptability, on the other hand, might be influenced by both annoyance and concern, as well as by other considerations. It is concluded that exposure-response relationships expressing acceptability as a function of vibration exposure could usefully complement existing relationships for annoyance in future policy decisions regarding environmental vibration. The results presented in this paper are derived from data collected through a socio-vibration survey (N=321) conducted for the construction of an urban LRT in the United Kingdom. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Evaluation of Rotor Structural and Aerodynamic Loads using Measured Blade Properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jung, Sung N.; You, Young-Hyun; Lau, Benton H.; Johnson, Wayne; Lim, Joon W.

    2012-01-01

    The structural properties of Higher harmonic Aeroacoustic Rotor Test (HART I) blades have been measured using the original set of blades tested in the wind tunnel in 1994. A comprehensive rotor dynamics analysis is performed to address the effect of the measured blade properties on airloads, blade motions, and structural loads of the rotor. The measurements include bending and torsion stiffness, geometric offsets, and mass and inertia properties of the blade. The measured properties are correlated against the estimated values obtained initially by the manufacturer of the blades. The previously estimated blade properties showed consistently higher stiffnesses, up to 30% for the flap bending in the blade inboard root section. The measured offset between the center of gravity and the elastic axis is larger by about 5% chord length, as compared with the estimated value. The comprehensive rotor dynamics analysis was carried out using the measured blade property set for HART I rotor with and without HHC (Higher Harmonic Control) pitch inputs. A significant improvement on blade motions and structural loads is obtained with the measured blade properties.

  6. Measurement properties of adult quality-of-life measurement instruments for eczema: protocol for a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Apfelbacher, Christian J; Heinl, Daniel; Prinsen, Cecilia A C; Deckert, Stefanie; Chalmers, Joanne; Ofenloch, Robert; Humphreys, Rosemary; Sach, Tracey; Chamlin, Sarah; Schmitt, Jochen

    2015-04-16

    Eczema is a common chronic or chronically relapsing skin disease that has a substantial impact on quality of life (QoL). By means of a consensus-based process, the Harmonising Outcome Measures in Eczema (HOME) initiative has identified QoL as one of the four core outcome domains to be assessed in all eczema trials (Allergy 67(9):1111-7, 2012). Various measurement instruments exist to measure QoL in adults with eczema, but there is a great variability in both content and quality (for example, reliability and validity) of the instruments used, and it is not always clear if the best instrument is being used. Therefore, the aim of the proposed research is a comprehensive systematic assessment of the measurement properties of the existing measurement instruments that were developed and/or validated for the measurement of patient-reported QoL in adults with eczema. This study is a systematic review of the measurement properties of patient-reported measures of QoL developed and/or validated for adults with eczema. Medline via PubMed and EMBASE will be searched using a selection of relevant search terms. Eligible studies will be primary empirical studies evaluating, describing, or comparing measurement properties of QoL instruments for adult patients with eczema. Eligibility assessment and data abstraction will be performed independently by two reviewers. Evidence tables will be generated for study characteristics, instrument characteristics, measurement properties, and interpretability. The quality of the measurement properties will be assessed using predefined criteria. Methodological quality of studies will be assessed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. A best evidence synthesis will be undertaken if more than one study has investigated a particular measurement property. The proposed systematic review will produce a comprehensive assessment of measurement properties of existing QoL instruments in

  7. Staff Acceptance of Tele-ICU Coverage

    PubMed Central

    Chan, Paul S.; Cram, Peter

    2011-01-01

    Background: Remote coverage of ICUs is increasing, but staff acceptance of this new technology is incompletely characterized. We conducted a systematic review to summarize existing research on acceptance of tele-ICU coverage among ICU staff. Methods: We searched for published articles pertaining to critical care telemedicine systems (aka, tele-ICU) between January 1950 and March 2010 using PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Global Health, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library and abstracts and presentations delivered at national conferences. Studies were included if they provided original qualitative or quantitative data on staff perceptions of tele-ICU coverage. Studies were imported into content analysis software and coded by tele-ICU configuration, methodology, participants, and findings (eg, positive and negative staff evaluations). Results: Review of 3,086 citations yielded 23 eligible studies. Findings were grouped into four categories of staff evaluation: overall acceptance level of tele-ICU coverage (measured in 70% of studies), impact on patient care (measured in 96%), impact on staff (measured in 100%), and organizational impact (measured in 48%). Overall acceptance was high, despite initial ambivalence. Favorable impact on patient care was perceived by > 82% of participants. Staff impact referenced enhanced collaboration, autonomy, and training, although scrutiny, malfunctions, and contradictory advice were cited as potential barriers. Staff perceived the organizational impact to vary. An important limitation of available studies was a lack of rigorous methodology and validated survey instruments in many studies. Conclusions: Initial reports suggest high levels of staff acceptance of tele-ICU coverage, but more rigorous methodologic study is required. PMID:21051386

  8. Validation of the Technology Acceptance Measure for Pre-Service Teachers (TAMPST) on a Malaysian Sample: A Cross-Cultural Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teo, Timothy

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the cross-cultural validity of the technology acceptance measure for pre-service teachers (TAMPST) on a Malaysian sample. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 193 pre-service teachers from a Malaysian university completed a survey questionnaire measuring their responses to five constructs in the…

  9. Measurement properties of the Brazilian version of the Working Alliance Inventory (patient and therapist short-forms) and Session Rating Scale for low back pain.

    PubMed

    Araujo, Amanda Costa; Filho, Rúben Negrão; Oliveira, Crystian B; Ferreira, Paulo H; Pinto, Rafael Z

    2017-01-01

    In the low back pain (LBP) field, therapeutic alliance is considered a non-specific factor of interventions associated with improvements in clinical outcomes. However, there is a paucity of studies aimed to evaluate measurement properties of tools used to objectively quantify the alliance between therapist and patients, such as the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) and Session Rating Scale (SRS). To translate and cross-culturally adapt the short-form version of WAI - therapist and SRS into Brazilian Portuguese; to investigate the measurement properties, of the WAI-Patient, WAI-Therapist and SRS in patients with LBP and their physical therapists, respectively. One hundred patients with LBP and 18 physical therapists were recruited from physical therapy clinics in Brazil. Therapeutic alliance measures were collected at the initial assessment, prior to the second session, and at 2-month follow-up. The measurement properties investigated were reproducibility, internal consistency, ceiling/floor effects and responsiveness. Although WAI-Patient, WAI-Therapist and SRS were considered to have acceptable test-retest reliability (ICC2,1 > 0.70), these questionnaires showed problems with other measurement properties. WAI-Patient showed problems with internal consistency (i.e. Cronbach's alpha < 0.70 for all subscales). Presence of ceiling effect (i.e. > 15% of participants with the maximum score) and poor internal responsiveness were found for the WAI-Patient (Effect size = 0.15; 84% CI: 0.04 to 0.29) and for the SRS (Effect size = 0.05; 84% CI: -0.22 to 0.11). The WAI-Therapist revealed slightly better measurement properties. We identified psychometric limitations with most measurement properties of the WAI questionnaires and SRS. Future studies are needed to refine these tools.

  10. 14 CFR 1259.103 - Special authorities-gift acceptance and other Federal funding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...—gift acceptance and other Federal funding. (a) Acceptance of gifts: (1) In order to carry out the... donations of services, money or property, real, personal or mixed, tangible or intangible. This authority is...

  11. The measurement of psychological constructs in people with osteoarthritis of the knee: a psychometric evaluation.

    PubMed

    Lincoln, Nadina; Moreton, Bryan; Turner, Katie; Walsh, David

    2017-02-01

    Purpose To examine the measurement properties of measures of psychological constructs in people with knee osteoarthritis. Method Participants with osteoarthritis of the knee completed the beck depression inventory (BDI-II), state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI), arthritis helplessness index (AHI), fatigue severity scale (FSS), coping strategies questionnaire (CSQ), beliefs about pain control questionnaire (BPCQ), illness perceptions questionnaire-revised (IPQ-R), pain self-efficacy questionnaire (PSEQ) at home as part of a set of measures covering different aspects of osteoarthritis pain. The questionnaires were returned by pre-paid envelope. Rasch analysis was used to check the psychometric properties of the scales in people with osteoarthritis. Results The STAI-SF was an acceptable measure of anxiety and the revised FSS an acceptable measure of fatigue, with removal of items 1 and 2. The BDI subscales were acceptable for measuring negative thoughts and behaviours related to depressive symptomatology with some modifications to the scale. The helplessness scale of the AHI was acceptable as a measure of helplessness. The PSEQ was an acceptable measure of self-efficacy and the CSQ as a measure of cognitive coping strategies. The BPCQ and IPQ-R did not fit the Rasch model. Conclusions These findings indicate that questionnaires need to be checked for their ability to measure psychological constructs in the clinical groups to which they will be applied. Implications for Rehabilitation For people with osteoarthritis, the STAI-SF is an acceptable measure of anxiety and the revised FSS an acceptable measure of fatigue with removal of items 1 and 2. The BDI subscales, but not the total score, are acceptable for measuring depressive symptomatology with some modifications to the scoring of the scale. And helplessness can be measured using the Helplessness subscale of the AHI. The PSEQ was an acceptable measure of self-efficacy and cognitive coping strategies can be measured

  12. The development and preliminary psychometric properties of two positive psychology outcome measures for people with dementia: the PPOM and the EID-Q.

    PubMed

    Stoner, Charlotte R; Orrell, Martin; Long, Maria; Csipke, Emese; Spector, Aimee

    2017-03-21

    Positive psychology research in dementia care has largely been confined to the qualitative literature because of the lack of robust outcome measures. The aim of this study was to develop positive psychology outcome measures for people with dementia. Two measures were each developed in four stages. Firstly, literature reviews were conducted to identify and operationalise salient positive psychology themes in the qualitative literature and to examine existing measures of positive psychology. Secondly, themes were discussed within a qualitative study to add content validity for identified concepts (n = 17). Thirdly, draft measures were submitted to a panel of experts for feedback (n = 6). Finally, measures were used in a small-scale pilot study (n = 33) to establish psychometric properties. Salient positive psychology themes were identified as hope, resilience, a sense of independence and social engagement. Existing measures of hope and resilience were adapted to form the Positive Psychology Outcome Measure (PPOM). Due to the inter-relatedness of independence and engagement for people with dementia, 28 items were developed for a new scale of Engagement and Independence in Dementia Questionnaire (EID-Q) following extensive qualitative work. Both measures demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (α = .849 and α = .907 respectively) and convergent validity. Two new positive psychology outcome measures were developed using a robust four-stage procedure. Preliminary psychometric data was adequate and the measures were easy to use, and acceptable for people with dementia.

  13. Laboratory measurements of gravel thermal properties. A methodology proposal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cultrera, Matteo; Peron, Fabio; Bison, Paolo; Dalla Santa, Giorgia; Bertermann, David; Muller, Johannes; Bernardi, Adriana; Galgaro, Antonio

    2017-04-01

    Gravel thermal properties measurements at laboratory level is quite challenging due to several technical and logistic issues, mainly connected to the sediment sizes and the variability of their mineralogical composition. The direct measurement of gravel thermal properties usually are not able to involve a representative volume of geological material, consequently the thermal measurements performed produce much dispersed results and not consistent due to the large interstitial voids and the poor physical contact with the measuring sensors. With the aim of directly provide the measurement of the gravel thermal properties, a new methodology has been developed and some results are already available on several gravel deposits samples around Europe. Indeed, a single guarded hot plate Taurus Instruments TLP 800 measured the gravel thermal properties. Some instrumental adjustments were necessary to adapt the measuring devices and to finalize the thermal measurements on gravels at the IUAV FISTEC laboratory (Environmental Technical Physics Laboratory of Venice University). This device usually provides thermal measurements according to ISO 8302, ASTM C177, EN 1946-2, EN 12664, EN 12667 and EN 12939 for building materials. A preliminary calibration has been performed comparing the outcomes obtained with the single guarded hot plate with a needle probe of a portable thermal conductivity meter (ISOMET). Standard sand (ISO 67:2009) is used as reference material. This study is provided under the Cheap-GSHPs project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 657982

  14. Navy Controls for Invoice, Receipt, Acceptance, and Property Transfer System Need Improvement

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-02-25

    iR APT as a web-based system to electronically invoice, receipt, and accept ser vices and product s from its contractors and vendors. The iR APT system...electronically shares document s bet ween DoD and it s contractors and vendors to eliminate redundant data entr y, increase data accuracy, and reduce...The iR APT system allows contractors to submit and track invoices and receipt and acceptance documents over the web and allows government personnel to

  15. Measurement of material mechanical properties in microforming

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yun, Wang; Xu, Zhenying; Hui, Huang; Zhou, Jianzhong

    2006-02-01

    As the rapid market need of micro-electro-mechanical systems engineering gives it the wide development and application ranging from mobile phones to medical apparatus, the need of metal micro-parts is increasing gradually. Microforming technology challenges the plastic processing technology. The findings have shown that if the grain size of the specimen remains constant, the flow stress changes with the increasing miniaturization, and also the necking elongation and the uniform elongation etc. It is impossible to get the specimen material properties in conventional tensile test machine, especially in the high precision demand. Therefore, one new measurement method for getting the specimen material-mechanical property with high precision is initiated. With this method, coupled with the high speed of Charge Coupled Device (CCD) camera and high precision of Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM), the elongation and tensile strain in the gauge length are obtained. The elongation, yield stress and other mechanical properties can be calculated from the relationship between the images and CCD camera movement. This measuring method can be extended into other experiments, such as the alignment of the tool and specimen, micro-drawing process.

  16. Market Orientation and Its Measurement in Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Niculescu, Mihai; Xu, Bing; Hampton, Gerald M.; Peterson, Robin T.

    2013-01-01

    Historically, the measurement of market orientation has proved to be difficult, due to the low external validity of the concept. Existing scales exhibit acceptable properties in measuring market orientation in business organizations, but are less accurate in the context of higher education institutions. This paper compares the performance of three…

  17. 41 CFR 102-38.290 - What types of payment may we accept?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false What types of payment may we accept? 102-38.290 Section 102-38.290 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued) FEDERAL MANAGEMENT REGULATION PERSONAL PROPERTY 38-SALE OF PERSONAL...

  18. Quality-of-life measures for use within care homes: a systematic review of their measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Aspden, Trefor; Bradshaw, Siobhan A; Playford, E Diane; Riazi, Afsane

    2014-09-01

    the aims of this review were (i) to identify quality-of-life (QoL) measures which have had their measurement properties validated in people residing in care homes or nursing homes, and to critically compare and summarise these instruments and (ii) to make recommendations for measurement instruments. bibliographic databases PsycINFO, PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL and Embase were searched for articles evaluating measurement properties of QoL instruments in people residing in care homes. Methodological quality of studies was assessed using the consensus-based standards for the selection of health measurement instruments checklist. Measurement properties of instruments were appraised using a systematic checklist. the search strategy resulted in 3252 unique citations, of which 15 articles were included in this review. These articles assessed 13 instruments, 8 of which were dementia or Alzheimer specific instruments. The QUALIDEM, a dementia-specific observational instrument, had the widest array of information available on its measurement properties, which were mostly satisfactory. Most measurement instruments lacked information on hypotheses testing and content validity. Information on responsiveness and measurement error was not available for any instrument. for people with dementia living in care homes, the QUALIDEM is recommended for measuring QoL. For residents without dementia, we recommend Kane et al.'s Psychosocial Quality of Life Domains questionnaire. Studies of higher methodological quality, assessing a wider range of measurement properties are needed to allow a more fully informed choice of QoL instrument. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. Quality Assurance of Chemical Measurements.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, John K.

    1981-01-01

    Reviews aspects of quality control (methods to control errors) and quality assessment (verification that systems are operating within acceptable limits) including an analytical measurement system, quality control by inspection, control charts, systematic errors, and use of SRMs, materials for which properties are certified by the National Bureau…

  20. When less is more: Psychometric properties of Norwegian short-forms of the Ambivalent Sexism Scales (ASI and AMI) and the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance (IRMA) Scale.

    PubMed

    Bendixen, Mons; Kennair, Leif Edward Ottesen

    2017-12-01

    This paper reports on the development and the psychometric properties of short forms of Ambivalent Sexism Scales toward women (ASI; Glick & Fiske, 1996) and men (AMI; Glick & Fiske, 1999), and a scale measuring rape stereotypes (IRMA; McMahon & Farmer, 2011). The short form AMI/ASI were applied for examining gender and educational differences in university students (N = 512) and in high school students (N = 1381), and for predicting individual differences in rape stereotypes in the latter. The short forms demonstrated good to excellent psychometric properties across samples of emerging adults. Relative to female students, male students reported markedly more hostility toward women and more stereotypical beliefs about rape. Despite sampling from a highly gender egalitarian and secular culture, these gender differences are on a par with those reported internationally. Rape stereotypes were predicted by sexism in high school students. Additional predictors were educational program, relationship status, and acceptance of derogatory sexual slurs. The paper questions the validity of separate constructs for benevolent sexism toward women versus men. The short form versions of the scales may substitute the original versions in future research, and help prevent attrition while measuring the same constructs. © 2017 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Measurement and Comparison of Mechanical Properties of Nitinol Stents

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hanus, Josef; Zahora, Jiri

    2005-01-01

    The self expandable Nitinol stents or stentgrafts are typically used for miniinvasive treatment of stenosis and aneurysms in the cardiovascular system. The minimal traumatisation of the patient, shorter time of hospitalization are typical advantages of these methods. More than ten years of experience has yielded also important information about the performance of stents in interaction with biological system and the possible problems related with it. The leakage or the shift of stent are some typical disadvantages, that can be related among other in the construction of the stent. The problem is that the mechanical properties, dimensions and the dynamical properties of the stent do not exactly correspond to the properties of the vessel or generally of tissue where this stent is introduced. The measurement, the description and the comparison of the relations between the mechanical properties of stents and tissues can be one of the possible ways to minimize these disadvantages. The developed original computer controlled measuring system allows the measurement of mechanical properties of stents, the measurement of strain-stress curves or simulation of interaction of the stent and vessel for exactly defined hemodynamic conditions. We measured and compared the mechanical parameters of different selfexpandable Nitinol stents, which differed in geometry (radius and length), in the type of construction (number of branches and rising of winding) and in the diameter of used wire. The results of measurements confirmed the theoretical assumptions that just the diameter of the Nitinol wire significantly influences the rigidity and the level of compressibility of the stent as well. A compromise must be found between the required rigidity of the stent and the minimal size of the delivery system. The exact description of the relation between the mechanical properties and geometry and construction of the stents enables to design the stent to fit the patient and it is expected that

  2. Direct measurement of shear properties of microfibers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Behlow, H.; Saini, D.; Oliveira, L.; Durham, L.; Simpson, J.; Serkiz, S. M.; Skove, M. J.; Rao, A. M.

    2014-09-01

    As novel fibers with enhanced mechanical properties continue to be synthesized and developed, the ability to easily and accurately characterize these materials becomes increasingly important. Here we present a design for an inexpensive tabletop instrument to measure shear modulus (G) and other longitudinal shear properties of a micrometer-sized monofilament fiber sample, such as nonlinearities and hysteresis. This automated system applies twist to the sample and measures the resulting torque using a sensitive optical detector that tracks a torsion reference. The accuracy of the instrument was verified by measuring G for high purity copper and tungsten fibers, for which G is well known. Two industrially important fibers, IM7 carbon fiber and Kevlar® 119, were also characterized with this system and were found to have G = 16.5 ± 2.1 and 2.42 ± 0.32 GPa, respectively.

  3. Direct measurement of shear properties of microfibers.

    PubMed

    Behlow, H; Saini, D; Oliveira, L; Durham, L; Simpson, J; Serkiz, S M; Skove, M J; Rao, A M

    2014-09-01

    As novel fibers with enhanced mechanical properties continue to be synthesized and developed, the ability to easily and accurately characterize these materials becomes increasingly important. Here we present a design for an inexpensive tabletop instrument to measure shear modulus (G) and other longitudinal shear properties of a micrometer-sized monofilament fiber sample, such as nonlinearities and hysteresis. This automated system applies twist to the sample and measures the resulting torque using a sensitive optical detector that tracks a torsion reference. The accuracy of the instrument was verified by measuring G for high purity copper and tungsten fibers, for which G is well known. Two industrially important fibers, IM7 carbon fiber and Kevlar(®) 119, were also characterized with this system and were found to have G = 16.5 ± 2.1 and 2.42 ± 0.32 GPa, respectively.

  4. Acceptability of the Fetzer/NIA Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness and Spirituality in a sample of community-dwelling Black adults.

    PubMed

    Mokel, Melissa J; Shellman, Juliette M

    2014-01-01

    To examine the acceptability of the National Institute on Aging/Fetzer Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness and Spirituality in a sample of Black, community-dwelling, older adults using focus group inquiry (N =15). Focus group methodology was used for data collection and analysis. Three focus groups (N = 15) were conducted in two different urban settings in the northeastern part of the United States. Key findings were that (a) self-rating on religiousness was uncomfortable for many participants, (b) selfless was a word many participants confused with selfish, and (c) spirituality was an important concept. Overall, the Measure was found to be culturally acceptable and required little modification. Religious health beliefs such as "rebuking" or "not claiming" medical diagnoses are important considerations to bear in mind in seeking to understand the impact of religiousness on health in this population.

  5. Acceptability and Feasibility of Using a Novel Geospatial Method to Measure Neighborhood Contexts and Mobility Among Transgender Women in New York City

    PubMed Central

    Goedel, William C.; Reisner, Sari L.; Janssen, Aron C.; Poteat, Tonia C.; Regan, Seann D.; Kreski, Noah T.; Confident, Gladyne; Duncan, Dustin T.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Purpose: To date, no studies utilizing global positioning system (GPS) technologies to measure mobility and environmental exposures have been conducted among a sample of transgender women despite the potential salient role neighborhood contexts may play in the health of this population. As such, the purpose of this study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of a weeklong GPS protocol among a sample of transgender women in New York City. Methods: A sample of 14 transgender women residing in the New York City metropolitan area were recruited through community based methods to wear and charge a GPS device for 7 days to measure daily mobility. The acceptability of these methods was assessed using a pre- and postprotocol survey and their feasibility was measured using objective data derived from the GPS device. Pre- and postprotocol survey measures were compared using McNemar's test. Results: Participants reported high ratings of preprotocol acceptability, as well as few concerns regarding safety, appearance, and losing the device, all of which were maintained after completing the protocol. All 14 devices that were distributed were returned. In addition, all 14 participants had GPS data for at least 1 h on 1 day, and nine participants (64.3%) had at least 8 h of GPS data on all days. Conclusion: The findings of this pilot study demonstrate that the GPS methods are both acceptable and feasible among this sample of transgender women. GPS devices may be used in research among transgender women to understand neighborhood determinants of HIV and other STIs. PMID:29082330

  6. Measurement properties of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS) in Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Green, Andrew; Liles, Clive; Rushton, Alison; Kyte, Derek G

    2014-12-01

    This systematic review investigated the measurement properties of disease-specific patient-reported outcome measures used in Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. Two independent reviewers conducted a systematic search of key databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, CINHAL+ and the Cochrane Library from inception to August 2013) to identify relevant studies. A third reviewer mediated in the event of disagreement. Methodological quality was evaluated using the validated COSMIN (Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments) tool. Data synthesis across studies determined the level of evidence for each patient-reported outcome measure. The search strategy returned 2177 citations. Following the eligibility review phase, seven studies, evaluating twelve different patient-reported outcome measures, met inclusion criteria. A 'moderate' level of evidence supported the structural validity of several measures: the Flandry Questionnaire, Anterior Knee Pain Scale, Functional Index Questionnaire, Eng and Pierrynowski Questionnaire and Visual Analogue Scales for 'usual' and 'worst' pain. In addition, there was a 'Limited' level of evidence supporting the test-retest reliability and validity (cross-cultural, hypothesis testing) of the Persian version of the Anterior Knee Pain Scale. Other measurement properties were evaluated with poor methodological quality, and many properties were not evaluated in any of the included papers. Current disease-specific outcome measures for Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome require further investigation. Future studies should evaluate all important measurement properties, utilising an appropriate framework such as COSMIN to guide study design, to facilitate optimal methodological quality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Older Adults' Acceptance of Activity Trackers

    PubMed Central

    Preusse, Kimberly C.; Mitzner, Tracy L.; Fausset, Cara Bailey; Rogers, Wendy A.

    2016-01-01

    Objective To assess the usability and acceptance of activity tracking technologies by older adults. Method First in our multi-method approach, we conducted heuristic evaluations of two activity trackers that revealed potential usability barriers to acceptance. Next, questionnaires and interviews were administered to 16 older adults (Mage=70, SDage=3.09, rangeage= 65-75) before and after a 28-day field study to understand facilitators and additional barriers to acceptance. These measurements were supplemented with diary and usage data and assessed if and why users overcame usability issues. Results The heuristic evaluation revealed usability barriers in System Status Visibility; Error Prevention; and Consistency and Standards. The field study revealed additional barriers (e.g., accuracy, format), and acceptance-facilitators (e.g., goal-tracking, usefulness, encouragement). Discussion The acceptance of wellness management technologies, such as activity trackers, may be increased by addressing acceptance-barriers during deployment (e.g., providing tutorials on features that were challenging, communicating usefulness). PMID:26753803

  8. Factors Potentially Influencing Student Acceptance of Biological Evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiles, Jason R.

    This investigation explored scientific, religious, and otherwise nonscientific factors that may influence student acceptance of biological evolution and related concepts, how students perceived these factors to have influenced their levels of acceptance of evolution and changes therein, and what patterns arose among students' articulations of how their levels of acceptance of evolution may have changed. This exploration also measured the extent to which students' levels of acceptance changed following a treatment designed to address factors identified as potentially affecting student acceptance of evolution. Acceptance of evolution was measured using the MATE instrument (Rutledge and Warden, 1999; Rutledge and Sadler, 2007) among participants enrolled in a secondary-level academic program during the summer prior to their final year of high school and as they transitioned to the post-secondary level. Student acceptance of evolution was measured to be significantly higher than pre-treatment levels both immediately following and slightly over one year after treatment. Qualitative data from informal questionnaires, from formal course evaluations, and from semi-structured interviews of students engaged in secondary level education and former students at various stages of post-secondary education confirmed that the suspected factors were perceived by participants to have influenced their levels of acceptance of evolution. Furthermore, participant reports provided insight regarding the relative effects they perceived these factors to have had on their evolution acceptance levels. Additionally, many participants reported that their science teachers in public schools had avoided, omitted, or denigrated evolution during instruction, and several of these students expressed frustration regarding what they perceived to have been a lack of education of an important scientific principle. Finally, no students expressed feelings of being offended by having been taught about

  9. Do dry roasting, lightly salting nuts affect their cardioprotective properties and acceptability?

    PubMed

    Tey, Siew Ling; Robinson, Terryn; Gray, Andrew R; Chisholm, Alexandra W; Brown, Rachel Clare

    2017-04-01

    Previous studies have reported improvements in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors with the consumption of raw nuts. However, around one-third of nuts consumed are roasted and salted. Thus, it is important to determine whether roasting and salting nuts affect the health benefits observed with raw nuts. This study aimed to compare the effects of consuming two different forms of hazelnuts on cardiovascular risk factors and acceptance. Using a randomised crossover design, 72 participants were asked to consume 30 g/day of either raw or dry roasted, lightly salted hazelnuts for 28 days each. CVD risk factors were measured at the beginning and end of each treatment period. "Desire to consume" and "overall liking" for both forms of hazelnuts were assessed daily using a 150-mm visual analogue scale. Body composition, blood pressure, plasma total and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, apolipoprotein A1 and B100, glucose and α-tocopherol concentrations did not differ between forms of hazelnuts (all P ≥ 0.054). High-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (P = 0.037) and triacylglycerol (P < 0.001) concentrations were significantly lower following the consumption of dry roasted, lightly salted hazelnuts when compared to the raw hazelnuts. Compared with baseline, consuming both forms of hazelnuts significantly improved HDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 concentrations, total-C/HDL-C ratio, and systolic blood pressure without significantly changing body composition. Acceptance ratings did not differ between forms of hazelnuts and remained high throughout the study. Dry roasting and lightly salting nuts do not appear to negate the cardioprotective effects observed with raw nut consumption, and both forms of nuts are resistant to monotony. Public health messages could be extended to include dry roasted and lightly salted nuts as part of a heart healthy diet.

  10. Measurement Properties of the Functional Rating Index: A systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

    PubMed

    Bai, Zhongfei; Shu, Tian; Lu, Jiani; Niu, Wenxin

    2018-04-13

    A systematic review and meta-analysis. To assess the measurement properties of the Functional Rating Index (FRI) and determine whether its measurement properties are comparable with other region-specific questionnaires. In addition to low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP), multi-region spinal pain (SP) is a common problem with a considerable prevalence in the general population. The FRI was built to assess physical functioning in patients with SP. However, a systematic review assessing evidence of its measurement properties in separated populations and a comparison with other questionnaires regarding each measurement property is lacking. Articles concerning the FRI's measurement properties or head-to-head comparison with other questionnaires on measurement properties were obtained from MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Two reviewers independently reviewed the articles, extracted data, and conducted the methodological quality assessment. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. A total of 18 studies evaluating the FRI's measurement properties, including seven that carried out head-to-head comparisons in at least one measurement property with other questionnaires, were included in the current review. Our findings show strong positive evidence for structural validity and internal consistency in patients with SP and LBP. Evidence for most of the FRI's measurement properties is limited, conflicting, or even unknown. The current evidence shows that the FRI is comparable with both the ODI and the NDI in responsiveness. However, relevant information about the majority of the other measurement properties is lacking. Our finding suggests that clinicians and researchers should use the FRI with caution until there are more studies with high methodological quality that support the view that it is positive in all measurement properties

  11. Dark chocolate acceptability: influence of cocoa origin and processing conditions.

    PubMed

    Torres-Moreno, Miriam; Tarrega, Amparo; Costell, Elvira; Blanch, Consol

    2012-01-30

    Chocolate properties can vary depending on cocoa origin, composition and manufacturing procedure, which affect consumer acceptability. The aim of this work was to study the effect of two cocoa origins (Ghana and Ecuador) and two processing conditions (roasting time and conching time) on dark chocolate acceptability. Overall acceptability and acceptability for different attributes (colour, flavour, odour and texture) were evaluated by 95 consumers. Differences in acceptability among dark chocolates were mainly related to differences in flavour acceptability. The use of a long roasting time lowered chocolate acceptability in Ghanaian samples while it had no effect on acceptability of Ecuadorian chocolates. This response was observed for most consumers (two subgroups with different frequency consumption of dark chocolate). However, for a third group of consumers identified as distinguishers, the most acceptable dark chocolate samples were those produced with specific combinations of roasting time and conching time for each of the cocoa geographical origin considered. To produce dark chocolates from a single origin it is important to know the target market preferences and to select the appropriate roasting and conching conditions. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

  12. Feasibility and acceptability of cell phone diaries to measure HIV risk behavior among female sex workers.

    PubMed

    Roth, Alexis M; Hensel, Devon J; Fortenberry, J Dennis; Garfein, Richard S; Gunn, Jayleen K L; Wiehe, Sarah E

    2014-12-01

    Individual, social, and structural factors affecting HIV risk behaviors among female sex workers (FSWs) are difficult to assess using retrospective surveys methods. To test the feasibility and acceptability of cell phone diaries to collect information about sexual events, we recruited 26 FSWs in Indianapolis, Indiana (US). Over 4 weeks, FSWs completed twice daily digital diaries about their mood, drug use, sexual interactions, and daily activities. Feasibility was assessed using repeated measures general linear modeling and descriptive statistics examined event-level contextual information and acceptability. Of 1,420 diaries expected, 90.3 % were completed by participants and compliance was stable over time (p > .05 for linear trend). Sexual behavior was captured in 22 % of diaries and participant satisfaction with diary data collection was high. These data provide insight into event-level factors impacting HIV risk among FSWs. We discuss implications for models of sexual behavior and individually tailored interventions to prevent HIV in this high-risk group.

  13. Optical properties of acute kidney injury measured by quantitative phase imaging

    PubMed Central

    Ban, Sungbea; Min, Eunjung; Baek, Songyee; Kwon, Hyug Moo; Popescu, Gabriel

    2018-01-01

    The diagnosis of acute kidney disease (AKI) has been examined mainly by histology, immunohistochemistry and western blot. Though these approaches are widely accepted in the field, it has an inherent limitation due to the lack of high-throughput and quantitative information. For a better understanding of prognosis in AKI, we present a new approach using quantitative phase imaging combined with a wide-field scanning platform. Through the phase-delay information from the tissue, we were able to predict a stage of AKI based on various optical properties such as light scattering coefficient and anisotropy. These optical parameters quantify the deterioration process of the AKI model of tissue. Our device would be a very useful tool when it is required to deliver fast feedback of tissue pathology or when diseases are related to mechanical properties such as fibrosis. PMID:29541494

  14. Measurement properties of performance-based measures to assess physical function in hip and knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Dobson, F; Hinman, R S; Hall, M; Terwee, C B; Roos, E M; Bennell, K L

    2012-12-01

    To systematically review the measurement properties of performance-based measures to assess physical function in people with hip and/or knee osteoarthritis (OA). Electronic searches were performed in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and PsycINFO up to the end of June 2012. Two reviewers independently rated measurement properties using the consensus-based standards for the selection of health status measurement instrument (COSMIN). "Best evidence synthesis" was made using COSMIN outcomes and the quality of findings. Twenty-four out of 1792 publications were eligible for inclusion. Twenty-one performance-based measures were evaluated including 15 single-activity measures and six multi-activity measures. Measurement properties evaluated included internal consistency (three measures), reliability (16 measures), measurement error (14 measures), validity (nine measures), responsiveness (12 measures) and interpretability (three measures). A positive rating was given to only 16% of possible measurement ratings. Evidence for the majority of measurement properties of tests reported in the review has yet to be determined. On balance of the limited evidence, the 40 m self-paced test was the best rated walk test, the 30 s-chair stand test and timed up and go test were the best rated sit to stand tests, and the Stratford battery, Physical Activity Restrictions and Functional Assessment System were the best rated multi-activity measures. Further good quality research investigating measurement properties of performance measures, including responsiveness and interpretability in people with hip and/or knee OA, is needed. Consensus on which combination of measures will best assess physical function in people with hip/and or knee OA is urgently required. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Measuring public acceptance on renewable energy (RE) development in Malaysia using ordered probit model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zainudin, W. N. R. A.; Ishak, W. W. M.

    2017-09-01

    In 2009, government of Malaysia has announced a National Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan as part of their commitment to accelerate the growth in renewable energies (RE). However, an adoption of RE as a main source of energy is still at an early stage due to lack of public awareness and acceptance on RE. Up to date, there are insufficient studies done on the reasons behind this lack of awareness and acceptance. Therefore, this paper is interested to investigate the public acceptance towards development of RE by measuring their willingness to pay slightly more for energy generated from RE sources, denote as willingness level and whether the importance for the electricity to be supplied at absolute lowest possible cost regardless of source and environmental impact, denote as importance level and other socio-economic factors could improve their willingness level. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods are used to achieve the research objectives. A total of 164 respondents from local universities in Malaysia participated in a survey to collect this relevant information. Using Ordered Probit model, the study shows that among the relevant socio-economic factors, age seems to be an important factor to influence the willingness level of the respondents. This paper concludes that younger generation are more willing to pay slightly more for energy generated from RE sources as compared to older generation. One of the possible reason may due to better information access by the younger generation on the RE issues and its positive implication to the world. Finding from this paper is useful to help policy maker in designing RE advocacy programs that would be able to secure public participation. These efforts are important to ensure future success of the RE policy.

  16. Measurement properties and implementation of a checklist to assess leadership skills during interdisciplinary rounds in the intensive care unit.

    PubMed

    Ten Have, Elsbeth C M; Nap, Raoul E; Tulleken, Jaap E

    2015-01-01

    The implementation of interdisciplinary teams in the intensive care unit (ICU) has focused attention on leadership behavior. A daily recurrent situation in ICUs in which both leadership behavior and interdisciplinary teamwork are integrated concerns the interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs). Although IDRs are recommended to provide optimal interdisciplinary and patient-centered care, there are no checklists available for leading physicians. We tested the measurement properties and implementation of a checklist to assess the quality of leadership skills in interdisciplinary rounds. The measurement properties of the checklist, which included 10 essential quality indicators, were tested for interrater reliability and internal consistency and by factor analysis. The interrater reliability among 3 raters was good (κ, 0.85) and the internal consistency was acceptable (α, 0.74). Factor analysis showed all factor loadings on 1 domain (>0.65). The checklist was further implemented during videotaped IDRs which were led by senior physicians and in which 99 patients were discussed. Implementation of the checklist showed a wide range of "no" and "yes" scores among the senior physicians. These results may underline the need for such a checklist to ensure tasks are synchronized within the team.

  17. Physical property measurements of doped cesium iodide crystals

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Synder, R. S.; Clotfelter, W. N.

    1974-01-01

    Mechanical and thermal property values are reported for crystalline cesium iodide doped with sodium and thallium. Young's modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson's ratio were obtained from ultrasonic measurements. Young's modulus and the samples' elastic and plastic behavior were also measured under tension and compression. Thermal expansion and thermal conductivity were the temperature dependent measurements that were made.

  18. Measurement of Thermal Radiation Properties of Solids

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Richmond, J. C. (Editor)

    1963-01-01

    The overall objectives of the Symposium were to afford (1) an opportunity for workers in the field to describe the equipment and procedures currently in use for measuring thermal radiation properties of solids, (2) an opportunity for constructive criticism of the material presented, and (3) an open forum for discussion of mutual problems. It was also the hope of the sponsors that the published proceedings of the Symposium would serve as a valuable reference on measurement techniques for evaluating thermal radiation properties of solids, partic.ularly for those with limited experience in the field. Because of the strong dependence of emitted flux upon temperature, the program committee thought it advisable to devote the first session to a discussion of the problems of temperature measurement. All of the papers in Session I were presented at the request of and upon topics suggested by the Committee. Because of time and space limitations, it, was impossible to consider all temperature measurement problems that might arise--the objective was rather to call to the attention of the reader some of the problems that might be encountered, and to provide references that might provide solutions.

  19. Measuring (bio)physical tree properties using accelerometers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Emmerik, Tim; Steele-Dunne, Susan; Hut, Rolf; Gentine, Pierre; Selker, John; van de Giesen, Nick

    2017-04-01

    Trees play a crucial role in the water, carbon and nitrogen cycle on local, regional and global scales. Understanding the exchange of heat, water, and CO2 between trees and the atmosphere is important to assess the impact of drought, deforestation and climate change. Unfortunately, ground measurements of tree dynamics are often expensive, or difficult due to challenging environments. We demonstrate the potential of measuring (bio)physical properties of trees using robust and affordable acceleration sensors. Tree sway is dependent on e.g. mass and wind energy absorption of the tree. By measuring tree acceleration we can relate the tree motion to external loads (e.g. precipitation), and tree (bio)physical properties (e.g. mass). Using five months of acceleration data of 19 trees in the Brazilian Amazon, we show that the frequency spectrum of tree sway is related to mass, precipitation, and canopy drag. This presentation aims to show the concept of using accelerometers to measure tree dynamics, and we acknowledge that the presented example applications is not an exhaustive list. Further analyses are the scope of current research, and we hope to inspire others to explore additional applications.

  20. Measurement properties of patient reported outcome measures for spondyloarthritis: A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Png, Kelly; Kwan, Yu Heng; Leung, Ying Ying; Phang, Jie Kie; Lau, Jia Qi; Lim, Ka Keat; Chew, Eng Hui; Low, Lian Leng; Tan, Chuen Seng; Thumboo, Julian; Fong, Warren; Østbye, Truls

    2018-03-21

    This systematic review aimed to identify studies investigating measurement properties of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) for spondyloarthritis (SpA), and to evaluate their methodological quality and level of evidence relating to the measurement properties of PROMs. This systematic review was guided by the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA). Articles published before 30 June 2017 were retrieved from PubMed ® , Embase ® , and PsychINFO ® (Ovid). Methodological quality and level of evidence were evaluated according to recommendations from the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN). We identified 60 unique PROMs from 125 studies in 39 countries. Twenty-one PROMs were validated for two or more SpA subtypes. The literature examined hypothesis testing (82.4%) most frequently followed by reliability (60.0%). A percentage of 77.7% and 42.7% of studies that assessed PROMs for hypothesis testing and reliability, respectively had "fair" or better methodological quality. Among the PROMs identified, 41.7% were studied in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) only and 23.3% were studied in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) only. The more extensively assessed PROMs included the ankylosing spondylitis quality of life (ASQoL) and bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI) for ankylosing spondylitis, and the psoriatic arthritis quality of life questionnaire (VITACORA-19) for psoriatic arthritis. This study identified 60 unique PROMs through a systematic review and synthesized evidence of the measurement properties of the PROMs. There is a lack of validation of PROMs for use across SpA subtypes. Future studies may consider validating PROMs for use across different SpA subtypes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Fundamentals of dielectric properties measurements and agricultural applications.

    PubMed

    Nelson, Stuart O

    2010-01-01

    Dielectrics and dielectric properties are defined generally and dielectric measurement methods and equipment are described for various frequency ranges from audio frequencies through microwave frequencies. These include impedance and admittance bridges, resonant frequency, transmission-line, and free-space methods in the frequency domain and time-domain and broadband techniques. Many references are cited describing methods in detail and giving sources of dielectric properties data. Finally a few applications for such data are presented and sources of tabulated and dielectric properties data bases are identified.

  2. Rapid experimental measurements of physicochemical properties to inform models and testing.

    PubMed

    Nicolas, Chantel I; Mansouri, Kamel; Phillips, Katherine A; Grulke, Christopher M; Richard, Ann M; Williams, Antony J; Rabinowitz, James; Isaacs, Kristin K; Yau, Alice; Wambaugh, John F

    2018-05-02

    The structures and physicochemical properties of chemicals are important for determining their potential toxicological effects, toxicokinetics, and route(s) of exposure. These data are needed to prioritize the risk for thousands of environmental chemicals, but experimental values are often lacking. In an attempt to efficiently fill data gaps in physicochemical property information, we generated new data for 200 structurally diverse compounds, which were rigorously selected from the USEPA ToxCast chemical library, and whose structures are available within the Distributed Structure-Searchable Toxicity Database (DSSTox). This pilot study evaluated rapid experimental methods to determine five physicochemical properties, including the log of the octanol:water partition coefficient (known as log(K ow ) or logP), vapor pressure, water solubility, Henry's law constant, and the acid dissociation constant (pKa). For most compounds, experiments were successful for at least one property; log(K ow ) yielded the largest return (176 values). It was determined that 77 ToxPrint structural features were enriched in chemicals with at least one measurement failure, indicating which features may have played a role in rapid method failures. To gauge consistency with traditional measurement methods, the new measurements were compared with previous measurements (where available). Since quantitative structure-activity/property relationship (QSAR/QSPR) models are used to fill gaps in physicochemical property information, 5 suites of QSPRs were evaluated for their predictive ability and chemical coverage or applicability domain of new experimental measurements. The ability to have accurate measurements of these properties will facilitate better exposure predictions in two ways: 1) direct input of these experimental measurements into exposure models; and 2) construction of QSPRs with a wider applicability domain, as their predicted physicochemical values can be used to parameterize exposure

  3. Measurement of Mechanical Properties of Cantilever Shaped Materials

    PubMed Central

    Finot, Eric; Passian, Ali; Thundat, Thomas

    2008-01-01

    Microcantilevers were first introduced as imaging probes in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) due to their extremely high sensitivity in measuring surface forces. The versatility of these probes, however, allows the sensing and measurement of a host of mechanical properties of various materials. Sensor parameters such as resonance frequency, quality factor, amplitude of vibration and bending due to a differential stress can all be simultaneously determined for a cantilever. When measuring the mechanical properties of materials, identifying and discerning the most influential parameters responsible for the observed changes in the cantilever response are important. We will, therefore, discuss the effects of various force fields such as those induced by mass loading, residual stress, internal friction of the material, and other changes in the mechanical properties of the microcantilevers. Methods to measure variations in temperature, pressure, or molecular adsorption of water molecules are also discussed. Often these effects occur simultaneously, increasing the number of parameters that need to be concurrently measured to ensure the reliability of the sensors. We therefore systematically investigate the geometric and environmental effects on cantilever measurements including the chemical nature of the underlying interactions. To address the geometric effects we have considered cantilevers with a rectangular or circular cross section. The chemical nature is addressed by using cantilevers fabricated with metals and/or dielectrics. Selective chemical etching, swelling or changes in Young's modulus of the surface were investigated by means of polymeric and inorganic coatings. Finally to address the effect of the environment in which the cantilever operates, the Knudsen number was determined to characterize the molecule-cantilever collisions. Also bimaterial cantilevers with high thermal sensitivity were used to discern the effect of temperature variations. When appropriate

  4. Exploring E-Learning Acceptance among University Students in Thailand: A National Survey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teo, Timothy; Ruangrit, Nammon; Khlaisang, Jintavee; Thammetar, Thapanee; Sunphakitjumnong, Kobkul

    2014-01-01

    This study surveys the e-learning acceptance of university students in Thailand. One thousand nine hundred and eighty-one (1,981) participants completed the E-Learning Acceptance Measure (Teo, 2010) which measures three constructs that predict e-learning acceptance (tutor quality, perceived usefulness, and facilitating conditions). Data analysis…

  5. ADHD knowledge, misconceptions, and treatment acceptability.

    PubMed

    Sciutto, Mark J

    2015-02-01

    Despite the availability of several effective treatments, many children with ADHD do not receive adequate services. A variety of factors may influence help-seeking behavior among families of children with ADHD. This study explores two factors that may influence help-seeking decisions: knowledge and misconceptions of ADHD and treatment acceptability. A total of 196 participants completed measures of ADHD knowledge and use of information sources prior to rating the acceptability of two interventions: stimulant medication and sugar elimination diets. Higher levels of ADHD misconceptions were associated with lower acceptance of medication and higher acceptance of dietary interventions. However, analysis of individual misconceptions suggests that specific misconceptions are differentially related to perceptions of individual treatments. It may be important for clinicians to assess and deliberately target specific misconceptions as part of treatment for ADHD. © 2013 SAGE Publications.

  6. Measuring Tree Properties and Responses Using Low-Cost Accelerometers

    PubMed Central

    van Emmerik, Tim; Steele-Dunne, Susan; Hut, Rolf; Gentine, Pierre; Guerin, Marceau; Oliveira, Rafael S.; Wagner, Jim; Selker, John; van de Giesen, Nick

    2017-01-01

    Trees play a crucial role in the water, carbon and nitrogen cycle on local, regional and global scales. Understanding the exchange of momentum, heat, water, and CO2 between trees and the atmosphere is important to assess the impact of drought, deforestation and climate change. Unfortunately, ground measurements of tree properties such as mass and canopy interception of precipitation are often expensive or difficult due to challenging environments. This paper aims to demonstrate the concept of using robust and affordable accelerometers to measure tree properties and responses. Tree sway is dependent on mass, canopy structure, drag coefficient, and wind forcing. By measuring tree acceleration, we can relate the tree motion to external forcing (e.g., wind, precipitation and related canopy interception) and tree physical properties (e.g., mass, elasticity). Using five months of acceleration data of 19 trees in the Brazilian Amazon, we show that the frequency spectrum of tree sway is related to mass, canopy interception of precipitation, and canopy–atmosphere turbulent exchange. PMID:28492477

  7. A systematic review evaluating the psychometric properties of measures of social inclusion.

    PubMed

    Cordier, Reinie; Milbourn, Ben; Martin, Robyn; Buchanan, Angus; Chung, Donna; Speyer, Renée

    2017-01-01

    Improving social inclusion opportunities for population health has been identified as a priority area for international policy. There is a need to comprehensively examine and evaluate the quality of psychometric properties of measures of social inclusion that are used to guide social policy and outcomes. To conduct a systematic review of the literature on all current measures of social inclusion for any population group, to evaluate the quality of the psychometric properties of identified measures, and to evaluate if they capture the construct of social inclusion. A systematic search was performed using five electronic databases: CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, ERIC and Pubmed and grey literature were sourced to identify measures of social inclusion. The psychometric properties of the social inclusion measures were evaluated against the COSMIN taxonomy of measurement properties using pre-set psychometric criteria. Of the 109 measures identified, twenty-five measures, involving twenty-five studies and one manual met the inclusion criteria. The overall quality of the reviewed measures was variable, with the Social and Community Opportunities Profile-Short, Social Connectedness Scale and the Social Inclusion Scale demonstrating the strongest evidence for sound psychometric quality. The most common domain included in the measures was connectedness (21), followed by participation (19); the domain of citizenship was covered by the least number of measures (10). No single instrument measured all aspects within the three domains of social inclusion. Of the measures with sound psychometric evidence, the Social and Community Opportunities Profile-Short captured the construct of social inclusion best. The overall quality of the psychometric properties demonstrate that the current suite of available instruments for the measurement of social inclusion are promising but need further refinement. There is a need for a universal working definition of social inclusion as an overarching

  8. Software database creature for investment property measurement according to international standards

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ponomareva, S. V.; Merzliakova, N. A.

