Antifungal Susceptibility Testing in HIV/AIDS Patients: a Comparison Between Automated Machine and Manual Method.

PubMed

Nelwan, Erni J; Indrasanti, Evi; Sinto, Robert; Nurchaida, Farida; Sosrosumihardjo, Rustadi

2016-01-01

to evaluate the performance of Vitek2 compact machine (Biomerieux Inc. ver 04.02, France) in reference to manual methods for susceptibility test for Candida resistance among HIV/AIDS patients. a comparison study to evaluate Vitek2 compact machine (Biomerieux Inc. ver 04.02, France) in reference to manual methods for susceptibility test for Candida resistance among HIV/AIDS patient was done. Categorical agreement between manual disc diffusion and Vitek2 machine was calculated using predefined criteria. Time to susceptibility result for automated and manual methods were measured. there were 137 Candida isolates comprising eight Candida species with C.albicans and C. glabrata as the first (56.2%) and second (15.3%) most common species, respectively. For fluconazole drug, among the C. albicans, 2.6% was found resistant on manual disc diffusion methods and no resistant was determined by Vitek2 machine; whereas 100% C. krusei was identified as resistant on both methods. Resistant patterns for C. glabrata to fluconazole, voriconazole and amphotericin B were 52.4%, 23.8%, 23.8% vs. 9.5%, 9.5%, 4.8% respectively between manual diffusion disc methods and Vitek2 machine. Time to susceptibility result for automated methods compared to Vitex2 machine was shorter for all Candida species. there is a good categorical agreement between manual disc diffusion and Vitek2 machine, except for C. glabrata for measuring the antifungal resistant. Time to susceptibility result for automated methods is shorter for all Candida species.

User's Manual for FEM-BEM Method. 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Theresa; Deshpande, M. D. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A user's manual for using FORTRAN code to perform electromagnetic analysis of arbitrarily shaped material cylinders using a hybrid method that combines the finite element method (FEM) and the boundary element method (BEM). In this method, the material cylinder is enclosed by a fictitious boundary and the Maxwell's equations are solved by FEM inside the boundary and by BEM outside the boundary. The electromagnetic scattering on several arbitrarily shaped material cylinders using this FORTRAN code is computed to as examples.

Asphalt Raking. Instructor Manual. Trainee Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laborers-AGC Education and Training Fund, Pomfret Center, CT.

This packet consists of the instructor and trainee manuals for an asphalt raking course. The instructor manual contains a course schedule for 4 days of instruction, content outline, and instructor outline. The trainee manual is divided into five sections: safety, asphalt basics, placing methods, repair and patching, and clean-up and maintenance.…

ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2010 Performance Rating Method Reference Manual

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

Goel, Supriya; Rosenberg, Michael I.

This document is intended to be a reference manual for the Appendix G Performance Rating Method (PRM) of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1- 2010 (Standard 90.1-2010).The PRM is used for rating the energy efficiency of commercial and high-rise residential buildings with designs that exceed the requirements of Standard 90.1. The procedures and processes described in this manual are designed to provide consistency and accuracy by filling in gaps and providing additional details needed by users of the PRM. It should be noted that this document is created independently from ASHRAE and SSPC 90.1 and is not sanctioned nor approved by either ofmore » those entities . Potential users of this manual include energy modelers, software developers and implementers of “beyond code” energy programs. Energy modelers using ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010 for beyond code programs can use this document as a reference manual for interpreting requirements of the Performance Rating method. Software developers, developing tools for automated creation of the baseline model can use this reference manual as a guideline for developing the rules for the baseline model.« less

Ground Snow Measurements: Comparisons of the Hotplate, Weighing and Manual Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wettlaufer, A.; Snider, J.; Campbell, L. S.; Steenburgh, W. J.; Burkhart, M.

2015-12-01

The Yankee Environmental Systems (YES) Hotplate was developed to avoid some of the problems associated with weighing snowfall sensors. This work compares Hotplate, weighing sensor (ETI NOAH-II) and manual measurements of liquid-equivalent depth. The main field site was at low altitude in western New York; Hotplate and ETI comparisons were also made at two forested subalpine sites in southeastern Wyoming. The manual measurement (only conducted at the New York site) was derived by weighing snow cores sampled from a snow board. The two recording gauges (Hotplate and ETI) were located within 5 m of the snow board. Hotplate-derived accumulations were corrected using a wind-speed dependent catch efficiency and the ETI orifice was heated and alter shielded. Three important findings are evident from the comparisons: 1) The Yes-derived accumulations, recorded in a user-accessible file, were compared to accumulations derived using an in-house calibration and fundamental measurements (plate power, long and shortwave radiances, wind speed, and temperature). These accumulations are highly correlated (N=24; r2=0.99), but the YES-derived values are larger by 20%. 2) The in-house Hotplate accumulations are in good agreement with ETI-based accumulations but with larger variability (N=24; r2=0.88). 3) The comparison of in-house Hotplate accumulation versus manual accumulation, expressed as mm of liquid, exhibits a fitted linear relationship Y (in-house) versus X (manual) given by Y = -0.2 (±1.4) + 0.9 (±0.1) · X (N= 20; r2=0.89). Thus, these two methods agree within statistical uncertainty.

Spatially varying accuracy and reproducibility of prostate segmentation in magnetic resonance images using manual and semiautomated methods.

PubMed

Shahedi, Maysam; Cool, Derek W; Romagnoli, Cesare; Bauman, Glenn S; Bastian-Jordan, Matthew; Gibson, Eli; Rodrigues, George; Ahmad, Belal; Lock, Michael; Fenster, Aaron; Ward, Aaron D

2014-11-01

Three-dimensional (3D) prostate image segmentation is useful for cancer diagnosis and therapy guidance, but can be time-consuming to perform manually and involves varying levels of difficulty and interoperator variability within the prostatic base, midgland (MG), and apex. In this study, the authors measured accuracy and interobserver variability in the segmentation of the prostate on T2-weighted endorectal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging within the whole gland (WG), and separately within the apex, midgland, and base regions. The authors collected MR images from 42 prostate cancer patients. Prostate border delineation was performed manually by one observer on all images and by two other observers on a subset of ten images. The authors used complementary boundary-, region-, and volume-based metrics [mean absolute distance (MAD), Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), recall rate, precision rate, and volume difference (ΔV)] to elucidate the different types of segmentation errors that they observed. Evaluation for expert manual and semiautomatic segmentation approaches was carried out. Compared to manual segmentation, the authors' semiautomatic approach reduces the necessary user interaction by only requiring an indication of the anteroposterior orientation of the prostate and the selection of prostate center points on the apex, base, and midgland slices. Based on these inputs, the algorithm identifies candidate prostate boundary points using learned boundary appearance characteristics and performs regularization based on learned prostate shape information. The semiautomated algorithm required an average of 30 s of user interaction time (measured for nine operators) for each 3D prostate segmentation. The authors compared the segmentations from this method to manual segmentations in a single-operator (mean whole gland MAD = 2.0 mm, DSC = 82%, recall = 77%, precision = 88%, and ΔV = - 4.6 cm(3)) and multioperator study (mean whole gland MAD = 2.2 mm, DSC = 77%, recall

Using the Project Method in Distributive Education. Teacher's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maletta, Edwin

The document explains how to integrate the project training methods into a distributive education curriculum for grades 10 or 11. The purpose of this teacher's manual is to give an overall picture of the project method in use. Ten sample projects are included which could apply to any distributive education student concentrating on the major areas…

A comparison of manual anthropometric measurements with Kinect-based scanned measurements in terms of precision and reliability.

PubMed

Bragança, Sara; Arezes, Pedro; Carvalho, Miguel; Ashdown, Susan P; Castellucci, Ignacio; Leão, Celina

2018-01-01

Collecting anthropometric data for real-life applications demands a high degree of precision and reliability. It is important to test new equipment that will be used for data collectionOBJECTIVE:Compare two anthropometric data gathering techniques - manual methods and a Kinect-based 3D body scanner - to understand which of them gives more precise and reliable results. The data was collected using a measuring tape and a Kinect-based 3D body scanner. It was evaluated in terms of precision by considering the regular and relative Technical Error of Measurement and in terms of reliability by using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient, Reliability Coefficient, Standard Error of Measurement and Coefficient of Variation. The results obtained showed that both methods presented better results for reliability than for precision. Both methods showed relatively good results for these two variables, however, manual methods had better results for some body measurements. Despite being considered sufficiently precise and reliable for certain applications (e.g. apparel industry), the 3D scanner tested showed, for almost every anthropometric measurement, a different result than the manual technique. Many companies design their products based on data obtained from 3D scanners, hence, understanding the precision and reliability of the equipment used is essential to obtain feasible results.

CT-based manual segmentation and evaluation of paranasal sinuses.

PubMed

Pirner, S; Tingelhoff, K; Wagner, I; Westphal, R; Rilk, M; Wahl, F M; Bootz, F; Eichhorn, Klaus W G

2009-04-01

Manual segmentation of computed tomography (CT) datasets was performed for robot-assisted endoscope movement during functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). Segmented 3D models are needed for the robots' workspace definition. A total of 50 preselected CT datasets were each segmented in 150-200 coronal slices with 24 landmarks being set. Three different colors for segmentation represent diverse risk areas. Extension and volumetric measurements were performed. Three-dimensional reconstruction was generated after segmentation. Manual segmentation took 8-10 h for each CT dataset. The mean volumes were: right maxillary sinus 17.4 cm(3), left side 17.9 cm(3), right frontal sinus 4.2 cm(3), left side 4.0 cm(3), total frontal sinuses 7.9 cm(3), sphenoid sinus right side 5.3 cm(3), left side 5.5 cm(3), total sphenoid sinus volume 11.2 cm(3). Our manually segmented 3D-models present the patient's individual anatomy with a special focus on structures in danger according to the diverse colored risk areas. For safe robot assistance, the high-accuracy models represent an average of the population for anatomical variations, extension and volumetric measurements. They can be used as a database for automatic model-based segmentation. None of the segmentation methods so far described provide risk segmentation. The robot's maximum distance to the segmented border can be adjusted according to the differently colored areas.

The Virginia method of determining the cement content of freshly mixed cement-soil mixtures : a manual prepared for the use of the Virginia Dept. of Highways.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1971-01-01

This manual describes a new method developed by the author, based on ASTM Method D2901, for determining the cement content of freshly mixed soil cement. The manual contains information on apparatus, reagents, procedures, source of equipment and reage...

Analytical methods manual for the Mineral Resource Surveys Program, U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arbogast, Belinda F.

1996-01-01

The analytical methods validated by the Mineral Resource Surveys Program, Geologic Division, is the subject of this manual. This edition replaces the methods portion of Open-File Report 90-668 published in 1990. Newer methods may be used which have been approved by the quality assurance (QA) project and are on file with the QA coordinator.This manual is intended primarily for use by laboratory scientists; this manual can also assist laboratory users to evaluate the data they receive. The analytical methods are written in a step by step approach so that they may be used as a training tool and provide detailed documentation of the procedures for quality assurance. A "Catalog of Services" is available for customer (submitter) use with brief listings of:the element(s)/species determined,method of determination,reference to cite,contact person,summary of the technique,and analyte concentration range.For a copy please contact the Branch office at (303) 236-1800 or fax (303) 236-3200.

18 CFR 3b.204 - Safeguarding information in manual and computer-based record systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... information in manual and computer-based record systems. 3b.204 Section 3b.204 Conservation of Power and Water... Collection of Records § 3b.204 Safeguarding information in manual and computer-based record systems. (a) The administrative and physical controls to protect the information in the manual and computer-based record systems...

18 CFR 3b.204 - Safeguarding information in manual and computer-based record systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... information in manual and computer-based record systems. 3b.204 Section 3b.204 Conservation of Power and Water... Collection of Records § 3b.204 Safeguarding information in manual and computer-based record systems. (a) The administrative and physical controls to protect the information in the manual and computer-based record systems...

18 CFR 3b.204 - Safeguarding information in manual and computer-based record systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... information in manual and computer-based record systems. 3b.204 Section 3b.204 Conservation of Power and Water... Collection of Records § 3b.204 Safeguarding information in manual and computer-based record systems. (a) The administrative and physical controls to protect the information in the manual and computer-based record systems...

18 CFR 3b.204 - Safeguarding information in manual and computer-based record systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... information in manual and computer-based record systems. 3b.204 Section 3b.204 Conservation of Power and Water... Collection of Records § 3b.204 Safeguarding information in manual and computer-based record systems. (a) The administrative and physical controls to protect the information in the manual and computer-based record systems...

A work study of the CAD/CAM method and conventional manual method in the fabrication of spinal orthoses for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

PubMed

Wong, M S; Cheng, J C Y; Wong, M W; So, S F

2005-04-01

A study was conducted to compare the CAD/CAM method with the conventional manual method in fabrication of spinal orthoses for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Ten subjects were recruited for this study. Efficiency analyses of the two methods were performed from cast filling/ digitization process to completion of cast/image rectification. The dimensional changes of the casts/ models rectified by the two cast rectification methods were also investigated. The results demonstrated that the CAD/CAM method was faster than the conventional manual method in the studied processes. The mean rectification time of the CAD/CAM method was shorter than that of the conventional manual method by 108.3 min (63.5%). This indicated that the CAD/CAM method took about 1/3 of the time of the conventional manual to finish cast rectification. In the comparison of cast/image dimensional differences between the conventional manual method and the CAD/CAM method, five major dimensions in each of the five rectified regions namely the axilla, thoracic, lumbar, abdominal and pelvic regions were involved. There were no significant dimensional differences (p < 0.05) in 19 out of the 25 studied dimensions. This study demonstrated that the CAD/CAM system could save the time in the rectification process and offer a relatively high resemblance in cast rectification as compared with the conventional manual method.

Assessing the Agreement Between Eo-Based Semi-Automated Landslide Maps with Fuzzy Manual Landslide Delineation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albrecht, F.; Hölbling, D.; Friedl, B.

2017-09-01

Landslide mapping benefits from the ever increasing availability of Earth Observation (EO) data resulting from programmes like the Copernicus Sentinel missions and improved infrastructure for data access. However, there arises the need for improved automated landslide information extraction processes from EO data while the dominant method is still manual delineation. Object-based image analysis (OBIA) provides the means for the fast and efficient extraction of landslide information. To prove its quality, automated results are often compared to manually delineated landslide maps. Although there is awareness of the uncertainties inherent in manual delineations, there is a lack of understanding how they affect the levels of agreement in a direct comparison of OBIA-derived landslide maps and manually derived landslide maps. In order to provide an improved reference, we present a fuzzy approach for the manual delineation of landslides on optical satellite images, thereby making the inherent uncertainties of the delineation explicit. The fuzzy manual delineation and the OBIA classification are compared by accuracy metrics accepted in the remote sensing community. We have tested this approach for high resolution (HR) satellite images of three large landslides in Austria and Italy. We were able to show that the deviation of the OBIA result from the manual delineation can mainly be attributed to the uncertainty inherent in the manual delineation process, a relevant issue for the design of validation processes for OBIA-derived landslide maps.

The Adolescent Mentalization-based Integrative Treatment (AMBIT) approach to outcome evaluation and manualization: adopting a learning organization approach.

PubMed

Fuggle, Peter; Bevington, Dickon; Cracknell, Liz; Hanley, James; Hare, Suzanne; Lincoln, John; Richardson, Garry; Stevens, Nina; Tovey, Heather; Zlotowitz, Sally

2015-07-01

AMBIT (Adolescent Mentalization-Based Integrative Treatment) is a developing team approach to working with hard-to-reach adolescents. The approach applies the principle of mentalization to relationships with clients, team relationships and working across agencies. It places a high priority on the need for locally developed evidence-based practice, and proposes that outcome evaluation needs to be explicitly linked with processes of team learning using a learning organization framework. A number of innovative methods of team learning are incorporated into the AMBIT approach, particularly a system of web-based wiki-formatted AMBIT manuals individualized for each participating team. The paper describes early development work of the model and illustrates ways of establishing explicit links between outcome evaluation, team learning and manualization by describing these methods as applied to two AMBIT-trained teams; one team working with young people on the edge of care (AMASS - the Adolescent Multi-Agency Support Service) and another working with substance use (CASUS - Child and Adolescent Substance Use Service in Cambridgeshire). Measurement of the primary outcomes for each team (which were generally very positive) facilitated team learning and adaptations of methods of practice that were consolidated through manualization. © The Author(s) 2014.

Validation of Greyscale-Based Quantitative Ultrasound in Manual Wheelchair Users

PubMed Central

Collinger, Jennifer L.; Fullerton, Bradley; Impink, Bradley G.; Koontz, Alicia M.; Boninger, Michael L.

2010-01-01

Objective The primary aim of this study is to establish the validity of greyscale-based quantitative ultrasound (QUS) measures of the biceps and supraspinatus tendons. Design Nine QUS measures of the biceps and supraspinatus tendons were computed from ultrasound images collected from sixty-seven manual wheelchair users. Shoulder pathology was measured using questionnaires, physical examination maneuvers, and a clinical ultrasound grading scale. Results Increased age, duration of wheelchair use, and body mass correlated with a darker, more homogenous tendon appearance. Subjects with pain during physical examination tests for biceps tenderness and acromioclavicular joint tenderness exhibited significantly different supraspinatus QUS values. Even when controlling for tendon depth, QUS measures of the biceps tendon differed significantly between subjects with healthy tendons, mild tendinosis, and severe tendinosis. Clinical grading of supraspinatus tendon health was correlated with QUS measures of the supraspinatus tendon. Conclusions Quantitative ultrasound is valid method to quantify tendinopathy and may allow for early detection of tendinosis. Manual wheelchair users are at a high risk for developing shoulder tendon pathology and may benefit from quantitative ultrasound-based research that focuses on identifying interventions designed to reduce this risk. PMID:20407304

Validation of a simple, manual urinary iodine method for estimating the prevalence of iodine-deficiency disorders, and interlaboratory comparison with other methods.

PubMed

May, S L; May, W A; Bourdoux, P P; Pino, S; Sullivan, K M; Maberly, G F

1997-05-01

The measurement of urinary iodine in population-based surveys provides a biological indicator of the severity of iodine-deficiency disorders. We describe the steps performed to validate a simple, inexpensive, manual urinary iodine acid digestion method, and compare the results using this method with those of other urinary iodine methods. Initially, basic performance characteristics were evaluated: the average recovery of added iodine was 100.4 +/- 8.7% (mean +/- SD), within-assay precision (CV) over the assay range 0-0.95 mumol/L (0-12 micrograms/dL) was < 6%, between-assay precision over the same range was < 12%, and assay sensitivity was 0.05 mumol/L (0.6 microgram/dL). There were no apparent effects on the method by thiocyanate, a known interfering substance. In a comparison with five other methods performed in four different laboratories, samples were collected to test the method performance over a wide range of urinary iodine values (0.04-3.7 mumol/L, or 0.5-47 micrograms/dL). There was a high correlation between all methods and the interpretation of the results was consistent. We conclude that the simple, manual acid digestion method is suitable for urinary iodine analysis.

A Theory-Based Contextual Nutrition Education Manual Enhanced Nutrition Teaching Skill.

PubMed

Kupolati, Mojisola D; MacIntyre, Una E; Gericke, Gerda J

2018-01-01

Background: A theory-based contextual nutrition education manual (NEM) may enhance effective teaching of nutrition in schools. School nutrition education should lead to the realization of such benefits as improved health, scholarly achievement leading to manpower development and consequently the nation's development. The purpose of the study was to develop a contextual NEM for teachers of Grade 5 and 6 learners in the Bronkhorstspruit district, South Africa, and to assess teachers' perception on the use of the manual for teaching nutrition. Methods: This descriptive case study used an interpretivist paradigm. The study involved teachers ( N = 6) who taught nutrition in Life Skills (LS) and Natural Science and Technology (NST) in a randomly selected primary school in the Bronkhorstspruit district. Findings from a nutrition education needs assessment were integrated with the constructs of the Social cognitive theory (SCT) and the Meaningful learning model (MLM) and the existing curriculum of the Department of Basic Education (DoBE) to develop a contextual NEM. The manual was used by the teachers to teach nutrition to Grades 5 and 6 learners during the 2015 academic year as a pilot project. A focus group discussion (FDG) was conducted with teachers to gauge their perceptions of the usefulness of the NEM. Data were analyzed using the thematic approach of the framework method for qualitative research. Results: Teachers described the NEM as rich in information, easy to use and perceived the supporting materials and activities as being effective. The goal setting activities contained in the NEM were deemed to be ineffective. Teachers felt that they did not have enough time to teach all the important things that the learners needed to know. Conclusion: Teachers perceived the NEM as helpful toward improving their nutrition teaching skills.The NEM template may furthermore guide teachers in planning theory-based nutrition lessons.

Effects of gross motor function and manual function levels on performance-based ADL motor skills of children with spastic cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Park, Myoung-Ok

2017-02-01

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine effects of Gross Motor Function Classification System and Manual Ability Classification System levels on performance-based motor skills of children with spastic cerebral palsy. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-three children with cerebral palsy were included. The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills was used to evaluate performance-based motor skills in daily life. Gross motor function was assessed using Gross Motor Function Classification Systems, and manual function was measured using the Manual Ability Classification System. [Results] Motor skills in daily activities were significantly different on Gross Motor Function Classification System level and Manual Ability Classification System level. According to the results of multiple regression analysis, children categorized as Gross Motor Function Classification System level III scored lower in terms of performance based motor skills than Gross Motor Function Classification System level I children. Also, when analyzed with respect to Manual Ability Classification System level, level II was lower than level I, and level III was lower than level II in terms of performance based motor skills. [Conclusion] The results of this study indicate that performance-based motor skills differ among children categorized based on Gross Motor Function Classification System and Manual Ability Classification System levels of cerebral palsy.

Planning for the Aging: A Manual of Practical Methods.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotton, Frank E., Jr.

This manual is divided into three major parts. Part One explores the role and process of planning delivery services to the aging, including leadership. Part Two offers several methods for carrying out each of seven steps delineated in the planning process, and describes their application to the delivery of services for the aging. Part Three…

Manual tracing versus smartphone application (app) tracing: a comparative study.

PubMed

Sayar, Gülşilay; Kilinc, Delal Dara

2017-11-01

This study aimed to compare the results of conventional manual cephalometric tracing with those acquired with smartphone application cephalometric tracing. The cephalometric radiographs of 55 patients (25 females and 30 males) were traced via the manual and app methods and were subsequently examined with Steiner's analysis. Five skeletal measurements, five dental measurements and two soft tissue measurements were managed based on 21 landmarks. The durations of the performances of the two methods were also compared. SNA (Sella, Nasion, A point angle) and SNB (Sella, Nasion, B point angle) values for the manual method were statistically lower (p < .001) than those for the app method. The ANB value for the manual method was statistically lower than that of app method. L1-NB (°) and upper lip protrusion values for the manual method were statistically higher than those for the app method. Go-GN/SN, U1-NA (°) and U1-NA (mm) values for manual method were statistically lower than those for the app method. No differences between the two methods were found in the L1-NB (mm), occlusal plane to SN, interincisal angle or lower lip protrusion values. Although statistically significant differences were found between the two methods, the cephalometric tracing proceeded faster with the app method than with the manual method.

Aircraft noise prediction program user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gillian, R. E.

1982-01-01

The Aircraft Noise Prediction Program (ANOPP) predicts aircraft noise with the best methods available. This manual is designed to give the user an understanding of the capabilities of ANOPP and to show how to formulate problems and obtain solutions by using these capabilities. Sections within the manual document basic ANOPP concepts, ANOPP usage, ANOPP functional modules, ANOPP control statement procedure library, and ANOPP permanent data base. appendixes to the manual include information on preparing job decks for the operating systems in use, error diagnostics and recovery techniques, and a glossary of ANOPP terms.

Comparison of manual & automated analysis methods for corneal endothelial cell density measurements by specular microscopy.

PubMed

Huang, Jianyan; Maram, Jyotsna; Tepelus, Tudor C; Modak, Cristina; Marion, Ken; Sadda, SriniVas R; Chopra, Vikas; Lee, Olivia L

2017-08-07

To determine the reliability of corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) obtained by automated specular microscopy versus that of validated manual methods and factors that predict such reliability. Sharp central images from 94 control and 106 glaucomatous eyes were captured with Konan specular microscope NSP-9900. All images were analyzed by trained graders using Konan CellChek Software, employing the fully- and semi-automated methods as well as Center Method. Images with low cell count (input cells number <100) and/or guttata were compared with the Center and Flex-Center Methods. ECDs were compared and absolute error was used to assess variation. The effect on ECD of age, cell count, cell size, and cell size variation was evaluated. No significant difference was observed between the Center and Flex-Center Methods in corneas with guttata (p=0.48) or low ECD (p=0.11). No difference (p=0.32) was observed in ECD of normal controls <40 yrs old between the fully-automated method and manual Center Method. However, in older controls and glaucomatous eyes, ECD was overestimated by the fully-automated method (p=0.034) and semi-automated method (p=0.025) as compared to manual method. Our findings show that automated analysis significantly overestimates ECD in the eyes with high polymegathism and/or large cell size, compared to the manual method. Therefore, we discourage reliance upon the fully-automated method alone to perform specular microscopy analysis, particularly if an accurate ECD value is imperative. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.

Manual methods are suboptimal compared with automated methods for cleaning of single-use biopsy forceps.

PubMed

Alfa, M J; Nemes, R; Olson, N; Mulaire, A

2006-08-01

Most reusable biopsy forceps and all of the currently available single-use biopsy forceps do not have a port that allows fluid flow down the inner tubular shaft of the device. Reusable biopsy forceps are widely used and reprocessed in healthcare facilities, and single-use biopsy forceps are reprocessed either in-house (eg, in Canada and Japan) or by third-party reprocessors (eg, in the United States). The objective of this study was to determine the cleaning efficacy of automated narrow-lumen sonic irrigation cleaning, sonication-only cleaning, and manual cleaning for biopsy forceps. A simulated-use study was performed by inoculating the inner channel of single-use biopsy forceps with artificial test soil containing both Enterococcus faecalis and Geobacillus stearothermophilus at concentrations of 10(6) colony-forming units per milliliter. The cleaning methods evaluated were manual cleaning, sonication-only cleaning, and "retroflush" cleaning by an automated narrow-lumen irrigator. Bioburden and organic soil reduction after washing was evaluated. Forceps used in biopsies of patients were also tested to determine the worst-case soiling levels. Only retroflush irrigation cleaning could effectively remove material from within the shaft portion of the biopsy forceps: it achieved an average reduction of more than 95% in levels of protein, hemoglobin, carbohydrate, and endotoxin. However, even this method of cleaning was not totally effective, as only a 2 log10 reduction in bioburden could be achieved, and there were low residual levels of hemoglobin and carbohydrate. The data from this evaluation indicate that manual and sonication-only cleaning methods for biopsy forceps were totally ineffective in removing material from within the biopsy forceps. Even the use of retroflush cleaning was not totally effective. These findings suggest that in-hospital reprocessing of biopsy forceps with currently available equipment and cleaning methods is suboptimal.

Methods for the Determination of Chemical Contaminants in Drinking Water. Training Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Water Program Operations (EPA), Cincinnati, OH. National Training and Operational Technology Center.

This training manual, intended for chemists and technicians with little or no experience in chemical procedures required to monitor drinking water, covers analytical methods for inorganic and organic chemical contaminants listed in the interim primary drinking water regulations. Topics include methods for heavy metals, nitrate, and organic…

Diet manuals to practice manuals: the evolution of nutrition care.

PubMed

Chima, Cinda S

2007-02-01

Although the role of nutrition as a therapy for the sick has been recognized for centuries, the science of nutrition is a relatively young discipline. The first modern attempt to document and standardize appropriate nutrition care was the diet manual. The evolution from "diet manual" to "practice manual" is less a change in purpose than an expansion of scope. This paper reviews the history of diet manuals in the United States, focusing on the evolution of nutrition therapy and the transformation of diet manuals into practice manuals for nutrition care providers. Included is a practice-oriented summary of 7 diet manuals published by Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital in Cleveland from 1939 to 1984, when the hospital began using nationally distributed practice manuals. These manuals exemplify changes in the practice of medicine and in the role of nutrition providers on the healthcare team. A review of the evolution of clinical decision-making as documented in diet and practice manuals reflects increasing rigor in referencing scientific evidence. Nutrition therapies that seem quaint to us now reflect the traditional origins of many medical practices that persist today. Knowledge of this history should motivate us to critically evaluate the research base that supports all aspects of nutrition therapy, develop protocols to assess practices that remain unexamined, and embrace the discipline of evidence-based practice.

Tooth-size discrepancy: A comparison between manual and digital methods

PubMed Central

Correia, Gabriele Dória Cabral; Habib, Fernando Antonio Lima; Vogel, Carlos Jorge

2014-01-01

Introduction Technological advances in Dentistry have emerged primarily in the area of diagnostic tools. One example is the 3D scanner, which can transform plaster models into three-dimensional digital models. Objective This study aimed to assess the reliability of tooth size-arch length discrepancy analysis measurements performed on three-dimensional digital models, and compare these measurements with those obtained from plaster models. Material and Methods To this end, plaster models of lower dental arches and their corresponding three-dimensional digital models acquired with a 3Shape R700T scanner were used. All of them had lower permanent dentition. Four different tooth size-arch length discrepancy calculations were performed on each model, two of which by manual methods using calipers and brass wire, and two by digital methods using linear measurements and parabolas. Results Data were statistically assessed using Friedman test and no statistically significant differences were found between the two methods (P > 0.05), except for values found by the linear digital method which revealed a slight, non-significant statistical difference. Conclusions Based on the results, it is reasonable to assert that any of these resources used by orthodontists to clinically assess tooth size-arch length discrepancy can be considered reliable. PMID:25279529

CSTEM User Manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartle, M.; McKnight, R. L.

2000-01-01

This manual is a combination of a user manual, theory manual, and programmer manual. The reader is assumed to have some previous exposure to the finite element method. This manual is written with the idea that the CSTEM (Coupled Structural Thermal Electromagnetic-Computer Code) user needs to have a basic understanding of what the code is actually doing in order to properly use the code. For that reason, the underlying theory and methods used in the code are described to a basic level of detail. The manual gives an overview of the CSTEM code: how the code came into existence, a basic description of what the code does, and the order in which it happens (a flowchart). Appendices provide a listing and very brief description of every file used by the CSTEM code, including the type of file it is, what routine regularly accesses the file, and what routine opens the file, as well as special features included in CSTEM.

Battery Calendar Life Estimator Manual Modeling and Simulation

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

Jon P. Christophersen; Ira Bloom; Ed Thomas

2012-10-01

The Battery Life Estimator (BLE) Manual has been prepared to assist developers in their efforts to estimate the calendar life of advanced batteries for automotive applications. Testing requirements and procedures are defined by the various manuals previously published under the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC). The purpose of this manual is to describe and standardize a method for estimating calendar life based on statistical models and degradation data acquired from typical USABC battery testing.

Battery Life Estimator Manual Linear Modeling and Simulation

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

Jon P. Christophersen; Ira Bloom; Ed Thomas

2009-08-01

The Battery Life Estimator (BLE) Manual has been prepared to assist developers in their efforts to estimate the calendar life of advanced batteries for automotive applications. Testing requirements and procedures are defined by the various manuals previously published under the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC). The purpose of this manual is to describe and standardize a method for estimating calendar life based on statistical models and degradation data acquired from typical USABC battery testing.

Students' Reactions to Manual-Based Treatments for Substance Abuse: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simons, Lori; Jacobucci, Raymond; Houston, Hank

2006-01-01

A quasi-experimental research design with quantitative and qualitative methodologies was conducted to explore reactions of 21 students to treatment manuals for substance abuse. Students were randomized to experimental (n = 11) and attention-control (n = 10) groups involving exposure to one of two manual-based therapy interventions. Quantitative…

Community-Based Prevention Specialist. Trainer Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

University Research Corp., Bethesda, MD.

This trainer manual is designed to assist facilitators in the design of entry-level courses and programs for substance abuse prevention specialists. The manual initially concentrates on a basic, generic approach to community work, and introduces the knowledge and skills needed to implement substance abuse prevention programs by using the community…

Comparison of a brain-based adaptive system and a manual adaptable system for invoking automation.

PubMed

Bailey, Nathan R; Scerbo, Mark W; Freeman, Frederick G; Mikulka, Peter J; Scott, Lorissa A

2006-01-01

Two experiments are presented examining adaptive and adaptable methods for invoking automation. Empirical investigations of adaptive automation have focused on methods used to invoke automation or on automation-related performance implications. However, no research has addressed whether performance benefits associated with brain-based systems exceed those in which users have control over task allocations. Participants performed monitoring and resource management tasks as well as a tracking task that shifted between automatic and manual modes. In the first experiment, participants worked with an adaptive system that used their electroencephalographic signals to switch the tracking task between automatic and manual modes. Participants were also divided between high- and low-reliability conditions for the system-monitoring task as well as high- and low-complacency potential. For the second experiment, participants operated an adaptable system that gave them manual control over task allocations. Results indicated increased situation awareness (SA) of gauge instrument settings for individuals high in complacency potential using the adaptive system. In addition, participants who had control over automation performed more poorly on the resource management task and reported higher levels of workload. A comparison between systems also revealed enhanced SA of gauge instrument settings and decreased workload in the adaptive condition. The present results suggest that brain-based adaptive automation systems may enhance perceptual level SA while reducing mental workload relative to systems requiring user-initiated control. Potential applications include automated systems for which operator monitoring performance and high-workload conditions are of concern.

Development of representative magnetic resonance imaging-based atlases of the canine brain and evaluation of three methods for atlas-based segmentation.

PubMed

Milne, Marjorie E; Steward, Christopher; Firestone, Simon M; Long, Sam N; O'Brien, Terrence J; Moffat, Bradford A

2016-04-01

To develop representative MRI atlases of the canine brain and to evaluate 3 methods of atlas-based segmentation (ABS). 62 dogs without clinical signs of epilepsy and without MRI evidence of structural brain disease. The MRI scans from 44 dogs were used to develop 4 templates on the basis of brain shape (brachycephalic, mesaticephalic, dolichocephalic, and combined mesaticephalic and dolichocephalic). Atlas labels were generated by segmenting the brain, ventricular system, hippocampal formation, and caudate nuclei. The MRI scans from the remaining 18 dogs were used to evaluate 3 methods of ABS (manual brain extraction and application of a brain shape-specific template [A], automatic brain extraction and application of a brain shape-specific template [B], and manual brain extraction and application of a combined template [C]). The performance of each ABS method was compared by calculation of the Dice and Jaccard coefficients, with manual segmentation used as the gold standard. Method A had the highest mean Jaccard coefficient and was the most accurate ABS method assessed. Measures of overlap for ABS methods that used manual brain extraction (A and C) ranged from 0.75 to 0.95 and compared favorably with repeated measures of overlap for manual extraction, which ranged from 0.88 to 0.97. Atlas-based segmentation was an accurate and repeatable method for segmentation of canine brain structures. It could be performed more rapidly than manual segmentation, which should allow the application of computer-assisted volumetry to large data sets and clinical cases and facilitate neuroimaging research and disease diagnosis.

Carotid stenosis assessment with multi-detector CT angiography: comparison between manual and automatic segmentation methods.

PubMed

Zhu, Chengcheng; Patterson, Andrew J; Thomas, Owen M; Sadat, Umar; Graves, Martin J; Gillard, Jonathan H

2013-04-01

Luminal stenosis is used for selecting the optimal management strategy for patients with carotid artery disease. The aim of this study is to evaluate the reproducibility of carotid stenosis quantification using manual and automated segmentation methods using submillimeter through-plane resolution Multi-Detector CT angiography (MDCTA). 35 patients having carotid artery disease with >30 % luminal stenosis as identified by carotid duplex imaging underwent contrast enhanced MDCTA. Two experienced CT readers quantified carotid stenosis from axial source images, reconstructed maximum intensity projection (MIP) and 3D-carotid geometry which was automatically segmented by an open-source toolkit (Vascular Modelling Toolkit, VMTK) using NASCET criteria. Good agreement among the measurement using axial images, MIP and automatic segmentation was observed. Automatic segmentation methods show better inter-observer agreement between the readers (intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC): 0.99 for diameter stenosis measurement) than manual measurement of axial (ICC = 0.82) and MIP (ICC = 0.86) images. Carotid stenosis quantification using an automatic segmentation method has higher reproducibility compared with manual methods.

DESIGN MANUAL: PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL

EPA Science Inventory

This manual summarizes process design information for the best developed methods for removing phosphorus from wastewater. his manual discusses several proven phosphorus removal methods, including phosphorus removal obtainable through biological activity as well as chemical precip...

Annual Net Ecosystem Productivity of Wetlands: A Comparison of Automated and Manual Chamber Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burrows, E. H.; Bubier, J. L.; Mosedale, A.; Crill, P. M.

2001-05-01

Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO2) was measured in a minerotrophic poor fen in southeastern New Hampshire during the 2000 growing season using two types of chamber methods. Instantaneous CO2 flux was measured with transparent lexan and teflon static climate controlled chambers by calculating the change in headspace CO2 concentration in the chamber over time. Once per week the flux was sampled from ten manually operated chambers using a LI-COR 6200 portable photosynthesis system, which included a LI-6250 infrared gas analyzer, connected to the chambers. Ten automated chambers were installed in May of 2000, sampling CO2 flux every three hours over the diurnal cycle using a LI-COR 6262 infrared gas analyzer. The chambers and collars were placed throughout the fen in order to sample the range of plant communities. The manual sampling was done during the middle of the day, but the rate of photosynthesis changes depending on the amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). In order to simulate varying light levels, shrouds blocking different amounts of light were placed over each manual chamber. An opaque shroud was used to measure respiration. NEE ranged from -13.0 to 12.5 μ mol CO2/m2/s in the manual chambers and -16.2 to 11.8 μ mol CO2/m2/s in the automated chambers for the mid-summer growing season. Manual respiration fluxes were measured under higher temperature regimes and the response of respiration to temperature will be factored in when comparing the two chamber techniques. Research during the summer of 2001 will also include diurnal measurements. Growing season net ecosystem productivity (NEP) will be estimated and compared for the two chamber systems. Several models will be used to estimate the flux when the manual chambers were not being sampled. The models will be based on biomass and dominant species in each chamber, and various environmental factors including water table, pH, relative humidity, PAR, air and peat temperature

Massage, reflexology and other manual methods for pain management in labour.

PubMed

Smith, Caroline A; Levett, Kate M; Collins, Carmel T; Dahlen, Hannah G; Ee, Carolyn C; Suganuma, Machiko

2018-03-28

Many women would like to avoid pharmacological or invasive methods of pain management in labour, and this may contribute towards the popularity of complementary methods of pain management. This review examined the evidence currently available on manual methods, including massage and reflexology, for pain management in labour. This review is an update of the review first published in 2012. To assess the effect, safety and acceptability of massage, reflexology and other manual methods to manage pain in labour. For this update, we searched Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth's Trials Register (30 June 2017), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2017, Issue 6), MEDLINE (1966 to 30 June 2017, CINAHL (1980 to 30 June 2017), the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (4 August 2017), Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (4 August 2017), ClinicalTrials.gov, (4 August 2017), the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (4 August 2017), the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (4 August 2017) and reference lists of retrieved trials. We included randomised controlled trials comparing manual methods with standard care, other non-pharmacological forms of pain management in labour, no treatment or placebo. We searched for trials of the following modalities: massage, warm packs, thermal manual methods, reflexology, chiropractic, osteopathy, musculo-skeletal manipulation, deep tissue massage, neuro-muscular therapy, shiatsu, tuina, trigger point therapy, myotherapy and zero balancing. We excluded trials for pain management relating to hypnosis, aromatherapy, acupuncture and acupressure; these are included in other Cochrane reviews. Two review authors independently assessed trial quality, extracted data and checked data for accuracy. We contacted trial authors for additional information. We assessed the quality of the evidence using the GRADE approach. We included a total of 14 trials; 10 of these (1055 women

SRC-I demonstration plant analytical laboratory methods manual. Final technical report

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

Klusaritz, M.L.; Tewari, K.C.; Tiedge, W.F.

1983-03-01

This manual is a compilation of analytical procedures required for operation of a Solvent-Refined Coal (SRC-I) demonstration or commercial plant. Each method reproduced in full includes a detailed procedure, a list of equipment and reagents, safety precautions, and, where possible, a precision statement. Procedures for the laboratory's environmental and industrial hygiene modules are not included. Required American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) methods are cited, and ICRC's suggested modifications to these methods for handling coal-derived products are provided.

Sources and Nature of Cost Analysis Data Base Reference Manual.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-07-01

COVERED Sources and Nature of Cost Analysis Data Base Interim Report (Update) Reference Manual 6 . PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER USAAVRADCOM TM 83-F-3 7 ...SECTION 6 - DATA FOR MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS 6.0.0 7.0.0 SECTION 7 - GLOSSARY OF COST ANALYSIS TERMS SECTION 8 - REFERENCES 8.0.0 SECTION 9 - BIBLIOGRAPHY...Relationsh-;ips Manual for the Army 1.14. 1 Yateri ci Command, TP-449, Mla; 1912 ( 7 21 RACKFORS JiR 1CO(PTER, INC. xlB.Aii- 6 -4A 1.15. 1 Z FNE>:THj MUNSON

Calibrating the future highway safety manual predictive methods for Oregon state highways.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-02-01

The Highway Safety Manual (HSM) was published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the spring of 2010. Volume 2 (Part C) of the HSM includes safety predictive methods which can be used to quantitativel...

MAC/GMC 4.0 User's Manual: Keywords Manual. Volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bednarcyk, Brett A.; Arnold, Steven M.

2002-01-01

This document is the second volume in the three volume set of User's Manuals for the Micromechanics Analysis Code with Generalized Method of Cells Version 4.0 (MAC/GMC 4.0). Volume 1 is the Theory Manual, this document is the Keywords Manual, and Volume 3 is the Example Problem Manual. MAC/GMC 4.0 is a composite material and laminate analysis software program developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center. It is based on the generalized method of cells (GMC) micromechanics theory, which provides access to the local stress and strain fields in the composite material. This access grants GMC the ability to accommodate arbitrary local models for inelastic material behavior and various types of damage and failure analysis. MAC/GMC 4.0 has been built around GMC to provide the theory with a user-friendly framework, along with a library of local inelastic, damage, and failure models. Further, applications of simulated thermo-mechanical loading, generation of output results, and selection of architectures to represent the composite material have been automated in MAC/GMC 4.0. Finally, classical lamination theory has been implemented within MAC/GMC 4.0 wherein GMC is used to model the composite material response of each ply. Consequently, the full range of GMC composite material capabilities is available for analysis of arbitrary laminate configurations as well. This volume describes the basic information required to use the MAC/GMC 4.0 software, including a 'Getting Started' section, and an in-depth description of each of the 22 keywords used in the input file to control the execution of the code.