    2018-05-01

    The article deals with investment property measurement and accounting problems at the international, national and enterprise levels. The need to create the software for investment property measurement according to International Accounting Standards was substantiated. The necessary software functions and the processes were described.

  9. Total phenolic content, consumer acceptance, and instrumental analysis of bread made with grape seed flour.

    PubMed

    Hoye, Clifford; Ross, Carolyn F

    2011-09-01

    Grape seed flour (GSF) from grape pomace, a waste product generated during winemaking, was explored for use in bread production due to its potential health benefits. This study evaluated the consumer acceptance and physical properties of bread, including total phenolic content (TPC), made with varying levels of GSF. Dough and breads were prepared using different levels of replacement of hard red spring wheat flour (HRS) with GSF (0 to 10 g GSF/100 g HRS) and stored for 0, 2, or 6 wk at -20 °C. Replacement of 10 g GSF/100 g HRS increased the bread TPC from 0.064 mg tannic acid/g dry weight to 4.25 mg tannic acid/g dry weight. Consumer acceptance and instrumental analyses were used to investigate changes in sensory and texture properties due to GSF replacement. Replacement above 5 g GSF/100 g HRS decreased the loaf brightness and volume, with an increase in the bread hardness and porosity. Generally, breads containing ≥ 7.5 g GSF/100 g HRS were characterized by lower consumer acceptance. A reduction in overall and bitterness acceptance was observed in bread at 10 g GSF/100 g HRS, with decreased acceptance of astringency and sweetness at 7.5 and 10 g GSF/100 g HRS. Based on these results, the replacement of 5 g GSF/100 g HRS is recommended for the production of fortified breads with acceptable physical and sensory properties and high TPC activity compared to refined bread. This study shows that grape seed flour (GSF) can be used to replace hard red spring wheat flour (HRS) in bread production, with moderate impact on the physical and sensory properties of the bread. Replacement of up to 10 g GSF/100 g HRS significantly decreased overall consumer acceptance of the bread, with lower consumer acceptance of sweetness and astringency at 7.5 and 10 g GSF/100 g HRS. Thus, a replacement value of 5 g GSF/100 g HRS is recommended for the production of fortified breads. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®

  10. Direct measurement of local material properties within living embryonic tissues

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Serwane, Friedhelm; Mongera, Alessandro; Rowghanian, Payam; Kealhofer, David; Lucio, Adam; Hockenbery, Zachary; Campàs, Otger

    The shaping of biological matter requires the control of its mechanical properties across multiple scales, ranging from single molecules to cells and tissues. Despite their relevance, measurements of the mechanical properties of sub-cellular, cellular and supra-cellular structures within living embryos pose severe challenges to existing techniques. We have developed a technique that uses magnetic droplets to measure the mechanical properties of complex fluids, including in situ and in vivo measurements within living embryos ,across multiple length and time scales. By actuating the droplets with magnetic fields and recording their deformation we probe the local mechanical properties, at any length scale we choose by varying the droplets' diameter. We use the technique to determine the subcellular mechanics of individual blastomeres of zebrafish embryos, and bridge the gap to the tissue scale by measuring the local viscosity and elasticity of zebrafish embryonic tissues. Using this technique, we show that embryonic zebrafish tissues are viscoelastic with a fluid-like behavior at long time scales. This technique will enable mechanobiology and mechano-transduction studies in vivo, including the study of diseases correlated with tissue stiffness, such as cancer.

  11. Physiologic correlates to background noise acceptance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tampas, Joanna; Harkrider, Ashley; Nabelek, Anna

    2004-05-01

    Acceptance of background noise can be evaluated by having listeners indicate the highest background noise level (BNL) they are willing to accept while following the words of a story presented at their most comfortable listening level (MCL). The difference between the selected MCL and BNL is termed the acceptable noise level (ANL). One of the consistent findings in previous studies of ANL is large intersubject variability in acceptance of background noise. This variability is not related to age, gender, hearing sensitivity, personality, type of background noise, or speech perception in noise performance. The purpose of the current experiment was to determine if individual differences in physiological activity measured from the peripheral and central auditory systems of young female adults with normal hearing can account for the variability observed in ANL. Correlations between ANL and various physiological responses, including spontaneous, click-evoked, and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem and middle latency evoked potentials, and electroencephalography will be presented. Results may increase understanding of the regions of the auditory system that contribute to individual noise acceptance.

  12. Predicting Acceptance of Diversity in Pre-Kindergarten Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sanders, Kay; Downer, Jason

    2012-01-01

    This study examined classroom-level contributors to an acceptance of diversity in publicly supported pre-kindergarten classrooms across 11 states. Classroom composition, process quality, and teacher characteristics were examined as predictors of diversity-promoting practices as measured by the ECERS-R, acceptance of diversity construct. Findings…

  13. Bridging the Gap between Social Acceptance and Ethical Acceptability.

    PubMed

    Taebi, Behnam

    2017-10-01

    New technology brings great benefits, but it can also create new and significant risks. When evaluating those risks in policymaking, there is a tendency to focus on social acceptance. By solely focusing on social acceptance, we could, however, overlook important ethical aspects of technological risk, particularly when we evaluate technologies with transnational and intergenerational risks. I argue that good governance of risky technology requires analyzing both social acceptance and ethical acceptability. Conceptually, these two notions are mostly complementary. Social acceptance studies are not capable of sufficiently capturing all the morally relevant features of risky technologies; ethical analyses do not typically include stakeholders' opinions, and they therefore lack the relevant empirical input for a thorough ethical evaluation. Only when carried out in conjunction are these two types of analysis relevant to national and international governance of risky technology. I discuss the Rawlsian wide reflective equilibrium as a method for marrying social acceptance and ethical acceptability. Although the rationale of my argument is broadly applicable, I will examine the case of multinational nuclear waste repositories in particular. This example will show how ethical issues may be overlooked if we focus only on social acceptance, and will provide a test case for demonstrating how the wide reflective equilibrium can help to bridge the proverbial acceptance-acceptability gap. © 2016 The Authors Risk Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Risk Analysis.

  14. Measurement properties of translated versions of neck-specific questionnaires: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Schellingerhout, Jasper M; Heymans, Martijn W; Verhagen, Arianne P; de Vet, Henrica C; Koes, Bart W; Terwee, Caroline B

    2011-06-06

    Several disease-specific questionnaires to measure pain and disability in patients with neck pain have been translated. However, a simple translation of the original version doesn't guarantee similar measurement properties. The objective of this study is to critically appraise the quality of the translation process, cross-cultural validation and the measurement properties of translated versions of neck-specific questionnaires. Bibliographic databases were searched for articles concerning the translation or evaluation of the measurement properties of a translated version of a neck-specific questionnaire. The methodological quality of the selected studies and the results of the measurement properties were critically appraised and rated using the COSMIN checklist and criteria for measurement properties. The search strategy resulted in a total of 3641 unique hits, of which 27 articles, evaluating 6 different questionnaires in 15 different languages, were included in this study. Generally the methodological quality of the translation process is poor and none of the included studies performed a cross-cultural adaptation. A substantial amount of information regarding the measurement properties of translated versions of the different neck-specific questionnaires is lacking. Moreover, the evidence for the quality of measurement properties of the translated versions is mostly limited or assessed in studies of poor methodological quality. Until results from high quality studies are available, we advise to use the Catalan, Dutch, English, Iranian, Korean, Spanish and Turkish version of the NDI, the Chinese version of the NPQ, and the Finnish, German and Italian version of the NPDS. The Greek NDI needs cross-cultural validation and there is no methodologically sound information for the Swedish NDI. For all other languages we advise to translate the original version of the NDI.

  15. Modeling patients' acceptance of provider-delivered e-health.

    PubMed

    Wilson, E Vance; Lankton, Nancy K

    2004-01-01

    Health care providers are beginning to deliver a range of Internet-based services to patients; however, it is not clear which of these e-health services patients need or desire. The authors propose that patients' acceptance of provider-delivered e-health can be modeled in advance of application development by measuring the effects of several key antecedents to e-health use and applying models of acceptance developed in the information technology (IT) field. This study tested three theoretical models of IT acceptance among patients who had recently registered for access to provider-delivered e-health. An online questionnaire administered items measuring perceptual constructs from the IT acceptance models (intrinsic motivation, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness/extrinsic motivation, and behavioral intention to use e-health) and five hypothesized antecedents (satisfaction with medical care, health care knowledge, Internet dependence, information-seeking preference, and health care need). Responses were collected and stored in a central database. All tested IT acceptance models performed well in predicting patients' behavioral intention to use e-health. Antecedent factors of satisfaction with provider, information-seeking preference, and Internet dependence uniquely predicted constructs in the models. Information technology acceptance models provide a means to understand which aspects of e-health are valued by patients and how this may affect future use. In addition, antecedents to the models can be used to predict e-health acceptance in advance of system development.

  16. Standardized measures for substance use stigma.

    PubMed

    Brown, Seth A

    2011-07-01

    Despite indications that the stigma associated with substance use is high and may play a role in discouraging treatment participation, there is limited research in this area and only a few psychometrically sound measures of substance use stigma exist. The purpose of this study was to formulate and evaluate the psychometric properties of three substance use stigma measures. College students (N=565) completed three measures of substance use stigma that were modified from three established measures of mental illness stigma. Two of the three modified measures (Social Distance Scale for Substance Users and Affect Scale for Substance Users) emerged as having acceptable psychometric properties, whereas one modified measure (Dangerousness Scale for Substance Users) had inadequate psychometric properties. In regard to sex differences, women had significantly higher substance use stigma on the two psychometrically sound measures (p<.01). Perhaps, with standardized measures, there can be greater progress towards better understanding the mechanisms leading to high levels of substance use stigma and ultimately address failures to seek out treatment due to stigma. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Systematic Review of the Measurement Properties of Tools Used to Measure Behaviour Problems in Young Children with Autism.

    PubMed

    Hanratty, Jennifer; Livingstone, Nuala; Robalino, Shannon; Terwee, Caroline B; Glod, Magdalena; Oono, Inalegwu P; Rodgers, Jacqui; Macdonald, Geraldine; McConachie, Helen

    2015-01-01

    Behaviour problems are common in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are many different tools used to measure behavior problems but little is known about their validity for the population. To evaluate the measurement properties of behaviour problems tools used in evaluation of intervention or observational research studies with children with ASD up to the age of six years. Behaviour measurement tools were identified as part of a larger, two stage, systematic review. First, sixteen major electronic databases, as well as grey literature and research registers were searched, and tools used listed and categorized. Second, using methodological filters, we searched for articles examining the measurement properties of the tools in use with young children with ASD in ERIC, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. The quality of these papers was then evaluated using the COSMIN checklist. We identified twelve tools which had been used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD, and fifteen studies which investigated the measurement properties of six of these tools. There was no evidence available for the remaining six tools. Two questionnaires were found to be the most robust in their measurement properties, the Child Behavior Checklist and the Home Situations Questionnaire-Pervasive Developmental Disorders version. We found patchy evidence on reliability and validity, for only a few of the tools used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD. More systematic research is required on measurement properties of tools for use in this population, in particular to establish responsiveness to change which is essential in measurement of outcomes of intervention. CRD42012002223.

  18. Examining the relationship between male rape myth acceptance, female rape myth acceptance, victim blame, homophobia, gender roles, and ambivalent sexism.

    PubMed

    Davies, Michelle; Gilston, Jennifer; Rogers, Paul

    2012-09-01

    The relationship between male rape myth acceptance, female rape myth acceptance, attitudes toward gay men, a series of gender role and sexism measures, victim blame and assault severity were investigated. It was predicted that men would display more negative, stereotypical attitudes than women and that male rape myth endorsement would be related to, and predicted by, the other attitude and attribution scales. Respondents comprised 323 undergraduates (146 males and 177 females) from a large University in the Northwest of England. Results broadly conformed to predictions, with men generally more negative than women, and male rape myth acceptance significantly related to female rape myth acceptance, negative attitudes about gay men, gender role attitudes, and victim blame. Furthermore, male rape myth acceptance was predicted by female rape myth acceptance, gender attitudes, and victim blame. Methodological issues and implications for future work and those working with victims are discussed.

  19. Quantification of uncertainty in machining operations for on-machine acceptance.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Claudet, Andre A.; Tran, Hy D.; Su, Jiann-Chemg

    2008-09-01

    Manufactured parts are designed with acceptance tolerances, i.e. deviations from ideal design conditions, due to unavoidable errors in the manufacturing process. It is necessary to measure and evaluate the manufactured part, compared to the nominal design, to determine whether the part meets design specifications. The scope of this research project is dimensional acceptance of machined parts; specifically, parts machined using numerically controlled (NC, or also CNC for Computer Numerically Controlled) machines. In the design/build/accept cycle, the designer will specify both a nominal value, and an acceptable tolerance. As part of the typical design/build/accept business practice, it is required to verifymore » that the part did meet acceptable values prior to acceptance. Manufacturing cost must include not only raw materials and added labor, but also the cost of ensuring conformance to specifications. Ensuring conformance is a substantial portion of the cost of manufacturing. In this project, the costs of measurements were approximately 50% of the cost of the machined part. In production, cost of measurement would be smaller, but still a substantial proportion of manufacturing cost. The results of this research project will point to a science-based approach to reducing the cost of ensuring conformance to specifications. The approach that we take is to determine, a priori, how well a CNC machine can manufacture a particular geometry from stock. Based on the knowledge of the manufacturing process, we are then able to decide features which need further measurements from features which can be accepted 'as is' from the CNC. By calibration of the machine tool, and establishing a machining accuracy ratio, we can validate the ability of CNC to fabricate to a particular level of tolerance. This will eliminate the costs of checking for conformance for relatively large tolerances.« less

  20. Integrated Model for E-Learning Acceptance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramadiani; Rodziah, A.; Hasan, S. M.; Rusli, A.; Noraini, C.

    2016-01-01

    E-learning is not going to work if the system is not used in accordance with user needs. User Interface is very important to encourage using the application. Many theories had discuss about user interface usability evaluation and technology acceptance separately, actually why we do not make it correlation between interface usability evaluation and user acceptance to enhance e-learning process. Therefore, the evaluation model for e-learning interface acceptance is considered important to investigate. The aim of this study is to propose the integrated e-learning user interface acceptance evaluation model. This model was combined some theories of e-learning interface measurement such as, user learning style, usability evaluation, and the user benefit. We formulated in constructive questionnaires which were shared at 125 English Language School (ELS) students. This research statistics used Structural Equation Model using LISREL v8.80 and MANOVA analysis.

  1. Examining the Relationship between Male Rape Myth Acceptance, Female Rape Myth Acceptance, Victim Blame, Homophobia, Gender Roles, and Ambivalent Sexism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davies, Michelle; Gilston, Jennifer; Rogers, Paul

    2012-01-01

    The relationship between male rape myth acceptance, female rape myth acceptance, attitudes toward gay men, a series of gender role and sexism measures, victim blame and assault severity were investigated. It was predicted that men would display more negative, stereotypical attitudes than women and that male rape myth endorsement would be related…

  2. Utilization of Space Station for industrial thermophysical property measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Overfelt, Tony; Watkins, John

    1996-03-01

    The International Space Station represents the largest cooperative space project in history and will be industry's only reasonable access to the low-g environment for long duration R&D. Such access will provide unique and competitive capabilities to industry if private sector entities can commercially utilize the Space Station for their industrial research programs. The metal casting industry has identified the need for accurate thermophysical properties of molten alloys as a priority need. Research over the last decade has demonstrated that experimental techniques exist to containerlessly measure critical thermophysical and related properties of molten metals for improved process design. This paper describes the ``VULCAN'' concept, a proposed commercial instrument for thermophysical properties measurements on the Space Station. Finally, several issues regarding private sector utilization of the Space Station are also discussed.

  3. Thermoelectric property measurements with computer controlled systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chmielewski, A. B.; Wood, C.

    1984-01-01

    A joint JPL-NASA program to develop an automated system to measure the thermoelectric properties of newly developed materials is described. Consideration is given to the difficulties created by signal drift in measurements of Hall voltage and the Large Delta T Seebeck coefficient. The benefits of a computerized system were examined with respect to error reduction and time savings for human operators. It is shown that the time required to measure Hall voltage can be reduced by a factor of 10 when a computer is used to fit a curve to the ratio of the measured signal and its standard deviation. The accuracy of measurements of the Large Delta T Seebeck coefficient and thermal diffusivity was also enhanced by the use of computers.

  4. Sensory properties and consumer acceptance of imported and domestic sliced black ripe olives.

    PubMed

    Lee, Soh Min; Kitsawad, Kamolnate; Sigal, Abdulkadir; Flynn, Dan; Guinard, Jean-Xavier

    2012-12-01

    Table olives are healthy and nutritious products with high contents of monounsaturated fatty acids, phenolics, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Understanding sensory cues affecting consumer preferences would enable the increase of olive consumption. The objectives of this study were to characterize the sensory properties of commercial sliced black ripe olives from different regions, including California, Egypt, Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, and to examine the preferences of California consumers for sliced black ripe olives. Sensory profiles and preferences for 20 sliced olive samples were determined using descriptive analysis with a trained panel and a consumer test with 104 users and likers of table olives. Aroma and flavor characteristics separated the olives according to country of origin, and were the main determinants of consumer preferences for sliced olives, even though the biggest differences among the samples were in appearance and texture. Total of 2 consumer segments were identified with 51 and 53 consumers, respectively, that both liked Californian products, but differed in the olives they disliked. Negative drivers of liking for both segments included alcohol, oak barrel, and artificial fruity/floral characteristics; however, consumers from Cluster 1 were further negatively influenced by rancid, gassy, and bitter characteristics. This study stresses the need for sound and appealing flavor quality for table olives to gain wider acceptance among U.S. consumers. © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®

  5. Measurement properties of translated versions of neck-specific questionnaires: a systematic review

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Several disease-specific questionnaires to measure pain and disability in patients with neck pain have been translated. However, a simple translation of the original version doesn't guarantee similar measurement properties. The objective of this study is to critically appraise the quality of the translation process, cross-cultural validation and the measurement properties of translated versions of neck-specific questionnaires. Methods Bibliographic databases were searched for articles concerning the translation or evaluation of the measurement properties of a translated version of a neck-specific questionnaire. The methodological quality of the selected studies and the results of the measurement properties were critically appraised and rated using the COSMIN checklist and criteria for measurement properties. Results The search strategy resulted in a total of 3641 unique hits, of which 27 articles, evaluating 6 different questionnaires in 15 different languages, were included in this study. Generally the methodological quality of the translation process is poor and none of the included studies performed a cross-cultural adaptation. A substantial amount of information regarding the measurement properties of translated versions of the different neck-specific questionnaires is lacking. Moreover, the evidence for the quality of measurement properties of the translated versions is mostly limited or assessed in studies of poor methodological quality. Conclusions Until results from high quality studies are available, we advise to use the Catalan, Dutch, English, Iranian, Korean, Spanish and Turkish version of the NDI, the Chinese version of the NPQ, and the Finnish, German and Italian version of the NPDS. The Greek NDI needs cross-cultural validation and there is no methodologically sound information for the Swedish NDI. For all other languages we advise to translate the original version of the NDI. PMID:21645355

  6. Measuring Tree Properties and Responses Using Low-Cost Accelerometers

    DOE PAGES

    van Emmerik, Tim; Steele-Dunne, Susan; Hut, Rolf; ...

    2017-05-11

    Trees play a crucial role in the water, carbon and nitrogen cycle on local, regional and global scales. Understanding the exchange of momentum, heat, water, and CO 2 between trees and the atmosphere is important to assess the impact of drought, deforestation and climate change. Unfortunately, ground measurements of tree properties such as mass and canopy interception of precipitation are often expensive or difficult due to challenging environments. This paper aims to demonstrate the concept of using robust and affordable accelerometers to measure tree properties and responses. Tree sway is dependent on mass, canopy structure, drag coefficient, and wind forcing.more » By measuring tree acceleration, we can relate the tree motion to external forcing (e.g., wind, precipitation and related canopy interception) and tree physical properties (e.g., mass, elasticity). Using five months of acceleration data of 19 trees in the Brazilian Amazon, we show that the frequency spectrum of tree sway is related to mass, canopy interception of precipitation, and canopy–atmosphere turbulent exchange.« less

  7. Measuring Tree Properties and Responses Using Low-Cost Accelerometers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    van Emmerik, Tim; Steele-Dunne, Susan; Hut, Rolf

    Trees play a crucial role in the water, carbon and nitrogen cycle on local, regional and global scales. Understanding the exchange of momentum, heat, water, and CO 2 between trees and the atmosphere is important to assess the impact of drought, deforestation and climate change. Unfortunately, ground measurements of tree properties such as mass and canopy interception of precipitation are often expensive or difficult due to challenging environments. This paper aims to demonstrate the concept of using robust and affordable accelerometers to measure tree properties and responses. Tree sway is dependent on mass, canopy structure, drag coefficient, and wind forcing.more » By measuring tree acceleration, we can relate the tree motion to external forcing (e.g., wind, precipitation and related canopy interception) and tree physical properties (e.g., mass, elasticity). Using five months of acceleration data of 19 trees in the Brazilian Amazon, we show that the frequency spectrum of tree sway is related to mass, canopy interception of precipitation, and canopy–atmosphere turbulent exchange.« less

  8. Systematic review of measurement properties of questionnaires measuring somatization in primary care patients.

    PubMed

    Sitnikova, Kate; Dijkstra-Kersten, Sandra M A; Mokkink, Lidwine B; Terluin, Berend; van Marwijk, Harm W J; Leone, Stephanie S; van der Horst, Henriëtte E; van der Wouden, Johannes C

    2017-12-01

    The aim of this review is to critically appraise the evidence on measurement properties of self-report questionnaires measuring somatization in adult primary care patients and to provide recommendations about which questionnaires are most useful for this purpose. We assessed the methodological quality of included studies using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. To draw overall conclusions about the quality of the questionnaires, we conducted an evidence synthesis using predefined criteria for judging the measurement properties. We found 24 articles on 9 questionnaires. Studies on the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) and the Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ) somatization subscale prevailed and covered the broadest range of measurement properties. These questionnaires had the best internal consistency, test-retest reliability, structural validity, and construct validity. The PHQ-15 also had good criterion validity, whereas the 4DSQ somatization subscale was validated in several languages. The Bodily Distress Syndrome (BDS) checklist had good internal consistency and structural validity. Some evidence was found for good construct validity and criterion validity of the Physical Symptom Checklist (PSC-51) and good construct validity of the Symptom Check-List (SCL-90-R) somatization subscale. However, these three questionnaires were only studied in a small number of primary care studies. Based on our findings, we recommend the use of either the PHQ-15 or 4DSQ somatization subscale for somatization in primary care. Other questionnaires, such as the BDS checklist, PSC-51 and the SCL-90-R somatization subscale show promising results but have not been studied extensively in primary care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. A systematic review evaluating the psychometric properties of measures of social inclusion

    PubMed Central

    Milbourn, Ben; Martin, Robyn; Buchanan, Angus; Chung, Donna; Speyer, Renée

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Improving social inclusion opportunities for population health has been identified as a priority area for international policy. There is a need to comprehensively examine and evaluate the quality of psychometric properties of measures of social inclusion that are used to guide social policy and outcomes. Objective To conduct a systematic review of the literature on all current measures of social inclusion for any population group, to evaluate the quality of the psychometric properties of identified measures, and to evaluate if they capture the construct of social inclusion. Methods A systematic search was performed using five electronic databases: CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, ERIC and Pubmed and grey literature were sourced to identify measures of social inclusion. The psychometric properties of the social inclusion measures were evaluated against the COSMIN taxonomy of measurement properties using pre-set psychometric criteria. Results Of the 109 measures identified, twenty-five measures, involving twenty-five studies and one manual met the inclusion criteria. The overall quality of the reviewed measures was variable, with the Social and Community Opportunities Profile-Short, Social Connectedness Scale and the Social Inclusion Scale demonstrating the strongest evidence for sound psychometric quality. The most common domain included in the measures was connectedness (21), followed by participation (19); the domain of citizenship was covered by the least number of measures (10). No single instrument measured all aspects within the three domains of social inclusion. Of the measures with sound psychometric evidence, the Social and Community Opportunities Profile-Short captured the construct of social inclusion best. Conclusions The overall quality of the psychometric properties demonstrate that the current suite of available instruments for the measurement of social inclusion are promising but need further refinement. There is a need for a universal working

  10. Measurement properties of adult quality-of-life measurement instruments for eczema: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Heinl, D; Prinsen, C A C; Deckert, S; Chalmers, J R; Drucker, A M; Ofenloch, R; Humphreys, R; Sach, T; Chamlin, S L; Schmitt, J; Apfelbacher, C

    2016-03-01

    The Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative has identified quality of life (QoL) as a core outcome domain to be evaluated in every eczema trial. It is unclear which of the existing QoL instruments is most appropriate for this domain. Thus, the aim of this review was to systematically assess the measurement properties of existing measurement instruments developed and/or validated for the measurement of QoL in adult eczema. We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed and Embase identifying studies on measurement properties of adult eczema QoL instruments. For all eligible studies, we assessed the adequacy of the measurement properties and the methodological quality with the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. A best evidence synthesis summarizing findings from different studies was the basis to assign four degrees of recommendation (A-D). A total of 15 articles reporting on 17 instruments were included. No instrument fulfilled the criteria for category A. Six instruments were placed in category B, meaning that they have the potential to be recommended depending on the results of further validation studies. Three instruments had poor adequacy in at least one required adequacy criterion and were therefore put in category C. The remaining eight instruments were minimally validated and were thus placed in category D. Currently, no QoL instrument can be recommended for use in adult eczema. The Quality of Life Index for Atopic Dermatitis (QoLIAD) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) are recommended for further validation research. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Systematic Review of the Measurement Properties of Tools Used to Measure Behaviour Problems in Young Children with Autism

    PubMed Central

    Hanratty, Jennifer; Livingstone, Nuala; Robalino, Shannon; Terwee, Caroline B.; Glod, Magdalena; Oono, Inalegwu P.; Rodgers, Jacqui; Macdonald, Geraldine; McConachie, Helen

    2015-01-01

    Background Behaviour problems are common in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are many different tools used to measure behavior problems but little is known about their validity for the population. Objectives To evaluate the measurement properties of behaviour problems tools used in evaluation of intervention or observational research studies with children with ASD up to the age of six years. Methods Behaviour measurement tools were identified as part of a larger, two stage, systematic review. First, sixteen major electronic databases, as well as grey literature and research registers were searched, and tools used listed and categorized. Second, using methodological filters, we searched for articles examining the measurement properties of the tools in use with young children with ASD in ERIC, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. The quality of these papers was then evaluated using the COSMIN checklist. Results We identified twelve tools which had been used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD, and fifteen studies which investigated the measurement properties of six of these tools. There was no evidence available for the remaining six tools. Two questionnaires were found to be the most robust in their measurement properties, the Child Behavior Checklist and the Home Situations Questionnaire—Pervasive Developmental Disorders version. Conclusions We found patchy evidence on reliability and validity, for only a few of the tools used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD. More systematic research is required on measurement properties of tools for use in this population, in particular to establish responsiveness to change which is essential in measurement of outcomes of intervention. PROSPERO Registration Number CRD42012002223 PMID:26659821

  12. Measurements of Intensive Aerosol Optical Properties During TexAQS II

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Atkinson, D. B.; Radney, J. G.; Wright, M. E.

    2007-12-01

    Time-resolved measurements of the bulk extensive aerosol optical properties - particle extinction coefficient (bext) and particle scattering coefficient (bscat) - and particle number concentrations were made as part of the six-week TRAMP experiment during the TexAQS II (2006) study. These measurements were done at a nominal surface site (the roof of an 18 story building) on the University of Houston campus near downtown Houston, Texas. Our ground-based tandem cavity ring-down transmissometer/nephelometer instrument (CRDT/N) provided the aerosol optical property measurements. A commercial Condensation Particle Counter (TSI 3007) was used to measure the number concentrations during part of the study period. The optical data was used to construct the intensive aerosol optical properties single scattering albedo ω0 at 532 nm and the Angstrom exponent for extinction between 532 nm and 1064 nm. Recent validation studies of size- selected laboratory generated aerosols are presented to illustrate the soundness of this approach using our instrument. The Angstrom exponent is compared to values from other instruments operating in the area and is found to be a characteristic of the regional air mass under some conditions. Size distributions measured during the study were used to create a new empirical adjustment to scattering measured by the Radiance Research nephelometer, resulting in improved results for particle absorption coefficient and single scattering albedo. The study average value of ω0(532 nm) = 0.78 is lower than expected from comparable field studies and even lower values are experienced during the study. Possible causes of this discrepancy are examined and the utility of using the current version of the CRDT/N instrument to measure the key radiative property ω0 is assessed. Observed episodes of rapid increases in particle number concentration with little corresponding growth in the optical properties can presumably be used to signal the occurrence of particle

  13. Measurement Properties of the Central Sensitization Inventory: A Systematic Review.

    PubMed

    Scerbo, Thomas; Colasurdo, Joseph; Dunn, Sally; Unger, Jacob; Nijs, Jo; Cook, Chad

    2018-04-01

    Central sensitization (CS) is a phenomenon associated with several medical diagnoses, including postcancer pain, low back pain, osteoarthritis, whiplash, and fibromyalgia. CS involves an amplification of neural signaling within the central nervous system that results in pain hypersensitivity. The purpose of this systematic review was to gather published studies of a widely used outcome measure (the Central Sensitization Inventory [CSI]), determine the quality of evidence these publications reported, and examine the measurement properties of the CSI. Four databases were searched for publications from 2011 (when the CSI was developed) to July 2017. The Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) checklist was applied to evaluate methodological quality and risk of bias. In instances when COSMIN did not offer a scoring system for measurement properties, qualitative analyses were performed. Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria. Quality of evidence examined with the COSMIN checklist was determined to be good to excellent for all studies for their respective measurement property reports. Interpretability measures were consistent when publications were analyzed qualitatively, and construct validity was strong when examined alongside other validated measures relating to CS. An assessment of the published measurement studies of the CSI suggest the tool generates reliable and valid data that quantify the severity of several symptoms of CS. © 2017 World Institute of Pain.

  14. PROMs for pain in adult cancer patients: a systematic review of measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Abahussin, Asma A; West, Robert M; Wong, David C; Ziegler, Lucy E

    2018-05-17

    Pain is one of the most devastating symptoms for cancer patients. One-third of patients who experience pain do not receive effective treatment. A key barrier to effective pain management is lack of routine measurement and monitoring of pain. Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) are recommended for measuring cancer pain. However, evidence to guide the selection of the most appropriate measure to identify and monitor cancer pain is limited. A systematic review of measurement properties of PROMs for pain in cancer patients is needed to identify the best validated measure for adoption to an electronic platform. Systematically review measurement properties of PROMs used for adult cancer patients to measure pain and, as a secondary goal, investigate the evidence of validated mobile health (mHealth) applications used to measure pain (registration number: CRD42017065575). Medline, EMBASE and CINAHL were systematically searched in March 2018 for studies examining measurement properties for PROMs for pain in adult cancer patients. Both of the methodological quality of the studies and their results were appraised using the COSMIN checklist and specific measurement properties criteria respectively. Sixteen studies evaluating eight instruments were included. No studies using a PROM in a mHealth application were identified. The methodological quality of the measurement properties ranged between poor and fair. No instrument showed strong positive evidence for all the evaluated measurement properties. Based on the available evidence, the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) had the strongest evidence to support its selection for the measurement of cancer pain. The BPI-SF was the best performing measure across all proprieties evaluated through COSMIN. Better quality validation studies of PROMs for cancer pain are needed to explore the full range of measurement properties. Utilising mHealth applications for measuring pain for cancer patients is an innovative approach worth

  15. Measurement of adhesion properties between topcoat paint and metallized/galvanized steel with surface energy measurement equipment.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-09-01

    The objectives of this research project are: (1) Compare the adhesion properties of NEPCOAT-approved topcoat paint over : metallized or galvanized steel. Use surface-energy measuring technique to characterize the wetting properties of the liqui...

  16. Measurement Properties of the Persian Translated Version of Graves Orbitopathy Quality of Life Questionnaire: A Validation Study.

    PubMed

    Kashkouli, Mohsen Bahmani; Karimi, Nasser; Aghamirsalim, Mohamadreza; Abtahi, Mohammad Bagher; Nojomi, Marzieh; Shahrad-Bejestani, Hadi; Salehi, Masoud

    2017-02-01

    To determine the measurement properties of the Persian language version of the Graves orbitopathy quality of life questionnaire (GO-QOL). Following a systematic translation and cultural adaptation process, 141 consecutive unselected thyroid eye disease (TED) patients answered the Persian GO-QOL and underwent complete ophthalmic examination. The questionnaire was again completed by 60 patients on the second visit, 2-4 weeks later. Construct validity (cross-cultural validity, structural validity and hypotheses testing), reliability (internal consistency and test-retest reliability), and floor and ceiling effects of the Persian version of the GO-QOL were evaluated. Furthermore, Rasch analysis was used to assess its psychometric properties. Cross-cultural validity was established by back-translation techniques, committee review and pretesting techniques. Bi-dimensionality of the questionnaire was confirmed by factor analysis. Construct validity was also supported through confirmation of 6 out of 8 predefined hypotheses. Cronbach's α and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were 0.650 and 0.859 for visual functioning and 0.875 and 0.896 for appearance subscale, respectively. Mean quality of life (QOL) scores for visual functioning and appearance were 78.18 (standard deviation, SD, 21.57) and 56.25 (SD 26.87), respectively. Person reliabilities from the Rasch rating scale model for both visual functioning and appearance revealed an acceptable internal consistency for the Persian GO-QOL. The Persian GO-QOL questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool with good psychometric properties in evaluation of Persian-speaking patients with TED. Applying Rasch analysis to future versions of the GO-QOL is recommended in order to perform tests for linearity between the estimated item measures in different versions.

  17. Integrated three-dimensional shape and reflection properties measurement system.

    PubMed

    Krzesłowski, Jakub; Sitnik, Robert; Maczkowski, Grzegorz

    2011-02-01

    Creating accurate three-dimensional (3D) digitalized models of cultural heritage objects requires that information about surface geometry be integrated with measurements of other material properties like color and reflectance. Up until now, these measurements have been performed in laboratories using manually integrated (subjective) data analyses. We describe an out-of-laboratory bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) and 3D shape measurement system that implements shape and BRDF measurement in a single setup with BRDF uncertainty evaluation. The setup aligns spatial data with the angular reflectance distribution, yielding a better estimation of the surface's reflective properties by integrating these two modality measurements into one setup using a single detector. This approach provides a better picture of an object's intrinsic material features, which in turn produces a higher-quality digitalized model reconstruction. Furthermore, this system simplifies the data processing by combining structured light projection and photometric stereo. The results of our method of data analysis describe the diffusive and specular attributes corresponding to every measured geometric point and can be used to render intricate 3D models in an arbitrarily illuminated scene.

  18. Measurement properties of quality of life measurement instruments for infants, children and adolescents with eczema: protocol for a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Heinl, Daniel; Prinsen, Cecilia A C; Drucker, Aaron M; Ofenloch, Robert; Humphreys, Rosemary; Sach, Tracey; Flohr, Carsten; Apfelbacher, Christian

    2016-02-09

    Eczema is a common chronic or chronically relapsing, inflammatory skin disease that exerts a substantial negative impact on quality of life (QoL). The Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative has used a consensus-based process which identified QoL as one of the four core outcome domains to be assessed in all eczema clinical trials. A number of measurement instruments exist to measure QoL in infants, children, and adolescents with eczema, and there is a great variability in both content and quality of the instruments used. Therefore, the objective of the proposed research is to comprehensively and systematically assess the measurement properties of the existing measurement instruments that were developed and/or validated for the measurement of patient-reported QoL in infants, children, and adolescents with eczema. This study is a systematic review of the measurement properties of patient-reported measures of QoL developed and/or validated for infants, children, and adolescents with eczema. A systematic literature search will be carried out in MEDLINE via PubMed and EMBASE using a selection of relevant search terms. Eligible studies will be primary empirical studies evaluating, describing, or comparing measurement properties of QoL instruments for infants, children, and adolescents with eczema. Two reviewers will independently perform eligibility assessment and data abstraction. Evidence tables will be used to record study characteristics, instrument characteristics, measurement properties, and interpretability. The adequacy of the measurement properties will be assessed using predefined criteria. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist will be used to evaluate the methodological quality of included studies. A best evidence synthesis will be undertaken if more than one study has examined a particular measurement property. The proposed systematic review will yield a comprehensive assessment

  19. A Greener Approach for Measuring Colligative Properties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCarthy, Sean M.; Gordon-Wylie, Scott W.

    2005-01-01

    As a first step towards the greening of instructional laboratories, we present a new greener version of a laboratory procedure designed to measure colligative properties. The greener procedure substitutes the nontoxic, noncarcinogenic compounds stearic, myristic, lauric, and palmitic acids for the less benign aromatic compounds p-dichlorobenzene,…

  20. Health related quality of life measures in Arabic speaking populations: a systematic review on cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Al Sayah, Fatima; Ishaque, Sana; Lau, Darren; Johnson, Jeffrey A

    2013-02-01

    This systematic review was conducted to identify generic health related quality of life (HRQL) measures translated into Arabic, and evaluate their cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties. Six databases were searched, relevant journals were hand searched, and reference lists of included studies were reviewed. Previously established criteria were used to evaluate the cross-cultural adaptation of the identified instruments and their measurement properties. Twenty studies that reported the Arabic translations and adaptations of HRQL measures and/or their measurement properties were included in this review. The identified instruments were SF-36, RAND-36, WHOQOL-Bref, COOP/WONCA charts, EQ-5D, and QLI. Cross-cultural adaptations of all measures were of moderate to good quality, and evaluation of measurement properties was limited due to insufficiency of evidence. Based on cross-cultural adaptation evaluation, each instrument is more applicable to the population for whom it was adapted, and to other Arabic populations of similar culture and language specific idioms. This review facilitates the selection among existing Arabic versions of generic HRQL for use in particular Arabic countries. However, each of the translated versions requires further investigation of measurement properties before more concrete recommendations could be made.

  1. Effect of variety and processing method on functional properties of traditional sweet potato flour (“elubo”) and sensory acceptability of cooked paste (“amala”)

    PubMed Central

    Fetuga, Ganiyat; Tomlins, Keith; Henshaw, Folake; Idowu, Michael

    2014-01-01

    “Amala” is a generic term in Nigeria, used to describe a thick paste prepared by stirring flour (“elubo”) from yam, cassava or unripe plantain, in hot water, to form a smooth consistency. In order to overcome its high perishability and increase the utilization of sweet potato roots, three varieties of sweet potato roots were processed into flour using two methods. The interactive effect of variety and the processing method had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on all the functional properties of the flour except yellowness, setback viscosity, and peak time. Acceptable sweet potato “amala” with average sensory acceptability score of 7.5 were obtained from yellow-fleshed varieties irrespective of the processing method. Flour that produced acceptable “amala” were characterized by lower values of protein (2.20–3.94%), fiber (1.30–1.65%), total sugar (12.41–38.83 μg/mg), water absorption capacity (168–215 g/100 g), water solubility (8.29–14.65%), swelling power (0.52–0.82 g/g), and higher peak time (6.9–8.7 min). PMID:25493186

  2. Lexicon Development, Consumer Acceptance, and Drivers of Liking of Quinoa Varieties.

    PubMed

    Wu, Geyang; Ross, Carolyn F; Morris, Craig F; Murphy, Kevin M

    2017-04-01

    Quinoa is becoming increasingly popular, with an expanding number of commercially available varieties. To compare the sensory properties of these quinoa varieties, a common sensory lexicon needs to be developed. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop a lexicon of cooked quinoa and examine consumer acceptance of diverse varieties. A trained panel (n = 9) developed aroma, taste/flavor, texture, and color descriptors to describe the sensory properties of 21 quinoa varieties. In addition, texture of the cooked quinoa was determined using a texture analyzer. Results indicated that the developed lexicon could distinguish among these quinoa varieties, showing significant differences in aromas, taste/flavors, and texture attributes. Specifically, quinoa variety effects were observed for the aromas of caramel, nutty, buttery, grassy, earthy, and woody; taste/flavor of sweet, bitter, grain-like, nutty, earthy, and toasty; and firm, cohesive, pasty, adhesive, crunchy, chewy, astringent, and moist textures. Three varieties, "QQ74," "Linares," and "CO407D," exhibited an adhesive texture that has not been described in other commercialized quinoa. Subsequent consumer evaluation (n = 100) on 6 selected samples found that the "Commercial Red" sample was the most accepted overall whereas the least accepted was the field variety "QQ74." For all consumers, overall acceptance of quinoa was driven by higher intensities of grassy aroma, and firm and crunchy texture. Segmentation of the consumers into 4 groups was explored and showed that consumers varied in their acceptance of specific attributes, particularly texture. From the present study, the quinoa lexicon and key drivers of consumer acceptance can be utilized in the industry to evaluate quinoa varieties, product quality and processing procedures. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  3. The Youth Diversity Acceptance Scale: Development and Validity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beck, Kara L.; Acevedo-Polakovich, Ignacio D.; Lyons, Eileen; Estevez, Jessica; Sevecke, Jessica R.; Rossman, Danielle L.; Barnett, Miya L.; Fisher, Heidi R.

    2018-01-01

    To facilitate rigorous research on community programs to promote positive intergroup relations among youth, 2 studies were conducted to establish the psychometric properties of the Youth Diversity Acceptance Scale (YoDA). In Study 1, a unifactorial structure was identified for the YoDA using data provided by 126 high school youth involved in a…

  4. [Could infant euthanasia be ever acceptable?].

    PubMed

    Beca, J P; Leiva, A

    2014-10-01

    The recent enactment of a law that allows infant euthanasia in Belgium raises questions with varied answers. To contribute to a better understanding of the topic, euthanasia and legislation concepts are described. After a bioethical analysis, we propose as conclusion that children euthanasia could only be acceptable in very exceptional situations in which palliative measures have failed. The answer should be that it is not acceptable in our setting, not until we have public policies, protocols and palliative care services for terminally ill children.

  5. Consumer detection and acceptability of reduced-sodium bread.

    PubMed

    La Croix, Kimberly W; Fiala, Steven C; Colonna, Ann E; Durham, Catherine A; Morrissey, Michael T; Drum, Danna K; Kohn, Melvin A

    2015-06-01

    Bread is the largest contributor of Na to the American diet and excess Na consumption contributes to premature death and disability. We sought to determine the Na level at which consumers could detect a difference between reduced-Na bread and bread with typical Na content, and to determine if consumer sensory acceptability and purchase intent differed between reduced-Na bread and bread with typical Na content. Difference testing measured ability to detect differences in control bread and reduced-Na bread using two-alternative forced choice testing. Acceptability was measured using a nine-point hedonic scale and purchase intent was measured using a five-point purchase intent scale. Difference and acceptability testing were conducted in Portland, OR, USA in January 2013. Eighty-two consumers participated in difference testing and 109 consumers participated in acceptability testing. Consumers did not detect a difference in saltiness between the control bread and the 10 % reduced-Na bread, but did detect a difference between the control bread and bread reduced in Na content by 20 % and 30 %. Na reductions had no effect on consumer acceptability of sensory characteristics, including overall liking, appearance, aroma, flavour, sweetness, salt level and texture, or purchase intent. Reducing Na levels by up to 30 % in the sandwich bread tested did not affect consumer liking or purchase intent of the product. These results support national recommendations for small, incremental Na reductions in the food supply over time and assure bread manufacturers that sensory characteristics and consumer purchase intent of their products will be preserved after Na reductions occur.

  6. Emollient product design: objective measurements of formulation structure, texture and performance, and subjective assessments of user acceptability.

    PubMed

    Antonijević, M D; Owusu-Ware, S; Sanchon-Lopez, B

    2018-06-01

    The choice of prescribed emollients is usually based on cost and patient preference. Differences in formulations can affect user acceptability. To compare the physical performance, user acceptability and various product design features of two emollient gels that are prescribed in the UK and alleged to be therapeutically interchangeable because their formulations are described as having the same contents of oily ingredients. We found that here are in fact significant measurable differences between the structure and performance of the two formulations, which materially affect their user acceptability. These differences are attributed to the use of different types of gelling agents and other ingredients of differing grades/quality and concentrations, and probably due to the formulations being made by different manufacturing processes. We also identified other product design features that are important to user appeal, including the type of container in which the formulations are presented, the type of dispensing devices provided, and the nature and form of the supplied user instructions. Patients and prescribers should be aware that there can be important differences in performance and user appeal between emollients, even between products that, superficially, may appear to be very similar. These important performance aspects should be characterized for new emollient introductions to encourage better informed product selection. © 2018 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Dermatology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Association of Dermatologists, North American Clinical Dermatologic Society and St Johns Dermatological Society.

  7. The Australian Racism, Acceptance, and Cultural-Ethnocentrism Scale (RACES): item response theory findings.

    PubMed

    Grigg, Kaine; Manderson, Lenore

    2016-03-17

    Racism and associated discrimination are pervasive and persistent challenges with multiple cumulative deleterious effects contributing to inequities in various health outcomes. Globally, research over the past decade has shown consistent associations between racism and negative health concerns. Such research confirms that race endures as one of the strongest predictors of poor health. Due to the lack of validated Australian measures of racist attitudes, RACES (Racism, Acceptance, and Cultural-Ethnocentrism Scale) was developed. Here, we examine RACES' psychometric properties, including the latent structure, utilising Item Response Theory (IRT). Unidimensional and Multidimensional Rating Scale Model (RSM) Rasch analyses were utilised with 296 Victorian primary school students and 182 adolescents and 220 adults from the Australian community. RACES was demonstrated to be a robust 24-item three-dimensional scale of Accepting Attitudes (12 items), Racist Attitudes (8 items), and Ethnocentric Attitudes (4 items). RSM Rasch analyses provide strong support for the instrument as a robust measure of racist attitudes in the Australian context, and for the overall factorial and construct validity of RACES across primary school children, adolescents, and adults. RACES provides a reliable and valid measure that can be utilised across the lifespan to evaluate attitudes towards all racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious groups. A core function of RACES is to assess the effectiveness of interventions to reduce community levels of racism and in turn inequities in health outcomes within Australia.

  8. Method and apparatus for measuring film spectral properties

    DOEpatents

    Forrest, Stephen R.; Burrows, Paul E.; Garbuzov, Dmitri Z.; Bulovic, Vladimir

    1999-12-21

    Film spectral properties are measured by projecting chopped monochromatic light onto a luminescent film sample deposited on a substrate, and coupling through use of immersion oil the reflection of light therefrom to a light detector.

  9. Torsional Elastic Property Measurements of Selected Orthodontic Archwires.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-01-01

    problem because bracket slot sizes of .019" are not used. It would, however, affect the amount of activation needed to engage the orthodontic bracket for...D-AiB5 669 TORSIONAL ELASTIC PROPERTY MEASUREMENTSO SLECE ORTHODONTIC ARCHWlIRES(U) AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH B E LARSON 1987...Elastic Property Measurements of THESIS/D&&W t Selected Orthodontic Archwires 6. PERFORMING O1G. REPORT NUMBER 7. AUTHOR(s) S. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER(s

  10. Student ERI: Psychometric properties of a new brief measure of effort-reward imbalance among university students.

    PubMed

    Wege, Natalia; Li, Jian; Muth, Thomas; Angerer, Peter; Siegrist, Johannes

    2017-03-01

    Psychosocial stress among university students, particularly medical students, is considered a widely prevalent problem. There is a need for valid measurement of an adverse psychosocial stress environment in university settings. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a newly developed short student version of the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) questionnaire in a sample of medical students. A cross-sectional survey with a self-administrated questionnaire containing three scales was conducted among 406 medical students. Item-total correlations and Cronbach's alpha were calculated to assess the internal consistency of the scales. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test factorial validity of the questionnaire structure. The student version of the ERI questionnaire provides acceptable psychometric properties. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for effort, reward, and over-commitment were 0.67, 0.65, and 0.79, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis displayed a satisfactory fit of the data structure with the theoretical concept (GFI>0.94). This student version of the ERI questionnaire provides a psychometrically tested tool for studies focussing on psychosocial environment in university settings. Further applications of this approach in other student groups are needed, in addition to prospective studies assessing associations with health outcomes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Coaxial-probe contact-force monitoring for dielectric properties measurements

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    A means is described for measuring and monitoring the contact force applied to a material sample with an open-ended coaxial-line probe for purposes of measuring the dielectric properties of semisolid material samples such as fruit, vegetable and animal tissues. The equipment consists of a stainless...