Occupational and Physical Therapy Services, School Based Programs: An Organizational Manual, 1982-83.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKee, Marlene, Comp.; And Others

A 1982-83 manual on school-based occupational therapy and physical therapy (OT/PT) services in Texas is presented. Contents include: guidelines, evaluation forms, student and therapists' documentation forms, and policy/procedures manuals for a suburban independent school district and a rural independent school district. Part I provides the…

Manual herbicide application methods for managing vegetation in Appalachian hardwood forests

Treesearch

Jeffrey D. Kochenderfer; James N. Kochenderfer; Gary W. Miller

2012-01-01

Four manual herbicide application methods are described for use in Appalachian hardwood forests. Stem injection, basal spray, cut-stump, and foliar spray techniques can be used to control interfering vegetation and promote the development of desirable reproduction and valuable crop trees in hardwood forests. Guidelines are presented to help the user select the...

Comparison of human septal nuclei MRI measurements using automated segmentation and a new manual protocol based on histology

PubMed Central

Butler, Tracy; Zaborszky, Laszlo; Pirraglia, Elizabeth; Li, Jinyu; Wang, Xiuyuan Hugh; Li, Yi; Tsui, Wai; Talos, Delia; Devinsky, Orrin; Kuchna, Izabela; Nowicki, Krzysztof; French, Jacqueline; Kuzniecky, Rubin; Wegiel, Jerzy; Glodzik, Lidia; Rusinek, Henry; DeLeon, Mony J.; Thesen, Thomas

2014-01-01

Septal nuclei, located in basal forebrain, are strongly connected with hippocampi and important in learning and memory, but have received limited research attention in human MRI studies. While probabilistic maps for estimating septal volume on MRI are now available, they have not been independently validated against manual tracing of MRI, typically considered the gold standard for delineating brain structures. We developed a protocol for manual tracing of the human septal region on MRI based on examination of neuroanatomical specimens. We applied this tracing protocol to T1 MRI scans (n=86) from subjects with temporal epilepsy and healthy controls to measure septal volume. To assess the inter-rater reliability of the protocol, a second tracer used the same protocol on 20 scans that were randomly selected from the 72 healthy controls. In addition to measuring septal volume, maximum septal thickness between the ventricles was measured and recorded. The same scans (n=86) were also analysed using septal probabilistic maps and Dartel toolbox in SPM. Results show that our manual tracing algorithm is reliable, and that septal volume measurements obtained via manual and automated methods correlate significantly with each other (p<001). Both manual and automated methods detected significantly enlarged septal nuclei in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy in accord with a proposed compensatory neuroplastic process related to the strong connections between septal nuclei and hippocampi. Septal thickness, which was simple to measure with excellent inter-rater reliability, correlated well with both manual and automated septal volume, suggesting it could serve as an easy-to-measure surrogate for septal volume in future studies. Our results call attention to the important though understudied human septal region, confirm its enlargement in temporal lobe epilepsy, and provide a reliable new manual delineation protocol that will facilitate continued study of this critical region

Comparison of human septal nuclei MRI measurements using automated segmentation and a new manual protocol based on histology.

PubMed

Butler, Tracy; Zaborszky, Laszlo; Pirraglia, Elizabeth; Li, Jinyu; Wang, Xiuyuan Hugh; Li, Yi; Tsui, Wai; Talos, Delia; Devinsky, Orrin; Kuchna, Izabela; Nowicki, Krzysztof; French, Jacqueline; Kuzniecky, Rubin; Wegiel, Jerzy; Glodzik, Lidia; Rusinek, Henry; deLeon, Mony J; Thesen, Thomas

2014-08-15

Septal nuclei, located in basal forebrain, are strongly connected with hippocampi and important in learning and memory, but have received limited research attention in human MRI studies. While probabilistic maps for estimating septal volume on MRI are now available, they have not been independently validated against manual tracing of MRI, typically considered the gold standard for delineating brain structures. We developed a protocol for manual tracing of the human septal region on MRI based on examination of neuroanatomical specimens. We applied this tracing protocol to T1 MRI scans (n=86) from subjects with temporal epilepsy and healthy controls to measure septal volume. To assess the inter-rater reliability of the protocol, a second tracer used the same protocol on 20 scans that were randomly selected from the 72 healthy controls. In addition to measuring septal volume, maximum septal thickness between the ventricles was measured and recorded. The same scans (n=86) were also analyzed using septal probabilistic maps and DARTEL toolbox in SPM. Results show that our manual tracing algorithm is reliable, and that septal volume measurements obtained via manual and automated methods correlate significantly with each other (p<.001). Both manual and automated methods detected significantly enlarged septal nuclei in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy in accord with a proposed compensatory neuroplastic process related to the strong connections between septal nuclei and hippocampi. Septal thickness, which was simple to measure with excellent inter-rater reliability, correlated well with both manual and automated septal volume, suggesting it could serve as an easy-to-measure surrogate for septal volume in future studies. Our results call attention to the important though understudied human septal region, confirm its enlargement in temporal lobe epilepsy, and provide a reliable new manual delineation protocol that will facilitate continued study of this critical region

Semi-automating the manual literature search for systematic reviews increases efficiency.

PubMed

Chapman, Andrea L; Morgan, Laura C; Gartlehner, Gerald

2010-03-01

To minimise retrieval bias, manual literature searches are a key part of the search process of any systematic review. Considering the need to have accurate information, valid results of the manual literature search are essential to ensure scientific standards; likewise efficient approaches that minimise the amount of personnel time required to conduct a manual literature search are of great interest. The objective of this project was to determine the validity and efficiency of a new manual search method that utilises the scopus database. We used the traditional manual search approach as the gold standard to determine the validity and efficiency of the proposed scopus method. Outcome measures included completeness of article detection and personnel time involved. Using both methods independently, we compared the results based on accuracy of the results, validity and time spent conducting the search, efficiency. Regarding accuracy, the scopus method identified the same studies as the traditional approach indicating its validity. In terms of efficiency, using scopus led to a time saving of 62.5% compared with the traditional approach (3 h versus 8 h). The scopus method can significantly improve the efficiency of manual searches and thus of systematic reviews.

Construction Exploration. Practical Arts. Instructor's Manual. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keeton, Martha; And Others

This manual provides curriculum materials for implementing a career exploration class in construction occupations within a Practical Arts Education program for middle/junior high school students. Introductory materials include the program master sequence, a list of construction occupations, and an overview of the competency-based instructional…

Petrographic methods of examining hardened concrete : a petrographic manual.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-11-01

This manual was undertaken to record for all persons wishing to do concrete : petrography the petrographic procedures that have been found useful at the : Virginia Transportation Research Council. The manual is made up of an : introduction and chapte...

The 'Arm Force Field' method to predict manual arm strength based on only hand location and force direction.

PubMed

La Delfa, Nicholas J; Potvin, Jim R

2017-03-01

This paper describes the development of a novel method (termed the 'Arm Force Field' or 'AFF') to predict manual arm strength (MAS) for a wide range of body orientations, hand locations and any force direction. This method used an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the effects of hand location and force direction on MAS, and included a method to estimate the contribution of the arm's weight to the predicted strength. The AFF method predicted the MAS values very well (r 2  = 0.97, RMSD = 5.2 N, n = 456) and maintained good generalizability with external test data (r 2  = 0.842, RMSD = 13.1 N, n = 80). The AFF can be readily integrated within any DHM ergonomics software, and appears to be a more robust, reliable and valid method of estimating the strength capabilities of the arm, when compared to current approaches. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Field manual for the collection of Navajo Nation streamflow-gage data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hart, Robert J.; Fisk, Gregory G.

2014-01-01

The Field Manual for the Collection of Navajo Nation Streamflow-Gage Data (Navajo Field Manual) is based on established (standard) U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging methods and provides guidelines specifically designed for the Navajo Department of Water Resources personnel who establish and maintain streamflow gages. The Navajo Field Manual addresses field visits, including essential field equipment and the selection of and routine visits to streamflow-gaging stations, examines surveying methods for determining peak flows (indirect measurements), discusses safety considerations, and defines basic terms.

Battery Test Manual For Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

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

Jeffrey R. Belt

2010-09-01

This battery test procedure manual was prepared for the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Program. It is based on technical targets established for energy storage development projects aimed at meeting system level DOE goals for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). The specific procedures defined in this manual support the performance and life characterization of advanced battery devices under development for PHEV’s. However, it does share some methods described in the previously published battery test manual for power-assist hybrid electric vehicles. Due to the complexity of some of the proceduresmore » and supporting analysis, a revision including some modifications and clarifications of these procedures is expected. As in previous battery and capacitor test manuals, this version of the manual defines testing methods for full-size battery systems, along with provisions for scaling these tests for modules, cells or other subscale level devices.« less

Battery Test Manual For Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

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

Jeffrey R. Belt

2010-12-01

This battery test procedure manual was prepared for the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Program. It is based on technical targets established for energy storage development projects aimed at meeting system level DOE goals for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). The specific procedures defined in this manual support the performance and life characterization of advanced battery devices under development for PHEV’s. However, it does share some methods described in the previously published battery test manual for power-assist hybrid electric vehicles. Due to the complexity of some of the proceduresmore » and supporting analysis, a revision including some modifications and clarifications of these procedures is expected. As in previous battery and capacitor test manuals, this version of the manual defines testing methods for full-size battery systems, along with provisions for scaling these tests for modules, cells or other subscale level devices.« less

Determination of three-dimensional muscle architectures: validation of the DTI-based fiber tractography method by manual digitization

PubMed Central

Schenk, P; Siebert, T; Hiepe, P; Güllmar, D; Reichenbach, J R; Wick, C; Blickhan, R; Böl, M

2013-01-01

In the last decade, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been used increasingly to investigate three-dimensional (3D) muscle architectures. So far there is no study that has proved the validity of this method to determine fascicle lengths and pennation angles within a whole muscle. To verify the DTI method, fascicle lengths of m. soleus as well as their pennation angles have been measured using two different methods. First, the 3D muscle architecture was analyzed in vivo applying the DTI method with subsequent deterministic fiber tractography. In a second step, the muscle architecture of the same muscle was analyzed using a standard manual digitization system (MicroScribe MLX). Comparing both methods, we found differences for the median pennation angles (P < 0.001) but not for the median fascicle lengths (P = 0.216). Despite the statistical results, we conclude that the DTI method is appropriate to determine the global fiber orientation. The difference in median pennation angles determined with both methods is only about 1.2° (median pennation angle of MicroScribe: 9.7°; DTI: 8.5°) and probably has no practical relevance for muscle simulation studies. Determining fascicle lengths requires additional restriction and further development of the DTI method. PMID:23678961

Determination of three-dimensional muscle architectures: validation of the DTI-based fiber tractography method by manual digitization.

PubMed

Schenk, P; Siebert, T; Hiepe, P; Güllmar, D; Reichenbach, J R; Wick, C; Blickhan, R; Böl, M

2013-07-01

In the last decade, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been used increasingly to investigate three-dimensional (3D) muscle architectures. So far there is no study that has proved the validity of this method to determine fascicle lengths and pennation angles within a whole muscle. To verify the DTI method, fascicle lengths of m. soleus as well as their pennation angles have been measured using two different methods. First, the 3D muscle architecture was analyzed in vivo applying the DTI method with subsequent deterministic fiber tractography. In a second step, the muscle architecture of the same muscle was analyzed using a standard manual digitization system (MicroScribe MLX). Comparing both methods, we found differences for the median pennation angles (P < 0.001) but not for the median fascicle lengths (P = 0.216). Despite the statistical results, we conclude that the DTI method is appropriate to determine the global fiber orientation. The difference in median pennation angles determined with both methods is only about 1.2° (median pennation angle of MicroScribe: 9.7°; DTI: 8.5°) and probably has no practical relevance for muscle simulation studies. Determining fascicle lengths requires additional restriction and further development of the DTI method. © 2013 Anatomical Society.

ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016 Performance Rating Method Reference Manual

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

Goel, Supriya; Rosenberg, Michael I.; Eley, Charles

This document is intended to be a reference manual for the Appendix G Performance Rating Method (PRM) of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016 (Standard 90.1-2016). The PRM can be used to demonstrate compliance with the standard and to rate the energy efficiency of commercial and high-rise residential buildings with designs that exceed the requirements of Standard 90.1. Use of the PRM for demonstrating compliance with Standard 90.1 is a new feature of the 2016 edition. The procedures and processes described in this manual are designed to provide consistency and accuracy by filling in gaps and providing additional details needed by users ofmore » the PRM.« less

[Comparison of manual and automated (MagNA Pure) nucleic acid isolation methods in molecular diagnosis of HIV infections].

PubMed

Alp, Alpaslan; Us, Dürdal; Hasçelik, Gülşen

2004-01-01

Rapid quantitative molecular methods are very important for the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, assessment of prognosis and follow up. The purpose of this study was to compare and evaluate the performances of conventional manual extraction method and automated MagNA Pure system, for the nucleic acid isolation step which is the first and most important step in molecular diagnosis of HIV infections. Plasma samples of 35 patients in which anti-HIV antibodies were found as positive by microparticule enzyme immunoassay and confirmed by immunoblotting method, were included in the study. The nucleic acids obtained simultaneously by manual isolation kit (Cobas Amplicor, HIV-1 Monitor Test, version 1.5, Roche Diagnostics) and automated system (MagNA Pure LC Total Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit, Roche Diagnostics), were amplified and detected in Cobas Amplicor (Roche Diagnostics) instrument. Twenty three of 35 samples (65.7%) were found to be positive, and 9 (25.7%) were negative by both of the methods. The agreement between the methods were detected as 91.4%, for qualitative results. Viral RNA copies detected by manual and MagNA Pure isolation methods were found between 76.0-7.590.000 (mean: 487.143) and 113.0-20.300.0000 (mean: 2.174.097) copies/ml, respectively. When both of the overall and individual results were evaluated, the number of RNA copies obtained with automatized system, were found higher than the manual method (p<0.05). Three samples which had low numbers of nucleic acids (113, 773, 857, respectively) with MagNA Pure, yielded negative results with manual method. In conclusion, the automatized MagNA Pure system was found to be a reliable, rapid and practical method for the isolation of HIV-RNA.

A detailed comparison of analysis processes for MCC-IMS data in disease classification—Automated methods can replace manual peak annotations

PubMed Central

Horsch, Salome; Kopczynski, Dominik; Kuthe, Elias; Baumbach, Jörg Ingo; Rahmann, Sven

2017-01-01

Motivation Disease classification from molecular measurements typically requires an analysis pipeline from raw noisy measurements to final classification results. Multi capillary column—ion mobility spectrometry (MCC-IMS) is a promising technology for the detection of volatile organic compounds in the air of exhaled breath. From raw measurements, the peak regions representing the compounds have to be identified, quantified, and clustered across different experiments. Currently, several steps of this analysis process require manual intervention of human experts. Our goal is to identify a fully automatic pipeline that yields competitive disease classification results compared to an established but subjective and tedious semi-manual process. Method We combine a large number of modern methods for peak detection, peak clustering, and multivariate classification into analysis pipelines for raw MCC-IMS data. We evaluate all combinations on three different real datasets in an unbiased cross-validation setting. We determine which specific algorithmic combinations lead to high AUC values in disease classifications across the different medical application scenarios. Results The best fully automated analysis process achieves even better classification results than the established manual process. The best algorithms for the three analysis steps are (i) SGLTR (Savitzky-Golay Laplace-operator filter thresholding regions) and LM (Local Maxima) for automated peak identification, (ii) EM clustering (Expectation Maximization) and DBSCAN (Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) for the clustering step and (iii) RF (Random Forest) for multivariate classification. Thus, automated methods can replace the manual steps in the analysis process to enable an unbiased high throughput use of the technology. PMID:28910313

Massage, reflexology and other manual methods for pain management in labour.

PubMed

Smith, Caroline A; Levett, Kate M; Collins, Carmel T; Jones, Leanne

2012-02-15

Many women would like to avoid pharmacological or invasive methods of pain management in labour, and this may contribute towards the popularity of complementary methods of pain management. This review examined currently available evidence supporting the use of manual healing methods including massage and reflexology for pain management in labour. To examine the effects of manual healing methods including massage and reflexology for pain management in labour on maternal and perinatal morbidity. We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (30 June 2011), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2011, Issue 2 of 4), MEDLINE (1966 to 30 June 2011), CINAHL (1980 to 30 June 2011), the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (30 June 2011), Chinese Clinical Trial Register (30 June 2011), Current Controlled Trials (30 June 2011), ClinicalTrials.gov, (30 June 2011) ISRCTN Register (30 June 2011), National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) (30 June 2011) and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (30 June 2011). Randomised controlled trials comparing manual healing methods with standard care, no treatment, other non-pharmacological forms of pain management in labour or placebo. Two authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data. We attempted to contact study authors for additional information. We included six trials, with data reporting on five trials and 326 women in the meta-analysis. We found trials for massage only. Less pain during labour was reported from massage compared with usual care during the first stage of labour (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.17 to -0.47), four trials, 225 women), and labour pain was reduced in one trial of massage compared with music (risk ratio (RR) 0.40, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.89, 101 women). One trial of massage compared with usual care found reduced anxiety during

VOLUNTEER ESTUARY MONITORING: A METHOD MANUAL

EPA Science Inventory

Executive Summary: This manual focuses on volunteer estuary monitoring. As concern over the well-being of the environment has increased during the past couple of decades, volunteer monitoring has become an integral part of the effort to assess the health of our nation’s waters. G...

Continuous Manual Exchange Transfusion for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: An Efficient Method to Avoid Iron Overload.

PubMed

Koehl, Bérengère; Missud, Florence; Holvoet, Laurent; Ithier, Ghislaine; Sakalian-Black, Oliver; Haouari, Zinedine; Lesprit, Emmanuelle; Baruchel, André; Benkerrou, Malika

2017-03-14

Children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) may be at risk of cerebral vasculopathy and strokes, which can be prevented by chronic transfusion programs. Repeated transfusions of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) is currently the simplest and most used technique for chronic transfusion programs. However, iron overload is one of the major side effects of this therapy. More developed methods exist, notably the apheresis of RBC (erythrapheresis), which is currently the safest and most efficient method. However, it is costly, complicated, and cannot be implemented everywhere, nor is it suitable for all patients. Manual exchange transfusions combine one or more manual phlebotomies with a PRBC transfusion. At the Reference Center of Sickle Cell Disease, we set up a continuous method of manual exchange transfusion that is feasible for all hospital settings, demands no specific equipment, and is widely applicable. In terms of HbS decrease, stroke prevention, and iron overload prevention, this method showed comparable efficiency to erythrapheresis. In cases where erythrapheresis is not available, this method can be a good alternative for patients and care centers.

Structure-based manual screening and automatic networking for systematically exploring sansanmycin analogues using high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy.

PubMed

Jiang, Zhi-Bo; Ren, Wei-Cong; Shi, Yuan-Yuan; Li, Xing-Xing; Lei, Xuan; Fan, Jia-Hui; Zhang, Cong; Gu, Ren-Jie; Wang, Li-Fei; Xie, Yun-Ying; Hong, Bin

2018-05-18

Sansanmycins (SS), one of several known uridyl peptide antibiotics (UPAs) possessing a unique chemical scaffold, showed a good inhibitory effect on the highly refractory pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, especially on the multi-drug resistant M. tuberculosis. This study employed high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry detector (HPLC-MSD) ion trap and LTQ orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to explore sansanmycin analogues manually and automatically by re-analysis of the Streptomyces sp. SS fermentation broth. The structure-based manual screening method, based on analysis of the fragmentation pathway of known UPAs and on comparisons of the MS/MS spectra with that of sansanmycin A (SS-A), resulted in identifying twenty sansanmycin analogues, including twelve new structures (1-12). Furthermore, to deeply explore sansanmycin analogues, we utilized a GNPS based molecular networking workflow to re-analyze the HPLC-MS/MS data automatically. As a result, eight more new sansanmycins (13-20) were discovered. Compound 1 was discovered to lose two amino acids of residue 1 (AA 1 ) and (2S, 3S)-N 3 -methyl-2,3-diamino butyric acid (DABA) from the N-terminus, and compounds 6, 11 and 12 were found to contain a 2',3'-dehydrated 4',5'-enamine-3'-deoxyuridyl moiety, which have not been reported before. Interestingly, three trace components with novel 5,6-dihydro-5'-aminouridyl group (16-18) were detected for the first time in the sansanmycin-producing strain. Their structures were primarily determined by detail analysis of the data from MS/MS. Compounds 8 and 10 were further confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data, which proved the efficiency and accuracy of the method of HPLC-MS/MS for exploration of novel UPAs. Comparing to manual screening, the networking method can provide systematic visualization results. Manual screening and networking method may complement with each other to facilitate the mining of novel UPAs

Comparison of cell counting methods in rodent pulmonary toxicity studies: automated and manual protocols and considerations for experimental design.

PubMed

Zeidler-Erdely, Patti C; Antonini, James M; Meighan, Terence G; Young, Shih-Houng; Eye, Tracy J; Hammer, Mary Ann; Erdely, Aaron

2016-08-01

Pulmonary toxicity studies often use bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) to investigate potential adverse lung responses to a particulate exposure. The BAL cellular fraction is counted, using automated (i.e. Coulter Counter®), flow cytometry or manual (i.e. hemocytometer) methods, to determine inflammatory cell influx. The goal of the study was to compare the different counting methods to determine which is optimal for examining BAL cell influx after exposure by inhalation or intratracheal instillation (ITI) to different particles with varying inherent pulmonary toxicities in both rat and mouse models. General findings indicate that total BAL cell counts using the automated and manual methods tended to agree after inhalation or ITI exposure to particle samples that are relatively nontoxic or at later time points after exposure to a pneumotoxic particle when the response resolves. However, when the initial lung inflammation and cytotoxicity was high after exposure to a pneumotoxic particle, significant differences were observed when comparing cell counts from the automated, flow cytometry and manual methods. When using total BAL cell count for differential calculations from the automated method, depending on the cell diameter size range cutoff, the data suggest that the number of lung polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) varies. Importantly, the automated counts, regardless of the size cutoff, still indicated a greater number of total lung PMN when compared with the manual method, which agreed more closely with flow cytometry. The results suggest that either the manual method or flow cytometry would be better suited for BAL studies where cytotoxicity is an unknown variable.

Comparison of cell counting methods in rodent pulmonary toxicity studies: automated and manual protocols and considerations for experimental design

PubMed Central

Zeidler-Erdely, Patti C.; Antonini, James M.; Meighan, Terence G.; Young, Shih-Houng; Eye, Tracy J.; Hammer, Mary Ann; Erdely, Aaron

2016-01-01

Pulmonary toxicity studies often use bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) to investigate potential adverse lung responses to a particulate exposure. The BAL cellular fraction is counted, using automated (i.e. Coulter Counter®), flow cytometry or manual (i.e. hemocytometer) methods, to determine inflammatory cell influx. The goal of the study was to compare the different counting methods to determine which is optimal for examining BAL cell influx after exposure by inhalation or intratracheal instillation (ITI) to different particles with varying inherent pulmonary toxicities in both rat and mouse models. General findings indicate that total BAL cell counts using the automated and manual methods tended to agree after inhalation or ITI exposure to particle samples that are relatively nontoxic or at later time points after exposure to a pneumotoxic particle when the response resolves. However, when the initial lung inflammation and cytotoxicity was high after exposure to a pneumotoxic particle, significant differences were observed when comparing cell counts from the automated, flow cytometry and manual methods. When using total BAL cell count for differential calculations from the automated method, depending on the cell diameter size range cutoff, the data suggest that the number of lung polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) varies. Importantly, the automated counts, regardless of the size cutoff, still indicated a greater number of total lung PMN when compared with the manual method, which agreed more closely with flow cytometry. The results suggest that either the manual method or flow cytometry would be better suited for BAL studies where cytotoxicity is an unknown variable. PMID:27251196

Cervical spine motion in manual versus Jackson table turning methods in a cadaveric global instability model.

PubMed

DiPaola, Matthew J; DiPaola, Christian P; Conrad, Bryan P; Horodyski, MaryBeth; Del Rossi, Gianluca; Sawers, Andrew; Bloch, David; Rechtine, Glenn R

2008-06-01

A study of spine biomechanics in a cadaver model. To quantify motion in multiple axes created by transfer methods from stretcher to operating table in the prone position in a cervical global instability model. Patients with an unstable cervical spine remain at high risk for further secondary injury until their spine is adequately surgically stabilized. Previous studies have revealed that collars have significant, but limited benefit in preventing cervical motion when manually transferring patients. The literature proposes multiple methods of patient transfer, although no one method has been universally adopted. To date, no study has effectively evaluated the relationship between spine motion and various patient transfer methods to an operating room table for prone positioning. A global instability was surgically created at C5-6 in 4 fresh cadavers with no history of spine pathology. All cadavers were tested both with and without a rigid cervical collar in the intact and unstable state. Three headrest permutations were evaluated Mayfield (SM USA Inc), Prone View (Dupaco, Oceanside, CA), and Foam Pillow (OSI, Union City, CA). A trained group of medical staff performed each of 2 transfer methods: the "manual" and the "Jackson table" transfer. The manual technique entailed performing a standard rotation of the supine patient on a stretcher to the prone position on the operating room table with in-line manual cervical stabilization. The "Jackson" technique involved sliding the supine patient to the Jackson table (OSI, Union City, CA) with manual in-line cervical stabilization, securing them to the table, then initiating the table's lock and turn mechanism and rotating them into a prone position. An electromagnetic tracking device captured angular motion between the C5 and C6 vertebral segments. Repeated measures statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the following conditions: collar use (2 levels), headrest (3 levels), and turning technique (2 levels). For all

NASA Safety Manual. Volume 3: System Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1970-01-01

This Volume 3 of the NASA Safety Manual sets forth the basic elements and techniques for managing a system safety program and the technical methods recommended for use in developing a risk evaluation program that is oriented to the identification of hazards in aerospace hardware systems and the development of residual risk management information for the program manager that is based on the hazards identified. The methods and techniques described in this volume are in consonance with the requirements set forth in NHB 1700.1 (VI), Chapter 3. This volume and future volumes of the NASA Safety Manual shall not be rewritten, reprinted, or reproduced in any manner. Installation implementing procedures, if necessary, shall be inserted as page supplements in accordance with the provisions of Appendix A. No portion of this volume or future volumes of the NASA Safety Manual shall be invoked in contracts.

EMG Processing Based Measures of Fatigue Assessment during Manual Lifting.

PubMed

Shair, E F; Ahmad, S A; Marhaban, M H; Mohd Tamrin, S B; Abdullah, A R

2017-01-01

Manual lifting is one of the common practices used in the industries to transport or move objects to a desired place. Nowadays, even though mechanized equipment is widely available, manual lifting is still considered as an essential way to perform material handling task. Improper lifting strategies may contribute to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), where overexertion contributes as the highest factor. To overcome this problem, electromyography (EMG) signal is used to monitor the workers' muscle condition and to find maximum lifting load, lifting height and number of repetitions that the workers are able to handle before experiencing fatigue to avoid overexertion. Past researchers have introduced several EMG processing techniques and different EMG features that represent fatigue indices in time, frequency, and time-frequency domain. The impact of EMG processing based measures in fatigue assessment during manual lifting are reviewed in this paper. It is believed that this paper will greatly benefit researchers who need a bird's eye view of the biosignal processing which are currently available, thus determining the best possible techniques for lifting applications.

EMG Processing Based Measures of Fatigue Assessment during Manual Lifting

PubMed Central

Marhaban, M. H.; Abdullah, A. R.

2017-01-01

Manual lifting is one of the common practices used in the industries to transport or move objects to a desired place. Nowadays, even though mechanized equipment is widely available, manual lifting is still considered as an essential way to perform material handling task. Improper lifting strategies may contribute to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), where overexertion contributes as the highest factor. To overcome this problem, electromyography (EMG) signal is used to monitor the workers' muscle condition and to find maximum lifting load, lifting height and number of repetitions that the workers are able to handle before experiencing fatigue to avoid overexertion. Past researchers have introduced several EMG processing techniques and different EMG features that represent fatigue indices in time, frequency, and time-frequency domain. The impact of EMG processing based measures in fatigue assessment during manual lifting are reviewed in this paper. It is believed that this paper will greatly benefit researchers who need a bird's eye view of the biosignal processing which are currently available, thus determining the best possible techniques for lifting applications. PMID:28303251

TECHNICAL MANUAL: A SURVEY OF EQUIPMENT AND METHODS FOR PARTICULATE SAMPLING IN INDUSTRIAL PROCESS STREAMS

EPA Science Inventory

The manual lists and describes the instruments and techniques that are available for measuring the concentration or size distribution of particles suspended in process streams. The standard, official, well established methods are described as well as some experimental methods and...

MAC/GMC 4.0 User's Manual: Example Problem Manual. Volume 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bednarcyk, Brett A.; Arnold, Steven M.

2002-01-01

This document is the third volume in the three volume set of User's Manuals for the Micromechanics Analysis Code with Generalized Method of Cells Version 4.0 (MAC/GMC 4.0). Volume 1 is the Theory Manual, Volume 2 is the Keywords Manual, and this document is the Example Problems Manual. MAC/GMC 4.0 is a composite material and laminate analysis software program developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center. It is based on the generalized method of cells (GMC) micromechanics theory, which provides access to the local stress and strain fields in the composite material. This access grants GMC the ability to accommodate arbitrary local models for inelastic material behavior and various types of damage and failure analysis. MAC/GMC 4.0 has been built around GMC to provide the theory with a user-friendly framework, along with a library of local inelastic, damage, and failure models. Further, application of simulated thermo-mechanical loading, generation of output results, and selection of architectures to represent the composite material, have been automated in MAC/GMC 4.0. Finally, classical lamination theory has been implemented within MAC/GMC 4.0 wherein GMC is used to model the composite material response of each ply. Consequently, the full range of GMC composite material capabilities is available for analysis of arbitrary laminate configurations as well. This volume provides in-depth descriptions of 43 example problems, which were specially designed to highlight many of the most important capabilities of the code. The actual input files associated with each example problem are distributed with the MAC/GMC 4.0 software; thus providing the user with a convenient starting point for their own specialized problems of interest.

A Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Psychoeducational Group Manual for Problem Gambling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cormier, Abigail; McBride, Dawn Lorraine

2012-01-01

This project provides a comprehensive overview of the research literature on problem gambling in adults and includes a detailed mindfulness-based psychoeducational group manual for problem gambling, complete with an extensive group counselling consent form, assessment and screening protocols, 10 user-friendly lesson plans, templates for a…

No-cost manual method for preparation of tissue microarrays having high quality comparable to semiautomated methods.

PubMed

Foda, Abd Al-Rahman Mohammad

2013-05-01

Manual tissue microarray (TMA) construction had been introduced to avoid the high cost of automated and semiautomated techniques. The cheapest and simplest technique for constructing manual TMA was that of using mechanical pencil tips. This study was carried out to modify this method, aiming to raise its quality to reach that of expensive ones. Some modifications were introduced to Shebl's technique. Two conventional mechanical pencil tips of different diameters were used to construct the recipient blocks. A source of mild heat was used, and blocks were incubated at 38°C overnight. With our modifications, 3 high-density TMA blocks were constructed. We successfully performed immunostaining without substantial tissue loss. Our modifications increased the number of cores per block and improved the stability of the cores within the paraffin block. This new, modified technique is a good alternative for expensive machines in many laboratories.

Marine Science Exploration. Practical Arts. Instructor's Manual. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keeton, Martha; McKinley, Douglas

This manual provides curriculum materials for implementing a career exploration class in marine science occupations within a Practical Arts Education program for middle/junior high school students. Introductory materials include the program master sequence, a list of marine science occupations, and an overview of the competency-based instructional…

NASA Hydrogen Peroxide Propellant Hazards Technical Manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, David L.; Greene, Ben; Frazier, Wayne

2005-01-01

The Fire, Explosion, Compatibility and Safety Hazards of Hydrogen Peroxide NASA technical manual was developed at the NASA Johnson Space Center White Sands Test Facility. NASA Technical Memorandum TM-2004-213151 covers topics concerning high concentration hydrogen peroxide including fire and explosion hazards, material and fluid reactivity, materials selection information, personnel and environmental hazards, physical and chemical properties, analytical spectroscopy, specifications, analytical methods, and material compatibility data. A summary of hydrogen peroxide-related accidents, incidents, dose calls, mishaps and lessons learned is included. The manual draws from art extensive literature base and includes recent applicable regulatory compliance documentation. The manual may be obtained by United States government agencies from NASA Johnson Space Center and used as a reference source for hazards and safe handling of hydrogen peroxide.

Disinfection of transvaginal ultrasound probes in a clinical setting: comparative performance of automated and manual reprocessing methods.

PubMed

Buescher, D L; Möllers, M; Falkenberg, M K; Amler, S; Kipp, F; Burdach, J; Klockenbusch, W; Schmitz, R

2016-05-01

Transvaginal and intracavitary ultrasound probes are a possible source of cross-contamination with microorganisms and thus a risk to patients' health. Therefore appropriate methods for reprocessing are needed. This study was designed to compare the standard disinfection method for transvaginal ultrasound probes in Germany with an automated disinfection method in a clinical setting. This was a prospective randomized controlled clinical study of two groups. In each group, 120 microbial samples were collected from ultrasound transducers before and after disinfection with either an automated method (Trophon EPR®) or a manual method (Mikrozid Sensitive® wipes). Samples were then analyzed for microbial growth and isolates were identified to species level. Automated disinfection had a statistically significantly higher success rate of 91.4% (106/116) compared with 78.8% (89/113) for manual disinfection (P = 0.009). The risk of contamination was increased by 2.9-fold when disinfection was performed manually (odds ratio, 2.9 (95% CI, 1.3-6.3)). Before disinfection, bacterial contamination was observed on 98.8% of probes. Microbial analysis revealed 36 different species of bacteria, including skin and environmental bacteria as well as pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas spp. Considering the high number of contaminated probes and bacterial species found, disinfection of the ultrasound probe's body and handle should be performed after each use to decrease the risk of cross-contamination. This study favored automated disinfection owing to its significantly higher efficacy compared with a manual method. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A marker-based watershed method for X-ray image segmentation.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaodong; Jia, Fucang; Luo, Suhuai; Liu, Guiying; Hu, Qingmao

2014-03-01

Digital X-ray images are the most frequent modality for both screening and diagnosis in hospitals. To facilitate subsequent analysis such as quantification and computer aided diagnosis (CAD), it is desirable to exclude image background. A marker-based watershed segmentation method was proposed to segment background of X-ray images. The method consisted of six modules: image preprocessing, gradient computation, marker extraction, watershed segmentation from markers, region merging and background extraction. One hundred clinical direct radiograph X-ray images were used to validate the method. Manual thresholding and multiscale gradient based watershed method were implemented for comparison. The proposed method yielded a dice coefficient of 0.964±0.069, which was better than that of the manual thresholding (0.937±0.119) and that of multiscale gradient based watershed method (0.942±0.098). Special means were adopted to decrease the computational cost, including getting rid of few pixels with highest grayscale via percentile, calculation of gradient magnitude through simple operations, decreasing the number of markers by appropriate thresholding, and merging regions based on simple grayscale statistics. As a result, the processing time was at most 6s even for a 3072×3072 image on a Pentium 4 PC with 2.4GHz CPU (4 cores) and 2G RAM, which was more than one time faster than that of the multiscale gradient based watershed method. The proposed method could be a potential tool for diagnosis and quantification of X-ray images. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Battery Test Manual For Electric Vehicles, Revision 3

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

Christophersen, Jon P.

2015-06-01

This battery test procedure manual was prepared for the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office. It is based on technical targets for commercial viability established for energy storage development projects aimed at meeting system level DOE goals for Electric Vehicles (EV). The specific procedures defined in this manual support the performance and life characterization of advanced battery devices under development for EVs. However, it does share some methods described in the previously published battery test manual for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Due to the complexity of some of themore » procedures and supporting analysis, future revisions including some modifications and clarifications of these procedures are expected. As in previous battery and capacitor test manuals, this version of the manual defines testing methods for full-size battery systems, along with provisions for scaling these tests for modules, cells or other subscale level devices. The DOE-United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) supported the development of the manual. Technical Team points of contact responsible for its development and revision are Chul Bae of Ford Motor Company and Jon P. Christophersen of the Idaho National Laboratory. The development of this manual was funded by the Unites States Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office. Technical direction from DOE was provided by David Howell, Energy Storage R&D Manager and Hybrid Electric Systems Team Leader. Comments and questions regarding the manual should be directed to Jon P. Christophersen at the Idaho National Laboratory (jon.christophersen@inl.gov).« less

Urban Watershed Forestry Manual Part 1: Methods for Increasing Forest Cover in a Watershed

Treesearch

Karen Cappiella; Tom Schueler; Tiffany Wright

2005-01-01

This manual is one in a three-part series on using trees to protect and restore urban watersheds. A brief description of each part follows. Part 1: Methods for Increasing Forest Cover in a Watershed introduces the emerging topic of urban watershed forestry. This part also presents new methods for the watershed planner or forester to systematically measure watershed...

Accuracy of methemoglobin measurements: comparison of six different commercial devices and one manual method.

PubMed

Dötsch, J; Demirakça, S; Hahn, D; Katz, N; Kühl, P G; Rascher, W

1999-06-01

During nitric oxide inhalation, methemoglobinemia needs to be monitored. We compared six commercially available instruments and one manual method for methemoglobin measurements. In addition, we studied whether and to what degree methylene blue interferes with methemoglobin measurements. In vitro methodologic study. Research laboratory in a university hospital. Five healthy volunteers from whom red blood cells were obtained. Methemoglobinemia was generated in a red blood cell suspension by nitric oxide; methemoglobin was measured with six commercial instruments and one manual photometric method to calculate variation coefficients and to determine the differences between the devices. Methemoglobin was measured with and without the addition of methylene blue with two instruments. Measurements were performed immediately after the addition of methylene blue. All six commercially available instruments had variation coefficients of <0.1 at methemoglobin concentrations of 5%, whereas the manual photometric method did not reach a variation coefficient of <0.1 at 8% of methemoglobin. Apart from two devices that measured slightly but significantly higher methemoglobin levels, all instruments measured similar values of methemoglobin when the same samples were determined simultaneously. Higher concentrations of methylene blue (10, 40, 100 microM) reduced substantially the apparent concentrations of methemoglobin. Interference by methylene blue was most pronounced at low methemoglobin levels. With some limitations, all commercial instruments that were tested performed adequately for the monitoring of methemoglobinemia. Methylene blue interferes with the methemoglobin measurements in a dose-dependent manner.

Sensitivity-based virtual fields for the non-linear virtual fields method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marek, Aleksander; Davis, Frances M.; Pierron, Fabrice

2017-09-01

The virtual fields method is an approach to inversely identify material parameters using full-field deformation data. In this manuscript, a new set of automatically-defined virtual fields for non-linear constitutive models has been proposed. These new sensitivity-based virtual fields reduce the influence of noise on the parameter identification. The sensitivity-based virtual fields were applied to a numerical example involving small strain plasticity; however, the general formulation derived for these virtual fields is applicable to any non-linear constitutive model. To quantify the improvement offered by these new virtual fields, they were compared with stiffness-based and manually defined virtual fields. The proposed sensitivity-based virtual fields were consistently able to identify plastic model parameters and outperform the stiffness-based and manually defined virtual fields when the data was corrupted by noise.

An Instrumented Glove to Assess Manual Dexterity in Simulation-Based Neurosurgical Education

PubMed Central

Lemos, Juan Diego; Hernandez, Alher Mauricio; Soto-Romero, Georges

2017-01-01

The traditional neurosurgical apprenticeship scheme includes the assessment of trainee’s manual skills carried out by experienced surgeons. However, the introduction of surgical simulation technology presents a new paradigm where residents can refine surgical techniques on a simulator before putting them into practice in real patients. Unfortunately, in this new scheme, an experienced surgeon will not always be available to evaluate trainee’s performance. For this reason, it is necessary to develop automatic mechanisms to estimate metrics for assessing manual dexterity in a quantitative way. Authors have proposed some hardware-software approaches to evaluate manual dexterity on surgical simulators. This paper presents IGlove, a wearable device that uses inertial sensors embedded on an elastic glove to capture hand movements. Metrics to assess manual dexterity are estimated from sensors signals using data processing and information analysis algorithms. It has been designed to be used with a neurosurgical simulator called Daubara NS Trainer, but can be easily adapted to another benchtop- and manikin-based medical simulators. The system was tested with a sample of 14 volunteers who performed a test that was designed to simultaneously evaluate their fine motor skills and the IGlove’s functionalities. Metrics obtained by each of the participants are presented as results in this work; it is also shown how these metrics are used to automatically evaluate the level of manual dexterity of each volunteer. PMID:28468268

Extent of agreement between the body fluid model of Sysmex XN-20 and the manual microscopy method.

PubMed

Huang, Wei-Hua; Lu, Lin-Peng; Wu, Kang; Guo, Fang-Yu; Guo, Jie; Yu, Jing-Long; Zhou, Dao-Yin; Sun, Yi; Deng, An-Mei

2017-09-01

Although the correlations concerning cellular component analysis between the Sysmex XN-20 body fluid (BF) model and manual microscopy have been investigated by several studies, the extent of agreement between these two methods has not been investigated. A total of 90 BF samples were prospectively collected and analyzed using the Sysmex XN-20 BF model and microscopy. The extent of agreement between these two methods was evaluated using the Bland-Altman approach. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of high-fluorescence (HF) BF cells for malignant diseases. The agreements of white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC), and percentages of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes between the Sysmex XN-20 BF model and manual microscopy were imperfect. The areas under the ROC curves for absolute and relative HF cells were 0.67 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56-0.78) and 0.60 (95% CI: 0.48-0.72), respectively. Due to the Sysmex XN-20 BF model's imperfect agreement with manual microscopy and its weak diagnostic accuracy for malignant diseases, the current evidence does not support replacing manual microscopy with this model in clinical practice. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Health Services: Clinical. Dietary Aide. Instructor's Manual. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cave, Julie; And Others

This instructor's manual consists of materials for use in presenting a course in the occupational area of dietary aide. Included in the first part of the guide are a program master sequence; a master listing of instructional materials, equipment, and supplies; an overview of the competency-based vocational education (CBVE) system; and guidelines…

Health Services: Clinical. Pharmacy Aide. Instructor's Manual. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cave, Julie; And Others

This instructor's manual consists of materials for use in presenting a course in the occupational area of pharmacy aide. Included in the first part of the guide are a program master sequence; a master listing of instructional materials, equipment, and supplies; an overview of the competency-based vocational education (CBVE) system; and guidelines…

Variability of the QuantiFERON®-TB gold in-tube test using automated and manual methods.