  12. Monitoring Coaxial-Probe Contact Force for Dielectric Properties Measurement

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    A means is described for measuring and monitoring the contact force applied to a material sample with an open-ended coaxial-line probe for purposes of measuring the dielectric properties of semisolid material samples such as fruit, vegetable and animal tissues. The equipment consists of a stainless...

  13. Feasibility and acceptability of a self-measurement using a portable bioelectrical impedance analysis, by the patient with chronic heart failure, in acute decompensated heart failure.

    PubMed

    Huguel, Benjamin; Vaugrenard, Thibaud; Saby, Ludivine; Benhamou, Lionel; Arméro, Sébastien; Camilleri, Élise; Langar, Aida; Alitta, Quentin; Grino, Michel; Retornaz, Frédérique

    2018-06-01

    Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a major public health matter. Mainly affecting the elderly, it is responsible for a high rate of hospitalization due to the frequency of acute heart failure (ADHF). This represents a disabling pathology for the patient and very costly for the health care system. Our study is designed to assess a connected and portable bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) that could reduce these hospitalizations by preventing early ADHF. This prospective study included patients hospitalized in cardiology for ADHF. Patients achieved 3 self-measurements using the BIA during their hospitalization and answered a questionnaire evaluating the acceptability of this self-measurement. The results of these measures were compared with the clinical, biological and echocardiographic criteria of patients at the same time. Twenty-three patients were included, the self-measurement during the overall duration of the hospitalization was conducted autonomously by more than 80% of the patients. The acceptability (90%) for the use of the portable BIA was excellent. Some correlations were statistically significant, such as the total water difference to the weight difference (p=0.001). There were common trends between the variation of impedance analysis measures and other evaluation criteria. The feasibility and acceptability of a self-measurement of bioelectrical impedance analysis by the patient in AHF opens up major prospects in the management of monitoring patients in CHF. The interest of this tool is the prevention of ADHF leading to hospitalization or re-hospitalizations now requires to be presented by new studies.

  14. 10 CFR 603.550 - Acceptability of intellectual property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... property (e.g., copyrighted material, including software) as cost sharing because: (1) It is difficult to... the contribution. For example, a for-profit firm may offer the use of commercially available software... the software would not be a reasonable basis for valuing its use. ...

  15. 10 CFR 603.550 - Acceptability of intellectual property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... property (e.g., copyrighted material, including software) as cost sharing because: (1) It is difficult to... the contribution. For example, a for-profit firm may offer the use of commercially available software... the software would not be a reasonable basis for valuing its use. ...

  16. Utilization of Multimedia Laboratory: An Acceptance Analysis using TAM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Modeong, M.; Palilingan, V. R.

    2018-02-01

    Multimedia is often utilized by teachers to present a learning materials. Learning that delivered by multimedia enables people to understand the information of up to 60% of the learning in general. To applying the creative learning to the classroom, multimedia presentation needs a laboratory as a space that provides multimedia needs. This study aims to reveal the level of student acceptance on the multimedia laboratories, by explaining the direct and indirect effect of internal support and technology infrastructure. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is used as the basis of measurement on this research, through the perception of usefulness, ease of use, and the intention, it’s recognized capable of predicting user acceptance about technology. This study used the quantitative method. The data analysis using path analysis that focuses on trimming models, it’s performed to improve the model of path analysis structure by removing exogenous variables that have insignificant path coefficients. The result stated that Internal Support and Technology Infrastructure are well mediated by TAM variables to measure the level of technology acceptance. The implications suggest that TAM can measure the success of multimedia laboratory utilization in Faculty of Engineering UNIMA.

  17. Measurement and testing of the acoustic properties of materials: a review

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeqiri, Bajram; Scholl, Werner; Robinson, Stephen P.

    2010-04-01

    A review is presented of methods of measurement for a range of key acoustic properties of materials, spanning three application areas: airborne sound, underwater acoustics and ultrasound. The acoustic properties considered, primarily transmission loss (damping) and echo-reduction, are specifically important to the end application of any material. The state-of-the-art in measurement and likely future challenges are described in detail.

  18. Measurement and Modeling of the Optical Scattering Properties of Crop Canopies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Vanderbilt, V. C.; Grant, L.

    1984-01-01

    Efforts in measuring, analyzing, and mathematically modeling the specular, polarized, and diffuse light scattering properties of several plant canopies and their component parts (leaves, stems, fruit, soil) as a function of view angle and illumination angle are reported. Specific objectives were: (1) to demonstrate a technique for determining the specular and diffuse components of the reflectance factor of plant canopies; (2) to acquire the measurements and begin assembling a data set for developing and testing canopy reflectance models; (3) to design and build a new optical instrument to measure the light scattering properties of individual leaves; and (4) to use this instrument to survey and investigate the information in the light scattering properties of individual leaves of crops, forests, weeds, and horticulture.

  19. Impact of an Acceptance Facilitating Intervention on Patients' Acceptance of Internet-based Pain Interventions: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

    PubMed

    Baumeister, Harald; Seifferth, Holger; Lin, Jiaxi; Nowoczin, Lisa; Lüking, Marianne; Ebert, David

    2015-06-01

    Results from clinical trials indicate that Internet-based psychological pain interventions are effective in treating chronic pain. However, little is known about patients' acceptance of these programs and how to positively influence patients' intention to engage in them. Therefore, the present study aimed (1) to assess patients' acceptance of Internet-based interventions, and (2) to examine whether patients' acceptance can be increased by an acceptance facilitating intervention. A total of 104 patients with chronic pain from 2 pain units were randomly allocated to an intervention group (IG) and a no-intervention control group (CG). The IG was shown a short informational video about Internet-based psychological pain interventions before receiving a questionnaire on patients' acceptance of Internet-based psychological pain interventions and predictors of acceptance (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, Internet usage, and Internet anxiety). The CG filled out the questionnaire immediately. Patients' acceptance was measured with a 4-item scale (sum score ranging from 4 to 20). Baseline acceptance of Internet-based interventions was reported as low (sum-score:4-9) by 53.8%, moderate (10 to 15) by 42.3%, and high (16 to 20) by 3.9% of the patients with chronic pain in the CG. The IG showed a significantly higher acceptance (M = 12.17, SD = 4.22) than the CG (M = 8.94, SD = 3.71) with a standardized mean difference of d = 0.81 (95% CI, 0.41, 1.21). All predictor variables were significantly improved in the IG compared with the CG, except for Internet usage. Patients with chronic pain display a relatively low acceptance of Internet-based psychological pain interventions, which can be substantially increased by a short informational video.

  20. Acceptance Probability (P a) Analysis for Process Validation Lifecycle Stages.

    PubMed

    Alsmeyer, Daniel; Pazhayattil, Ajay; Chen, Shu; Munaretto, Francesco; Hye, Maksuda; Sanghvi, Pradeep

    2016-04-01

    This paper introduces an innovative statistical approach towards understanding how variation impacts the acceptance criteria of quality attributes. Because of more complex stage-wise acceptance criteria, traditional process capability measures are inadequate for general application in the pharmaceutical industry. The probability of acceptance concept provides a clear measure, derived from specific acceptance criteria for each quality attribute. In line with the 2011 FDA Guidance, this approach systematically evaluates data and scientifically establishes evidence that a process is capable of consistently delivering quality product. The probability of acceptance provides a direct and readily understandable indication of product risk. As with traditional capability indices, the acceptance probability approach assumes that underlying data distributions are normal. The computational solutions for dosage uniformity and dissolution acceptance criteria are readily applicable. For dosage uniformity, the expected AV range may be determined using the s lo and s hi values along with the worst case estimates of the mean. This approach permits a risk-based assessment of future batch performance of the critical quality attributes. The concept is also readily applicable to sterile/non sterile liquid dose products. Quality attributes such as deliverable volume and assay per spray have stage-wise acceptance that can be converted into an acceptance probability. Accepted statistical guidelines indicate processes with C pk > 1.33 as performing well within statistical control and those with C pk < 1.0 as "incapable" (1). A C pk > 1.33 is associated with a centered process that will statistically produce less than 63 defective units per million. This is equivalent to an acceptance probability of >99.99%.

  1. A systematic review investigating measurement properties of physiological tests in rugby.

    PubMed

    Chiwaridzo, Matthew; Oorschot, Sander; Dambi, Jermaine M; Ferguson, Gillian D; Bonney, Emmanuel; Mudawarima, Tapfuma; Tadyanemhandu, Cathrine; Smits-Engelsman, Bouwien C M

    2017-01-01

    This systematic review was conducted with the first objective aimed at providing an overview of the physiological characteristics commonly evaluated in rugby and the corresponding tests used to measure each construct. Secondly, the measurement properties of all identified tests per physiological construct were evaluated with the ultimate purpose of identifying tests with strongest level of evidence per construct. The review was conducted in two stages. In all stages, electronic databases of EBSCOhost, Medline and Scopus were searched for full-text articles. Stage 1 included studies examining physiological characteristics in rugby. Stage 2 included studies evaluating measurement properties of all tests identified in Stage 1 either in rugby or related sports such as Australian Rules football and Soccer. Two independent reviewers screened relevant articles from titles and abstracts for both stages. Seventy studies met the inclusion criteria for Stage 1. The studies described 63 tests assessing speed (8), agility/change of direction speed (7), upper-body muscular endurance (8), upper-body muscular power (6), upper-body muscular strength (5), anaerobic endurance (4), maximal aerobic power (4), lower-body muscular power (3), prolonged high-intensity intermittent running ability/endurance (5), lower-body muscular strength (5), repeated high-intensity exercise performance (3), repeated-sprint ability (2), repeated-effort ability (1), maximal aerobic speed (1) and abdominal endurance (1). Stage 2 identified 20 studies describing measurement properties of 21 different tests. Only moderate evidence was found for the reliability of the 30-15 Intermittent Fitness. There was limited evidence found for the reliability and/or validity of 5 m, 10 m, 20 m speed tests, 505 test, modified 505 test, L run test, Sergeant Jump test and bench press repetitions-to-fatigue tests. There was no information from high-quality studies on the measurement properties of all the other tests

  2. Measurements of top quark properties at CDF

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kraan, Aafke C.; /Pennsylvania U.

    The top quark with its mass of about 172 GeV/c{sup 2} is the most massive fundamental particle observed by experiment. In this talk they highlight the most recent measurements of several top quark properties performed with the CDF detector based on data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities up to 1 fb{sup -1}. These results include a search for top quark pair production via new massive resonances, measurements of the helicity of the W boson from top-quark decay, and a direct limit on the lifetime of the top quark.

  3. 46 CFR 50.25-10 - Acceptance of piping components by specific letter or approved plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ...) MARINE ENGINEERING GENERAL PROVISIONS Acceptance of Material and Piping Components § 50.25-10 Acceptance... approved plan must do the following: (1) Submit an engineering type catalog or representative drawings of... specifications by comparing details of the materials' chemical composition, mechanical properties, method of...

  4. 46 CFR 50.25-10 - Acceptance of piping components by specific letter or approved plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ...) MARINE ENGINEERING GENERAL PROVISIONS Acceptance of Material and Piping Components § 50.25-10 Acceptance... approved plan must do the following: (1) Submit an engineering type catalog or representative drawings of... specifications by comparing details of the materials' chemical composition, mechanical properties, method of...

  5. 46 CFR 50.25-10 - Acceptance of piping components by specific letter or approved plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ...) MARINE ENGINEERING GENERAL PROVISIONS Acceptance of Material and Piping Components § 50.25-10 Acceptance... approved plan must do the following: (1) Submit an engineering type catalog or representative drawings of... specifications by comparing details of the materials' chemical composition, mechanical properties, method of...

  6. 46 CFR 50.25-10 - Acceptance of piping components by specific letter or approved plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ...) MARINE ENGINEERING GENERAL PROVISIONS Acceptance of Material and Piping Components § 50.25-10 Acceptance... approved plan must do the following: (1) Submit an engineering type catalog or representative drawings of... specifications by comparing details of the materials' chemical composition, mechanical properties, method of...

  7. 46 CFR 50.25-10 - Acceptance of piping components by specific letter or approved plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ...) MARINE ENGINEERING GENERAL PROVISIONS Acceptance of Material and Piping Components § 50.25-10 Acceptance... approved plan must do the following: (1) Submit an engineering type catalog or representative drawings of... specifications by comparing details of the materials' chemical composition, mechanical properties, method of...

  8. Instruments to assess patients with rotator cuff pathology: a systematic review of measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Longo, Umile Giuseppe; Saris, Daniël; Poolman, Rudolf W; Berton, Alessandra; Denaro, Vincenzo

    2012-10-01

    The aims of this study were to obtain an overview of the methodological quality of studies on the measurement properties of rotator cuff questionnaires and to describe how well various aspects of the design and statistical analyses of studies on measurement properties are performed. A systematic review of published studies on the measurement properties of rotator cuff questionnaires was performed. Two investigators independently rated the quality of the studies using the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments checklist. This checklist was developed in an international Delphi consensus study. Sixteen studies were included, in which two measurement instruments were evaluated, namely the Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index and the Rotator Cuff Quality-of-Life Measure. The methodological quality of the included studies was adequate on some properties (construct validity, reliability, responsiveness, internal consistency, and translation) but need to be improved on other aspects. The most important methodological aspects that need to be developed are as follows: measurement error, content validity, structural validity, cross-cultural validity, criterion validity, and interpretability. Considering the importance of adequate measurement properties, it is concluded that, in the field of rotator cuff pathology, there is room for improvement in the methodological quality of studies measurement properties. II.

  9. Measuring the Moderating Effect of Gender and Age on E-Learning Acceptance in England: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach for an Extended Technology Acceptance Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tarhini, Ali; Hone, Kate; Liu, Xiaohui

    2014-01-01

    The success of an e-learning intervention depends to a considerable extent on student acceptance and use of the technology. Therefore, it has become imperative for practitioners and policymakers to understand the factors affecting the user acceptance of e-learning systems in order to enhance the students' learning experience. Based on an extended…

  10. Traceable measurements of small forces and local mechanical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Campbellová, Anna; Valtr, Miroslav; Zůda, Jaroslav; Klapetek, Petr

    2011-09-01

    Measurement of local mechanical properties is an important topic in the fields of nanoscale device fabrication, thin film deposition and composite material development. Nanoindentation instruments are commonly used to study hardness and related mechanical properties at the nanoscale. However, traceability and uncertainty aspects of the measurement process often remain left aside. In this contribution, the use of a commercial nanoindentation instrument for metrology purposes will be discussed. Full instrument traceability, provided using atomic force microscope cantilevers and a mass comparator (normal force), interferometer (depth) and atomic force microscope (area function) is described. The uncertainty of the loading/unloading curve measurements will be analyzed and the resulting uncertainties for quantities, that are computed from loading curves such as hardness or elastic modulus, are studied. For this calculation a combination of uncertainty propagation law and Monte Carlo uncertainty evaluations are used.

  11. A small-angle large-acceptance detection system for hadrons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kalantar-Nayestanaki, N.; Bacelar, J. C. S.; Brandenburg, S.; Huisman, H.; Messchendorp, J. G.; Mul, F. A.; Schadmand, S.; van der Schaaf, K.; Schippers, J. M.; Volkerts, M.

    2000-04-01

    The performance of a segmented large-acceptance detector, capable of measuring particles at small forward angles, is presented. The Small-Angle Large-Acceptance Detector (SALAD), was built to handle very high rates of particles impinging on the detector. Particles down to a few MeV can be detected with it. The position of charged particles is measured by two Multi-Wire Proportional Chambers while scintillator blocks are used to measure the energy of the detected particle. A stack of thin scintillators placed behind the energy detectors allows for a hardware rejection (veto) of high-energy particles going through the scintillator blocks.

  12. Technology Acceptance among Pre-Service Teachers: Does Gender Matter?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teo, Timothy; Fan, Xitao; Du, Jianxia

    2015-01-01

    This study examined possible gender differences in pre-service teachers' perceived acceptance of technology in their professional work under the framework of the technology acceptance model (TAM). Based on a sample of pre-service teachers, a series of progressively more stringent measurement invariance tests (configural, metric, and scalar…

  13. Acceptance and expressed emotion in Mexican American caregivers of relatives with schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Dorian, Marina; Ramírez García, Jorge I; López, Steven R; Hernández, Brenda

    2008-06-01

    The relation between Expressed Emotion (EE) and caregiver acceptance was tested with the use of video-recorded interactions between 31 Mexican American family caregivers and their relatives with schizophrenia. Borrowing the concept from Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy, acceptance was defined as caregiver's engagement with the ill relative along with low levels of expectations for behavioral change. Three aspects of caregiver acceptance were measured: global acceptance of the patient, unified detachment (i.e., nonblaming but engaged problem discussion), and low aversive responses to patient behavior (e.g., criticisms and demanding change). Relative to high EE caregivers, low EE caregivers were consistently more accepting of their ill relatives across the three measures of acceptance. Unified detachment was negatively associated with emotional overinvolvement and aversive responses were positively related to criticism. Warmth was not related to acceptance. The findings suggest that the study of acceptance in family caregivers is a heuristic avenue for future research due to its potential to shed light on specifically what family members do in caring for their ill relatives with schizophrenia.

  14. Systematic review on measurement properties of questionnaires assessing the neighbourhood environment in the context of youth physical activity behaviour

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background High-quality measurement instruments for assessing the neighbourhood environment are a prerequisite for identifying associations between the neighbourhood environment and a person’s physical activity. The aim of this systematic review was to identify reliable and valid questionnaires assessing neighbourhood environmental attributes in the context of physical activity behaviours in children and adolescents. In addition, current gaps and best practice models in instrumentation and their evaluation are discussed. Methods We conducted a systematic literature search using six databases (Web of Science, Medline, TRID, SportDISCUS, PsycARTICLES and PsycINFO). Two independent reviewers screened the identified English-language peer-reviewed journal articles. Only studies examining the measurement properties of self- or proxy-report questionnaires on any aspects of the neighbourhood environment in children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years were included. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the COSMIN checklists. Results We identified 13 questionnaires on attributes of the neighbourhood environment. Most of these studies were conducted in the United States (n = 7). Eight studies evaluated self-report measures, two studies evaluated parent-report measures and three studies included both administration types. While eight studies had poor methodological quality, we identified three questionnaires with substantial test-retest reliability and two questionnaires with acceptable convergent validity based on sufficient evidential basis. Conclusions Based on the results of this review, we recommend that cross-culturally adapted questionnaires should be used and that existing questionnaires should be evaluated especially in diverse samples and in countries other than the United States. Further, high-quality studies on measurement properties should be promoted and measurement models (formative vs. reflexive) should be specified to

  15. Systematic review on measurement properties of questionnaires assessing the neighbourhood environment in the context of youth physical activity behaviour.

    PubMed

    Reimers, Anne K; Mess, Filip; Bucksch, Jens; Jekauc, Darko; Woll, Alexander

    2013-05-11

    High-quality measurement instruments for assessing the neighbourhood environment are a prerequisite for identifying associations between the neighbourhood environment and a person's physical activity. The aim of this systematic review was to identify reliable and valid questionnaires assessing neighbourhood environmental attributes in the context of physical activity behaviours in children and adolescents. In addition, current gaps and best practice models in instrumentation and their evaluation are discussed. We conducted a systematic literature search using six databases (Web of Science, Medline, TRID, SportDISCUS, PsycARTICLES and PsycINFO). Two independent reviewers screened the identified English-language peer-reviewed journal articles. Only studies examining the measurement properties of self- or proxy-report questionnaires on any aspects of the neighbourhood environment in children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years were included. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the COSMIN checklists. We identified 13 questionnaires on attributes of the neighbourhood environment. Most of these studies were conducted in the United States (n = 7). Eight studies evaluated self-report measures, two studies evaluated parent-report measures and three studies included both administration types. While eight studies had poor methodological quality, we identified three questionnaires with substantial test-retest reliability and two questionnaires with acceptable convergent validity based on sufficient evidential basis. Based on the results of this review, we recommend that cross-culturally adapted questionnaires should be used and that existing questionnaires should be evaluated especially in diverse samples and in countries other than the United States. Further, high-quality studies on measurement properties should be promoted and measurement models (formative vs. reflexive) should be specified to ensure that appropriate methods for psychometric

  16. Corneal biomechanical properties in different ocular conditions and new measurement techniques.

    PubMed

    Garcia-Porta, Nery; Fernandes, Paulo; Queiros, Antonio; Salgado-Borges, Jose; Parafita-Mato, Manuel; González-Méijome, Jose Manuel

    2014-01-01

    Several refractive and therapeutic treatments as well as several ocular or systemic diseases might induce changes in the mechanical resistance of the cornea. Furthermore, intraocular pressure measurement, one of the most used clinical tools, is also highly dependent on this characteristic. Corneal biomechanical properties can be measured now in the clinical setting with different instruments. In the present work, we review the potential role of the biomechanical properties of the cornea in different fields of ophthalmology and visual science in light of the definitions of the fundamental properties of matter and the results obtained from the different instruments available. The body of literature published so far provides an insight into how the corneal mechanical properties change in different sight-threatening ocular conditions and after different surgical procedures. The future in this field is very promising with several new technologies being applied to the analysis of the corneal biomechanical properties.

  17. Corneal Biomechanical Properties in Different Ocular Conditions and New Measurement Techniques

    PubMed Central

    Garcia-Porta, Nery; Salgado-Borges, Jose; Parafita-Mato, Manuel; González-Méijome, Jose Manuel

    2014-01-01

    Several refractive and therapeutic treatments as well as several ocular or systemic diseases might induce changes in the mechanical resistance of the cornea. Furthermore, intraocular pressure measurement, one of the most used clinical tools, is also highly dependent on this characteristic. Corneal biomechanical properties can be measured now in the clinical setting with different instruments. In the present work, we review the potential role of the biomechanical properties of the cornea in different fields of ophthalmology and visual science in light of the definitions of the fundamental properties of matter and the results obtained from the different instruments available. The body of literature published so far provides an insight into how the corneal mechanical properties change in different sight-threatening ocular conditions and after different surgical procedures. The future in this field is very promising with several new technologies being applied to the analysis of the corneal biomechanical properties. PMID:24729900

  18. Containerless high temperature property measurements by atomic fluorescence

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schiffman, R. A.; Walker, C. A.

    1984-01-01

    Laser induced fluorescence (LIF) techniques for containerless study of high temperature processes and material properties was studied. Gas jet and electromagnetic levitation and electromagnetic and laser heating techniques are used with LIF in earth-based containerless high temperature experiments. Included are the development of an apparatus and its use in the studies of (1) chemical reactions on Al2O3, molybdenum, tungsten and LaB6 specimens, (2) methods for noncontact specimen temperature measurement, (3) levitation jet properties and (4) radiative lifetime and collisional energy transfer rates for electronically excited atoms.

  19. Measuring Property Management Risk and Loss: Step One Toward Managing Property on a Foundation of Risk, Cost, and Benefit

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Johnson, Curtis

    1999-05-17

    This is a period of ever-tightening defense budgets and continuing pressure on the public sector to be more commercial-like, Property policies, practices, and regulations are increasingly being challenged and changed. In these times, we must be leaders in understanding and defining the value of our profession from a commercial standpoint so that we can provide the right services to our customers and explain and defend the value of those services. To do so, we must step outside current property management practices, regulations, and oversight. We must learn to think and speak in the language of those who fund us--a financialmore » language of risk, cost, and benefit. Regardless of regulation and oversight, our bosses are demanding that we demonstrate (financially) the benefits of current practice, or else. This article is intended to be the beginning of an effort to understand and define our profession in terms of risk, cost, and benefit so that we can meet these new challenges. The first step in this effort must be defining and measuring risk, cost, and benefit. Our costs, although sometimes difficult to capture, are easy to understand: they are almost exclusively the effort, both within and without the property management organization, involved in managing property. Unfortunately, property risks and benefits are not so simple or so well understood. Generally, risks and benefits are identified and measured through physical inventory results: potential and actual shortages. This paper will explore the weaknesses in the current understanding and use of shortage information as the yardstick for property management risks and performance. It will define a new framework for understanding the purpose and value of property management. And finally, it will set a course for a new method of measuring and valuing physical inventoty shortages. This new method will yield accurate and useful measures of property management risk and benefit. Once risk and benefit are accurately

  20. An electronic system for measuring thermophysical properties of wind tunnel models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Corwin, R. R.; Kramer, J. S.

    1975-01-01

    An electronic system is described which measures the surface temperature of a small portion of the surface of the model or sample at high speeds using an infrared radiometer. This data is processed along with heating rate data from the reference heat gauge in a small computer and prints out the desired thermophysical properties, time, surface temperature, and reference heat rate. This system allows fast and accurate property measurements over thirty temperature increments. The technique, the details of the apparatus, the procedure for making these measurements, and the results of some preliminary tests are presented.

  1. Measurement properties of the craniocervical flexion test: a systematic review protocol.

    PubMed

    Araujo, Francisco Xavier de; Ferreira, Giovanni Esteves; Scholl Schell, Maurício; Castro, Marcelo Peduzzi de; Silva, Marcelo Faria; Ribeiro, Daniel Cury

    2018-02-22

    Neck pain is the leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide and it accounts for high economic and societal burden. Altered activation of the neck muscles is a common musculoskeletal impairment presented by patients with neck pain. The craniocervical flexion test with pressure biofeedback unit has been widely used in clinical practice to assess function of deep neck flexor muscles. This systematic review will assess the measurement properties of the craniocervical flexion test for assessing deep cervical flexor muscles. This is a protocol for a systematic review that will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis statement. MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, PEDro, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Scopus and Science Direct will be systematically searched from inception. Studies of any design that have investigated and reported at least one measurement property of the craniocervical flexion test for assessing the deep cervical flexor muscles will be included. All measurement properties will be considered as outcomes. Two reviewers will independently rate the risk of bias of individual studies using the updated COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments risk of bias checklist. A structured narrative synthesis will be used for data analysis. Quantitative findings for each measurement property will be summarised. The overall rating for a measurement property will be classified as 'positive', 'indeterminate' or 'negative'. The overall rating will be accompanied with a level of evidence. Ethical approval and patient consent are not required since this is a systematic review based on published studies. Findings will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. CRD42017062175. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  2. Measurement properties of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) used in adult patients with chronic kidney disease: A systematic review

    PubMed Central

    Kyte, Derek; Cockwell, Paul; Marshall, Tom; Gheorghe, Adrian; Keeley, Thomas; Slade, Anita; Calvert, Melanie

    2017-01-01

    Background Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) can provide valuable information which may assist with the care of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, given the large number of measures available, it is unclear which PROMs are suitable for use in research or clinical practice. To address this we comprehensively evaluated studies that assessed the measurement properties of PROMs in adults with CKD. Methods Four databases were searched; reference list and citation searching of included studies was also conducted. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist was used to appraise the methodological quality of the included studies and to inform a best evidence synthesis for each PROM. Results The search strategy retrieved 3,702 titles/abstracts. After 288 duplicates were removed, 3,414 abstracts were screened and 71 full-text articles were retrieved for further review. Of these, 24 full-text articles were excluded as they did not meet the eligibility criteria. Following reference list and citation searching, 19 articles were retrieved bringing the total number of papers included in the final analysis to 66. There was strong evidence supporting internal consistency and moderate evidence supporting construct validity for the Kidney Disease Quality of Life-36 (KDQOL-36) in pre-dialysis patients. In the dialysis population, the KDQOL-Short Form (KDQOL-SF) had strong evidence for internal consistency and structural validity and moderate evidence for test-retest reliability and construct validity while the KDQOL-36 had moderate evidence of internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity. The End Stage Renal Disease-Symptom Checklist Transplantation Module (ESRD-SCLTM) demonstrated strong evidence for internal consistency and moderate evidence for test-retest reliability, structural and construct validity in renal transplant recipients. Conclusions We suggest considering the

  3. Measurement properties of disease-specific questionnaires in patients with neck pain: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Schellingerhout, Jasper M; Verhagen, Arianne P; Heymans, Martijn W; Koes, Bart W; de Vet, Henrica C; Terwee, Caroline B

    2012-05-01

    To critically appraise and compare the measurement properties of the original versions of neck-specific questionnaires. Bibliographic databases were searched for articles concerning the development or evaluation of the measurement properties of an original version of a self-reported questionnaire, evaluating pain and/or disability, which was specifically developed or adapted for patients with neck pain. The methodological quality of the selected studies and the results of the measurement properties were critically appraised and rated using a checklist, specifically designed for evaluating studies on measurement properties. The search strategy resulted in a total of 3,641 unique hits, of which 25 articles, evaluating 8 different questionnaires, were included in our study. The Neck Disability Index is the most frequently evaluated questionnaire and shows positive results for internal consistency, content validity, structural validity, hypothesis testing, and responsiveness, but a negative result for reliability. The other questionnaires show positive results, but the evidence for each measurement property is mostly limited, and at least 50% of the information on measurement properties per questionnaire is lacking. Our findings imply that studies of high methodological quality are needed to properly assess the measurement properties of the currently available questionnaires. Until high quality studies are available, we recommend using these questionnaires with caution. There is no need for the development of new neck-specific questionnaires until the current questionnaires have been adequately assessed.

  4. Advanced optical measuring systems for measuring the properties of fluids and structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Decker, A. J.

    1986-01-01

    Four advanced optical models are reviewed for the measurement of visualization of flow and structural properties. Double-exposure, diffuse-illumination, holographic interferometry can be used for three-dimensional flow visualization. When this method is combined with optical heterodyning, precise measurements of structural displacements or fluid density are possible. Time-average holography is well known as a method for displaying vibrational mode shapes, but it also can be used for flow visualization and flow measurements. Deflectometry is used to measure or visualize the deflection of light rays from collimation. Said deflection occurs because of refraction in a fluid or because of reflection from a tilted surface. The moire technique for deflectometry, when combined with optical heterodyning, permits very precise measurements of these quantities. The rainbow schlieren method of deflectometry allows varying deflection angles to be encoded with colors for visualization.

  5. Magnetic Property Measurements on Single Wall Carbon Nanotube-Polyimide Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sun, Keun J.; Wincheski, Russell A.; Park, Cheol

    2008-01-01

    Temperature and magnetic field dependent magnetization measurements were performed on polyimide nanocomposite samples, synthesized with various weight percentages of single wall carbon nanotubes. It was found that the magnetization of the composite, normalized to the mass of nanotube material in the sample, decreased with increasing weight percentage of nanotubes. It is possible that the interfacial coupling between the carbon nanotube (CNT) fillers and the polyimide matrix promotes the diamagnetic response from CNTs and reduces the total magnetization of the composite. The coercivity of the samples, believed to originate from the residual magnetic catalyst particles, was enhanced and had a stronger temperature dependence as a result of the composite synthesis. These changes in magnetic properties can form the basis of a new approach to investigate the interfacial properties in the CNT nanocomposites through magnetic property measurements.

  6. [Self-active physical thrombosis prophylaxis in the patients' bed with the Phlebostep: acceptance and measurement of venous blood flow in immobilized patients].

    PubMed

    Olivier, L C; Ostovan, D; Heywinkel, W; Kendoff, D; Wolfhard, U

    2007-11-01

    Despite the broad use of low molecular weight heparin, deep vein thrombosis is still a relevant risk for immobilized patients in orthopedic surgery. Patients can reduce this risk by active training exercises with a muscle pump. The aim of this study was to test the acceptance and effect of a self-developed training device to accelerate venous return as well as a technical optimization. The device was installed for in-patients in orthopedic and traumatology departments. A simple pillow-like device was developed, which can be positioned against the foot end of the patient's bed (Phlebostep). The device gives a sound-based feedback to the patient while pushing actively against it with complete ankle flexion. A digital integrated counter device allows direct feedback to the physician and nursing staff at any time. Initial testing including duplex sonography for venous flow measurements were done on 10 orthopedic in-patients. Prior testing on 7 healthy volunteers was carried out to define the effect of various amounts of pressure on the Phlebostep on the venous blood flow. Additionally, a questionnaire on the general acceptance and user-friendliness was filled out by 84 patients who had used the Phlebostep. The optimal pressure force was defined as 35 mmHg for further measurements. The venous flow measurements in the 10 postoperative patients revealed an increased venous blood flow in the affected leg by an average of 99.9%. Analysis of the questionnaire from the 84 patients showed a high degree of acceptance. In addition to the technical feasibility, this study showed that use of the Phlebostep resulted on average in a doubling of venous return. The increase of venous flow offers an additional effective device for thrombosis prophylaxis through patient's own active movements and is clearly superior to the use of devices such as antithrombosis stockings alone. The Phlebostep found a high degree of acceptance with the patients.

  7. Acceptability of the Talking Touchscreen for Health Literacy Assessment

    PubMed Central

    Yost, Kathleen J.; Webster, Kimberly; Baker, David W.; Jacobs, Elizabeth A.; Anderson, Andy; Hahn, Elizabeth A.

    2012-01-01

    Self-administration of a multimedia health literacy measure in clinic settings is a novel concept. Demonstrated ease of use and acceptability will help predicate the future value of this strategy. We previously demonstrated the acceptability of a “Talking Touchscreen” for health status assessment. For this study, we adapted the touchscreen for self-administration of a new health literacy measure. Primary care patients (n=610) in clinics for underserved populations completed health status and health literacy questions on the Talking Touchscreen and participated in an interview. Participants were 51% female, 10% age 60+, 67% African American, 18% without a high school education, and 14% who had never used a computer. The majority (93%) had no difficulty using the touchscreen, including those who were computer-naïve (87%). Most rated the screen design as very good or excellent (72%), including computer-naïve patients (71%) and older patients (75%). Acceptability of the touchscreen did not differ by health literacy level. The Talking Touchscreen was easy to use and acceptable for self-administration of a new health literacy measure. Self-administration should reduce staff burden and costs, interview bias, and feelings of embarrassment by those with lower literacy. Tools like the Talking Touchscreen may increase exposure of underserved populations to new technologies. PMID:20845195

  8. Neuropathic pain screening questionnaires have limited measurement properties. A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Mathieson, Stephanie; Maher, Christopher G; Terwee, Caroline B; Folly de Campos, Tarcisio; Lin, Chung-Wei Christine

    2015-08-01

    The Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4), ID Pain, Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS), PainDETECT, and Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire have been recommended as screening questionnaires for neuropathic pain. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the measurement properties (eg, criterion validity and reliability) of these questionnaires. Online database searches were conducted and two independent reviewers screened studies and extracted data. Methodological quality of included studies and the measurement properties were assessed against established criteria. A modified Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach was used to summarize the level of evidence. Thirty-seven studies were included. Most studies recruited participants from pain clinics. The original version of the DN4 (French) and Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire (English) had the most number of satisfactory measurement properties. The ID Pain (English) demonstrated satisfactory hypothesis testing and reliability, but all other properties tested were unsatisfactory. The LANSS (English) was unsatisfactory for all properties, except specificity. The PainDETECT (English) demonstrated satisfactory hypothesis testing and criterion validity. In general, the cross-cultural adaptations had less evidence than the original versions. Overall, the DN4 and Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire were most suitable for clinical use. These screening questionnaires should not replace a thorough clinical assessment. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Study of cloud properties using airborne and satellite measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Boscornea, Andreea; Stefan, Sabina; Vajaiac, Sorin Nicolae

    2014-08-01

    The present study investigates cloud microphysics properties using aircraft and satellite measurements. Cloud properties were drawn from data acquired both from in situ measurements with state of the art airborne instrumentation and from satellite products of the MODIS06 System. The used aircraft was ATMOSLAB - Airborne Laboratory for Environmental Atmospheric Research, property of the National Institute for Aerospace Research "Elie Carafoli" (INCAS), Bucharest, Romania, which is specially equipped for this kind of research. The main tool of the airborne laboratory is a Cloud, Aerosol and Precipitation Spectrometer - CAPS (30 bins, 0.51- 50 μm). The data was recorded during two flights during the winter 2013-2014, over a flat region in the south-eastern part of Romania (between Bucharest and Constanta). The analysis of cloud particle size variations and cloud liquid water content provided by CAPS can explain cloud processes, and can also indicate the extent of aerosols effects on clouds. The results, such as cloud coverage and/or cloud types, microphysical parameters of aerosols on the one side and the cloud microphysics parameters obtained from aircraft flights on the other side, was used to illustrate the importance of microphysics cloud properties for including the radiative effects of clouds in the regional climate models.

  10. Mechanical Properties of a Primary Cilium Measured by Resonant Oscillation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Resnick, Andrew

    Primary cilia are ubiquitous mammalian cellular substructures implicated in an ever-increasing number of regulatory pathways. The well-established `ciliary hypothesis' states that physical bending of the cilium (for example, due to fluid flow) initiates signaling cascades, yet the mechanical properties of the cilium remain incompletely measured, resulting in confusion regarding the biological significance of flow-induced ciliary mechanotransduction. In this work we measure the mechanical properties of a primary cilium by using an optical trap to induce resonant oscillation of the structure. Our data indicate 1), the primary cilium is not a simple cantilevered beam, 2), the base of the cilium may be modeled as a nonlinear rotatory spring, the linear spring constant `k' of the cilium base calculated to be (4.6 +/- 0.62)*10-12 N/rad and nonlinear spring constant ` α' to be (-1 +/- 0.34) *10-10 N/rad2 , and 3) the ciliary base may be an essential regulator of mechanotransduction signalling. Our method is also particularly suited to measure mechanical properties of nodal cilia, stereocilia, and motile cilia, anatomically similar structures with very different physiological functions.

  11. Microwave measurement and modeling of the dielectric properties of vegetation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shrestha, Bijay Lal

    Some of the important applications of microwaves in the industrial, scientific and medical sectors include processing and treatment of various materials, and determining their physical properties. The dielectric properties of the materials of interest are paramount irrespective of the applications, hence, a wide range of materials covering food products, building materials, ores and fuels, and biological materials have been investigated for their dielectric properties. However, very few studies have been conducted towards the measurement of dielectric properties of green vegetations, including commercially important plant crops such as alfalfa. Because of its high nutritional value, there is a huge demand for this plant and its processed products in national and international markets, and an investigation into the possibility of applying microwaves to improve both the net yield and quality of the crop can be beneficial. Therefore, a dielectric measurement system based upon the probe reflection technique has been set up to measure dielectric properties of green plants over a frequency range from 300 MHz to 18 GHz, moisture contents from 12%, wet basis to 79%, wet basis, and temperatures from -15°C to 30°C. Dielectric properties of chopped alfalfa were measured with this system over frequency range of 300 MHz to 18 GHz, moisture content from 11.5%, wet basis, to 73%, wet basis, and density over the range from 139 kg m-3 to 716 kg m-3 at 23°C. The system accuracy was found to be +/-6% and +/-10% in measuring the dielectric constant and loss factor respectively. Empirical, semi empirical and theoretical models that require only moisture content and operating frequency were determined to represent the dielectric properties of both leaves and stems of alfalfa at 22°C. The empirical models fitted the measured dielectric data extremely well. The root mean square error (RMSE) and the coefficient of determination (r2) for dielectric constant and loss factor of leaves

  12. Mass Properties Measurement in the X-38 Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Peterson, Wayne L.

    2004-01-01

    This paper details the techniques used in measuring the mass properties for the X-38 family of test vehicles. The X-38 Project was a NASA internal venture in which a series of test vehicles were built in order to develop a Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) for the International Space Station. Three atmospheric test vehicles and one spaceflight vehicle were built to develop the technologies required for a CRV. The three atmospheric test vehicles have undergone flight-testing by a combined team from the NASA Johnson Space Center and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The flight-testing was performed at Edward's Air Force Base in California. The X-38 test vehicles are based on the X-24A, which flew in the '60s and '70s. Scaled Composites, Inc. of Mojave, California, built the airframes and the vehicles were outfitted at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Mass properties measurements on the atmospheric test vehicles included weight and balance by the three-point suspension method, four-point suspension method, three load cells on jackstands, and on three in-ground platform scales. Inertia measurements were performed as well in which Ixx, Iyy, Izz, and Ixz were obtained. This paper describes each technique and the relative merits of each. The proposed measurement methods for an X-38 spaceflight test vehicle will also be discussed. This vehicle had different measurement challenges, but integrated vehicle measurements were never conducted. The spaceflight test vehicle was also developed by NASA and was scheduled to fly on the Space Shuttle before the project was cancelled.

  13. The patient satisfaction questionnaire of EUprimecare project: measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Cimas, Marta; Ayala, Alba; García-Pérez, Sonia; Sarria-Santamera, Antonio; Forjaz, Maria João

    2016-06-01

    The measurement of patient satisfaction is considered an essential outcome indicator to evaluate health care quality. Patient satisfaction is considered a multi-dimensional construct, which would include a variety of domains. Although a large number of studies have proposed scales to measure patient satisfaction, there is a lack of psychometric information on them. This study aims to describe the psychometric properties of the Primary Care Satisfaction Scale (PCSS) of the EUprimecare project. A cross-sectional survey of patient satisfaction with primary care was carried out by telephone interview. Primary care services of Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Italy and Spain. A total of 3020 adult patients aged 18-65 years old attending primary care services. Classic psychometric properties were analysed and Rasch analysis was used to assess the following measurement properties: fit to the Rasch model; uni-dimensionality; reliability; differential item functioning (DIF) by gender, age, civil status, area of residency and country; local independency; adequacy of response scale; and scale targeting. To achieve good fit to the Rasch model, the original response scales of three items (1, 2 and 6) were rescored and Item 3 (waiting time in the room) was removed. The scale was uni-dimensional and Person Separation Index was 0.79, indicating a good reliability. All items were free from bias. PCSS linear measure displayed satisfactory convergent validity with overall satisfaction with primary care. PCSS, as a reliable and valid scale, could be used to measure patient satisfaction in primary care in Europe. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved.

  14. How reproducible are methods to measure the dynamic viscoelastic properties of poroelastic media?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bonfiglio, Paolo; Pompoli, Francesco; Horoshenkov, Kirill V.; Rahim, Mahmud Iskandar B. Seth A.; Jaouen, Luc; Rodenas, Julia; Bécot, François-Xavier; Gourdon, Emmanuel; Jaeger, Dirk; Kursch, Volker; Tarello, Maurizio; Roozen, Nicolaas Bernardus; Glorieux, Christ; Ferrian, Fabrizio; Leroy, Pierre; Vangosa, Francesco Briatico; Dauchez, Nicolas; Foucart, Félix; Lei, Lei; Carillo, Kevin; Doutres, Olivier; Sgard, Franck; Panneton, Raymond; Verdiere, Kévin; Bertolini, Claudio; Bär, Rolf; Groby, Jean-Philippe; Geslain, Alan; Poulain, Nicolas; Rouleau, Lucie; Guinault, Alain; Ahmadi, Hamid; Forge, Charlie

    2018-08-01

    There is a considerable number of research publications on the acoustical properties of porous media with an elastic frame. A simple search through the Web of Science™ (last accessed 21 March 2018) suggests that there are at least 819 publications which deal with the acoustics of poroelastic media. A majority of these researches require accurate knowledge of the elastic properties over a broad frequency range. However, the accuracy of the measurement of the dynamic elastic properties of poroelastic media has been a contentious issue. The novelty of this paper is that it studies the reproducibility of some popular experimental methods which are used routinely to measure the key elastic properties such as the dynamic Young's modulus, loss factor and Poisson ratio of poroelastic media. In this paper, fourteen independent sets of laboratory measurements were performed on specimens of the same porous materials. The results from these measurements suggest that the reproducibility of this type of experimental method is poor. This work can be helpful to suggest improvements which can be developed to harmonize the way the elastic properties of poroelastic media are measured worldwide.

  15. Consumer acceptability of gluten-free cookies containing raw cooked and germinated pinto bean flours.

    PubMed

    Simons, Courtney Wayne; Hall, Clifford

    2018-01-01

    Beany and grassy flavors in raw edible bean flours reduce consumer acceptability of bean-based baked products. In order to improve consumer acceptability, beans may be further processed by cooking and germination. However, these operations drive up the cost of end-products. Therefore, it is necessary to develop formulations, using raw edible bean flours that have acceptable sensory attributes. In this study, cooked, germinated, and germinated/steam-blanched (GSB) pinto bean flours were used to make gluten-free cookies, and their sensory characteristics evaluated to determine how their consumer acceptability scores compared. Taste panelists (31) graded cookies made from raw pinto beans with an overall value of 6 on a 9-point hedonic scale ( p  < .05). This rating was not significantly different from cookies formulated with germinated and GSB flours. Therefore, gluten-free cookies can be made using raw pinto bean flours at a 40% inclusion level, with similar sensory characteristics as those prepared with flours treated by cooking and germination. Instrumental measurement of cookie hardness and color showed no significant difference in hardness, but significant differences in color. The germinated bean flour produced cookies with a significantly lower L* value and significantly higher a*, b*, Chroma and hue values compared to the other treatments. There was no significant difference in the cookie spread ratio. Proximate composition, water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI) and gelatinization properties of the flour treatments were characterized.

  16. Diabetes-related emotional distress instruments: a systematic review of measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Lee, Jiyeon; Lee, Eun-Hyun; Kim, Chun-Ja; Moon, Seung Hei

    2015-12-01

    The objectives of this study were to identify all available diabetes-related emotional distress instruments and evaluate the evidence regarding their measurement properties to help in the selection of the most appropriate instrument for use in practice and research. A systematic literature search was performed. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched systematically for articles on diabetes-related emotional distress instruments. The Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments checklist was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the identified studies. The quality of results with respect to the measurement properties of each study was evaluated using Terwee's quality criteria. An ancillary meta-analysis was performed. Of the 2345 articles yielded by the search, 19 full-text articles evaluating 6 diabetes-related emotional distress instruments were included in this study. No instrument demonstrated evidence for all measurement properties. The Problem Areas in Diabetes scale (PAID) was the most frequently studied and the best validated of the instruments. Pooled summary estimates of the correlation coefficient between the PAID and serum glycated hemoglobin revealed a positive but weak correlation. No diabetes-related emotional distress instrument demonstrated evidence for all measurement properties. No instrument was better than another, although the PAID was the best validated and is thus recommended for use. Further psychometric studies of the diabetes-related emotional distress instruments with rigorous methodologies are required. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Containerless high temperature property measurements by atomic fluorescence

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1983-01-01

    The use of laser induced fluorescence (LIF) techniques for containerless study of high temperature processes and material properties is studied. Gas jet and electromagnetic levitation and electromagnetic and laser heating techniques are used with LIF in Earth-based containerless high temperature experiments. The work to date includes development of an apparatus and its use in studies of chemical reactions on Al2O3, molybdenum, and tungsten specimens, novel methods for noncontact specimen temperature measurement, and levitation jet properties. Brief summaries of these studies are given. The apparatus is described and detailed results for the current reporting period are presented.

  18. Validation and testing of the Acceptability E-scale for Web-based patient-reported outcomes in cancer care

    PubMed Central

    Tariman, Joseph D.; Berry, Donna L.; Halpenny, Barbara; Wolpin, Seth; Schepp, Karen

    2010-01-01

    The performance of the Acceptability E-scale was tested in a sample of 627 adult and older adult patients from various oncology clinics who completed an electronic symptoms survey. The revised Acceptability E-scale has strong psychometric properties and can be useful in assessing the acceptability and usability of computerized health-related programs in oncology and other health population. PMID:20974066

  19. Nonlibrary Partnerships: Acceptable Use (and Behavior) in the Web-based Depository.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brinkerhoff, Kathie

    2000-01-01

    Discusses problems facing federal depository libraries regarding patron behavior when using Web sites. Topics include acceptable use policies; existing laws and enforcement offices; protecting library property; pornography, including child pornography; sexual harassment; and other forms of staff harassment. (LRW)

  20. Measured iron-gallium alloy tensile properties under magnetic fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoo, Jin-Hyeong; Flatau, Alison B.

    2004-07-01

    Tension testing is used to identify Galfenol material properties under low level DC magnetic bias fields. Dog bone shaped specimens of single crystal Fe100-xGax, where 17<=x<=33, underwent tensile testing along two crystalographic axis orientations, [110] and [100]. The material properties being investigated and calculated from measured quantities are: Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio. Data are presented that demonstrate the dependence of these material properties on applied magnetic field levels and provide a preliminary assessment of the trends in material properties for performance under varied operating conditions. The elastic properties of Fe-Ga alloys were observed to be increasingly anisotropic with rising Ga content for the stoichiometries examined. The largest elastic anisotropies were manifested in [110] Poisson's ratios of as low as -0.63 in one specimen. This negative Poisson's ratio creates a significant in-plane auxetic behavior that could be exploited in applications that capitalize on unique area effects produced under uniaxial loading.