PubMed

Whitworth, William C; Goodwin, Donald J; Racster, Laura; West, Kevin B; Chuke, Stella O; Daniels, Laura J; Campbell, Brandon H; Bohanon, Jamaria; Jaffar, Atheer T; Drane, Wanzer; Sjoberg, Paul A; Mazurek, Gerald H

2014-01-01

The QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT-GIT) detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection by measuring release of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) when T-cells (in heparinized whole blood) are stimulated with specific Mtb antigens. The amount of IFN-γ is determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Automation of the ELISA method may reduce variability. To assess the impact of ELISA automation, we compared QFT-GIT results and variability when ELISAs were performed manually and with automation. Blood was collected into two sets of QFT-GIT tubes and processed at the same time. For each set, IFN-γ was measured in automated and manual ELISAs. Variability in interpretations and IFN-γ measurements was assessed between automated (A1 vs. A2) and manual (M1 vs. M2) ELISAs. Variability in IFN-γ measurements was also assessed on separate groups stratified by the mean of the four ELISAs. Subjects (N = 146) had two automated and two manual ELISAs completed. Overall, interpretations were discordant for 16 (11%) subjects. Excluding one subject with indeterminate results, 7 (4.8%) subjects had discordant automated interpretations and 10 (6.9%) subjects had discordant manual interpretations (p = 0.17). Quantitative variability was not uniform; within-subject variability was greater with higher IFN-γ measurements and with manual ELISAs. For subjects with mean TB Responses ±0.25 IU/mL of the 0.35 IU/mL cutoff, the within-subject standard deviation for two manual tests was 0.27 (CI95 = 0.22-0.37) IU/mL vs. 0.09 (CI95 = 0.07-0.12) IU/mL for two automated tests. QFT-GIT ELISA automation may reduce variability near the test cutoff. Methodological differences should be considered when interpreting and using IFN-γ release assays (IGRAs).

A user's manual for the method of moments Aircraft Modeling Code (AMC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peters, M. E.; Newman, E. H.

1989-01-01

This report serves as a user's manual for the Aircraft Modeling Code or AMC. AMC is a user-oriented computer code, based on the method of moments (MM), for the analysis of the radiation and/or scattering from geometries consisting of a main body or fuselage shape with attached wings and fins. The shape of the main body is described by defining its cross section at several stations along its length. Wings, fins, rotor blades, and radiating monopoles can then be attached to the main body. Although AMC was specifically designed for aircraft or helicopter shapes, it can also be applied to missiles, ships, submarines, jet inlets, automobiles, spacecraft, etc. The problem geometry and run control parameters are specified via a two character command language input format. The input command language is described and several examples which illustrate typical code inputs and outputs are also included.

FacetModeller: Software for manual creation, manipulation and analysis of 3D surface-based models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lelièvre, Peter G.; Carter-McAuslan, Angela E.; Dunham, Michael W.; Jones, Drew J.; Nalepa, Mariella; Squires, Chelsea L.; Tycholiz, Cassandra J.; Vallée, Marc A.; Farquharson, Colin G.

2018-01-01

The creation of 3D models is commonplace in many disciplines. Models are often built from a collection of tessellated surfaces. To apply numerical methods to such models it is often necessary to generate a mesh of space-filling elements that conforms to the model surfaces. While there are meshing algorithms that can do so, they place restrictive requirements on the surface-based models that are rarely met by existing 3D model building software. Hence, we have developed a Java application named FacetModeller, designed for efficient manual creation, modification and analysis of 3D surface-based models destined for use in numerical modelling.

Hippocampal volume change measurement: quantitative assessment of the reproducibility of expert manual outlining and the automated methods FreeSurfer and FIRST.

PubMed

Mulder, Emma R; de Jong, Remko A; Knol, Dirk L; van Schijndel, Ronald A; Cover, Keith S; Visser, Pieter J; Barkhof, Frederik; Vrenken, Hugo

2014-05-15

To measure hippocampal volume change in Alzheimer's disease (AD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), expert manual delineation is often used because of its supposed accuracy. It has been suggested that expert outlining yields poorer reproducibility as compared to automated methods, but this has not been investigated. To determine the reproducibilities of expert manual outlining and two common automated methods for measuring hippocampal atrophy rates in healthy aging, MCI and AD. From the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), 80 subjects were selected: 20 patients with AD, 40 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 20 healthy controls (HCs). Left and right hippocampal volume change between baseline and month-12 visit was assessed by using expert manual delineation, and by the automated software packages FreeSurfer (longitudinal processing stream) and FIRST. To assess reproducibility of the measured hippocampal volume change, both back-to-back (BTB) MPRAGE scans available for each visit were analyzed. Hippocampal volume change was expressed in μL, and as a percentage of baseline volume. Reproducibility of the 1-year hippocampal volume change was estimated from the BTB measurements by using linear mixed model to calculate the limits of agreement (LoA) of each method, reflecting its measurement uncertainty. Using the delta method, approximate p-values were calculated for the pairwise comparisons between methods. Statistical analyses were performed both with inclusion and exclusion of visibly incorrect segmentations. Visibly incorrect automated segmentation in either one or both scans of a longitudinal scan pair occurred in 7.5% of the hippocampi for FreeSurfer and in 6.9% of the hippocampi for FIRST. After excluding these failed cases, reproducibility analysis for 1-year percentage volume change yielded LoA of ±7.2% for FreeSurfer, ±9.7% for expert manual delineation, and ±10.0% for FIRST. Methods ranked the same for reproducibility of 1

Comparison of specimen adequacy and smear quality in oral smears prepared by manual liquid-based cytology and conventional methods

PubMed Central

Shukla, Surabhi; Einstein, A; Shukla, Abhilasha; Mishra, Deepika

2015-01-01

Background: Liquid-based cytology (LBC), recommended in the mass screening of potentially malignant cervical and oral lesions, suffers from high cost owing to the use of expensive automated devices and materials. Considering the need for cost-effective LBC techniques, we evaluated the efficacy of an inexpensive manual LBC (MLBC) technique against conventional cytological technique in terms of specimen adequacy and smear quality of oral smears. Materials and Methods: Cytological samples were collected from 21 patients using a cytobrush device. After preparation of a conventional smear, the brush containing the remaining sample was immersed in the preservative vial. The preserved material was processed by an MLBC technique and subsequently, direct smears were made from the prepared cell button. Both conventional and MLBC smears were stained by routine Papanicolaou technique and evaluated by an independent observer for the thickness of the smear, cellular distribution, resolution/clarity of cells, cellular staining characteristics and the presence of unsatisfactory background/artifacts. Each parameter was graded as satisfactory; or satisfactory, but limited; or unsatisfactory. Chi-square test was used to compare the values obtained (significance set at P ≤ 0.05). Results: MLBC technique produced a significant number of satisfactory smears with regard to cell distribution, clarity/resolution, staining characteristics and background/artifacts compared to conventional methods. Conclusions: MLBC is a cost-effective cytological technique that may produce oral smears with excellent cytomorphology and longer storage life. PMID:26980958

Custodial Methods and Procedures Manual. Third Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Donald R.

This manual discusses school facility cleaning and maintenance from the expanded perspective of work management, physical assets management, and resource management. Work management encompasses the organization of work and personnel, scheduling of daily or routine duties and tasks, and handling of demand work. Physical asset management includes…

[Manual therapy in general practice].

PubMed

Березуцкий, Владимир И

2016-01-01

The article is devoted to manual therapy practice for diagnostics and treatment of vertebrogenic pain syndrome in general practice. Analytical roundup of sources proves medical advantage of implementation of manual therapy basic methods by general practice specialists.

Myocardial infarct sizing by late gadolinium-enhanced MRI: Comparison of manual, full-width at half-maximum, and n-standard deviation methods.

PubMed

Zhang, Lin; Huttin, Olivier; Marie, Pierre-Yves; Felblinger, Jacques; Beaumont, Marine; Chillou, Christian DE; Girerd, Nicolas; Mandry, Damien

2016-11-01

To compare three widely used methods for myocardial infarct (MI) sizing on late gadolinium-enhanced (LGE) magnetic resonance (MR) images: manual delineation and two semiautomated techniques (full-width at half-maximum [FWHM] and n-standard deviation [SD]). 3T phase-sensitive inversion-recovery (PSIR) LGE images of 114 patients after an acute MI (2-4 days and 6 months) were analyzed by two independent observers to determine both total and core infarct sizes (TIS/CIS). Manual delineation served as the reference for determination of optimal thresholds for semiautomated methods after thresholding at multiple values. Reproducibility and accuracy were expressed as overall bias ± 95% limits of agreement. Mean infarct sizes by manual methods were 39.0%/24.4% for the acute MI group (TIS/CIS) and 29.7%/17.3% for the chronic MI group. The optimal thresholds (ie, providing the closest mean value to the manual method) were FWHM30% and 3SD for the TIS measurement and FWHM45% and 6SD for the CIS measurement (paired t-test; all P > 0.05). The best reproducibility was obtained using FWHM. For TIS measurement in the acute MI group, intra-/interobserver agreements, from Bland-Altman analysis, with FWHM30%, 3SD, and manual were -0.02 ± 7.74%/-0.74 ± 5.52%, 0.31 ± 9.78%/2.96 ± 16.62% and -2.12 ± 8.86%/0.18 ± 16.12, respectively; in the chronic MI group, the corresponding values were 0.23 ± 3.5%/-2.28 ± 15.06, -0.29 ± 10.46%/3.12 ± 13.06% and 1.68 ± 6.52%/-2.88 ± 9.62%, respectively. A similar trend for reproducibility was obtained for CIS measurement. However, semiautomated methods produced inconsistent results (variabilities of 24-46%) compared to manual delineation. The FWHM technique was the most reproducible method for infarct sizing both in acute and chronic MI. However, both FWHM and n-SD methods showed limited accuracy compared to manual delineation. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:1206-1217. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Manual versus automated methods for cleaning reusable accessory devices used for minimally invasive surgical procedures.

PubMed

Alfa, M J; Nemes, R

2004-09-01

We undertook a simulated-use study using quantitative methods to evaluate the cleaning efficacy of ported and non-ported accessory devices used in minimally invasive surgery. We chose laparoscopic scissors and forceps to represent worst-case devices which were inoculated with artificial test soil containing 10(6) cfu/mL Enterococcus faecalis and Geobacillus stearothermophilus and allowed to dry for 1 h. Cleaning was performed manually, as well as by the automated SI-Auto Narrow lumen cleaner. Manual cleaning left two- to 50-fold more soil residuals (protein, haemoglobin and carbohydrate) inside the lumen of non-ported versus ported laparoscopic accessory devices. The SI-Auto Narrow lumen cleaner was more efficient than manual cleaning and achieved >99% reduction in soil parameters in both non-ported (using retro-flushing) and ported laparoscopic devices. Only the automated cleaning of ported devices achieved 10(3)-10(4)-fold reduction in bacterial numbers. Sonication alone (no flushing of inner channel) did not effectively remove soil or organisms from the inner channel. Our findings indicate that non-ported accessory devices cannot be as reliably cleaned as ported devices regardless of the cleaning method used. If non-ported accessory devices are reprocessed, they should be cleaned using retro-flushing in an automated narrow lumen cleaner.

TOPAZ2D heat transfer code users manual and thermal property data base

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

Shapiro, A.B.; Edwards, A.L.

1990-05-01

TOPAZ2D is a two dimensional implicit finite element computer code for heat transfer analysis. This user's manual provides information on the structure of a TOPAZ2D input file. Also included is a material thermal property data base. This manual is supplemented with The TOPAZ2D Theoretical Manual and the TOPAZ2D Verification Manual. TOPAZ2D has been implemented on the CRAY, SUN, and VAX computers. TOPAZ2D can be used to solve for the steady state or transient temperature field on two dimensional planar or axisymmetric geometries. Material properties may be temperature dependent and either isotropic or orthotropic. A variety of time and temperature dependentmore » boundary conditions can be specified including temperature, flux, convection, and radiation. Time or temperature dependent internal heat generation can be defined locally be element or globally by material. TOPAZ2D can solve problems of diffuse and specular band radiation in an enclosure coupled with conduction in material surrounding the enclosure. Additional features include thermally controlled reactive chemical mixtures, thermal contact resistance across an interface, bulk fluid flow, phase change, and energy balances. Thermal stresses can be calculated using the solid mechanics code NIKE2D which reads the temperature state data calculated by TOPAZ2D. A three dimensional version of the code, TOPAZ3D is available. The material thermal property data base, Chapter 4, included in this manual was originally published in 1969 by Art Edwards for use with his TRUMP finite difference heat transfer code. The format of the data has been altered to be compatible with TOPAZ2D. Bob Bailey is responsible for adding the high explosive thermal property data.« less

A Manual-Based Intervention to Address Clinical Crises and Retain Patients in the Treatment of Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

May, Diane E.; Kratochvil, Christopher J.; Puumala, Susan E.; Silva, Susan G.; Rezac, Amy J.; Hallin, Mary J.; Reinecke, Mark A.; Vitiello, Benedetto; Weller, Elizabeth B.; Pathak, Sanjeev; Simons, Anne D.; March, John S.

2007-01-01

Objective: To describe a manual-based intervention to address clinical crises and retain participants in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS). Method: The use of adjunct services for attrition prevention (ASAP) is described for adolescents (ages 12-17 years) during the 12-week acute treatment in TADS, from 2000 to 2003.…

Development and Evaluation of a Manual for Extended Brief Intervention for Alcohol Misuse for Adults with Mild to Moderate Intellectual Disabilities Living in the Community: The EBI-LD Study Manual

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kouimtsidis, Christos; Scior, Katrina; Baio, Gianluca; Hunter, Rachael; Pezzoni, Vittoria; Hassiotis, Angela

2017-01-01

Background: Extended brief interventions for alcohol misuse are effective in the general population. The process of manualising the first ever such intervention for people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities in the UK is the focus of this study. Methods: The manual was an adaptation of existing manuals based on Motivational Enhancement…

A Manual on Nonviolence and Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Judson, Stephanie, Comp.

This manual on teaching children non-violent attitudes and the skills for non-violent conflict resolution suggests teaching activities and methods, describes classrooms in which these methods have been employed, and explains the underlying theory of conflict resolution. The first part of the manual, an outgrowth of the Friends' Nonviolence and…

Teaching home safety and survival skills to latch-key children: a comparison of two manuals and methods.

PubMed Central

Peterson, L

1984-01-01

I evaluated the influence of two training manuals on latch-key children's acquisition of home safety and survival skills. The widely used, discussion-oriented "Prepared for Today" manual was compared with a behaviorally oriented "Safe at Home" manual. Data were scored by response criteria developed by experts and by parents' and experts' ratings of children's spontaneous answers. With both methods of scoring, three behaviorally trained children demonstrated clear and abrupt increases in skill following training in each of seven trained modules, and these increases largely persisted in real world generalization probes and at 5-month follow-up. Smaller and less stable increases in skill were found in the three discussion-trained children across the seven modules; lower skill levels were also seen in real world generalization probes and at follow-up. Neither group of children demonstrated skill increases in home safety areas that were not explicitly trained. Both training methods produced small decreases in children's self-report of general anxiety and anxiety concerning home safety. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for cost-effective training of latch-key children. PMID:6511698

A guide to best practices for Gene Ontology (GO) manual annotation

PubMed Central

Balakrishnan, Rama; Harris, Midori A.; Huntley, Rachael; Van Auken, Kimberly; Cherry, J. Michael

2013-01-01

The Gene Ontology Consortium (GOC) is a community-based bioinformatics project that classifies gene product function through the use of structured controlled vocabularies. A fundamental application of the Gene Ontology (GO) is in the creation of gene product annotations, evidence-based associations between GO definitions and experimental or sequence-based analysis. Currently, the GOC disseminates 126 million annotations covering >374 000 species including all the kingdoms of life. This number includes two classes of GO annotations: those created manually by experienced biocurators reviewing the literature or by examination of biological data (1.1 million annotations covering 2226 species) and those generated computationally via automated methods. As manual annotations are often used to propagate functional predictions between related proteins within and between genomes, it is critical to provide accurate consistent manual annotations. Toward this goal, we present here the conventions defined by the GOC for the creation of manual annotation. This guide represents the best practices for manual annotation as established by the GOC project over the past 12 years. We hope this guide will encourage research communities to annotate gene products of their interest to enhance the corpus of GO annotations available to all. Database URL: http://www.geneontology.org PMID:23842463

Evaluation of an automatic MR-based gold fiducial marker localisation method for MR-only prostate radiotherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maspero, Matteo; van den Berg, Cornelis A. T.; Zijlstra, Frank; Sikkes, Gonda G.; de Boer, Hans C. J.; Meijer, Gert J.; Kerkmeijer, Linda G. W.; Viergever, Max A.; Lagendijk, Jan J. W.; Seevinck, Peter R.

2017-10-01

An MR-only radiotherapy planning (RTP) workflow would reduce the cost, radiation exposure and uncertainties introduced by CT-MRI registrations. In the case of prostate treatment, one of the remaining challenges currently holding back the implementation of an RTP workflow is the MR-based localisation of intraprostatic gold fiducial markers (FMs), which is crucial for accurate patient positioning. Currently, MR-based FM localisation is clinically performed manually. This is sub-optimal, as manual interaction increases the workload. Attempts to perform automatic FM detection often rely on being able to detect signal voids induced by the FMs in magnitude images. However, signal voids may not always be sufficiently specific, hampering accurate and robust automatic FM localisation. Here, we present an approach that aims at automatic MR-based FM localisation. This method is based on template matching using a library of simulated complex-valued templates, and exploiting the behaviour of the complex MR signal in the vicinity of the FM. Clinical evaluation was performed on seventeen prostate cancer patients undergoing external beam radiotherapy treatment. Automatic MR-based FM localisation was compared to manual MR-based and semi-automatic CT-based localisation (the current gold standard) in terms of detection rate and the spatial accuracy and precision of localisation. The proposed method correctly detected all three FMs in 15/17 patients. The spatial accuracy (mean) and precision (STD) were 0.9 mm and 0.5 mm respectively, which is below the voxel size of 1.1 × 1.1 × 1.2 mm3 and comparable to MR-based manual localisation. FM localisation failed (3/51 FMs) in the presence of bleeding or calcifications in the direct vicinity of the FM. The method was found to be spatially accurate and precise, which is essential for clinical use. To overcome any missed detection, we envision the use of the proposed method along with verification by an observer. This will result in a

NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (third edition). Fourth supplement

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

Not Available

1990-08-15

The NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods, 3rd edition, was updated for the following chemicals: allyl-glycidyl-ether, 2-aminopyridine, aspartame, bromine, chlorine, n-butylamine, n-butyl-glycidyl-ether, carbon-dioxide, carbon-monoxide, chlorinated-camphene, chloroacetaldehyde, p-chlorophenol, crotonaldehyde, 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, dinitro-o-cresol, ethyl-acetate, ethyl-formate, ethylenimine, sodium-fluoride, hydrogen-fluoride, cryolite, sodium-hexafluoroaluminate, formic-acid, hexachlorobutadiene, hydrogen-cyanide, hydrogen-sulfide, isopropyl-acetate, isopropyl-ether, isopropyl-glycidyl-ether, lead, lead-oxide, maleic-anhydride, methyl-acetate, methyl-acrylate, methyl-tert-butyl ether, methyl-cellosolve-acetate, methylcyclohexanol, 4,4'-methylenedianiline, monomethylaniline, monomethylhydrazine, nitric-oxide, p-nitroaniline, phenyl-ether, phenyl-ether-biphenyl mixture, phenyl-glycidyl-ether, phenylhydrazine, phosphine, ronnel, sulfuryl-fluoride, talc, tributyl-phosphate, 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane, trimellitic-anhydride, triorthocresyl-phosphate, triphenyl-phosphate, and vinyl-acetate.

Parenting Skills: A Trainer's Manual. A Performance Based Early Childhood-Special Education Teacher Preparation Program. Monograph 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abidin, Richard R.

This manual, developed as part of the performance-based Early Childhood-Special Education Teacher Preparation Program, is a trainer's manual for teaching parenting skills. Each module or set of modules presents effective skills for managing and changing behaviors of adults and children. Several profession strategies and theoretical orientations…

[Economic evaluation of a manual-based, multimodal cognitive behavioural therapy for school avoiding children with psychiatric disorder].

PubMed

Weschenfelder, Ann-Kathrin; Reissner, Volker; Knollmann, Martin; Hebebrand, Johannes; Wasem, Jürgen; Neumann, Anja

2018-01-01

Untreated school refusal increases the risk of a premature discontinuation of the educational career. The aim of this study is the economic evaluation of a manual-based treatment for school refusal in comparison to the standard treatment. Within the cost-minimisation analysis, resource use is measured retrospectively for six months using the CSSRI questionnaire. Unit costs for most health care services are derived from published standard prices. Costs are calculated from the societal perspective based on prices compiled in 2011. The cost comparison during the one-year intervention period applies a difference in differences Approach. The most common diagnoses among the 112 participants are phobic and emotional disorders. The average cost per patient during the intervention period amounts to 7197 € (95 %-CI: 4746 € – 10 079 €) for the manual group and 9294 € (95 %-CI: 6313 € – 12 878 €) for the control group. The difference in adjusted costs of 1453 € in favour of the manual group is not statistically relevant. The manual-based treatment is equivalent if not slightly advantageous compared to the standard treatment considering the clinical outcomes and cost of illness.

Toward evidence-based interventions for diverse populations: The San Francisco General Hospital prevention and treatment manuals.

PubMed

Muñoz, Ricardo F; Mendelson, Tamar

2005-10-01

Clinical trials have seldom included adequate samples of people of color. Therefore, practitioners serving ethnic minorities often do not have access to readily available evidence-based interventions. This article summarizes the development and empirical evaluation of prevention and treatment manuals designed for low-income ethnic minority populations at San Francisco General Hospital. The manuals were often designed by people of color familiar with the communities for which they were developed. Independent research teams in multi-site national and international clinical trials have evaluated many of these manuals with encouraging results. ((c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).

CometBoards Users Manual Release 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guptill, James D.; Coroneos, Rula M.; Patnaik, Surya N.; Hopkins, Dale A.; Berke, Lazlo

1996-01-01

Several nonlinear mathematical programming algorithms for structural design applications are available at present. These include the sequence of unconstrained minimizations technique, the method of feasible directions, and the sequential quadratic programming technique. The optimality criteria technique and the fully utilized design concept are two other structural design methods. A project was undertaken to bring all these design methods under a common computer environment so that a designer can select any one of these tools that may be suitable for his/her application. To facilitate selection of a design algorithm, to validate and check out the computer code, and to ascertain the relative merits of the design tools, modest finite element structural analysis programs based on the concept of stiffness and integrated force methods have been coupled to each design method. The code that contains both these design and analysis tools, by reading input information from analysis and design data files, can cast the design of a structure as a minimum-weight optimization problem. The code can then solve it with a user-specified optimization technique and a user-specified analysis method. This design code is called CometBoards, which is an acronym for Comparative Evaluation Test Bed of Optimization and Analysis Routines for the Design of Structures. This manual describes for the user a step-by-step procedure for setting up the input data files and executing CometBoards to solve a structural design problem. The manual includes the organization of CometBoards; instructions for preparing input data files; the procedure for submitting a problem; illustrative examples; and several demonstration problems. A set of 29 structural design problems have been solved by using all the optimization methods available in CometBoards. A summary of the optimum results obtained for these problems is appended to this users manual. CometBoards, at present, is available for Posix-based Cray and

The comparison of manual and LabVIEW-based fuzzy control on mechanical ventilation.

PubMed

Guler, Hasan; Ata, Fikret

2014-09-01

The aim of this article is to develop a knowledge-based therapy for management of rats with respiratory distress. A mechanical ventilator was designed to achieve this aim. The designed ventilator is called an intelligent mechanical ventilator since fuzzy logic was used to control the pneumatic equipment according to the rat's status. LabVIEW software was used to control all equipments in the ventilator prototype and to monitor respiratory variables in the experiment. The designed ventilator can be controlled both manually and by fuzzy logic. Eight female Wistar-Albino rats were used to test the designed ventilator and to show the effectiveness of fuzzy control over manual control on pressure control ventilation mode. The anesthetized rats were first ventilated for 20 min manually. After that time, they were ventilated for 20 min by fuzzy logic. Student's t-test for p < 0.05 was applied to the measured minimum, maximum and mean peak inspiration pressures to analyze the obtained results. The results show that there is no statistical difference in the rat's lung parameters before and after the experiments. It can be said that the designed ventilator and developed knowledge-based therapy support artificial respiration of living things successfully. © IMechE 2014.

Body Power! School-Based Weight Management for Middle School Adolescents. Leader's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dennee, Phyllis M.; And Others

This leader's manual contains the materials required to present a school-based weight management curriculum that may be offered both in school and outside the school setting for middle-school adolescents. The first section contains instructor information regarding the following topics: need for the program; program objectives; timeline and…

Automatic and manual segmentation of healthy retinas using high-definition optical coherence tomography.

PubMed

Golbaz, Isabelle; Ahlers, Christian; Goesseringer, Nina; Stock, Geraldine; Geitzenauer, Wolfgang; Prünte, Christian; Schmidt-Erfurth, Ursula Margarethe

2011-03-01

This study compared automatic- and manual segmentation modalities in the retina of healthy eyes using high-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT). Twenty retinas in 20 healthy individuals were examined using an HD-OCT system (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.). Three-dimensional imaging was performed with an axial resolution of 6 μm at a maximum scanning speed of 25,000 A-scans/second. Volumes of 6 × 6 × 2 mm were scanned. Scans were analysed using a matlab-based algorithm and a manual segmentation software system (3D-Doctor). The volume values calculated by the two methods were compared. Statistical analysis revealed a high correlation between automatic and manual modes of segmentation. The automatic mode of measuring retinal volume and the corresponding three-dimensional images provided similar results to the manual segmentation procedure. Both methods were able to visualize retinal and subretinal features accurately. This study compared two methods of assessing retinal volume using HD-OCT scans in healthy retinas. Both methods were able to provide realistic volumetric data when applied to raster scan sets. Manual segmentation methods represent an adequate tool with which to control automated processes and to identify clinically relevant structures, whereas automatic procedures will be needed to obtain data in larger patient populations. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Acta Ophthalmol.

Foot Pedals for Spacecraft Manual Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Love, Stanley G.; Morin, Lee M.; McCabe, Mary

2010-01-01

Fifty years ago, NASA decided that the cockpit controls in spacecraft should be like the ones in airplanes. But controls based on the stick and rudder may not be best way to manually control a vehicle in space. A different method is based on submersible vehicles controlled with foot pedals. A new pilot can learn the sub's control scheme in minutes and drive it hands-free. We are building a pair of foot pedals for spacecraft control, and will test them in a spacecraft flight simulator.

Fastener Design Manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrett, Richard T.

1990-01-01

This manual was written for design engineers to enable them to choose appropriate fasteners for their designs. Subject matter includes fastener material selection, platings, lubricants, corrosion, locking methods, washers, inserts, thread types and classes, fatigue loading, and fastener torque. A section on design criteria covers the derivation of torque formulas, loads on a fastener group, combining simultaneous shear and tension loads, pullout load for tapped holes, grip length, head styles, and fastener strengths. The second half of this manual presents general guidelines and selection criteria for rivets and lockbolts.

Thermal spray manual for machinery components

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

Travis, R.; Ginther, C.; Herbstritt, M.

1995-12-31

The Thermal Spray Manual For Machinery Components is a National Shipbuilding Research (SP-7) Project. This Manual is being developed by Puget Sound Naval Shipyard with the help of other government thermal spray facilities and SP-7 panel members. The purpose of the manual is to provide marine repair facilities with a ``how to do`` document that will be ``user friendly`` and known to be technically sound through production experience. The manual`s intent is to give marine repair facilities the ability to maximize the thermal spray process as a repair method for machinery components and to give these facilities guidelines on howmore » to become qualified to receive certification that they meet the requirements of Military Standard 1687A.« less

Reproducibility measurements of three methods for calculating in vivo MR-based knee kinematics.

PubMed

Lansdown, Drew A; Zaid, Musa; Pedoia, Valentina; Subburaj, Karupppasamy; Souza, Richard; Benjamin, C; Li, Xiaojuan

2015-08-01

To describe three quantification methods for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based knee kinematic evaluation and to report on the reproducibility of these algorithms. T2 -weighted, fast-spin echo images were obtained of the bilateral knees in six healthy volunteers. Scans were repeated for each knee after repositioning to evaluate protocol reproducibility. Semiautomatic segmentation defined regions of interest for the tibia and femur. The posterior femoral condyles and diaphyseal axes were defined using the previously defined tibia and femur. All segmentation was performed twice to evaluate segmentation reliability. Anterior tibial translation (ATT) and internal tibial rotation (ITR) were calculated using three methods: a tibial-based registration system, a combined tibiofemoral-based registration method with all manual segmentation, and a combined tibiofemoral-based registration method with automatic definition of condyles and axes. Intraclass correlation coefficients and standard deviations across multiple measures were determined. Reproducibility of segmentation was excellent (ATT = 0.98; ITR = 0.99) for both combined methods. ATT and ITR measurements were also reproducible across multiple scans in the combined registration measurements with manual (ATT = 0.94; ITR = 0.94) or automatic (ATT = 0.95; ITR = 0.94) condyles and axes. The combined tibiofemoral registration with automatic definition of the posterior femoral condyle and diaphyseal axes allows for improved knee kinematics quantification with excellent in vivo reproducibility. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Assessing the economics of processing end-of-life vehicles through manual dismantling.

PubMed

Tian, Jin; Chen, Ming

2016-10-01

Most dismantling enterprises in a number of developing countries, such as China, usually adopt the "manual+mechanical" dismantling approach to process end-of-life vehicles. However, the automobile industry does not have a clear indicator to reasonably and effectively determine the manual dismantling degree for end-of-life vehicles. In this study, five different dismantling scenarios and an economic system for end-of-life vehicles were developed based on the actual situation of end-of-life vehicles. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process was applied to set the weights of direct costs, indirect costs, and sales and to obtain an optimal manual dismantling scenario. Results showed that although the traditional method of "dismantling to the end" can guarantee the highest recycling rate, this method is not the best among all the scenarios. The profit gained in the optimal scenario is 100.6% higher than that in the traditional scenario. The optimal manual dismantling scenario showed that enterprises are required to select suitable parts to process through manual dismantling. Selecting suitable parts maximizes economic profit and improves dismantling speed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Doorways I: Student Training Manual on School-Related Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Agency for International Development, 2009

2009-01-01

The Doorways training program was designed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Safe Schools Program (Safe Schools) to enable teachers, community members and students to prevent and respond to school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV). "Doorways I: Student Training Manual on School-Related Gender-Based Violence…

User Manuals for a Primary Care Electronic Medical Record System: A Mixed Methods Study of User- and Vendor-Generated Documents.

PubMed

Shachak, Aviv; Dow, Rustam; Barnsley, Jan; Tu, Karen; Domb, Sharon; Jadad, Alejandro R; Lemieux-Charles, Louise

2013-06-04

Tutorials and user manuals are important forms of impersonal support for using software applications including electronic medical records (EMRs). Differences between user- and vendor documentation may indicate support needs, which are not sufficiently addressed by the official documentation, and reveal new elements that may inform the design of tutorials and user manuals. What are the differences between user-generated tutorials and manuals for an EMR and the official user manual from the software vendor? Effective design of tutorials and user manuals requires careful packaging of information, balance between declarative and procedural texts, an action and task-oriented approach, support for error recognition and recovery, and effective use of visual elements. No previous research compared these elements between formal and informal documents. We conducted an mixed methods study. Seven tutorials and two manuals for an EMR were collected from three family health teams and compared with the official user manual from the software vendor. Documents were qualitatively analyzed using a framework analysis approach in relation to the principles of technical documentation described above. Subsets of the data were quantitatively analyzed using cross-tabulation to compare the types of error information and visual cues in screen captures between user- and vendor-generated manuals. The user-developed tutorials and manuals differed from the vendor-developed manual in that they contained mostly procedural and not declarative information; were customized to the specific workflow, user roles, and patient characteristics; contained more error information related to work processes than to software usage; and used explicit visual cues on screen captures to help users identify window elements. These findings imply that to support EMR implementation, tutorials and manuals need to be customized and adapted to specific organizational contexts and workflows. The main limitation of the study

User Manuals for a Primary Care Electronic Medical Record System: A Mixed Methods Study of User- and Vendor-Generated Documents

PubMed Central

Dow, Rustam; Barnsley, Jan; Tu, Karen; Domb, Sharon; Jadad, Alejandro R.; Lemieux-Charles, Louise

2015-01-01

Research problem Tutorials and user manuals are important forms of impersonal support for using software applications including electronic medical records (EMRs). Differences between user- and vendor documentation may indicate support needs, which are not sufficiently addressed by the official documentation, and reveal new elements that may inform the design of tutorials and user manuals. Research question What are the differences between user-generated tutorials and manuals for an EMR and the official user manual from the software vendor? Literature review Effective design of tutorials and user manuals requires careful packaging of information, balance between declarative and procedural texts, an action and task-oriented approach, support for error recognition and recovery, and effective use of visual elements. No previous research compared these elements between formal and informal documents. Methodology We conducted an mixed methods study. Seven tutorials and two manuals for an EMR were collected from three family health teams and compared with the official user manual from the software vendor. Documents were qualitatively analyzed using a framework analysis approach in relation to the principles of technical documentation described above. Subsets of the data were quantitatively analyzed using cross-tabulation to compare the types of error information and visual cues in screen captures between user- and vendor-generated manuals. Results and discussion The user-developed tutorials and manuals differed from the vendor-developed manual in that they contained mostly procedural and not declarative information; were customized to the specific workflow, user roles, and patient characteristics; contained more error information related to work processes than to software usage; and used explicit visual cues on screen captures to help users identify window elements. These findings imply that to support EMR implementation, tutorials and manuals need to be customized and

A users manual for the method of moments Aircraft Modeling Code (AMC), version 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peters, M. E.; Newman, E. H.

1994-01-01

This report serves as a user's manual for Version 2 of the 'Aircraft Modeling Code' or AMC. AMC is a user-oriented computer code, based on the method of moments (MM), for the analysis of the radiation and/or scattering from geometries consisting of a main body or fuselage shape with attached wings and fins. The shape of the main body is described by defining its cross section at several stations along its length. Wings, fins, rotor blades, and radiating monopoles can then be attached to the main body. Although AMC was specifically designed for aircraft or helicopter shapes, it can also be applied to missiles, ships, submarines, jet inlets, automobiles, spacecraft, etc. The problem geometry and run control parameters are specified via a two character command language input format. This report describes the input command language and also includes several examples which illustrate typical code inputs and outputs.

Training Psychiatry Residents in Psychotherapy: The Role of Manualized Treatments.

PubMed

Pagano, Joshua; Kyle, Brandon N; Johnson, Toni L; Saeed, Sy Atezaz

2017-06-01

Evidence-based treatment and manualized psychotherapy have a recent but rich history. As interest and research have progressed, defining the role of treatment manuals in resident training and clinical practice has become more important. Although there is not a universal definition of treatment manual, most clinicians and researchers agree that treatment manuals are an essential piece of evidence-based therapy, and that despite several limitations, they offer advantages in training residents in psychotherapy. Requirements for resident training in psychotherapy have changed over the years, and treatment manuals offer a simple and straightforward way to meet training requirements. In a search limited to only depression, two treatment manuals emerged with the support of research regarding both clinical practice and resident training. In looking toward the future, it will be important for clinicians to remain updated on further advances in evidence based manualized treatment as a tool for training residents in psychotherapy, including recent developments in online and smartphone based treatments.

MICROBIAL LABORATORY GUIDANCE MANUAL FOR THE ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Long-Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule Laboratory Instruction Manual will be a compilation of all information needed by laboratories and field personnel to collect, analyze, and report the microbiological data required under the rule. The manual will provide laboratories with a single source of information that currently is available from various sources including the latest versions of Methods 1622 and 1623, including all approved, equivalent modifications; the procedures for E.coli methods approved for use under the LT2ESWTR; lists of vendor sources; data recording forms; data reporting requirements; information on the Laboratory Quality Assurance Evaluation Program for the Analysis of Cryptosporidium in Water; and sample collection procedures. Although most of this information is available elsewhere, a single, comprehensive compendium containing this information is needed to aid utilities and laboratories performing the sampling and analysis activities required under the LT2 rule. This manual will serve as an instruction manual for laboratories to use when collecting data for Crypto, E. coli and turbidity.

A rule-based automatic sleep staging method.

PubMed

Liang, Sheng-Fu; Kuo, Chin-En; Hu, Yu-Han; Cheng, Yu-Shian

2012-03-30

In this paper, a rule-based automatic sleep staging method was proposed. Twelve features including temporal and spectrum analyses of the EEG, EOG, and EMG signals were utilized. Normalization was applied to each feature to eliminating individual differences. A hierarchical decision tree with fourteen rules was constructed for sleep stage classification. Finally, a smoothing process considering the temporal contextual information was applied for the continuity. The overall agreement and kappa coefficient of the proposed method applied to the all night polysomnography (PSG) of seventeen healthy subjects compared with the manual scorings by R&K rules can reach 86.68% and 0.79, respectively. This method can integrate with portable PSG system for sleep evaluation at-home in the near future. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ISE: An Integrated Search Environment. The manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, Lon-Chan

1992-01-01

Integrated Search Environment (ISE), a software package that implements hierarchical searches with meta-control, is described in this manual. ISE is a collection of problem-independent routines to support solving searches. Mainly, these routines are core routines for solving a search problem and they handle the control of searches and maintain the statistics related to searches. By separating the problem-dependent and problem-independent components in ISE, new search methods based on a combination of existing methods can be developed by coding a single master control program. Further, new applications solved by searches can be developed by coding the problem-dependent parts and reusing the problem-independent parts already developed. Potential users of ISE are designers of new application solvers and new search algorithms, and users of experimental application solvers and search algorithms. The ISE is designed to be user-friendly and information rich. In this manual, the organization of ISE is described and several experiments carried out on ISE are also described.

Kinesiology Workbook and Laboratory Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Ruth W.

This manual is written for students in anatomy, kinesiology, or introductory biomechanics courses. The book is divided into two sections, a kinesiology workbook and a laboratory manual. The two sections parallel each other in content and format. Each is divided into three corresponding sections: (1) Anatomical bases for movement description; (2)…

Systems thinking applied to safety during manual handling tasks in the transport and storage industry.

PubMed

Goode, Natassia; Salmon, Paul M; Lenné, Michael G; Hillard, Peter

2014-07-01

Injuries resulting from manual handling tasks represent an on-going problem for the transport and storage industry. This article describes an application of a systems theory-based approach, Rasmussen's (1997. Safety Science 27, 183), risk management framework, to the analysis of the factors influencing safety during manual handling activities in a freight handling organisation. Observations of manual handling activities, cognitive decision method interviews with workers (n=27) and interviews with managers (n=35) were used to gather information about three manual handling activities. Hierarchical task analysis and thematic analysis were used to identify potential risk factors and performance shaping factors across the levels of Rasmussen's framework. These different data sources were then integrated using Rasmussen's Accimap technique to provide an overall analysis of the factors influencing safety during manual handling activities in this context. The findings demonstrate how a systems theory-based approach can be applied to this domain, and suggest that policy-orientated, rather than worker-orientated, changes are required to prevent future manual handling injuries. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Maine Sealant Manual for School-Based and School-Linked Dental Sealant Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayward, Kneka, Ed.

This manual is designed for use by school personnel and dental personnel to aid in the development and maintenance of school-based or school-linked dental sealant programs. The sections include (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Guidelines" (school selection, school contacts, dental providers, target grades, and tooth selection…

Nebraska Work Based Learning Manual. Planning and Implementation Guides for Educators, Employers, Policymakers, and Parents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nebraska State Dept. of Education, Lincoln.

This manual contains a series of 10 detailed guides for school practitioners who are beginning to create work-based learning programs at their schools. Work-Based Learning Overview defines the different elements of work-based learning and describes the roles of program participants. Program Planning Guide offers suggestions about how to plan…

Health Occupations. Practical Arts. Instructor's Manual. Competency-Based Vocational Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keeton, Martha; And Others

This instructor's manual consists of materials for use in introducing middle and junior high school students to various aspects of the practical health care arts, including health education and communication, prevention, treatment and care, and administration. Included in the first part of the manual are a program master sequence, a listing of…

Math for Horticulture. Student Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boor, Mary Ann

This revised version of "Mathematics for Horticulture" was developed to meet the needs of educators faced with teaching a mathematics curriculum based on real-life applications. The manual includes a wide range of topics, some remedial in nature, but all very basic to success in the industry. The manual contains seven chapters that cover the…

SRM Manual, Selected Resource Materials: Description and Evaluation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Special Educational Services Branch.

Provided in the manual is descriptive and evaluative information on 67 instructional materials or programs frequently used with exceptional children in Alberta schools. A flow chart describes the three methods of using the manual: l) to obtain descriptive and evaluative information of an instruction program in the manual 2) to classify and record…

WHO Working Group on revision of the Manual of Laboratory Methods for Testing DTP Vaccines-Report of two meetings held on 20-21 July 2006 and 28-30 March 2007, Geneva, Switzerland.

PubMed

Corbel, Michael J; Das, Rose Gaines; Lei, Dianliang; Xing, Dorothy K L; Horiuchi, Yoshinobu; Dobbelaer, Roland

2008-04-07

This report reflects the discussion and conclusions of a WHO group of experts from National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs), National Control Laboratories (NCLs), vaccine industries and other relevant institutions involved in standardization and control of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines (DTP), held on 20-21 July 2006 and 28-30 March 2007, in Geneva Switzerland for the revision of WHO Manual for quality control of DTP vaccines. Taking into account recent developments and standardization in quality control methods and the revision of WHO recommendations for D, T, P vaccines, and a need for updating the manual has been recognized. In these two meetings the current situation of quality control methods in terms of potency, safety and identity tests for DTP vaccines and statistical analysis of data were reviewed. Based on the WHO recommendations and recent validation of testing methods, the content of current manual were reviewed and discussed. The group agreed that the principles to be observed in selecting methods included identifying those critical for assuring safety, efficacy and quality and which were consistent with WHO recommendations/requirements. Methods that were well recognized but not yet included in current Recommendations should be taken into account. These would include in vivo and/or in vitro methods for determining potency, safety testing and identity. The statistical analysis of the data should be revised and updated. It was noted that the mouse based assays for toxoid potency were still quite widely used and it was desirable to establish appropriate standards for these to enable the results to be related to the standard guinea pig assays. The working group was met again to review the first drafts and to input further suggestions or amendments to the contributions of the drafting groups. The revised manual was to be finalized and published by WHO.

Age-related differences in regional brain volumes: A comparison of optimized voxel-based morphometry to manual volumetry

PubMed Central

Kennedy, Kristen M.; Erickson, Kirk I.; Rodrigue, Karen M.; Voss, Michelle W.; Colcombe, Stan J.; Kramer, Arthur F.; Acker, James D.; Raz, Naftali

2009-01-01

Regional manual volumetry is the gold standard of in vivo neuroanatomy, but is labor-intensive, can be imperfectly reliable, and allows for measuring limited number of regions. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) has perfect repeatability and assesses local structure across the whole brain. However, its anatomic validity is unclear, and with its increasing popularity, a systematic comparison of VBM to manual volumetry is necessary. The few existing comparison studies are limited by small samples, qualitative comparisons, and limited selection and modest reliability of manual measures. Our goal was to overcome those limitations by quantitatively comparing optimized VBM findings with highly reliable multiple regional measures in a large sample (N = 200) across a wide agespan (18–81). We report a complex pattern of similarities and differences. Peak values of VBM volume estimates (modulated density) produced stronger age differences and a different spatial distribution from manual measures. However, when we aggregated VBM-derived information across voxels contained in specific anatomically defined regions (masks), the patterns of age differences became more similar, although important discrepancies emerged. Notably, VBM revealed stronger age differences in the regions bordering CSF and white matter areas prone to leukoaraiosis, and VBM was more likely to report nonlinearities in age-volume relationships. In the white matter regions, manual measures showed stronger negative associations with age than the corresponding VBM-based masks. We conclude that VBM provides realistic estimates of age differences in the regional gray matter only when applied to anatomically defined regions, but overestimates effects when individual peaks are interpreted. It may be beneficial to use VBM as a first-pass strategy, followed by manual measurement of anatomically-defined regions. PMID:18276037

Treatment manuals: use in the treatment of bulimia nervosa.

PubMed

Wallace, Laurel M; von Ranson, Kristin M

2011-11-01

As psychology has moved toward emphasizing evidence-based practice, use of treatment manuals has extended from research trials into clinical practice. Minimal research has directly evaluated use of manuals in clinical practice. This survey of international eating disorder professionals examined use of manuals with 259 clinicians' most recent client with bulimia nervosa. Although evidence-based manuals for bulimia nervosa exist, only 35.9% of clinicians reported using a manual. Clinicians were more likely to use a manual if they were younger; were treating an adult client; were clinical psychologists; were involved in research related to eating disorders; and endorsed a cognitive-behavioral orientation. Clinicians were less likely to use a manual if they provided eclectic psychotherapy that incorporated multiple psychotherapeutic approaches. We conclude that psychotherapy provided in clinical practice often does not align with the specific form validated in research trials, and "eclecticism" is at odds with efforts to disseminate manuals into clinical practice. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

One Small Step for Manuals: Computer-Assisted Training in Twelve-Step Facilitation*

PubMed Central

Sholomskas, Diane E.; Carroll, Kathleen M.

2008-01-01

Objective The burgeoning number of empirically validated therapies has not been met with systematic evaluation of practical, inexpensive means of teaching large numbers of clinicians to use these treatments effectively. An interactive, computer-assisted training program that sought to impart skills associated with the Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity) Twelve-Step Facilitation (TSF) manual was developed to address this need. Method Twenty-five community-based substance use-treatment clinicians were randomized to one of two training conditions: (1) access to the computer-assisted training program plus the TSF manual or (2) access to the manual only. The primary outcome measure was change from pre- to posttraining in the clinicians' ability to demonstrate key TSF skills. Results The data suggested that the clinicians' ability to implement TSF, as assessed by independent ratings of adherence and skill for the key TSF interventions, was significantly higher after training for those who had access to the computerized training condition than those who were assigned to the manual-only condition. Those assigned to the computer-assisted training condition also demonstrated greater gains in a knowledge test assessing familiarity with concepts presented in the TSF manual. Conclusions Computer-based training may be a feasible and effective means of training larger numbers of clinicians in empirically supported, manual-guided therapies. PMID:17061013

Education Longitudinal Study of 2002: Base Year Data File User's Manual. NCES 2004-405

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingels, Steven J.; Pratt, Daniel J.; Rogers, James E.; Siegel, Peter H.; Stutts, Ellen S.

2004-01-01

This manual has been produced to familiarize data users with the procedures followed for data collection and processing for the base year of the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002). It also provides the necessary documentation for use of the public-use data files, as they appear on the ELS:2002 base year Electronic Codebook (ECB). Most…

Maximum speed limits. Volume 3, A programmed implementation manual for setting a speed limit based on the 85th percentile

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1970-10-01

This report contains the implementation manual developed as a part of the project "Maximum Speed Limits." The manual consists of a programed educational unit and a field workguide concerning the setting of speed limits based on the 85th percentile sp...

An online community of practice to support evidence-based physiotherapy practice in manual therapy.

PubMed

Evans, Cathy; Yeung, Euson; Markoulakis, Roula; Guilcher, Sara

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how a community of practice promoted the creation and sharing of new knowledge in evidence-based manual therapy using Wenger's constructs of mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire as a theoretical framework. We used a qualitative approach to analyze the discussion board contributions of the 19 physiotherapists who participated in the 10-week online continuing education course in evidence-based practice (EBP) in manual therapy. The course was founded on community of practice, constructivism, social, and situated learning principles. The 1436 postings on 9 active discussion boards revealed that the community of practice was a social learning environment that supported strong participation and mutual engagement. Design features such as consistent facilitation, weekly guiding questions, and collaborative assignments promoted the creation and sharing of knowledge. Participants applied research evidence to the contexts in which they worked through reflective comparison of what they were reading to its applicability in their everyday practice. Participants' shared goals contributed to the common ground established in developing collective knowledge about different study designs, how to answer research questions, and the difficulties of conducting sound research. An online longitudinal community of practice utilized as a continuing education approach to deliver an online course based on constructivist and social learning principles allowed geographically dispersed physiotherapists to be mutually engaged in a joint enterprise in evidence-based manual therapy. Advantages included opportunity for reflection, modeling, and collaboration. Future studies should examine the impact of participation on clinical practice. © 2014 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on Continuing Medical Education, Association for Hospital

Manuals Used in the National Aquatic Resource Surveys

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Various manuals are used to communicate the methods and guidelines for the National Aquatic Resource Surveys. The Field Operations Manual: outlines the field protocols that crews will utilize to sample sites.

Comparison of 3D laser-based photonic scans and manual anthropometric measurements of body size and shape in a validation study of 123 young Swiss men

PubMed Central

Zwahlen, Marcel; Wells, Jonathan C.; Bender, Nicole; Henneberg, Maciej

2017-01-01

Background Manual anthropometric measurements are time-consuming and challenging to perform within acceptable intra- and inter-individual error margins in large studies. Three-dimensional (3D) laser body scanners provide a fast and precise alternative: within a few seconds the system produces a 3D image of the body topography and calculates some 150 standardised body size measurements. Objective The aim was to enhance the small number of existing validation studies and compare scan and manual techniques based on five selected measurements. We assessed the agreement between two repeated measurements within the two methods, analysed the direct agreement between the two methods, and explored the differences between the techniques when used in regressions assessing the effect of health related determinants on body shape indices. Methods We performed two repeated body scans on 123 volunteering young men using a Vitus Smart XXL body scanner. We manually measured height, waist, hip, buttock, and chest circumferences twice for each participant according to the WHO guidelines. The participants also filled in a basic questionnaire. Results Mean differences between the two scan measurements were smaller than between the two manual measurements, and precision as well as intra-class correlation coefficients were higher. Both techniques were strongly correlated. When comparing means between both techniques we found significant differences: Height was systematically shorter by 2.1 cm, whereas waist, hip and bust circumference measurements were larger in the scans by 1.17–4.37 cm. In consequence, body shape indices also became larger and the prevalence of overweight was greater when calculated from the scans. Between 4.1% and 7.3% of the probands changed risk category from normal to overweight when classified based on the scans. However, when employing regression analyses the two measurement techniques resulted in very similar coefficients, confidence intervals, and p

Association between heart rate variability and manual pulse rate.

PubMed

Hart, John

2013-09-01

One model for neurological assessment in chiropractic pertains to autonomic variability, tested commonly with heart rate variability (HRV). Since HRV may not be convenient to use on all patient visits, more user-friendly methods may help fill-in the gaps. Accordingly, this study tests the association between manual pulse rate and heart rate variability. The manual rates were also compared to the heart rate derived from HRV. Forty-eight chiropractic students were examined with heart rate variability (SDNN and mean heart rate) and two manual radial pulse rate measurements. Inclusion criteria consisted of participants being chiropractic students. Exclusion criteria for 46 of the participants consisted of a body mass index being greater than 30, age greater than 35, and history of: a) dizziness upon standing, b) treatment of psychiatric disorders, and c) diabetes. No exclusion criteria were applied to the remaining two participants who were also convenience sample volunteers. Linear associations between the manual pulse rate methods and the two heart rate variability measures (SDNN and mean heart) were tested with Pearson's correlation and simple linear regression. Moderate strength inverse (expected) correlations were observed between both manual pulse rate methods and SDNN (r = -0.640, 95% CI -0.781, -0.435; r = -0.632, 95% CI -0.776, -0.425). Strong direct (expected) relationships were observed between the manual pulse rate methods and heart rate derived from HRV technology (r = 0.934, 95% CI 0.885, 0.962; r = 0.941, 95% CI 0.897, 0.966). Manual pulse rates may be a useful option for assessing autonomic variability. Furthermore, this study showed a strong relationship between manual pulse rates and heart rate derived from HRV technology.

Manual vs. computer-assisted sperm analysis: can CASA replace manual assessment of human semen in clinical practice?

PubMed

Talarczyk-Desole, Joanna; Berger, Anna; Taszarek-Hauke, Grażyna; Hauke, Jan; Pawelczyk, Leszek; Jedrzejczak, Piotr

2017-01-01

The aim of the study was to check the quality of computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system in comparison to the reference manual method as well as standardization of the computer-assisted semen assessment. The study was conducted between January and June 2015 at the Andrology Laboratory of the Division of Infertility and Reproductive Endocrinology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poland. The study group consisted of 230 men who gave sperm samples for the first time in our center as part of an infertility investigation. The samples underwent manual and computer-assisted assessment of concentration, motility and morphology. A total of 184 samples were examined twice: manually, according to the 2010 WHO recommendations, and with CASA, using the program set-tings provided by the manufacturer. Additionally, 46 samples underwent two manual analyses and two computer-assisted analyses. The p-value of p < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Statistically significant differences were found between all of the investigated sperm parameters, except for non-progressive motility, measured with CASA and manually. In the group of patients where all analyses with each method were performed twice on the same sample we found no significant differences between both assessments of the same probe, neither in the samples analyzed manually nor with CASA, although standard deviation was higher in the CASA group. Our results suggest that computer-assisted sperm analysis requires further improvement for a wider application in clinical practice.

GILA User's Manual

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

CHRISTON, MARK A.

2003-06-01

GILA is a finite element code that has been developed specifically to attack the class of transient, incompressible, viscous, fluid dynamics problems that are predominant in the world that surrounds us. The purpose for this document is to provide sufficient information for an experienced analyst to use GILA in an effective way. The GILA User's Manual presents a technical outline of the governing equations for time-dependent incompressible flow, and the explicit and semi-implicit projection methods used in GILA to solve the equations. This manual also presents a brief overview of some of GILA's capabilities along with the keyword input syntaxmore » and sample problems.« less

A state survey of Child Advocacy Center therapists' attitudes toward treatment manuals and evidence-based practice.

PubMed

Staudt, Marlys; Williams-Hayes, Mona

2011-01-01

The objective of this descriptive study was to examine Child Advocacy Center therapists' attitudes toward treatment manuals and evidence-based practices and to gather information about the treatments they use most frequently. An online survey was sent to 30 therapists employed by 15 Child Advocacy Centers in a southeastern state. The response rate was 70%. The respondents generally had positive attitudes toward the use of treatment manuals and the implementation of evidence-based practices. The treatment utilized most frequently was trauma focused cognitive-behavioral therapy. More outcome research of Child Advocacy Center services is needed, and information about how children and parents perceive the acceptability and outcomes of Child Advocacy Center services can be used to enhance services.

Method of Characteristic (MOC) Nozzle Flowfield Solver - User’s Guide and Input Manual Version 2.0

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-01-01

TECHNICAL REPORT RDMR-SS-17-13 METHOD OF CHARACTERISTIC (MOC) NOZZLE FLOWFIELD SOLVER—USER’S GUIDE AND INPUT MANUAL VERSION 2.0 Kevin D. Kennedy...System Simulation and Development Directorate Aviation and Missile Research , Development, and Engineering Center January 2018 Distribution Statement...DOCUMENTS, DESTROY BY ANY METHOD THAT WILL PREVENT DISCLOSURE OF CONTENTS OR RECONSTRUCTION OF THE DOCUMENT. DISCLAIMER THE FINDINGS IN THIS REPORT

Multi person detection and tracking based on hierarchical level-set method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khraief, Chadia; Benzarti, Faouzi; Amiri, Hamid

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose an efficient unsupervised method for mutli-person tracking based on hierarchical level-set approach. The proposed method uses both edge and region information in order to effectively detect objects. The persons are tracked on each frame of the sequence by minimizing an energy functional that combines color, texture and shape information. These features are enrolled in covariance matrix as region descriptor. The present method is fully automated without the need to manually specify the initial contour of Level-set. It is based on combined person detection and background subtraction methods. The edge-based is employed to maintain a stable evolution, guide the segmentation towards apparent boundaries and inhibit regions fusion. The computational cost of level-set is reduced by using narrow band technique. Many experimental results are performed on challenging video sequences and show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Cost Analysis Sources and Documents Data Base Reference Manual (Update)

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-01

M: Refcrence Manual PRICE H: Training Course Workbook 11. Use in Cost Analysis. Important source of cost estimates for electronic and mechanical...Nature of Data. Contains many microeconomic time series by month or quarter. 5. Level of Detail. Very detailed. 6. Normalization Processes Required...Reference Manual. Moorestown, N.J,: GE Corporation, September 1986. 64. PRICE Training Course Workbook . Moorestown, N.J.: GE Corporation, February 1986

USEPA MANUAL OF METHODS FOR VIROLOGY

EPA Science Inventory

This chapter describes procedures for the detection of coliphases in water matrices. These procedures are based on those presented in the Supplement to the 20th Edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Eastewater and EPA Methods 1601 and 1602. Two quantitati...

Current automated 3D cell detection methods are not a suitable replacement for manual stereologic cell counting

PubMed Central

Schmitz, Christoph; Eastwood, Brian S.; Tappan, Susan J.; Glaser, Jack R.; Peterson, Daniel A.; Hof, Patrick R.

2014-01-01

Stereologic cell counting has had a major impact on the field of neuroscience. A major bottleneck in stereologic cell counting is that the user must manually decide whether or not each cell is counted according to three-dimensional (3D) stereologic counting rules by visual inspection within hundreds of microscopic fields-of-view per investigated brain or brain region. Reliance on visual inspection forces stereologic cell counting to be very labor-intensive and time-consuming, and is the main reason why biased, non-stereologic two-dimensional (2D) “cell counting” approaches have remained in widespread use. We present an evaluation of the performance of modern automated cell detection and segmentation algorithms as a potential alternative to the manual approach in stereologic cell counting. The image data used in this study were 3D microscopic images of thick brain tissue sections prepared with a variety of commonly used nuclear and cytoplasmic stains. The evaluation compared the numbers and locations of cells identified unambiguously and counted exhaustively by an expert observer with those found by three automated 3D cell detection algorithms: nuclei segmentation from the FARSIGHT toolkit, nuclei segmentation by 3D multiple level set methods, and the 3D object counter plug-in for ImageJ. Of these methods, FARSIGHT performed best, with true-positive detection rates between 38 and 99% and false-positive rates from 3.6 to 82%. The results demonstrate that the current automated methods suffer from lower detection rates and higher false-positive rates than are acceptable for obtaining valid estimates of cell numbers. Thus, at present, stereologic cell counting with manual decision for object inclusion according to unbiased stereologic counting rules remains the only adequate method for unbiased cell quantification in histologic tissue sections. PMID:24847213

Turtle Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Marlene; Robin, Arthur

This manual describes the Turtle Technique which was developed to help children with behavior problems control their own disruptive behavior. The technique differs from other behavior modification techniques in that it is based upon self-control rather than external control of disruptive behavior. The Turtle Technique first teaches the child how…

Manpower Information Manual. A Manual for Local Planning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allred, Marcus D.; Myers, Christine F.

The step-by-step procedures contained in this manual are intended to develop a simple information system that can be used to collect and process the best possible factual data on the manpower needs of the community served by an educational institution, so that long-range planning of vocational curriculum and guidance can be based on what the jobs…

WE-AB-BRA-05: Fully Automatic Segmentation of Male Pelvic Organs On CT Without Manual Intervention

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

Gao, Y; Lian, J; Chen, R

Purpose: We aim to develop a fully automatic tool for accurate contouring of major male pelvic organs in CT images for radiotherapy without any manual initialization, yet still achieving superior performance than the existing tools. Methods: A learning-based 3D deformable shape model was developed for automatic contouring. Specifically, we utilized a recent machine learning method, random forest, to jointly learn both image regressor and classifier for each organ. In particular, the image regressor is trained to predict the 3D displacement from each vertex of the 3D shape model towards the organ boundary based on the local image appearance around themore » location of this vertex. The predicted 3D displacements are then used to drive the 3D shape model towards the target organ. Once the shape model is deformed close to the target organ, it is further refined by an organ likelihood map estimated by the learned classifier. As the organ likelihood map provides good guideline for the organ boundary, the precise contouring Result could be achieved, by deforming the 3D shape model locally to fit boundaries in the organ likelihood map. Results: We applied our method to 29 previously-treated prostate cancer patients, each with one planning CT scan. Compared with manually delineated pelvic organs, our method obtains overlap ratios of 85.2%±3.74% for the prostate, 94.9%±1.62% for the bladder, and 84.7%±1.97% for the rectum, respectively. Conclusion: This work demonstrated feasibility of a novel machine-learning based approach for accurate and automatic contouring of major male pelvic organs. It shows the potential to replace the time-consuming and inconsistent manual contouring in the clinic. Also, compared with the existing works, our method is more accurate and also efficient since it does not require any manual intervention, such as manual landmark placement. Moreover, our method obtained very similar contouring results as the clinical experts. Project is partially

Time warp operating system version 2.7 internals manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The Time Warp Operating System (TWOS) is an implementation of the Time Warp synchronization method proposed by David Jefferson. In addition, it serves as an actual platform for running discrete event simulations. The code comprising TWOS can be divided into several different sections. TWOS typically relies on an existing operating system to furnish some very basic services. This existing operating system is referred to as the Base OS. The existing operating system varies depending on the hardware TWOS is running on. It is Unix on the Sun workstations, Chrysalis or Mach on the Butterfly, and Mercury on the Mark 3 Hypercube. The base OS could be an entirely new operating system, written to meet the special needs of TWOS, but, to this point, existing systems have been used instead. The base OS's used for TWOS on various platforms are not discussed in detail in this manual, as they are well covered in their own manuals. Appendix G discusses the interface between one such OS, Mach, and TWOS.

Reconceptualising manual therapy skills in contemporary practice.

PubMed

Rabey, Martin; Hall, Toby; Hebron, Clair; Palsson, Thorvaldur Skuli; Christensen, Steffan Wittrup; Moloney, Niamh

2017-06-01

With conflicting evidence regarding the effectiveness of manual therapy calls have arisen within some quarters of the physiotherapy profession challenging the continued use of manual skills for assessment and treatment. A reconceptualisation of the importance of manual examination findings is put forward, based upon a contemporary understanding of pain science, rather than considering these skills only in terms of how they should "guide" manual therapy interventions. The place for manual examination findings within complex, multidimensional presentations is considered using vignettes describing the presentations of five people with low back pain. As part of multidimensional, individualised management, the balance of evidence relating to the effectiveness, mechanisms of action and rationale for manual skills is discussed. It is concluded that if manual examination and therapeutic skills are used in a manner consistent with a contemporary understanding of pain science, multidimensional patient profiles and a person-centred approach, their selective and judicious use still has an important role. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Manual for Assessing Language Growth in Instructional Settings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swinton, Spencer S.

This manual is designed to assist administrators of English-as-a-second-language programs in assessing students' language growth. It begins by reviewing some of the concepts and terminology to be used. It then goes on to suggest and illustrate data-recording formats and methods of summarizing raw gains. This is followed by an example based on…

Dynamic delivery of the National Transit Database Sampling Manual.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-02-01

This project improves the National Transit Database (NTD) Sampling Manual and develops an Internet-based, WordPress-powered interactive Web tool to deliver the new NTD Sampling Manual dynamically. The new manual adds guidance and a tool for transit a...

Dynamic delivery of the National Transit Database sampling manual.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-02-01

This project improves the National Transit Database (NTD) Sampling Manual and develops an Internet-based, WordPress-powered interactive Web tool to deliver the new NTD Sampling Manual dynamically. The new manual adds guidance and a tool for transit a...

Camellia v1.0 Manual: Part I

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

Roberts, Nathan V.

2016-09-28

Camellia began as an effort to simplify implementation of efficient solvers for the discontinuous Petrov-Galerkin (DPG) finite element methodology of Demkowicz and Gopalakrishnan. Since then, the feature set has expanded, to allow implementation of traditional continuous Galerkin methods, as well as discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods, hybridizable DG (HDG) methods, first-order-system least squares (FOSLS), and the primal DPG method. This manual serves as an introduction to using Camellia. We begin, in Section 1.1, by describing some of the core features of Camellia. In Section 1.2 we provide an outline of the manual as a whole.

Internet-Based Injury Profile Developer (IPD) User’s Manual, Version 1.0

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-10-01

NAVAL HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER Internet-based Injury Profile Developer (IPD) User’s Manual Version 1.0 M. Knapp M. Galarneau...NAVAL HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER P. O. BOX 85122 SAN DIEGO, CA 92186-5122...Kizakevich2 1Naval Health Research Center P.O. Box 85122 San Diego, CA 92182-5122 2Research Triangle Institute P.O. Box 12194

Microbial ecology laboratory procedures manual NASA/MSFC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huff, Timothy L.

1990-01-01

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

A comparison of home-based exercise programs with and without self-manual therapy in individuals with knee osteoarthritis in community.

PubMed

Cheawthamai, Kornkamon; Vongsirinavarat, Mantana; Hiengkaew, Vimonwan; Saengrueangrob, Sasithorn

2014-07-01

The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the treatment programs of home-based exercise with and without self-manual therapy in individuals with knee osteoarthritis (knee OA) in community. Forty-three participants with knee OA were randomly assigned in groups. All participants received the same home-based exercise program with or without self-manual therapy over 12 weeks. Outcome measures were pain intensity, range of motions, six-minute walk test distance, the knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS), short-form 36 (SF-36) and satisfaction. The results showed that the self-manual therapy program significantly decreased pain at 4 weeks, increased flexion and extension at 4 and 12 weeks, and improved the KOOS in pain item and SF-36 in physical function and mental health items. The home-based exercise group showed significant increase of the six-minute walk distance at 4 and 12 weeks, improvements in the KOOS in pain and symptom items and SF-36 in the physical function and role-emotional items. Overall, the results favored a combination of self-manual therapy and home-based exercise for patients with knee OA, which apparently showed superior benefits in decreasing pain and improving active knee range of motions.

A Comparison of a Brain-Based Adaptive System and a Manual Adaptable System for Invoking Automation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Nathan R.; Scerbo, Mark W.; Freeman, Frederick G.; Mikulka, Peter J.; Scott, Lorissa A.

2004-01-01

Two experiments are presented that examine alternative methods for invoking automation. In each experiment, participants were asked to perform simultaneously a monitoring task and a resource management task as well as a tracking task that changed between automatic and manual modes. The monitoring task required participants to detect failures of an automated system to correct aberrant conditions under either high or low system reliability. Performance on each task was assessed as well as situation awareness and subjective workload. In the first experiment, half of the participants worked with a brain-based system that used their EEG signals to switch the tracking task between automatic and manual modes. The remaining participants were yoked to participants from the adaptive condition and received the same schedule of mode switches, but their EEG had no effect on the automation. Within each group, half of the participants were assigned to either the low or high reliability monitoring task. In addition, within each combination of automation invocation and system reliability, participants were separated into high and low complacency potential groups. The results revealed no significant effects of automation invocation on the performance measures; however, the high complacency individuals demonstrated better situation awareness when working with the adaptive automation system. The second experiment was the same as the first with one important exception. Automation was invoked manually. Thus, half of the participants pressed a button to invoke automation for 10 s. The remaining participants were yoked to participants from the adaptable condition and received the same schedule of mode switches, but they had no control over the automation. The results showed that participants who could invoke automation performed more poorly on the resource management task and reported higher levels of subjective workload. Further, those who invoked automation more frequently performed

Auto Mechanics; Methodology. Technical Instruction Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Systems Operation Support, Inc., King of Prussia, PA.

This student instruction manual was written in conformance with selected criteria for programed instruction books as developed previously for various military training courses. The manual was developed as a part of "A Study of the Effectiveness of a Military-Type Computer-Based Instructional System When Used in Civilian High School Courses in…

Viscous wing theory development. Volume 2: GRUMWING computer program user's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chow, R. R.; Ogilvie, P. L.

1986-01-01

This report is a user's manual which describes the operation of the computer program, GRUMWING. The program computes the viscous transonic flow over three-dimensional wings using a boundary layer type viscid-inviscid interaction approach. The inviscid solution is obtained by an approximate factorization (AFZ)method for the full potential equation. The boundary layer solution is based on integral entrainment methods.

California Publicly-Owned Utilities (POUs) – LBNL ‘Beyond Widgets’ Project. Task: ambient lighting and occupancy-based plug load control. System Program Manual

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

Robinson, Alastair; Mathew, Paul A.; Regnier, Cynthia

This program manual contains detailed technical information for implementing an incentive program for task-ambient lighting and occupancy-based plug load control. This manual was developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in collaboration with the California Publicly-Owned Utilities (CA POUs) as a partner in the ‘Beyond Widgets’ program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office. The primary audience for this manual is the program staff of the various CA POUs. It may also be used by other utility incentive programs to help develop similar programs. It is anticipated that the content of this manual be utilized by the CAmore » POU staff for developing related documents such as the Technical Resource Manual and other filings pertaining to the rollout of an energy systems-based rebate incentive program.« less

Reliability of lower limb alignment measures using an established landmark-based method with a customized computer software program

PubMed Central

Sled, Elizabeth A.; Sheehy, Lisa M.; Felson, David T.; Costigan, Patrick A.; Lam, Miu; Cooke, T. Derek V.

2010-01-01

The objective of the study was to evaluate the reliability of frontal plane lower limb alignment measures using a landmark-based method by (1) comparing inter- and intra-reader reliability between measurements of alignment obtained manually with those using a computer program, and (2) determining inter- and intra-reader reliability of computer-assisted alignment measures from full-limb radiographs. An established method for measuring alignment was used, involving selection of 10 femoral and tibial bone landmarks. 1) To compare manual and computer methods, we used digital images and matching paper copies of five alignment patterns simulating healthy and malaligned limbs drawn using AutoCAD. Seven readers were trained in each system. Paper copies were measured manually and repeat measurements were performed daily for 3 days, followed by a similar routine with the digital images using the computer. 2) To examine the reliability of computer-assisted measures from full-limb radiographs, 100 images (200 limbs) were selected as a random sample from 1,500 full-limb digital radiographs which were part of the Multicenter Osteoarthritis (MOST) Study. Three trained readers used the software program to measure alignment twice from the batch of 100 images, with two or more weeks between batch handling. Manual and computer measures of alignment showed excellent agreement (intraclass correlations [ICCs] 0.977 – 0.999 for computer analysis; 0.820 – 0.995 for manual measures). The computer program applied to full-limb radiographs produced alignment measurements with high inter- and intra-reader reliability (ICCs 0.839 – 0.998). In conclusion, alignment measures using a bone landmark-based approach and a computer program were highly reliable between multiple readers. PMID:19882339

Quantification of organ motion based on an adaptive image-based scale invariant feature method

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

Paganelli, Chiara; Peroni, Marta; Baroni, Guido

2013-11-15

Purpose: The availability of corresponding landmarks in IGRT image series allows quantifying the inter and intrafractional motion of internal organs. In this study, an approach for the automatic localization of anatomical landmarks is presented, with the aim of describing the nonrigid motion of anatomo-pathological structures in radiotherapy treatments according to local image contrast.Methods: An adaptive scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) was developed from the integration of a standard 3D SIFT approach with a local image-based contrast definition. The robustness and invariance of the proposed method to shape-preserving and deformable transforms were analyzed in a CT phantom study. The application ofmore » contrast transforms to the phantom images was also tested, in order to verify the variation of the local adaptive measure in relation to the modification of image contrast. The method was also applied to a lung 4D CT dataset, relying on manual feature identification by an expert user as ground truth. The 3D residual distance between matches obtained in adaptive-SIFT was then computed to verify the internal motion quantification with respect to the expert user. Extracted corresponding features in the lungs were used as regularization landmarks in a multistage deformable image registration (DIR) mapping the inhale vs exhale phase. The residual distances between the warped manual landmarks and their reference position in the inhale phase were evaluated, in order to provide a quantitative indication of the registration performed with the three different point sets.Results: The phantom study confirmed the method invariance and robustness properties to shape-preserving and deformable transforms, showing residual matching errors below the voxel dimension. The adapted SIFT algorithm on the 4D CT dataset provided automated and accurate motion detection of peak to peak breathing motion. The proposed method resulted in reduced residual errors with respect to

Manual Intracardiac Electrogram Method Is Accurate Alternative to Echocardiography for Atrioventricular and Interventricular Optimization in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy.

PubMed

Pezo Nikolić, Borka; Lovrić, Daniel; Ljubas Maček, Jana; Rešković Lukšić, Vlatka; Matasić, Richard; Šeparović Hanževački, Jadranka

2017-12-01

Some manufacturers do not provide automated intracardiac electrogram method (IEGM) systems for atrioventricular (AV) and interventricular (VV) delay optimization in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of manual IEGM method in 48 patients previously implanted with Medtronic Syncra CRT. All patients underwent standard device interrogation followed by CRT optimization by IEGM method and by echocardiography one month after implantation. The patient mean age was 60.7±11.8 years and there were 33 (68.8%) males. After CRT implantation, the left ventricular ejection fraction increased from 28.0±7.9% to 39.1±11.0% (p<0.001). Optimal aortic flow Velocity Time Integral (aVTI) was obtained when VV was set to 20-50 ms left ventricular pre-activation. There was a strong correlation between VV values determined by echocardiography and IEGM (R=0.823, p<0.001). We found no significant difference in AV, VV and aVTI values between echocardiography and IEGM method. However, IEGM was significantly less time-consuming than echocardiography [20 (10-28) vs. 40 (35-60) minutes, p<0.001]. Manual IEGM method may be good alternative to echocardiography and automated IEGM method. It also emphasizes the need for implementation of automated IEGM systems in as many CRT devices as possible.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy for social phobia: a treatment manual based on supportive-expressive therapy.

PubMed

Leichsenring, Falk; Beutel, Manfred; Leibing, Eric

2007-01-01

Social phobia is a very frequent mental disorder characterized by an early onset, a chronic unremitting course, severe psychosocial impairments and high socioeconomic costs. To date, no manual for the psychodynamic treatment of social phobia exists. After a brief description of the disorder, a manual for a short-term psychodynamic treatment of social phobia is presented. The treatment is based on Luborsky s supportive-expressive (SE) therapy, which is complemented by treatment elements specific to social phobia. The treatment includes the characteristic elements of SE therapy, that is, setting goals, focus on the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) associated with the patient s symptoms, interpretive interventions to enhance insight into the CCRT, and supportive interventions, in particular fostering a helping alliance. In order to tailor the treatment more specifically to social phobia, treatment elements have been added, for example informing the patient about the disorder and the treatment, a specific focus on shame and on unrealistic demands, and encouraging the patient to confront anxiety-producing situations. More directive interventions are included as well, such as specific prescriptions to stop persisting self-devaluations. The treatment manual is presently being used in a large-scale randomized controlled multicenter study comparing short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of social phobia.

Quartermaster 1 and C, Rate Training Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naval Personnel Program Support Activity, Washington, DC.

The technical subject matter of the Quartermaster rating is presented in this training manual written to prepare men of the Navy and Naval Reserve for advancement examinations. The manual includes eleven chapters. Discussed are commonly used methods and procedures of operating magnetic compasses and gyrocompasses, determining a ship's position,…

A framework for the design of a voice-activated, intelligent, and hypermedia-based aircraft maintenance manual

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patankar, Manoj Shashikant

Federal Aviation Regulations require Aviation Maintenance Technicians (AMTs) to refer to approved maintenance manuals when performing maintenance on airworthy aircraft. Because these manuals are paper-based, larger the size of the aircraft, more cumbersome are the manuals. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recognized the difficulties associated with the use of large manuals and conducted studies on the use of electronic media as an alternative to the traditional paper format. However, these techniques do not employ any artificial intelligence technologies and the user interface is limited to either a keyboard or a stylus pen. The primary emphasis of this research was to design a generic framework that would allow future development of voice-activated, intelligent, and hypermedia-based aircraft maintenance manuals. A prototype (VIHAMS-Voice-activated, Intelligent, and Hypermedia-based Aircraft Maintenance System) was developed, as a secondary emphasis, using the design and development techniques that evolved from this research. An evolutionary software design approach was used to design the proposed framework and the structured rapid prototyping technique was used to produce the VIHAMS prototype. VoiceAssist by Creative Labs was used to provide the voice interface so that the users (AMTs) could keep their hands free to work on the aircraft while maintaining complete control over the computer through discrete voice commands. KnowledgePro for Windows sp{TM}, an expert system shell, provided "intelligence" to the prototype. As a result of this intelligence, the system provided expert guidance to the user. The core information contained in conventional manuals was available in a hypermedia format. The prototype's operating hardware included a notebook computer with a fully functional audio system. An external microphone and the built-in speaker served as the input and output devices (along with the color monitor), respectively. Federal Aviation Administration

Manual of Articulatory Phonetics: Teacher's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smalley, William A.

This teaching guide is closely integrated with the "Manual of Articulatory Phonetics" (FL 002 882) and its "Workbook Supplement" (FL 002 881). The guide is based on lesson plans which have been developed by the staff using the manual during its developmental period. An introduction on using the lesson plans and teaching techniques is provided.…

Manual for a Summer Reading Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Medina, Sue O.

This manual provides suggestions for materials and projects to carry out a summer reading program for children based on a monster theme. The planning process outlined may be used as a "how-to" guide for developing summer reading programs on other themes as well. In addition to general guidelines, the manual provides information on the following…

Comparison of two methodologies for the enrichment of mononuclear cells from thawed cord blood products: The automated Sepax system versus the manual Ficoll method.

PubMed

Kaur, Indreshpal; Zulovich, Jane M; Gonzalez, Marissa; McGee, Kara M; Ponweera, Nirmali; Thandi, Daljit; Alvarez, Enrique F; Annandale, Kathy; Flagge, Frank; Rezvani, Katayoun; Shpall, Elizabeth

2017-03-01

Umbilical cord blood (CB) is being used as a source of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and immune cells to treat many disorders. Because these cells are present in low numbers in CB, investigators have developed strategies to expand HSCs and other immune cells such as natural killer (NK) cells. The initial step in this process is to enrich mononuclear cells (MNCs) while depleting unwanted cells. The manual method of MNC enrichment is routinely used by many centers; however, it is an open system, time-consuming and operator dependent. For clinical manufacturing, it is important to have a closed system to avoid microbial contamination. In this study, we optimized an automated, closed system (Sepax) for enriching MNCs from cryopreserved CB units. Using Sepax, we observed higher recovery of total nucleated cells (TNC), CD34 + cells, NK cells and monocytes when compared to manual enrichment, despite similar TNC and CD34 + viability with the two methods. Even though the depletion of red blood cells, granulocytes and platelets was superior using the manual method, significantly higher CFU-GM were obtained in MNCs enriched using Sepax compared to the manual method. This is likely related to the fact that the automated Sepax significantly shortened the processing time (Sepax: 74 - 175 minutes versus manual method: 180 - 290 minutes). The use of DNAse and MgCl 2 during the Sepax thaw and wash procedure prevents clumping of cells and loss of viability, resulting in improved post-thaw cell recovery. We optimized enrichment of MNCs from cryopreserved CB products in a closed system using the Sepax which is a walk away and automated processing system. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

18 CFR 3b.204 - Safeguarding information in manual and computer-based record systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Safeguarding information in manual and computer-based record systems. 3b.204 Section 3b.204 Conservation of Power and Water... Commerce (National Bureau of Standards), or other agencies with appropriate knowledge and expertise. (c...

Characterization of available automated external defibrillators in the market based on the product manuals in 2014

PubMed Central

Ho, Chik Leung; Cheng, Ka Wai; Ma, Tze Hang; Wong, Yau Hang; Cheng, Ka Lok; Kam, Chak Wah

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: To popularize the wide-spread use of automated external defibrillator (AED) to save life in sudden cardiac arrest, we compared the strength and weakness of different types of AEDs to enable a sound selection based on regional requirement. METHODS: This was a retrospective descriptive study. Different types of AEDs were compared according to the information of AEDs from manuals and brochures provided by the manufacturers. Fifteen types of AEDs were divided into 3 groups, basic, intermediate and advanced. RESULTS: Lifeline™ AUTO AED had the best performance in price, portability and user-friendly among AEDs of basic level. It required less time for shock charging. Samaritan PAD defibrillator was superior in price, portability, durability and characteristic among AEDs of intermediate level. It had the longest warranty and highest protection against water and dust. Lifeline™ PRO AED had the best performance in most of the criteria among AEDs of advanced level and offered CPR video and manual mode for laypersons and clinicians respectively. CONCLUSION: Lifeline™ AUTO AED, Samaritan PAD defibrillator, Lifeline™ PRO AED are superior in AEDs of basic, intermediate and advanced levels, respectively. A feasible AED may be chosen by users according to the regional requirement and the current information about the best available products. PMID:27313810

Treatment manuals, training and successful provision of stop smoking behavioural support.

PubMed

Brose, Leonie S; McEwen, Andy; Michie, Susan; West, Robert; Chew, Xie Yin; Lorencatto, Fabiana

2015-08-01

Translating evidence-based behaviour change interventions into practice is aided by use of treatment manuals specifying the recommended content and format of interventions, and evidence-based training. This study examined whether outcomes of stop smoking behavioural support differed with practitioner's use and evaluation of treatment manuals, or practitioner's training. English stop smoking practitioners were invited to complete an online survey including questions on: practitioners' training, availability, use and perceived utility of manuals, and annual biochemically-validated success rates of quit attempts supported (practitioner-reported). Mean success rates were compared between practitioners with/without access to manuals, those using/not using manuals, perceived utility ratings of manuals, and consecutive levels of training completed. Success rates were higher if practitioners had a manual (Mean (SD) = 54.0 (24.0) versus 48.0 (25.3), t(838) = 2.48, p = 0.013; n = 840), used a manual (F(2,8237) = 4.78, p = 0.009, n = 840), perceived manuals as more useful (F(3,834) = 2.90, p = 0.034, n = 840), and had completed training (F(3,709) = 4.81, p = 0.002, n = 713). Differences were diminished when adjusting for professional and demographic characteristics and no longer reached statistical significance using a conventional alpha for perceived utility of manuals and training status (both p = 0.1). Practitioners' performance in supporting smokers to quit varied with availability and use of treatment manuals. Evidence was weaker for perceived utility of manuals and practitioners' evidence-based training. Ensuring practitioners have access to treatment manuals within their service, promoting manual use, and training practitioners to competently apply manuals is likely to contribute to higher success rates in clinical practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Manual ahorro de energia en la industria (Energy conservation manual for industry)

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

Not Available

1983-01-01

This manual gives general guidelines on which to base an energy conservation program, signals situations and opportunities for energy savings in an industrial plant, provides information for easy quantification of energy loss, and signals how to correct deficiencies in certain important aspects such as combustion and insulation. One chapter deals with heat audits, an extremely useful tool for identifying areas on which one should concentrate to achieve energy savings. The manual also describes general heating systems with a view to pointing out ways to increase efficiency and eliminate defects, including steam systems and oil, coal, and firewood combustion.

Resource Manual: Handicapped Children Birth to Five. Part 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leslie, Lin; And Others

The resource manual, in two parts, provides a compilation of methods for enhancing the development of handicapped children from birth to 5 years in the areas of motor, communication, cognition, self help, and social skills. The manual is intended to aid in (1) assessing and identifying target behaviors to be achieved, (2) identifying methods for…

THE INFLUENCE OF MATCHING AND MOTOR-IMITATION ABILITIES ON RAPID ACQUISITION OF MANUAL SIGNS AND EXCHANGE-BASED COMMUNICATIVE RESPONSES

PubMed Central

Gregory, Meagan K; DeLeon, Iser G; Richman, David M

2009-01-01

Establishing a relation between existing skills and acquisition of communicative responses may be useful in guiding selection of alternative communication systems. Matching and motor-imitation skills were assessed for 6 children with developmental disabilities, followed by training to request the same set of preferred items using exchange-based communication and manual signs. Three participants displayed both skills and rapidly acquired both communicative response forms. Three others displayed neither skill; 1 mastered exchange-based responses but not manual signs, and neither of the other 2 easily acquired either response form. PMID:19949531

Treatment manuals and the advancement of psychoanalytic knowledge: The Treatment Manual of the Tavistock Adult Depression Study.