  1. Thermophysical Properties Measurements of Zr62Cu20Al10Ni8

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bradshaw, Richard C.; Waren, Mary; Rogers, Jan R.; Rathz, Thomas J.; Gangopadhyay, Anup K.; Kelton, Ken F.; Hyers, Robert W.

    2006-01-01

    Thermophysical property studies performed at high temperature can prove challenging because of reactivity problems brought on by the elevated temperatures. Contaminants from measuring devices and container walls can cause changes in properties. To prevent this, containerless processing techniques can be employed to isolate a sample during study. A common method used for this is levitation. Typical levitation methods used for containerless processing are, aerodynamically, electromagnetically and electrostatically based. All levitation methods reduce heterogeneous nucleation sites, 'which in turn provide access to metastable undercooled phases. In particular, electrostatic levitation is appealing because sample motion and stirring are minimized; and by combining it with optically based non-contact measuring techniques, many thermophysical properties can be measured. Applying some of these techniques, surface tension, viscosity and density have been measured for the glass forming alloy Zr62Cu20Al10Ni8 and will be presented with a brief overview of the non-contact measuring method used.

  2. Brain Mechanical Property Measurement Using MRE with Intrinsic Activation

    PubMed Central

    Pattison, Adam J.; McGarry, Matthew D.; Perreard, Irina M.; Swienckowski, Jessica G.; Eskey, Clifford J.; Lollis, S. Scott; Paulsen, Keith D.

    2013-01-01

    Problem Addressed Many pathologies alter the mechanical properties of tissue. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) has been developed to noninvasively characterize these quantities in vivo. Typically, small vibrations are induced in the tissue of interest with an external mechanical actuator. The resulting displacements are measured with phase contrast sequences and are then used to estimate the underlying mechanical property distribution. Several MRE studies have quantified brain tissue properties. However, the cranium and meninges, especially the dura, are very effective at damping externally applied vibrations from penetrating deeply into the brain. Here, we report a method, termed ‘intrinsic activation’, that eliminates the requirement for external vibrations by measuring the motion generated by natural blood vessel pulsation. Methodology A retrospectively gated phase contrast MR angiography sequence was used to record the tissue velocity at eight phases of the cardiac cycle. The velocities were numerically integrated via the Fourier transform to produce the harmonic displacements at each position within the brain. The displacements were then reconstructed into images of the shear modulus based on both linear elastic and poroelastic models. Results, Significance and Potential Impact The mechanical properties produced fall within the range of brain tissue estimates reported in the literature and, equally important, the technique yielded highly reproducible results. The mean shear modulus was 8.1 kPa for linear elastic reconstructions and 2.4 kPa for poroelastic reconstructions where fluid pressure carries a portion of the stress. Gross structures of the brain were visualized, particularly in the poroelastic reconstructions. Intra-subject variability was significantly less than the inter-subject variability in a study of 6 asymptomatic individuals. Further, larger changes in mechanical properties were observed in individuals when examined over time than when

  3. Brain mechanical property measurement using MRE with intrinsic activation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weaver, John B.; Pattison, Adam J.; McGarry, Matthew D.; Perreard, Irina M.; Swienckowski, Jessica G.; Eskey, Clifford J.; Lollis, S. Scott; Paulsen, Keith D.

    2012-11-01

    Many pathologies alter the mechanical properties of tissue. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) has been developed to noninvasively characterize these quantities in vivo. Typically, small vibrations are induced in the tissue of interest with an external mechanical actuator. The resulting displacements are measured with phase contrast sequences and are then used to estimate the underlying mechanical property distribution. Several MRE studies have quantified brain tissue properties. However, the cranium and meninges, especially the dura, are very effective at damping externally applied vibrations from penetrating deeply into the brain. Here, we report a method, termed ‘intrinsic activation’, that eliminates the requirement for external vibrations by measuring the motion generated by natural blood vessel pulsation. A retrospectively gated phase contrast MR angiography sequence was used to record the tissue velocity at eight phases of the cardiac cycle. The velocities were numerically integrated via the Fourier transform to produce the harmonic displacements at each position within the brain. The displacements were then reconstructed into images of the shear modulus based on both linear elastic and poroelastic models. The mechanical properties produced fall within the range of brain tissue estimates reported in the literature and, equally important, the technique yielded highly reproducible results. The mean shear modulus was 8.1 kPa for linear elastic reconstructions and 2.4 kPa for poroelastic reconstructions where fluid pressure carries a portion of the stress. Gross structures of the brain were visualized, particularly in the poroelastic reconstructions. Intra-subject variability was significantly less than the inter-subject variability in a study of six asymptomatic individuals. Further, larger changes in mechanical properties were observed in individuals when examined over time than when the MRE procedures were repeated on the same day. Cardiac pulsation

  4. Quantitative and qualitative variation of fat in model vanilla custard desserts: effects on sensory properties and consumer acceptance.

    PubMed

    Tomaschunas, Maja; Köhn, Ehrhard; Bennwitz, Petra; Hinrichs, Jörg; Busch-Stockfisch, Mechthild

    2013-06-01

    The effects of variation in fat content (0.1% to 15.8%) and type of fat, using different types of milk, dairy cream, or vegetable fat cream, on sensory characteristics and consumer acceptance of starch-based vanilla model custards were studied. Descriptive analysis with trained panelists and consumer testing with untrained assessors were applied. Descriptive data were related to hedonic data using principal component analysis to determine drivers of liking and disliking. Results demonstrated an increasing effect of fat concerning visual and oral thickness, creamy flavor, and fat-related texture properties, as well as a decreasing effect concerning yellow color and surface shine. A lack of fat caused moderate intensities in pudding-like flavor attributes and an intensive jelly texture. Adding a vegetable fat cream led to lower intensities in attributes yellow color, cooked flavor, thick, and jelly texture, whereas intensities in vegetable fat flavor and fat-related texture properties increased. All consumers favored custards with medium fat contents, being high in pudding-like and vegetable fat flavor as well as in fat-related texture attributes. Nonfat custards were rejected due to jelly texture and moderate intensities in pudding-flavor attributes. High-fat samples were liked by some consumers, but their high intensities in thickness, white color, and creamy flavor also drove disliking for others. © 2013 Institute of Food Technologists®

  5. Innovative mechanism for measuring the mass properties of an object

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wolcott, Kedron R.; Graham, Todd A.; Doty, Keith L.

    1994-01-01

    The Kennedy Space Center Robotics Group recently completed development and testing on a novel approach to measure the mass properties of a rigid body. This unique design can measure the payload's weight, mass center location, and moments of inertia about three orthogonal axes. Furthermore, these measurements only require a single torque sensor and a single angular position sensor.

  6. Measurement of ortho-positronium properties in liquid scintillators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perasso, S.; Consolati, G.; Franco, D.; Hans, S.; Jollet, C.; Meregaglia, A.; Tonazzo, A.; Yeh, M.

    2013-08-01

    Pulse shape discrimination in liquid scintillator detectors is a well-established technique for the discrimination of heavy particles from light particles. Nonetheless, it is not efficient in the separation of electrons and positrons, as they give rise to indistinguishable scintillator responses. This inefficiency can be overtaken through the exploitation of the formation of ortho-Positronium (o-Ps), which alters the time profile of light pulses induced by positrons. We characterized the o-Ps properties in the most commonly used liquid scintillators, i.e. PC, PXE, LAB, OIL and PC + PPO. In addition, we studied the effects of scintillator doping on the o-Ps properties for dopants currently used in neutrino experiments, Gd and Nd. Further measurements for Li-loaded and Tl-loaded liquid scintillators are foreseen. We found that the o-Ps properties are suitable for enhancing the electron-positron discrimination.

  7. Alternative Measurement Configurations for Extracting Bulk Optical Properties Using an Integrating Sphere Setup.

    PubMed

    Thennadil, Suresh N; Chen, Yi-Chieh

    2017-02-01

    The usual approach for estimating bulk optical properties using an integrating sphere measurement setup is by acquiring spectra from three measurement modes namely collimated transmittance (T c ), total transmittance (T d ), and total diffuse reflectance (R d ), followed by the inversion of these measurements using the adding-doubling method. At high scattering levels, accurate acquisition of T c becomes problematic due to the presence of significant amounts of forward-scattered light in this measurement which is supposed to contain only unscattered light. In this paper, we propose and investigate the effectiveness of using alternative sets of integrating sphere measurements that avoid the use of T c and could potentially increase the upper limit of concentrations of suspensions at which bulk optical property measurements can be obtained in the visible-near-infrared (Vis-NIR) region of the spectrum. We examine the possibility of replacing T c with one or more reflectance measurements at different sample thicknesses. We also examine the possibility of replacing both the collimated (T c ) and total transmittance (T d ) measurements with reflectance measurements taken from different sample thicknesses. The analysis presented here indicates that replacing T c with a reflectance measurement can reduce the errors in the bulk scattering properties when scattering levels are high. When only multiple reflectance measurements are used, good estimates of the bulk optical properties can be obtained when the absorption levels are low. In addition, we examine whether there is any advantage in using three measurements instead of two to obtain the reduced bulk scattering coefficient and the bulk absorption coefficient. This investigation is made in the context of chemical and biological suspensions which have a much larger range of optical properties compared to those encountered with tissue.

  8. NASA Intellectual Property Negotiation Practices and their Relationship to Quantitative Measures of Technology Transfer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bush, Lance B.

    1997-01-01

    In the current political climate NASA must be able to show reliable measures demonstrating successful technology transfer. The currently available quantitative data of intellectual property technology transfer efforts portray a less than successful performance. In this paper, the use of only quantitative values for measurement of technology transfer is shown to undervalue the effort. In addition, NASA's current policy in negotiating intellectual property rights results in undervalued royalty rates. NASA has maintained that it's position of providing public good precludes it from negotiating fair market value for its technology and instead has negotiated for reasonable cost in order to recover processing fees. This measurement issue is examined and recommendations made which include a new policy regarding the intellectual property rights negotiation, and two measures to supplement the intellectual property measures.

  9. Dynamic measurement of the calcium buffering properties of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in mouse skeletal muscle.

    PubMed

    Manno, Carlo; Sztretye, Monika; Figueroa, Lourdes; Allen, Paul D; Ríos, Eduardo

    2013-01-15

    The buffering power, B, of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), ratio of the changes in total and free [Ca(2+)], was determined in fast-twitch mouse muscle cells subjected to depleting membrane depolarization. Changes in total SR [Ca(2+)] were measured integrating Ca(2+) release flux, determined with a cytosolic [Ca(2+)] monitor. Free [Ca(2+)](SR) was measured using the cameleon D4cpv-Casq1. In 34 wild-type (WT) cells average B during the depolarization (ON phase) was 157 (SEM 26), implying that of 157 ions released, 156 were bound inside the SR. B was significantly greater when BAPTA, which increases release flux, was present in the cytosol. B was greater early in the pulse - when flux was greatest - than at its end, and greater in the ON than in the OFF. In 29 Casq1-null cells, B was 40 (3.6). The difference suggests that 75% of the releasable calcium is normally bound to calsequestrin. In the nulls the difference in B between ON and OFF was less than in the WT but still significant. This difference and the associated decay in B during the ON were not artifacts of a slow SR monitor, as they were also found in the WT when [Ca(2+)](SR) was tracked with the fast dye fluo-5N. The calcium buffering power, binding capacity and non-linear binding properties of the SR measured here could be accounted for by calsequestrin at the concentration present in mammalian muscle, provided that its properties were substantially different from those found in solution. Its affinity should be higher, or K(D) lower than the conventionally accepted 1 mm; its cooperativity (n in a Hill fit) should be higher and the stoichiometry of binding should be at the higher end of the values derived in solution. The reduction in B during release might reflect changes in calsequestrin conformation upon calcium loss.

  10. Systematic review of measurement properties of self-reported instruments for evaluating self-care in adults.

    PubMed

    Matarese, Maria; Lommi, Marzia; De Marinis, Maria Grazia

    2017-06-01

    The aims of this study were as follows: to identify instruments developed to assess self-care in healthy adults; to determine the theory on which they were based; their validity and reliability properties and to synthesize the evidence on their measurement properties. Many instruments have been developed to assess self-care in many different populations and conditions. Clinicians and researchers should select the most appropriate self-care instrument based on the knowledge of their measurement properties. Systematic review of measurement instruments according to the protocol recommended by the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) panel. PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus and CINAHL databases were searched from inception to December 2015. Studies testing measurement properties of self-report instruments assessing self-care in healthy adults, published in the English language and in peer review journals were selected. Two reviewers independently appraised the methodological quality of the studies with the COSMIN checklist and the quality of results using specific quality criteria. Twenty-six articles were included in the review testing the measurement properties of nine instruments. Seven instruments were based on Orem's Self-care theory. Not all the measurement properties were evaluated for the identified instruments. No self-care instrument showed strong evidence supporting the evaluated measurement properties. Despite the development of several instruments to assess self-care in the adult population, no instrument can be fully recommended to clinical nurses and researchers. Further studies of high methodological quality are needed to confirm the measurement properties of these instruments. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. 32 CFR 644.543 - Determination of acceptable offers after advertising.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... that further advertising would serve no useful purpose or is not feasible, the DE may negotiate a sale... advertising. 644.543 Section 644.543 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) REAL PROPERTY REAL ESTATE HANDBOOK Disposal Sale Procedure § 644.543 Determination of acceptable...

  12. Measurement of kinaesthetic properties of in-brine table olives by microstructure of fracture surface, sensory evaluation and texture profile analysis (TPA).

    PubMed

    Lanza, Barbara; Amoruso, Filomena

    2018-02-02

    A series of transformations occur in olive fruit both during ripening and processing. In particular, significant changes in the microstructural composition affect the flavour, texture, nutrients and overall quality of the end product. Texture is one of the sensory quality attributes of greatest importance to consumer acceptance. In the present work, kinaesthetic properties of in-brine table olives of three cultivars of Olea europaea L. (Bella di Cerignola, Peranzana and Taggiasca cvs) were provided by several measurements of olive tissue texture by sensory, rheological and microstructural approaches. Olives at the same stage of ripening and processed with the same technology, but belonging to different cultivars, showed significant differences at microstructural, sensorial and rheological levels. To describe the relationship between the three variables, multiple regression analysis and principal component analysis were chosen. Differences in microstructure were closely related both in terms of hardness measured by texture profile analysis and hardness measured by sensory analysis. The information provided could be an aid for screening and training of a sensory panel. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

  13. Global Distribution of Net Electron Acceptance in Subseafloor Sediment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fulfer, V. M.; Pockalny, R. A.; D'Hondt, S.

    2017-12-01

    We quantified the global distribution of net electron acceptance rates (e-/m2/year) in subseafloor sediment (>1.5 meters below seafloor [mbsf]) using (i) a modified version of the chemical-reaction-rate algorithm by Wang et al. (2008), (ii) physical properties and dissolved oxygen and sulfate data from interstitial waters of sediment cores collected by the Ocean Drilling Program, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, International Ocean Discovery Program, and U.S. coring expeditions, and (iii) correlation of net electron acceptance rates to global oceanographic properties. Calculated net rates vary from 4.8 x 1019 e-/m2/year for slowly accumulating abyssal clay to 1.2 x 1023 e-/m2/year for regions of high sedimentation rate. Net electron acceptance rate correlates strongly with mean sedimentation rate. Where sedimentation rate is very low (e.g., 1 m/Myr), dissolved oxygen penetrates more than 70 mbsf and is the primary terminal electron acceptor. Where sedimentation rate is moderate (e.g., 3 to 60 m/Myr), dissolved sulfate penetrates as far as 700 mbsf and is the principal terminal electron acceptor. Where sedimentation rate is high (e.g., > 60 m/Myr), dissolved sulfate penetrates only meters, but is the principal terminal electron acceptor in subseafloor sediment to the depth of sulfate penetration. Because microbial metabolism continues at greater depths than the depth of sulfate penetration in fast-accumulating sediment, complete quantification of subseafloor metabolic rates will require consideration of other chemical species.

  14. Measurement of electromagnetic properties of powder and solid metal materials for additive manufacturing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Todorov, Evgueni Iordanov

    2017-04-01

    The lack of validated nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques for examination during and after additive manufacturing (AM) component fabrication is one of the obstacles in the way of broadening use of AM for critical applications. Knowledge of electromagnetic properties of powder (e.g. feedstock) and solid AM metal components is necessary to evaluate and deploy electromagnetic NDE modalities for examination of AM components. The objective of this research study was to develop and implement techniques for measurement of powder and solid metal electromagnetic properties. Three materials were selected - Inconel 625, duplex stainless steel 2205, and carbon steel 4140. The powder properties were measured with alternate current (AC) model based eddy current technique and direct current (DC) resistivity measurements. The solid metal properties were measured with DC resistivity measurements, DC magnetic techniques, and AC model based eddy current technique. Initial magnetic permeability and electrical conductivity were acquired for both powder and solid metal. Additional magnetic properties such as maximum permeability, coercivity, retentivity, and others were acquired for 2205 and 4140. Two groups of specimens were tested along the build length and width respectively to investigate for possible anisotropy. There was no significant difference or anisotropy when comparing measurements acquired along build length to those along the width. A trend in AC measurements might be associated with build geometry. Powder electrical conductivity was very low and difficult to estimate reliably with techniques used in the study. The agreement between various techniques was very good where adequate comparison was possible.

  15. Measurement Properties of the Brazilian-Portuguese Version of the Lumbar Spine Instability Questionnaire.

    PubMed

    Araujo, Amanda Costa; da Cunha Menezes Costa, Lucíola; de Oliveira, Crystian Bittencourt Soares; Morelhão, Priscila Kalil; de Faria Negrão Filho, Rúben; Pinto, Rafael Zambelli; Costa, Leonardo Oliveira Pena

    2017-07-01

    Cross-cultural adaptation and analysis of measurement properties. To translate and cross-culturally adapt the Lumbar Spine Instability Questionnaire (LSIQ) into Brazilian-Portuguese and to test its measurement properties in Brazilian patients with low back pain. The selection of subgroup of patients that respond better to specific interventions is the top research priority in the field of back pain. The LSIQ is a tool able to stratify patients with low back pain who responds better to motor control exercises. There is no Brazilian-Portuguese version of the LSIQ available. The original version of the LSIQ was translated and cross-culturally adapted. We collected data from 100 patients with low back pain. In addition to LSIQ, we also collected information about physical activity levels (measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short version), disability (measured by the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire), pain intensity (measured by the Pain numerical Rating Scale), kinesiophobia (measured by the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia), and depression (measured by the Beck Depression Inventory). The measurement properties tested were internal consistency, reproducibility (reliability and agreement), construct validity, and ceiling and floor effects. The Brazilian-Portuguese version of the LSIQ showed good measurement properties with a Cronbach alpha of 0.79, an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.75, a standard error of measurement of 1.65 points, and a minimal detectable change of 3.54 points. We did not detect ceiling and floor effects. The construct validity analysis was observed a moderate correlation between the LSIQ and Pain Numerical Rating Scale r = 0.46, Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire r = 0.66, Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia r = 0.49, and Beck Depression Inventory r = 0.44. The Brazilian-Portuguese version of LIQ has adequate measurement properties and can be used in clinical practice and research. NA.

  16. All-optical technique for measuring thermal properties of materials at static high pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pangilinan, G. I.; Ladouceur, H. D.; Russell, T. P.

    2000-10-01

    The development and implementation of an all-optical technique for measuring thermal transport properties of materials at high pressure in a gem anvil cell are reported. Thermal transport properties are determined by propagating a thermal wave in a material subjected to high pressures, and measuring the temperature as a function of time using an optical sensor embedded downstream in the material. Optical beams are used to deposit energy and to measure the sensor temperature and replace the resistive heat source and the thermocouples of previous methods. This overcomes the problems introduced with pressure-induced resistance changes and the spatial limitations inherent in previous high-pressure experimentation. Consistent with the heat conduction equation, the material's specific heat, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity (κ) determine the sensor's temperature rise and its temporal profile. The all-optical technique described focuses on room-temperature thermal properties but can easily be applied to a wide temperature range (77-600 K). Measurements of thermal transport properties at pressure up to 2.0 GPa are reported, although extension to much higher pressures are feasible. The thermal properties of NaCl, a commonly used material for high-pressure experiments are measured and shown to be consistent with those obtained using the traditional methods.

  17. Impact of an acceptance facilitating intervention on diabetes patients' acceptance of Internet-based interventions for depression: a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Baumeister, H; Nowoczin, L; Lin, J; Seifferth, H; Seufert, J; Laubner, K; Ebert, D D

    2014-07-01

    To (1) determine diabetes patients' acceptance of Internet-based interventions (IBIs) for depression, to (2) examine the effectiveness of an acceptance facilitating intervention (AFI) and to (3) explore subgroup specific effects. 141 diabetes patients from two inpatient rehabilitation units and one outpatient clinic in Germany were randomly allocated to an intervention (IG) and a no-intervention control group (CG). The IG received an AFI consisting of a personal information session before filling-out a questionnaire on patients' acceptance of IBIs, predictors of acceptance (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and Internet anxiety) as well as sociodemographic, depression-related and diabetes-related variables. The CG filled out the questionnaire immediately. Patients' acceptance of IBIs was measured with a four-item scale (sum-score ranging from 4 to 20). The CG showed a low (50.7%) to medium (40.8%) acceptance with only 8.5% of all diabetes patients reporting a high acceptance of IBIs for depression. The AFI had no significant effect on acceptance (IG: M=10.55, SD=4.69, n=70; KG: M=9.65, SD=4.27, n=71; d=0.20 [95%-CI: -0.13;0.53]) and the predictors of acceptance. Yet, subgroup analyses yielded a trend for depressed, diabetes-related distressed, female and younger (<59) participants and for those who do not frequently use the Internet to profit from the AFI. Diabetes patients show a rather low acceptance toward IBIs for depression. Findings indicate that the AFI is likely to be effective in the subgroup of depressed, diabetes-related distressed, female or younger diabetes patients, but not in the whole target population. Hence, AFIs might need to be tailored to the specific needs of subpopulations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Psychometric Properties of Patient-Facing eHealth Evaluation Measures: Systematic Review and Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Turvey, Carolyn L; Nazi, Kim M; Holman, John E; Hogan, Timothy P; Shimada, Stephanie L; Kennedy, Diana R

    2017-01-01

    Background Significant resources are being invested into eHealth technology to improve health care. Few resources have focused on evaluating the impact of use on patient outcomes A standardized set of metrics used across health systems and research will enable aggregation of data to inform improved implementation, clinical practice, and ultimately health outcomes associated with use of patient-facing eHealth technologies. Objective The objective of this project was to conduct a systematic review to (1) identify existing instruments for eHealth research and implementation evaluation from the patient’s point of view, (2) characterize measurement components, and (3) assess psychometrics. Methods Concepts from existing models and published studies of technology use and adoption were identified and used to inform a search strategy. Search terms were broadly categorized as platforms (eg, email), measurement (eg, survey), function/information use (eg, self-management), health care occupations (eg, nurse), and eHealth/telemedicine (eg, mHealth). A computerized database search was conducted through June 2014. Included articles (1) described development of an instrument, or (2) used an instrument that could be traced back to its original publication, or (3) modified an instrument, and (4) with full text in English language, and (5) focused on the patient perspective on technology, including patient preferences and satisfaction, engagement with technology, usability, competency and fluency with technology, computer literacy, and trust in and acceptance of technology. The review was limited to instruments that reported at least one psychometric property. Excluded were investigator-developed measures, disease-specific assessments delivered via technology or telephone (eg, a cancer-coping measure delivered via computer survey), and measures focused primarily on clinician use (eg, the electronic health record). Results The search strategy yielded 47,320 articles. Following

  19. Measures of upper limb function for people with neck pain. A systematic review of measurement and practical properties.

    PubMed

    Alreni, Ahmad Salah Eldin; Harrop, Deborah; Lowe, Anna; Tanzila Potia; Kilner, Karen; McLean, Sionnadh Mairi

    2017-06-01

    There is a strong relationship between neck pain (NP) and upper limb disability (ULD). Optimal management of NP should incorporate upper limb rehabilitation and therefore include the use of an ULD measure in the assessment and management process. Clear guidance regarding the suitability of available measures does not exist. The aim of this study was to identify all available measures of ULD for populations with NP, critically evaluate their measurement properties and finally recommend a list of suitable measures. This two-phase systematic review is reported in accordance with the PRISMA statement. Phase one identified clearly reproducible measures of ULD for patients with NP. Phase two identified evidence of their measurement properties. In total, 11 papers evaluating the measurement properties of five instruments were included in this review. The instruments identified were the DASH questionnaire, the QuickDASH questionnaire, the NULI questionnaire, the SFA and the SAMP test. There was limited positive evidence of validity of the DASH, QuickDASH, NULI, SFA and SAMP. There was limited positive evidence of reliability of the NULI, SFA and SAMP. There was unknown evidence of responsiveness of the DASH and QuickDASH. Although all measures are supported by a limited amount of low quality evidence, the DASH, QuickDASH, NULI questionnaires, and the SAMP test are promising measures, but they require further robust evaluation. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. The COSMIN checklist for assessing the methodological quality of studies on measurement properties of health status measurement instruments: an international Delphi study.

    PubMed

    Mokkink, Lidwine B; Terwee, Caroline B; Patrick, Donald L; Alonso, Jordi; Stratford, Paul W; Knol, Dirk L; Bouter, Lex M; de Vet, Henrica C W

    2010-05-01

    Aim of the COSMIN study (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments) was to develop a consensus-based checklist to evaluate the methodological quality of studies on measurement properties. We present the COSMIN checklist and the agreement of the panel on the items of the checklist. A four-round Delphi study was performed with international experts (psychologists, epidemiologists, statisticians and clinicians). Of the 91 invited experts, 57 agreed to participate (63%). Panel members were asked to rate their (dis)agreement with each proposal on a five-point scale. Consensus was considered to be reached when at least 67% of the panel members indicated 'agree' or 'strongly agree'. Consensus was reached on the inclusion of the following measurement properties: internal consistency, reliability, measurement error, content validity (including face validity), construct validity (including structural validity, hypotheses testing and cross-cultural validity), criterion validity, responsiveness, and interpretability. The latter was not considered a measurement property. The panel also reached consensus on how these properties should be assessed. The resulting COSMIN checklist could be useful when selecting a measurement instrument, peer-reviewing a manuscript, designing or reporting a study on measurement properties, or for educational purposes.

  1. Psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy in women with pregnancies ending in birth.

    PubMed

    Goossens, Joline; Verhaeghe, Sofie; Van Hecke, Ann; Barrett, Geraldine; Delbaere, Ilse; Beeckman, Dimitri

    2018-01-01

    To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy in women with pregnancies ending in birth. A two-phase psychometric evaluation design was set-up. Phase I comprised the translation from English into Dutch and pretesting with 6 women using cognitive interviews. In phase II, the reliability and validity of the Dutch version of the LMUP was assessed in 517 women giving birth recently. Reliability (internal consistency) was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, inter-item correlations, and corrected item-total correlations. Construct validity was assessed using principal components analysis and hypothesis testing. Exploratory Mokken scale analysis was carried out. 517 women aged 15-45 completed the Dutch version of the LMUP. Reliability testing showed acceptable internal consistency (alpha = 0.74, positive inter-item correlations between all items, all corrected item-total correlations >0.20). Validity testing confirmed the unidimensional structure of the scale and all hypotheses were confirmed. The overall Loevinger's H coefficient was 0.57, representing a 'strong' scale. The Dutch version of the LMUP is a reliable and valid measure that can be used in the Dutch-speaking population in Belgium to assess pregnancy planning. Future research is necessary to assess the stability of the Dutch version of the LMUP, and to evaluate its psychometric properties in women with abortions.

  2. Rape Myth Acceptance, Sexual Trauma History, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baugher, Shannon N.; Elhai, Jon D.; Monroe, James R.; Gray, Matt J.

    2010-01-01

    The prediction of false rape-related beliefs (rape myth acceptance [RMA]) was examined using the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (Payne, Lonsway, & Fitzgerald, 1999) among a nonclinical sample of 258 male and female college students. Predictor variables included measures of attitudes toward women, gender role identity (GRI), sexual trauma…

  3. Individual and Sex Differences in the Zone of Acceptable Alternatives.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leung, S. Alvin; Harmon, Lenore W.

    1990-01-01

    Examined zone of acceptable alternatives construct from Gottfredson's theory of career aspiration. College students' (N=246) responses to Occupations List were coded with measurements of sex type and prestige, and indicators of zone of acceptable alternatives for subjects' were computed. Found changes over time and differences related to gender…

  4. Connectedness among Taiwanese Middle School Students: A Validation Study of the Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karcher, Michael J.; Lee, Yun

    2002-01-01

    Examines the psychometric properties of the Hemingway Measure of Adolescent Connectedness among 320 Taiwanese junior high school students. Finds that connectedness measure subscales and composite scales demonstrated acceptable reliability and concurrent validity. Also finds, among other things, that girls report more connectedness to school than…

  5. Continuous Shear Wave Elastography: a New Method to Measure in-vivo Viscoelastic Properties of Tendons

    PubMed Central

    Cortes, Daniel H.; Suydam, Stephen M.; Silbernagel, Karin Grävare; Buchanan, Thomas S.; Elliott, Dawn M.

    2015-01-01

    Viscoelastic mechanical properties are frequently altered after tendon injuries and during recovery. Therefore, non-invasive measurements of shear viscoelastic properties may help evaluate tendon recovery and compare the effectiveness of different therapies. The objectives of this study are to present an elastography method to measure localized viscoelastic properties of tendon and to present initial results in healthy and injured human Achilles and semitendinosus tendons. The technique used an external actuator to generate the shear waves in the tendon at different frequencies and plane wave imaging to measure shear wave displacements. For each of the excitation frequencies, maps of direction specific wave speeds were calculated using Local Frequency Estimation. Maps of viscoelastic properties were obtained using a pixel wise curve-fit of wave speed and frequency. The method was validated by comparing measurements of wave speed in agarose gels to those obtained using magnetic resonance elastography. Measurements in human healthy Achilles tendons revealed a pronounced increase in wave speed as function of frequency that highlights the importance of tendon viscoelasticity. Additionally, the viscoelastic properties of the Achilles tendon were larger than those reported for other tissues. Measurements in a tendinopathic Achilles tendon showed that it is feasible to quantify local viscoeasltic properties. Similarly, measurement in the semitendinosus tendon showed a substantial differences in viscoelastic properties between the healthy and contralateral tendons. Consequently, this technique has the potential of evaluating localized changes in tendon viscoelastic properties due to injury and during recovery in a clinical setting. PMID:25796414

  6. A method for measuring the inertia properties of rigid bodies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gobbi, M.; Mastinu, G.; Previati, G.

    2011-01-01

    A method for the measurement of the inertia properties of rigid bodies is presented. Given a rigid body and its mass, the method allows to measure (identify) the centre of gravity location and the inertia tensor during a single test. The proposed technique is based on the analysis of the free motion of a multi-cable pendulum to which the body under consideration is connected. The motion of the pendulum and the forces acting on the system are recorded and the inertia properties are identified by means of a proper mathematical procedure based on a least square estimation. After the body is positioned on the test rig, the full identification procedure takes less than 10 min. The natural frequencies of the pendulum and the accelerations involved are quite low, making this method suitable for many practical applications. In this paper, the proposed method is described and two test rigs are presented: the first is developed for bodies up to 3500 kg and the second for bodies up to 400 kg. A validation of the measurement method is performed with satisfactory results. The test rig holds a third part quality certificate according to an ISO 9001 standard and could be scaled up to measure the inertia properties of huge bodies, such as trucks, airplanes or even ships.

  7. Measurements of the optical properties of thin films of silver and silver oxide

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Peters, Palmer N.; Sisk, Robert C.; Brown, Yolanda; Gregory, John C.; Nag, Pallob K.; Christl, Ligia

    1995-01-01

    The optical properties of silver films and their oxides are measured to better characterize such films for use as sensors for atomic oxygen. Good agreement between properties of measured pure silver films and reported optical constants is observed. Similar comparisons for silver oxide have not been possible because of a lack of reported constants, but self-consistencies and discrepancies in our measured results are described.

  8. Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Measurement Properties of the Brazilian Portuguese Version of the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) Questionnaire.

    PubMed

    de Mesquita, Gabriel Nunes; de Oliveira, Marcela Nicácio Medeiros; Matoso, Amanda Ellen Rodrigues; Filho, Alberto Galvão de Moura; de Oliveira, Rodrigo Ribeiro

    2018-04-24

    Study Design Clinical measurement study. Background Achilles tendon disorders are very common among athletes and it is important to objectively measure symptoms and functional limitations related to Achilles tendinopathy using outcome measures that have been validated in the language of the target population. Objectives To perform a cross-cultural adaptation and to evaluate the measurement properties of the Brazilian version of the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) questionnaire. Methods We adapted the VISA-A questionnaire to Brazilian Portuguese (VISA-A-Br). The questionnaire was applied on 2 occasions with an interval of 5 to 14 days. We evaluated the following measurement properties: internal consistency, test-retest reliability, measurement error, construct validity, and ceiling and floor effects. Results The VISA-A-Br showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.79; after excluding 1 item at a time, Cronbach's α = 0.73 to 0.84), good test-retest reliability (ICC agreement2,1 = 0.84, 95% confidence interval = 0.71-0.91), an acceptable measurement error (standard error of measurement = 3.25 points and Smallest Detectable Change= 9.02 points), good construct validity (Spearman's coefficient with LEFS= 0.73 and FAOS in its 5 subscales; Pain= 0.66, other Symptoms=0.48, Function in daily living (ADL)= 0.59, Function in sport and recreation=0.67, and foot and ankle-related Quality of Life = 0.7), and no ceiling and floor effects. Conclusion The VISA-A-Br is equivalent to the original version; it has been validated and confirmed as reliable to measure pain and function among the Brazilian population with Achilles tendinopathy, and it can be used in clinical and scientific settings. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, Epub 24 Apr 2018. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.7897.

  9. 40 CFR 201.25 - Measurement location and weather conditions for measurement on receiving property of the noise of...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Measurement location and weather conditions for measurement on receiving property of the noise of retarders, car coupling, locomotive load... EQUIPMENT; INTERSTATE RAIL CARRIERS Measurement Criteria § 201.25 Measurement location and weather...

  10. 40 CFR 201.25 - Measurement location and weather conditions for measurement on receiving property of the noise of...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Measurement location and weather conditions for measurement on receiving property of the noise of retarders, car coupling, locomotive load... EQUIPMENT; INTERSTATE RAIL CARRIERS Measurement Criteria § 201.25 Measurement location and weather...

  11. 40 CFR 201.25 - Measurement location and weather conditions for measurement on receiving property of the noise of...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Measurement location and weather conditions for measurement on receiving property of the noise of retarders, car coupling, locomotive load... EQUIPMENT; INTERSTATE RAIL CARRIERS Measurement Criteria § 201.25 Measurement location and weather...

  12. 40 CFR 201.25 - Measurement location and weather conditions for measurement on receiving property of the noise of...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Measurement location and weather conditions for measurement on receiving property of the noise of retarders, car coupling, locomotive load... EQUIPMENT; INTERSTATE RAIL CARRIERS Measurement Criteria § 201.25 Measurement location and weather...

  13. Grammaticality, Acceptability, and Probability: A Probabilistic View of Linguistic Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lau, Jey Han; Clark, Alexander; Lappin, Shalom

    2017-01-01

    The question of whether humans represent grammatical knowledge as a binary condition on membership in a set of well-formed sentences, or as a probabilistic property has been the subject of debate among linguists, psychologists, and cognitive scientists for many decades. Acceptability judgments present a serious problem for both classical binary…

  14. Identifying drivers for consumer acceptance and purchase intent of corn tortilla.

    PubMed

    Herrera-Corredor, J A; Saidu, J E P; Khachatryan, A; Prinyawiwatkul, W; Carballo-Carballo, A; Zepeda-Bautista, R

    2007-11-01

    The traditional production of corn tortilla has been modified by new processing technologies to make possible a commercial-scale production; this practice has resulted in products having sensory properties different from those produced by the traditional method. There is no published information on sensory attributes driving acceptance and purchase intent of corn tortillas. Identifying sensory drivers for acceptance and purchase intent of corn tortillas will help commercially produce products that satisfy consumers' expectations. A consumer study was conducted to evaluate acceptance and purchase intent of corn tortillas and determine drivers of acceptance and purchase intent of the products. Ten samples of corn tortillas were selected to represent a variety of corn tortillas available in the Mexican market. Three hundred Mexican consumers evaluated acceptability of appearance, color, thickness, rollability, resistance to tearing, aroma, chewiness, taste and aftertaste, and overall liking using a 9-point hedonic scale. Overall acceptance and purchase intent were determined with a yes/no scale. Analysis of variance and multivariate analysis of variance revealed that consumers were able to differentiate differences in sensory acceptability among 10 samples. For example, 2 homemade and 1 small commercial-scale samples, with an overall liking score of 6.6 to 6.7, were more acceptable than others. Rollability, resistance to tearing, and chewiness were attributes underlying overall differences among 10 samples. Attributes determining overall acceptance of corn tortillas were chewiness and overall liking. Purchase intent was influenced by overall appearance, rollability, chewiness, taste, and overall liking. This study revealed critical sensory attributes and their weights given by Mexican consumers when making decisions for acceptance and purchase intent of corn tortilla.

  15. Acceptance and Avoidance Processes at Different Levels of Psychological Recovery from Enduring Mental Illness.

    PubMed

    Siqueira, Vinicius R; Oades, Lindsay G

    2015-01-01

    Objective. This study examined the use of psychological acceptance and experiential avoidance, two key concepts of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), in the psychological recovery process of people with enduring mental illness. Method. Sixty-seven participants were recruited from the metropolitan, regional, and rural areas of New South Wales, Australia. They all presented some form of chronic mental illness (at least 12 months) as reflected in DSM-IV Axis I diagnostic criteria. The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-19) was used to measure the presence of psychological acceptance and experiential avoidance; the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS) was used to examine the levels of psychological recovery; and the Scales of Psychological Well-Being was used to observe if there are benefits in utilizing psychological acceptance and experiential avoidance in the recovery process. Results. An analysis of objectively quantifiable measures found no clear correlation between the use of psychological acceptance and recovery in mental illness as measured by the RAS. The data, however, showed a relationship between psychological acceptance and some components of recovery, thereby demonstrating its possible value in the recovery process. Conclusion. The major contribution of this research was the emerging correlation that was observed between psychological acceptance and positive levels of psychological well-being among individuals with mental illness.

  16. Psychometric Properties of Measures of Team Diversity with Likert Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Deng, Lifang; Marcoulides, George A.; Yuan, Ke-Hai

    2015-01-01

    Certain diversity among team members is beneficial to the growth of an organization. Multiple measures have been proposed to quantify diversity, although little is known about their psychometric properties. This article proposes several methods to evaluate the unidimensionality and reliability of three measures of diversity. To approximate the…

  17. Optical properties of soot particles: measurement - model comparison

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Forestieri, S.; Lambe, A. T.; Lack, D.; Massoli, P.; Cross, E. S.; Dubey, M.; Mazzoleni, C.; Olfert, J.; Freedman, A.; Davidovits, P.; Onasch, T. B.; Cappa, C. D.

    2013-12-01

    Soot, a product of incomplete combustion, plays an important role in the earth's climate system through the absorption and scattering of solar radiation. In order to accurately model the direct radiative impact of black carbon (BC), the refractive index and shape dependent scattering and absorption characteristics must be known. At present, the assumed shape remains highly uncertain because BC particles are fractal-like, being agglomerates of smaller (20-40 nm) spherules, yet traditional optical models such as Mie theory typically assume a spherical particle morphology. To investigate the ability of various optical models to reproduce observed BC optical properties, we measured light absorption and extinction coefficients of methane and ethylene flame soot particles. Optical properties were measured by multiple instruments: absorption by a dual cavity ringdown photoacoustic spectrometer (CRD-PAS), absorption and scattering by a 3-wavelength photoacoustic/nephelometer spectrometer (PASS-3) and extinction and scattering by a cavity attenuated phase shift spectrometer (CAPS). Soot particle mass was quantified using a centrifugal particle mass analyzer (CPMA) and mobility size was measured with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS). Measurements were made for nascent soot particles and for collapsed soot particles following coating with dioctyl sebacate or sulfuric acid and thermal denuding to remove the coating. Wavelength-dependent refractive indices for the sampled particles were derived by fitting the observed absorption and extinction cross-sections to spherical particle Mie theory and Rayleigh-Debye-Gans theory. The Rayleigh-Debye-Gans approximation assumes that the absorption properties of soot are dictated by the individual spherules and neglects interaction between them. In general, Mie theory reproduces the observed absorption and extinction cross-sections for particles with volume equivalent diameters (VED) < ~160 nm, but systematically predicts lower

  18. Non-Contact Thermal Properties Measurement with Low-Power Laser and IR Camera System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hudson, Troy L.; Hecht, Michael H.

    2011-01-01

    As shown by the Phoenix Mars Lander's Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP), contact measurements of thermal conductivity and diffusivity (using a modified flux-plate or line-source heat-pulse method) are constrained by a number of factors. Robotic resources must be used to place the probe, making them unavailable for other operations for the duration of the measurement. The range of placement is also limited by mobility, particularly in the case of a lander. Placement is also subject to irregularities in contact quality, resulting in non-repeatable heat transfer to the material under test. Most important from a scientific perspective, the varieties of materials which can be measured are limited to unconsolidated or weakly-cohesive regolith materials, rocks, and ices being too hard for nominal insertion strengths. Accurately measuring thermal properties in the laboratory requires significant experimental finesse, involving sample preparation, controlled and repeatable procedures, and, practically, instrumentation much more voluminous than the sample being tested (heater plates, insulation, temperature sensors). Remote measurements (infrared images from orbiting spacecraft) can reveal composite properties like thermal inertia, but suffer both from a large footprint (low spatial resolution) and convolution of the thermal properties of a potentially layered medium. In situ measurement techniques (the Phoenix TECP is the only robotic measurement of thermal properties to date) suffer from problems of placement range, placement quality, occupation of robotic resources, and the ability to only measure materials of low mechanical strength. A spacecraft needs the ability to perform a non-contact thermal properties measurement in situ. Essential components include low power consumption, leveraging of existing or highly-developed flight technologies, and mechanical simplicity. This new in situ method, by virtue of its being non-contact, bypasses all of these

  19. Measurement of unsaturated hydraulic properties and evaluation of property-transfer models for deep sedimentary interbeds, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Perkins, Kimberlie; Johnson, Brittany D.; Mirus, Benjamin B.

    2014-01-01

    During 2013–14, the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, focused on further characterization of the sedimentary interbeds below the future site of the proposed Remote Handled Low-Level Waste (RHLLW) facility, which is intended for the long-term storage of low-level radioactive waste. Twelve core samples from the sedimentary interbeds from a borehole near the proposed facility were collected for laboratory analysis of hydraulic properties, which also allowed further testing of the property-transfer modeling approach. For each core sample, the steady-state centrifuge method was used to measure relations between matric potential, saturation, and conductivity. These laboratory measurements were compared to water-retention and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity parameters estimated using the established property-transfer models. For each core sample obtained, the agreement between measured and estimated hydraulic parameters was evaluated quantitatively using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r). The highest correlation is for saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) with an r value of 0.922. The saturated water content (qsat) also exhibits a strong linear correlation with an r value of 0.892. The curve shape parameter (λ) has a value of 0.731, whereas the curve scaling parameter (yo) has the lowest r value of 0.528. The r values demonstrate that model predictions correspond well to the laboratory measured properties for most parameters, which supports the value of extending this approach for quantifying unsaturated hydraulic properties at various sites throughout INL.

  20. Control System Upgrade for a Mass Property Measurement Facility

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chambers, William; Hinkle, R. Kenneth (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The Mass Property Measurement Facility (MPMF) at the Goddard Space Flight Center has undergone modifications to ensure the safety of Flight Payloads and the measurement facility. The MPMF has been technically updated to improve reliability and increase the accuracy of the measurements. Modifications include the replacement of outdated electronics with a computer based software control system, the addition of a secondary gas supply in case of a catastrophic failure to the gas supply and a motor controlled emergency stopping feature instead of a hard stop.

  1. Simultaneous measurements of water optical properties by AC9 transmissometer and ASP-15 inherent optical properties meter in Lake Baikal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balkanov, V.; Belolaptikov, I.; Bezrukov, L.; Budnev, N.; Capone, A.; Chensky, A.; Danilchenko, I.; Domogatsky, G.; Dzhilkibaev, Zh.-A.; Fialkovsky, S.; Gaponenko, O.; Gress, O.; Gress, T.; Il'Yasov, R.; Klabukov, A.; Klimov, A.; Klimushin, S.; Konischev, K.; Koshechkin, A.; Kuznetzov, Vy.; Kuzmichev, L.; Kulepov, V.; Lubsandorzhiev, B.; Masullo, R.; Migneco, E.; Mikheyev, S.; Milenin, M.; Mirgazov, R.; Moseiko, N.; Osipova, E.; Panfilov, A.; Pan'kov, L.; Parfenov, Yu.; Pavlov, A.; Petruccetti, M.; Pliskovsky, E.; Pokhil, P.; Poleschuk, V.; Popova, E.; Prosin, V.; Riccobene, G.; Rozanov, M.; Rubtzov, V.; Semeney, Yu.; Spiering, Ch.; Streicher, O.; Tarashansky, B.; Vasiljev, R.; Wischnewski, R.; Yashin, I.; Zhukov, V.

    2003-02-01

    Measurements of optical properties in media enclosing Cherenkov neutrino telescopes are important not only at the moment of the selection of an adequate site, but also for the continuous characterization of the medium as a function of time. Over the two last decades, the Baikal collaboration has been measuring the optical properties of the deep water in Lake Baikal (Siberia) where, since April 1998, the neutrino telescope NT-200 is in operation. Measurements have been made with custom devices. The NEMO Collaboration, aiming at the construction of a km3 Cherenkov neutrino detector in the Mediterranean Sea, has developed an experimental setup for the measurement of oceanographic and optical properties of deep sea water. This setup is based on a commercial transmissometer. During a joint campaign of the two collaborations in March and April 2001, light absorption, scattering and attenuation in water have been measured. The results are compatible with previous ones reported by the Baikal Collaboration and show convincing agreement between the two experimental techniques.

  2. Measurement properties of depression questionnaires in patients with diabetes: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    van Dijk, Susan E M; Adriaanse, Marcel C; van der Zwaan, Lennart; Bosmans, Judith E; van Marwijk, Harm W J; van Tulder, Maurits W; Terwee, Caroline B

    2018-06-01

    To conduct a systematic review on measurement properties of questionnaires measuring depressive symptoms in adult patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. A systematic review of the literature in MEDLINE, EMbase and PsycINFO was performed. Full text, original articles, published in any language up to October 2016 were included. Eligibility for inclusion was independently assessed by three reviewers who worked in pairs. Methodological quality of the studies was evaluated by two independent reviewers using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. Quality of the questionnaires was rated per measurement property, based on the number and quality of the included studies and the reported results. Of 6286 unique hits, 21 studies met our criteria evaluating nine different questionnaires in multiple settings and languages. The methodological quality of the included studies was variable for the different measurement properties: 9/15 studies scored 'good' or 'excellent' on internal consistency, 2/5 on reliability, 0/1 on content validity, 10/10 on structural validity, 8/11 on hypothesis testing, 1/5 on cross-cultural validity, and 4/9 on criterion validity. For the CES-D, there was strong evidence for good internal consistency, structural validity, and construct validity; moderate evidence for good criterion validity; and limited evidence for good cross-cultural validity. The PHQ-9 and WHO-5 also performed well on several measurement properties. However, the evidence for structural validity of the PHQ-9 was inconclusive. The WHO-5 was less extensively researched and originally not developed to measure depression. Currently, the CES-D is best supported for measuring depressive symptoms in diabetes patients.

  3. Engineering support activities for the Apollo 17 Surface Electrical Properties Experiment.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cubley, H. D.

    1972-01-01

    Description of the engineering support activities which were required to ensure fulfillment of objectives specified for the Apollo 17 SEP (Surface Electrical Properties) Experiment. Attention is given to procedural steps involving verification of hardware acceptability to the astronauts, computer simulation of the experiment hardware, field trials, receiver antenna pattern measurements, and the qualification test program.