PubMed

Taylor, David

2015-06-01

This paper has two aims: first, it seeks to understand the absence of treatment manuals in psychoanalysis. Secondly, it summarizes the treatment manual of the Tavistock Adult Depression Study, which describes the form of psychoanalytic psychotherapy whose effectiveness has been evaluated both in the Tavistock Adult Depression Study (TADS); and in the German Die Langzeittherapie bei chronischen Depressionen (LAC) Studie. Throughout the history of psychoanalysis, opinions about treatment manuals, empirical research and their antecedents have been deeply divided. After tracing the often polarized unfolding of these matters, the paper proposes that emotional and cognitive difficulties as well as scientific ones underpin their persistence. It is suggested that greater familiarity with them may lead to better combinations of outcome research and psychoanalysis: for example, the Tavistock manual seeks to match one account of the objects, aims, values, spirit and methods of psychoanalysis (as well as of connected forms of psychoanalytic psychotherapy); and also to meet what is required of treatment manuals by random allocation controlled trials. It has been a crucial element in the above studies of the outcome of long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapies with chronically depressed patients. After describing the Tavistock Manual, the paper concludes suggesting that, if appropriately constructed, treatment manuals can make a contribution to the advancement of specifically psychoanalytic knowledge. Copyright © 2015 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Surgical planning and manual image fusion based on 3D model facilitate laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for intrarenal tumors.

PubMed

Chen, Yuanbo; Li, Hulin; Wu, Dingtao; Bi, Keming; Liu, Chunxiao

2014-12-01

Construction of three-dimensional (3D) model of renal tumor facilitated surgical planning and imaging guidance of manual image fusion in laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) for intrarenal tumors. Fifteen patients with intrarenal tumors underwent LPN between January and December 2012. Computed tomography-based reconstruction of the 3D models of renal tumors was performed using Mimics 12.1 software. Surgical planning was performed through morphometry and multi-angle visual views of the tumor model. Two-step manual image fusion superimposed 3D model images onto 2D laparoscopic images. The image fusion was verified by intraoperative ultrasound. Imaging-guided laparoscopic hilar clamping and tumor excision was performed. Manual fusion time, patient demographics, surgical details, and postoperative treatment parameters were analyzed. The reconstructed 3D tumor models accurately represented the patient's physiological anatomical landmarks. The surgical planning markers were marked successfully. Manual image fusion was flexible and feasible with fusion time of 6 min (5-7 min). All surgeries were completed laparoscopically. The median tumor excision time was 5.4 min (3.5-10 min), whereas the median warm ischemia time was 25.5 min (16-32 min). Twelve patients (80 %) demonstrated renal cell carcinoma on final pathology, and all surgical margins were negative. No tumor recurrence was detected after a media follow-up of 1 year (3-15 months). The surgical planning and two-step manual image fusion based on 3D model of renal tumor facilitated visible-imaging-guided tumor resection with negative margin in LPN for intrarenal tumor. It is promising and moves us one step closer to imaging-guided surgery.

The comparison of automated urine analyzers with manual microscopic examination for urinalysis automated urine analyzers and manual urinalysis.

PubMed

İnce, Fatma Demet; Ellidağ, Hamit Yaşar; Koseoğlu, Mehmet; Şimşek, Neşe; Yalçın, Hülya; Zengin, Mustafa Osman

2016-08-01

Urinalysis is one of the most commonly performed tests in the clinical laboratory. However, manual microscopic sediment examination is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and lacks standardization in high-volume laboratories. In this study, the concordance of analyses between manual microscopic examination and two different automatic urine sediment analyzers has been evaluated. 209 urine samples were analyzed by the Iris iQ200 ELITE (İris Diagnostics, USA), Dirui FUS-200 (DIRUI Industrial Co., China) automatic urine sediment analyzers and by manual microscopic examination. The degree of concordance (Kappa coefficient) and the rates within the same grading were evaluated. For erythrocytes, leukocytes, epithelial cells, bacteria, crystals and yeasts, the degree of concordance between the two instruments was better than the degree of concordance between the manual microscopic method and the individual devices. There was no concordance between all methods for casts. The results from the automated analyzers for erythrocytes, leukocytes and epithelial cells were similar to the result of microscopic examination. However, in order to avoid any error or uncertainty, some images (particularly: dysmorphic cells, bacteria, yeasts, casts and crystals) have to be analyzed by manual microscopic examination by trained staff. Therefore, the software programs which are used in automatic urine sediment analysers need further development to recognize urinary shaped elements more accurately. Automated systems are important in terms of time saving and standardization.

COMPARISON OF MANUAL AND SEMIAUTOMATED FUNDUS AUTOFLUORESCENCE ANALYSIS OF MACULAR ATROPHY IN STARGARDT DISEASE PHENOTYPE.

PubMed

Kuehlewein, Laura; Hariri, Amir H; Ho, Alexander; Dustin, Laurie; Wolfson, Yulia; Strauss, Rupert W; Scholl, Hendrik P N; Sadda, SriniVas R

2016-06-01

To evaluate manual and semiautomated grading techniques for assessing decreased fundus autofluorescence (DAF) in patients with Stargardt disease phenotype. Certified reading center graders performed manual and semiautomated (region finder-based) grading of confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (cSLO) fundus autofluorescence (FAF) images for 41 eyes of 22 patients. Lesion types were defined based on the black level and sharpness of the border: definite decreased autofluorescence (DDAF), well, and poorly demarcated questionably decreased autofluorescence (WDQDAF, PDQDAF). Agreement in grading between the two methods and inter- and intra-grader agreement was assessed by kappa coefficients (κ) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). The mean ± standard deviation (SD) area was 3.07 ± 3.02 mm for DDAF (n = 31), 1.53 ± 1.52 mm for WDQDAF (n = 9), and 6.94 ± 10.06 mm for PDQDAF (n = 17). The mean ± SD absolute difference in area between manual and semiautomated grading was 0.26 ± 0.28 mm for DDAF, 0.20 ± 0.26 mm for WDQDAF, and 4.05 ± 8.32 mm for PDQDAF. The ICC (95% confidence interval) for method comparison was 0.992 (0.984-0.996) for DDAF, 0.976 (0.922-0.993) for WDQDAF, and 0.648 (0.306-0.842) for PDQDAF. Inter- and intra-grader agreement in manual and semiautomated quantitative grading was better for DDAF (0.981-0.996) and WDQDAF (0.995-0.999) than for PDQDAF (0.715-0.993). Manual and semiautomated grading methods showed similar levels of reproducibility for assessing areas of decreased autofluorescence in patients with Stargardt disease phenotype. Excellent agreement and reproducibility were observed for well demarcated lesions.

Project REACH: A Competency-Based Manual for Camp Director Training. Appendix T. Camp Director Training Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vinton, Dennis A., Ed.; Farley, Elizabeth M., Ed.

Resulting from a 3 year project to develop and test competency based programs for camp personnel serving the physically handicapped, the document contains a manual for training the camp director. An introductory section gives an explanation of competency based instruction, a description of a module, and an overview of the camp director training…

Competency-Based Adult Basic Education Manual for Level I (0-4.9) and Level II (5-8). A Training Manual for CBABE Instruction and Program Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singer, Elizabeth; And Others

This training manual was developed as a source of information about Competency-Based Adult Basic Education (CBABE) for administrators, counselors, and teachers involved in the implementation of a CBABE program. After section I provides an introduction to Brevard Community College's development of CBABE curricula, section II explains the purposes…

Fiscal Accounting Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California State Dept. of Housing and Community Development, Sacramento. Indian Assistance Program.

Written in simple, easy to understand form, the manual provides a vehicle for the untrained person in bookkeeping to control funds received from grants for Indian Tribal Councils and Indian organizations. The method used to control grants (federal, state, or private) is fund accounting, designed to organize rendering services on a non-profit…

Web-Based Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM) Common User Interface Style Guide, Version 2.0

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-07-01

Technical Report WEB-BASED INTERACTIVE ELECTRONIC TECHNICAL MANUAL (IETM) COMMON USER INTERFACE STYLE GUIDE Version 2.0 – July 2003 by L. John Junod ...ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The principal authors of this document were: John Junod – NSWC, Carderock Division, Phil Deuell – AMSEC LLC, Kathleen Moore

1 CFR 12.3 - The United States Government Manual.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 1 General Provisions 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false The United States Government Manual. 12.3... States Government Manual. (a) Copies of The United States Government Manual shall be made available to... legislative courts of the United States will be provided with one copy based on a written request from the...

1 CFR 12.3 - The United States Government Manual.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 1 General Provisions 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false The United States Government Manual. 12.3... States Government Manual. (a) Copies of The United States Government Manual shall be made available to... legislative courts of the United States will be provided with one copy based on a written request from the...

Measurement of atmospheric mercury species with manual sampling and analysis methods in a case study in Indiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Risch, M.R.; Prestbo, E.M.; Hawkins, L.

2007-01-01

Ground-level concentrations of three atmospheric mercury species were measured using manual sampling and analysis to provide data for estimates of mercury dry deposition. Three monitoring stations were operated simultaneously during winter, spring, and summer 2004, adjacent to three mercury wet-deposition monitoring stations in northern, central, and southern Indiana. The monitoring locations differed in land-use setting and annual mercury-emissions level from nearby sources. A timer-controlled air-sampling system that contained a three-part sampling train was used to isolate reactive gaseous mercury, particulate-bound mercury, and elemental mercury. The sampling trains were exchanged every 6 days, and the mercury species were quantified in a laboratory. A quality-assurance study indicated the sampling trains could be held at least 120 h without a significant change in reactive gaseous or particulate-bound mercury concentrations. The manual sampling method was able to provide valid mercury concentrations in 90 to 95% of samples. Statistical differences in mercury concentrations were observed during the project. Concentrations of reactive gaseous and elemental mercury were higher in the daytime samples than in the nighttime samples. Concentrations of reactive gaseous mercury were higher in winter than in summer and were highest at the urban monitoring location. The results of this case study indicated manual sampling and analysis could be a reliable method for measurement of atmospheric mercury species and has the capability for supplying representative concentrations in an effective manner from a long-term deposition-monitoring network. ?? 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Natural Language Processing As an Alternative to Manual Reporting of Colonoscopy Quality Metrics

PubMed Central

RAJU, GOTTUMUKKALA S.; LUM, PHILLIP J.; SLACK, REBECCA; THIRUMURTHI, SELVI; LYNCH, PATRICK M.; MILLER, ETHAN; WESTON, BRIAN R.; DAVILA, MARTA L.; BHUTANI, MANOOP S.; SHAFI, MEHNAZ A.; BRESALIER, ROBERT S.; DEKOVICH, ALEXANDER A.; LEE, JEFFREY H.; GUHA, SUSHOVAN; PANDE, MALA; BLECHACZ, BORIS; RASHID, ASIF; ROUTBORT, MARK; SHUTTLESWORTH, GLADIS; MISHRA, LOPA; STROEHLEIN, JOHN R.; ROSS, WILLIAM A.

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND & AIMS The adenoma detection rate (ADR) is a quality metric tied to interval colon cancer occurrence. However, manual extraction of data to calculate and track the ADR in clinical practice is labor-intensive. To overcome this difficulty, we developed a natural language processing (NLP) method to identify patients, who underwent their first screening colonoscopy, identify adenomas and sessile serrated adenomas (SSA). We compared the NLP generated results with that of manual data extraction to test the accuracy of NLP, and report on colonoscopy quality metrics using NLP. METHODS Identification of screening colonoscopies using NLP was compared with that using the manual method for 12,748 patients who underwent colonoscopies from July 2010 to February 2013. Also, identification of adenomas and SSAs using NLP was compared with that using the manual method with 2259 matched patient records. Colonoscopy ADRs using these methods were generated for each physician. RESULTS NLP correctly identified 91.3% of the screening examinations, whereas the manual method identified 87.8% of them. Both the manual method and NLP correctly identified examinations of patients with adenomas and SSAs in the matched records almost perfectly. Both NLP and manual method produce comparable values for ADR for each endoscopist as well as the group as a whole. CONCLUSIONS NLP can correctly identify screening colonoscopies, accurately identify adenomas and SSAs in a pathology database, and provide real-time quality metrics for colonoscopy. PMID:25910665

XYFREZ.4 User’s Manual.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

F T FILE I MEuSpecial Report 87-26 December 1987 US Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory XYFREZ.4 User’s manual...Freeze/thaw User’s manual 19. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number) - -- Using the program XYFREZ, version 4, one...may simulate two-dimensional conduction of heat, with or without phase change. The mathematical method employed uses finite elements in space and

Solar and Energy Conserving Food Technologies: A Training Manual. Training for Development. Peace Corps Information Collection & Exchange Training Manual No. T-17.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farallones Inst., Occidental, CA.

Based on experience in the field, this training manual was developed to help Peace Corps trainers plan and implement inservice training programs in solar and other energy conserving food technologies for Peace Corps volunteers and community workers. Using a competency-based format, the manual contains 20 sessions (learning modules) that focus on…

Evaluation of objectivity, reliability and criterion validity of the key indicator method for manual handling operations (KIM-MHO), draft 2007.

PubMed

Klußmann, André; Gebhardt, Hansjürgen; Rieger, Monika; Liebers, Falk; Steinberg, Ulf

2012-01-01

Upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders are common in the working population. The economic and social impact of such disorders is considerable. Long-time, dynamic repetitive exposure of the hand-arm system during manual handling operations (MHO) alone or in combination with static and postural effort are recognised as causes of musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders. The assessment of these manual work tasks is crucial to estimate health risks of exposed employees. For these work tasks, a new method for the assessment of the working conditions was developed and a validation study was performed. The results suggest satisfying criterion validity and moderate objectivity of the KIM-MHO draft 2007. The method was modified and evaluated again. It is planned to release a new version of KIM-MHO in spring 2012.

RELAP-7 Theory Manual

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

Berry, Ray Alden; Zou, Ling; Zhao, Haihua

This document summarizes the physical models and mathematical formulations used in the RELAP-7 code. In summary, the MOOSE based RELAP-7 code development is an ongoing effort. The MOOSE framework enables rapid development of the RELAP-7 code. The developmental efforts and results demonstrate that the RELAP-7 project is on a path to success. This theory manual documents the main features implemented into the RELAP-7 code. Because the code is an ongoing development effort, this RELAP-7 Theory Manual will evolve with periodic updates to keep it current with the state of the development, implementation, and model additions/revisions.

HEp-2 cell image classification method based on very deep convolutional networks with small datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Mengchi; Gao, Long; Guo, Xifeng; Liu, Qiang; Yin, Jianping

2017-07-01

Human Epithelial-2 (HEp-2) cell images staining patterns classification have been widely used to identify autoimmune diseases by the anti-Nuclear antibodies (ANA) test in the Indirect Immunofluorescence (IIF) protocol. Because manual test is time consuming, subjective and labor intensive, image-based Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems for HEp-2 cell classification are developing. However, methods proposed recently are mostly manual features extraction with low accuracy. Besides, the scale of available benchmark datasets is small, which does not exactly suitable for using deep learning methods. This issue will influence the accuracy of cell classification directly even after data augmentation. To address these issues, this paper presents a high accuracy automatic HEp-2 cell classification method with small datasets, by utilizing very deep convolutional networks (VGGNet). Specifically, the proposed method consists of three main phases, namely image preprocessing, feature extraction and classification. Moreover, an improved VGGNet is presented to address the challenges of small-scale datasets. Experimental results over two benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed method achieves superior performance in terms of accuracy compared with existing methods.

An advanced method for classifying atmospheric circulation types based on prototypes connectivity graph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zagouras, Athanassios; Argiriou, Athanassios A.; Flocas, Helena A.; Economou, George; Fotopoulos, Spiros

2012-11-01

Classification of weather maps at various isobaric levels as a methodological tool is used in several problems related to meteorology, climatology, atmospheric pollution and to other fields for many years. Initially the classification was performed manually. The criteria used by the person performing the classification are features of isobars or isopleths of geopotential height, depending on the type of maps to be classified. Although manual classifications integrate the perceptual experience and other unquantifiable qualities of the meteorology specialists involved, these are typically subjective and time consuming. Furthermore, during the last years different approaches of automated methods for atmospheric circulation classification have been proposed, which present automated and so-called objective classifications. In this paper a new method of atmospheric circulation classification of isobaric maps is presented. The method is based on graph theory. It starts with an intelligent prototype selection using an over-partitioning mode of fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm, proceeds to a graph formulation for the entire dataset and produces the clusters based on the contemporary dominant sets clustering method. Graph theory is a novel mathematical approach, allowing a more efficient representation of spatially correlated data, compared to the classical Euclidian space representation approaches, used in conventional classification methods. The method has been applied to the classification of 850 hPa atmospheric circulation over the Eastern Mediterranean. The evaluation of the automated methods is performed by statistical indexes; results indicate that the classification is adequately comparable with other state-of-the-art automated map classification methods, for a variable number of clusters.

User manual for Blossom statistical package for R

USGS Publications Warehouse

Talbert, Marian; Cade, Brian S.

2005-01-01

Blossom is an R package with functions for making statistical comparisons with distance-function based permutation tests developed by P.W. Mielke, Jr. and colleagues at Colorado State University (Mielke and Berry, 2001) and for testing parameters estimated in linear models with permutation procedures developed by B. S. Cade and colleagues at the Fort Collins Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey. This manual is intended to provide identical documentation of the statistical methods and interpretations as the manual by Cade and Richards (2005) does for the original Fortran program, but with changes made with respect to command inputs and outputs to reflect the new implementation as a package for R (R Development Core Team, 2012). This implementation in R has allowed for numerous improvements not supported by the Cade and Richards (2005) Fortran implementation, including use of categorical predictor variables in most routines.

Comparison between manual scaling and Autoscala automatic scaling applied to Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory ionograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enell, Carl-Fredrik; Kozlovsky, Alexander; Turunen, Tauno; Ulich, Thomas; Välitalo, Sirkku; Scotto, Carlo; Pezzopane, Michael

2016-03-01

This paper presents a comparison between standard ionospheric parameters manually and automatically scaled from ionograms recorded at the high-latitude Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory (SGO, ionosonde SO166, 64.1° geomagnetic latitude), located in the vicinity of the auroral oval. The study is based on 2610 ionograms recorded during the period June-December 2013. The automatic scaling was made by means of the Autoscala software. A few typical examples are shown to outline the method, and statistics are presented regarding the differences between manually and automatically scaled values of F2, F1, E and sporadic E (Es) layer parameters. We draw the conclusions that: 1. The F2 parameters scaled by Autoscala, foF2 and M(3000)F2, are reliable. 2. F1 is identified by Autoscala in significantly fewer cases (about 50 %) than in the manual routine, but if identified the values of foF1 are reliable. 3. Autoscala frequently (30 % of the cases) detects an E layer when the manual scaling process does not. When identified by both methods, the Autoscala E-layer parameters are close to those manually scaled, foE agreeing to within 0.4 MHz. 4. Es and parameters of Es identified by Autoscala are in many cases different from those of the manual scaling. Scaling of Es at auroral latitudes is often a difficult task.

FMEA of manual and automated methods for commissioning a radiotherapy treatment planning system.

PubMed

Wexler, Amy; Gu, Bruce; Goddu, Sreekrishna; Mutic, Maya; Yaddanapudi, Sridhar; Olsen, Lindsey; Harry, Taylor; Noel, Camille; Pawlicki, Todd; Mutic, Sasa; Cai, Bin

2017-09-01

To evaluate the level of risk involved in treatment planning system (TPS) commissioning using a manual test procedure, and to compare the associated process-based risk to that of an automated commissioning process (ACP) by performing an in-depth failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA). The authors collaborated to determine the potential failure modes of the TPS commissioning process using (a) approaches involving manual data measurement, modeling, and validation tests and (b) an automated process utilizing application programming interface (API) scripting, preloaded, and premodeled standard radiation beam data, digital heterogeneous phantom, and an automated commissioning test suite (ACTS). The severity (S), occurrence (O), and detectability (D) were scored for each failure mode and the risk priority numbers (RPN) were derived based on TG-100 scale. Failure modes were then analyzed and ranked based on RPN. The total number of failure modes, RPN scores and the top 10 failure modes with highest risk were described and cross-compared between the two approaches. RPN reduction analysis is also presented and used as another quantifiable metric to evaluate the proposed approach. The FMEA of a MTP resulted in 47 failure modes with an RPN ave of 161 and S ave of 6.7. The highest risk process of "Measurement Equipment Selection" resulted in an RPN max of 640. The FMEA of an ACP resulted in 36 failure modes with an RPN ave of 73 and S ave of 6.7. The highest risk process of "EPID Calibration" resulted in an RPN max of 576. An FMEA of treatment planning commissioning tests using automation and standardization via API scripting, preloaded, and pre-modeled standard beam data, and digital phantoms suggests that errors and risks may be reduced through the use of an ACP. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant technical manual

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

Larson, D.E.; Watrous, R.A.; Kruger, O.L.

1996-03-01

A key element of the Hanford waste management strategy is the construction of a new facility, the Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant (HWVP), to vitrify existing and future liquid high-level waste produced by defense activities at the Hanford Site. The HWVP mission is to vitrify pretreated waste in borosilicate glass, cast the glass into stainless steel canisters, and store the canisters at the Hanford Site until they are shipped to a federal geological repository. The HWVP Technical Manual (Manual) documents the technical bases of the current HWVP process and provides a physical description of the related equipment and the plant. Themore » immediate purpose of the document is to provide the technical bases for preparation of project baseline documents that will be used to direct the Title 1 and Title 2 design by the A/E, Fluor. The content of the Manual is organized in the following manner. Chapter 1.0 contains the background and context within which the HWVP was designed. Chapter 2.0 describes the site, plant, equipment and supporting services and provides the context for application of the process information in the Manual. Chapter 3.0 provides plant feed and product requirements, which are primary process bases for plant operation. Chapter 4.0 summarizes the technology for each plant process. Chapter 5.0 describes the engineering principles for designing major types of HWVP equipment. Chapter 6.0 describes the general safety aspects of the plant and process to assist in safe and prudent facility operation. Chapter 7.0 includes a description of the waste form qualification program and data. Chapter 8.0 indicates the current status of quality assurance requirements for the Manual. The Appendices provide data that are too extensive to be placed in the main text, such as extensive tables and sets of figures. The Manual is a revision of the 1987 version.« less

Fully convolutional networks (FCNs)-based segmentation method for colorectal tumors on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images.

PubMed

Jian, Junming; Xiong, Fei; Xia, Wei; Zhang, Rui; Gu, Jinhui; Wu, Xiaodong; Meng, Xiaochun; Gao, Xin

2018-06-01

Segmentation of colorectal tumors is the basis of preoperative prediction, staging, and therapeutic response evaluation. Due to the blurred boundary between lesions and normal colorectal tissue, it is hard to realize accurate segmentation. Routinely manual or semi-manual segmentation methods are extremely tedious, time-consuming, and highly operator-dependent. In the framework of FCNs, a segmentation method for colorectal tumor was presented. Normalization was applied to reduce the differences among images. Borrowing from transfer learning, VGG-16 was employed to extract features from normalized images. We conducted five side-output blocks from the last convolutional layer of each block of VGG-16 along the network, these side-output blocks can deep dive multiscale features, and produced corresponding predictions. Finally, all of the predictions from side-output blocks were fused to determine the final boundaries of the tumors. A quantitative comparison of 2772 colorectal tumor manual segmentation results from T2-weighted magnetic resonance images shows that the average Dice similarity coefficient, positive predictive value, specificity, sensitivity, Hammoude distance, and Hausdorff distance were 83.56, 82.67, 96.75, 87.85%, 0.2694, and 8.20, respectively. The proposed method is superior to U-net in colorectal tumor segmentation (P < 0.05). There is no difference between cross-entropy loss and Dice-based loss in colorectal tumor segmentation (P > 0.05). The results indicate that the introduction of FCNs contributed to accurate segmentation of colorectal tumors. This method has the potential to replace the present time-consuming and nonreproducible manual segmentation method.

Healthy Young Children: A Manual for Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kendrick, Abby Shapiro, Ed.; And Others

This manual, which was developed as a reference and resource guide for program directors and teachers of young children, describes high standards for health policies. Also provided are information based on current research and recommendations from experts in health and early childhood education. The manual contains 7 sections and 19 chapters.…

Comparison of manual and automatic techniques for substriatal segmentation in 11C-raclopride high-resolution PET studies.

PubMed

Johansson, Jarkko; Alakurtti, Kati; Joutsa, Juho; Tohka, Jussi; Ruotsalainen, Ulla; Rinne, Juha O

2016-10-01

The striatum is the primary target in regional C-raclopride-PET studies, and despite its small volume, it contains several functional and anatomical subregions. The outcome of the quantitative dopamine receptor study using C-raclopride-PET depends heavily on the quality of the region-of-interest (ROI) definition of these subregions. The aim of this study was to evaluate subregional analysis techniques because new approaches have emerged, but have not yet been compared directly. In this paper, we compared manual ROI delineation with several automatic methods. The automatic methods used either direct clustering of the PET image or individualization of chosen brain atlases on the basis of MRI or PET image normalization. State-of-the-art normalization methods and atlases were applied, including those provided in the FreeSurfer, Statistical Parametric Mapping8, and FSL software packages. Evaluation of the automatic methods was based on voxel-wise congruity with the manual delineations and the test-retest variability and reliability of the outcome measures using data from seven healthy male participants who were scanned twice with C-raclopride-PET on the same day. The results show that both manual and automatic methods can be used to define striatal subregions. Although most of the methods performed well with respect to the test-retest variability and reliability of binding potential, the smallest average test-retest variability and SEM were obtained using a connectivity-based atlas and PET normalization (test-retest variability=4.5%, SEM=0.17). The current state-of-the-art automatic ROI methods can be considered good alternatives for subjective and laborious manual segmentation in C-raclopride-PET studies.

[Tuitional-based promotion of social competencies and prevention of bullying in adolescence--the fairplayer.manual: results of a pilot evaluation study].

PubMed

Scheithauer, Herbert; Bull, Heike Dele

2010-01-01

The fairplayer.manual (Scheithauer u. Bull, 2008), a manualized, tuitional-based preventive intervention programme to facilitate social competence and prevent school bullying consists of at least 15 to 17 consecutive, ninety-minute-lessons using cognitive-behavioural methods (e. g. role plays, model-learning, social reinforcement, behaviour-feedback) and moral dilemma discussions amongst others. We present results from a pilot evaluation study with 138 students (between 13 and 21 years of age, from comprehensive and vocational school) and their teachers. Students and teachers were administered structured questionnaires considering e. g. the occurrence of bullying, prosocial behavior and student's empathy as well as legitimation of violence. For 113 students we obtained data for the two measurement points (pre-post). Due to a high attrition rate information of an initially recruited control group could not be considered. Results indicated partially impressive positive changes concerning the total number of bullies and victims as well as prosocial behavior. Results concerning legitimation of violence and empathy differed for classes according to treatment integrity.

Manual on Bibliographic Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Federation of Library Associations, The Hague (Netherlands).

This manual outlines objectives, functions, and methods for establishing national bibliographic control as part of the development of a worldwide system for the control and exchange of bibliographic information. Chapters cover: (1) definitions of bibliographic control and related concepts including Universal Bibliographic Control (UBC) and…

Comparison of Manual Refraction Versus Autorefraction in 60 Diabetic Retinopathy Patients

PubMed Central

Shirzadi, Keyvan; Shahraki, Kourosh; Yahaghi, Emad; Makateb, Ali; Khosravifard, Keivan

2016-01-01

Aim: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the comparison of manual refraction versus autorefraction in diabetic retinopathy patients. Material and Methods: The study was conducted at the Be’sat Army Hospital from 2013-2015. In the present study differences between two common refractometry methods (manual refractometry and Auto refractometry) in diagnosis and follow up of retinopathy in patients affected with diabetes is investigated. Results: Our results showed that there is a significant difference in visual acuity score of patients between manual and auto refractometry. Despite this fact, spherical equivalent scores of two methods of refractometry did not show a significant statistical difference in the patients. Conclusion: Although use of manual refraction is comparable with autorefraction in evaluating spherical equivalent scores in diabetic patients affected with retinopathy, but in the case of visual acuity results from these two methods are not comparable. PMID:27703289

Criterion-Referenced Measurement in the Army: Development of a Research- Based, Practical, Test Construction Manual

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-09-01

iE ARI TECHNICAL REPORT S~ TR-78-A31 M CCriterion-Reforencod Loasurement In the Army: Development of a Research-Based, Practical, Test Construction ...conducted to develop a Criterion- 1 Referenced Tests (CRTs) Construction Manual. Major accomplishments were the preparation of a written review of the...survey of the literature on Criterion-Referenced Testing’ conducted in order to provide an information base for development of the CRT Construction

2002 Construction manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-01-01

The Illinois Department of Transportation's Highway Construction Manual has been updated from its previous version. All previous editions of this manual are now obsolete and changes in content have been marked. The Construction Manual provides inform...

A minimum spanning forest based classification method for dedicated breast CT images

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

Pike, Robert; Sechopoulos, Ioannis; Fei, Baowei, E-mail: bfei@emory.edu

Purpose: To develop and test an automated algorithm to classify different types of tissue in dedicated breast CT images. Methods: Images of a single breast of five different patients were acquired with a dedicated breast CT clinical prototype. The breast CT images were processed by a multiscale bilateral filter to reduce noise while keeping edge information and were corrected to overcome cupping artifacts. As skin and glandular tissue have similar CT values on breast CT images, morphologic processing is used to identify the skin based on its position information. A support vector machine (SVM) is trained and the resulting modelmore » used to create a pixelwise classification map of fat and glandular tissue. By combining the results of the skin mask with the SVM results, the breast tissue is classified as skin, fat, and glandular tissue. This map is then used to identify markers for a minimum spanning forest that is grown to segment the image using spatial and intensity information. To evaluate the authors’ classification method, they use DICE overlap ratios to compare the results of the automated classification to those obtained by manual segmentation on five patient images. Results: Comparison between the automatic and the manual segmentation shows that the minimum spanning forest based classification method was able to successfully classify dedicated breast CT image with average DICE ratios of 96.9%, 89.8%, and 89.5% for fat, glandular, and skin tissue, respectively. Conclusions: A 2D minimum spanning forest based classification method was proposed and evaluated for classifying the fat, skin, and glandular tissue in dedicated breast CT images. The classification method can be used for dense breast tissue quantification, radiation dose assessment, and other applications in breast imaging.« less

Action Research Projects in Distance Education: A Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramakrishna, C. Pushpa; Prasad, V. S.

This manual, prepared by the Distance Education Council (India) presents guidelines for action research in distance education, balancing practical research activities with a sound theoretical research base. Chapter 1, "Scope, Purpose and Design of the Manual," suggests several definitions of research; draws distinctions between academic…

Caltrans : construction manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-08-01

Caltrans intends this manual as a resource for all personnel engaged in contract administration. The manual establishes policies and procedures for the construction phase of Caltrans projects. However, this manual is not a contract document. It impos...

Dialects for the Stage: A Manual and Two Casette Tapes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Machlin, Evangeline

This document contains a manual and two cassette tapes designed to help actors and actresses learn to speak various dialects. The tapes and the manual are arranged for the play-it-and-say-it method of dialect acquisition. The first three parts discuss the tapes and the manual in general, the dialect texts and dialect data, and the steps involved…

The AASM scoring manual: a critical appraisal.

PubMed

Grigg-Damberger, Madeleine M

2009-11-01

Summarize recently published studies and critiques evaluating the effects of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Sleep Scoring Manual. Only a few retrospective studies have been published evaluating the new AASM Scoring Manual. These have shown that when scoring polysomnograms (PSGs) using the AASM rules compared to previous standards and guidelines: increased amount and percentage of sleep time in Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (NREM) 1 (N1) and N3 sleep, and decreased NREM 2 (N2) sleep; improved interscorer reliability when scoring sleep stages in adults; large differences in apnea-hypopnea indexes (AHIs) using different hypopnea scoring definitions; and PSGs scored using the 'recommended' hypopnea definition in the new manual identified no significant sleep disordered breathing in 40% of lean individuals with symptomatic OSA (AHI ≥5/h by 1999 'Chicago' criteria) and a favorable response to treatment. Two years have passed since the AASM Scoring Manual was published, garnering less criticism than was feared by those who developed it. The improvement in interscorer reliability using the Manual is heartening since this goal shaped many of the choices made. The alternative hypopnea rule should be endorsed as a recommended option. The AASM Scoring Manual provides a foundation upon which we all can build rules and methods that quantify the complexity of sleep and its disorders. Multicenter validation and refinement of the Manual is encouraged.

Model-Based Method for Terrain-Following Display Design

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-15

data into a more compact set of model parameters. These model parameters provide insights into the interpretation of the experimental results as well...2.8 presents the VSD display, and is taken from figure 1.95 of the B-IB Flight Manual , NA-77-400. There are two primary elements in the VSD: 1) the...baseline VSD based on figures such as these from the B-lB Flight Manual , a video tape of an operating VSD in the engineering - 21 - research simulator, and

Color image definition evaluation method based on deep learning method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Di; Li, YingChun

2018-01-01

In order to evaluate different blurring levels of color image and improve the method of image definition evaluation, this paper proposed a method based on the depth learning framework and BP neural network classification model, and presents a non-reference color image clarity evaluation method. Firstly, using VGG16 net as the feature extractor to extract 4,096 dimensions features of the images, then the extracted features and labeled images are employed in BP neural network to train. And finally achieve the color image definition evaluation. The method in this paper are experimented by using images from the CSIQ database. The images are blurred at different levels. There are 4,000 images after the processing. Dividing the 4,000 images into three categories, each category represents a blur level. 300 out of 400 high-dimensional features are trained in VGG16 net and BP neural network, and the rest of 100 samples are tested. The experimental results show that the method can take full advantage of the learning and characterization capability of deep learning. Referring to the current shortcomings of the major existing image clarity evaluation methods, which manually design and extract features. The method in this paper can extract the images features automatically, and has got excellent image quality classification accuracy for the test data set. The accuracy rate is 96%. Moreover, the predicted quality levels of original color images are similar to the perception of the human visual system.

User's manual for UCAP: Unified Counter-Rotation Aero-Acoustics Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Culver, E. M.; Mccolgan, C. J.

1993-01-01

This is the user's manual for the Unified Counter-rotation Aeroacoustics Program (UCAP), the counter-rotation derivative of the UAAP (Unified Aero-Acoustic Program). The purpose of this program is to predict steady and unsteady air loading on the blades and the noise produced by a counter-rotation Prop-Fan. The aerodynamic method is based on linear potential theory with corrections for nonlinearity associated with axial flux induction, vortex lift on the blades, and rotor-to-rotor interference. The theory for acoustics and the theory for individual blade loading and wakes are derived in Unified Aeroacoustics Analysis for High Speed Turboprop Aerodynamics and Noise, Volume 1 (NASA CR-4329). This user's manual also includes a brief explanation of the theory used for the modelling of counter-rotation.

User's manual for UCAP: Unified Counter-Rotation Aero-Acoustics Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Culver, E. M.; McColgan, C. J.

1993-04-01

This is the user's manual for the Unified Counter-rotation Aeroacoustics Program (UCAP), the counter-rotation derivative of the UAAP (Unified Aero-Acoustic Program). The purpose of this program is to predict steady and unsteady air loading on the blades and the noise produced by a counter-rotation Prop-Fan. The aerodynamic method is based on linear potential theory with corrections for nonlinearity associated with axial flux induction, vortex lift on the blades, and rotor-to-rotor interference. The theory for acoustics and the theory for individual blade loading and wakes are derived in Unified Aeroacoustics Analysis for High Speed Turboprop Aerodynamics and Noise, Volume 1 (NASA CR-4329). This user's manual also includes a brief explanation of the theory used for the modelling of counter-rotation.

A manual-based psychodynamic therapy for treatment-resistant borderline personality disorder.

PubMed

Gregory, Robert J; Remen, Anna L

2008-03-01

The authors introduce a manual-based treatment, labeled dynamic deconstructive psychotherapy, developed for those patients with borderline personality disorder who are most difficult to engage in therapy, such as those having co-occurring substance use disorders. This treatment model is based on the hypothesis that borderline pathology and related behaviors reflect impairment in specific neurocognitive functions, including association, attribution, and alterity that form the basis for a coherent and differentiated self. Dynamic deconstructive psychotherapy aims to activate and remediate neurocognitive self-capacities by facilitating elaboration of affect-laden interpersonal experiences and integration of attributions, as well as providing novel experiences in the patient-therapist relationship that promote self-other differentiation. Treatment involves weekly individual sessions for a predetermined period of time and follows sequential stages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Australian Education Index Data Base (AUSINET). Users Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Findlay, Margaret A., Comp.

This manual describes the contents, purpose, and use of the Australian Education Index Database (AEII), which is produced by the Library and Information Services Unit of the Australian Council for Educational Research to provide access to Australian generated information both in published and unpublished forms. An overview of AEII is followed by…

DBCG hypo trial validation of radiotherapy parameters from a national data bank versus manual reporting.

PubMed

Brink, Carsten; Lorenzen, Ebbe L; Krogh, Simon Long; Westberg, Jonas; Berg, Martin; Jensen, Ingelise; Thomsen, Mette Skovhus; Yates, Esben Svitzer; Offersen, Birgitte Vrou

2018-01-01

The current study evaluates the data quality achievable using a national data bank for reporting radiotherapy parameters relative to the classical manual reporting method of selected parameters. The data comparison is based on 1522 Danish patients of the DBCG hypo trial with data stored in the Danish national radiotherapy data bank. In line with standard DBCG trial practice selected parameters were also reported manually to the DBCG database. Categorical variables are compared using contingency tables, and comparison of continuous parameters is presented in scatter plots. For categorical variables 25 differences between the data bank and manual values were located. Of these 23 were related to mistakes in the manual reported value whilst the remaining two were a wrong classification in the data bank. The wrong classification in the data bank was related to lack of dose information, since the two patients had been treated with an electron boost based on a manual calculation, thus data was not exported to the data bank, and this was not detected prior to comparison with the manual data. For a few database fields in the manual data an ambiguity of the parameter definition of the specific field is seen in the data. This was not the case for the data bank, which extract all data consistently. In terms of data quality the data bank is superior to manually reported values. However, there is a need to allocate resources for checking the validity of the available data as well as ensuring that all relevant data is present. The data bank contains more detailed information, and thus facilitates research related to the actual dose distribution in the patients.

[The risk of manual handling loads in the hotel sector].

PubMed

Muraca, G; Martino, L Barbaro; Abbate, A; De Pasquale, D; Barbuzza, O; Brecciaroli, R

2007-01-01

The aim of our study is to evaluate the manual handling risk and the incidence of muscle-skeletal pathologies in the hotel compartment. Our study is conducted on 264 workers of the hotel compartment. The sample is divided on the base of the working turn in the following groups: porter (both to the plans and in the kitchen); waiters to the plans; services (gardeners and workers). The duties have been valued according to the method NIOSH. The presence of muscle-skeletal pathologies has been verified on the base to the accused symptomology, and on the presence of clinical objectivity and to the reports of checks. The data has been compared to a control group. The application of the NIOSH method has showed for each working profile an elevated synthetic index, > 3, and for porter the index is 5. The clinical data has shown an elevated incidence of pathologies of the spine, especially lumbar spine, with a high prevalence in the group of male porters. In conclusion we believe that the manual handling represents a particularly remarkable risk for the workers in the hotel compartment.

Comparison of Manual Refraction Versus Autorefraction in 60 Diabetic Retinopathy Patients.

PubMed

Shirzadi, Keyvan; Shahraki, Kourosh; Yahaghi, Emad; Makateb, Ali; Khosravifard, Keivan

2016-07-27

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the comparison of manual refraction versus autorefraction in diabetic retinopathy patients. The study was conducted at the Be'sat Army Hospital from 2013-2015. In the present study differences between two common refractometry methods (manual refractometry and Auto refractometry) in diagnosis and follow up of retinopathy in patients affected with diabetes is investigated. Our results showed that there is a significant difference in visual acuity score of patients between manual and auto refractometry. Despite this fact, spherical equivalent scores of two methods of refractometry did not show a significant statistical difference in the patients. Although use of manual refraction is comparable with autorefraction in evaluating spherical equivalent scores in diabetic patients affected with retinopathy, but in the case of visual acuity results from these two methods are not comparable.

14 CFR 91.1023 - Program operating manual requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... manager must prepare and keep current a program operating manual setting forth procedures and policies acceptable to the Administrator. The program manager's management, flight, ground, and maintenance personnel... personnel. (b) Each program manager must maintain at least one copy of the manual at its principal base of...

Rapid detection of Salmonella in pet food: design and evaluation of integrated methods based on real-time PCR detection.

PubMed

Balachandran, Priya; Friberg, Maria; Vanlandingham, V; Kozak, K; Manolis, Amanda; Brevnov, Maxim; Crowley, Erin; Bird, Patrick; Goins, David; Furtado, Manohar R; Petrauskene, Olga V; Tebbs, Robert S; Charbonneau, Duane

2012-02-01

Reducing the risk of Salmonella contamination in pet food is critical for both companion animals and humans, and its importance is reflected by the substantial increase in the demand for pathogen testing. Accurate and rapid detection of foodborne pathogens improves food safety, protects the public health, and benefits food producers by assuring product quality while facilitating product release in a timely manner. Traditional culture-based methods for Salmonella screening are laborious and can take 5 to 7 days to obtain definitive results. In this study, we developed two methods for the detection of low levels of Salmonella in pet food using real-time PCR: (i) detection of Salmonella in 25 g of dried pet food in less than 14 h with an automated magnetic bead-based nucleic acid extraction method and (ii) detection of Salmonella in 375 g of composite dry pet food matrix in less than 24 h with a manual centrifugation-based nucleic acid preparation method. Both methods included a preclarification step using a novel protocol that removes food matrix-associated debris and PCR inhibitors and improves the sensitivity of detection. Validation studies revealed no significant differences between the two real-time PCR methods and the standard U.S. Food and Drug Administration Bacteriological Analytical Manual (chapter 5) culture confirmation method.

Bigfoot Field Manual

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, J. L.; Burrows, S.; Gower, S. T.; Cohen, W. B.

1999-09-01

The BigFoot Project is funded by the Earth Science Enterprise to collect and organize data to be used in the EOS Validation Program. The data collected by the BigFoot Project are unique in being ground-based observations coincident with satellite overpasses. In addition to collecting data, the BigFoot project will develop and test new algorithms for scaling point measurements to the same spatial scales as the EOS satellite products. This BigFoot Field Manual Mill be used to achieve completeness and consistency of data collected at four initial BigFoot sites and at future sites that may collect similar validation data. Therefore, validation datasets submitted to the ORNL DAAC that have been compiled in a manner consistent with the field manual will be especially valuable in the validation program.

Percentage exposure of root dentin collagen after application of two irrigation protocols with manual or rotary instrumentation and two methacrylate resin-based sealers.

PubMed

González-López, Santiago; Martín-Altuve, Ernesto; Bolaños-Carmona, Victoria; Sánchez-Sánchez, Purificación; Rodríguez-Navarro, Alejandro

2013-10-01

To compare the percentage of collagen exposed in dentin root thirds after two irrigation protocols with manual or rotary instrumentation using two methacrylate resin-based sealers. Forty-eight single-root human teeth were prepared with manual (n = 24) or nickeltitanium ProFile rotary (n = 24) instrumentation, using 5% NaOCl between instruments and 5 ml 17% EDTA as final irrigant or 20% citric acid + 2% chlorhexidine (CHX) between instruments and as the final irrigant. RealSeal or EndoREZ were used as filling materials. One 1-mm slice per third was abraded and stained with Masson's trichrome method. Mean exposed collagen values were obtained in four areas from each section (at 60X magnification) and a complete factorial ANOVA was used to analyze the influence of the study variables. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney's test was used to compare groups. Differences with p < 0.05 were considered significant. A significantly higher percentage of collagen was exposed in all thirds with the use of the 20% citric acid + 2% CHX protocol with rotary vs manual instrumentation, but percent collagen exposed did not differ as a function of the filling material. After the 5% NaOCl + 17% EDTA protocol, the percentage of collagen exposed did not differ between rotary and manual instrumentation but was higher with the use of RealSeal. The highest percentage exposure of collagen was with 20% citric acid + 2% CHX using rotary instrumentation, regardless of the filling material.

Free manual of cadaver dissection modifiable by other anatomists.

PubMed

Chung, Beom Sun; Chung, Min Suk

2015-06-01

Even in the rapidly changing field of cadaver dissection, published guide books still play an important role in the anatomy lab. However, commercial manuals with lengthy volumes and inflexible copyrights have several limitations which can be complemented by open-source manuals. Recently, the authors have manufactured and distributed a free electronic dissection manual (anatomy.co.kr), where descriptions are written concisely and images are drawn schematically. Moreover, simplified signs are employed to represent the cadaver viewing angles and manner of dissection. Based on the original files of this manual, other anatomists can revise and utilize the descriptions and figures. We expect many updated versions of our manual to be shared between students all over the world.

A supervoxel-based segmentation method for prostate MR images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Zhiqiang; Liu, LiZhi; Fei, Baowei

2015-03-01

Accurate segmentation of the prostate has many applications in prostate cancer diagnosis and therapy. In this paper, we propose a "Supervoxel" based method for prostate segmentation. The prostate segmentation problem is considered as assigning a label to each supervoxel. An energy function with data and smoothness terms is used to model the labeling process. The data term estimates the likelihood of a supervoxel belongs to the prostate according to a shape feature. The geometric relationship between two neighboring supervoxels is used to construct a smoothness term. A threedimensional (3D) graph cut method is used to minimize the energy function in order to segment the prostate. A 3D level set is then used to get a smooth surface based on the output of the graph cut. The performance of the proposed segmentation algorithm was evaluated with respect to the manual segmentation ground truth. The experimental results on 12 prostate volumes showed that the proposed algorithm yields a mean Dice similarity coefficient of 86.9%+/-3.2%. The segmentation method can be used not only for the prostate but also for other organs.

Manualized treatment programs for FSD: research challenges and recommendations.

PubMed

Hucker, Alice; McCabe, Marita P

2012-02-01

The use of manualized treatment programs offers a useful research framework for assessing psychotherapeutic interventions for female sexual dysfunctions (FSDs), but it does not address all issues related to methodological rigor and replication, and raises new research issues in need of discussion. The goals of this manuscript are to review the literature on treatment trials utilizing manualized psychotherapy treatments for FSD and to explore the benefits and research issues associated with the flexible use of treatment manuals. The method used was the review of the relevant literature. While the use of manualized treatments for FSDs can address certain methodological issues inherent in psychotherapy research, flexibility in manual administration is necessary in order to allow tailoring for individual needs that can be beneficial to both the participant and the research. The flexible use of manuals, as opposed to strict manual adherence, may also be more relevant for clinical utility. In order to administer manualized treatments for FSDs with appropriate flexibility, while also maximizing internal validity and replicability, the authors recommend that predetermined decision rules be utilized to guide individual tailoring, that potential gaps in the manual be identified and addressed, and that differing levels of motivation and readiness for treatment be taken into consideration in the treatment protocol. © 2011 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Seismic retrofitting manual for highway structures. Part 1, Bridges

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-01-01

This report is the first of a two-part publication entitled "Seismic retrofitting manual for highway structures". Part 1 of this manual is based on previous Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) publications on this subject including Seismic Retrofit...

Washington Manual: A New Tool for Local School Accounting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Federal Aid Planner, 1972

1972-01-01

An advance glimpse of the revised financial accounting methods for school districts recommended in a new manual from the U. S. Office of Education. The manual is designed to help school districts modernize their financial accounting procedures and their entire range of fiscal management practices. (Author/DN)

A motor learning approach to training wheelchair propulsion biomechanics for new manual wheelchair users: A pilot study

PubMed Central

Morgan, Kerri A.; Tucker, Susan M.; Klaesner, Joseph W.; Engsberg, Jack R.

2017-01-01

Context/Objective Developing an evidence-based approach to teaching wheelchair skills and proper propulsion for everyday wheelchair users with a spinal cord injury (SCI) is important to their rehabilitation. The purpose of this project was to pilot test manual wheelchair training based on motor learning and repetition-based approaches for new manual wheelchair users with an SCI. Design A repeated measures within-subject design was used with participants acting as their own controls. Methods Six persons with an SCI requiring the use of a manual wheelchair participated in wheelchair training. The training included nine 90-minute sessions. The primary focus was on wheelchair propulsion biomechanics with a secondary focus on wheelchair skills. Outcome Measures During Pretest 1, Pretest 2, and Posttest, wheelchair propulsion biomechanics were measured using the Wheelchair Propulsion Test and a Video Motion Capture system. During Pretest 2 and Posttest, propulsion forces using the WheelMill System and wheelchair skills using the Wheelchair Skills Test were measured. Results Significant changes in area of the push loop, hand-to-axle relationship, and slope of push forces were found. Changes in propulsion patterns were identified post-training. No significant differences were found in peak and average push forces and wheelchair skills pre- and post-training. Conclusions This project identified trends in change related to a repetition-based motor learning approach for propelling a manual wheelchair. The changes found were related to the propulsion patterns used by participants. Despite some challenges associated with implementing interventions for new manual wheelchair users, such as recruitment, the results of this study show that repetition-based training can improve biomechanics and propulsion patterns for new manual wheelchair users. PMID:26674751

Calibration of highway safety manual work zone crash modification factors.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

The Highway Safety Manual is the national safety manual that provides quantitative methods for analyzing highway safety. The : HSM presents crash modification factors related to work zone characteristics such as work zone duration and length. These c...

A pilot study of community-friendly manual-guided drug counseling.

PubMed

Crits-Christoph, Paul; Gibbons, Mary Beth Connolly; Ring-Kurtz, Sarah; Gallop, Robert; Present, Julie

2009-07-01

Therapist training manuals that are more "community friendly" are needed to facilitate effectiveness testing and dissemination of treatments to community based setting. The aim of the current project was to create revised versions of individual drug counseling (IDC) and group drug counseling (GDC) treatment manuals for cocaine dependence and to conduct a preliminary study of their effectiveness. After changing the format and context of existing drug counseling manuals to have greater ease of use in the community, draft manuals were given to 23 community-based counselors for their feedback. Final versions were then used in a pilot randomized clinical trial involving 41 cocaine-dependent patients who received 3 months of either IDC + GDC or GDC-alone treatment. Counselors implemented the new treatment manuals with acceptable levels of adherence and competence. Outcome results indicated that substantial change in drug use was evident, but the amount of abstinence obtained was limited.

A SUPPLEMENTAL GUIDANCE MANUAL BASED ON INSTITUTIONAL REASEARCH.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

NIELSEN, MARJORIE L.

THE GUIDANCE MANUAL HAS BEEN ORGANIZED TO PROVIDE A STATISTICAL BASIS FOR ANALYZING (1) THE NONSELECTIVE ADMISSION POLICY, (2) THE PERFORMANCE OF NATIVE, EVERETT JUNIOR COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO TRANSFER TO 4-YEAR COLLEGES, (3) THE PERFORMANCE OF TRANSFER STUDENTS TO THE JUNIOR COLLEGE WHO LATER ENROLL AT A 4-YEAR COLLEGE, (4) THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE…

Marketing Manual: Workplace Literacy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fanshawe Coll., Strathroy (Ontario).

This manual applies marketing concepts and methods, selling techniques and principles to the workplace literacy program for the purpose of assisting individuals involved in promoting and selling these programs. Part I provides a rationale for marketing and discusses the following: the role of the sponsor in marketing, market versus marketing,…

Survey of Manual Methods of Measurements of Asbestos, Beryllium, Lead, Cadmium, Selenium, and Mercury in Stationary Source Emissions. Environmental Monitoring Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coulson, Dale M.; And Others

The purpose of this study is to evaluate existing manual methods for analyzing asbestos, beryllium, lead, cadmium, selenium, and mercury, and from this evaluation to provide the best and most practical set of analytical methods for measuring emissions of these elements from stationary sources. The work in this study was divided into two phases.…

Instruct coders' manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friend, J.

1971-01-01

A manual designed both as an instructional manual for beginning coders and as a reference manual for the coding language INSTRUCT, is presented. The manual includes the major programs necessary to implement the teaching system and lists the limitation of current implementation. A detailed description is given of how to code a lesson, what buttons to push, and what utility programs to use. Suggestions for debugging coded lessons and the error messages that may be received during assembly or while running the lesson are given.

WIPP waste characterization program sampling and analysis guidance manual

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

Not Available

1991-01-01

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Waste Characterization Program Sampling and Analysis Guidance Manual (Guidance Manual) provides a unified source of information on the sampling and analytical techniques that enable Department of Energy (DOE) facilities to comply with the requirements established in the current revision of the Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) for the WIPP Experimental-Waste Characterization Program (the Program). This Guidance Manual includes all of the sampling and testing methodologies accepted by the WIPP Project Office (DOE/WPO) for use in implementing the Program requirements specified in the QAPP. This includes methods for characterizing representative samples of transuranic (TRU) wastesmore » at DOE generator sites with respect to the gas generation controlling variables defined in the WIPP bin-scale and alcove test plans, as well as waste container headspace gas sampling and analytical procedures to support waste characterization requirements under the WIPP test program and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The procedures in this Guidance Manual are comprehensive and detailed and are designed to provide the necessary guidance for the preparation of site specific procedures. The use of these procedures is intended to provide the necessary sensitivity, specificity, precision, and comparability of analyses and test results. The solutions to achieving specific program objectives will depend upon facility constraints, compliance with DOE Orders and DOE facilities' operating contractor requirements, and the knowledge and experience of the TRU waste handlers and analysts. With some analytical methods, such as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, the Guidance Manual procedures may be used directly. With other methods, such as nondestructive/destructive characterization, the Guidance Manual provides guidance rather than a step-by-step procedure.« less

[Manual lifting and manual transport: risk assessment and prevalence of work-related diseases in construction companies in Basilicata].

PubMed

Nicoletti, S; Battevi, N; Colafemmina, G; Di Leone, G; Satriani, G; Ragone, P; Occhipinti, E

2013-01-01

The Basilicata Regional Headquarters of the Italian Institute for Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Disease (INAIL) and the Basilicata association of small building enterprises (Edilcassa di Basilicata) promoted a research project to assess the risk of manual lifting and manual transport in construction enterprises in the Basilicata Region and estimate the prevalence of related diseases. Manual lifting risk assessment was performed by calculating the VLI of 204 working days in as many building workers. Manual transport risk assessment was carried out comparing the weights transported (on the 204 days tested) with the reference values of the "Snoock and Ciriello" tables. Manual Ifting risk was present on 195 of the 204 days, with an average value of VLI equal to 2.1 (min 0.4, max 8.5), with higher values in the restructuring sector (VLI average of 2.3, min 0.4, max 8.5), and no significant differences between the different tasks. Manual transport risk was present on 129 of the 204 days, with average values of 1.2 (min 0.2, max 3.3), with no significant differences between the different tasks analyzed For both risks additional factors were present that were not analyzed by the methods of assessment used (for manual lifting: 8.8% of the geometries in the critical area; for manual transport: 39% of transport on shoulders, 42.5% on a route with uneven surface and 31.9% on a sloping route), so it is likely that the actual risk is greater than that indicated by the synthetic indices of exposure. The medical questionnaire showed from the case histories that 148 out of 546 subjects were positive for the threshold forpain or discomfort in the lumbosacral spine area and 99 out of 546 subjects reported suffering from an already diagnosed herniated spinal disk. Only 18% of osteoarticular diseases was reported to the Insurance Institute, al though there was widespread awareness that the diseases in question might be related to work. Diseases of the spine were

Your Library--Greatest Show of All! Activity Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Mary, Ed.

Intended as a companion volume for librarians planning a children's summer reading program, this activity manual provides ideas for games, puzzles, puppet shows, story reading, and more, all based on the theme of "Circus Summer." The manual suggests ways to promote the program, such as visits to schools, and provides directions for…

Todo Alumno: Un Manual de Recursos de PEER sobre Educacion Basada en Normas y Alumnos con Discapacidades (Every Single Student: A PEER Resource Manual on Standards-Based Education and Students with Disabilities).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landau, Julia K., Ed.; Romano, Carolyn A., Ed.; Vohs, Janet R., Ed.

This manual in Spanish covers thirteen different topics relevant to the education of students with disabilities in the era of educational reform and standards-based education. Sections include: (1) "Raising Standards of Learning: Standards-Based Education and Students with Disabilities" (Janet R. Vohs, Julia K. Landau, and Carolyn…

A Pilot Study of Community-Friendly Manual Guided Drug Counseling

PubMed Central

Crits-Christoph, Paul; Gibbons, Mary Beth Connolly; Ring-Kurtz, Sarah; Gallop, Robert; Present, Julie

2009-01-01

To facilitate effectiveness testing and dissemination of treatments to community based setting, therapist training manuals that are more “community friendly” are needed. The aim of the current project was to create revised versions of individual drug counseling (IDC) and group drug counseling (GDC) treatment manuals for cocaine dependence and to conduct a preliminary study of their effectiveness. After changing the format and context of existing drug counseling manuals to have greater ease of use in the community, draft manuals were given to 23 community-based counselors for their feedback. Final versions were then used in a pilot randomized clinical trial involving 41 cocaine dependent patients who received 3 months of either IDC + GDC or GDC alone treatment. Counselors implemented the new treatment manuals with acceptable levels of adherence and competence. Outcome results indicated that substantial change in drug use was evident, but the amount of abstinence obtained was limited. PMID:19038525

Comparison of manual and automated nucleic acid extraction methods from clinical specimens for microbial diagnosis purposes.

PubMed

Wozniak, Aniela; Geoffroy, Enrique; Miranda, Carolina; Castillo, Claudia; Sanhueza, Francia; García, Patricia

2016-11-01

The choice of nucleic acids (NAs) extraction method for molecular diagnosis in microbiology is of major importance because of the low microbial load, different nature of microorganisms, and clinical specimens. The NA yield of different extraction methods has been mostly studied using spiked samples. However, information from real human clinical specimens is scarce. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of a manual low-cost extraction method (Qiagen kit or salting-out extraction method) with the automated high-cost MagNAPure Compact method. According to cycle threshold values for different pathogens, MagNAPure is as efficient as Qiagen for NA extraction from noncomplex clinical specimens (nasopharyngeal swab, skin swab, plasma, respiratory specimens). In contrast, according to cycle threshold values for RNAseP, MagNAPure method may not be an appropriate method for NA extraction from blood. We believe that MagNAPure versatility reduced risk of cross-contamination and reduced hands-on time compensates its high cost. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Applying the highway safety manual to Georgia.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-08-01

This report examines the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) from the perspective of applying its : methods and approaches within the state of Georgia. The work presented here focuses : specifically on data requirements and methods that may be of particular ...

Application work risk of manual material handling operators using different lifting methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anizar; Matondang, AR; Sibarani, JA

2018-02-01

This study observed the activity of lifting and moving crates containing bottles at a pallet station in a carbonated drink factory. The activity of moving crates, each weighing 15 kg, is performed by four operators using different methods. An operator manually moves 250 crates daily and often takes rest during working. This study aims to find the most efficient method, that is using the least energy, to move crates. The workload is assessed using the method of Cardiovascular Strain Load (CVL) and energy expenditure. Operators’ arterial pulse is measured for 1 minute right before they start working and after they finish working; this is done to obtain work arterial pulse and rest arterial pulse. The way operators lift crates is analyzed using biomechanics. It is found that fatigue is experienced by all operators, with the exception of the 3rd operator who has a %CVL number below 30%. He positions the pallet to be parallel to the conveyor, and then stand in between during the lifting process. He only rotates his body to move the crate from the conveyor onto the pallet, requiring only little energy. This is one of the reasons why the %CVL number is lower than the other operators.

MANUAL: BIOVENTING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE VOLUME II. BIOVENTING DESIGN

EPA Science Inventory

The results from bioventing research and development efforts and from the pilot-scale bioventing systems have been used to produce this two-volume manual. Although this design manual has been written based on extensive experience with petroleum hydrocarbons (and thus, many exampl...

Comparison of manual and homogenizer methods for preparation of tick-derived stabilates of Theileria parva: equivalence testing using an in vitro titration model.

PubMed

Mbao, V; Speybroeck, N; Berkvens, D; Dolan, T; Dorny, P; Madder, M; Mulumba, M; Duchateau, L; Brandt, J; Marcotty, T

2005-07-01

Theileria parva sporozoite stabilates are used in the infection and treatment method of immunization, a widely accepted control option for East Coast fever in cattle. T. parva sporozoites are extracted from infected adult Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks either manually, using a pestle and a mortar, or by use of an electric homogenizer. A comparison of the two methods as a function of stabilate infectivity has never been documented. This study was designed to provide a quantitative comparison of stabilates produced by the two methods. The approach was to prepare batches of stabilate by both methods and then subject them to in vitro titration. Equivalence testing was then performed on the average effective doses (ED). The ratio of infective sporozoites yielded by the two methods was found to be 1.14 in favour of the manually ground stabilate with an upper limit of the 95% confidence interval equal to 1.3. We conclude that the choice of method rests more on costs, available infrastructure and standardization than on which method produces a richer sporozoite stabilate.

Attitudes towards psychotherapy manuals among clinicians treating eating disorders.

PubMed

Waller, Glenn; Mountford, Victoria A; Tatham, Madeleine; Turner, Hannah; Gabriel, Chloe; Webber, Rebecca

2013-12-01

Clinicians have relatively low uptake and implementation of evidence-based psychotherapies for the eating disorders, and this problem appears to be associated with low use of manualized approaches. This study examines clinicians' positive and negative attitudes to manuals, and possible beliefs and emotional factors that might drive those attitudes. The participants were 125 psychological therapists working with eating-disordered patients. Each completed standardised measures of attitudes to manuals and emotional states. A number of beliefs about the content of manuals were associated with both positive attitudes to the outcome of treatment and negative attitudes to their impact on the treatment process. In addition, a more positive mood was associated with more positive attitudes. Suggestions are made regarding how attitudes might be made more positive, in order to facilitate the use of evidence-based therapies for eating disorders. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Content and bibliometric analyses of the Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy

PubMed Central

Simon, Corey B; Coronado, Rogelio A; Wurtzel, Wendy A; Riddle, Daniel L; George, Steven Z

2014-01-01

Background: Article characteristics and trends have been elucidated for other physical therapy-focused journals using content and bibliometric analysis. These findings are important for assessing the current state of a journal and for guiding future publication of research. To date, these analyses have not been performed for the Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy (JMMT). Objective: To describe content and trends for articles published in JMMT over a 20-year period (1993–2012). Methods: Journal articles were coded using previously-established domains (article type, participant type, research design, study purpose, and clinical condition). Total publications and proportion of publications based on domain were described. Articles specific to manual therapy intervention were examined and compared to data from other physical therapy-focused journals. Impact by citation and author was examined using bibliometric software. Results: Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy was found to have a recent acceleration in the number of articles published annually. Over time, topical reviews have decreased in favor of research reports. However, rigorous study designs have represented only a small portion of total journal content, and case reports have maintained a consistent publication presence. Manual therapy intervention articles in JMMT are predominantly case designs, however are similar in characteristics to manual therapy intervention articles published in other physical therapy-focused journals. For JMMT articles overall and manual therapy intervention articles across journals, young to middle-aged symptomatic adults with low back and/or neck pain were the most common study participants. Discussion: Increases in the number of papers and a move toward research reports were observed in JMMT over the 20-year period. Considerations for the future were outlined, including the publication of articles with more rigorous research designs. Manual therapy research for

Training Manuals and Technical Publications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Army Test and Evaluation Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

The objective of the Materiel Test Procedure is to describe methods for determining the need for adequacy of comprehensiveness, and clarity of training manuals and technical publications (or other pertinent types of literature) relating to the ammunition or ammunition components being tested. (Author)

Manual Therapy Practices of Sobadores in North Carolina

PubMed Central

Graham, Alan; Sandberg, Joanne C.; Quandt, Sara A.; Mora, Dana C.

2016-01-01

Abstract Objectives: This analysis provides a description of the manual-therapy elements of sobadores practicing in North Carolina, using videotapes of patient treatment sessions. Design: Three sobadores allowed the video recording of eight patient treatment sessions (one each for two sobadores, six for the third sobador). Each of the recordings was reviewed by an experienced chiropractor who recorded the frequencies of seven defined manual-therapy elements: (1) treatment time; (2) patient position on treatment surface; (3) patient body part contacted by the sobador; (4) sobador examination methods; (5) primary treatment processes; (6) sobador body part area referencing patient; and (7) adjunctive treatment processes. Results: The range of treatment time of 9–30 min was similar to the treatment spectra that combine techniques used by conventional massage and manipulative practitioners. The patient positions on the treatment surface were not extraordinary, given the wide variety of treatment processes used, and indicated the sobadores treat patients in multiple positions. The patient body part contacted by the sobadores indicated that they were treating each of the major parts of the musculoskeletal system. Basic palpation dominated the sobadores' examination methods. The sobadores' primary treatment processes included significant variety, but rubbing was the dominant practice. The hands were the sobador body area that most often made contact with the patient. They all used lubricants. Conclusions: Sobadores' methods are similar to those of other manual-therapy practitioners. Additional study of video-recorded sobador practices is needed. Video-recorded practice of other traditional and conventional manual therapies for comparative analysis will help delineate the specific similarities and differences among the manual therapies. PMID:27400120

Assessing symmetry using the mirror stand device with manual and software-assisted methods in postoperative zygomatic fracture patients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syarif, A. N.; Bangun, K.

2017-08-01

Zygomatic fractures are among the most common fractures to the facial skeleton. However, because no standard and reliable method of evaluation is available to assess postoperative patients, we often rely on photographs and subjective assessments. A portable mirror stand device (MiRS), which is a new method for the standardization of photography, was developed in our institution. Used with image analysis software, this device provides a new method for evaluating outcomes after the open reduction and internal fixation of zygomatic fractures. The portable mirror stand device was set up in our outpatient clinic at the Cleft Craniofacial Center at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. Photographs of 11 postoperative patients were taken using the device, and they were analyzed both manually and using image analysis software (ImageJ 1.46) for symmetry. The two methods were then compared to assess the correlation and agreement of the results. The measurements taken using the manual method and the software-assisted method did not differ significantly, which indicated the good agreement between the two methods. The results of the symmetry achieved atour center were similar to other centers in the Asian region (ΔZy = 3.4±1.5 mm, ΔBc = 2.6±1.6 mm, ΔCh = 2.3±2.4 mm) compared with (ΔZy = 3.2±1.7 mm, ΔBc = 2.6±1.6 mm, ΔCh = 2.3±2.5 mm). The treatment of zygomatic fracture a tour center achieved good results. The portable mirror stand device assisted the image analysis software (ImageJ 1.46), which could be beneficial in assessing symmetry in postoperative zygomatic fracture patients.

FLAPS (Fatigue Life Analysis Programs): Computer Programs to Predict Cyclic Life Using the Total Strain Version of Strainrange Partitioning and Other Life Prediction Methods. Users' Manual and Example Problems, Version 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arya, Vinod K.; Halford, Gary R. (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

This manual presents computer programs FLAPS for characterizing and predicting fatigue and creep-fatigue resistance of metallic materials in the high-temperature, long-life regime for isothermal and nonisothermal fatigue. The programs use the Total Strain version of Strainrange Partitioning (TS-SRP), and several other life prediction methods described in this manual. The user should be thoroughly familiar with the TS-SRP and these life prediction methods before attempting to use any of these programs. Improper understanding can lead to incorrect use of the method and erroneous life predictions. An extensive database has also been developed in a parallel effort. The database is probably the largest source of high-temperature, creep-fatigue test data available in the public domain and can be used with other life-prediction methods as well. This users' manual, software, and database are all in the public domain and can be obtained by contacting the author. The Compact Disk (CD) accompanying this manual contains an executable file for the FLAPS program, two datasets required for the example problems in the manual, and the creep-fatigue data in a format compatible with these programs.

Animal Traction. Appropriate Technologies for Development. Manual M-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Peter R.

This manual is designed for use by Peace Corps volunteers and agricultural extension personnel working in animal traction development programs. While some of the information contained in the manual is specific to the extension of animal-powered agriculture in Africa, the principles covered are generally applicable wherever the method is being used…

Unraveling the Mechanisms of Manual Therapy: Modeling an Approach.

PubMed

Bialosky, Joel E; Beneciuk, Jason M; Bishop, Mark D; Coronado, Rogelio A; Penza, Charles W; Simon, Corey B; George, Steven Z

2018-01-01

Synopsis Manual therapy interventions are popular among individual health care providers and their patients; however, systematic reviews do not strongly support their effectiveness. Small treatment effect sizes of manual therapy interventions may result from a "one-size-fits-all" approach to treatment. Mechanistic-based treatment approaches to manual therapy offer an intriguing alternative for identifying patients likely to respond to manual therapy. However, the current lack of knowledge of the mechanisms through which manual therapy interventions inhibit pain limits such an approach. The nature of manual therapy interventions further confounds such an approach, as the related mechanisms are likely a complex interaction of factors related to the patient, the provider, and the environment in which the intervention occurs. Therefore, a model to guide both study design and the interpretation of findings is necessary. We have previously proposed a model suggesting that the mechanical force from a manual therapy intervention results in systemic neurophysiological responses leading to pain inhibition. In this clinical commentary, we provide a narrative appraisal of the model and recommendations to advance the study of manual therapy mechanisms. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2018;48(1):8-18. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.7476.

CDPOP Users Manual

Treesearch

E. L. Landguth; B. K. Hand; J. M. Glassy; S. A. Cushman; M. Jacobi; T. J. Julian

2011-01-01

The goal of this user manual is to explain the technical aspects of the current release of the CDPOP program. CDPOP v1.0 is a major extension of the CDPOP program (Landguth and Cushman 2010). CDPOP is an individual-based program that simulates the influences of landscape structure on emergence of spatial patterns in population genetic data as functions of individual-...

A low-cost rapid upper limb assessment method in manual assembly line based on somatosensory interaction technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Shengqian; Liu, Peng; Fu, Danni; Xue, Yiming; Luo, Wentao; Wang, Mingjie

2017-04-01

As an effective survey method of upper limb disorder, rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) has a wide application in industry period. However, it is very difficult to rapidly evaluate operator's postures in real complex work place. In this paper, a real-time RULA method is proposed to accurately assess the potential risk of operator's postures based on the somatosensory data collected from Kinect sensor, which is a line of motion sensing input devices by Microsoft. First, the static position information of each bone point is collected to obtain the effective angles of body parts based on the calculating methods based on joints angles. Second, a whole RULA score of body is obtained to assess the risk level of current posture in real time. Third, those RULA scores are compared with the results provided by a group of ergonomic practitionerswho were asked to observe the same static postures. All the experiments were carried out in an ergonomic lab. The results show that the proposed method can detect operator's postures more accurately. What's more, this method is applied in a real-time condition which can improve the evaluating efficiency.

Manual hyperinflation in airway clearance in pediatric patients: a systematic review

PubMed Central

de Godoy, Vanessa Cristina Waetge Pires; Zanetti, Nathalia Mendonça; Johnston, Cíntia

2013-01-01

Objective To perform an assessment of the available literature on manual hyperinflation as a respiratory physical therapy technique used in pediatric patients, with the main outcome of achieving airway clearance. Methods We reviewed articles included in the Lilacs (Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences/Literatura Latino Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde), Cochrane Library, Medline (via Virtual Health Library and PubMed), SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library), and PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database) databases from 2002 to 2013 using the following search terms: "physiotherapy (techniques)", "respiratory therapy", "intensive care", and "airway clearance". The selected studies were classified according to the level of evidence and grades of recommendation (method of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine) by two examiners, while a third examiner repeated the search and analysis and checked the classification of the articles. Results Three articles were included for analysis, comprising 250 children (aged 0 to 16 years). The main diagnoses were acute respiratory failure, recovery following heart congenital disease and upper abdominal surgery, bone marrow transplantation, asthma, tracheal reconstruction, brain injury, airway injury, and heterogeneous lung diseases. The studies were classified as having a level of evidence 2C and grade of recommendation C. Conclusions Manual hyperinflation appeared useful for airway clearance in the investigated population, although the evidence available in the literature remains insufficient. Therefore, controlled randomized studies are needed to establish the safety and efficacy of manual hyperinflation in pediatric patients. However, manual hyperinflation must be performed by trained physical therapists only. PMID:24213091

Transportation Exploration. Practical Arts. Instructor's Manual. Competency-Based Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keeton, Martha; And Others

This manual provides curriculum materials for implementing a career exploration class in transportation occupations within a Practical Arts Education program for middle/junior high school students. Introductory materials include the program master sequence, a list of transportation occupations (land, water and aerospace transportation families),…

Structures manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-01-01

This manual was written as a guide for use by design personnel in the Vermont Agency of Transportation Structures Section. This manual covers the design responsibilities of the Section. It does not cover other functions that are a part of the Structu...

Ciencias 2. Manual do Professor (Science Teacher's Manual).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raposo, Lucilia

This is the teacher's manual for Ciencias 2, the second in a series of elementary science textbooks for Portuguese-speaking students. The student textbook contains 10 chapters and 57 activities. The teacher's manual presents an explanation of the educational goals and the organization of the content, Topics included are environment, the human,…

Intranets: virtual procedure manuals for the pathology lab.

PubMed

Ruby, S G; Krempel, G

1998-08-01

A novel system exists for replacing standard written operation manuals using a computerized PC-based peer-to-peer network. The system design is based on commonly available hardware and software and utilizes existing equipment to minimize implementation expense. The system is relatively easy to implement and maintain, involves minimal training, and should quickly become a financial asset. In addition, such a system can improve access to laboratory procedure manuals so that resources can be better used on a daily basis.

A combined treatment approach emphasizing impairment-based manual physical therapy for plantar heel pain: a case series.

PubMed

Young, Brian; Walker, Michael J; Strunce, Joseph; Boyles, Robert

2004-11-01

Case series. To describe an impairment-based physical therapy treatment approach for 4 patients with plantar heel pain. There is limited evidence from clinical trials on which to base treatment decision making for plantar heel pain. Four patients completed a course of physical therapy based on an impairment-based model. All patients received manual physical therapy and stretching. Two patients were also treated with custom orthoses, and 1 patient received an additional strengthening program. Outcome measures included a numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) and self-reported functional status. Symptom duration ranged from 6 to 52 weeks (mean duration+/-SD, 33+/-19 weeks). Treatment duration ranged from 8 to 49 days (mean duration+/-SD, 23+/-18 days), with number of treatment sessions ranging from 2 to 7 (mode, 3). All 4 patients reported a decrease in NPRS scores from an average (+/-SD) of 5.8+/-2.2 to 0 (out of 10) during previously painful activities. Additionally, all patients returned to prior activity levels. In this case series, patients with plantar heel pain treated with an impairment-based physical therapy approach emphasizing manual therapy demonstrated complete pain relief and full return to activities. Further research is necessary to determine the effectiveness of impairment-based physical therapy interventions for patients with plantar heel pain/plantar fasciitis.

High School and Beyond: Twins and Siblings' File Users' Manual, User's Manual for Teacher Comment File, Friends File Users' Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center for Education Statistics (ED), Washington, DC.

These three users' manuals are for specific files of the High School and Beyond Study, a national longitudinal study of high school sophomores and seniors in 1980. The three files are computerized databases that are available on magnetic tape. As one component of base year data collection, information identifying twins, triplets, and some non-twin…

Reactor Decommissioning - Balancing Remote and Manual Activities - 12159

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

Cole, Matt

2012-07-01

Nuclear reactors come in a wide variety of styles, size, and ages. However, during decommissioned one issue they all share is the balancing of remotely and manually activities. For the majority of tasks there is a desire to use manual methods because remote working can be slower, more expensive, and less reliable. However, because of the unique hazards of nuclear reactors some level of remote activity will be necessary to provide adequate safety to workers and properly managed and designed it does not need to be difficult nor expensive. The balance of remote versus manual work can also affect themore » amount and types of waste that is generated. S.A.Technology (SAT) has worked on a number of reactor decommissioning projects over the last two decades and has a range of experience with projects using remote methods to those relying primarily on manual activities. This has created a set of lessons learned and best practices on how to balance the need for remote handling and manual operations. Finding a balance between remote and manual operations on reactor decommissioning can be difficult but by following certain broad guidelines it is possible to have a very successfully decommissioning. It is important to have an integrated team that includes remote handling experts and that this team plans the work using characterization efforts that are efficient and realistic. The equipment need to be simple, robust and flexible and supported by an on-site team committed to adapting to day-to-day challenges. Also, the waste strategy needs to incorporate the challenges of remote activities in its planning. (authors)« less

A Paperless Lab Manual - Lessons Learned

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatten, Daniel L.; Hatten, Maggie W.

1999-10-01

Every freshman entering Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is equipped with a laptop computer and a software package that allow classroom and laboratory instructors the freedom to make computer-based assignments, publish course materials in electronic form, etc. All introductory physics laboratories and many of our classrooms are networked, and students routinely take their laptop computers to class/lab. The introductory physics laboratory manual was converted to HTML in the summer of 1997 and was made available to students over the Internet vice printing a paper manual during the 1998-99 school year. The aim was to reduce paper costs and allow timely updates of the laboratory experiments. A poll conducted at the end of the school year showed a generally positive student response to the online laboratory manual, with some reservations.

MR diffusion-weighted imaging-based subcutaneous tumour volumetry in a xenografted nude mouse model using 3D Slicer: an accurate and repeatable method

PubMed Central

Ma, Zelan; Chen, Xin; Huang, Yanqi; He, Lan; Liang, Cuishan; Liang, Changhong; Liu, Zaiyi

2015-01-01

Accurate and repeatable measurement of the gross tumour volume(GTV) of subcutaneous xenografts is crucial in the evaluation of anti-tumour therapy. Formula and image-based manual segmentation methods are commonly used for GTV measurement but are hindered by low accuracy and reproducibility. 3D Slicer is open-source software that provides semiautomatic segmentation for GTV measurements. In our study, subcutaneous GTVs from nude mouse xenografts were measured by semiautomatic segmentation with 3D Slicer based on morphological magnetic resonance imaging(mMRI) or diffusion-weighted imaging(DWI)(b = 0,20,800 s/mm2) . These GTVs were then compared with those obtained via the formula and image-based manual segmentation methods with ITK software using the true tumour volume as the standard reference. The effects of tumour size and shape on GTVs measurements were also investigated. Our results showed that, when compared with the true tumour volume, segmentation for DWI(P = 0.060–0.671) resulted in better accuracy than that mMRI(P < 0.001) and the formula method(P < 0.001). Furthermore, semiautomatic segmentation for DWI(intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC = 0.9999) resulted in higher reliability than manual segmentation(ICC = 0.9996–0.9998). Tumour size and shape had no effects on GTV measurement across all methods. Therefore, DWI-based semiautomatic segmentation, which is accurate and reproducible and also provides biological information, is the optimal GTV measurement method in the assessment of anti-tumour treatments. PMID:26489359

Manuals for Editors and Authors: A Decision Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirschner, Paul A.

A series of eight manuals dealing with the triad text characteristics--learning processes--learning outcomes are being prepared for use by authors and editors as an aid in the design and writing of educational texts. These manuals are based upon a model for the functioning of text characteristics which in turn is part of a decision model for the…

Inverse simulation system for manual-controlled rendezvous and docking based on artificial neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Wanmeng; Wang, Hua; Tang, Guojin; Guo, Shuai

2016-09-01

The time-consuming experimental method for handling qualities assessment cannot meet the increasing fast design requirements for the manned space flight. As a tool for the aircraft handling qualities research, the model-predictive-control structured inverse simulation (MPC-IS) has potential applications in the aerospace field to guide the astronauts' operations and evaluate the handling qualities more effectively. Therefore, this paper establishes MPC-IS for the manual-controlled rendezvous and docking (RVD) and proposes a novel artificial neural network inverse simulation system (ANN-IS) to further decrease the computational cost. The novel system was obtained by replacing the inverse model of MPC-IS with the artificial neural network. The optimal neural network was trained by the genetic Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, and finally determined by the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. In order to validate MPC-IS and ANN-IS, the manual-controlled RVD experiments on the simulator were carried out. The comparisons between simulation results and experimental data demonstrated the validity of two systems and the high computational efficiency of ANN-IS.

Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration. Competency-Based Curriculum Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gourley, Frank A., Jr.

This manual was developed to serve as an aid to administrators and instructors involved with postsecondary air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration programs. The first of six chapters contains general information on program implementation, the curriculum design, facilities and equipment requirements, and textbooks and references. Chapter 2…

A State Survey of Child Advocacy Center Therapists' Attitudes toward Treatment Manuals and Evidence-Based Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staudt, Marlys; Williams-Hayes, Mona

2011-01-01

The objective of this descriptive study was to examine Child Advocacy Center therapists' attitudes toward treatment manuals and evidence-based practices and to gather information about the treatments they use most frequently. An online survey was sent to 30 therapists employed by 15 Child Advocacy Centers in a southeastern state. The response rate…

Identification Male Fertility Through Abnormalities Sperm Based Morphology (Teratospermia) using Invariant Moment Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syahputra, M. F.; Chairani, R.; Seniman; Rahmat, R. F.; Abdullah, D.; Napitupulu, D.; Setiawan, M. I.; Albra, W.; Erliana, C. I.; Andayani, U.

2018-03-01

Sperm morphology is still a standard laboratory analysis in diagnosing infertility in men. Manually identification of sperm form is still not accurate, the difficulty in seeing the form of the invisible sperm from the digital microscope image is often a weakness in the process of identification and takes a long time. Therefore, male fertility identification application system is needed Through sperm abnormalities based on sperm morphology (teratospermia). The method used is invariant moment method. This study uses 15 data testing and 20 data training sperm image. That the process of male fertility identification through sperm abnormalities based on sperm morphology (teratospermia) has an accuracy rate of 80.77%. Use of time to process Identification of male fertility through sperm abnormalities Based on sperm morphology (teratospermia) during 0.4369 seconds.

Practical Electronics. Technical Instruction Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Systems Operation Support, Inc., King of Prussia, PA.

This student instruction manual was developed as a part of "A Study of The Effectiveness of a Military-Type Computer-Based Instructional System When Used in Civilian High School Courses in Electronics and Auto Mechanics." (VT 006 916). The material emphasizes a troubleshooting strategy for repair of equipment based upon a logical and systematic…

U.S. Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Program: Battery Test Manual For Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

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

Christophersen, Jon P.

2014-09-01

This battery test procedure manual was prepared for the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office. It is based on technical targets for commercial viability established for energy storage development projects aimed at meeting system level DOE goals for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). The specific procedures defined in this manual support the performance and life characterization of advanced battery devices under development for PHEV’s. However, it does share some methods described in the previously published battery test manual for power-assist hybrid electric vehicles. Due to the complexity of somemore » of the procedures and supporting analysis, future revisions including some modifications and clarifications of these procedures are expected. As in previous battery and capacitor test manuals, this version of the manual defines testing methods for full-size battery systems, along with provisions for scaling these tests for modules, cells or other subscale level devices. The DOE-United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) supported the development of the manual. Technical Team points of contact responsible for its development and revision are Renata M. Arsenault of Ford Motor Company and Jon P. Christophersen of the Idaho National Laboratory. The development of this manual was funded by the Unites States Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office. Technical direction from DOE was provided by David Howell, Energy Storage R&D Manager and Hybrid Electric Systems Team Leader. Comments and questions regarding the manual should be directed to Jon P. Christophersen at the Idaho National Laboratory (jon.christophersen@inl.gov).« less

Interpretation of ANA Indirect Immunofluorescence Test Outside the Darkroom Using NOVA View Compared to Manual Microscopy

PubMed Central

Copple, Susan S.; Jaskowski, Troy D.; Giles, Rashelle; Hill, Harry R.

2014-01-01

Objective. To evaluate NOVA View with focus on reading archived images versus microscope based manual interpretation of ANA HEp-2 slides by an experienced, certified medical technologist. Methods. 369 well defined sera from: 44 rheumatoid arthritis, 50 systemic lupus erythematosus, 35 scleroderma, 19 Sjögren's syndrome, and 10 polymyositis patients as well as 99 healthy controls were examined. In addition, 12 defined sera from the Centers for Disease Control and 100 random patient sera sent to ARUP Laboratories for ANA HEp-2 IIF testing were included. Samples were read using the archived images on NOVA View and compared to results obtained from manual reading. Results. At a 1 : 40/1 : 80 dilution the resulting comparison demonstrated 94.8%/92.9% positive, 97.4%/97.4% negative, and 96.5%/96.2% total agreements between manual IIF and NOVA View archived images. Agreement of identifiable patterns between methods was 97%, with PCNA and mixed patterns undetermined. Conclusion. Excellent agreements were obtained between reading archived images on NOVA View and manually on a fluorescent microscope. In addition, workflow benefits were observed which need to be analyzed in future studies. PMID:24741573

Endovascular Treatment of Phlegmasia Cerulea Dolens with Impending Venous Gangrene: Manual Aspiration Thrombectomy as the First-Line Thrombus Removal Method

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

Oguzkurt, Levent, E-mail: loguzkurt@yahoo.com; Ozkan, Ugur; Demirturk, Orhan S.