  4. A Triaxial Applicator for the Measurement of the Electromagnetic Properties of Materials

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    The design, analysis, and fabrication of a prototype triaxial applicator is described. The applicator provides both reflected and transmitted signals that can be used to characterize the electromagnetic properties of materials in situ. A method for calibrating the probe is outlined and validated using simulated data. Fabrication of the probe is discussed, and measured data for typical absorbing materials and for the probe situated in air are presented. The simulations and measurements suggest that the probe should be useful for measuring the properties of common radar absorbing materials under usual in situ conditions. PMID:29382122

  5. 37 CFR 1.803 - Acceptable depository.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... Biological Material § 1.803 Acceptable depository. (a) A deposit shall be recognized for the purposes of... depository must: (i) Have a continuous existence; (ii) Exist independent of the control of the depositor... safety measures to minimize the risk of losing biological material deposited with it; (v) Be impartial...

  6. 37 CFR 1.803 - Acceptable depository.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... Biological Material § 1.803 Acceptable depository. (a) A deposit shall be recognized for the purposes of... depository must: (i) Have a continuous existence; (ii) Exist independent of the control of the depositor... safety measures to minimize the risk of losing biological material deposited with it; (v) Be impartial...

  7. 37 CFR 1.803 - Acceptable depository.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... Biological Material § 1.803 Acceptable depository. (a) A deposit shall be recognized for the purposes of... depository must: (i) Have a continuous existence; (ii) Exist independent of the control of the depositor... safety measures to minimize the risk of losing biological material deposited with it; (v) Be impartial...

  8. The Measured Self-Esteem of Children from Broken, Rejected, and Accepted Families.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berg, Berthold; Kelly, Robert

    1979-01-01

    Children with divorced parents, children from intact but rejected families, and children from intact and accepted families were evaluated for self-esteem levels on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Findings of this study do not indicate that children experiencing crisis of divorce suffer loss in self-esteem. (Author/BEF)

  9. Emperical Tests of Acceptance Sampling Plans

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    White, K. Preston, Jr.; Johnson, Kenneth L.

    2012-01-01

    Acceptance sampling is a quality control procedure applied as an alternative to 100% inspection. A random sample of items is drawn from a lot to determine the fraction of items which have a required quality characteristic. Both the number of items to be inspected and the criterion for determining conformance of the lot to the requirement are given by an appropriate sampling plan with specified risks of Type I and Type II sampling errors. In this paper, we present the results of empirical tests of the accuracy of selected sampling plans reported in the literature. These plans are for measureable quality characteristics which are known have either binomial, exponential, normal, gamma, Weibull, inverse Gaussian, or Poisson distributions. In the main, results support the accepted wisdom that variables acceptance plans are superior to attributes (binomial) acceptance plans, in the sense that these provide comparable protection against risks at reduced sampling cost. For the Gaussian and Weibull plans, however, there are ranges of the shape parameters for which the required sample sizes are in fact larger than the corresponding attributes plans, dramatically so for instances of large skew. Tests further confirm that the published inverse-Gaussian (IG) plan is flawed, as reported by White and Johnson (2011).

  10. Continuous Shear Wave Elastography: A New Method to Measure Viscoelastic Properties of Tendons in Vivo.

    PubMed

    Cortes, Daniel H; Suydam, Stephen M; Silbernagel, Karin Grävare; Buchanan, Thomas S; Elliott, Dawn M

    2015-06-01

    Viscoelastic mechanical properties are frequently altered after tendon injuries and during recovery. Therefore, non-invasive measurements of shear viscoelastic properties may help evaluate tendon recovery and compare the effectiveness of different therapies. The objectives of this study were to describe an elastography method for measuring localized viscoelastic properties of tendons and to discuss the initial results in healthy and injured human Achilles and semitendinosus tendons. The technique used an external actuator to generate the shear waves in the tendon at different frequencies and plane wave imaging to measure shear wave displacements. For each of the excitation frequencies, maps of direction-specific wave speeds were calculated using local frequency estimation. Maps of viscoelastic properties were obtained using a pixel-wise curve fit of wave speed and frequency. The method was validated by comparing measurements of wave speed in agarose gels with those obtained using magnetic resonance elastography. Measurements in human healthy Achilles tendons revealed a pronounced increase in wave speed as a function of frequency, which highlights the importance of tendon viscoelasticity. Additionally, the viscoelastic properties of the Achilles tendon were larger than those reported for other tissues. Measurements in a tendinopathic Achilles tendon indicated that it is feasible to quantify local viscoelastic properties. Similarly, measurement in the semitendinosus tendon revealed substantial differences in viscoelastic properties between the healthy and contralateral tendons. Consequently, this technique has the potential to evaluate localized changes in tendon viscoelastic properties caused by injury and during recovery in a clinical setting. Copyright © 2015 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Surface electrical properties experiment, part 1. [for measuring lunar surface electrical properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kupfer, W. S. (Compiler)

    1973-01-01

    The design evolution, hardware development, and production history of the surface electrical properties (SEP) experiment are discussed. The SEP transmitter and receiver were designed to be used on the lunar surface during the Apollo 17 mission. The equipment was used to measure lunar surface electrical properties over traverses totalling more than 8 kilometers, for a duration of more than 100 minutes. A comprehensive outline of the techniques, is given along with a simplified detailed breakdown of equipment description and function to outline the principles of operation. A history of the design evolution with trade-off criteria and emphasis on changes caused by decisions reached in solving problems inherent in a fast-paced development program are presented from the viewpoint of overall design concept and in detail for each item of deliverable hardware. There is a brief account of lunar operations.

  12. Factors affecting home care patients' acceptance of a web-based interactive self-management technology

    PubMed Central

    Karsh, Ben-Tzion; Severtson, Dolores J; Burke, Laura J; Brown, Roger L; Brennan, Patricia Flatley

    2010-01-01

    Objective With the advent of personal health records and other patient-focused health technologies, there is a growing need to better understand factors that contribute to acceptance and use of such innovations. In this study, we employed the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology as the basis for determining what predicts patients' acceptance (measured by behavioral intention) and perceived effective use of a web-based, interactive self-management innovation among home care patients. Design Cross-sectional secondary analysis of data from a randomized field study evaluating a technology-assisted home care nursing practice with adults with chronic cardiac disease. Measurement and analysis A questionnaire was designed based on validated measurement scales from prior research and was completed by 101 participants for measuring the acceptance constructs as part of the parent study protocol. Latent variable modeling with item parceling guided assessment of patients' acceptance. Results Perceived usefulness accounted for 53.9% of the variability in behavioral intention, the measure of acceptance. Together, perceived usefulness, health care knowledge, and behavioral intention accounted for 68.5% of the variance in perceived effective use. Perceived ease of use and subjective norm indirectly influenced behavioral intention, through perceived usefulness. Perceived ease of use and subjective norm explained 48% of the total variance in perceived usefulness. Conclusion The study demonstrates that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norm, and healthcare knowledge together predict most of the variance in patients' acceptance and self-reported use of the web-based self-management technology. PMID:21131605

  13. Retrievals of Ice Cloud Microphysical Properties of Deep Convective Systems using Radar Measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tian, J.; Dong, X.; Xi, B.; Wang, J.; Homeyer, C. R.

    2015-12-01

    This study presents innovative algorithms for retrieving ice cloud microphysical properties of Deep Convective Systems (DCSs) using Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD) reflectivity and newly derived empirical relationships from aircraft in situ measurements in Wang et al. (2015) during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E). With composite gridded NEXRAD radar reflectivity, four-dimensional (space-time) ice cloud microphysical properties of DCSs are retrieved, which is not possible from either in situ sampling at a single altitude or from vertical pointing radar measurements. For this study, aircraft in situ measurements provide the best-estimated ice cloud microphysical properties for validating the radar retrievals. Two statistical comparisons between retrieved and aircraft in situ measured ice microphysical properties are conducted from six selected cases during MC3E. For the temporal-averaged method, the averaged ice water content (IWC) and median mass diameter (Dm) from aircraft in situ measurements are 0.50 g m-3 and 1.51 mm, while the retrievals from radar reflectivity have negative biases of 0.12 g m-3 (24%) and 0.02 mm (1.3%) with correlations of 0.71 and 0.48, respectively. For the spatial-averaged method, the IWC retrievals are closer to the aircraft results (0.51 vs. 0.47 g m-3) with a positive bias of 8.5%, whereas the Dm retrievals are larger than the aircraft results (1.65 mm vs. 1.51 mm) with a positive bias of 9.3%. The retrieved IWCs decrease from ~0.6 g m-3 at 5 km to ~0.15 g m-3 at 13 km, and Dm values decrease from ~2 mm to ~0.7 mm at the same levels. In general, the aircraft in situ measured IWC and Dm values at each level are within one standard derivation of retrieved properties. Good agreements between microphysical properties measured from aircraft and retrieved from radar reflectivity measurements indicate the reasonable accuracy of our retrievals.

  14. Measurement properties of the Human Activity Profile questionnaire in hospitalized patients.

    PubMed

    Souza, Daniel C; Wegner, Fernando; Costa, Lucíola C M; Chiavegato, Luciana D; Lunardi, Adriana C

    To test the measurement properties (reproducibility, internal consistency, ceiling and floor effects, and construct validity) of the Human Activity Profile (HAP) questionnaire in hospitalized patients. This measurement properties study recruited one-hundred patients hospitalized for less than 48h for clinical or surgical reasons. The HAP was administered at baseline and after 48h in a test-retest design). The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-6) was also administered at baseline, aiming to assess the construct validity. We tested the following measurement properties: reproducibility (reliability assessed by type 2,1 intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 2,1 )); agreement by the standard error of measurement (SEM) and by the minimum detectable change with 90% confidence (MDC 90 ), internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha, construct validity using a chi-square test, and ceiling and floor effects by calculating the proportion of patients who achieved the minimum or maximum scores. Reliability was excellent with an ICC of 0.99 (95% CI=0.98-0.99). SEM was 1.44 points (1.5% of the total score), the MDD 90 was 3.34 points (3.5% of the total score) and the Cronbach's alpha was 0.93 (alpha if item deleted ranging from 0.94 to 0.94). An association was observed between patients classified by HAP and by IPAQ-6 (χ 2 =3.38; p=0.18). Ceiling or floor effects were not observed. The HAP shows adequate measurement properties for the assessment of the physical activity/inactivity level in hospitalized patients. Copyright © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Fisioterapia. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  15. Measurement of Physical and Hydraulic Properties of Organic Soil Using Computed Tomographic Imagery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Blais, K. E.; Quinton, W. L.; Heck, R. J.; Price, J. S.; Schmidt, M. G.

    2005-12-01

    The Lower Liard River valley is located within the continental northern boreal region and the zone of discontinuous permafrost. Lying in the centre of the Mackenzie basin, this valley is an extensive flat headwater region with a high density of open water and peatlands. Several standard methods of measuring the physical properties of organic soils exist, although many of them have several drawbacks that limit their use. Organic soils, in particular, have unique properties that require special attention to ensure that the measured hydrological characteristics are represented as they exist in nature. The goal of this research was to devise an improved method of analyzing and measuring the physical and hydraulic properties of organic soil using MicroCT imagery. Specifically, this research seeks to determine if two and three-dimensional images of peat can be used to accurately characterize air-filled porosity, active porosity, pore size distribution, pore saturated area and capillarity of porous Sphagnum cells. Results indicate that measurements derived from these images are consistent with current literature. They also suggest that this non-destructive method is a valuable tool for measuring peat physical and hydraulic properties and that there is potential for additional research using CT technology.

  16. Property Values as a Measure of Neighborhoods: An Application of Hedonic Price Theory.

    PubMed

    Leonard, Tammy; Powell-Wiley, Tiffany M; Ayers, Colby; Murdoch, James C; Yin, Wenyuan; Pruitt, Sandi L

    2016-07-01

    Researchers measuring relationships between neighborhoods and health have begun using property appraisal data as a source of information about neighborhoods. Economists have developed a rich tool kit to understand how neighborhood characteristics are quantified in appraisal values. This tool kit principally relies on hedonic (implicit) price models and has much to offer regarding the interpretation and operationalization of property appraisal data-derived neighborhood measures, which goes beyond the use of appraisal data as a measure of neighborhood socioeconomic status. We develop a theoretically informed hedonic-based neighborhood measure using residuals of a hedonic price regression applied to appraisal data in a single metropolitan area. We describe its characteristics, reliability in different types of neighborhoods, and correlation with other neighborhood measures (i.e., raw neighborhood appraisal values, census block group poverty, and observed property characteristics). We examine the association between all neighborhood measures and body mass index. The hedonic-based neighborhood measure was correlated in the expected direction with block group poverty rate and observed property characteristics. The neighborhood measure and average raw neighborhood appraisal value, but not census block group poverty, were associated with individual body mass index. We draw theoretically consistent methodology from the economics literature on hedonic price models to demonstrate how to leverage the implicit valuation of neighborhoods contained in publicly available appraisal data. Consistent measurement and application of the hedonic-based neighborhood measures in epidemiology will improve understanding of the relationships between neighborhoods and health. Researchers should proceed with a careful use of appraisal values utilizing theoretically informed methods such as this one.

  17. Retrieving the properties of ice-phase precipitation with multi-frequency radar measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mace, G. G.; Gergely, M.; Mascio, J.

    2017-12-01

    The objective of most retrieval algorithms applied to remote sensing measurements is the microphysical properties that a model might predict such as condensed water content, particle number, or effective size. However, because ice crystals grow and aggregate into complex non spherical shapes, the microphysical properties of interest are very much dependent on the physical characteristics of the precipitation such as how mass and crystal area are distributed as a function of particle size. Such physical properties also have a strong influence on how microwave electromagnetic energy scatters from ice crystals causing significant ambiguity in retrieval algorithms. In fact, passive and active microwave remote sensing measurements are typically nearly as sensitive to the ice crystal physical properties as they are to the microphysical characteristics that are typically the aim of the retrieval algorithm. There has, however, been active development of multi frequency algorithms recently that attempt to ameliorate and even exploit this sensitivity. In this paper, we will review these approaches and present practical applications of retrieving ice crystal properties such as mass- and area dimensional relationships from single and dual frequency radar measurements of precipitating ice using data collected aboard ship in the Southern Ocean and from remote sensors in the Rocky Mountains of the Western U.S.

  18. Video Game Acceptance: A Meta-Analysis of the Extended Technology Acceptance Model.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiaohui; Goh, Dion Hoe-Lian

    2017-11-01

    The current study systematically reviews and summarizes the existing literature of game acceptance, identifies the core determinants, and evaluates the strength of the relationships in the extended technology acceptance model. Moreover, this study segments video games into two categories: hedonic and utilitarian and examines player acceptance of these two types separately. Through a meta-analysis of 50 articles, we find that perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), and perceived enjoyment (PE) significantly associate with attitude and behavioral intention. PE is the dominant predictor of hedonic game acceptance, while PEOU and PU are the main determinants of utilitarian game acceptance. Furthermore, we find that respondent type and game platform are significant moderators. Findings of this study provide critical insights into the phenomenon of game acceptance and suggest directions for future research.

  19. Changes in sensory properties and consumer acceptance of reduced fat pork Lyon-style and liver sausages containing inulin and citrus fiber as fat replacers.

    PubMed

    Tomaschunas, Maja; Zörb, Rebecca; Fischer, Jürgen; Köhn, Ehrhard; Hinrichs, Jörg; Busch-Stockfisch, Mechthild

    2013-11-01

    The effects of fat reduction in Lyon-style (25% fat) and liver sausages (30% fat) using inulin, citrus fiber and partially rice starch were studied in terms of sensory properties and consumer acceptance. Fat reduced Lyon-style sausages (3 to 17% fat) and liver sausages (3 to 20% fat) were respectively compared to the full-fat controls. Reducing fat in Lyon-style sausages decreased meat flavor, aftertaste meat flavor, greasiness and juiciness, and enhanced color intensity, spiciness, spicy aftertaste, raspy throat, coarseness and firmness scores. But adding inulin and citrus fiber led to sensory characteristics similar to the full-fat reference. Regarding liver sausages, attribute scores in greasiness, creaminess, lumpiness and foamy were decreased with fat reduction and simultaneous addition of fibers. Color intensity, spiciness, firmness and attribute furred tongue were increased. Consumer tests revealed acceptable fat reduced (32 to 90% less than control) and fiber enriched (1.0 to 5.6%) sausages. Drivers of liking were found to relate not only to high-fat but also to low-fat samples. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Synthesis and Regiochemistry of [60]Fullerenyl 2-Methylmalonate Bisadducts and their Facile Electron-Accepting Properties

    PubMed Central

    Kokubo, Ken; Arastoo, Riyah S.; Oshima, Takumi; Wang, Chun-Chih; Gao, Yuan; Wang, Hsing-Lin; Geng, Hao; Chiang, Long Y.

    2010-01-01

    A simple one-pot reaction using in situ chemically generated Na-naphthalenide as an electron reductant in the preferential generation of C602− is described. Trapping of C602− intermediate with two molar equivalents of sterically hindered 2-bromo-2-methylmalonate ester afforded two singly bonded fullerenyl bisadducts C60[-CMe(CO2Et)2]2 in 35 and 7% yield, respectively. The regiochemistry of these two products were determined to be 1,4- and 1,16-bisadducts, respectively, by NMR, UV-Vis-NIR, LCMS, and X-ray single crystal structural analysis. The minor 1,16-bisadduct 2 exhibits long wavelength absorption bands in near-IR region and the prominent electron-accepting characteristics as compared with those of the major 1,4-bisadduct and pristine C60. As revealed by DFT calculation, we propose that the origin of these unusual characters of 2 arises from the moiety of [18π]-trannulene, in close resemblance to that of the highly symmetrical emerald green 1,16,29,38,43,60-hexaadduct of C60, EF-6MCn. Accordingly, we anticipate a fast progressive formation of plausible 1,16-bisadduct-like intermediate moieties on a C60 cage as the precursor structure leading to the formation of EF-6MCn, by taking the corresponding regiochemistry and electronic properties into account. PMID:20524640

  1. Liquidus temperature and optical properties measurement by containerless techniques

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anderson, Collin D.

    1993-01-01

    Reactive alloy liquidus temperatures measured by conventional, contained techniques are often in error due to reactions with containers and gaseous impurities. This paper describes a new liquidus temperature measurement technique that avoids these problems by employing containerless processing. This technique relies on precise and accurate noncontact temperature measurements (NCTM), which are made possible by spectral emissivity values. The spectral emissivities, epsilon(sub lambda), are measured along with the optical properties (real, n, and imaginary, k, components of the index of refraction) using polarimetric techniques on electromagnetically levitated specimens. Results from work done at Vanderbilt University and Intersonics on the Ti-Al system are presented to demonstrate the above techniques.

  2. Measuring Levels of End-Users' Acceptance and Use of Hybrid Library Services

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tibenderana, Prisca; Ogao, Patrick; Ikoja-Odongo, J.; Wokadala, James

    2010-01-01

    This study concerns the adoption of Information Communication Technology (ICT) services in libraries. The study collected 445 usable data from university library end-users using a cross-sectional survey instrument. It develops, applies and tests a research model of acceptance and use of such services based on an existing UTAUT model by Venkatesh,…

  3. Measurement properties of questionnaires assessing participation in children and adolescents with a disability: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Rainey, Linda; van Nispen, Ruth; van der Zee, Carlijn; van Rens, Ger

    2014-12-01

    To critically appraise the measurement properties of questionnaires measuring participation in children and adolescents (0-18 years) with a disability. Bibliographic databases were searched for studies evaluating the measurement properties of self-report or parent-report questionnaires measuring participation in children and adolescents (0-18 years) with a disability. The methodological quality of the included studies and the results of the measurement properties were evaluated using a checklist developed on consensus-based standards. The search strategy identified 3,977 unique publications, of which 22 were selected; these articles evaluated the development and measurement properties of eight different questionnaires. The Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation was evaluated most extensively, generally showing moderate positive results on content validity, internal consistency, reliability and construct validity. The remaining questionnaires also demonstrated positive results. However, at least 50 % of the measurement properties per questionnaire were not (or only poorly) assessed. Studies of high methodological quality, using modern statistical methods, are needed to accurately assess the measurement properties of currently available questionnaires. Moreover, consensus is required on the definition of the construct 'participation' to determine content validity and to enable meaningful interpretation of outcomes.

  4. Measurement of the dielectric properties of sawdust between 0.5 and 15 GHz

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Rapid, nondestructive, and subsurface sensing of material properties such as water content can be achieved through dielectric measurements. The interaction between the electromagnetic waves and the material is defined by the dielectric properties, which can be used to determine the physical properti...

  5. NIST/ASME Steam Properties Database

    National Institute of Standards and Technology Data Gateway

    SRD 10 NIST/ASME Steam Properties Database (PC database for purchase)   Based upon the International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam (IAPWS) 1995 formulation for the thermodynamic properties of water and the most recent IAPWS formulations for transport and other properties, this updated version provides water properties over a wide range of conditions according to the accepted international standards.

  6. In-Vivo Techniques for Measuring Electrical Properties of Tissues.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-09-01

    probe Electromagnetic energy Dielectric properties Monopole antenna In-situ tissues , Antemortem/Pos tmortem studies Renal blood flow 10 ABSTRACT... mice or rats, which were positioned beneath a fixed measurement probe. Several alternative methods involving the use of semi-rigid or flexible coaxial

  7. Preliminary evaluation of an analog procedure to assess acceptability of intimate partner violence against women: the Partner Violence Acceptability Movie Task

    PubMed Central

    Gracia, Enrique; Rodriguez, Christina M.; Lila, Marisol

    2015-01-01

    Acceptability of partner violence against women is a risk factor linked to its perpetration, and to public, professionals’ and victims’ responses to this behavior. Research on the acceptability of violence in intimate partner relationships is, however, limited by reliance solely on self-reports that often provide distorted or socially desirable accounts that may misrepresent respondents’ attitudes. This study presents data on the development and initial validation of a new analog task assessing respondents’ acceptability of physical violence toward women in intimate relationships: the Partner Violence Acceptability Movie Task (PVAM). This new analog task is intended to provide a more implicit measure of the acceptability of partner violence against women. For this analog task, clips were extracted from commercially available films (90-s segments) portraying partner violence. Two independent samples were used to develop and evaluate the PVAM: a sample of 245 undergraduate students and a sample of 94 male intimate partner violence offenders. This new analog task demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. Results also indicated adequate construct validity. Both perpetrators and undergraduates scoring high in the PVAM also scored higher in self-reported justifications of partner abuse. Perpetrators of partner violence scored significantly higher in acceptability of partner violence than the undergraduate sample (both male and female students), and male students scored higher than females. These preliminary results suggest that the PVAM may be a promising tool to assess the acceptability of violence in intimate partner relationships, highlighting the need to consider alternatives to self-report to evaluate potential beliefs about partner violence. PMID:26528220

  8. Quantifying beliefs regarding telehealth: Development of the Whole Systems Demonstrator Service User Technology Acceptability Questionnaire.

    PubMed

    Hirani, Shashivadan P; Rixon, Lorna; Beynon, Michelle; Cartwright, Martin; Cleanthous, Sophie; Selva, Abi; Sanders, Caroline; Newman, Stanton P

    2017-05-01

    Introduction Telehealth (TH) is a potential solution to the increased incidence of chronic illness in an ageing population. The extent to which older people and users with chronic conditions accept and adhere to using assistive technologies is a potential barrier to mainstreaming the service. This study reports the development and validation of the Whole Systems Demonstrator (WSD) Service User Technology Acceptability Questionnaire (SUTAQ). Methods Questionnaires measuring the acceptability of TH, quality of life, well-being and psychological processes were completed by 478 users of TH. The 22 acceptability items were subject to principal components analysis (PCA) to determine sub-scales. Scale scores, relationships between scales and other patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and group differences on scales were utilised to check the reliability and validity of the measure. Results PCAs of SUTAQ items produced six TH acceptability scales: enhanced care, increased accessibility, privacy and discomfort, care personnel concerns, kit as substitution and satisfaction. Significant correlations within these beliefs and between these scales and additional PROMs were coherent, and the SUTAQ sub-scales were able to predict those more likely to refuse TH. Discussion The SUTAQ is an instrument that can be used to measure user beliefs about the acceptability of TH, and has the ability to discriminate between groups and predict individual differences in beliefs and behaviour. Measuring acceptability beliefs of TH users can provide valuable information to direct and target provision of services to increase uptake and maintain use of TH.

  9. Similarity of wh-Phrases and Acceptability Variation in wh-Islands

    PubMed Central

    Atkinson, Emily; Apple, Aaron; Rawlins, Kyle; Omaki, Akira

    2016-01-01

    In wh-questions that form a syntactic dependency between the fronted wh-phrase and its thematic position, acceptability is severely degraded when the dependency crosses another wh-phrase. It is well known that the acceptability degradation in wh-island violation ameliorates in certain contexts, but the source of this variation remains poorly understood. In the syntax literature, an influential theory – Featural Relativized Minimality – has argued that the wh-island effect is modulated exclusively by the distinctness of morpho-syntactic features in the two wh-phrases, but psycholinguistic theories of memory encoding and retrieval mechanisms predict that semantic properties of wh-phrases should also contribute to wh-island amelioration. We report four acceptability judgment experiments that systematically investigate the role of morpho-syntactic and semantic features in wh-island violations. The results indicate that the distribution of wh-island amelioration is best explained by an account that incorporates the distinctness of morpho-syntactic features as well as the semantic denotation of the wh-phrases. We argue that an integration of syntactic theories and perspectives from psycholinguistics can enrich our understanding of acceptability variation in wh-dependencies. PMID:26793156

  10. Evaluation of antioxidant, rheological, physical and sensorial properties of wheat flour dough and cake containing turmeric powder.

    PubMed

    Park, S H; Lim, H S; Hwang, S Y

    2012-10-01

    The effects of addition of turmeric powder (0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%) were examined in order to obtain an antioxidant-enriched cake with good physico-chemical and sensorial properties. The rheological properties of doughs were evaluated using dynamic rheological measurements. Physical properties, curcumin content, radical scavenging activity (RSA-DPPH assay) and sensory analysis (hedonic test) of the supplemented cake were determined. Addition of turmeric powder up to 8% caused significant changes on dough characteristics and on cake rheological properties. The highest curcumin (203 mg/kg) and RSA-DPPH activity (45%) were achieved in the cake having the highest percentage of turmeric powder (8%); however, this sample showed the worst results regarding the rheological properties. Moreover, by sensory evaluation this cake sample was not acceptable. A 6% substitution of wheat flour with turmeric powder showed acceptable sensory scores which were comparable to those of 0-4% turmeric cakes. This indicated that up to 6% level of turmeric powder might be included in cake formulation.

  11. Measurement properties of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory by cross-sectional and longitudinal designs

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    Background The impact of dizziness on quality of life is often assessed by the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), which is used as a discriminate and evaluative measure. The aim of the present study was to examine reliability and validity of a translated Norwegian version (DHI-N), also examining responsiveness to important change in the construct being measured. Methods Two samples (n = 92 and n = 27) included participants with dizziness of mainly vestibular origin. A cross-sectional design was used to examine the factor structure (exploratory factor analysis), internal consistency (Cronbach's α), concurrent validity (Pearson's product moment correlation r), and discriminate ability (ROC curve analysis). Longitudinal designs were used to examine test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) statistics, smallest detectable difference (SDD)), and responsiveness (Pearson's product moment correlation, ROC curve analysis; area under the ROC curve (AUC), and minimally important change (MIC)). The DHI scores range from 0 to 100. Results Factor analysis revealed a different factor structure than the original DHI, resulting in dismissal of subscale scores in the DHI-N. Acceptable internal consistency was found for the total scale (α = 0.95). Concurrent correlations between the DHI-N and other related measures were moderate to high, highest with Vertigo Symptom Scale-short form-Norwegian version (r = 0.69), and lowest with preferred gait (r = - 0.36). The DHI-N demonstrated excellent ability to discriminate between participants with and without 'disability', AUC being 0.89 and best cut-off point = 29 points. Satisfactory test-retest reliability was demonstrated, and the change for an individual should be ≥ 20 DHI-N points to exceed measurement error (SDD). Correlations between change scores of DHI-N and other self-report measures of functional health and symptoms were high (r = 0.50 - 0.57). Responsiveness of the DHI-N was excellent, AUC = 0

  12. Experimental measurement and modeling analysis on mechanical properties of incudostapedial joint

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Xiangming

    2011-01-01

    The incudostapedial (IS) joint between the incus and stapes is a synovial joint consisting of joint capsule, cartilage, and synovial fluid. The mechanical properties of the IS joint directly affect the middle ear transfer function for sound transmission. However, due to the complexity and small size of the joint, the mechanical properties of the IS joint have not been reported in the literature. In this paper, we report our current study on mechanical properties of human IS joint using both experimental measurement and finite element (FE) modeling analysis. Eight IS joint samples with the incus and stapes attached were harvested from human cadaver temporal bones. Tension, compression, stress relaxation and failure tests were performed on those samples in a micro-material testing system. An analytical approach with the hyperelastic Ogden model and a 3D FE model of the IS joint including the cartilage, joint capsule, and synovial fluid were employed to derive mechanical parameters of the IS joint. The comparison of measurements and modeling results reveals the relationship between the mechanical properties and structure of the IS joint. PMID:21061141

  13. Experimental measurement and modeling analysis on mechanical properties of incudostapedial joint.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiangming; Gan, Rong Z

    2011-10-01

    The incudostapedial (IS) joint between the incus and stapes is a synovial joint consisting of joint capsule, cartilage, and synovial fluid. The mechanical properties of the IS joint directly affect the middle ear transfer function for sound transmission. However, due to the complexity and small size of the joint, the mechanical properties of the IS joint have not been reported in the literature. In this paper, we report our current study on mechanical properties of human IS joint using both experimental measurement and finite element (FE) modeling analysis. Eight IS joint samples with the incus and stapes attached were harvested from human cadaver temporal bones. Tension, compression, stress relaxation and failure tests were performed on those samples in a micro-material testing system. An analytical approach with the hyperelastic Ogden model and a 3D FE model of the IS joint including the cartilage, joint capsule, and synovial fluid were employed to derive mechanical parameters of the IS joint. The comparison of measurements and modeling results reveals the relationship between the mechanical properties and structure of the IS joint.

  14. Development of an apparatus to measure thermophysical properties of wind tunnel heat transfer models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Romanowski, R. F.; Steinberg, I. H.

    1974-01-01

    The apparatus and technique for measuring the thermophysical properties of models used with the phase-change paint method for obtaining wind tunnel heat transfer data are described. The method allows rapid measurement of the combined properties in a transient manner similar to an actual wind tunnel test. An effective value of the thermophysical properties can be determined which accounts for changes in thermal properties with temperature or with depth into the model surface. The apparatus was successfully tested at various heating rates between 19,000 and 124,000 watts per square meter.

  15. Measures of motivation for psychiatric treatment based on self-determination theory: psychometric properties in Dutch psychiatric outpatients.

    PubMed

    Jochems, Eline C; Mulder, Cornelis L; Duivenvoorden, Hugo J; van der Feltz-Cornelis, Christina M; van Dam, Arno

    2014-08-01

    Self-determination theory is potentially useful for understanding reasons why individuals with mental illness do or do not engage in psychiatric treatment. The current study examined the psychometric properties of three questionnaires based on self-determination theory-The Treatment Entry Questionnaire (TEQ), Health Care Climate Questionnaire (HCCQ), and the Short Motivation Feedback List (SMFL)-in a sample of 348 Dutch adult outpatients with primary diagnoses of mood, anxiety, psychotic, and personality disorders. Structural equation modeling showed that the empirical factor structures of the TEQ and SMFL were adequately represented by a model with three intercorrelated factors. These were interpreted as identified, introjected, and external motivation. The reliabilities of the Dutch TEQ, HCCQ, and SMFL were found to be acceptable but can be improved on; congeneric estimates ranged from 0.66 to 0.94 depending on the measure and patient subsample. Preliminary support for the construct validities of the questionnaires was found in the form of theoretically expected associations with other scales, including therapist-rated motivation and treatment engagement and with legally mandated treatment. Additionally, the study provides insights into the relations between measures of motivation based on self-determination theory, the transtheoretical model and the integral model of treatment motivation in psychiatric outpatients with severe mental illness. © The Author(s) 2013.

  16. Precise dielectric property measurements and E-field probe calibration for specific absorption rate measurements using a rectangular waveguide

    PubMed Central

    Hakim, B M; Beard, B B; Davis, C C

    2018-01-01

    Specific absorption rate (SAR) measurements require accurate calculations of the dielectric properties of tissue-equivalent liquids and associated calibration of E-field probes. We developed a precise tissue-equivalent dielectric measurement and E-field probe calibration system. The system consists of a rectangular waveguide, electric field probe, and data control and acquisition system. Dielectric properties are calculated using the field attenuation factor inside the tissue-equivalent liquid and power reflectance inside the waveguide at the air/dielectric-slab interface. Calibration factors were calculated using isotropicity measurements of the E-field probe. The frequencies used are 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. The uncertainties of the measured values are within ±3%, at the 95% confidence level. Using the same waveguide for dielectric measurements as well as calibrating E-field probes used in SAR assessments eliminates a source of uncertainty. Moreover, we clearly identified the system parameters that affect the overall uncertainty of the measurement system. PMID:29520129

  17. Psychometric Properties of Patient-Facing eHealth Evaluation Measures: Systematic Review and Analysis.

    PubMed

    Wakefield, Bonnie J; Turvey, Carolyn L; Nazi, Kim M; Holman, John E; Hogan, Timothy P; Shimada, Stephanie L; Kennedy, Diana R

    2017-10-11

    Significant resources are being invested into eHealth technology to improve health care. Few resources have focused on evaluating the impact of use on patient outcomes A standardized set of metrics used across health systems and research will enable aggregation of data to inform improved implementation, clinical practice, and ultimately health outcomes associated with use of patient-facing eHealth technologies. The objective of this project was to conduct a systematic review to (1) identify existing instruments for eHealth research and implementation evaluation from the patient's point of view, (2) characterize measurement components, and (3) assess psychometrics. Concepts from existing models and published studies of technology use and adoption were identified and used to inform a search strategy. Search terms were broadly categorized as platforms (eg, email), measurement (eg, survey), function/information use (eg, self-management), health care occupations (eg, nurse), and eHealth/telemedicine (eg, mHealth). A computerized database search was conducted through June 2014. Included articles (1) described development of an instrument, or (2) used an instrument that could be traced back to its original publication, or (3) modified an instrument, and (4) with full text in English language, and (5) focused on the patient perspective on technology, including patient preferences and satisfaction, engagement with technology, usability, competency and fluency with technology, computer literacy, and trust in and acceptance of technology. The review was limited to instruments that reported at least one psychometric property. Excluded were investigator-developed measures, disease-specific assessments delivered via technology or telephone (eg, a cancer-coping measure delivered via computer survey), and measures focused primarily on clinician use (eg, the electronic health record). The search strategy yielded 47,320 articles. Following elimination of duplicates and non

  18. Laboratory Measurements of Optical Properties of Micron Size Individual Dust Grains

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abbas, M. M.; Craven, P. D.; Spann, J. F.; Tankosic, D.; LeClair, A.; Witherow, W. K.; Camata, R.; Gerakines, P.

    2003-01-01

    A laboratory program is being developed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for experimental determination of the optical and physical properties individual dust grains in simulated astrophysical environments. The experimental setup is based on an electrodynamic balance that permits levitation of single 0.1 - 10 micron radii dust grains in a cavity evacuated to pressures of approx. 10(exp -6) torr. The experimental apparatus is equipped with observational ports for measurements in the UV, visible, and infrared spectral regions. A cryogenic facility for cooling the particles to temperature of approx. 10-50K is being installed. The current and the planned measurements include: dust charging processes, photoelectric emissions and yields with UV irradiation, radiation pressure measurements, infrared absorption and scattering properties, and condensation processes, involving the analogs of cosmic dust grains. Selected results based on photoemissions, radiation pressure, and other laboratory measurements will be presented.

  19. Modeling micromechanical measurements of depth-varying properties with scanning acoustic microscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marangos, Orestes; Misra, Anil

    2018-02-01

    Scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) has been applied to measure the near-surface elastic properties of materials. For many substrates, the near-surface property is not constant but varies with depth. In this paper, we aim to interpret the SAM data from such substrates by modeling the interaction of the focused ultrasonic field with a substrate having a near-surface graded layer. The focused ultrasonic field solutions were represented as spherical harmonic expansions while the substrate solutions were represented as plane wave expansions. The bridging of the two solutions was achieved through the decomposition of the ultrasonic pressure fields in their angular spectra. Parametric studies were performed, which showed that near-surface graded layers exhibit distinctive frequency dependence of their reflectance functions. This behavior is characteristic to the material property gradation profile as well as the extent of the property gradation. The developed model was used to explain the frequency-dependent reflection coefficients measured from an acid-etched dentin substrate. Based on the model calculations, the elastic property variations of the acid-etched dentin near-surface indicate that the topmost part of the etched layer is very soft (3-6 GPa) and transitions to the native dentin through a depth of 27 and 36 microns.

  20. Longitudinal Stability of Social Competence Indicators in a Portuguese Sample: Q-Sort Profiles of Social Competence, Measures of Social Engagement, and Peer Sociometric Acceptance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Santos, António J.; Vaughn, Brian E.; Peceguina, Inês; Daniel, João R.

    2014-01-01

    This study examines the temporal stability (over 3 years) of individual differences in 3 domains relevant to preschool children's social competence: social engagement/motivation, profiles of behavior and personality attributes characteristic of socially competent young children, and peer acceptance. Each domain was measured with multiple…

  1. Evaluation of performance, acceptance, and compliance of an auto-injector in healthy and rheumatoid arthritic subjects measured by a motion capture system.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Xiao; Li, Wei; Clawson, Corbin; Karvani, David; Sondag, Perceval; Hahn, James K

    2018-01-01

    The study aimed to develop a motion capture system that can track, visualize, and analyze the entire performance of self-injection with the auto-injector. Each of nine healthy subjects and 29 rheumatoid arthritic (RA) patients with different degrees of hand disability performed two simulated injections into an injection pad while six degrees of freedom (DOF) motions of the auto-injector and the injection pad were captured. We quantitatively measured the performance of the injection by calculating needle displacement from the motion trajectories. The max, mean, and SD of needle displacement were analyzed. Assessments of device acceptance and usability were evaluated by a survey questionnaire and independent observations of compliance with the device instruction for use (IFU). A total of 80 simulated injections were performed. Our results showed a similar level of performance among all the subjects with slightly larger, but not statistically significant, needle displacement in the RA group. In particular, no significant effects regarding previous experience in self-injection, grip method, pain in hand, and Cochin score in the RA group were found to have an impact on the mean needle displacement. Moreover, the analysis of needle displacement for different durations of injections indicated that most of the subjects reached their personal maximum displacement in 15 seconds and remained steady or exhibited a small amount of increase from 15 to 60 seconds. Device acceptance was high for most of the questions (ie, >4; >80%) based on a 0-5-point scale or percentage of acceptance. The overall compliance with the device IFU was high for the first injection (96.05%) and reached 98.02% for the second injection. We demonstrated the feasibility of tracking the motions of injection to measure the performance of simulated self-injection. The comparisons of needle displacement showed that even RA patients with severe hand disability could properly perform self-injection with this

  2. High-accuracy direct ZT and intrinsic properties measurement of thermoelectric couple devices.

    PubMed

    Kraemer, D; Chen, G

    2014-04-01

    Advances in thermoelectric materials in recent years have led to significant improvements in thermoelectric device performance and thus, give rise to many new potential applications. In order to optimize a thermoelectric device for specific applications and to accurately predict its performance ideally the material's figure of merit ZT as well as the individual intrinsic properties (Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity) should be known with high accuracy. For that matter, we developed two experimental methods in which the first directly obtains the ZT and the second directly measures the individual intrinsic leg properties of the same p/n-type thermoelectric couple device. This has the advantage that all material properties are measured in the same sample direction after the thermoelectric legs have been mounted in the final device. Therefore, possible effects from crystal anisotropy and from the device fabrication process are accounted for. The Seebeck coefficients, electrical resistivities, and thermal conductivities are measured with differential methods to minimize measurement uncertainties to below 3%. The thermoelectric couple ZT is directly measured with a differential Harman method which is in excellent agreement with the calculated ZT from the individual leg properties. The errors in both the directly measured and calculated thermoelectric couple ZT are below 5% which is significantly lower than typical uncertainties using commercial methods. Thus, the developed technique is ideal for characterizing assembled couple devices and individual thermoelectric materials and enables accurate device optimization and performance predictions. We demonstrate the methods by measuring a p/n-type thermoelectric couple device assembled from commercial bulk thermoelectric Bi2Te3 elements in the temperature range of 30 °C-150 °C and discuss the performance of the couple thermoelectric generator in terms of its efficiency and materials

  3. In acceptance we trust? Conceptualising acceptance as a viable approach to NGO security management.

    PubMed

    Fast, Larissa A; Freeman, C Faith; O'Neill, Michael; Rowley, Elizabeth

    2013-04-01

    This paper documents current understanding of acceptance as a security management approach and explores issues and challenges non-governmental organisations (NGOs) confront when implementing an acceptance approach to security management. It argues that the failure of organisations to systematise and clearly articulate acceptance as a distinct security management approach and a lack of organisational policies and procedures concerning acceptance hinder its efficacy as a security management approach. The paper identifies key and cross-cutting components of acceptance that are critical to its effective implementation in order to advance a comprehensive and systematic concept of acceptance. The key components of acceptance illustrate how organisational and staff functions affect positively or negatively an organisation's acceptance, and include: an organisation's principles and mission, communications, negotiation, programming, relationships and networks, stakeholder and context analysis, staffing, and image. The paper contends that acceptance is linked not only to good programming, but also to overall organisational management and structures. © 2013 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2013.

  4. Characterization of Orbital Debris Photometric Properties Derived from Laboratory-Based Measurements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cowardin, Heather; Seitzer, Pat; Abercromby, Kira; Barker, Ed; Schildknecht, Thomas

    2010-01-01

    Capitalizing on optical data products and applying them to generate a more complete understanding of orbital space objects, is a key objective of NASA's Optical Measurement Program, and a primary objective for the creation of the Optical Measurements Center(OMC). The OMC attempts to emulate space-based illumination conditions using equipment and techniques that parallel telescopic observations and source-target-sensor orientations. The data acquired in the OMC are a function of known shape, size, and material. These three physical parameters are key to understanding the orbital debris environment in more depth. For optical observations, one must rely on spectroscopic or photometric measurements to ascertain an object's material type. Determination of an object s shape using remote observations is more complicated due to the various light scattering properties each object present and is a subject that requires more study. It is much easier to look at the periodicity of the light curve and analyze its structure for rotation. In order to best simulate the orbital debris population, three main sources were used as test fragments for optical measurements: flight-ready materials, destructive hypervelocity testing (simulating on-orbit collisions) and destructive pressure testing (simulating on-orbit explosions). Laboratory optical characteristics of fragments were measured, including light curve shape, phase angle dependence, and photometric and spectroscopic color indices. These characteristics were then compared with similar optical measurements acquired from telescopic observations in order to correlate remote and laboratory properties with the intent of ascertaining the intrinsic properties of the observed orbital debris

  5. European public acceptance of euthanasia: socio-demographic and cultural factors associated with the acceptance of euthanasia in 33 European countries.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Joachim; Marcoux, Isabelle; Bilsen, Johan; Deboosere, Patrick; van der Wal, Gerrit; Deliens, Luc

    2006-08-01

    In many European countries, the last decade has been marked by an increasing debate about the acceptability and regulation of euthanasia and other end-of-life decisions in medical practice. Growing public sensibility to a 'right to die' for terminally ill patients has been one of the main constituents of these debates. Within this context, we sought to describe and compare acceptance of euthanasia among the general public in 33 European countries. We used the European Values Study data of 1999-2000 with a total of 41125 respondents (63% response rate) in 33 European countries. The main outcome measure concerned the acceptance of euthanasia (defined as 'terminating the life of the incurably sick', rated on a scale from 1 to 10). Results showed that the acceptance of euthanasia tended to be high in some countries (e.g. the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Sweden), while a markedly low acceptance was found in others (e.g. Romania, Malta and Turkey). A multivariate ordinal regression showed that weaker religious belief was the most important factor associated with a higher acceptance; however, there were also socio-demographic differences: younger cohorts, people from non-manual social classes, and people with a higher educational level tended to have a higher acceptance of euthanasia. While religious belief, socio-demographic factors, and also moral values (i.e. the belief in the right to self-determination) could largely explain the differences between countries, our findings suggest that perceptions regarding euthanasia are probably also influenced by national traditions and history (e.g. Germany). Thus, we demonstrated clear cross-national differences with regard to the acceptance of euthanasia, which can serve as an important basis for further debate and research in the specific countries.

  6. Development and Validation of the Self-Acceptance Scale for Persons with Early Blindness: The SAS-EB

    PubMed Central

    Morgado, Fabiane Frota da Rocha; Campana, Angela Nogueira Neves Betanho; Tavares, Maria da Consolação Gomes Cunha Fernandes

    2014-01-01

    Investigations of self-acceptance are critical to understanding the development and maintenance of psychological health. However, valid and reliable instruments for measuring self-acceptance in persons with early blindness have yet to be developed. The current research describes three studies designed to develop and validate the Self-acceptance Scale for Persons with Early Blindness (SAS-EB). In Study 1, we developed the initial item pool. Thirty-three items were generated, based on data from specialized literature and from 2 focus groups. Items were organized in a three-factor structure, theoretically predicted for SAS-EB - (1) body acceptance, (2) self-protection from social stigmas, and (3) feeling and believing in one's capacities. In Study 2, information obtained from a panel of 9 experts and 22 persons with early blindness representing the target population was used to refine the initial item pool, generating a new pool of 27 items. In Study 3, 318 persons with early blindness (141 women and 177 men), between 18 and 60 years of age (M = 37.74 years, SD = 12.37) answered the new pool of 27 items. After the elimination of 9 items using confirmatory factor analysis, we confirmed the theoretical three-factor structure of the SAS-EB. Study 3 also provided support for the scale's internal consistency and construct validity. Finally, the psychometric properties of the SAS-EB, its utility, and its limitations are discussed along with considerations for future research. PMID:25268633

  7. Complex Fuzzy Set-Valued Complex Fuzzy Measures and Their Properties

    PubMed Central

    Ma, Shengquan; Li, Shenggang

    2014-01-01

    Let F*(K) be the set of all fuzzy complex numbers. In this paper some classical and measure-theoretical notions are extended to the case of complex fuzzy sets. They are fuzzy complex number-valued distance on F*(K), fuzzy complex number-valued measure on F*(K), and some related notions, such as null-additivity, pseudo-null-additivity, null-subtraction, pseudo-null-subtraction, autocontionuous from above, autocontionuous from below, and autocontinuity of the defined fuzzy complex number-valued measures. Properties of fuzzy complex number-valued measures are studied in detail. PMID:25093202

  8. Quantitative measurement of hypertrophic scar: intrarater reliability, sensitivity, and specificity.

    PubMed

    Nedelec, Bernadette; Correa, José A; Rachelska, Grazyna; Armour, Alexis; LaSalle, Léo

    2008-01-01

    The comparison of scar evaluation over time requires measurement tools with acceptable intrarater reliability and the ability to discriminate skin characteristics of interest. The objective of this study was to evaluate the intrarater reliability and sensitivity and specificity of the Cutometer, the Mexameter, and the DermaScan C relative to the modified Vancouver Scar Scale (mVSS) in patient-matched normal skin, normal scar (donor sites), and hypertrophic scar (HSc). A single investigator evaluated four tissue types (severe HSc, less severe HSc, donor site, and normal skin) in 30 burn survivors with all four measurement tools. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the Cutometer was acceptable (> or =0.75) for the maximum deformation measure for the donor site and normal skin (>0.78) but was below the acceptable range for the HSc sites and all other parameters. The ICC for the Mexameter erythema (>0.75) and melanin index (>0.89) and the DermaScan C total thickness measurement (>0.82) were acceptable for all sites. The ICC for the total of the height, pliability, and vascularity subscales of the mVSS was acceptable (0.81) for normal scar but below the acceptable range for the scar sites. The DermaScan C was clearly able to discriminate HSc from normal scar and normal skin based on the total thickness measure. The Cutometer was less discriminating but was still able to discriminate HSc from normal scar and normal skin. The Mexameter erythema index was not a good discriminator of HSc and normal scar. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to establish the best cutoff point for the DermaScan C total thickness and the Cutometer maximum deformation, which were 2.034 and 0.387 mm, respectively. This study showed that although the Cutometer, the DermaScan C, and the Mexameter have measurement properties that make them attractive substitutes for the mVSS, caution must be used when interpreting results since the Cutometer has a ceiling effect when

  9. Psychometric properties of carer-reported outcome measures in palliative care: A systematic review

    PubMed Central

    Michels, Charlotte TJ; Boulton, Mary; Adams, Astrid; Wee, Bee; Peters, Michele

    2016-01-01

    Background: Informal carers face many challenges in caring for patients with palliative care needs. Selecting suitable valid and reliable outcome measures to determine the impact of caring and carers’ outcomes is a common problem. Aim: To identify outcome measures used for informal carers looking after patients with palliative care needs, and to evaluate the measures’ psychometric properties. Design: A systematic review was conducted. The studies identified were evaluated by independent reviewers (C.T.J.M., M.B., M.P.). Data regarding study characteristics and psychometric properties of the measures were extracted and evaluated. Good psychometric properties indicate a high-quality measure. Data sources: The search was conducted, unrestricted to publication year, in the following electronic databases: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Citation Index and Sociological Abstracts. Results: Our systematic search revealed 4505 potential relevant studies, of which 112 studies met the inclusion criteria using 38 carer measures for informal carers of patients with palliative care needs. Psychometric properties were reported in only 46% (n = 52) of the studies, in relation to 24 measures. Where psychometric data were reported, the focus was mainly on internal consistency (n = 45, 87%), construct validity (n = 27, 52%) and/or reliability (n = 14, 27%). Of these, 24 measures, only four (17%) had been formally validated in informal carers in palliative care. Conclusion: A broad range of outcome measures have been used for informal carers of patients with palliative care needs. Little formal psychometric testing has been undertaken. Furthermore, development and refinement of measures in this field is required. PMID:26407683

  10. Method And Apparatus For Two Dimensional Surface Property Analysis Based On Boundary Measurement

    DOEpatents

    Richardson, John G.

    2005-11-15

    An apparatus and method for determining properties of a conductive film is disclosed. A plurality of probe locations selected around a periphery of the conductive film define a plurality of measurement lines between each probe location and all other probe locations. Electrical resistance may be measured along each of the measurement lines. A lumped parameter model may be developed based on the measured values of electrical resistance. The lumped parameter model may be used to estimate resistivity at one or more selected locations encompassed by the plurality of probe locations. The resistivity may be extrapolated to other physical properties if the conductive film includes a correlation between resistivity and the other physical properties. A profile of the conductive film may be developed by determining resistivity at a plurality of locations. The conductive film may be applied to a structure such that resistivity may be estimated and profiled for the structure's surface.

  11. 41 CFR 102-37.275 - May a SASP accept personal checks and non-official payment methods in payment of service charges?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false May a SASP accept....275 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued) FEDERAL MANAGEMENT REGULATION PERSONAL PROPERTY 37-DONATION OF SURPLUS PERSONAL PROPERTY State Agency for...

  12. THE SEXUAL DOUBLE STANDARD AND ADOLESCENT PEER ACCEPTANCE*

    PubMed Central

    Kreager, Derek A.; Staff, Jeremy

    2014-01-01

    The belief that women and men are held to different standards of sexual conduct is pervasive in contemporary American society. According to the sexual double standard, boys and men are rewarded and praised for heterosexual sexual contacts, whereas girls and women are derogated and stigmatized for similar behaviors. Although widely held by the general public, research findings on the sexual double standard remain equivocal, with qualitative studies and early attitudinal surveys generally finding evidence of the double standard and more recent experimental vignette designs often failing to find similar results. In this study, we extend prior research by directly measuring the social status of sexually permissive youth. We use data collected from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to relate adolescents’ self-reported numbers of sexual partners to a network measure of peer acceptance. Results suggest that the association between lifetime sexual partnerships and peer status varies significantly by gender, such that greater numbers of sexual partners are positively correlated with boys’ peer acceptance, but negatively correlated with girls’ peer acceptance. Moreover, the relationship between boys’ sexual behaviors and peer acceptance is moderated by socioeconomic origins; sexually permissive boys from disadvantaged backgrounds are predicted to have more friendships than permissive boys from more advantaged backgrounds. Our results thus support the existence of an adolescent sexual double standard and suggest that sexual norms vary by both gender and socioeconomic origins. PMID:25484478

  13. On Being Aware and Accepting: A One-Year Longitudinal Study into Adolescent Well-Being

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ciarrochi, Joseph; Kashdan, Todd B.; Leeson, Peter; Heaven, Patrick; Jordan, Carlie

    2011-01-01

    The nature and potential benefit of awareness and experiential acceptance in adolescence remains neglected and understudied. To address this gap in the literature, 776 students (50% female) in Grade 10 completed measures of mindfulness, emotional awareness, and experiential acceptance, as well as measures of major personality traits. To study…

  14. Acceptance criteria for urban dispersion model evaluation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hanna, Steven; Chang, Joseph

    2012-05-01

    The authors suggested acceptance criteria for rural dispersion models' performance measures in this journal in 2004. The current paper suggests modified values of acceptance criteria for urban applications and tests them with tracer data from four urban field experiments. For the arc-maximum concentrations, the fractional bias should have a magnitude <0.67 (i.e., the relative mean bias is less than a factor of 2); the normalized mean-square error should be <6 (i.e., the random scatter is less than about 2.4 times the mean); and the fraction of predictions that are within a factor of two of the observations (FAC2) should be >0.3. For all data paired in space, for which a threshold concentration must always be defined, the normalized absolute difference should be <0.50, when the threshold is three times the instrument's limit of quantification (LOQ). An overall criterion is then applied that the total set of acceptance criteria should be satisfied in at least half of the field experiments. These acceptance criteria are applied to evaluations of the US Department of Defense's Joint Effects Model (JEM) with tracer data from US urban field experiments in Salt Lake City (U2000), Oklahoma City (JU2003), and Manhattan (MSG05 and MID05). JEM includes the SCIPUFF dispersion model with the urban canopy option and the urban dispersion model (UDM) option. In each set of evaluations, three or four likely options are tested for meteorological inputs (e.g., a local building top wind speed, the closest National Weather Service airport observations, or outputs from numerical weather prediction models). It is found that, due to large natural variability in the urban data, there is not a large difference between the performance measures for the two model options and the three or four meteorological input options. The more detailed UDM and the state-of-the-art numerical weather models do provide a slight improvement over the other options. The proposed urban dispersion model acceptance

  15. Nondestructive laboratory measurement of geotechnical and geoacoustic properties through intact core-liner

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Kayen, R.E.; Edwards, B.D.; Lee, H.J.

    1999-01-01

    High-resolution automated measurement of the geotechnical and geoacoustic properties of soil at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is performed with a state-of-the-art multi-sensor whole-core logging device. The device takes measurements, directly through intact sample-tube wall, of p-wave acoustic velocity, of soil wet bulk density, and magnetic susceptibility. This paper summarizes our methodology for determining soil-sound speed and wet-bulk density for material encased in an unsplit liner. Our methodology for nondestructive measurement allows for rapid, accurate, and high-resolution (1 cm-spaced) mapping of the mass physical properties of soil prior to sample extrusion.

  16. Instruments assessing attitudes toward or capability regarding self-management of osteoarthritis: a systematic review of measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Eyles, J P; Hunter, D J; Meneses, S R F; Collins, N J; Dobson, F; Lucas, B R; Mills, K

    2017-08-01

    To make a recommendation on the "best" instrument to assess attitudes toward and/or capabilities regarding self-management of osteoarthritis (OA) based on available measurement property evidence. Electronic searches were performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsychINFO (inception to 27 December 2016). Two reviewers independently rated measurement properties using the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) 4-point scale. Best evidence synthesis was determined by considering COSMIN ratings for measurement property results and the level of evidence available for each measurement property of each instrument. Eight studies out of 5653 publications met the inclusion criteria, with eight instruments identified for evaluation: Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC), Perceived Behavioural Control (PBC), Patient Activation Measure (PAM), Educational Needs Assessment (ENAT), Stages of Change Questionnaire in Osteoarthritis (SCQOA), Effective Consumer Scale (EC-17) and Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interactions five item (PEPPI-5) and ten item scales. Measurement properties assessed for these instruments included internal consistency (k = 8), structural validity (k = 8), test-retest reliability (k = 2), measurement error (k = 1), hypothesis testing (k = 3) and cross-cultural validity (k = 3). No information was available for content validity, responsiveness or minimal important change (MIC)/minimal important difference (MID). The Dutch PEPPI-5 demonstrated the best measurement property evidence; strong evidence for internal consistency and structural validity but limited evidence for reliability and construct validity. Although PEPPI-5 was identified as having the best measurement properties, overall there is a poor level of evidence currently available concerning measurement properties of instruments to assess attitudes toward and/or capabilities regarding osteoarthritis self-management. Further

  17. The quality of evidence of psychometric properties of three-dimensional spinal posture-measuring instruments

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Psychometric properties include validity, reliability and sensitivity to change. Establishing the psychometric properties of an instrument which measures three-dimensional human posture are essential prior to applying it in clinical practice or research. Methods This paper reports the findings of a systematic literature review which aimed to 1) identify non-invasive three-dimensional (3D) human posture-measuring instruments; and 2) assess the quality of reporting of the methodological procedures undertaken to establish their psychometric properties, using a purpose-build critical appraisal tool. Results Seventeen instruments were identified, of which nine were supported by research into psychometric properties. Eleven and six papers respectively, reported on validity and reliability testing. Rater qualification and reference standards were generally poorly addressed, and there was variable quality reporting of rater blinding and statistical analysis. Conclusions There is a lack of current research to establish the psychometric properties of non-invasive 3D human posture-measuring instruments. PMID:21569486

  18. Informal caregiving in COPD: A systematic review of instruments and their measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Cruz, Joana; Marques, Alda; Machado, Ana; O'Hoski, Sachi; Goldstein, Roger; Brooks, Dina

    2017-07-01

    Increasing symptoms and activity restriction associated with COPD progression greatly impact on the lives of their informal caregivers, who play a vital role in maintaining their health. An understanding of this impact is important for clinicians to support caregivers and maintain a viable patient environment at home. This systematic review aimed to identify the instruments commonly used to assess informal caregiving in COPD and describe their measurement properties in this population. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL and PsycINFO and in references of key articles, until November 2016 (PROSPERO: CRD42016041401). Instruments used to assess the impact of COPD on caregivers were identified and their properties described. Quality of studies was rated using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. Quality of the measurement properties of instruments was rated as 'positive', 'negative' or 'indeterminate'. Patients cared for, had moderate to very severe COPD and the sample of caregivers ranged from 24 to 406. Thirty-five instruments were used in fifty studies to assess caregivers' psychological status and mood (9 instruments), burden/distress (12 instruments), quality of life (5 instruments) or other (9 instruments). Eighteen studies assessed the measurement properties of 21 instruments, most commonly hypothesis testing (known validity) and internal consistency. Study quality varied from 'poor' to 'fair' and with many properties rated as 'indeterminate'. Although several instruments have been used to assess the impact of COPD on caregivers, an increased understanding of their properties is needed before their widespread implementation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Measurement of the Mechanical Properties of Intact Collagen Fibrils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mercedes, H.; Heim, A.; Matthews, W. G.; Koob, T.

    2006-03-01

    Motivated by the genetic disorder Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), in which proper collagen synthesis is interrupted, we are investigating the structural and mechanical properties of collagen fibrils. The fibrous glycoprotein collagen is the most abundant protein found in the human body and plays a key role in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissue, the properties of which are altered in EDS. We have selected as our model system the collagen fibrils of the sea cucumber dermis, a naturally mutable tissue. This system allows us to work with native fibrils which have their proteoglycan complement intact, something that is not possible with reconstituted mammalian collagen fibrils. Using atomic force microscopy, we measure, as a function of the concentration of divalent cations, the fibril diameter, its response to force loading, and the changes in its rigidity. Through these experiments, we will shed light on the mechanisms which control the properties of the sea cucumber dermis and hope to help explain the altered connective tissue extracellular matrix properties associated with EDS.

  20. Fluid property measurements study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Devaney, W. E.

    1976-01-01

    Fluid properties of refrigerant-21 were investigated at temperatures from the freezing point to 423 Kelvin and at pressures to 1.38 x 10 to the 8th power N/sq m (20,000 psia). The fluid properties included were: density, vapor pressure, viscosity, specific heat, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, freezing point and bulk modulus. Tables of smooth values are reported.

  1. An Examination of the Validity of Two Measures of Student Engagement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reschly, Amy L.; Betts, Joseph; Appleton, James J.

    2014-01-01

    This study evaluated the psychometric properties of two measures of student engagement, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) and the Motivation-Engagement Scale (MES), with adolescents in the southeastern United States. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed an acceptable fit of the SEI and a relatively poor fit of the MES in this sample.…

  2. Measurement of mechanical properties of homogeneous tissue with ultrasonically induced shear waves

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Greenleaf, James F.; Chen, Shigao

    2007-03-01

    Fundamental mechanical properties of tissue are altered by many diseases. Regional and systemic diseases can cause changes in tissue properties. Liver stiffness is caused by cirrhosis and fibrosis. Vascular wall stiffness and tone are altered by smoking, diabetes and other diseases. Measurement of tissue mechanical properties has historically been done with palpation. However palpation is subjective, relative, and not quantitative or reproducible. Elastography in which strain is measured due to stress application gives a qualitative estimate of Young's modulus at low frequency. We have developed a method that takes advantage of the fact that the wave equation is local and shear wave propagation depends only on storage and loss moduli in addition to density, which does not vary much in soft tissues. Our method is called shearwave dispersion ultrasonic velocity measurement (SDUV). The method uses ultrasonic radiation force to produce repeated motion in tissue that induces shear waves to propagate. The shear wave propagation speed is measured with pulse echo ultrasound as a function of frequency of the shear wave. The resulting velocity dispersion curve is fit with a Voight model to determine the elastic and viscous moduli of the tissue. Results indicate accurate and precise measurements are possible using this "noninvasive biopsy" method. Measurements in beef along and across the fibers are consistent with the literature values.

  3. Developing a Stoma Acceptance Questionnaire to improve motivation to adhere to enterostoma self-care.

    PubMed

    Bagnasco, A; Watson, R; Zanini, M; Catania, G; Aleo, G; Sasso, L

    2017-06-01

    In stoma care, patient education is often weak in terms of improving patients' level of acceptance of living with a stoma. Self-care educational interventions in enterostomal patients, which according to Orem's Theory should take into account these patients' specific needs, require instruments that measure patients' stoma acceptance to improve motivation based on the resumption of activities they used to carry out before having a stoma. The aim of the study was to develop an instrument that measures the level of stoma acceptance to improve motivation to adhere to enterostoma self-care. Aspects that improve stoma acceptance and consequently motivation to adhere to enterostoma self-care were identified through 10 focus groups. In the focus groups, the motivation indicators were grouped, categorised and results entered into a Stoma Acceptance Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ was then piloted with 104 enterostomal patients from three general hospitals. To assess the construct validity of the SAQ, Mokken Scaling was used to explore the latent structure of the SAQ. Mokken scaling is a non-parametric method that falls under the umbrella of methods described as item response theories (IRT). The theme "Living with a stoma"; "Autonomy"; "Support"; "Ability to deal with stoma", plus a common underlying theme: "Stoma acceptance" were dissussed by the Focus Groups. The experts identified the items of the (SAQ) through these themes. Mokken Scaling identified the "resumption of enterostomal patients' normal activities" as a measure of stoma acceptance, thus confirming the construct validity of the SAQ. The tool proposed affords a pioneering example of how this gap can be bridged. Indeed, the SAQ could enable nurses adopting a standardized approach for the assessment of enterostomal patients' motivation to resume their normal activities and identify needs linked to this. The SAQ could also be used to measure the effectiveness of psychosocial and educational interventions aimed at

  4. Measuring changes of radio-frequency dielectric properties of chicken meat during storage

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Changes in dielectric properties of stored chicken meat were tracked by using a radio-frequency dielectric spectroscopy method. For this purpose, the dielectric properties were measured with an open-ended coaxial-line probe and vector network analyzer over a broad frequency range from 200 MHz to 20...

  5. Measurement Properties of a Park Use Questionnaire

    PubMed Central

    Evenson, Kelly R.; Wen, Fang; Golinelli, Daniela; Rodríguez, Daniel A.; Cohen, Deborah A.

    2012-01-01

    We determined the criterion validity and test-retest reliability of a brief park use questionnaire. From five US locations, 232 adults completed a brief survey four times and wore a global positioning system (GPS) monitor for three weeks. We assessed validity for park visits during the past week and during a usual week by examining agreement between frequency and duration of park visits reported in the questionnaire to the GPS monitor results. Spearman correlation coefficients (SCC) were used to measure agreement. For past week park visit frequency and duration, the SCC were 0.62–0.65 and 0.62–0.67, respectively. For usual week park visit frequency and duration, the SCC were 0.40–0.50 and 0.50–0.53, respectively. Usual park visit frequency reliability was 0.78–0.88 (percent agreement 69%–82%) and usual park visit duration was 0.75–0.84 (percent agreement 64%–73%). These results suggest that the questionnaire to assess usual and past week park use had acceptable validity and reliability. PMID:23853386

  6. Consumer Acceptance of a Polyphenolic Coffee Beverage.

    PubMed

    Nguyen, Thuy; Kuchera, Meredith; Smoot, Katie; Diako, Charles; Vixie, Beata; Ross, Carolyn F

    2016-10-05

    The objective of this study was to determine if Chardonnay grape seed pomace (GSP), a waste stream of wine production, could be used as a functional ingredient in brewed coffee. Two consumer panels were conducted to assess the acceptance of coffee at coffee replacement (w/w) values of 0% (control), 6.25%, 12.50%, 18.75%, or 25% GSP. The 1st consumer panel (n = 80) assessed the coffee samples served "black." The 2nd panel (n = 67) assessed the coffee samples with adjustment (that is, sweeteners, milk, and cream) options available. Consumer sensory evaluation involved evaluating the 5 treatments individually for acceptance of appearance, aroma, taste/flavor, and overall acceptance using a 9-point hedonic scale. A check-all-that-apply questionnaire surveyed the sensory attributes describing aroma, appearance, and taste/flavor of the samples. Oxygen radical absorbance capacity was used to measure the effects of antioxidant levels in GSP coffee samples. Results showed that GSP could be added at 6.25% replacement without significantly affecting the overall consumer acceptance of coffee compared to the control (0% GSP). Above 6.25% GSP supplementation, the coffee beverage was described as more tan, milky, watery/dilute, and mild, and was generally less accepted by the consumers. GSP also increased the antioxidant capacity of the coffee compared to the control (0% GSP), with no significant differences among replacement values. Therefore, 6.25% GSP replacement is recommended for creating coffee beverages acceptable to consumers. Further in vivo investigation may substantiate the free-radical scavenging capacity of GSP coffee and its potential health benefits. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  7. Laboratory measurements of microwave and millimeter-wave properties of planetary atmospheric constituents

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Steffes, Paul G.

    1989-01-01

    Accurate data on microwave and millimeter-wave properties of potential planetary atmospheric constituents is critical for the proper interpretation of radio occultation measurements, and of radio astronomical observations of both continuum and spectral line emissions. Such data is also needed to correct for atmospheric effects on radar studies of surface reflectivity. Since the refractive and absorptive properties of atmospheric constituents often vary drastically from theoretically-predicted profiles, especially under the extreme conditions characteristic of the planetary atmosphere, laboratory measurements under simulated planetary conditions are required. This paper reviews the instrumentation and techniques used for laboratory measurement of the refractivity and absorptivity of atmospheric constituents at wavelengths longward of 1 mm, under simulated planetary conditions (temperature, pressure, and broadening gases). Techniques for measuring both gases and condensates are considered. Also reviewed are the relative accuracies of the various techniques. Laboratory measurements are reviewed which have already been made, and additional measurements which are needed for interpretation of data from Venus and the outer planets, are highlighted.

  8. Validation of the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire-8 in an Australian pain clinic sample.

    PubMed

    Baranoff, John; Hanrahan, Stephanie J; Kapur, Dilip; Connor, Jason P

    2014-02-01

    Recently, an 8-item short-form version of the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ-8) was developed predominantly in an internet sample. Further investigation of the factor structure in a multidisciplinary pain clinic sample is required. Investigation of the concurrent validity of the CPAQ-8 after accounting for the effects of variables commonly measured in the pain clinic setting is also necessary. This study examines the factor structure and concurrent validity of the CPAQ-8 in a sample of treatment-seeking patients who attended a multidisciplinary pain clinic. Participants were 334 patients who attended an Australian multidisciplinary pain service. Participants completed the CPAQ, a demographic questionnaire, and measures of patient adjustment and functioning. Confirmatory factor analysis identified a two-factor 8-item model consisting of Activity Engagement and Pain Willingness factors (SRMR = 0.039, RMSEA = 0.063, CFI = 0.973, TLI = 0.960) was superior to both the CPAQ and CPAQ with an item removed. The CPAQ and CPAQ-8 total scores were highly correlated (r = 0.93). After accounting for pain intensity, the CPAQ-8 was a significant predictor of depression, anxiety, stress, and disability. The subscales of the CPAQ-8 were both unique contributors to depression and disability in regression analyses, after accounting for pain intensity and kinesiophobia, and after accounting for pain intensity and catastrophizing. The CPAQ-8 has a sound factor structure and similar psychometric properties to the CPAQ; it may have clinical utility as a measure of pain acceptance in treatment-seeking, chronic pain patients.

  9. Getting better with age: The relationship between age, acceptance, and negative affect

    PubMed Central

    Shallcross, Amanda J.; Ford, Brett Q.; Floerke, Victoria A.; Mauss, Iris B.

    2013-01-01

    Although aging involves cognitive and physical declines, it is also associated with improved emotional well-being, particularly lower negative affect. However, the relationship between age and global negative affect, versus discrete negative emotions, and the pathways that link age to lower negative affect are not well understood. We hypothesize that one important link between age and lower negative affect may be acceptance of negative emotional experiences. The present study examined this hypothesis in a community sample of 21–73 year olds (N = 340) by measuring acceptance and multiple indices of negative affect: trait negative affect; negative experiential and physiological reactivity to a laboratory stress induction; daily experience of negative affect; and trait negative affect six months after the initial assessment. Negative affect was measured using a discrete emotions approach whereby anger, anxiety, and sadness were assessed at each time point. Age was associated with increased acceptance as well as lower anger and anxiety (but not sadness) across measurement modalities and time points. Further, acceptance statistically mediated the relationship between age and anger and anxiety. These results are consistent with the idea that acceptance may be an important pathway in the link between age and lower negative affect. Implications of these results for understanding the nature of age-related decreases in discrete negative emotions are discussed. PMID:23276266

  10. From Acceptance to Rejection: Food Contamination in the Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rajecki, D. W.

    1989-01-01

    Describes a classroom exercise to explain design and measurement principles in methodology and statistics courses. This demonstration which involves measurement of a shift from food acceptance to food rejection produces meaningful data sets. The realism of the exercise gives students a view of problems that emerge in research. (KO)

  11. How Do You Measure That Ceramic Property?

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Salem, Jonathan; Helfinstine, John; Quinn, George; Gonczy, Stephen

    2011-01-01

    By using the dozens of consensus test standards and practices developed by the Advanced Ceramics Committee of ASTM, C-28, the measurement of mechanical, physical, thermal, and performance properties can be properly performed. The what, how, how not, and why are clearly illustrated for beginning as well as experienced testers. Using these standards will provide accurate, reliable, and complete data for rigorous comparisons with other test results. The C-28 Committee has involved academics, and producers, and users of ceramics to write and continually update more than 45 standards since the committee's inception in 1986.

  12. Measurement properties of maximal cardiopulmonary exercise tests protocols in persons after stroke: A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Wittink, Harriet; Verschuren, Olaf; Terwee, Caroline; de Groot, Janke; Kwakkel, Gert; van de Port, Ingrid

    2017-11-21

    To systematically review and critically appraise the literature on measurement properties of cardiopulmonary exercise test protocols for measuring aerobic capacity, VO2max, in persons after stroke. PubMed, Embase and Cinahl were searched from inception up to 15 June 2016. A total of 9 studies were identified reporting on 9 different cardiopulmonary exercise test protocols. VO2max measured with cardiopulmonary exercise test and open spirometry was the construct of interest. The target population was adult persons after stroke. We included all studies that evaluated reliability, measurement error, criterion validity, content validity, hypothesis testing and/or responsiveness of cardiopulmonary exercise test protocols. Two researchers independently screened the literature, assessed methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments checklist and extracted data on measurement properties of cardiopulmonary exercise test protocols. Most studies reported on only one measurement property. Best-evidence synthesis was derived taking into account the methodological quality of the studies, the results and the consistency of the results. No judgement could be made on which protocol is "best" for measuring VO2max in persons after stroke due to lack of high-quality studies on the measurement properties of the cardiopulmonary exercise test.

  13. Bi-diketopyrrolopyrrole (Bi-DPP) as a novel electron accepting compound in low band gap π-conjugated donor–acceptor copolymers/oligomers

    PubMed Central

    Ahner, Johannes; Nowotny, Jürgen; Schubert, Ulrich S.; Hager, Martin D.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract The synthesis and characterization of a novel 2,5-diketopyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole(DPP)-based accepting building block with the scheme DPP-neutral small linker-DPP (Bi-DPP) is presented, which was utilized as electron accepting moiety for low band gap π-conjugated donor–acceptor copolymers as well as for a donor–acceptor small molecule. The electron accepting moiety Bi-DPP was prepared via a novel synthetic pathway by building up two DPP moieties step by step simultaneously starting from a neutral phenyl core unit. Characterization of the synthesized oligomeric and polymeric materials via cyclic voltammetry afford LUMO energy levels from −3.49 to −3.59 eV as well as HOMO energy levels from −5.07 to −5.34 eV resulting in low energy band gaps from 1.52 to 1.81 eV. Spin coating of the prepared donor–acceptor oligomers/polymers resulted in well-defined films. Moreover, UV–vis measurements of the investigated donor–acceptor systems showed a broad absorption over the whole visible region. It is demonstrated that Bi-DPP as an electron accepting moiety in donor–acceptor systems offer potential properties for organic solar cell devices. PMID:29491794

  14. Determination and evaluation of acceptable force limits in single-digit tasks.

    PubMed

    Nussbaum, Maury A; Johnson, Hope

    2002-01-01

    Acceptable limits derived from psychophysical methodologies have been proposed, measured, and employed in a range of applications. There is little existing work, however, on such limits for single-digit exertions and relatively limited evidence on several fundamental issues related to data collection and processing of a sequence of self-regulated exertion levels. An experimental study was conducted using 14 male and 10 female participants (age range 18-31 years) from whom maximal voluntary exertions and maximal acceptable limits (MALs) were obtained using the index finger and thumb. Moderate to high levels of consistency were found for both measures between sessions separated by one day. Single MAL values, determined from a time series of exertions, were equivalent across three divergent processing methods and between values obtained from 5- and 25-min samples. A critical interpretation of these and earlier results supports continued use of acceptable limits but also suggests that they should be used with some caution and not equated with safe limits. This research can be applied toward future development of exertion limits based on perceived acceptability.

  15. Effects of an Educational Experience Incorporating an Inventory of Factors Potentially Influencing Student Acceptance of Biological Evolution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiles, Jason R.; Alters, Brian

    2011-12-01

    This investigation provides an extensive review of scientific, religious, and otherwise non-scientific factors that may influence student acceptance of biological evolution. We also measure the extent to which students' levels of acceptance changed following an educational experience designed to address an inclusive inventory of factors identified as potentially affecting student acceptance of evolution (n = 81, pre-test/post-test) n = 37, one-year longitudinal). Acceptance of evolution was measured using the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument among participants enrolled in a secondary-level academic programme during the summer prior to their final year of high school and as they transitioned to the post-secondary level. Student acceptance of evolution was measured to be significantly higher than initial levels both immediately following and over one year after the educational experience. Results reported herein carry implications for future quantitative and qualitative research as well as for cross-disciplinary instruction plans related to evolutionary science and non-scientific factors which may influence student understanding of evolution.

  16. Validation of the French version of the Acceptability E-scale (AES) for mental E-health systems.

    PubMed

    Micoulaud-Franchi, Jean-Arthur; Sauteraud, Alain; Olive, Jérôme; Sagaspe, Patricia; Bioulac, Stéphanie; Philip, Pierre

    2016-03-30

    Despite the increasing use of E-health systems for mental-health organizations, there is a lack of psychometric tools to evaluate their acceptability by patients with mental disorders. Thus, this study aimed to translate and validate a French version of the Acceptability E-scale (AES), a 6-item self-reported questionnaire that evaluates the extent to which patients find E-health systems acceptable. A forward-backward translation of the AES was performed. The psychometric properties of the French AES version, with construct validity, internal structural validity and external validity (Pearson's coefficient between AES scores and depression symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory II) were analyzed. In a sample of 178 patients (mean age=46.51 years, SD=12.91 years), the validation process revealed satisfactory psychometric properties: factor analysis revealed two factors: "Satisfaction" (3 items) and "Usability" (3 items) and Cronbach's alpha was 0.7. No significant relation was found between AES scores and depression symptoms. The French version of the AES revealed a two-factor scale that differs from the original version. In line with the importance of acceptability in mental health and with a view to E-health systems for patients with mental disorders, the use of the AES in psychiatry may provide important information on acceptability (i.e., satisfaction and usability). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. A surface wave elastography technique for measuring tissue viscoelastic properties.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiaoming

    2017-04-01

    A surface wave elastography method is proposed to study the viscoelastic properties of skin by measuring the surface wave speed and attenuation on the skin. Experiments were carried out on porcine skin tissues. The surface wave speed is measured by the change of phase with distance. The wave attenuation is measured by the decay of wave amplitude with distance. The change of viscoelastic properties with temperature was studied at room and body temperatures. The wave speed was 1.83m/s at 22°C but reduced to 1.52m/s at 33°C. The viscoelastic ratio was almost constant from 22°C to 33°C. Fresh and decayed tissues were studied. The wave speed of the decayed tissue increased from 1.83m/s of fresh state to 2.73m/s. The viscoelastic ratio was 0.412/mm at the decayed state compared to 0.215/mm at the fresh state. More tissue samples are needed to study these viscoelastic parameters according to specific applications. Copyright © 2017 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Cassini RTG acceptance test results and RTG performance on Galileo and Ulysses

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kelly, C.E.; Klee, P.M.

    Flight acceptance testing has been completed for the RTGs to be used on the Cassini spacecraft which is scheduled for an October 6, 1997 launch to Saturn. The acceptance test program includes vibration tests, magnetic field measurements, mass properties (weight and c.g.) and thermal vacuum test. This paper presents the thermal vacuum test results. Three RTGs are to be used, F-2, F-6, and F-7. F-5 is the backup RTG, as it was for the Galileo and Ulysses missions launched in 1989 and 1990, respectively. RTG performance measured during the thermal vacuum tests carried out at the Mound Laboratory facility metmore » all specification requirements. Beginning of mission (BOM) and end of mission (EOM) power predictions have been made based on these tests results. BOM power is predicted to be 888 watts compared to the minimum requirement of 826 watts. Degradation models predict the EOM power after 16 years is to be 640 watts compared to a minimum requirement of 596 watts. Results of small scale module tests are also shown. The modules contain couples from the qualification and flight production runs. The tests have exceeded 28,000 hours (3.2 years) and are continuing to provide increased confidence in the predicted long term performance of the Cassini RTGs. All test results indicate that the power requirements of the Cassini spacecraft will be met. BOM and EOM power margins of over 5% are predicted. Power output from telemetry for the two Galileo RTGs are shown from the 1989 launch to the recent Jupiter encounter. Comparisons of predicted, measured and required performance are shown. Telemetry data are also shown for the RTG on the Ulysses spacecraft which completed its planned mission in 1995 and is now in the extended mission.« less

  19. Cassini RTG acceptance test results and RTG performance on Galileo and Ulysses

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kelly, C.E.; Klee, P.M.

    Flight acceptance testing has been completed for the RTGs to be used on the Cassini spacecraft which is scheduled for an October 6, 1997 launch to Saturn. The acceptance test program includes vibration tests, magnetic field measurements, properties (weight and c.g.) and thermal vacuum test. This paper presents The thermal vacuum test results. Three RTGs are to be used, F-2, F-6, and F-7. F-5 is tile back-up RTG, as it was for the Galileo and Ulysses missions launched in 1989 and 1990, respectively. RTG performance measured during the thermal vacuum tests carried out at die Mound Laboratory facility met allmore » specification requirements. Beginning of mission (BOM) and end of mission (EOM) power predictions have been made based on than tests results. BOM power is predicted to be 888 watts compared to the minimum requirement of 826 watts. Degradation models predict the EOM power after 16 years is to be 640 watts compared to a minimum requirement of 596 watts. Results of small scale module tests are also showing. The modules contain couples from the qualification and flight production runs. The tests have exceeded 28,000 hours (3.2 years) and are continuing to provide increased confidence in the predicted long term performance of the Cassini RTGs. All test results indicate that the power requirements of the Cassini spacecraft will be met. BOM and EOM power margins of over five percent are predicted. Power output from telemetry for the two Galileo RTGs are shown from the 1989 launch to the recent Jupiter encounter. Comparisons of predicted, measured and required performance are shown. Telemetry data are also shown for the RTG on the Ulysses spacecraft which completed its planned mission in 1995 and is now in the extended mission.« less

  20. Cassini RTG Acceptance Test Results and RTG Performance on Galileo and Ulysses

    DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

    Kelly, C. E.; Klee, P. M.

    1997-06-01

    Flight acceptance testing has been completed for the RTGs to be used on the Cassini spacecraft which is scheduled for an October 6, 1997 launch to Saturn. The acceptance test program includes vibration tests, magnetic field measurements, properties (weight and c.g.) and thermal vacuum test. This paper presents The thermal vacuum test results. Three RTGs are to be used, F 2, F 6, and F 7. F 5 is tile back up RTG, as it was for the Galileo and Ulysses missions launched in 1989 and 1990, respectively. RTG performance measured during the thermal vacuum tests carried out at die Mound Laboratory facility met all specification requirements. Beginning of mission (BOM) and end of mission (EOM) power predictions have been made based on than tests results. BOM power is predicted to be 888 watts compared to the minimum requirement of 826 watts. Degradation models predict the EOM power after 16 years is to be 640 watts compared to a minimum requirement of 596 watts. Results of small scale module tests are also showing. The modules contain couples from the qualification and flight production runs. The tests have exceeded 28,000 hours (3.2 years) and are continuing to provide increased confidence in the predicted long term performance of the Cassini RTGs. All test results indicate that the power requirements of the Cassini spacecraft will be met. BOM and EOM power margins of over five percent are predicted. Power output from telemetry for the two Galileo RTGs are shown from the 1989 launch to the recent Jupiter encounter. Comparisons of predicted, measured and required performance are shown. Telemetry data are also shown for the RTG on the Ulysses spacecraft which completed its planned mission in 1995 and is now in the extended mission.

  1. Measurement Properties of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale: A Systematic Review.

    PubMed

    Mehta, Saurabh P; Fulton, Allison; Quach, Cedric; Thistle, Megan; Toledo, Cesar; Evans, Neil A

    2016-03-01

    Systematic review of measurement properties. Many primary studies have examined the measurement properties, such as reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change, of the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) in different clinical populations. A systematic review summarizing these properties for the LEFS may provide an important resource. To locate and synthesize evidence on the measurement properties of the LEFS and to discuss the clinical implications of the evidence. A literature search was conducted in 4 databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL), using predefined search terms. Two reviewers performed a critical appraisal of the included studies using a standardized assessment form. A total of 27 studies were included in the review, of which 18 achieved a very good to excellent methodological quality level. The LEFS scores demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients ranging between 0.85 and 0.99) and demonstrated the expected relationships with measures assessing similar constructs (Pearson correlation coefficient values of greater than 0.7). The responsiveness of the LEFS scores was excellent, as suggested by consistently high effect sizes (greater than 0.8) in patients with different lower extremity conditions. Minimal detectable change at the 90% confidence level (MDC90) for the LEFS scores varied between 8.1 and 15.3 across different reassessment intervals in a wide range of patient populations. The pooled estimate of the MDC90 was 6 points and the minimal clinically important difference was 9 points in patients with lower extremity musculoskeletal conditions, which are indicative of true change and clinically meaningful change, respectively. The results of this review support the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the LEFS scores for assessing functional impairment in a wide array of patient groups with lower extremity musculoskeletal conditions.

  2. A systematic review of measurement properties of patient reported outcome measures in psoriatic arthritis: A GRAPPA-OMERACT initiative.

    PubMed

    Højgaard, Pil; Klokker, Louise; Orbai, Ana-Maria; Holmsted, Kim; Bartels, Else M; Leung, Ying Ying; Goel, Niti; de Wit, Maarten; Gladman, Dafna D; Mease, Philip; Dreyer, Lene; Kristensen, Lars E; FitzGerald, Oliver; Tillett, William; Gossec, Laure; Helliwell, Philip; Strand, Vibeke; Ogdie, Alexis; Terwee, Caroline B; Christensen, Robin

    2018-04-01

    An updated psoriatic arthritis (PsA) core outcome set (COS) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was endorsed at the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) meeting in 2016. To synthesize the evidence on measurement properties of patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) for PsA and thereby contribute to development of a PsA core outcome measurement set (COMS) as described by the OMERACT Filter 2.0. A systematic literature search was performed in EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsycINFO on Jan 1, 2017 to identify full-text articles with an aim of assessing the measurement properties of PROMs in PsA. Two independent reviewers rated the quality of studies using the COnsensus based standards for the Selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist, and performed a qualitative evidence synthesis. Fifty-five studies were included in the systematic review. Forty-four instruments and a total of 89 scales were analyzed. PROMs measuring COS domains with at least fair quality evidence for good validity and reliability (and no evidence for poor properties) included the Stockerau Activity Score for PsA (German), Psoriasis Symptom Inventory, visual analogue scale for Patient Global, 36 Item Short Form Health Survey Physical Function subscale, Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index, PsA Impact of Disease questionnaire, PsA Quality of Life questionnaire, VITACORA-19, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Fatigue scale and Social Role Participation Questionnaire. At least one PROM with some evidence for aspects of validity and reliability was available for six of the eight mandatory domains of the PsA COS. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Adaptive Photothermal Emission Analysis Techniques for Robust Thermal Property Measurements of Thermal Barrier Coatings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valdes, Raymond

    The characterization of thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems is increasingly important because they enable gas turbine engines to operate at high temperatures and efficiency. Phase of photothermal emission analysis (PopTea) has been developed to analyze the thermal behavior of the ceramic top-coat of TBCs, as a nondestructive and noncontact method for measuring thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity. Most TBC allocations are on actively-cooled high temperature turbine blades, which makes it difficult to precisely model heat transfer in the metallic subsystem. This reduces the ability of rote thermal modeling to reflect the actual physical conditions of the system and can lead to higher uncertainty in measured thermal properties. This dissertation investigates fundamental issues underpinning robust thermal property measurements that are adaptive to non-specific, complex, and evolving system characteristics using the PopTea method. A generic and adaptive subsystem PopTea thermal model was developed to account for complex geometry beyond a well-defined coating and substrate system. Without a priori knowledge of the subsystem characteristics, two different measurement techniques were implemented using the subsystem model. In the first technique, the properties of the subsystem were resolved as part of the PopTea parameter estimation algorithm; and, the second technique independently resolved the subsystem properties using a differential "bare" subsystem. The confidence in thermal properties measured using the generic subsystem model is similar to that from a standard PopTea measurement on a "well-defined" TBC system. Non-systematic bias-error on experimental observations in PopTea measurements due to generic thermal model discrepancies was also mitigated using a regression-based sensitivity analysis. The sensitivity analysis reported measurement uncertainty and was developed into a data reduction method to filter out these "erroneous" observations. It was found

  4. Online single particle measurements of black carbon coatings, structure and optical properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allan, James; Liu, Dantong; Taylor, Jonathan; Flynn, Michael; Williams, Paul; Morgan, William; Whitehead, James; Alfarra, Rami; McFiggans, Gordon; Coe, Hugh

    2016-04-01

    The impacts of black carbon on meteorology and climate remain a major source of uncertainty, owing in part to the complex relationship between the bulk composition of the particulates and their optical properties. A particular complication stems from how light interacts with particles in response to the microphysical configuration and any 'coatings', i.e. non-black carbon material that is either co-emitted or subsequently obtained through atmospheric processing. This may cause the particle to more efficiently absorb or scatter light and may even change the sign of its radiative forcing potential. While much insight has been gained through measurements of bulk aerosol properties, either while suspended or after collection on a filter or impactor substrate, this does not provide a complete picture and thus may not adequately constrain the system. Here we present an overview of recent work to better constrain the properties of black carbon using online, in situ measurements of single particles, primarily using a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2). We have developed novel methods of inverting the data produced and combining the different metrics derived so as to give the most effective insights into black carbon sources, processes and properties. We have also used this measurement in conjunction with other instruments (sometimes in series) and used the data to challenge many commonly used models of optical properties such as core-shell Mie, Rayleigh-Debeye-Gans and effective medium. This work has been carried out in a variety of atmospheric environments and with laboratory-produced soots, e.g. from a diesel engine rig. Highlights include the finding that with real-world atmospheric aerosols, bulk optical measurements may be insufficient to derive brown carbon parameters without detailed morphological data. We also show that the enhancement of absorption for both ambient and laboratory generated particles only occurs after the coating mass fraction reaches a certain

  5. Improving the psychometric properties of dot-probe attention measures using response-based computation.

    PubMed

    Evans, Travis C; Britton, Jennifer C

    2018-09-01

    Abnormal threat-related attention in anxiety disorders is most commonly assessed and modified using the dot-probe paradigm; however, poor psychometric properties of reaction-time measures may contribute to inconsistencies across studies. Typically, standard attention measures are derived using average reaction-times obtained in experimentally-defined conditions. However, current approaches based on experimentally-defined conditions are limited. In this study, the psychometric properties of a novel response-based computation approach to analyze dot-probe data are compared to standard measures of attention. 148 adults (19.19 ± 1.42 years, 84 women) completed a standardized dot-probe task including threatening and neutral faces. We generated both standard and response-based measures of attention bias, attentional orientation, and attentional disengagement. We compared overall internal consistency, number of trials necessary to reach internal consistency, test-retest reliability (n = 72), and criterion validity obtained using each approach. Compared to standard attention measures, response-based measures demonstrated uniformly high levels of internal consistency with relatively few trials and varying improvements in test-retest reliability. Additionally, response-based measures demonstrated specific evidence of anxiety-related associations above and beyond both standard attention measures and other confounds. Future studies are necessary to validate this approach in clinical samples. Response-based attention measures demonstrate superior psychometric properties compared to standard attention measures, which may improve the detection of anxiety-related associations and treatment-related changes in clinical samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. [Self-acceptance as adaptively resigning the self to low self-evaluation].

    PubMed

    Ueda, T

    1996-10-01

    In past studies, the concept of self-acceptance has often been confused with self-evaluation or self-esteem. The purpose of this study was to distinguish these concepts, and operationally define self-acceptance as Carl Rogers proposed: feeling all right toward the self when self-evaluation was low. Self-acceptance as adaptive resignation, a moderating variable, therefore should raise self-esteem of only those people with low self-evaluation. Self-acceptance was measured in the study as affirmative evaluation of own self-evaluation. Two hundred and forty college students, 120 each for men and women, completed a questionnaire of self-evaluative consciousness and self-esteem scales. Results of statistical analyses showed that among subjects with low self-evaluation, the higher self-acceptance, the higher the person's self-esteem. The same relation was not observed among those with high self-evaluation. Thus, it may be concluded that self-acceptance was adaptive resignation, and therefore meaningful to only those with low self-evaluation.

  7. Measurement properties of rheumatoid arthritis-specific quality-of-life questionnaires: systematic review of the literature.

    PubMed

    Lee, Jiyeon; Kim, Soo Hyun; Moon, Seung Hei; Lee, Eun-Hyun

    2014-12-01

    This study conducted a systematic review of the methodological quality of the psychometric evaluation process and the quality of measurement properties of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-specific health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) questionnaires with the purpose of obtaining the best evidence to help in the selection of the most appropriate instrument for measuring HRQOL in RA patients. A systematic literature search was performed to identify RA-specific HRQOL questionnaires in databases. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments checklist. The quality of the measurement properties was assessed using quality criteria. The evidence regarding the measurement properties was pooled using best-evidence synthesis, with considerations of the number and methodological quality of the studies, and the consistency of their findings in terms of the quality of the measurement properties. The search identified 37 studies describing 9 instruments. Best-evidence synthesis suggested that the Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life (RAQoL) questionnaire had the strongest positive evidence, especially with respect to reliability, measurement error, and content validity, and moderate positive evidence with respect to hypothesis testing and responsiveness. The current evidence suggests that the best-validated instrument among the RA-specific HRQOL measures is the RAQoL questionnaire in terms of both methodological quality in the process of psychometric evaluation and the quality of the measurement properties. However, there is limited evidence regarding internal consistency and structural validity of the RAQoL. Further efforts are warranted to establish the psychometric quality of this questionnaire.

  8. Assessing participation in the ACL injured population: Selecting a patient reported outcome measure on the basis of measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Letchford, Robert; Sparkes, Valerie; van Deursen, Robert W M

    2015-06-01

    A return to pre injury activity participation remains a common but often elusive goal following ACL injury. Investigations to improve our understanding of participation restrictions are limited by inconsistent use of insufficiently investigated measurement tools. The aim of this study was to follow the consensus based standards for the selection of health measurement instruments (COSMIN) guideline to provide a comparative evaluation of four patient reported outcomes (PROMs) on the basis of measurement properties. This will inform recommendations for measuring participation of ACL injured subjects, particularly in the United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service (NHS). Thirteen criteria were compiled from the COSMIN guideline. These included reliability, measurement error, content validity, construct validity, responsiveness and interpretability. Data from 51 subjects collected as part of a longitudinal observational study of recovery over the first year following ACLR was used in the analysis. Of the thirteen criteria, the required standard was met in 11 for Tegner, 11 for International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), 6 for Cincinnati Sports Activity Scale (CSAS) and 6 for Marx. The two weaknesses identified for the Tegner are more easily compensated for during interpretation than those in the IKDC; for this reason the Tegner is the recommended PROM. The Tegner activity rating scale performed consistently well in respect of all measurement properties in this sample, with clear benefits over the other PROMs. The measurement properties presented should be used to inform implementation and interpretation of this outcome measure in clinical practice and research. Level II prospective study. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Physician and Staff Acceptance of Care Managers in Primary Care Offices.

    PubMed

    Malouin, Jean M; Malouin, Rebecca A; Sarinopoulos, Issidoros; Beisel, Marie; Bechel-Marriot, Diane; First, Amanda; Gamble, Ginger M; Tanner, Clare

    2017-01-01

    Embedded care managers are increasingly implemented as part of the care team within primary care practices, yet previous studies have indicated variability in acceptance by physicians and staff. This study assesses the acceptability of care managers among staff and physicians within the Michigan Primary Care Transformation (MiPCT) demonstration. Care manager acceptance was measured using a web-based survey distributed to practices participating in the MiPCT demonstration. Both physicians and staff reported high levels of care manager acceptance. Longer length of care manager employment at the practice, higher care manager FTE dedicated to care management, and care manager employed by practice were all significantly associated with care manager acceptance. The MiPCT demonstration found high care manager acceptance across all care team members. The high level of acceptance may be due to the structures and processes developed by MiPCT to support implementation of care managers and the length of the intervention period. The MiPCT demonstration confirms that following three years of implementation, embedded care managers are acceptable to both physicians and staff within primary care practices. Importantly, embeddedness, or the amount of time care managers are located within practices, is associated with increased acceptance. © Copyright 2017 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

  10. Measurement properties of quality-of-life measurement instruments for infants, children and adolescents with eczema: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Heinl, D; Prinsen, C A C; Sach, T; Drucker, A M; Ofenloch, R; Flohr, C; Apfelbacher, C

    2017-04-01

    Quality of life (QoL) is one of the core outcome domains identified by the Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative to be assessed in every eczema trial. There is uncertainty about the most appropriate QoL instrument to measure this domain in infants, children and adolescents. To systematically evaluate the measurement properties of existing measurement instruments developed and/or validated for the measurement of QoL in infants, children and adolescents with eczema. A systematic literature search in PubMed and Embase, complemented by a thorough hand search of reference lists, retrieved studies on measurement properties of eczema QoL instruments for infants, children and adolescents. For all eligible studies, we judged the adequacy of the measurement properties and the methodological study quality with the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. Results from different studies were summarized in a best-evidence synthesis and formed the basis to assign four degrees of recommendation. Seventeen articles, three of which were found by hand search, were included. These 17 articles reported on 24 instruments. No instrument can be recommended for use in all eczema trials because none fulfilled all required adequacy criteria. With adequate internal consistency, reliability and hypothesis testing, the U.S. version of the Childhood Atopic Dermatitis Impact Scale (CADIS), a proxy-reported instrument, has the potential to be recommended depending on the results of further validation studies. All other instruments, including all self-reported ones, lacked significant validation data. Currently, no QoL instrument for infants, children and adolescents with eczema can be highly recommended. Future validation research should primarily focus on the CADIS, but also attempt to broaden the evidence base for the validity of self-reported instruments. © 2016 British Association of Dermatologists.