Purpose: Our purpose was to report the outcome of endovascular treatment with manual aspiration thrombectomy as the first-line thromboablative method for phlegmasia cerulea dolens. Methods: Between October 2006 and May 2010, seven consecutive patients (5 women, 2 men; age range, 31-80 years) with the diagnosis of phlegmasia cerulea dolens secondary to acute iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis had endovascular treatment with manual aspiration thrombectomy. Catheter-directed thrombolysis and stent placement were used as adjunctive procedures. Phlegmasia was left-sided in five and right-sided in two patients. Results: All patients had associated great saphenous vein thrombosis in addition to iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis (DVT).more » Aspiration thrombectomy completely removed the thrombus from the popliteal vein to the inferior vena cava (IVC) in all cases. Three patients with May-Thurner syndrome had stent placement in the left common iliac vein. Two patients had early recurrences. Repeated aspiration thrombectomy was unsuccessful in one patient. There were no complications related to the procedure. One patient who had been successfully treated died of sepsis and another patient who had unsuccessful repeated interventions had below-the-knee amputation. Overall, the clinical success and survival rates of patients in this study were 86%. On follow-up, three patients with successful treatment were asymptomatic with no deep venous insufficiency. One of these patients died during the 4-month follow-up period. Two patients had mild ankle swelling with deep venous insufficiency. Conclusions: Manual aspiration thrombectomy with adjunctive use of catheter-directed thrombolysis and stent placement is an effective endovascular treatment method with high clinical success and survival rates for phlegmasia cerulean dolens.« less

Manual muscle testing: a method of measuring extremity muscle strength applied to critically ill patients.

PubMed

Ciesla, Nancy; Dinglas, Victor; Fan, Eddy; Kho, Michelle; Kuramoto, Jill; Needham, Dale

2011-04-12

Survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and other causes of critical illness often have generalized weakness, reduced exercise tolerance, and persistent nerve and muscle impairments after hospital discharge. Using an explicit protocol with a structured approach to training and quality assurance of research staff, manual muscle testing (MMT) is a highly reliable method for assessing strength, using a standardized clinical examination, for patients following ARDS, and can be completed with mechanically ventilated patients who can tolerate sitting upright in bed and are able to follow two-step commands. (7, 8) This video demonstrates a protocol for MMT, which has been taught to ≥ 43 research staff who have performed >800 assessments on >280 ARDS survivors. Modifications for the bedridden patient are included. Each muscle is tested with specific techniques for positioning, stabilization, resistance, and palpation for each score of the 6-point ordinal Medical Research Council scale. Three upper and three lower extremity muscles are graded in this protocol: shoulder abduction, elbow flexion, wrist extension, hip flexion, knee extension, and ankle dorsiflexion. These muscles were chosen based on the standard approach for evaluating patients for ICU-acquired weakness used in prior publications. (1,2).

Manual for the Comparative Politics Laboratory: Conditions for Effective Democracy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fogelman, Edwin; Zingale, Nancy

This manual introduces undergraduate students in political science to major types of data and methods for cross-national quantitative analysis. The manual's topic, Conditions for Effective Democracy, was chosen because it incorporates several different kinds of data and illustrates various methodological problems. The data are cross-sectional…

Environmental Compliance and Pollution Prevention Training Manual for Campus-Based Organizations--Operational and Facility Maintenance Personnel.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Albany.

This manual was designed to be used as part of the Workshop on Environmental Compliance and Pollution Prevention for campus-based facilities. It contains basic information on New York state and federal laws, rules, and regulations for protecting the environment. The information presented is a summary with emphasis on those items believed to be…

Reliability of drumlin morphometric data based on manual mapping - assessment of inter-mapper differences using a morphometrically diverse sample of relict drumlins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jorge, Marco G.; Brennand, Tracy A.; Perkins, Andrew J.; Neudorf, Christina; Hillier, John K.; Cripps, Jonathan E.; Spagnolo, Matteo; Dinney, Meaghan; Storrar, Robert D.

2016-04-01

Mapper-dependent (subjective) differences in drumlin morphometry have received little attention even though over one-hundred thousand drumlins have been manually mapped and used to characterize drumlin morphometry and infer drumlin genesis, and several obstacles to objectivity in drumlin mapping can be identified. Due to uncertainty in drumlin genesis, drumlins remain putative morphogenetic landforms, yet still lack a complete single morphological definition. Additionally, post-formational degradation of relict subglacial landscapes challenges our ability: 1) to identify all drumlins in the landscape (some [potential] drumlins may be too degraded to be mapped and are thus excluded from the inventory), with implications for the analysis of field properties (e.g., spatial arrangement and autocorrelation); and 2) to accurately map the original footprint (i.e., shape and size). These issues (definitional ambiguity; degradation of original drumlin topography) are a problem for both manual and automated mapping. Automation is touted as the solution to the subjectivity of manual mapping, but the quality of any automated method directly depends on the quality of the operational definition (ruleset) it draws upon; if drumlin definitions are subjective (expert-dependent), so will be the automated algorithms relying on them. Additionally, recognizing highly degraded drumlins is, arguably, more difficult automatedly than manually (visually). Because a single morphologic definition is missing, mapping is expert-dependent. Therefore, quantifying the magnitude of inter-mapper differences is important for fully understanding the morphology of drumlins, constraining the robustness of drumlin morphometric inventories and assisting in the development of stricter operational definitions/mapping guidelines. We present the results of an experiment to quantify inter-mapper differences in mapped drumlin morphometry. All participants mapped 42 morphologically diverse drumlins in the Puget

Terminology Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Felber, Helmut

A product of the International Information Center for Terminology (Infoterm), this manual is designed to serve as a reference tool for practitioners active in terminology work and documentation. The manual explores the basic ideas of the Vienna School of Terminology and explains developments in the area of applied computer aided terminography…

A region-based segmentation method for ultrasound images in HIFU therapy

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

Zhang, Dong, E-mail: dongz@whu.edu.cn; Liu, Yu; Yang, Yan

Purpose: Precisely and efficiently locating a tumor with less manual intervention in ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy is one of the keys to guaranteeing the therapeutic result and improving the efficiency of the treatment. The segmentation of ultrasound images has always been difficult due to the influences of speckle, acoustic shadows, and signal attenuation as well as the variety of tumor appearance. The quality of HIFU guidance images is even poorer than that of conventional diagnostic ultrasound images because the ultrasonic probe used for HIFU guidance usually obtains images without making contact with the patient’s body. Therefore, the segmentationmore » becomes more difficult. To solve the segmentation problem of ultrasound guidance image in the treatment planning procedure for HIFU therapy, a novel region-based segmentation method for uterine fibroids in HIFU guidance images is proposed. Methods: Tumor partitioning in HIFU guidance image without manual intervention is achieved by a region-based split-and-merge framework. A new iterative multiple region growing algorithm is proposed to first split the image into homogenous regions (superpixels). The features extracted within these homogenous regions will be more stable than those extracted within the conventional neighborhood of a pixel. The split regions are then merged by a superpixel-based adaptive spectral clustering algorithm. To ensure the superpixels that belong to the same tumor can be clustered together in the merging process, a particular construction strategy for the similarity matrix is adopted for the spectral clustering, and the similarity matrix is constructed by taking advantage of a combination of specifically selected first-order and second-order texture features computed from the gray levels and the gray level co-occurrence matrixes, respectively. The tumor region is picked out automatically from the background regions by an algorithm according to a

State of laboratory manual instruction in California community college introductory (non-majors) biology laboratory instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priest, Michelle

College students must complete a life science course prior to graduation for a bachelor's degree. Generally, the course has lecture and laboratory components. It is in the laboratory where there are exceptional opportunities for exploration, challenge and application of the material learned. Optimally, this would utilize the best of inquiry based approaches. Most community colleges are using a home-grown or self written laboratory manual for the direction of work in the laboratory period. Little was known about the motivation, development and adaptation of use. It was also not known about the future of the laboratory manuals in light of the recent learning reform in California Community Colleges, Student Learning Outcomes. Extensive interviews were conducted with laboratory manual authors to determine the motivation, process of development, who was involved and learning framework used in the creation of the manuals. It was further asked of manual authors their ideas about the future of the manual, the development of staff and faculty and finally, the role Student Learning Outcomes would play in the manual. Science faculty currently teaching the non-majors biology laboratories for at least two semesters were surveyed on-line about actual practice of the manual, assessment, manual flexibility, faculty training and incorporation of Student Learning Outcomes. Finally, an evaluation of the laboratory manual was done using an established Laboratory Task Analysis Instrument. Laboratory manuals were evaluated on a variety of categories to determine the level of inquiry instruction done by students in the laboratory section. The results were that the development of homegrown laboratory manuals was done by community colleges in the Los Angeles and Orange Counties in an effort to minimize the cost of the manual to the students, to utilize all the exercises in a particular lab and to effectively utilize the materials already owned by the department. Further, schools wanted to

Southern Ductile Training Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alabama State Dept. of Education, Montgomery.

This instructor's manual contains the materials required to conduct the competency-based workplace literacy program that was developed to help employees at a foundry that has evolved from a small, family-owned business into a major foundry group with several automated production systems. The workplace literacy program consists of 24 lessons in…

Airport Performance Model : Volume 2 - User's Manual and Program Documentation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1978-10-01

Volume II contains a User's manual and program documentation for the Airport Performance Model. This computer-based model is written in FORTRAN IV for the DEC-10. The user's manual describes the user inputs to the interactive program and gives sample...

Pennsylvania Blue Shield Job Linked Skills Program. Teacher's Manual [and] Technical Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park. Inst. for the Study of Adult Literacy.

Two closely related publications from the same project, a Teacher's Manual" and a "Technical Manual", are combined here. These manuals are intended to accompany a work force literacy course designed to meet the basic skills needs of midliterate adults employed or preparing for employment in the health insurance industry.…

Nutrient Control Design Manual

EPA Science Inventory

The purpose of this EPA design manual is to provide updated, state‐of‐the‐technology design guidance on nitrogen and phosphorus control at municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). Similar to previous EPA manuals, this manual contains extensive information on the principles ...

Testing an automated method to estimate ground-water recharge from streamflow records

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rutledge, A.T.; Daniel, C.C.

1994-01-01

The computer program, RORA, allows automated analysis of streamflow hydrographs to estimate ground-water recharge. Output from the program, which is based on the recession-curve-displacement method (often referred to as the Rorabaugh method, for whom the program is named), was compared to estimates of recharge obtained from a manual analysis of 156 years of streamflow record from 15 streamflow-gaging stations in the eastern United States. Statistical tests showed that there was no significant difference between paired estimates of annual recharge by the two methods. Tests of results produced by the four workers who performed the manual method showed that results can differ significantly between workers. Twenty-two percent of the variation between manual and automated estimates could be attributed to having different workers perform the manual method. The program RORA will produce estimates of recharge equivalent to estimates produced manually, greatly increase the speed od analysis, and reduce the subjectivity inherent in manual analysis.

Hazard House Workbook: A Workbook about Household Chemicals. Leader's Manual. Members Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California State Dept. of Toxic Substance Control, Sacramento.

The two books, the leader's manual and the members' manual address one environmental problem people come into contact with on a daily basis: potentially hazardous household products. The purpose of the books is to educate community groups about hazardous materials. The member's manual shares information about hazardous items and provides facts to…

Somatostatin receptor immunohistochemistry in neuroendocrine tumors: comparison between manual and automated evaluation

PubMed Central

Daniel, Kaemmerer; Maria, Athelogou; Amelie, Lupp; Isabell, Lenhardt; Stefan, Schulz; Luisa, Peter; Merten, Hommann; Vikas, Prasad; Gerd, Binnig; Paul, Baum Richard

2014-01-01

Background: Manual evaluation of somatostatin receptor (SSTR) immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a time-consuming and cost-intensive procedure. Aim of the study was to compare manual evaluation of SSTR subtype IHC to an automated software-based analysis, and to in-vivo imaging by SSTR-based PET/CT. Methods: We examined 25 gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (GEP-NET) patients and correlated their in-vivo SSTR-PET/CT data (determined by the standardized uptake values SUVmax,-mean) with the corresponding ex-vivo IHC data of SSTR subtype (1, 2A, 4, 5) expression. Exactly the same lesions were imaged by PET/CT, resected and analyzed by IHC in each patient. After manual evaluation, the IHC slides were digitized and automatically evaluated for SSTR expression by Definiens XD software. A virtual IHC score “BB1” was created for comparing the manual and automated analysis of SSTR expression. Results: BB1 showed a significant correlation with the corresponding conventionally determined Her2/neu score of the SSTR-subtypes 2A (rs: 0.57), 4 (rs: 0.44) and 5 (rs: 0.43). BB1 of SSTR2A also significantly correlated with the SUVmax (rs: 0.41) and the SUVmean (rs: 0.50). Likewise, a significant correlation was seen between the conventionally evaluated SSTR2A status and the SUVmax (rs: 0.42) and SUVmean (rs: 0.62).Conclusion: Our data demonstrate that the evaluation of the SSTR status by automated analysis (BB1 score), using digitized histopathology slides (“virtual microscopy”), corresponds well with the SSTR2A, 4 and 5 expression as determined by conventional manual histopathology. The BB1 score also exhibited a significant association to the SSTR-PET/CT data in accordance with the high affinity profile of the SSTR analogues used for imaging. PMID:25197368

Parenting Manuals on Underage Drinking: Differences between Alcohol Industry and Non-Industry Publications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindsay, Gordon B.; Merrill, Ray M.; Owens, Adam; Barleen, Nathan A.

2008-01-01

Background: There is some debate over the efficacy of alcohol industry parenting manuals. Purpose: This study compares the content and focus of alcohol industry and non-industry "talk to your child about drinking" parenting manuals. Methods: Parenting manuals from Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Company were compared to federal government and…

Color Image Enhancement Using Multiscale Retinex Based on Particle Swarm Optimization Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matin, F.; Jeong, Y.; Kim, K.; Park, K.

2018-01-01

This paper introduces, a novel method for the image enhancement using multiscale retinex and practical swarm optimization. Multiscale retinex is widely used image enhancement technique which intemperately pertains on parameters such as Gaussian scales, gain and offset, etc. To achieve the privileged effect, the parameters need to be tuned manually according to the image. In order to handle this matter, a developed retinex algorithm based on PSO has been used. The PSO method adjusted the parameters for multiscale retinex with chromaticity preservation (MSRCP) attains better outcome to compare with other existing methods. The experimental result indicates that the proposed algorithm is an efficient one and not only provides true color loyalty in low light conditions but also avoid color distortion at the same time.

Computer-based guidelines for concrete pavements : HIPERPAV III : user manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-10-01

This user manual provides guidance on how to use the new High PERformance PAVing (HIPERPAV) III software program for the analysis of early-age Portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP) behavior. HIPERPAV III includes several improvements over prev...

Child Sexual Abuse: Prevention and Treatment. Continuing Education Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stovall, Bennie

This self-study manual, for use by individuals or groups, was developed for social work practitioners, and focuses on total family assessment to determine prevention and treatment intervention in cases of child sexual abuse and neglect. The introduction presents the philosophy of continuing education on which the manual is based, an overview of…

Applicator Training Manual for: Public Health Pest Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, E. E.

This manual gives the life cycle and habitats, public health importance, methods of non-chemical control, and pesticides and methods of application for mosquitoes, flies, bedbugs, fleas, lice, cockroaches, venomous anthropods, ticks and chiggers, and rodents. (BB)

Teaching artificial neural systems to drive: Manual training techniques for autonomous systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepanski, J. F.; Macy, S. A.

1987-01-01

A methodology was developed for manually training autonomous control systems based on artificial neural systems (ANS). In applications where the rule set governing an expert's decisions is difficult to formulate, ANS can be used to extract rules by associating the information an expert receives with the actions taken. Properly constructed networks imitate rules of behavior that permits them to function autonomously when they are trained on the spanning set of possible situations. This training can be provided manually, either under the direct supervision of a system trainer, or indirectly using a background mode where the networks assimilates training data as the expert performs its day-to-day tasks. To demonstrate these methods, an ANS network was trained to drive a vehicle through simulated freeway traffic.

Stirling engine design manual, 2nd edition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martini, W. R.

1983-01-01

This manual is intended to serve as an introduction to Stirling cycle heat engines, as a key to the available literature on Stirling engines and to identify nonproprietary Stirling engine design methodologies. Two different fully described Stirling engines are discussed. Engine design methods are categorized as first order, second order, and third order with increased order number indicating increased complexity. FORTRAN programs are listed for both an isothermal second order design program and an adiabatic second order design program. Third order methods are explained and enumerated. In this second edition of the manual the references are updated. A revised personal and corporate author index is given and an expanded directory lists over 80 individuals and companies active in Stirling engines.

Mosquito and Blackfly Category Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowman, James S.; And Others

This manual provides information needed to meet the standards for pesticide applicator certification. Section one is concerned with the morphology, life cycle and breeding areas of mosquitoes and the diseases resulting from their presence. The second section covers similar categories in relation to the black fly population. Calculation methods and…

Camp Health Aide Manual = Manual para trabajadores de salud.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, June Grube; And Others

This bilingual manual serves as a textbook for migrant Camp Health Aides. Camp Health Aides are members of migrant labor camps enlisted to provide information about health and social services to migrant workers and their families. The manual is divided into 12 tabbed sections representing lessons. Teaching notes printed on contrasting paper…

A multiple distributed representation method based on neural network for biomedical event extraction.

PubMed

Wang, Anran; Wang, Jian; Lin, Hongfei; Zhang, Jianhai; Yang, Zhihao; Xu, Kan

2017-12-20

Biomedical event extraction is one of the most frontier domains in biomedical research. The two main subtasks of biomedical event extraction are trigger identification and arguments detection which can both be considered as classification problems. However, traditional state-of-the-art methods are based on support vector machine (SVM) with massive manually designed one-hot represented features, which require enormous work but lack semantic relation among words. In this paper, we propose a multiple distributed representation method for biomedical event extraction. The method combines context consisting of dependency-based word embedding, and task-based features represented in a distributed way as the input of deep learning models to train deep learning models. Finally, we used softmax classifier to label the example candidates. The experimental results on Multi-Level Event Extraction (MLEE) corpus show higher F-scores of 77.97% in trigger identification and 58.31% in overall compared to the state-of-the-art SVM method. Our distributed representation method for biomedical event extraction avoids the problems of semantic gap and dimension disaster from traditional one-hot representation methods. The promising results demonstrate that our proposed method is effective for biomedical event extraction.

Automated Discrimination Method of Muscular and Subcutaneous Fat Layers Based on Tissue Elasticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inoue, Masahiro; Fukuda, Osamu; Tsubai, Masayoshi; Muraki, Satoshi; Okumura, Hiroshi; Arai, Kohei

Balance between human body composition, e.g. bones, muscles, and fat, is a major and basic indicator of personal health. Body composition analysis using ultrasound has been developed rapidly. However, interpretation of echo signal is conducted manually, and accuracy and confidence in interpretation requires experience. This paper proposes an automated discrimination method of tissue boundaries for measuring the thickness of subcutaneous fat and muscular layers. A portable one-dimensional ultrasound device was used in this study. The proposed method discriminated tissue boundaries based on tissue elasticity. Validity of the proposed method was evaluated in twenty-one subjects (twelve women, nine men; aged 20-70 yr) at three anatomical sites. Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve considerably high discrimination performance.

Foundation Level Training. Trainer's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Human Services, Oklahoma City. Developmental Disabilities Services Div.

This trainer's manual was developed to provide a consistent knowledge and skill base (i.e., a "foundation") for all individuals employed in programs funded by Oklahoma's Developmental Disabilities Services Division. They include van drivers, recreation workers, residential staff, administrators, case managers, secretarial/clerical staff,…

Chemistry laboratory safety manual available

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elsbrock, R. G.

1968-01-01

Chemistry laboratory safety manual outlines safe practices for handling hazardous chemicals and chemistry laboratory equipment. Included are discussions of chemical hazards relating to fire, health, explosion, safety equipment and procedures for certain laboratory techniques and manipulations involving glassware, vacuum equipment, acids, bases, and volatile solvents.

Analysis of the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) reproductive tract: A methods manual

USGS Publications Warehouse

von Biela, Vanessa R.; Gill, Verena A.

2007-01-01

Sea otter reproductive tracts have most commonly come from either intentional sampling through harvests (Sinah et al. 1966, Schneider 1975) or unintentional large scale mortalities (e.g. the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill) (Bodkin et al. 1993). Carcasses and reproductive tracts can also be obtained through the collection of fresh beach cast carcasses. Analysis of reproductive tracts should consider the source of carcasses as samples representing either the “living” or “dead” sea otter population, as they may differ in reproductive parameters. In most cases the reproductive tracts are fixed in formalin or frozen (minimum of –20˚C) immediately after collection; both methods are acceptable for later analysis of the tissue. Immediate fixation is preferred as it is a necessary step in analysis. Uteri and ovaries are then examined to determine the current and past reproductive history of each individual. This manual also includes an example datasheet (Appendix A) and glossary (Appendix B). 

The effect of mixing method on tricalcium silicate-based cement.

PubMed

Duque, J A; Fernandes, S L; Bubola, J P; Duarte, M A H; Camilleri, J; Marciano, M A

2018-01-01

To evaluate the effect of three methods of mixing on the physical and chemical properties of tricalcium silicate-based cements. The materials evaluated were MTA Angelus and Portland cement with 20% zirconium oxide (PC-20-Zr). The cements were mixed using a 3 : 1 powder-to-liquid ratio. The mixing methods were manual (m), trituration (tr) and ultrasonic (us) activation. The materials were characterized by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Flowability was analysed according to ANSI/ADA 57/2012. Initial and final setting times were assessed following ASTM C266/08. Volume change was evaluated using a micro-CT volumetric method. Solubility was analysed according to ADA 57/2012. pH and calcium ion release were measured after 3, 24, 72 and 168 h. Statistical analysis was performed using two-way analysis of variance. The level of significance was set at P = 0.05. The SEM analysis revealed that ultrasonic activation was associated with a homogeneous distribution of particles. Flowability, volume change and initial setting time were not influenced by the mixing method (P > 0.05). Solubility was influenced by the mixing method (P < 0.05). For pH, at 168 h, significant differences were found between MTA-m and PC-20-Zr-m (P < 0.05). For calcium ion release, PC-20-Zr-tr had higher values than MTA-m at 3 h, and MTA-tr had higher values than PC-20-Zr-m at 168 h (P < 0.05). The ultrasonic and trituration methods led to higher calcium ion release and pH compared with manual mixing for all cements, whilst the ultrasonic method produced smaller particles for the PC-20-Zr cement. Flow, setting times and volume change were not influenced by the mixing method used; however, it did have an impact on solubility. © 2017 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Developing a manual for strengthening mental health nurses' clinical supervision.

PubMed

Buus, Niels; Cassedy, Paul; Gonge, Henrik

2013-05-01

In this article, we report findings from a study aimed at developing the content and implementation of a manual for a research-based intervention on clinical supervision of mental health nursing staff. The intervention was designed to strengthen already existing supervision practices through educational preparation for supervision and systematic reflection on supervision. The intervention consists of three sessions and was implemented on two groups of mental health hospital staff. We present an outline of the manual and explain how the trial sessions made us adjust the preliminary manual. The effects of implementing the manual will subsequently be analysed in an independent randomised controlled trial.

Validation and application of Highway Safety Manual (Part D) and developing Florida CMF Manual, phase 2.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-05-01

The Highway Safety Manual (HSM) Part D provides a comprehensive list of the effects of safety treatments : (countermeasures). These effects are quantified by crash modification factors (CMF) which are based on compilation : from past studies of the e...

Manual Training Schools in America.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schenck, John P.

John Runkle, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), viewed the Moscow Imperial Technical School exhibit at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 and saw the Russian method of manual training as the answer to the dilemma of combining theory and practice in engineering instruction. On August 17, 1876, shops in which…

ARDS User Manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleming, David P.

2001-01-01

Personal computers (PCs) are now used extensively for engineering analysis. their capability exceeds that of mainframe computers of only a few years ago. Programs originally written for mainframes have been ported to PCs to make their use easier. One of these programs is ARDS (Analysis of Rotor Dynamic Systems) which was developed at Arizona State University (ASU) by Nelson et al. to quickly and accurately analyze rotor steady state and transient response using the method of component mode synthesis. The original ARDS program was ported to the PC in 1995. Several extensions were made at ASU to increase the capability of mainframe ARDS. These extensions have also been incorporated into the PC version of ARDS. Each mainframe extension had its own user manual generally covering only that extension. Thus to exploit the full capability of ARDS required a large set of user manuals. Moreover, necessary changes and enhancements for PC ARDS were undocumented. The present document is intended to remedy those problems by combining all pertinent information needed for the use of PC ARDS into one volume.

Mapping seabed sediments: Comparison of manual, geostatistical, object-based image analysis and machine learning approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diesing, Markus; Green, Sophie L.; Stephens, David; Lark, R. Murray; Stewart, Heather A.; Dove, Dayton

2014-08-01

Marine spatial planning and conservation need underpinning with sufficiently detailed and accurate seabed substrate and habitat maps. Although multibeam echosounders enable us to map the seabed with high resolution and spatial accuracy, there is still a lack of fit-for-purpose seabed maps. This is due to the high costs involved in carrying out systematic seabed mapping programmes and the fact that the development of validated, repeatable, quantitative and objective methods of swath acoustic data interpretation is still in its infancy. We compared a wide spectrum of approaches including manual interpretation, geostatistics, object-based image analysis and machine-learning to gain further insights into the accuracy and comparability of acoustic data interpretation approaches based on multibeam echosounder data (bathymetry, backscatter and derivatives) and seabed samples with the aim to derive seabed substrate maps. Sample data were split into a training and validation data set to allow us to carry out an accuracy assessment. Overall thematic classification accuracy ranged from 67% to 76% and Cohen's kappa varied between 0.34 and 0.52. However, these differences were not statistically significant at the 5% level. Misclassifications were mainly associated with uncommon classes, which were rarely sampled. Map outputs were between 68% and 87% identical. To improve classification accuracy in seabed mapping, we suggest that more studies on the effects of factors affecting the classification performance as well as comparative studies testing the performance of different approaches need to be carried out with a view to developing guidelines for selecting an appropriate method for a given dataset. In the meantime, classification accuracy might be improved by combining different techniques to hybrid approaches and multi-method ensembles.

Quality Manual

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch, Michael

The quality manual is the “heart” of every management system related to quality. Quality assurance in analytical laboratories is most frequently linked with ISO/IEC 17025, which lists the standard requirements for a quality manual. In this chapter examples are used to demonstrate, how these requirements can be met. But, certainly, there are many other ways to do this.

The operations manual: a mechanism for improving the research process.

PubMed

Bowman, Ann; Wyman, Jean F; Peters, Jennifer

2002-01-01

The development and use of an operations manual has the potential to improve the capacity of nurse scientists to address the complex, multifaceted issues associated with conducting research in today's healthcare environment. An operations manual facilitates communication, standardizes training and evaluation, and enhances the development and standard implementation of clear policies, processes, and protocols. A 10-year review of methodology articles in relevant nursing journals revealed no attention to this topic. This article will discuss how an operations manual can improve the conduct of research methods and outcomes for both small-scale and large-scale research studies. It also describes the purpose and components of a prototype operations manual for use in quantitative research. The operations manual increases reliability and reproducibility of the research while improving the management of study processes. It can prevent costly and untimely delays or errors in the conduct of research.

The effectiveness of manual therapy in treating cervicogenic dizziness: a systematic review.

PubMed

Yaseen, Khalid; Hendrick, Paul; Ismail, Ayah; Felemban, Mohannad; Alshehri, Mansour Abdullah

2018-01-01

[Purpose] This review provides an evaluation of the evidence for the effectiveness of using manual therapy to treat cervicogenic dizziness. [Subjects and Methods] The literature was systematically searched on the May 2, 2016 using the following online databases: Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and PEDro. This review included randomised controlled trials and compared the efficacy of manual therapy for the treatment of cervicogenic dizziness, compared to other types of intervention. This study measured changes based on dizziness intensity and frequency. [Results] The primary search found 30 articles, but only four articles met the inclusion criteria. Assessment of methodological quality was performed by two researchers using the PEDro scale. The level of evidence was determined using a recognised grading scale. Three out of the four articles were deemed to have high methodological quality, while the fourth was rated as moderate quality. The attributed level of evidence was moderate (level 2). [Conclusion] Manual therapy is potentially effective for managing cervicogenic dizziness. However, due to the heterogeneity of the results and techniques and the low number of studies, further research is recommended to provide conclusive evidence.

A student manual for promoting mental health among high school students.

PubMed

Gigantesco, Antonella; Del Re, Debora; Cascavilla, Isabella

2013-01-01

We describe a school program based on a student manual for promoting mental health and preventing mental illness. A preliminary version of the manual was assessed for face validity by two focus groups. The final version was evaluated for acceptability among 253 students in 10 high schools and 1 middle school in Italy. The manual included 18 chapters (or "units") which address skills for enabling students to cope with their daily lives: communication skills, problem-solving, assertive skills, negotiation, stress management, anger management and conflict resolution. The manual was found to have been acceptable by high school students. The effectiveness of the manual in actually promoting mental health and preventing mental illness is currently being evaluated.

Covered bridge manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-04-01

This manual provides guidance to those involved with all aspects of the work, from initial inspection and evaluation, through the engineering of rehabilitation, to construction issues. Broadly speaking, this manual covers general terminology and hist...

Competency Exams for Electronics/Instrumentation Occupations. Student and Instructor Manuals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matson, James; Stokes, Tad

This document contains 20 competency-based examinations with student and instructor manuals for electronics and instrumentation occupations. For each of the examinations, the student manual contains the following: the competency, the performance objective, directions, the materials and equipment needed, a space to note time started and time…

Automated extraction of DNA from biological stains on fabric from crime cases. A comparison of a manual and three automated methods.

PubMed

Stangegaard, Michael; Hjort, Benjamin B; Hansen, Thomas N; Hoflund, Anders; Mogensen, Helle S; Hansen, Anders J; Morling, Niels

2013-05-01

The presence of PCR inhibitors in extracted DNA may interfere with the subsequent quantification and short tandem repeat (STR) reactions used in forensic genetic DNA typing. DNA extraction from fabric for forensic genetic purposes may be challenging due to the occasional presence of PCR inhibitors that may be co-extracted with the DNA. Using 120 forensic trace evidence samples consisting of various types of fabric, we compared three automated DNA extraction methods based on magnetic beads (PrepFiler Express Forensic DNA Extraction Kit on an AutoMate Express, QIAsyphony DNA Investigator kit either with the sample pre-treatment recommended by Qiagen or an in-house optimized sample pre-treatment on a QIAsymphony SP) and one manual method (Chelex) with the aim of reducing the amount of PCR inhibitors in the DNA extracts and increasing the proportion of reportable STR-profiles. A total of 480 samples were processed. The highest DNA recovery was obtained with the PrepFiler Express kit on an AutoMate Express while the lowest DNA recovery was obtained using a QIAsymphony SP with the sample pre-treatment recommended by Qiagen. Extraction using a QIAsymphony SP with the sample pre-treatment recommended by Qiagen resulted in the lowest percentage of PCR inhibition (0%) while extraction using manual Chelex resulted in the highest percentage of PCR inhibition (51%). The largest number of reportable STR-profiles was obtained with DNA from samples extracted with the PrepFiler Express kit (75%) while the lowest number was obtained with DNA from samples extracted using a QIAsymphony SP with the sample pre-treatment recommended by Qiagen (41%). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can pulsed xenon ultraviolet light systems disinfect aerobic bacteria in the absence of manual disinfection?

PubMed

Jinadatha, Chetan; Villamaria, Frank C; Ganachari-Mallappa, Nagaraja; Brown, Donna S; Liao, I-Chia; Stock, Eileen M; Copeland, Laurel A; Zeber, John E

2015-04-01

Whereas pulsed xenon-based ultraviolet light no-touch disinfection systems are being increasingly used for room disinfection after patient discharge with manual cleaning, their effectiveness in the absence of manual disinfection has not been previously evaluated. Our study indicates that pulsed xenon-based ultraviolet light systems effectively reduce aerobic bacteria in the absence of manual disinfection. These data are important for hospitals planning to adopt this technology as adjunct to routine manual disinfection. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Level set method for image segmentation based on moment competition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Hai; Wang, Xiao-Feng; Huang, De-Shuang; Jin, Jing; Wang, Hong-Zhi; Li, Hai

2015-05-01

We propose a level set method for image segmentation which introduces the moment competition and weakly supervised information into the energy functional construction. Different from the region-based level set methods which use force competition, the moment competition is adopted to drive the contour evolution. Here, a so-called three-point labeling scheme is proposed to manually label three independent points (weakly supervised information) on the image. Then the intensity differences between the three points and the unlabeled pixels are used to construct the force arms for each image pixel. The corresponding force is generated from the global statistical information of a region-based method and weighted by the force arm. As a result, the moment can be constructed and incorporated into the energy functional to drive the evolving contour to approach the object boundary. In our method, the force arm can take full advantage of the three-point labeling scheme to constrain the moment competition. Additionally, the global statistical information and weakly supervised information are successfully integrated, which makes the proposed method more robust than traditional methods for initial contour placement and parameter setting. Experimental results with performance analysis also show the superiority of the proposed method on segmenting different types of complicated images, such as noisy images, three-phase images, images with intensity inhomogeneity, and texture images.

Inter-arch digital model vs. manual cast measurements: Accuracy and reliability.

PubMed

Kiviahde, Heikki; Bukovac, Lea; Jussila, Päivi; Pesonen, Paula; Sipilä, Kirsi; Raustia, Aune; Pirttiniemi, Pertti

2017-06-28

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of inter-arch measurements using digital dental models and conventional dental casts. Thirty sets of dental casts with permanent dentition were examined. Manual measurements were done with a digital caliper directly on the dental casts, and digital measurements were made on 3D models by two independent examiners. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), a paired sample t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Bland-Altman plots were used to evaluate intra- and inter-examiner error and to determine the accuracy and reliability of the measurements. The ICC values were generally good for manual and excellent for digital measurements. The Bland-Altman plots of all the measurements showed good agreement between the manual and digital methods and excellent inter-examiner agreement using the digital method. Inter-arch occlusal measurements on digital models are accurate and reliable and are superior to manual measurements.

Phantom Study Investigating the Accuracy of Manual and Automatic Image Fusion with the GE Logiq E9: Implications for use in Percutaneous Liver Interventions

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

Burgmans, Mark Christiaan, E-mail: m.c.burgmans@lumc.nl; Harder, J. Michiel den, E-mail: chiel.den.harder@gmail.com; Meershoek, Philippa, E-mail: P.Meershoek@lumc.nl

PurposeTo determine the accuracy of automatic and manual co-registration methods for image fusion of three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) with real-time ultrasonography (US) for image-guided liver interventions.Materials and MethodsCT images of a skills phantom with liver lesions were acquired and co-registered to US using GE Logiq E9 navigation software. Manual co-registration was compared to automatic and semiautomatic co-registration using an active tracker. Also, manual point registration was compared to plane registration with and without an additional translation point. Finally, comparison was made between manual and automatic selection of reference points. In each experiment, accuracy of the co-registration method was determined bymore » measurement of the residual displacement in phantom lesions by two independent observers.ResultsMean displacements for a superficial and deep liver lesion were comparable after manual and semiautomatic co-registration: 2.4 and 2.0 mm versus 2.0 and 2.5 mm, respectively. Both methods were significantly better than automatic co-registration: 5.9 and 5.2 mm residual displacement (p < 0.001; p < 0.01). The accuracy of manual point registration was higher than that of plane registration, the latter being heavily dependent on accurate matching of axial CT and US images by the operator. Automatic reference point selection resulted in significantly lower registration accuracy compared to manual point selection despite lower root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) values.ConclusionThe accuracy of manual and semiautomatic co-registration is better than that of automatic co-registration. For manual co-registration using a plane, choosing the correct plane orientation is an essential first step in the registration process. Automatic reference point selection based on RMSD values is error-prone.« less

Ergonomic assessment methodologies in manual handling of loads--opportunities in organizations.

PubMed

Pires, Claudia

2012-01-01

The present study was developed based on the analysis of workplaces in the engineering industry, particularly in automotive companies. The main objectives of the study were to evaluate the activities present in the workplace concerning manual handling, using assessment methodologies NIOSH Ergonomic Equation [1] and Manual Material Handling [2], present in ISO 11228 [3-4], and to consider the possibility of developing musculoskeletal injuries associated with these activities, an issue of great concern in all industrial sectors. Similarly, it was also shown the suitability of each method to the task concerned. The study was conducted in three steps. The first step was to collect images and information about the target tasks. As a second step proceeded to the analysis, determining the method to use and to evaluate activities. Finally, we found the results obtained and acted on accordingly. With the study observed situations considered urgent action, according to the methodologies used, and proceeded to develop solutions in order to solve the problems identified, eliminating and / or minimizing embarrassing situations and harmful to employees.

Dilemma-focused intervention for unipolar depression: a treatment manual.

PubMed

Feixas, Guillem; Compañ, Victoria

2016-07-12

This article introduces a new treatment protocol for depression. Based on previous research which indicated the presence of cognitive conflicts in depression, this study created an intervention manual to address these conflicts. The therapy manual for depressive patients followed the guideline for inclusion in clinical trials (stage II), which has received high recognition. A preliminary version (stage I) of this manual was formulated based on other, more general dilemma-focused therapy publications, inspired by personal construct theory (PCT), and input from clinical experience. The resulting version was then applied during the 8-session format of a pilot study with patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder or dysthymia. Finally, feedback was requested from seasoned and highly respected therapists, some of whom were familiar with PCT. According to the mentioned guideline, the intervention manual selected the theoretical framework, in this case PCT, to include its conceptualization of depression and resolution of dilemmas (to foster clinical improvement) as a main treatment goal. The manual was then contrasted with psychoanalytic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI), and other similar approaches such as cognitive-analytic therapy and coherence therapy. Following these conceptual clarifications, the specific interventions included in the manual were defined according to both categories: their unique and essential components and those conceived as common psychotherapeutic factors. Next, the general structure and content for each session were presented. The structure consisted of seven well-defined individual sessions with an additional session, which could complement any of the former sessions to address the patient's issues in greater depth, if needed. This Dilemma-Focused Intervention manual aimed to improve the treatment outcome for depression by offering an intervention that could be combined with other general

Manual handling methods evaluation based on oxygen consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurmianto, E.; Ciptomulyono, U.; Suparno; Kromodihardjo, S.; Setijono, H.; Arief, N. A.

2018-04-01

Mining industry has become one of the largest industries in Indonesia, now competing in billions dollar market, with numbers people employed. Deliveries of a Return Rolls (RR) involve the use of a hand truck and, in many cases, a shoulder/elbow-mode of carriage. Workers usually prefer to the Gendong (carrying on the small of the back or the hip, supported by the waist and arm) mode or Manggul (carrying on some stuff shoulder) mode, because they feel safer by carrying RR on the shoulder/elbow. In this study, the physiological workload involved in shoulder/elbow-mode carrying was investigated, especially focusing on the effects of load weight and inclination. To measure heart rate and oxygen uptake while carrying on the shoulder/elbow, a laboratory experiment was conducted and safety guidelines for such tasks were proposed, based on the experimental results. Four healthy male subjects performed shoulder/elbow-mode carrying, weight between 20 and 24 kg: (1) on inclination of 10o, (2) 20o and (3) 30o. The results showed that inclination involved an increased physiological burden, and that a load of 24 kg entailed a significantly higher physiological cost than carrying a load of 20 kg. Although shoulder/elbow-mode carrying has some advantages, the worker should be advised to carry a load of less than 20 kg, to avoid a high physiological load. During shoulder/elbow-mode carrying, it is also recommended that a person prepare more training in order to have muscular strength.

Battery Test Manual For 48 Volt Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles

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

Walker, Lee Kenneth

2017-03-01

This manual details the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium and U.S. Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Program goals, test methods, and analysis techniques for a 48 Volt Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle system. The test methods are outlined stating with characterization tests, followed by life tests. The final section details standardized analysis techniques for 48 V systems that allow for the comparison of different programs that use this manual. An example test plan is included, along with guidance to filling in gap table numbers.

SHARP User Manual

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

Yu, Y. Q.; Shemon, E. R.; Thomas, J. W.

SHARP is an advanced modeling and simulation toolkit for the analysis of nuclear reactors. It is comprised of several components including physical modeling tools, tools to integrate the physics codes for multi-physics analyses, and a set of tools to couple the codes within the MOAB framework. Physics modules currently include the neutronics code PROTEUS, the thermal-hydraulics code Nek5000, and the structural mechanics code Diablo. This manual focuses on performing multi-physics calculations with the SHARP ToolKit. Manuals for the three individual physics modules are available with the SHARP distribution to help the user to either carry out the primary multi-physics calculationmore » with basic knowledge or perform further advanced development with in-depth knowledge of these codes. This manual provides step-by-step instructions on employing SHARP, including how to download and install the code, how to build the drivers for a test case, how to perform a calculation and how to visualize the results. Since SHARP has some specific library and environment dependencies, it is highly recommended that the user read this manual prior to installing SHARP. Verification tests cases are included to check proper installation of each module. It is suggested that the new user should first follow the step-by-step instructions provided for a test problem in this manual to understand the basic procedure of using SHARP before using SHARP for his/her own analysis. Both reference output and scripts are provided along with the test cases in order to verify correct installation and execution of the SHARP package. At the end of this manual, detailed instructions are provided on how to create a new test case so that user can perform novel multi-physics calculations with SHARP. Frequently asked questions are listed at the end of this manual to help the user to troubleshoot issues.« less

Improving transcriptome construction in non-model organisms: integrating manual and automated gene definition in Emiliania huxleyi.