  11. Brief Mindfulness Meditation Training Reduces Mind-Wandering: The Critical Role of Acceptance

    PubMed Central

    Rahl, Hayley A.; Lindsay, Emily K.; Pacilio, Laura E.; Brown, Kirk W.; Creswell, J. David

    2016-01-01

    Mindfulness meditation programs, which train individuals to monitor their present moment experience in an open or accepting way, have been shown to reduce mind-wandering on standardized tasks in several studies. Here we test two competing accounts for how mindfulness training reduces mind-wandering, evaluating whether the attention monitoring component of mindfulness training alone reduces mind-wandering or whether the acceptance training component is necessary for reducing mind-wandering. Healthy young adults (N=147) were randomized to either a 3-day brief mindfulness training condition incorporating instruction in both attention monitoring and acceptance, a mindfulness training condition incorporating attention monitoring instruction only, a relaxation training condition, or a reading control condition. Participants completed measures of dispositional mindfulness and treatment expectancies before the training session on Day 1 and then completed a 6-minute Sustained Attention Response Task (SART) measuring mind-wandering after the training session on Day 3. Acceptance training was important for reducing mind-wandering, such that the monitoring + acceptance mindfulness training condition had the lowest mind-wandering relative to the other conditions, including significantly lower mind-wandering relative to the monitor-only mindfulness training condition. In one of the first experimental mindfulness training dismantling studies to-date, we show that training in acceptance is a critical driver of mindfulness training reductions in mind-wandering. This effect suggests that acceptance skills may facilitate emotion regulation on boring and frustrating sustained attention tasks that foster mind-wandering, such as the SART. PMID:27819445

  12. Psychometric properties including reliability, validity and responsiveness of the Majeed pelvic score in patients with chronic sacroiliac joint pain.

    PubMed

    Bajada, Stefan; Mohanty, Khitish

    2016-06-01

    The Majeed scoring system is a disease-specific outcome measure that was originally designed to assess pelvic injuries. The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Majeed scoring system for chronic sacroiliac joint pain. Internal consistency, content validity, criterion validity, construct validity and responsiveness to change was assessed prospectively for the Majeed scoring system in a cohort of 60 patients diagnosed with sacroiliac joint pain. This diagnosis was confirmed with CT-guided sacroiliac joint anaesthetic block. The overall Majeed score showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.63). Similarly, it showed acceptable floor (0 %) and ceiling (0 %) effects. On the other hand, the domains of pain, work, sitting and sexual intercourse had high (>30 %) floor effects. Significant correlation with the physical component of the Short Form-36 (p = 0.005) and Oswestry disability index (p ≤ 0.001) was found indicating acceptable criterion validity. The overall Majeed score showed acceptable construct validity with all five developed hypotheses showing significance (p ≤ 0.05). The overall Majeed score showed acceptable responsiveness to change with a large (≥0.80) effect size and standardized response mean. Overall the Majeed scoring system demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties for outcome assessment in chronic sacroiliac joint pain. Thus, its use in this condition is adequate. However, some domains demonstrated suboptimal performance indicating that improvement might be achieved with the development of an outcome measure specific for sacroiliac joint dysfunction and degeneration.

  13. Chinese Nurses' Acceptance of PDA: A Cross-Sectional Survey Using a Technology Acceptance Model.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yanling; Xiao, Qian; Sun, Liu; Wu, Ying

    2016-01-01

    This study explores Chinese nurses' acceptance of PDA, using a questionnaire based on the framework of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). 357 nurses were involved in the study. The results reveal the scores of the nurses' acceptance of PDA were means 3.18~3.36 in four dimensions. The younger of nurses, the higher nurses' title, the longer previous usage time, the more experienced using PDA, and the more acceptance of PDA. Therefore, the hospital administrators may change strategies to enhance nurses' acceptance of PDA, and promote the wide application of PDA.

  14. Acceptability of reactors in space

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Buden, D.

    1981-04-01

    Reactors are the key to our future expansion into space. However, there has been some confusion in the public as to whether they are a safe and acceptable technology for use in space. The answer to these questions is explored. The US position is that when reactors are the preferred technical choice, that they can be used safely. In fact, it dies not appear that reactors add measurably to the risk associated with the Space Transportation System.

  15. Acceptability of unsupervised HPV self-sampling using written instructions.

    PubMed

    Waller, J; McCaffery, K; Forrest, S; Szarewski, A; Cadman, L; Austin, J; Wardle, J

    2006-01-01

    The study measured the acceptability of self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing in the context of cervical cancer screening. Women carried out self-sampling unsupervised, using a written instruction sheet. Participants were women attending either a family planning clinic or a primary care trust for routine cervical screening. Women (n = 902) carried out self-sampling for HPV testing and then a clinician did a routine cervical smear and HPV test. Immediately after having the two tests, participants completed a measure of acceptability for both tests, and answered questions about ease of using the instruction sheet and willingness to use self-sampling in the future. The majority of women found self-sampling more acceptable than the clinician-administered test, but there was a lack of confidence that the test had been done correctly. Significant demographic differences in attitudes were found, with married women having more favourable attitudes towards self-sampling than single women, and Asian women having more negative attitudes than women in other ethnic groups. Intention to use self-sampling in the future was very high across all demographic groups. Self-sampling for HPV testing was highly acceptable in this large and demographically diverse sample, and women were able to carry out the test alone, using simple written instructions. Consistent with previous studies, women were concerned about doing the test properly and this issue will need to be addressed if self-sampling is introduced. More work is needed to see whether the demographic differences we found are robust and to identify reasons for lower acceptability among single women and those from Asian background.

  16. Parental Perceptions and Recommendations of Computing Majors: A Technology Acceptance Model Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powell, Loreen; Wimmer, Hayden

    2017-01-01

    Currently, there are more technology related jobs then there are graduates in supply. The need to understand user acceptance of computing degrees is the first step in increasing enrollment in computing fields. Additionally, valid measurement scales for predicting user acceptance of Information Technology degree programs are required. The majority…

  17. Evaluation of the measurement properties of symptom measurement instruments for atopic eczema: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Gerbens, L A A; Prinsen, C A C; Chalmers, J R; Drucker, A M; von Kobyletzki, L B; Limpens, J; Nankervis, H; Svensson, Å; Terwee, C B; Zhang, J; Apfelbacher, C J; Spuls, P I

    2017-01-01

    Symptoms have been identified as a core outcome domain for atopic eczema (AE) trials. Various instruments exist to measure symptoms in AE, but they vary in quality and there is a lack of standardization between clinical trials. Our objective was to systematically evaluate the quality of the evidence on the measurement properties of AE symptom instruments, thereby informing consensus discussions within the Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) initiative regarding the most appropriate instruments for the core outcome domain symptoms. Using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist and predefined criteria for good measurement properties on identified development and validation studies of AE symptom instruments, a best evidence synthesis was performed to draw an overall conclusion on quality of the instruments and to provide recommendations. Eighteen instruments were identified and evaluated. When the quality and results of the studies were considered, only five of these instruments had sufficient validation data to consider them for the core outcome set for the core outcome domain symptoms. These were the paediatric Itch Severity Scale (ISS), Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM), Patient-Oriented SCOring Atopic Dermatitis (PO-SCORAD), Self-Administered Eczema Area and Severity Index (SA-EASI) and adapted SA-EASI. ISS (paediatric version), POEM, PO-SCORAD, SA-EASI and adapted SA-EASI are currently the most appropriate instruments and therefore have the potential to be recommended as core symptom instrument in future clinical trials. These findings will be utilized for the development of a core outcome set for AE. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. SME Acceptability Determination For DWPF Process Control (U)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Edwards, T.

    2017-06-12

    The statistical system described in this document is called the Product Composition Control System (PCCS). K. G. Brown and R. L. Postles were the originators and developers of this system as well as the authors of the first three versions of this technical basis document for PCCS. PCCS has guided acceptability decisions for the processing at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) since the start of radioactive operations in 1996. The author of this revision to the document gratefully acknowledges the firm technical foundation that Brown and Postles established to support the ongoing successfulmore » operation at the DWPF. Their integration of the glass propertycomposition models, developed under the direction of C. M. Jantzen, into a coherent and robust control system, has served the DWPF well over the last 20+ years, even as new challenges, such as the introduction into the DWPF flowsheet of auxiliary streams from the Actinide Removal Process (ARP) and other processes, were met. The purpose of this revision is to provide a technical basis for modifications to PCCS required to support the introduction of waste streams from the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) into the DWPF flowsheet. An expanded glass composition region is anticipated by the introduction of waste streams from SWPF, and property-composition studies of that glass region have been conducted. Jantzen, once again, directed the development of glass property-composition models applicable for this expanded composition region. The author gratefully acknowledges the technical contributions of C.M. Jantzen leading to the development of these glass property-composition models. The integration of these models into the PCCS constraints necessary to administer future acceptability decisions for the processing at DWPF is provided by this sixth revision of this document.« less

  19. The Spanish version of the Work-related Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (WAAQ).

    PubMed

    Ruiz, Francisco J; Odriozola-González, Paula

    2014-01-01

    Psychological flexibility, a key construct of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), has recently been found to be an important determinant of mental health and behavioral effectiveness in the workplace. This finding has led to designing a measure of psychological flexibility especially tailored to the workplace (the Work-related Acceptance and Action Questionnaire; WAAQ) in the hope that it may reveal even stronger associations with variables related to a work context. First, we back-translated the WAAQ into Spanish and then administered it to 209 workers, in addition to other relevant work-related measures. Data were very similar to those obtained with the original WAAQ version. The WAAQ showed a very good internal consistency (a = .92) and a clear one-factor structure. It also showed higher correlations with work-specific measures than a general measure of psychological inflexibility (the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II; AAQ-II). As hypothesized by the ACT theory, the correlation between the WAAQ and the AAQ-II was moderate but not so high as to suggest that they are assessing the same construct. This Spanish translation of the WAAQ emerges as a reliable and valid measure of psychological flexibility in relation to the workplace.

  20. Measuring tendon properties in mdx mice: cell viability and viscoelastic characteristics.

    PubMed

    Rizzuto, E; Musarò, A; Catizone, A; Del Prete, Z

    2009-10-16

    Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder of skeletal muscle characterized by progressive muscle weakness. Here we assessed whether muscle wasting affects cell viability and mechanical properties of extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and of tibialis anterior (TA) tendons from mdx dystrophic mice compared to wild type (WT) mice. mdx mice represent the classical animal model for human Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and show several signs of the pathology, including a decrease in specific force and an increase of fibrotic index. Cell viability of tendons was evaluated by histological analysis, and viscoelastic properties have been assessed by a rapid measurement protocol that allowed us to compute, at the same time, tissue complex compliance for all the frequencies of interest. Confocal microscopy and mechanical properties measurements revealed that mdx tendons, compared to WT ones, have an increase in the number of dead cells and a significant reduction in tissue elasticity for all the frequencies that were tested. These findings indicate a reduced quality of the tissue. Moreover, mdx tendons have an increase in the viscous response, indicating that during dynamic loading, they dissipate more energy compared to WT. Our results demonstrate that muscular dystrophy involves not only muscle wasting, but also alteration in the viscoelastic properties of tendons, suggesting a paracrine effect of altered skeletal muscle on tendinous tissue.

  1. Average Dielectric Property Analysis of Complex Breast Tissue with Microwave Transmission Measurements

    PubMed Central

    Garrett, John D.; Fear, Elise C.

    2015-01-01

    Prior information about the average dielectric properties of breast tissue can be implemented in microwave breast imaging techniques to improve the results. Rapidly providing this information relies on acquiring a limited number of measurements and processing these measurement with efficient algorithms. Previously, systems were developed to measure the transmission of microwave signals through breast tissue, and simplifications were applied to estimate the average properties. These methods provided reasonable estimates, but they were sensitive to multipath. In this paper, a new technique to analyze the average properties of breast tissues while addressing multipath is presented. Three steps are used to process transmission measurements. First, the effects of multipath were removed. In cases where multipath is present, multiple peaks were observed in the time domain. A Tukey window was used to time-gate a single peak and, therefore, select a single path through the breast. Second, the antenna response was deconvolved from the transmission coefficient to isolate the response from the tissue in the breast interior. The antenna response was determined through simulations. Finally, the complex permittivity was estimated using an iterative approach. This technique was validated using simulated and physical homogeneous breast models and tested with results taken from a recent patient study. PMID:25585106

  2. Impact of parasitic thermal effects on thermoelectric property measurements by Harman method.

    PubMed

    Kwon, Beomjin; Baek, Seung-Hyub; Kim, Seong Keun; Kim, Jin-Sang

    2014-04-01

    Harman method is a rapid and simple technique to measure thermoelectric properties. However, its validity has been often questioned due to the over-simplified assumptions that this method relies on. Here, we quantitatively investigate the influence of the previously ignored parasitic thermal effects on the Harman method and develop a method to determine an intrinsic ZT. We expand the original Harman relation with three extra terms: heat losses via both the lead wires and radiation, and Joule heating within the sample. Based on the expanded Harman relation, we use differential measurement of the sample geometry to measure the intrinsic ZT. To separately evaluate the parasitic terms, the measured ZTs with systematically varied sample geometries and the lead wire types are fitted to the expanded relation. A huge discrepancy (∼28%) of the measured ZTs depending on the measurement configuration is observed. We are able to separately evaluate those parasitic terms. This work will help to evaluate the intrinsic thermoelectric property with Harman method by eliminating ambiguities coming from extrinsic effects.

  3. Impact of parasitic thermal effects on thermoelectric property measurements by Harman method

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kwon, Beomjin, E-mail: bkwon@kist.re.kr; Baek, Seung-Hyub; Keun Kim, Seong

    2014-04-15

    Harman method is a rapid and simple technique to measure thermoelectric properties. However, its validity has been often questioned due to the over-simplified assumptions that this method relies on. Here, we quantitatively investigate the influence of the previously ignored parasitic thermal effects on the Harman method and develop a method to determine an intrinsic ZT. We expand the original Harman relation with three extra terms: heat losses via both the lead wires and radiation, and Joule heating within the sample. Based on the expanded Harman relation, we use differential measurement of the sample geometry to measure the intrinsic ZT. Tomore » separately evaluate the parasitic terms, the measured ZTs with systematically varied sample geometries and the lead wire types are fitted to the expanded relation. A huge discrepancy (∼28%) of the measured ZTs depending on the measurement configuration is observed. We are able to separately evaluate those parasitic terms. This work will help to evaluate the intrinsic thermoelectric property with Harman method by eliminating ambiguities coming from extrinsic effects.« less

  4. Measurement of surface physical properties and radiation balance for KUREX-91 study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Walter-Shea, Elizabeth A.; Blad, Blaine L.; Mesarch, Mark A.; Hays, Cynthia J.

    1992-01-01

    Biophysical properties and radiation balance components were measured at the Streletskaya Steppe Reserve of the Russian Republic in July 1991. Steppe vegetation parameters characterized include leaf area index (LAI), leaf angle distribution, mean tilt angle, canopy height, leaf spectral properties, leaf water potential, fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR), and incoming and outgoing shortwave and longwave radiation. Research results, biophysical parameters, radiation balance estimates, and sun-view geometry effects on estimating APAR are discussed. Incoming and outgoing radiation streams are estimated using bidirectional spectral reflectances and bidirectional thermal emittances. Good agreement between measured and modeled estimates of the radiation balance were obtained.

  5. Active doublet method for measuring small changes in physical properties

    DOEpatents

    Roberts, Peter M.; Fehler, Michael C.; Johnson, Paul A.; Phillips, W. Scott

    1994-01-01

    Small changes in material properties of a work piece are detected by measuring small changes in elastic wave velocity and attenuation within a work piece. Active, repeatable source generate coda wave responses from a work piece, where the coda wave responses are temporally displaced. By analyzing progressive relative phase and amplitude changes between the coda wave responses as a function of elapsed time, accurate determinations of velocity and attenuation changes are made. Thus, a small change in velocity occurring within a sample region during the time periods between excitation origin times (herein called "doublets") will produce a relative delay that changes with elapsed time over some portion of the scattered waves. This trend of changing delay is easier to detect than an isolated delay based on a single arrival and provides a direct measure of elastic wave velocity changes arising from changed material properties of the work piece.

  6. Afterschool Program Participation and the Development of Child Obesity and Peer Acceptance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mahoney, Joseph L.; Lord, Heather; Carryl, Erica

    2005-01-01

    This longitudinal study assessed the role of afterschool program (ASP) participation in the development of child obesity and peer acceptance in a sample of 439 children. Most participants lived in poverty and were Hispanic or African American. Measurements of height and weight determined obesity status and peer acceptance was assessed through…

  7. Age and Acceptance of Euthanasia.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ward, Russell A.

    1980-01-01

    Study explores relationship between age (and sex and race) and acceptance of euthanasia. Women and non-Whites were less accepting because of religiosity. Among older people less acceptance was attributable to their lesser education and greater religiosity. Results suggest that quality of life in old age affects acceptability of euthanasia. (Author)

  8. Measuring Emergent Organizational Properties: A Structural Equation Modeling Test of Self- versus Group-Referent Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goddard, Roger D.; LoGerfo, Laura F.

    2007-01-01

    This article presents a theoretical rationale and empirical evidence regarding the validity of scores obtained from two competing approaches to operationalizing scale items to measure emergent organizational properties. The authors consider whether items in scales intended to measure organizational properties should prompt survey takers to provide…

  9. Patients' attitudes towards and acceptance of coercion in psychiatry.

    PubMed

    Krieger, Eva; Moritz, Steffen; Weil, Ricarda; Nagel, Matthias

    2017-12-13

    Coercive interventions for psychiatric patients are controversial. Research on different preventive measures has increased over the last years. The present study examined patients' attitudes towards and understanding of previously experienced coercive measures as well as their preferences related to coercive measures and possible alternatives. In total, 213 patients who had experienced coercion and 51 patient controls (patients staying voluntarily on a closed ward with no coercive treatment) from three acute wards were examined via expert interviews and questionnaires in the framework of a naturalistic trial. Assessments included a new self-developed questionnaire as well as instruments measuring psychopathology. Patients who had experienced coercion differed from controls in both symptoms and insight into their illness. As expected, "noninvasive measures" (e.g., the use of a "soft room," observation in seclusion) were better accepted by patients than "invasive measures" (e.g., mechanical restraint, forced medication). Forced medication and mechanical restraint were less well accepted than involuntary hospitalization, seclusion, or video surveillance. The retrospective understanding of coercive measures increased over the course of treatment. In addition, patients rated a number of options for reducing coercion on the wards, particularly music or exercises. A large subgroup indicated they would like to discuss future admissions with the staff. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. The Technology Acceptance of Mobile Applications in Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Camilleri, Mark Anthony; Camilleri, Adriana Caterina

    2017-01-01

    This research explores the educators' attitudes and behavioural intention toward mobile applications. The methodology integrates measures from "the pace of technological innovativeness" and the "technology acceptance model" to understand the rationale for further investment in mobile learning (m-learning). A quantitative study…

  11. Evaluation of the Kinetic Property of Single-Molecule Junctions by Tunneling Current Measurements.

    PubMed

    Harashima, Takanori; Hasegawa, Yusuke; Kiguchi, Manabu; Nishino, Tomoaki

    2018-01-01

    We investigated the formation and breaking of single-molecule junctions of two kinds of dithiol molecules by time-resolved tunneling current measurements in a metal nanogap. The resulting current trajectory was statistically analyzed to determine the single-molecule conductance and, more importantly, to reveal the kinetic property of the single-molecular junction. These results suggested that combining a measurement of the single-molecule conductance and statistical analysis is a promising method to uncover the kinetic properties of the single-molecule junction.

  12. Predictors of nurses' acceptance of an intravenous catheter safety device.

    PubMed

    Rivers, Dianna Lipp; Aday, Lu Ann; Frankowski, Ralph F; Felknor, Sarah; White, Donna; Nichols, Brenda

    2003-01-01

    It is important to determine the factors that predict whether nurses accept and use a new intravenous (IV) safety device because there are approximately 800,000 needlesticks per year with the risk of contracting a life-threatening bloodborne disease such as HIV or hepatitis C. To determine the predictors of nurses' acceptance of the Protectiv Plus IV catheter safety needle device at a teaching hospital in Texas. A one-time cross-sectional survey of nurses (N = 742) was conducted using a 34-item questionnaire. A framework was developed identifying organizational and individual predictors of acceptance. The three principal dimensions of acceptance were (a) satisfaction with the device, (b) extent to which the device is always used, and (c) nurse recommendations over other safety devices. Measurements included developing summary subscales for the variables of safety climate and acceptance. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear and logistic regression models were computed. The findings showed widespread acceptance of the device. Nurses who had adequate training and a positive institutional safety climate were more accepting (p accepting of the device (p

  13. Maternal Acceptance: Its Contribution to Children's Favorable Perceptions of Discipline and Moral Identity.

    PubMed

    Patrick, Renee B; Gibbs, John C

    2016-01-01

    The authors examined the contribution of maternal acceptance or warmth to children's and adolescents' perceptions of discipline and formation of moral identity. The sample consisted of 93 male and female students from Grades 5, 8, and 10 and their mothers. Students completed measures pertaining to perceived maternal discipline practices and acceptance-rejection, as well as moral identity. A subsample of mothers reported on their accepting or rejecting actions toward their children. Children were more likely to feel accepted, if their mothers used inductive discipline (vs. power assertion and love withdrawal). Perceived acceptance was also related to more favorable discipline evaluations in certain respects. Specifically, inductive discipline recipients who felt accepted also evaluated induction as appropriate and responded to it with positive and guilt-related emotions. Power assertion was evaluated as appropriate among those children who did feel accepted. Finally, among inductive discipline recipients, those who felt accepted also reported higher moral identity.

  14. Ultrasonic model and system for measurement of corneal biomechanical properties and validation on phantoms.

    PubMed

    Liu, Jun; He, Xiaoyin; Pan, Xueliang; Roberts, Cynthia J

    2007-01-01

    Non-invasive measurement of biomechanical properties of corneas may provide important information for ocular disease management and therapeutic procedures. An ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation method with a wave propagation model was developed to determine corneal biomechanical properties in vivo. In this study, we tested the feasibility of the approach in differentiating the mechanical properties of soft contact lenses as corneal phantoms. Three material types of soft contact lenses (six samples in each group) were measured using a broadband ultrasound transducer. The ultrasonic reflections from the contact lenses were recorded by a 500MHz/8-bit digitizer, and displayed and processed by a PC. A reference signal was recorded to compute the normalized power spectra using Fast Fourier Transformation. An inverse algorithm based on least-squares minimization was used to reconstruct three parameters of the contact lenses: density, thickness, and elastic constants lambda+2micro. The thickness of each sample was verified using an electronic thickness gauge, and the averaged density for each type of lenses was verified using Archimedes' principle and manufacturer's report. Our results demonstrated that the ultrasonic system was able to differentiate the elastic properties of the three types of the soft contact lenses with statistical significance (P-value<0.001). The reconstructed thicknesses and densities agreed well with the independent measurements. Our studies on corneal phantoms indicated that the ultrasonic system was sensitive and accurate in measuring the material properties of cornea-like structures. It is important to optimize the system for in vivo measurements.

  15. Intertester reliability of the acceptable noise level.

    PubMed

    Gordon-Hickey, Susan; Adams, Elizabeth; Moore, Robert; Gaal, Ashley; Berry, Katie; Brock, Sommer

    2012-01-01

    The acceptable noise level (ANL) serves to accurately predict the listener's likelihood of success with amplification. It has been proposed as a pre-hearing aid fitting protocol for hearing aid selection and counseling purposes. The ANL is a subjective measure of the listener's ability to accept background noise. Measurement of ANL relies on the tester and listener to follow the instructions set forth. To date, no research has explored the reliability of ANL as measured across clinicians or testers. To examine the intertester reliability of ANL. A descriptive quasi-experimental reliability study was completed. ANL was measured for one group of listeners by three testers. Three participants served as testers. Each tester was familiar with basic audiometry. Twenty-five young adults with normal hearing served as listeners. Each tester was stationed in a laboratory with the needed equipment. Listeners were instructed to report to these laboratories in a random order provided by the experimenters. The testers assessed most comfortable listening level (MCL) and background noise level (BNL) for all 25 listeners. Intraclass correlation coefficients were significant and revealed that MCL, BNL, and ANLs are reliable across testers. Additionally, one-way ANOVAs for MCL, BNL, and ANL were not significant. These findings indicate that MCL, BNL, and ANL do not differ significantly when measured by different testers. If the ANL instruction set is accurately followed, ANL can be reliably measured across testers, laboratories, and clinics. Intertester reliability of ANL allows for comparison across ANLs measured by different individuals. Findings of the present study indicate that tester reliability can be ruled out as a factor contributing to the disparity of mean ANLs reported in the literature. American Academy of Audiology.

  16. Property measurements and solidification studies by electrostatic levitation.

    PubMed

    Paradis, Paul-François; Yu, Jianding; Ishikawa, Takehiko; Yoda, Shinichi

    2004-11-01

    The National Space Development Agency of Japan has recently developed several electrostatic levitation furnaces and implemented new techniques and procedures for property measurement, solidification studies, and atomic structure research. In addition to the contamination-free environment for undercooled and liquid metals and semiconductors, the newly developed facilities possess the unique capabilities of handling ceramics and high vapor pressure materials, reducing processing time, and imaging high luminosity samples. These are exemplified in this paper with the successful processing of BaTiO(3). This allowed measurement of the density of high temperature solid, liquid, and undercooled phases. Furthermore, the material resulting from containerless solidification consisted of micrometer-size particles and a glass-like phase exhibiting a giant dielectric constant exceeding 100,000.

  17. Brief mindfulness meditation training reduces mind wandering: The critical role of acceptance.

    PubMed

    Rahl, Hayley A; Lindsay, Emily K; Pacilio, Laura E; Brown, Kirk W; Creswell, J David

    2017-03-01

    Mindfulness meditation programs, which train individuals to monitor their present-moment experience in an open or accepting way, have been shown to reduce mind wandering on standardized tasks in several studies. Here we test 2 competing accounts for how mindfulness training reduces mind wandering, evaluating whether the attention-monitoring component of mindfulness training alone reduces mind wandering or whether the acceptance training component is necessary for reducing mind wandering. Healthy young adults (N = 147) were randomized to either a 3-day brief mindfulness training condition incorporating instruction in both attention monitoring and acceptance, a mindfulness training condition incorporating attention monitoring instruction only, a relaxation training condition, or an active reading-control condition. Participants completed measures of dispositional mindfulness and treatment expectancies before the training session on Day 1 and then completed a 6-min Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) measuring mind wandering after the training session on Day 3. Acceptance training was important for reducing mind wandering, such that the attention-monitoring plus acceptance mindfulness training condition had the lowest mind wandering relative to the other conditions, including significantly lower mind wandering than the attention-monitoring only mindfulness training condition. In one of the first experimental mindfulness training dismantling studies to-date, we show that training in acceptance is a critical driver of mindfulness-training reductions in mind wandering. This effect suggests that acceptance skills may facilitate emotion regulation on boring and frustrating sustained attention tasks that foster mind wandering, such as the SART. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Measuring the nonlinear elastic properties of tissue-like phantoms.

    PubMed

    Erkamp, Ramon Q; Skovoroda, Andrei R; Emelianov, Stanislav Y; O'Donnell, Matthew

    2004-04-01

    A direct mechanical system simultaneously measuring external force and deformation of samples over a wide dynamic range is used to obtain force-displacement curves of tissue-like phantoms under plain strain deformation. These measurements, covering a wide deformation range, then are used to characterize the nonlinear elastic properties of the phantom materials. The model assumes incompressible media, in which several strain energy potentials are considered. Finite-element analysis is used to evaluate the performance of this material characterization procedure. The procedures developed allow calibration of nonlinear elastic phantoms for elasticity imaging experiments and finite-element simulations.

  19. Mass Property Measurements of the Mars Science Laboratory Rover

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fields, Keith

    2012-01-01

    The NASA/JPL Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft mass properties were measured on a spin balance table prior to launch. This paper discusses the requirements and issues encountered with the setup, qualification, and testing using the spin balance table, and the idiosyncrasies encountered with the test system. The final mass measurements were made in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at Kennedy Space Center on the fully assembled and fueled spacecraft. This set of environmental tests required that the control system for the spin balance machine be at a remote location, which posed additional challenges to the operation of the machine

  20. Health-related quality of life questionnaires in individuals with haemophilia: a systematic review of their measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Limperg, P F; Terwee, C B; Young, N L; Price, V E; Gouw, S C; Peters, M; Grootenhuis, M A; Blanchette, V; Haverman, L

    2017-07-01

    The evaluation of health related quality of life (HRQOL) is essential for a full assessment of the influence of an illness on patients' lives. The aim of this paper is to critically appraise and compare the measurement properties of HRQOL questionnaires studied in haemophilia. Bibliographic databases (Embase, Medline, Cinahl and PsycInfo) were searched for articles evaluating measurement properties of HRQOL questionnaires in haemophilia. Articles were excluded that did not report HRQOL measurement properties, or when <50% of the study population had haemophilia. The methodological quality of the selected studies was evaluated using the COSMIN checklist. The measurement properties of the HRQL questionnaires were rated as 'positive', 'indeterminate' or 'negative', accompanied by levels of evidence. The search resulted in 1597 unique hits, of which 22 studies were included. These articles evaluated three questionnaires for children (CHO-KLAT, Haemo-QoL and one unnamed measure) and five for adults (Hemofilia-QoL, Haemophilia Well-Being Index, HAEMO-QoL-A, Haem-A-QoL, and SF-36). The CHO-KLAT was the paediatric measure that showed the strongest measurement properties in high-quality studies. The Haemophilia Well-Being Index and HAEMO-QoL-A performed best among the adult measures. None of the studies reported measurement error and responsiveness. Our findings suggest that there is no need for new disease-specific HRQOL questionnaires for haemophilia, but rather that additional research is necessary to document the measurement properties of the currently available questionnaires, specifically focusing on the structural validity, measurement error and responsiveness of these questionnaires. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Measuring anisotropic muscle stiffness properties using elastography.

    PubMed

    Green, M A; Geng, G; Qin, E; Sinkus, R; Gandevia, S C; Bilston, L E

    2013-11-01

    Physiological and pathological changes to the anisotropic mechanical properties of skeletal muscle are still largely unknown, with only a few studies quantifying changes in vivo. This study used the noninvasive MR elastography (MRE) technique, in combination with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to measure shear modulus anisotropy in the human skeletal muscle in the lower leg. Shear modulus measurements parallel and perpendicular to the fibre direction were made in 10 healthy subjects in the medial gastrocnemius, soleus and tibialis anterior muscles. The results showed significant differences in the medial gastrocnemius (μ‖ = 0.86 ± 0.15 kPa; μ⊥ = 0.66 ± 0.19 kPa, P < 0.001), soleus (μ‖ = 0.83 ± 0.22 kPa; μ⊥ = 0.65 ± 0.13 kPa, P < 0.001) and the tibialis anterior (μ‖ = 0.78 ± 0.24 kPa; μ⊥ = 0.66 ± 0.16 kPa, P = 0.03) muscles, where the shear modulus measured in the direction parallel is greater than that measured in the direction perpendicular to the muscle fibres. No significant differences were measured across muscle groups. This study provides the first direct estimates of the anisotropic shear modulus in the triceps surae muscle group, and shows that the technique may be useful for the probing of mechanical anisotropy changes caused by disease, aging and injury. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Measurement properties of psychosocial and environmental measures associated with fruit and vegetable intake among middle school adolescents.

    PubMed

    Granner, Michelle L; Evans, Alexandra E

    2012-01-01

    To assess the measurement properties of several scales modified or created to assess factors related to fruit and vegetable intake within a young adolescent population. Cross-sectional with data collected via self-report. Data were collected in regularly scheduled classes in the school setting. African American and Caucasian middle school students (ages 11-15 years). Self-efficacy, modeling, outcome expectations, normative beliefs, parental food management practices, and influences on food choice. Pearson correlations, factor analysis, and Cronbach α. Subscales with adequate to good internal consistencies (0.65-0.88) were established. Fruit and vegetable intake was significantly correlated with self-efficacy, parent and peer modeling, family and peer normative beliefs, and social and health outcome expectations. Fruit and vegetable intake was not significantly correlated with permissive eating, food self-preparation, or the 3 subscales measuring influences on food choice (social influence, avoiding weight-gain food, and appeal and access). These measures, most originally developed for children and adults and modified for this study, demonstrated adequate measurement properties for an adolescent sample. Copyright © 2012 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. A novel method to measure skin mechanical properties with three-dimensional digital image correlation.

    PubMed

    Xu, Z; Dela Cruz, J; Fthenakis, C; Saliou, C

    2018-06-06

    Measuring skin mechanical properties has been of great interest in the skincare industry. It is a high accuracy and non-invasive optical technique which quantitatively tracks skin movement and deformation under mechanical perturbations. A study was conducted with female subjects (25-65 years old). A refined speckle pattern applied onto the skin surface was used for DIC measurements. A unidirectional force pulled the skin at a constant velocity, while the deformation process was quantified by the DIC. Prior to the DIC measurement, Cutometer ® readings were taken on the same area. The DIC protocol's reproducibility across multiple pattern applications, the measurement's repeatability, and the sensitivity in differentiating skin mechanical properties were investigated. Subjects were clustered with statistical significance according to their skin mechanical properties described by six DIC metrics (μ [major strain], σ [major strain], μ [minor strain], σ [minor strain], μ [displacement], and σ [displacement]). Most measurement random errors are below 6%. This is several folds smaller in magnitude than the difference in the mean response between the clusters. Several Cutometer ® parameters also showed good agreement with μ (displacement). DIC was able to differentiate skins of different mechanical qualities. We also proposed the physical significance of the DIC metrics. Some of the DIC metrics potentially offer new insights into skin mechanical properties that complement those revealed by conventional instruments. Accurate measurements, large measurement areas along with ease of direct visualization are substantial advantages of DIC. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Instruments to assess self-care among healthy children: A systematic review of measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Urpí-Fernández, Ana-María; Zabaleta-Del-Olmo, Edurne; Montes-Hidalgo, Javier; Tomás-Sábado, Joaquín; Roldán-Merino, Juan-Francisco; Lluch-Canut, María-Teresa

    2017-12-01

    To identify, critically appraise and summarize the measurement properties of instruments to assess self-care in healthy children. Assessing self-care is a proper consideration for nursing practice and nursing research. No systematic review summarizes instruments of measurement validated in healthy children. Psychometric review in accordance with the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) panel. MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Open Grey were searched from their inception to December 2016. Validation studies with a healthy child population were included. Search was not restricted by language. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of included studies using the COSMIN checklist. Eleven studies were included in the review assessing the measurement properties of ten instruments. There was a maximum of two studies per instrument. None of the studies evaluated the properties of test-retest reliability, measurement error, criterion validity and responsiveness. Internal consistency and structural validity were rated as "excellent" or "good" in four studies. Four studies were rated as "excellent" in content validity. Cross-cultural validity was rated as "poor" in the two studies (three instruments) which cultural adaptation was carried out. The evidence available does not allow firm conclusions about the instruments identified in terms of reliability and validity. Future research should focus on generate evidence about a wider range of measurement properties of these instruments using a rigorous methodology, as well as instrument testing on different countries and child population. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Geo-spatial aspects of acceptance of illegal hunting of large carnivores in Scandinavia.

    PubMed

    Gangaas, Kristin E; Kaltenborn, Bjørn P; Andreassen, Harry P

    2013-01-01

    Human-carnivore conflicts are complex and are influenced by: the spatial distribution of the conflict species; the organisation and intensity of management measures such as zoning; historical experience with wildlife; land use patterns; and local cultural traditions. We have used a geographically stratified sampling of social values and attitudes to provide a novel perspective to the human - wildlife conflict. We have focused on acceptance by and disagreements between residents (measured as Potential Conflict Index; PCI) towards illegal hunting of four species of large carnivores (bear, lynx, wolf, wolverine). The study is based on surveys of residents in every municipality in Sweden and Norway who were asked their opinion on illegal hunting. Our results show how certain social values are associated with acceptance of poaching, and how these values differ geographically independent of carnivore abundance. Our approach differs from traditional survey designs, which are often biased towards urban areas. Although these traditional designs intend to be representative of a region (i.e. a random sample from a country), they tend to receive relatively few respondents from rural areas that experience the majority of conflict with carnivores. Acceptance of poaching differed significantly between Norway (12.7-15.7% of respondents) and Sweden (3.3-4.1% of respondents). We found the highest acceptance of illegal hunting in rural areas with free-ranging sheep and strong hunting traditions. Disagreements between residents (as measured by PCI) were highest in areas with intermediate population density. There was no correlation between carnivore density and either acceptance of illegal hunting or PCI. A strong positive correlation between acceptance of illegal hunting and PCI showed that areas with high acceptance of illegal hunting are areas with high potential conflict between people. Our results show that spatially-stratified surveys are required to reveal the large scale

  6. An overview of the measurements of thermophysical properties and some results on molten superalloys and semiconductors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Taylor, R. E.

    1993-01-01

    This presentation consists of two parts: comments on the results of measurements on thermophysical properties based on the paper, 'Things Mother Never Taught Me (About Thermophysical Properties of Solids)' and results of thermophysical property measurements on selected solid and molten semiconductors and a proprietary superalloy. The first part may be considered as a tutorial for those involved in using or procuring thermophysical property data. The second part is presented as illustrations of what has been accomplished on molten materials at the Thermophysical Properties Research Laboratory (TPRL). The materials include Ge, PbTe, PbSnTe, HgCdTe and a superalloy.

  7. Microphysical and Optical Properties of Saharan Dust Measured during the ICE-D Aircraft Campaign

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ryder, Claire; Marenco, Franco; Brooke, Jennifer; Cotton, Richard; Taylor, Jonathan

    2017-04-01

    During August 2015, the UK FAAM BAe146 research aircraft was stationed in Cape Verde off the coast of West Africa. Measurements of Saharan dust, and ice and liquid water clouds, were taken for the ICE-D (Ice in Clouds Experiment - Dust) project - a multidisciplinary project aimed at further understanding aerosol-cloud interactions. Six flights formed part of a sub-project, AER-D, solely focussing on measurements of Saharan dust within the African dust plume. Dust loadings observed during these flights varied (aerosol optical depths of 0.2 to 1.3), as did the vertical structure of the dust, the size distributions and the optical properties. The BAe146 was fully equipped to measure size distributions covering aerosol accumulation, coarse and giant modes. Initial results of size distribution and optical properties of dust from the AER-D flights will be presented, showing that a substantial coarse mode was present, in agreement with previous airborne measurements. Optical properties of dust relating to the measured size distributions will also be presented.

  8. Measurements of Thermophysical Properties of Molten Silicon and Geranium

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rhim, Won-Kyu

    2001-01-01

    The objective of this ground base program is to measure thermophysical properties of molten/ undercooled silicon, germanium, and Si-Ge alloys using a high temperature electrostatic levitator and in clearly assessing the need of the microgravity environment to achieve the objective with higher degrees of accuracy. Silicon and germanium are two of the most important semiconductors for industrial applications: silicon is unsurpassed as a microelectronics material, occupying more than 95% of the electronics market. Si-Ge alloy is attracting keen interest for advanced electronic and optoelectronic applications in view of its variable band gap and lattice parameter depending upon its composition. Accurate thermophysical properties of these materials are very much needed in the semiconductor industry for the growth of large high quality crystals.

  9. Optical property retrievals of subvisual cirrus clouds from OSIRIS limb-scatter measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiensz, J. T.; Degenstein, D. A.; Lloyd, N. D.; Bourassa, A. E.

    2012-08-01

    We present a technique for retrieving the optical properties of subvisual cirrus clouds detected by OSIRIS, a limb-viewing satellite instrument that measures scattered radiances from the UV to the near-IR. The measurement set is composed of a ratio of limb radiance profiles at two wavelengths that indicates the presence of cloud-scattering regions. Optical properties from an in-situ database are used to simulate scattering by cloud-particles. With appropriate configurations discussed in this paper, the SASKTRAN successive-orders of scatter radiative transfer model is able to simulate accurately the in-cloud radiances from OSIRIS. Configured in this way, the model is used with a multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART) to retrieve the cloud extinction profile for an assumed effective cloud particle size. The sensitivity of these retrievals to key auxiliary model parameters is shown, and it is demonstrated that the retrieved extinction profile models accurately the measured in-cloud radiances from OSIRIS. Since OSIRIS has an 11-yr record of subvisual cirrus cloud detections, the work described in this manuscript provides a very useful method for providing a long-term global record of the properties of these clouds.

  10. Measurements and empirical model of the acoustic properties of reticulated vitreous carbon.

    PubMed

    Muehleisena, Ralph T; Beamer, C Walter; Tinianov, Brandon D

    2005-02-01

    Reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) is a highly porous, rigid, open cell carbon foam structure with a high melting point, good chemical inertness, and low bulk thermal conductivity. For the proper design of acoustic devices such as acoustic absorbers and thermoacoustic stacks and regenerators utilizing RVC, the acoustic properties of RVC must be known. From knowledge of the complex characteristic impedance and wave number most other acoustic properties can be computed. In this investigation, the four-microphone transfer matrix measurement method is used to measure the complex characteristic impedance and wave number for 60 to 300 pore-per-inch RVC foams with flow resistivities from 1759 to 10,782 Pa s m(-2) in the frequency range of 330 Hz-2 kHz. The data are found to be poorly predicted by the fibrous material empirical model developed by Delany and Bazley, the open cell plastic foam empirical model developed by Qunli, or the Johnson-Allard microstructural model. A new empirical power law model is developed and is shown to provide good predictions of the acoustic properties over the frequency range of measurement. Uncertainty estimates for the constants of the model are also computed.

  11. Measurements and empirical model of the acoustic properties of reticulated vitreous carbon

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muehleisen, Ralph T.; Beamer, C. Walter; Tinianov, Brandon D.

    2005-02-01

    Reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) is a highly porous, rigid, open cell carbon foam structure with a high melting point, good chemical inertness, and low bulk thermal conductivity. For the proper design of acoustic devices such as acoustic absorbers and thermoacoustic stacks and regenerators utilizing RVC, the acoustic properties of RVC must be known. From knowledge of the complex characteristic impedance and wave number most other acoustic properties can be computed. In this investigation, the four-microphone transfer matrix measurement method is used to measure the complex characteristic impedance and wave number for 60 to 300 pore-per-inch RVC foams with flow resistivities from 1759 to 10 782 Pa s m-2 in the frequency range of 330 Hz-2 kHz. The data are found to be poorly predicted by the fibrous material empirical model developed by Delany and Bazley, the open cell plastic foam empirical model developed by Qunli, or the Johnson-Allard microstructural model. A new empirical power law model is developed and is shown to provide good predictions of the acoustic properties over the frequency range of measurement. Uncertainty estimates for the constants of the model are also computed. .

  12. Remote sensing reflectance and inherent optical properties of oceanic waters derived from above-water measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Zhongping; Carder, Kendall L.; Steward, Robert G.; Peacock, Thomas G.; Davis, Curtiss O.; Mueller, James L.

    1997-02-01

    Remote-sensing reflectance and inherent optical properties of oceanic properties of oceanic waters are important parameters for ocean optics. Due to surface reflectance, Rrs or water-leaving radiance is difficult to measure from above the surface. It usually is derived by correcting for the reflected skylight in the measured above-water upwelling radiance using a theoretical Fresnel reflectance value. As it is difficult to determine the reflected skylight, there are errors in the Q and E derived Rrs, and the errors may get bigger for high chl_a coastal waters. For better correction of the reflected skylight,w e propose the following derivation procedure: partition the skylight into Rayleigh and aerosol contributions, remove the Rayleigh contribution using the Fresnel reflectance, and correct the aerosol contribution using an optimization algorithm. During the process, Rrs and in-water inherent optical properties are derived at the same time. For measurements of 45 sites made in the Gulf of Mexico and Arabian Sea with chl_a concentrations ranging from 0.07 to 49 mg/m3, the derived Rrs and inherent optical property values were compared with those from in-water measurements. These results indicate that for the waters studied, the proposed algorithm performs quite well in deriving Rrs and in- water inherent optical properties from above-surface measurements for clear and turbid waters.

  13. The effect of acceptance training on psychological and physical health outcomes in elders with chronic conditions.

    PubMed

    McDonald, Patricia E; Zauszniewski, Jaclene A; Bekhet, Abir K; DeHelian, Laura; Morris, Diana L

    2011-12-01

    This pilot trial investigated the short and long-term effects of Acceptance Training (ACT) intervention on acceptance, perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression in elders with chronic conditions living in retirement communities (RCs). The ACT intervention combined Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy with music, relaxation, and guided imagery during six weekly 2-hour sessions. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 African-American and 46 White elders across four data collection points in six randomly selected RCs using well-established measures of perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression, and a measure of acceptance of chronic conditions adapted from a previous measure of acceptance of diabetes. While changes were found in perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression, the most significant changes occurred in the elders' acceptance of chronic conditions immediately after the intervention (t = -2.62, p < .02), and these changes persisted for 6 and 12 weeks (t's = -2.74, -3.32, p's < .01), respectively. Although a 40% attrition rate reduced the sample size from 62 (N = 62) to 37 (N = 37), the significant increases in acceptance over time provide initial evidence for the fidelity of the ACT intervention.

  14. The Effect of Acceptance Training on Psychological and Physical Health Outcomes in Elders with Chronic Conditions

    PubMed Central

    McDonald, Patricia E.; Zauszniewski, Jaclene A.; Bekhet, Abir K.; DeHelian, Laura; Morris, Diana L.

    2012-01-01

    This pilot trial investigated the short and long-term effects of Acceptance Training (ACT) intervention on acceptance, perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression in elders with chronic conditions living in retirement communities (RCs). The ACT intervention combined Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy with music, relaxation, and guided imagery during six weekly 2-hour sessions. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 African-American and 46 White elders across four data collection points in six randomly selected RCs using well-established measures of perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression, and a measure of acceptance of chronic conditions adapted from a previous measure of acceptance of diabetes. While changes were found in perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression, the most significant changes occurred in the elders’ acceptance of chronic conditions immediately after the intervention (t = −2.62, p < .02), and these changes persisted for 6 and 12 weeks (t’s = −2.74, −3.32, p’s < .01), respectively. Although a 40% attrition rate reduced the sample size from 62 (N = 62) to 37 (N = 37), the significant increases in acceptance over time provide initial evidence for the fidelity of the ACT intervention. PMID:23061175

  15. Key acceptability attributes of orodispersible films.

    PubMed

    Scarpa, Mariagiovanna; Paudel, Amrit; Kloprogge, Frank; Hsiao, Wen Kai; Bresciani, Massimo; Gaisford, Simon; Orlu, Mine

    2018-04-01

    The features rendering orodispersible films (ODFs) patient-centric formulations are widely discussed in the scientific literature. However there is a lack of research studies exploring ODF characteristics with a potential impact on end-user acceptability. The aim of this study was to identify the key ODF characteristics affecting end-user acceptability by developing in vitro test methods for the prediction of ODFs acceptability and correlate these formulation characteristics with the data obtained from a human panel study. Four drug-free single-polymer films were prepared by solvent casting. Solutions of poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVOH) 39 KDa (P1), PVOH 197 KDa (P2), carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) 395 KDa (C1), and CMC 725 KDa (C2) were prepared. Texture analysis and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) were used to assess film tack. Petri dish and drop methods were used to assess disintegration time. A human panel of 24 healthy young adults was employed to identify end-user acceptability criteria of the four study film samples. Texture analysis data of ODF tack were not found to be in agreement with the in vivo perceived stickiness in the mouth. However, measurement of the area under the adhesive force curve obtained by DMA correlated with in vivo perceived stickiness data for all samples. The disintegration times obtained by drop method were more comparable to human panel data than the petri dish method. Hence DMA and drop methods proved to be promising methodologies for the prediction of the end-user acceptability. The type and molecular weight of the film-forming polymer had a strong influence on stickiness perception, whereas only polymeric molecular weight influenced perceived disintegration time. The human panel study showed that Participant Reported Outcomes (PROs) for the perceived stickiness in the mouth and disintegration time of test films received significantly different scores between samples, and thus were identified as the key attributes with the

  16. A systematic review finds limited data on measurement properties of instruments measuring outcomes in adult intensive care unit survivors.

    PubMed

    Robinson, Karen A; Davis, Wesley E; Dinglas, Victor D; Mendez-Tellez, Pedro A; Rabiee, Anahita; Sukrithan, Vineeth; Yalamanchilli, Ramakrishna; Turnbull, Alison E; Needham, Dale M

    2017-02-01

    There is a growing number of studies evaluating the physical, cognitive, mental health, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes of adults surviving critical illness. However, there is little consensus on the most appropriate instruments to measure these outcomes. To inform the development of such consensus, we conducted a systematic review of the performance characteristics of instruments measuring physical, cognitive, mental health, and HRQOL outcomes in adult intensive care unit (ICU) survivors. We searched PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and The Cochrane Library in March 2015. We also conducted manual searches of reference lists of eligible studies and relevant review articles. Two people independently selected studies, completed data abstraction, and assessed the quality of eligible studies using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) initiative checklist. We identified 20 studies which explicitly evaluated measurement properties for 21 different instruments assessing outcomes in ICU survivors. Eleven of the instruments assessed quality of life, with few instruments assessing other domains. Of the nine measurement properties evaluated on the COSMIN checklist, six were assessed in <10% of the evaluations. Overall quality of eligible studies was generally poor to fair based on the COSMIN checklist. Although an increasing number of studies measure physical, cognitive, mental health, and HRQOL outcomes in adult ICU survivors, data on the measurement properties of such instruments are sparse and generally of poor to fair quality. Empirical analyses evaluating the performance of instruments in adult ICU survivors are needed to advance research in this field. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Systematic review found AMSTAR, but not R(evised)-AMSTAR, to have good measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Pieper, Dawid; Buechter, Roland Brian; Li, Lun; Prediger, Barbara; Eikermann, Michaela

    2015-05-01

    To summarize all available evidence on measurement properties in terms of reliability, validity, and feasibility of the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool, including R(evised)-AMSTAR. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Psycinfo, and CINAHL were searched for studies containing information on measurement properties of the tools in October 2013. We extracted data on study characteristics and measurement properties. These data were analyzed following measurement criteria. We included 13 studies, four of them were labeled as validation studies. Nine articles dealt with AMSTAR, two articles dealt with R-AMSTAR, and one article dealt with both instruments. In terms of interrater reliability, most items showed a substantial agreement (>0.6). The median intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the overall score of AMSTAR was 0.83 (range 0.60-0.98), indicating a high agreement. In terms of validity, ICCs were very high with all but one ICC lower than 0.8 when the AMSTAR score was compared with scores from other tools. Scoring AMSTAR takes between 10 and 20 minutes. AMSTAR seems to be reliable and valid. Further investigations for systematic reviews of other study designs than randomized controlled trials are needed. R-AMSTAR should be further investigated as evidence for its use is limited and its measurement properties have not been studied sufficiently. In general, test-retest reliability should be investigated in future studies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Characterization of mechanical properties of battery electrode films from acoustic resonance measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dallon, Kathryn L.; Yao, Jing; Wheeler, Dean R.; Mazzeo, Brian A.

    2018-04-01

    Measurements of the mechanical properties of lithium-ion battery electrode films can be used to quantify and improve manufacturing processes and to predict the mechanical and electrochemical performance of the battery. This paper demonstrates the use of acoustic resonances to distinguish among commercial-grade battery films with different active electrode materials, thicknesses, and densities. Resonances are excited in a clamped circular area of the film using a pulsed infrared laser, and responses are measured using an electret condenser microphone. A numerical model is used to quantify the sensitivity of resonances to changes in mechanical properties. When the numerical model is compared to simple analytical models for thin plates and membranes, the battery films measured here trend more similarly to the membrane model. Resonance measurements are also used to monitor the drying process. Results from a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer verify the modes excited in the films, and a combination of experimental and simulated results is used to estimate the Young's modulus of the battery electrode coating layer.

  19. Reduced-Gravity Measurements of the Effect of Oxygen on Properties of Zirconium

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zhao, J.; Lee, J.; Wunderlich, R.; Fecht, H.-J.; Schneider, S.; SanSoucie, M.; Rogers, J.; Hyers, R.

    2016-01-01

    The influence of oxygen on the thermophysical properties of zirconium is being investigated using MSL-EML (Material Science Laboratory - Electromagnetic Levitator) on ISS (International Space Station) in collaboration with NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), and DLR (German Aerospace Center). Zirconium samples with different oxygen concentrations will be put into multiple melt cycles, during which the density, viscosity, surface tension, heat capacity, and electric conductivity will be measured at various undercooled temperatures. The facility check-up of MSL-EML and the first set of melting experiments have been successfully performed in 2015. The first zirconium sample will be tested near the end of 2015. As part of ground support activities, the thermophysical properties of zirconium and ZrO were measured using a ground-based electrostatic levitator located at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The influence of oxygen on the measured surface tension was evaluated. The results of this research will serve as reference data for those measured in ISS.

  20. In situ gas analysis for high pressure applications using property measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moeller, J.; Span, R.; Fieback, T.

    2013-10-01

    As the production, distribution, and storage of renewable energy based fuels usually are performed under high pressures and as there is a lack of in situ high pressure gas analysis instruments on the market, the aim of this work was to develop a method for in situ high pressure gas analysis of biogas and hydrogen containing gas mixtures. The analysis is based on in situ measurements of optical, thermo physical, and electromagnetic properties in gas mixtures with newly developed high pressure sensors. This article depicts the calculation of compositions from the measured properties, which is carried out iteratively by using highly accurate equations of state for gas mixtures. The validation of the method consisted of the generation and measurement of several mixtures, of which three are presented herein: a first mixture of 64.9 mol. % methane, 17.1 mol. % carbon dioxide, 9 mol. % helium, and 9 mol. % ethane at 323 K and 423 K in a pressure range from 2.5 MPa to 17 MPa; a second mixture of 93.0 mol. % methane, 4.0 mol. % propane, 2.0 mol. % carbon dioxide, and 1.0 mol. % nitrogen at 303 K, 313 K, and 323 K in a pressure range from 1.2 MPa to 3 MPa; and a third mixture of 64.9 mol. % methane, 30.1 mol. % carbon dioxide, and 5.0 mol. % nitrogen at 303 K, 313 K, and 323 K in a pressure range from 2.5 MPa to 4 MPa. The analysis of the tested gas mixtures showed that with measured density, velocity of sound, and relative permittivity the composition can be determined with deviations below 1.9 mol. %, in most cases even below 1 mol. %. Comparing the calculated compositions with the generated gas mixture, the deviations were in the range of the combined uncertainty of measurement and property models.

  1. Thermophysical Property Measurements of Molten Semiconductors in 1-g and Reduced-g Condition

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rhim, Won-Kyu

    1999-01-01

    Understanding and controlling the formation kinetics of varieties of crystal imperfections such as point defects, non uniform distribution of doping atoms, and impurity atoms in growing crystals are very important. Theoretical (numerical) modeling of the crystal growth process is an essential step to achieving these objectives. In order to obtain reliable modeling results, input parameters, i.e. various thermophysical parameters, must be accurate. The importance of accurate thermophysical properties of semiconductors in crystal growth cannot be overly emphasized. The total hemispherical emissivity, for instance, has a dramatic impact on the thermal environment. It determines the radiative emission from the surface of the melt which determines to a large extent the profile of the solidified crystal. In order to understand the convection and the turbulence in a melt, viscosity becomes an important parameter. The liquid surface tension determines the shape of the liquid-atmosphere interface near the solid-liquid-atmosphere triple point. Currently used values for these parameters are rather inaccurate, and this program intends to provide more reliable measurements of these thermophysical properties. Thus, the objective of this program is in the accurate measurements of various thermophysical properties which can be reliably used in the modeling of various crystal growth processes. In this program, thermophysical properties of molten semiconductors, such as Si, Ge, Si-Ge, and InSb will be measured as a function of temperature using the High Temperature Electrostatic Levitator at JPL. Each material will be doped by different kinds of impurities at various doping levels. Thermophysical properties which will be measured include: density, thermal expansion coefficient, surface tension, viscosity, specific heat, hemispherical total emissivity, and perhaps electrical and thermal conductivities. Many molten semiconductors are chemically reactive with crucibles. As a result

  2. Acceptability of a Mobile Phone App for Measuring Time Use in Breast Cancer Survivors (Life in a Day): Mixed-Methods Study.

    PubMed

    Ainsworth, Matthew Cole; Pekmezi, Dori; Bowles, Heather; Ehlers, Diane; McAuley, Edward; Courneya, Kerry S; Rogers, Laura Q

    2018-05-14

    Advancements in mobile technology allow innovative data collection techniques such as measuring time use (ie, how individuals structure their time) for the purpose of improving health behavior change interventions. The aim of this study was to examine the acceptability of a 5-day trial of the Life in a Day mobile phone app measuring time use in breast cancer survivors to advance technology-based measurement of time use. Acceptability data were collected from participants (N=40; 100% response rate) using a self-administered survey after 5 days of Life in a Day use. Overall, participants had a mean age of 55 years (SD 8) and completed 16 years of school (SD 2). Participants generally agreed that learning to use Life in a Day was easy (83%, 33/40) and would prefer to log activities using Life in a Day over paper-and-pencil diary (73%, 29/40). A slight majority felt that completing Life in a Day for 5 consecutive days was not too much (60%, 24/40) or overly time-consuming (68%, 27/40). Life in a Day was rated as easy to read (88%, 35/40) and navigate (70%, 32/40). Participants also agreed that it was easy to log activities using the activity timer at the start and end of an activity (90%, 35/39). Only 13% (5/40) downloaded the app on their personal phone, whereas 63% (19/30) of the remaining participants would have preferred to use their personal phone. Overall, 77% (30/39) of participants felt that the Life in a Day app was good or very good. Those who agreed that it was easy to edit activities were significantly more likely to be younger when compared with those who disagreed (mean 53 vs 58 years, P=.04). Similarly, those who agreed that it was easy to remember to log activities were more likely to be younger (mean 52 vs 60 years, P<.001). Qualitative coding of 2 open-ended survey items yielded 3 common themes for Life in a Day improvement (ie, convenience, user interface, and reminders). A mobile phone app is an acceptable time-use measurement modality. Improving

  3. Acceptability of a Mobile Phone App for Measuring Time Use in Breast Cancer Survivors (Life in a Day): Mixed-Methods Study

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    Background Advancements in mobile technology allow innovative data collection techniques such as measuring time use (ie, how individuals structure their time) for the purpose of improving health behavior change interventions. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the acceptability of a 5-day trial of the Life in a Day mobile phone app measuring time use in breast cancer survivors to advance technology-based measurement of time use. Methods Acceptability data were collected from participants (N=40; 100% response rate) using a self-administered survey after 5 days of Life in a Day use. Results Overall, participants had a mean age of 55 years (SD 8) and completed 16 years of school (SD 2). Participants generally agreed that learning to use Life in a Day was easy (83%, 33/40) and would prefer to log activities using Life in a Day over paper-and-pencil diary (73%, 29/40). A slight majority felt that completing Life in a Day for 5 consecutive days was not too much (60%, 24/40) or overly time-consuming (68%, 27/40). Life in a Day was rated as easy to read (88%, 35/40) and navigate (70%, 32/40). Participants also agreed that it was easy to log activities using the activity timer at the start and end of an activity (90%, 35/39). Only 13% (5/40) downloaded the app on their personal phone, whereas 63% (19/30) of the remaining participants would have preferred to use their personal phone. Overall, 77% (30/39) of participants felt that the Life in a Day app was good or very good. Those who agreed that it was easy to edit activities were significantly more likely to be younger when compared with those who disagreed (mean 53 vs 58 years, P=.04). Similarly, those who agreed that it was easy to remember to log activities were more likely to be younger (mean 52 vs 60 years, P<.001). Qualitative coding of 2 open-ended survey items yielded 3 common themes for Life in a Day improvement (ie, convenience, user interface, and reminders). Conclusions A mobile phone app is an

  4. An acceptable role for computers in the aircraft design process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gregory, T. J.; Roberts, L.

    1980-01-01

    Some of the reasons why the computerization trend is not wholly accepted are explored for two typical cases: computer use in the technical specialties and computer use in aircraft synthesis. The factors that limit acceptance are traced in part, to the large resources needed to understand the details of computer programs, the inability to include measured data as input to many of the theoretical programs, and the presentation of final results without supporting intermediate answers. Other factors are due solely to technical issues such as limited detail in aircraft synthesis and major simplifying assumptions in the technical specialties. These factors and others can be influenced by the technical specialist and aircraft designer. Some of these factors may become less significant as the computerization process evolves, but some issues, such as understanding large integrated systems, may remain issues in the future. Suggestions for improved acceptance include publishing computer programs so that they may be reviewed, edited, and read. Other mechanisms include extensive modularization of programs and ways to include measured information as part of the input to theoretical approaches.

  5. Entropy Measurement for Biometric Verification Systems.

    PubMed

    Lim, Meng-Hui; Yuen, Pong C

    2016-05-01

    Biometric verification systems are designed to accept multiple similar biometric measurements per user due to inherent intrauser variations in the biometric data. This is important to preserve reasonable acceptance rate of genuine queries and the overall feasibility of the recognition system. However, such acceptance of multiple similar measurements decreases the imposter's difficulty of obtaining a system-acceptable measurement, thus resulting in a degraded security level. This deteriorated security needs to be measurable to provide truthful security assurance to the users. Entropy is a standard measure of security. However, the entropy formula is applicable only when there is a single acceptable possibility. In this paper, we develop an entropy-measuring model for biometric systems that accepts multiple similar measurements per user. Based on the idea of guessing entropy, the proposed model quantifies biometric system security in terms of adversarial guessing effort for two practical attacks. Excellent agreement between analytic and experimental simulation-based measurement results on a synthetic and a benchmark face dataset justify the correctness of our model and thus the feasibility of the proposed entropy-measuring approach.

  6. Micro-measurements of mechanical properties for adhesives and composites using digital imaging technology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brinson, Hal F.

    1994-01-01

    The need for a constituent based durability or accelerated life prediction procedure to be used for the engineering design of polymer matrix composites is discussed in the light of current plans for the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) concerns about the U.S. infrastructure (bridges, pipelines, etc.) and other technological considerations of national concern. It is pointed out that good measurement procedures for insitu resin properties are needed for both adhesives and composites. A double cantilever beam (DCB) specimen which shows promise for the easy determination of adhesive shear properties is presented and compared with measurements of strains within the bondline using a new optical digital imaging micro-measurement system (DIMMS). The DCB specimen is also used to assess damage in a bonded joint using a dynamic mechanical thermal analysis system (DMTA). The possible utilization of the same DIMMS and DMTA procedures to determine the insitu properties of the resin in a composite specimen are discussed as well as the use of the procedures to evaluate long term mechanical and physical aging. Finally, a discussion on the state-of-the art of the measurement of strains in micron and sub-micron domains is given.

  7. Infrared radiometer for measuring thermophysical properties of wind tunnel models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Corwin, R. R.; Moorman, S. L.; Becker, E. C.

    1978-01-01

    An infrared radiometer is described which was developed to measure temperature rises of wind tunnel models undergoing transient heating over a temperature range of -17.8 C to 260 C. This radiometer interfaces directly with a system which measures the effective thermophysical property square root of rho ck. It has an output temperature fluctuation of 0.26 C at low temperatures and 0.07 C at high temperatures, and the output frequency response of the radiometer is from dc to 400 hertz.

  8. Applicable research in practice: understanding the hydrophilic and flow property measurements of impression materials.

    PubMed

    Perry, Ronald D; Goldberg, Jeffrey A; Benchimol, Jacques; Orfanidis, John

    2006-10-01

    The flow properties and hydrophilicity of an impression material are key factors that affect its performance. This article details in vitro studies comparing these properties in 1 polyether and several vinyl polysiloxane light-body impression materials. The first series of studies examined the materials' flow properties used in a "shark fin" measurement procedure to determine which exhibited superior flow characteristics. The second series of studies reviewed the hydrophilic properties of the materials. Video analysis was used to record contact angle measurements at the early- and late-stage working times. Results showed 1 polyether material to be more hydrophilic. Applying this knowledge to practice, the authors present a clinical case in which a polyether's superior flow and quality of detail were used to make impressions for a patient receiving 8 single-unit zirconia crowns.

  9. Acceptability of Dative Argument Structure in Spanish: Assessing Semantic and Usage-Based Factors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reali, Florencia

    2017-01-01

    Multiple constraints, including semantic, lexical, and usage-based factors, have been shown to influence dative alternation across different languages. This work explores whether fine-grained statistics and semantic properties of the verb affect the acceptability of dative constructions in Spanish. First, a corpus analysis reveals that verbs of…

  10. Measuring Institutions: Indicators of Political and Property Rights in Malawi

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fedderke, Johannes; Garlick, Julia

    2012-01-01

    This paper constructs a new set of institutional indicators for Malawi. We develop indicators of political rights, of freehold, traditional (communitarian) and intellectual property rights, based on the Malawian legislative framework. In exploring the association between our rights measures and a range of indicators of socio-economic development,…

  11. Acceptance of Tinnitus As an Independent Correlate of Tinnitus Severity.

    PubMed

    Hesser, Hugo; Bånkestad, Ellinor; Andersson, Gerhard

    2015-01-01

    Tinnitus is the experience of sounds without an identified external source, and for some the experience is associated with significant severity (i.e., perceived negative affect, activity limitation, and participation restriction due to tinnitus). Acceptance of tinnitus has recently been proposed to play an important role in explaining heterogeneity in tinnitus severity. The purpose of the present study was to extend previous investigations of acceptance in relation to tinnitus by examining the unique contribution of acceptance in accounting for tinnitus severity, beyond anxiety and depression symptoms. In a cross-sectional study, 362 participants with tinnitus attending an ENT clinic in Sweden completed a standard set of psychometrically examined measures of acceptance of tinnitus, tinnitus severity, and anxiety and depression symptoms. Participants also completed a background form on which they provided information about the experience of tinnitus (loudness, localization, sound characteristics), other auditory-related problems (hearing problems and sound sensitivity), and personal characteristics. Correlational analyses showed that acceptance was strongly and inversely related to tinnitus severity and anxiety and depression symptoms. Multivariate regression analysis, in which relevant patient characteristics were controlled, revealed that acceptance accounted for unique variance beyond anxiety and depression symptoms. Acceptance accounted for more of the variance than anxiety and depression symptoms combined. In addition, mediation analysis revealed that acceptance of tinnitus mediated the direct association between self-rated loudness and tinnitus severity, even after anxiety and depression symptoms were taken into account. Findings add to the growing body of work, supporting the unique and important role of acceptance in tinnitus severity. The utility of the concept is discussed in relation to the development of new psychological models and interventions for

  12. Infant acceptance of breast milk after maternal exercise.

    PubMed

    Wright, Kc S; Quinn, Timothy J; Carey, Gale B

    2002-04-01

    Previous research reported that breast milk lactic acid (LA) levels increase after lactating women complete a bout of exhaustive exercise, resulting in poor infant acceptance of the postexercise breast milk. This highly publicized finding may not apply to more practical, everyday exercise conditions of lactating women. The purpose of the present study was to reexamine the composition and infant acceptance of postexercise breast milk while controlling maternal diet, exercise intensity, and the method, timing, and assessment of infant feeding. Twenty-four women, 2 to 4 months' postpartum, completed 3 test sessions: a maximal oxygen uptake test, a 30-minute bout of moderate exercise, and a resting control session. One hour before and 1 hour after each session, participants fully expressed their milk, placed it in a bottle familiar to the infant, fed their infant, and rated their infant's acceptance of the milk. Each feeding was videotaped and viewed individually by 3 lactation consultants who rated infant acceptance; consultants were blinded to the test sessions. Milk was analyzed for LA and infant milk consumption was measured. There were no differences in presession versus postsession values for maternal skin temperature, breast milk temperature, and infant milk acceptance as judged by either the mothers or lactation consultants. These results prevailed despite a small but significant increase in breast milk LA premaximal versus postmaximal exercise (0.09 vs 0.21 mM, respectively); there was no difference in milk LA premoderate versus postmoderate exercise, or prerest versus postrest. These data support the hypothesis that moderate or even high-intensity exercise during lactation does not impede infant acceptance of breast milk consumed 1 hour postexercise.

  13. Performance of the improved larger acceptance spectrometer: VAMOS++

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rejmund, M.; Lecornu, B.; Navin, A.; Schmitt, C.; Damoy, S.; Delaune, O.; Enguerrand, J. M.; Fremont, G.; Gangnant, P.; Gaudefroy, L.; Jacquot, B.; Pancin, J.; Pullanhiotan, S.; Spitaels, C.

    2011-08-01

    Measurements and ion optic calculations showed that the large momentum acceptance of the VAMOS spectrometer at GANIL could be further increased from ˜11% to ˜30% by suitably enlarging the dimensions of the detectors used at the focal plane. Such a new detection system built for the focal plane of VAMOS is described. It consists of larger area detectors (1000 mm×150 mm) namely, a Multi-Wire Parallel Plate Avalanche Counter (MWPPAC), two drift chambers, a segmented ionization chamber and an array of Si detectors. Compared to the earlier existing system (VAMOS), we show that the new system (VAMOS++) has a dispersion-independent momentum acceptance. Additionally, a start detector (MWPPAC) has been introduced near the target to further improve the mass resolution to ˜1/220. The performance of the VAMOS++ spectrometer is demonstrated using measurements of residues formed in the collisions of 129Xe at 967 MeV on 197Au.

  14. Thermal properties measurements in biodiesel oils using photothermal techniques

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Castro, M. P. P.; Andrade, A. A.; Franco, R. W. A.; Miranda, P. C. M. L.; Sthel, M.; Vargas, H.; Constantino, R.; Baesso, M. L.

    2005-08-01

    In this Letter, thermal lens and open cell photoacoustic techniques are used to measure the thermal properties of biodiesel oils. The absolute values of the thermal effusivity, thermal diffusivity, thermal conductivity and the temperature coefficient of the refractive index were determined for samples obtained from soy, castor bean, sunflower and turnip. The results suggest that the employed techniques may be useful as complementary methods for biodiesel certification.

  15. Acceptability of Service Targets for ICT-Based Healthcare

    PubMed Central

    Jeon, Eun Min

    2016-01-01

    Objectives In order to adopt and activate telemedicine it is necessary to survey how medical staff, who are providers of medical service, and consumers, who are the service targets, perceive information and communication technology (ICT)-based healthcare service. Methods This study surveyed the awareness and acceptability of ICT-based healthcare by involving service targets, specifically workers and students living in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions who are consumers of healthcare service. To determine the correlation among awareness of ICT-based healthcare, the need for self-management, and acceptability, this study conducted a correlation analysis and a simple regression analysis. Results According to the responses to the questions on the need for ICT-based healthcare service by item, blood pressure (n = 279, 94.3%) and glucose (n = 277, 93.6%) were revealed to be the physiological signal monitoring area. Among the six measurement factors affecting ICT-based healthcare service acceptability, age, health concerns, and effect expectation had the most significant effects. As effect expectation increased, acceptability became 4.38 times higher (p < 0.05). Conclusions This study identified a positive awareness of service targets on ICT-based healthcare service. The fact that acceptability is higher among people who have family disease history or greater health concerns may lead to service targets’ more active participation. This study also confirmed that a policy to motivate active participation of those in their 40s (who had high prevalence rates) was needed. PMID:27895966

  16. Acceptability of Service Targets for ICT-Based Healthcare.

    PubMed

    Jeon, Eun Min; Seo, Hwa Jeong

    2016-10-01

    In order to adopt and activate telemedicine it is necessary to survey how medical staff, who are providers of medical service, and consumers, who are the service targets, perceive information and communication technology (ICT)-based healthcare service. This study surveyed the awareness and acceptability of ICT-based healthcare by involving service targets, specifically workers and students living in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions who are consumers of healthcare service. To determine the correlation among awareness of ICT-based healthcare, the need for self-management, and acceptability, this study conducted a correlation analysis and a simple regression analysis. According to the responses to the questions on the need for ICT-based healthcare service by item, blood pressure (n = 279, 94.3%) and glucose (n = 277, 93.6%) were revealed to be the physiological signal monitoring area. Among the six measurement factors affecting ICT-based healthcare service acceptability, age, health concerns, and effect expectation had the most significant effects. As effect expectation increased, acceptability became 4.38 times higher ( p < 0.05). This study identified a positive awareness of service targets on ICT-based healthcare service. The fact that acceptability is higher among people who have family disease history or greater health concerns may lead to service targets' more active participation. This study also confirmed that a policy to motivate active participation of those in their 40s (who had high prevalence rates) was needed.

  17. Dynamic properties of human incudostapedial joint-Experimental measurement and finite element modeling.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Shangyuan; Gan, Rong Z

    2018-04-01

    The incudostapedial joint (ISJ) is a synovial joint connecting the incus and stapes in the middle ear. Mechanical properties of the ISJ directly affect sound transmission from the tympanic membrane to the cochlea. However, how ISJ properties change with frequency has not been investigated. In this paper, we report the dynamic properties of the human ISJ measured in eight samples using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) for frequencies from 1 to 80 Hz at three temperatures of 5, 25 and 37 °C. The frequency-temperature superposition (FTS) principle was used to extrapolate the results to 8 kHz. The complex modulus of ISJ was measured with a mean storage modulus of 1.14 MPa at 1 Hz that increased to 3.01 MPa at 8 kHz, and a loss modulus that increased from 0.07 to 0.47 MPa. A 3-dimensional finite element (FE) model consisting of the articular cartilage, joint capsule and synovial fluid was then constructed to derive mechanical properties of ISJ components by matching the model results to experimental data. Modeling results showed that mechanical properties of the joint capsule and synovial fluid affected the dynamic behavior of the joint. This study contributes to a better understanding of the structure-function relationship of the ISJ for sound transmission. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. User Acceptance of Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression: Systematic Review

    PubMed Central

    Rost, Theresia; Stein, Janine; Löbner, Margrit; Kersting, Anette; Luck-Sikorski, Claudia

    2017-01-01

    Background Computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (cCBT) has been proven to be effective in depression care. Moreover, cCBT packages are becoming increasingly popular. A central aspect concerning the take-up and success of any treatment is its user acceptance. Objective The aim of this study was to update and expand on earlier work on user acceptance of cCBT for depression. Methods This paper systematically reviewed quantitative and qualitative studies regarding the user acceptance of cCBT for depression. The initial search was conducted in January 2016 and involved the following databases: Web of Science, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO. Studies were retained if they described the explicit examination of the user acceptance, experiences, or satisfaction related to a cCBT intervention, if they reported depression as a primary outcome, and if they were published in German or English from July 2007 onward. Results A total of 1736 studies were identified, of which 29 studies were eligible for review. User acceptance was operationalized and analyzed very heterogeneously. Eight studies reported a very high level of acceptance, 17 indicated a high level of acceptance, and one study showed a moderate level of acceptance. Two qualitative studies considered the positive and negative aspects concerning the user acceptance of cCBT. However, a substantial proportion of reviewed studies revealed several methodical shortcomings. Conclusions In general, people experience cCBT for depression as predominantly positive, which supports the potential role of these innovative treatments. However, methodological challenges do exist in terms of defining user acceptance, clear operationalization of concepts, and measurement. PMID:28903893

  19. 50 CFR 85.42 - Real and personal property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Real and personal property. 85.42 Section... Conditions on Use/Acceptance of Funds § 85.42 Real and personal property. (a) Applicable regulations regarding acquisition, property records, maintenance, and disposal of real property and equipment are found...

  20. 50 CFR 85.42 - Real and personal property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Real and personal property. 85.42 Section... Conditions on Use/Acceptance of Funds § 85.42 Real and personal property. (a) Applicable regulations regarding acquisition, property records, maintenance, and disposal of real property and equipment are found...

  1. 50 CFR 85.42 - Real and personal property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Real and personal property. 85.42 Section... Conditions on Use/Acceptance of Funds § 85.42 Real and personal property. (a) Applicable regulations regarding acquisition, property records, maintenance, and disposal of real property and equipment are found...

  2. 50 CFR 85.42 - Real and personal property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Real and personal property. 85.42 Section... Conditions on Use/Acceptance of Funds § 85.42 Real and personal property. (a) Applicable regulations regarding acquisition, property records, maintenance, and disposal of real property and equipment are found...

  3. 50 CFR 85.42 - Real and personal property.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 8 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Real and personal property. 85.42 Section... Conditions on Use/Acceptance of Funds § 85.42 Real and personal property. (a) Applicable regulations regarding acquisition, property records, maintenance, and disposal of real property and equipment are found...

  4. Influence of Halide Solutions on Collagen Networks: Measurements of Physical Properties by Atomic Force Microscopy

    PubMed Central

    Kempe, André; Lackner, Maximilian

    2016-01-01

    The influence of aqueous halide solutions on collagen coatings was tested. The effects on resistance against indentation/penetration on adhesion forces were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the change of Young's modulus of the coating was derived. Comparative measurements over time were conducted with halide solutions of various concentrations. Physical properties of the mesh-like coating generally showed large variability. Starting with a compact set of physical properties, data disperse after minutes. A trend of increase in elasticity and permeability was found for all halide solutions. These changes were largest in NaI, displaying a logical trend with ion size. However a correlation with concentration was not measured. Adhesion properties were found to be independent of mechanical properties. The paper also presents practical experience for AFM measurements of soft tissue under liquids, particularly related to data evaluation. The weakening in physical strength found after exposure to halide solutions may be interpreted as widening of the network structure or change in the chemical properties in part of the collagen fibres (swelling). In order to design customized surface coatings at optimized conditions also for medical applications, halide solutions might be used as agents with little impact on the safety of patients. PMID:27721994

  5. Impact of pre-drying and frying time on physical properties and sensorial acceptability of fried potato chips.

    PubMed

    Cruz, Giorman; Cruz-Tirado, J P; Delgado, Kevin; Guzman, Yorvin; Castro, Franco; Rojas, Meliza Lindsay; Linares, Guillermo

    2018-01-01

    In this work the effects of pre-drying and frying time on colour, oil, texture and sensorial acceptability (overall liking) of potato chips were evaluated. Potato chips were pre-dried for 0, 10, 20 and 30 min at 60 °C and fried in soybean oil at 190 °C for 60, 70 and 80 s. The colour parameters (L*, a* and b*) increased or decreased depending on the pre-drying and frying time. Hardness increased as the pre-drying and frying time increased. On the other hand, the water initially removed by pre-drying decrease the gradient of mass transfer (water-oil). The oil content reduced to (about 21%) in pre-dried samples when compared to control sample. Finally, sensorial evaluation showed that samples without pre-drying and/or fried for very short or very long times had low acceptance levels. The pre-drying and frying times influenced the colour, texture, water and oil content, and resulted into fried potato chips with better acceptance scores.

  6. Measurements of Lunar Dust Charging Properties by Electron Impact

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abbas, Mian M.; Tankosic, Dragana; Craven, Paul D.; Schneider, Todd A.; Vaughn, Jason A.; LeClair, Andre; Spann, James F.; Norwood, Joseph K.

    2009-01-01

    Dust grains in the lunar environment are believed to be electrostatically charged predominantly by photoelectric emissions resulting from solar UV radiation on the dayside, and on the nightside by interaction with electrons in the solar wind plasma. In the high vacuum environment on the lunar surface with virtually no atmosphere, the positive and negative charge states of micron/submicron dust grains lead to some unusual physical and dynamical dust phenomena. Knowledge of the electrostatic charging properties of dust grains in the lunar environment is required for addressing their hazardous effect on the humans and mechanical systems. It is well recognized that the charging properties of individual small micron size dust grains are substantially different from the measurements on bulk materials. In this paper we present the results of measurements on charging of individual Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 dust grains by exposing them to mono-energetic electron beams in the 10-100 eV energy range. The charging/discharging rates of positively and negatively charged particles of approx. 0.1 to 5 micron radii are discussed in terms of the sticking efficiencies and secondary electron yields. The secondary electron emission process is found to be a complex and effective charging/discharging mechanism for incident electron energies as low as 10-25 eV, with a strong dependence on particle size. Implications of the laboratory measurements on the nature of dust grain charging in the lunar environment are discussed.

  7. Acceptability of Family Violence: Underlying Ties Between Intimate Partner Violence and Child Abuse.

    PubMed

    Gracia, Enrique; Rodriguez, Christina M; Martín-Fernández, Manuel; Lila, Marisol

    2017-05-01

    Intimate partner violence (IPV) and child abuse (CA) are two forms of family violence with shared qualities and risk factors, and are forms of violence that tend to overlap. Acceptability of violence in partner relationships is a known risk factor in IPV just as acceptability of parent-child aggression is a risk factor in CA. We hypothesized that these acceptability attitudes may be linked and represent the expression of a general, underlying nonspecific acceptance of violence in close family relationships. The sample involved 164 male IPV offenders participating in a batterer intervention program. Implicit measures, which assess constructs covertly to minimize response distortions, were administered to assess acceptability of partner violence against women and acceptability of parent-child aggression. To determine whether acceptability attitudes regarding both forms of violence were related to a higher order construct tapping general acceptance of family violence, Bayesian confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. Findings supported a hierarchical (bifactor) model with a general factor expressing a nonspecific acceptance of family violence, and two specific factors reflecting acceptability of violence in intimate partner and parent-child relationships, respectively. This hierarchical model supporting a general acceptance of violence in close family relationships can inform future research aiming to better understand the connections between IPV and CA.

  8. LIMS user acceptance testing.

    PubMed

    Klein, Corbett S

    2003-01-01

    Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) play a key role in the pharmaceutical industry. Thorough and accurate validation of such systems is critical and is a regulatory requirement. LIMS user acceptance testing is one aspect of this testing and enables the user to make a decision to accept or reject implementation of the system. This paper discusses key elements in facilitating the development and execution of a LIMS User Acceptance Test Plan (UATP).

  9. Recent advances in small-scale mechanical property measurement by nanoindentation

    DOE PAGES

    Pharr, George Mathews

    2015-08-25

    Since its initial development in the early 1980’s [1], nanoindentation has matured into one of the premier testing techniques for measuring mechanical properties at the micrometer and sub-micrometer scales and has emerged as a critical tool that has helped to shape the nanotechnology revolution. At the heart of the technique are testing systems with simple but precise force actuators and displacement measuring devices that record the force–displacement record as a diamond indenter, usually the form of a pyramid or a sphere, is pressed into and withdrawn from a small region in the surface of a material of interest. The nano-scalemore » force–displacement data, which can be obtained with a spatial resolution as small as a few nanometers, contains a wealth of information about the local mechanical properties [2], [3] and [4]. This enables the mechanical characterization of very thin films, like those used in the semiconductor, magnetic storage, and hard coatings industries, as well as very small precipitates, particles and second phases, many of which may not exist in bulk form and cannot be characterized by traditional mechanical testing methods. Here, computer automation of nanoindentation testing systems now routinely provides for complete two-dimensional mapping of properties over regions stretching from sub-micron to millimeters in scale.« less

  10. Brief Exposures to the Taste of Ethanol (EtOH) and Quinine Promote Subsequent Acceptance of EtOH in a Paradigm that Minimizes Postingestive Consequences.

    PubMed

    Loney, Gregory C; Meyer, Paul J

    2018-03-01

    Aversion to the orosensory properties of concentrated ethanol (EtOH) solutions is often cited as a primary barrier to initiation of drinking and may contribute to abstention. These aversive properties include gustatory processes which encompass both bitter-like taste qualities and trigeminal-mediated irritation. Chronic intermittent EtOH access (CIA) results in substantial and persistent increases in EtOH consumption, but the degree to which this facilitation involves sensory responding to EtOH and other bitter stimuli is currently undetermined. Long-Evans rats were given brief-access licking tests designed to examine the immediate, taste-guided assessment of the palatability of EtOH and quinine solutions. Rats were assessed once in a naïve state and again following previous brief-access exposure, or following 4 weeks of CIA. The relationship between the sensitivity to the aversive orosensory properties of EtOH and quinine following EtOH access and the impact of antecedent quinine exposure on the acceptance of EtOH were determined in 2 parallel studies. Both brief access to EtOH and 4-week CIA resulted in substantial rightward shifts in the concentration-response function of brief-access EtOH licking, indicating that EtOH exposure increased acceptance of the taste of EtOH. The initial sensitivity to the aversive orosensory properties of EtOH and quinine was positively correlated in naïve rats, such that rats that were initially more accepting of quinine were also more accepting of EtOH. Rats that sampled quinine immediately prior to tasting EtOH exhibited successive positive contrast in that they were more accepting of highly concentrated EtOH, relative to a water-control group. Increased EtOH acceptance following exposure is, at least in part, facilitated by a decrease in its aversive sensory properties. Both long- and short-term access increase the palatability of the taste of EtOH in brief-access licking tests. Moreover, the sensitivity to the bitterness of

  11. Assessing abuse risk beyond self-report: analog task of acceptability of parent-child aggression.

    PubMed

    Rodriguez, Christina M; Russa, Mary Bower; Harmon, Nancy

    2011-03-01

    The present investigation reports on the development and initial validation of a new analog task, the Parent-Child Aggression Acceptability Movie Task (P-CAAM), intended to assess respondents' acceptance of parent-child aggression, including both physical discipline and physical abuse. Two independent samples were utilized to develop and evaluate the P-CAAM: an undergraduate sample to initially pilot the task and a separate sample of normative parents for additional assessment of validity. Scores from the P-CAAM were compared to related measures, including measures of self-reported disciplinary attitudes, child abuse potential, harsh parenting style, and use and escalation of physical discipline practices on another analog parenting task. Across the studies, the P-CAAM demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and construct validity, evidencing mild to moderate associations with both self-report and analog measures. Participants demonstrating increased acceptance of physical discipline and physical abuse on the P-CAAM analog task also reported greater approval of physical discipline, greater use of and escalation of physical discipline, harsher parenting styles, and higher child abuse potential on two separate measures. The P-CAAM analog appears to offer a promising alternative and/or supplement to conventional self-report measures, assessing attitudes regarding the acceptability of parent-child aggression in a way that is less likely to be influenced by social desirability. Suggestions for future evaluations with alternative samples, as well as possible implications of the data for disciplinary reactions are discussed. The development of alternatives to self-report measurement may lead to clarification of theoretical models of abuse in ways that lead to improvements in intervention programming; analogs may also provide a useful means to assess intervention programming outcomes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Inflammatory bowel disease-specific health-related quality of life instruments: a systematic review of measurement properties.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xin-Lin; Zhong, Liang-Huan; Wen, Yi; Liu, Tian-Wen; Li, Xiao-Ying; Hou, Zheng-Kun; Hu, Yue; Mo, Chuan-Wei; Liu, Feng-Bin

    2017-09-15

    This review aims to critically appraise and compare the measurement properties of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-specific health-related quality of life instruments. Medline, EMBASE and ISI Web of Knowledge were searched from their inception to May 2016. IBD-specific instruments for patients with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis or IBD were enrolled. The basic characteristics and domains of the instruments were collected. The methodological quality of measurement properties and measurement properties of the instruments were assessed. Fifteen IBD-specific instruments were included, which included twelve instruments for adult IBD patients and three for paediatric IBD patients. All of the instruments were developed in North American and European countries. The following common domains were identified: IBD-related symptoms, physical, emotional and social domain. The methodological quality was satisfactory for content validity; fair in internal consistency, reliability, structural validity, hypotheses testing and criterion validity; and poor in measurement error, cross-cultural validity and responsiveness. For adult IBD patients, the IBDQ-32 and its short version (SIBDQ) had good measurement properties and were the most widely used worldwide. For paediatric IBD patients, the IMPACT-III had good measurement properties and had more translated versions. Most methodological quality should be promoted, especially measurement error, cross-cultural validity and responsiveness. The IBDQ-32 was the most widely used instrument with good reliability and validity, followed by the SIBDQ and IMPACT-III. Further validation studies are necessary to support the use of other instruments.

  13. Magnetic properties measurement of soft magnetic composite material (SOMALOY 700) by using 3-D tester

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Asari, Ashraf; Guo, Youguang; Zhu, Jianguo

    2017-08-01

    Core losses of rotating electrical machine can be predicted by identifying the magnetic properties of the magnetic material. The magnetic properties should be properly measured since there are some variations of vector flux density in the rotating machine. In this paper, the SOMALOY 700 material has been measured under x, y and z- axes flux density penetration by using the 3-D tester. The calibrated sensing coils are used in detecting the flux densities which have been generated by the Labview software. The measured sensing voltages are used in obtaining the magnetic properties of the sample such as magnetic flux density B, magnetic field strength H, hysteresis loop which can be used to calculate the total core loss of the sample. The results of the measurement are analyzed by using the Mathcad software before being compared to another material.

  14. Simultaneous Measurement of Multiple Mechanical Properties of Single Cells Using AFM by Indentation and Vibration.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Chuang; Shi, Jialin; Wang, Wenxue; Xi, Ning; Wang, Yuechao; Liu, Lianqing

    2017-12-01

    The mechanical properties of cells, which are the main characteristics determining their physical performance and physiological functions, have been actively studied in the fields of cytobiology and biomedical engineering and for the development of medicines. In this study, an indentation-vibration-based method is proposed to simultaneously measure the mechanical properties of cells in situ, including cellular mass (m), elasticity (k), and viscosity (c). The proposed measurement method is implemented based on the principle of forced vibration stimulated by simple harmonic force using an atomic force microscope (AFM) system integrated with a piezoelectric transducer as the substrate vibrator. The corresponding theoretical model containing the three mechanical properties is derived and used to perform simulations and calculations. Living and fixed human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK 293) cells were subjected to indentation and vibration to measure and compare their mechanical parameters and verify the proposed approach. The results that the fixed sample cells are more viscous and elastic than the living sample cells and the measured mechanical properties of cell are consistent within, but not outside of the central region of the cell, are in accordance with the previous studies. This work provides an approach to simultaneous measurement of the multiple mechanical properties of single cells using an integrated AFM system based on the principle force vibration and thickness-corrected Hertz model. This study should contribute to progress in biomedical engineering, cytobiology, medicine, early diagnosis, specific therapy and cell-powered robots.

  15. Assessment of the measurement properties of the post stroke motor function instruments available in Brazil: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Lima, Elaine; Teixeira-Salmela, Luci F; Simões, Luan; Guerra, Ana C C; Lemos, Andrea

    2016-03-15

    While there are several instruments in Brazil that measure motor function in patients after stroke, it is unknown whether the measurement properties of these instruments are appropriate. To identify the motor function instruments available in Brazil for patients after stroke. To assess the methodological quality of the studies and the results related to the measurement properties of these instruments. Two independent reviewers conducted searches on PubMed, LILACS, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus. Studies that aimed to cross-culturally adapt an existing instrument or create a Brazilian instrument and test at least one measurement property related to motor function in patients after stroke were included. The methodological quality of these studies was checked by the COSMIN checklist with 4-point rating scale and the results of the measurement properties were analyzed by the criteria developed by Terwee et al. A total of 11 instruments were considered eligible, none of which were created in Brazil. The process of cross-cultural adaptation was inadequate in 10 out of 11 instruments due to the lack of back-translation or due to inappropriate target population. All of the instruments presented flaws in the measurement properties, especially reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity. The flaws observed in both cross-cultural adaptation process and testing measurement properties make the results inconclusive on the validity of the available instruments. Adequate procedures of cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties of these instruments are strongly needed.

  16. Assessment of the measurement properties of the post stroke motor function instruments available in Brazil: a systematic review

    PubMed Central

    Lima, Elaine; Teixeira-Salmela, Luci F.; Simões, Luan; Guerra, Ana C. C.; Lemos, Andrea

    2016-01-01

    Background While there are several instruments in Brazil that measure motor function in patients after stroke, it is unknown whether the measurement properties of these instruments are appropriate. Objective To identify the motor function instruments available in Brazil for patients after stroke. To assess the methodological quality of the studies and the results related to the measurement properties of these instruments. Method Two independent reviewers conducted searches on PubMed, LILACS, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus. Studies that aimed to cross-culturally adapt an existing instrument or create a Brazilian instrument and test at least one measurement property related to motor function in patients after stroke were included. The methodological quality of these studies was checked by the COSMIN checklist with 4-point rating scale and the results of the measurement properties were analyzed by the criteria developed by Terwee et al. Results A total of 11 instruments were considered eligible, none of which were created in Brazil. The process of cross-cultural adaptation was inadequate in 10 out of 11 instruments due to the lack of back-translation or due to inappropriate target population. All of the instruments presented flaws in the measurement properties, especially reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity. Conclusion The flaws observed in both cross-cultural adaptation process and testing measurement properties make the results inconclusive on the validity of the available instruments. Adequate procedures of cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties of these instruments are strongly needed. PMID:26982452

  17. Measurements of the frame acoustic properties of porous and granular materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Junhong

    2005-12-01

    For porous and granular materials, the dynamic characteristics of the solid component (frame) are important design factors that significantly affect the material's acoustic properties. The primary goal of this study was to present an experimental method for measuring the vibration characteristics of this frame. The experimental setup was designed to induce controlled vibration of the solid component while minimizing the influence from coupling between vibrations of the fluid and the solid component. The Biot theory was used to verify this assumption, taking the two dilatational wave propagations and interactions into account. The experimental method was applied to measure the dynamic properties of glass spheres, lightweight microspheres, acoustic foams, and fiberglass. A continuous variation of the frame vibration characteristics with frequency similar to that of typical viscoelastic materials was measured. The vibration amplitude had minimal effects on the dynamic characteristics of the porous material compared to those of the granular material. For the granular material, materials comprised of larger particles and those under larger vibration amplitudes exhibited lower frame wave speeds and larger decay rates.

  18. Quality of life and acceptability of medical versus surgical management of early pregnancy failure*

    PubMed Central

    Harwood, B; Nansel, T

    2008-01-01

    Objective This study compares quality of life (QOL) and acceptability of medical versus surgical treatment of early pregnancy failure (EPF). Design A randomised clinical trial of treatment for EPF compared misoprostol vaginally versus vacuum aspiration (VA). Setting A multisite trial at four US Urban University Hospitals. Population A total of 652 women with an EPF were randomised to treatment. Methods Participants completed a daily symptom diary and a questionnaire 2 weeks after treatment. Main outcome measures The questionnaire assessment included subscales of the Short Form-36 Health Survey Revised for QOL and measures of wellbeing, recovery difficulties, and treatment acceptability. Results The two groups did not differ in mean scores for QOL except bodily pain; medical treatment was associated with higher levels of bodily pain than VA (P < 0.001). Success of treatment was not related to QOL, but acceptability of the procedure was decreased for medical therapy if unsuccessful (P = 0.003). Type of treatment was not associated with differences in recovery, and the two groups reported similar acceptability except for cramping (P = 0.02), bleeding (P < 0.001), and symptom duration (P = 0.03). Conclusions Despite reporting greater pain and lower acceptability of treatment-related symptoms, QOL and treatment acceptability were similar for medical and surgical treatment of EPF. Acceptability, but not QOL, was influenced by success or failure of medical management. PMID:18271887

  19. Microwave reflection measurements of the dielectric properties of concrete : final report.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1983-01-01

    The use of microwave reflection measurements to continuously and nondestructively monitor the hydration of concrete is described. The method relies upon the influence of the free-water content on the dielectric properties of the concrete. Use of the ...

  20. Several submaximal exercise tests are reliable, valid and acceptable in people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Ratter, Julia; Radlinger, Lorenz; Lucas, Cees

    2014-09-01

    Are submaximal and maximal exercise tests reliable, valid and acceptable in people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia and fatigue disorders? Systematic review of studies of the psychometric properties of exercise tests. People older than 18 years with chronic pain, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue disorders. Studies of the measurement properties of tests of physical capacity in people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue disorders were included. Studies were required to report: reliability coefficients (intraclass correlation coefficient, alpha reliability coefficient, limits of agreements and Bland-Altman plots); validity coefficients (intraclass correlation coefficient, Spearman's correlation, Kendal T coefficient, Pearson's correlation); or dropout rates. Fourteen studies were eligible: none had low risk of bias, 10 had unclear risk of bias and four had high risk of bias. The included studies evaluated: Åstrand test; modified Åstrand test; Lean body mass-based Åstrand test; submaximal bicycle ergometer test following another protocol other than Åstrand test; 2-km walk test; 5-minute, 6-minute and 10-minute walk tests; shuttle walk test; and modified symptom-limited Bruce treadmill test. None of the studies assessed maximal exercise tests. Where they had been tested, reliability and validity were generally high. Dropout rates were generally acceptable. The 2-km walk test was not recommended in fibromyalgia. Moderate evidence was found for reliability, validity and acceptability of submaximal exercise tests in patients with chronic pain, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue. There is no evidence about maximal exercise tests in patients with chronic pain, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.