PubMed

Feldmesser, Ester; Rosenwasser, Shilo; Vardi, Assaf; Ben-Dor, Shifra

2014-02-22

The advent of Next Generation Sequencing technologies and corresponding bioinformatics tools allows the definition of transcriptomes in non-model organisms. Non-model organisms are of great ecological and biotechnological significance, and consequently the understanding of their unique metabolic pathways is essential. Several methods that integrate de novo assembly with genome-based assembly have been proposed. Yet, there are many open challenges in defining genes, particularly where genomes are not available or incomplete. Despite the large numbers of transcriptome assemblies that have been performed, quality control of the transcript building process, particularly on the protein level, is rarely performed if ever. To test and improve the quality of the automated transcriptome reconstruction, we used manually defined and curated genes, several of them experimentally validated. Several approaches to transcript construction were utilized, based on the available data: a draft genome, high quality RNAseq reads, and ESTs. In order to maximize the contribution of the various data, we integrated methods including de novo and genome based assembly, as well as EST clustering. After each step a set of manually curated genes was used for quality assessment of the transcripts. The interplay between the automated pipeline and the quality control indicated which additional processes were required to improve the transcriptome reconstruction. We discovered that E. huxleyi has a very high percentage of non-canonical splice junctions, and relatively high rates of intron retention, which caused unique issues with the currently available tools. While individual tools missed genes and artificially joined overlapping transcripts, combining the results of several tools improved the completeness and quality considerably. The final collection, created from the integration of several quality control and improvement rounds, was compared to the manually defined set both on the DNA and

Workplace Safety Manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-04-10

N.C. Department of Transportation's workplace safety manual for online viewing. : The government of North Carolina feels that all employees are responsible for safety : on the job. This manual describes and sets out the operation of safety program : ...

Web-based data collection: detailed methods of a questionnaire and data gathering tool

PubMed Central

Cooper, Charles J; Cooper, Sharon P; del Junco, Deborah J; Shipp, Eva M; Whitworth, Ryan; Cooper, Sara R

2006-01-01

There have been dramatic advances in the development of web-based data collection instruments. This paper outlines a systematic web-based approach to facilitate this process through locally developed code and to describe the results of using this process after two years of data collection. We provide a detailed example of a web-based method that we developed for a study in Starr County, Texas, assessing high school students' work and health status. This web-based application includes data instrument design, data entry and management, and data tables needed to store the results that attempt to maximize the advantages of this data collection method. The software also efficiently produces a coding manual, web-based statistical summary and crosstab reports, as well as input templates for use by statistical packages. Overall, web-based data entry using a dynamic approach proved to be a very efficient and effective data collection system. This data collection method expedited data processing and analysis and eliminated the need for cumbersome and expensive transfer and tracking of forms, data entry, and verification. The code has been made available for non-profit use only to the public health research community as a free download [1]. PMID:16390556

ANOPP2 User's Manual: Version 1.2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lopes, L. V.; Burley, C. L.

2016-01-01

This manual documents the Aircraft NOise Prediction Program 2 (ANOPP2). ANOPP2 is a toolkit that includes a framework, noise prediction methods, and peripheral software to aid a user in predicting and understanding aircraft noise. This manual includes an explanation of the overall design and structure of ANOPP2, including a brief introduction to aircraft noise prediction and the ANOPP2 background, philosophy, and architecture. The concept of nested acoustic data surfaces and its application to a mixed-fidelity noise prediction are presented. The structure and usage of ANOPP2, which includes the communication between the user, the ANOPP2 framework, and noise prediction methods, are presented for two scenarios: wind-tunnel and flight. These scenarios serve to provide the user with guidance and documentation references for performing a noise prediction using ANOPP2.

An automated microplate-based method for monitoring DNA strand breaks in plasmids and bacterial artificial chromosomes

PubMed Central

Rock, Cassandra; Shamlou, Parviz Ayazi; Levy, M. Susana

2003-01-01

A method is described for high-throughput monitoring of DNA backbone integrity in plasmids and artificial chromosomes in solution. The method is based on the denaturation properties of double-stranded DNA in alkaline conditions and uses PicoGreen fluorochrome to monitor denaturation. In the present method, fluorescence enhancement of PicoGreen at pH 12.4 is normalised by its value at pH 8 to give a ratio that is proportional to the average backbone integrity of the DNA molecules in the sample. A good regression fit (r2 > 0.98) was obtained when results derived from the present method and those derived from agarose gel electrophoresis were compared. Spiking experiments indicated that the method is sensitive enough to detect a proportion of 6% (v/v) molecules with an average of less than two breaks per molecule. Under manual operation, validation parameters such as inter-assay and intra-assay variation gave values of <5% coefficient of variation. Automation of the method showed equivalence to the manual procedure with high reproducibility and low variability within wells. The method described requires as little as 0.5 ng of DNA per well and a 96-well microplate can be analysed in 12 min providing an attractive option for analysis of high molecular weight vectors. A preparation of a 116 kb bacterial artificial chromosome was subjected to chemical and shear degradation and DNA integrity was tested using the method. Good correlation was obtained between time of chemical degradation and shear rate with fluorescence response. Results obtained from pulsed- field electrophoresis of sheared samples were in agreement with those obtained using the microplate-based method. PMID:12771229

Facilitating LOS Debriefings: A Training Manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McDonnell, Lori K.; Jobe, Kimberly K.; Dismukes, R. Key

1997-01-01

This manual is a practical guide to help airline instructors effectively facilitate debriefings of Line Oriented Simulations (LOS). It is based on a recently completed study of Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT) debriefings at several U.S. airlines. This manual presents specific facilitation tools instructors can use to achieve debriefing objectives. The approach of the manual is to be flexible so it can be tailored to the individual needs of each airline. Part One clarifies the purpose and objectives of facilitation in the LOS setting. Part Two provides recommendations for clarifying roles and expectations and presents a model for organizing discussion. Part Tree suggests techniques for eliciting active crew participation and in-depth analysis and evaluation. Finally, in Part Four, these techniques are organized according to the facilitation model. Examples of how to effectively use the techniques are provided throughout, including strategies to try when the debriefing objectives are not being fully achieved.

Dissemination of an Electronic Manual to Build Capacity for Implementing Farmers' Markets with Community Health Centers.

PubMed

Guest, M Aaron; Freedman, Darcy; Alia, Kassandra A; Brandt, Heather M; Friedman, Daniela B

2015-10-01

Community-university partnerships can lend themselves to the development of tools that encourage and promote future community health development. The electronic manual, "Building Farmacies," describes an approach for developing capacity and sustaining a community health center-based farmers' market that emerged through a community-university partnership. Manual development was guided by the Knowledge to Action Framework and experiences developing a multivendor, produce-only farmers' market at a community health center in rural South Carolina. The manual was created to illustrate an innovative solution for community health development. The manual was disseminated electronically through 25 listservs and interested individuals voluntarily completed a Web-based survey to access the free manual. During the 6-month dissemination period, 271 individuals downloaded the manual. Findings highlighted the value of translating community-based participatory research into user-friendly manuals to guide future intervention development and dissemination approaches, and demonstrate the need to include capacity building opportunities to support translation and adoption of interventions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Dissemination of an Electronic Manual to Build Capacity for Implementing Farmers’ Markets with Community Health Centers

PubMed Central

Guest, M. Aaron; Alia, Kassandra A.; Brandt, Heather M.; Friedman, Daniela B.

2015-01-01

Abstract Community–university partnerships can lend themselves to the development of tools that encourage and promote future community health development. The electronic manual, “Building Farmacies,” describes an approach for developing capacity and sustaining a community health center–based farmers’ market that emerged through a community–university partnership. Manual development was guided by the Knowledge to Action Framework and experiences developing a multivendor, produce‐only farmers’ market at a community health center in rural South Carolina. The manual was created to illustrate an innovative solution for community health development. The manual was disseminated electronically through 25 listservs and interested individuals voluntarily completed a Web‐based survey to access the free manual. During the 6‐month dissemination period, 271 individuals downloaded the manual. Findings highlighted the value of translating community‐based participatory research into user‐friendly manuals to guide future intervention development and dissemination approaches, and demonstrate the need to include capacity building opportunities to support translation and adoption of interventions. PMID:26296392

Violence Prevention Initiative Training Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cutrona, Cheryl; Coleman-White, DeVonne

This manual accompanies a workshop for juvenile justice workers (probation officers, social workers, contract providers, and community-based detention providers) that is designed to help them understand conflict and the cycle of violence, manage anger and conflict, use affirmation to reinforce positive behavior, promote skills for success, support…

Environmental Impact Research Program: Auditory Survey Methods. Section 6.3.5. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wildlife Resources Management Manual

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-06-01

mourning dove (Zenaida macroura), American woodcock (Scolopax minor) , northein bobwhite Colijius virgililanus) , and ruffed grouse (Bonasca umbelus...Continued). Auditory survey methods Call counts Avian population indexes Mourning dove survey Avian survey and sampling Ruf fed grouse survey Bobwhite...ENGINEERS WILDLIFE RESOURCES MANAGEMENT MANUAL CONCEPT .... ............. .. 3 RUFFED GROUSE SURVEYS ... ....... 9 MOURNING DOVE SURVEYS

Read Aloud Programs for the Elderly Project. Instructional Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leonard, Gloria; And Others

This manual was developed by the staff of the Read Aloud Programs for the Elderly of the Seattle Public Library. It is based on a year's experience of conducting read-aloud programs in nursing homes and is meant to be a guide for setting up similar programs in other library systems. The first half of the manual, addressed to program managers,…

Aviation Structural Mechanic E 3 & 2. Rate Training Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naval Training Publications Center, Memphis, TN.

This manual is one of a series of training manuals prepared for enlisted personnel in the Navy and Naval Reserve who are studying for advancement according to the Aviation Structural Mechanic E (AME) rating. The text is based on the professional qualifications for the rates AME3 and AME2. Contents include a 10-chapter text and a reading list…

An Automatic Image-Based Modelling Method Applied to Forensic Infography

PubMed Central

Zancajo-Blazquez, Sandra; Gonzalez-Aguilera, Diego; Gonzalez-Jorge, Higinio; Hernandez-Lopez, David

2015-01-01

This paper presents a new method based on 3D reconstruction from images that demonstrates the utility and integration of close-range photogrammetry and computer vision as an efficient alternative to modelling complex objects and scenarios of forensic infography. The results obtained confirm the validity of the method compared to other existing alternatives as it guarantees the following: (i) flexibility, permitting work with any type of camera (calibrated and non-calibrated, smartphone or tablet) and image (visible, infrared, thermal, etc.); (ii) automation, allowing the reconstruction of three-dimensional scenarios in the absence of manual intervention, and (iii) high quality results, sometimes providing higher resolution than modern laser scanning systems. As a result, each ocular inspection of a crime scene with any camera performed by the scientific police can be transformed into a scaled 3d model. PMID:25793628

Evaluation of manual and automatic manually triggered ventilation performance and ergonomics using a simulation model.

PubMed

Marjanovic, Nicolas; Le Floch, Soizig; Jaffrelot, Morgan; L'Her, Erwan

2014-05-01

In the absence of endotracheal intubation, the manual bag-valve-mask (BVM) is the most frequently used ventilation technique during resuscitation. The efficiency of other devices has been poorly studied. The bench-test study described here was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an automatic, manually triggered system, and to compare it with manual BVM ventilation. A respiratory system bench model was assembled using a lung simulator connected to a manikin to simulate a patient with unprotected airways. Fifty health-care providers from different professional groups (emergency physicians, residents, advanced paramedics, nurses, and paramedics; n = 10 per group) evaluated manual BVM ventilation, and compared it with an automatic manually triggered device (EasyCPR). Three pathological situations were simulated (restrictive, obstructive, normal). Standard ventilation parameters were recorded; the ergonomics of the system were assessed by the health-care professionals using a standard numerical scale once the recordings were completed. The tidal volume fell within the standard range (400-600 mL) for 25.6% of breaths (0.6-45 breaths) using manual BVM ventilation, and for 28.6% of breaths (0.3-80 breaths) using the automatic manually triggered device (EasyCPR) (P < .0002). Peak inspiratory airway pressure was lower using the automatic manually triggered device (EasyCPR) (10.6 ± 5 vs 15.9 ± 10 cm H2O, P < .001). The ventilation rate fell consistently within the guidelines, in the case of the automatic manually triggered device (EasyCPR) only (10.3 ± 2 vs 17.6 ± 6, P < .001). Significant pulmonary overdistention was observed when using the manual BVM device during the normal and obstructive sequences. The nurses and paramedics considered the ergonomics of the automatic manually triggered device (EasyCPR) to be better than those of the manual device. The use of an automatic manually triggered device may improve ventilation efficiency and decrease the risk of

The identification of knowledge content and function in manual labour.

PubMed

Shalin, Valerie; Verdile, Charles

2003-06-10

Calls for an alternative conceptualization of cognition for applied concerns retain the core commitment of the basic research community to abstract cognition detached from a physical environment. The present paper attempts to break out of the dominant, narrow view of cognition and cognitive domains, with a cognitive analysis of digging ditches for the utility industry. To illustrate knowledge-based cognition in manual labour excerpts are presented from the journal entries of a moderately experienced student working a summer job, organized with a representation that distinguishes between the goals and methods of work. The journal entries illustrate the functions of knowledge for interacting with a physical environment; knowledge enables the selection, execution and monitoring of work methods, the interpretation of perceptual information, the application of task completion criteria and the ability for explanation and generalization. To emphasize the generality of the functions of cognition in ditch digging, comparable functions are indicated in a domain rarely regarded as a form of manual labour: the practice of internal medicine. Discussion of the results includes the implications for cognitive theory as well as practical implications for productivity, training and task analysis.

Facilitating LOS Debriefings: A Training Manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-03-01

This manual is a practical guide to help airline instructors effectively : facilitate debriefings of Line Oriented Simulations (LOS). It is based on a : recently completed study of Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT) debriefings at : several U.S. ai...

Constraint factor graph cut-based active contour method for automated cellular image segmentation in RNAi screening.

PubMed

Chen, C; Li, H; Zhou, X; Wong, S T C

2008-05-01

Image-based, high throughput genome-wide RNA interference (RNAi) experiments are increasingly carried out to facilitate the understanding of gene functions in intricate biological processes. Automated screening of such experiments generates a large number of images with great variations in image quality, which makes manual analysis unreasonably time-consuming. Therefore, effective techniques for automatic image analysis are urgently needed, in which segmentation is one of the most important steps. This paper proposes a fully automatic method for cells segmentation in genome-wide RNAi screening images. The method consists of two steps: nuclei and cytoplasm segmentation. Nuclei are extracted and labelled to initialize cytoplasm segmentation. Since the quality of RNAi image is rather poor, a novel scale-adaptive steerable filter is designed to enhance the image in order to extract long and thin protrusions on the spiky cells. Then, constraint factor GCBAC method and morphological algorithms are combined to be an integrated method to segment tight clustered cells. Compared with the results obtained by using seeded watershed and the ground truth, that is, manual labelling results by experts in RNAi screening data, our method achieves higher accuracy. Compared with active contour methods, our method consumes much less time. The positive results indicate that the proposed method can be applied in automatic image analysis of multi-channel image screening data.

Competency Exams for Drafting-Related Occupations. Student and Instructor Manuals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Harley; Denison, John

This document contains 20 competency-based examinations with student and instructor manuals for drafting-related occupations. For each of the examinations, the student manual contains the following: the competency, the performance objective, directions, the facility to be used, the materials needed, a space to note time started and time finished,…

Ottawa panel evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for therapeutic exercises and manual therapy in the management of osteoarthritis.

PubMed

2005-09-01

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects a large and growing proportion of the population. The purpose of this project was to create guidelines for the use of therapeutic exercises and manual therapy in the management of adult patients (>18 years of age) with a diagnosis of OA. All stages of the disease were included in the analysis, and studies of patients who had recent surgery or other rheumatologic, musculoskeletal, or spinal problems or of subjects without known pathology or impairments were excluded. The Ottawa Methods Group used Cochrane Collaboration methods to find and synthesize evidence from comparative controlled trials and then asked stakeholder groups to nominate representatives to serve on a panel of experts. The Ottawa Panel agreed on criteria for grading the strength of the recommendations and their supporting evidence. Of the 609 potential articles on therapeutic exercises for OA that were identified, 113 were considered potentially relevant, and 26 randomized controlled trials and controlled clinical trials were ultimately used. Sixteen positive recommendations of clinical benefit were developed for therapeutic exercises, especially strengthening exercises and general physical activity, particularly for the management of pain and improvement of functional status. Manual therapy combined with exercises also is recommended in the management of patients with OA. The Ottawa Panel recommends the use of therapeutic exercises alone, or combined with manual therapy, for managing patients with OA. There were a total of 16 positive recommendations: 13 grade A and 3 grade C+. The Ottawa Panel recommends the use of therapeutic exercises because of the strong evidence (grades A, B, and C+) in the literature.

Mission management aircraft operations manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

This manual prescribes the NASA mission management aircraft program and provides policies and criteria for the safe and economical operation, maintenance, and inspection of NASA mission management aircraft. The operation of NASA mission management aircraft is based on the concept that safety has the highest priority. Operations involving unwarranted risks will not be tolerated. NASA mission management aircraft will be designated by the Associate Administrator for Management Systems and Facilities. NASA mission management aircraft are public aircraft as defined by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. Maintenance standards, as a minimum, will meet those required for retention of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness certification. Federal Aviation Regulation Part 91, Subparts A and B, will apply except when requirements of this manual are more restrictive.

The Weatherization Assistant User's Manual (Version 8.9)

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

Gettings, Michael B.; Malhotra, Mini; Ternes, Mark P.

The Weatherization Assistant is a Windows-based energy audit software tool that was developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to help states and their local weatherization agencies implement the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program. The Weatherization Assistant is an umbrella program for two individual energy audits or measure selection programs: the National Energy Audit Tool (NEAT) for site-built single-family homes and the Manufactured Home Energy Audit (MHEA) for mobile homes. The Weatherization Assistant User's Manual documents the operation of the user interface for Version 8.9 of the software. This includes how to install and setup the software,more » navigate through the program, and initiate an energy audit. All of the user interface forms associated with the software and the data fields on these forms are described in detail. The manual is intended to be a training manual for new users of the Weatherization Assistant and as a reference manual for experienced users.« less

Improving visual search in instruction manuals using pictograms.

PubMed

Kovačević, Dorotea; Brozović, Maja; Možina, Klementina

2016-11-01

Instruction manuals provide important messages about the proper use of a product. They should communicate in such a way that they facilitate users' searches for specific information. Despite the increasing research interest in visual search, there is a lack of empirical knowledge concerning the role of pictograms in search performance during the browsing of a manual's pages. This study investigates how the inclusion of pictograms improves the search for the target information. Furthermore, it examines whether this search process is influenced by the visual similarity between the pictograms and the searched for information. On the basis of eye-tracking measurements, as objective indicators of the participants' visual attention, it was found that pictograms can be a useful element of search strategy. Another interesting finding was that boldface highlighting is a more effective method for improving user experience in information seeking, rather than the similarity between the pictorial and adjacent textual information. Implications for designing effective user manuals are discussed. Practitioner Summary: Users often view instruction manuals with the aim of finding specific information. We used eye-tracking technology to examine different manual pages in order to improve the user's visual search for target information. The results indicate that the use of pictograms and bold highlighting of relevant information facilitate the search process.

Adaptive and automatic red blood cell counting method based on microscopic hyperspectral imaging technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xi; Zhou, Mei; Qiu, Song; Sun, Li; Liu, Hongying; Li, Qingli; Wang, Yiting

2017-12-01

Red blood cell counting, as a routine examination, plays an important role in medical diagnoses. Although automated hematology analyzers are widely used, manual microscopic examination by a hematologist or pathologist is still unavoidable, which is time-consuming and error-prone. This paper proposes a full-automatic red blood cell counting method which is based on microscopic hyperspectral imaging of blood smears and combines spatial and spectral information to achieve high precision. The acquired hyperspectral image data of the blood smear in the visible and near-infrared spectral range are firstly preprocessed, and then a quadratic blind linear unmixing algorithm is used to get endmember abundance images. Based on mathematical morphological operation and an adaptive Otsu’s method, a binaryzation process is performed on the abundance images. Finally, the connected component labeling algorithm with magnification-based parameter setting is applied to automatically select the binary images of red blood cell cytoplasm. Experimental results show that the proposed method can perform well and has potential for clinical applications.

A Closer Look at Visual Manuals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Meij, Hans

1996-01-01

Examines the visual manual genre, discussing main forms and functions of step-by-step and guided tour manuals in detail. Examines whether a visual manual helps computer users realize tasks faster and more accurately than a non-visual manual. Finds no effects on accuracy, but speedier task execution by 35% for visual manuals. Concludes there is no…

Product Manuals: A Consumer Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Showers, Linda S.; And Others

1993-01-01

Qualitative analysis of insights from consumer focus groups on product manual usage reveals consumer perceptions and preferences regarding manual and safety message format. Results can be used to improve manual design and content. (JOW)

Student Government Manual: A Practical Guide for Organizing Student Governments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

East Harlem Block Nursery, Inc., New York, NY.

This manual is written for adults working in the schools to organize student governments. It is based on the experience of the Youth Action Program (YAP) of East Harlem (New York City) in organizing and developing student leadership. The manual is divided into 10 sections. "Student Government: Leadership and Purposes" explores the…

Interpreting Biodiversity: A Manual for Environmental Educators in the Tropics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domroese, Margret C.; Sterling, Eleanor J.

This manual was developed for educators and natural resource managers who are establishing interpretive programs where biodiversity is the richest and most threatened. The manual contains five units which are based on the experiences of staff at the American Museum of Natural History and represent the key steps of designing an interpretation…

Automated and Semiautomated Segmentation of Rectal Tumor Volumes on Diffusion-Weighted MRI: Can It Replace Manual Volumetry?

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

Heeswijk, Miriam M. van; Department of Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht; Lambregts, Doenja M.J., E-mail: d.lambregts@nki.nl

Purpose: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) tumor volumetry is promising for rectal cancer response assessment, but an important drawback is that manual per-slice tumor delineation can be highly time consuming. This study investigated whether manual DWI-volumetry can be reproduced using a (semi)automated segmentation approach. Methods and Materials: Seventy-nine patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that included DWI (highest b value [b1000 or b1100]) before and after chemoradiation therapy (CRT). Tumor volumes were assessed on b1000 (or b1100) DWI before and after CRT by means of (1) automated segmentation (by 2 inexperienced readers), (2) semiautomated segmentation (manual adjustment of the volumes obtained bymore » method 1 by 2 radiologists), and (3) manual segmentation (by 2 radiologists); this last assessment served as the reference standard. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Dice similarity indices (DSI) were calculated to evaluate agreement between different methods and observers. Measurement times (from a radiologist's perspective) were recorded for each method. Results: Tumor volumes were not significantly different among the 3 methods, either before or after CRT (P=.08 to .92). ICCs compared to manual segmentation were 0.80 to 0.91 and 0.53 to 0.66 before and after CRT, respectively, for the automated segmentation and 0.91 to 0.97 and 0.61 to 0.75, respectively, for the semiautomated method. Interobserver agreement (ICC) pre and post CRT was 0.82 and 0.59 for automated segmentation, 0.91 and 0.73 for semiautomated segmentation, and 0.91 and 0.75 for manual segmentation, respectively. Mean DSI between the automated and semiautomated method were 0.83 and 0.58 pre-CRT and post-CRT, respectively; DSI between the automated and manual segmentation were 0.68 and 0.42 and 0.70 and 0.41 between the semiautomated and manual segmentation, respectively. Median measurement time for the radiologists was 0 seconds (pre- and post-CRT) for the

Validating New Software for Semiautomated Liver Volumetry--Better than Manual Measurement?

PubMed

Noschinski, L E; Maiwald, B; Voigt, P; Wiltberger, G; Kahn, T; Stumpp, P

2015-09-01

This prospective study compared a manual program for liver volumetry with semiautomated software. The hypothesis was that the semiautomated software would be faster, more accurate and less dependent on the evaluator's experience. Ten patients undergoing hemihepatectomy were included in this IRB approved study after written informed consent. All patients underwent a preoperative abdominal 3-phase CT scan, which was used for whole liver volumetry and volume prediction for the liver part to be resected. Two different types of software were used: 1) manual method: borders of the liver had to be defined per slice by the user; 2) semiautomated software: automatic identification of liver volume with manual assistance for definition of Couinaud segments. Measurements were done by six observers with different experience levels. Water displacement volumetry immediately after partial liver resection served as the gold standard. The resected part was examined with a CT scan after displacement volumetry. Volumetry of the resected liver scan showed excellent correlation to water displacement volumetry (manual: ρ = 0.997; semiautomated software: ρ = 0.995). The difference between the predicted volume and the real volume was significantly smaller with the semiautomated software than with the manual method (33% vs. 57%, p = 0.002). The semiautomated software was almost four times faster for volumetry of the whole liver (manual: 6:59 ± 3:04 min; semiautomated: 1:47 ± 1:11 min). Both methods for liver volumetry give an estimated liver volume close to the real one. The tested semiautomated software is faster, more accurate in predicting the volume of the resected liver part, gives more reproducible results and is less dependent on the user's experience. Both tested types of software allow exact volumetry of resected liver parts. Preoperative prediction can be performed more accurately with the semiautomated software. The semiautomated software is nearly four times faster than the

Manual versus automated coding of free-text self-reported medication data in the 45 and Up Study: a validation study.

PubMed

Gnjidic, Danijela; Pearson, Sallie-Anne; Hilmer, Sarah N; Basilakis, Jim; Schaffer, Andrea L; Blyth, Fiona M; Banks, Emily

2015-03-30

Increasingly, automated methods are being used to code free-text medication data, but evidence on the validity of these methods is limited. To examine the accuracy of automated coding of previously keyed in free-text medication data compared with manual coding of original handwritten free-text responses (the 'gold standard'). A random sample of 500 participants (475 with and 25 without medication data in the free-text box) enrolled in the 45 and Up Study was selected. Manual coding involved medication experts keying in free-text responses and coding using Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) codes (i.e. chemical substance 7-digit level; chemical subgroup 5-digit; pharmacological subgroup 4-digit; therapeutic subgroup 3-digit). Using keyed-in free-text responses entered by non-experts, the automated approach coded entries using the Australian Medicines Terminology database and assigned corresponding ATC codes. Based on manual coding, 1377 free-text entries were recorded and, of these, 1282 medications were coded to ATCs manually. The sensitivity of automated coding compared with manual coding was 79% (n = 1014) for entries coded at the exact ATC level, and 81.6% (n = 1046), 83.0% (n = 1064) and 83.8% (n = 1074) at the 5, 4 and 3-digit ATC levels, respectively. The sensitivity of automated coding for blank responses was 100% compared with manual coding. Sensitivity of automated coding was highest for prescription medications and lowest for vitamins and supplements, compared with the manual approach. Positive predictive values for automated coding were above 95% for 34 of the 38 individual prescription medications examined. Automated coding for free-text prescription medication data shows very high to excellent sensitivity and positive predictive values, indicating that automated methods can potentially be useful for large-scale, medication-related research.

Nurse Assistant in Acute, Home Health and Long-Term Care Settings. Instructor Manual [and] Student Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winberg, Pat

This document consists of an instructor's manual and student manual for a nurse assistant curriculum. The instructor's manual provides answers to activity sheets and unit evaluations along with individual unit overviews. Suggested teaching strategies and audiovisual supplements are included for each lesson. The student manual contains eight units:…

Is a structured, manualized, evidence-based treatment protocol culturally competent and equivalently effective among American Indian parents in child welfare?

PubMed

Chaffin, Mark; Bard, David; Bigfoot, Dolores Subia; Maher, Erin J

2012-08-01

In a statewide implementation, the manualized SafeCare home-based model was effective in reducing child welfare recidivism and producing high client satisfaction. Concerns about the effectiveness and acceptability of structured, manualized models with American Indians have been raised in the literature, but have rarely been directly tested. This study tests recidivism reduction equivalency and acceptability among American Indian parents. A subpopulation of 354 American Indian parents was drawn from a larger trial that compared services with versus without modules of the SafeCare model. Outcomes were 6-year recidivism, pre/post/follow-up measures of depression and child abuse potential, and posttreatment consumer ratings of working alliance, service satisfaction, and cultural competency. Recidivism reduction among American Indian parents was found to be equivalent for cases falling within customary SafeCare inclusion criteria. When extended to cases outside customary inclusion boundaries, there was no apparent recidivism advantage or disadvantage. Contrary to concerns, SafeCare had higher consumer ratings of cultural competency, working alliance, service quality, and service benefit. Findings support using SafeCare with American Indians parents who meet customary SafeCare inclusion criteria. Findings do not support concerns in the literature that a manualized, structured, evidence-based model might be less effective or culturally unacceptable for American Indians.

Is a Structured, Manualized, Evidence-Based Treatment Protocol Culturally Competent and Equivalently Effective Among American Indian Parents in Child Welfare?

PubMed Central

Chaffin, Mark; Bard, David; Bigfoot, Dolores Subia; Maher, Erin J.

2015-01-01

In a statewide implementation, the manualized SafeCare home–based model was effective in reducing child welfare recidivism and producing high client satisfaction. Concerns about the effectiveness and acceptability of structured, manualized models with American Indians have been raised in the literature, but have rarely been directly tested. This study tests recidivism reduction equivalency and acceptability among American Indian parents. A subpopulation of 354 American Indian parents was drawn from a larger trial that compared services with versus without modules of the SafeCare model. Outcomes were 6-year recidivism, pre/post/follow-up measures of depression and child abuse potential, and posttreatment consumer ratings of working alliance, service satisfaction, and cultural competency. Recidivism reduction among American Indian parents was found to be equivalent for cases falling within customary SafeCare inclusion criteria. When extended to cases outside customary inclusion boundaries, there was no apparent recidivism advantage or disadvantage. Contrary to concerns, SafeCare had higher consumer ratings of cultural competency, working alliance, service quality, and service benefit. Findings support using SafeCare with American Indians parents who meet customary SafeCare inclusion criteria. Findings do not support concerns in the literature that a manualized, structured, evidence-based model might be less effective or culturally unacceptable for American Indians. PMID:22927674

Radiological control manual. Revision 1

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

Kloepping, R.

1996-05-01

This Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Radiological Control Manual (LBNL RCM) has been prepared to provide guidance for site-specific additions, supplements and interpretation of the DOE Radiological Control Manual. The guidance provided in this manual is one methodology to implement the requirements given in Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 835 (10 CFR 835) and the DOE Radiological Control Manual. Information given in this manual is also intended to provide demonstration of compliance to specific requirements in 10 CFR 835. The LBNL RCM (Publication 3113) and LBNL Health and Safety Manual Publication-3000 form the technical basis for the LBNL RPPmore » and will be revised as necessary to ensure that current requirements from Rules and Orders are represented. The LBNL RCM will form the standard for excellence in the implementation of the LBNL RPP.« less

Operational manual for two-dimensional transonic code TSFOIL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stahara, S. S.

1978-01-01

This code solves the two-dimensional, transonic, small-disturbance equations for flow past lifting airfoils in both free air and various wind-tunnel environments by using a variant of the finite-difference method. A description of the theoretical and numerical basis of the code is provided, together with complete operating instructions and sample cases for the general user. In addition, a programmer's manual is also presented to assist the user interested in modifying the code. Included in the programmer's manual are a dictionary of subroutine variables in common and a detailed description of each subroutine.

English in the Work Place for School Custodians. Manual and Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cruz, Jane; And Others

This manual is intended to assist in the development of programs in vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) for limited-English-speaking individuals working as school custodians. The manual describes steps in program development, offers methods for needs assessment, specifies instructional objectives, discusses techniques for lesson…

Automated and Semiautomated Segmentation of Rectal Tumor Volumes on Diffusion-Weighted MRI: Can It Replace Manual Volumetry?

PubMed

van Heeswijk, Miriam M; Lambregts, Doenja M J; van Griethuysen, Joost J M; Oei, Stanley; Rao, Sheng-Xiang; de Graaff, Carla A M; Vliegen, Roy F A; Beets, Geerard L; Papanikolaou, Nikos; Beets-Tan, Regina G H

2016-03-15

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) tumor volumetry is promising for rectal cancer response assessment, but an important drawback is that manual per-slice tumor delineation can be highly time consuming. This study investigated whether manual DWI-volumetry can be reproduced using a (semi)automated segmentation approach. Seventy-nine patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that included DWI (highest b value [b1000 or b1100]) before and after chemoradiation therapy (CRT). Tumor volumes were assessed on b1000 (or b1100) DWI before and after CRT by means of (1) automated segmentation (by 2 inexperienced readers), (2) semiautomated segmentation (manual adjustment of the volumes obtained by method 1 by 2 radiologists), and (3) manual segmentation (by 2 radiologists); this last assessment served as the reference standard. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Dice similarity indices (DSI) were calculated to evaluate agreement between different methods and observers. Measurement times (from a radiologist's perspective) were recorded for each method. Tumor volumes were not significantly different among the 3 methods, either before or after CRT (P=.08 to .92). ICCs compared to manual segmentation were 0.80 to 0.91 and 0.53 to 0.66 before and after CRT, respectively, for the automated segmentation and 0.91 to 0.97 and 0.61 to 0.75, respectively, for the semiautomated method. Interobserver agreement (ICC) pre and post CRT was 0.82 and 0.59 for automated segmentation, 0.91 and 0.73 for semiautomated segmentation, and 0.91 and 0.75 for manual segmentation, respectively. Mean DSI between the automated and semiautomated method were 0.83 and 0.58 pre-CRT and post-CRT, respectively; DSI between the automated and manual segmentation were 0.68 and 0.42 and 0.70 and 0.41 between the semiautomated and manual segmentation, respectively. Median measurement time for the radiologists was 0 seconds (pre- and post-CRT) for the automated method, 41 to 69 seconds (pre-CRT) and

Validation of newly developed and redesigned key indicator methods for assessment of different working conditions with physical workloads based on mixed-methods design: a study protocol

PubMed Central

Liebers, Falk; Brandstädt, Felix; Schust, Marianne; Serafin, Patrick; Schäfer, Andreas; Gebhardt, Hansjürgen; Hartmann, Bernd; Steinberg, Ulf

2017-01-01

Introduction The impact of work-related musculoskeletal disorders is considerable. The assessment of work tasks with physical workloads is crucial to estimate the work-related health risks of exposed employees. Three key indicator methods are available for risk assessment regarding manual lifting, holding and carrying of loads; manual pulling and pushing of loads; and manual handling operations. Three further KIMs for risk assessment regarding whole-body forces, awkward body postures and body movement have been developed de novo. In addition, the development of a newly drafted combined method for mixed exposures is planned. All methods will be validated regarding face validity, reliability, convergent validity, criterion validity and further aspects of utility under practical conditions. Methods and analysis As part of the joint project MEGAPHYS (multilevel risk assessment of physical workloads), a mixed-methods study is being designed for the validation of KIMs and conducted in companies of different sizes and branches in Germany. Workplaces are documented and analysed by observations, applying KIMs, interviews and assessment of environmental conditions. Furthermore, a survey among the employees at the respective workplaces takes place with standardised questionnaires, interviews and physical examinations. It is intended to include 1200 employees at 120 different workplaces. For analysis of the quality criteria, recommendations of the COSMIN checklist (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) will be taken into account. Ethics and dissemination The study was planned and conducted in accordance with the German Medical Professional Code and the Declaration of Helsinki as well as the German Federal Data Protection Act. The design of the study was approved by ethics committees. We intend to publish the validated KIMs in 2018. Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at international meetings and disseminated

In-Home Respite Care Program Development. Background. Coordinator's Manual. Training Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parham, J. D.; And Others

This volume consists of a background discussion, coordinator's manual, and training manual dealing with developing programs for the in-home respite care (IHRC) of the developmentally disabled. Addressed in the background information unit are the nature of developmental disabilities; program variables, planning, and funding; and practical…

Healthy Young Children: A Manual for Programs, 4th Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aronson, Susan S., Ed.

Noting that the health component of child care should be planned to respond to the developmental patterns of young children, this manual was developed as a reference and resource guide for program directors and teachers of young children and can be used as a textbook for adult learners. The manual, based on national standards and reviewed by…

Aviation: Boatswain's Mate E 1 and C; Rate Training Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naval Education and Training Command, Pensacola, FL.

The rate training manual has been prepared for enlisted personnel of the Navy and Naval Reserve who are studying for advancement in the Aviation Boatswain's Mate E rating. It is primarily based on the professional requirements or qualifications for ABE 1 and ABE C, as contained in the Manual of Qualifications for Advancement NavPers 18068…

Attrition Cost Model Instruction Manual

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yanagiura, Takeshi

2012-01-01

This instruction manual explains in detail how to use the Attrition Cost Model program, which estimates the cost of student attrition for a state's higher education system. Programmed with SAS, this model allows users to instantly calculate the cost of attrition and the cumulative attrition rate that is based on the most recent retention and…

Identification of spinal tissues loaded by manual therapy: a robot-based serial dissection technique applied in porcine motion segments.

PubMed

Kawchuk, Gregory N; Carrasco, Alejandro; Beecher, Grayson; Goertzen, Darrell; Prasad, Narasimha

2010-10-15

Serial dissection of porcine motion segments during robotic control of vertebral kinematics. To identify which spinal tissues are loaded in response to manual therapy (manipulation and mobilization) and to what magnitude. Various theoretical constructs attempt to explain how manual therapies load specific spinal tissues. By using a parallel robot to control vertebral kinematics during serial dissection, it is possible to quantify the loads experienced by discrete spinal tissues undergoing common therapeutic procedures such as manual therapy. In 9 porcine cadavers, manual therapy was provided to L3 and the kinematic response of L3-L4 recorded. The exact kinematic trajectory experienced by L3-L4 in response to manual therapy was then replayed to the isolated segment by a parallel robot equipped with a 6-axis load cell. Discrete spinal tissues were then removed and the kinematic pathway replayed. The change in forces and moments following tissue removal were considered to be those applied to that specific tissue by manual therapy. In this study, both manual therapies affected spinal tissues. The intervertebral disc experienced the greatest forces and moments arising from both manipulation and mobilization. This study is the first to identify which tissues are loaded in response to manual therapy. The observation that manual therapy loads some tissues to a much greater magnitude than others offers a possible explanation for its modest treatment effect; only conditions involving these tissues may be influenced by manual therapy. Future studies are planned to determine if manual therapy can be altered to target (or avoid) specific spinal tissues.

14 CFR 121.135 - Manual contents.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Manual contents. 121.135 Section 121.135 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIR CARRIERS..., FLAG, AND SUPPLEMENTAL OPERATIONS Manual Requirements § 121.135 Manual contents. (a) Each manual...

EMG normalization method based on grade 3 of manual muscle testing: Within- and between-day reliability of normalization tasks and application to gait analysis.

PubMed

Tabard-Fougère, Anne; Rose-Dulcina, Kevin; Pittet, Vincent; Dayer, Romain; Vuillerme, Nicolas; Armand, Stéphane

2018-02-01

Electromyography (EMG) is an important parameter in Clinical Gait Analysis (CGA), and is generally interpreted with timing of activation. EMG amplitude comparisons between individuals, muscles or days need normalization. There is no consensus on existing methods. The gold standard, maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), is not adapted to pathological populations because patients are often unable to perform an MVIC. The normalization method inspired by the isometric grade 3 of manual muscle testing (isoMMT3), which is the ability of a muscle to maintain a position against gravity, could be an interesting alternative. The aim of this study was to evaluate the within- and between-day reliability of the isoMMT3 EMG normalizing method during gait compared with the conventional MVIC method. Lower limb muscles EMG (gluteus medius, rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, semitendinosus) were recorded bilaterally in nine healthy participants (five males, aged 29.7±6.2years, BMI 22.7±3.3kgm -2 ) giving a total of 18 independent legs. Three repeated measurements of the isoMMT3 and MVIC exercises were performed with an EMG recording. EMG amplitude of the muscles during gait was normalized by these two methods. This protocol was repeated one week later. Within- and between-day reliability of normalization tasks were similar for isoMMT3 and MVIC methods. Within- and between-day reliability of gait EMG normalized by isoMMT3 was higher than with MVIC normalization. These results indicate that EMG normalization using isoMMT3 is a reliable method with no special equipment needed and will support CGA interpretation. The next step will be to evaluate this method in pathological populations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A comparison of the clinical effectiveness of spinal orthoses manufactured using the conventional manual method and CAD/CAM method in the management of AIS.

PubMed

Wong, M S; Cheng, C Y; Ng, B K W; Lam, T P; Chiu, S W

2006-01-01

Spinal orthoses are commonly prescribed to patients with moderate AIS for prevention of further deterioration. In a conventional manufacturing method, plaster bandages are used to get patient's body contour and plaster cast is rectified manually. With the introduction of CAD/CAM system, a series of automated processes from body scanning to digital rectification and milling of positive model can be performed in a fast and accurate fashion. This project is to study the impact of CAD/CAM method as compared with the conventional method. In assessing the 147 recruited subjects fitted with spinal orthoses (43 subjects using conventional method and 104 subjects using CAD/CAM method), significant decreases (p<0.05) were found in the Cobb angles when comparing the pre-intervention data with that of the first year of intervention. Regarding the learning curve, Orthotists are getting more competent with the CAD/CAM technique in four years time. The mean productivity of the CAD/CAM method is 2.75 times higher than that of the conventional method. The CAD/CAM method could achieve similar clinical outcomes and with its high efficiency, could be considered as substitute for conventional methods in fabricating spinal orthoses for patients with AIS.

THERM 5 / WINDOW 5 NFRC simulation manual

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

Mitchell, Robin; Kohler, Christian; Arasteh, Dariush

This document, the ''THERM 5/WINDOW 5 NFRC Simulation Manual', discusses how to use the THERM and WINDOW programs to model products for NFRC certified simulations and assumes that the user is already familiar with those programs. In order to learn how to use these programs, it is necessary to become familiar with the material in both the ''THERM User's Manual'' and the ''WINDOW User's Manual''. In general, this manual references the User's Manuals rather than repeating the information. If there is a conflict between either of the User Manual and this ''THERM 5/''WINDOW 5 NFRC Simulation Manual'', the ''THERM 5/WINDOWmore » 5 NFRC Simulation Manual'' takes precedence. In addition, if this manual is in conflict with any NFRC standards, the standards take precedence. For example, if samples in this manual do not follow the current taping and testing NFRC standards, the standards not the samples in this manual, take precedence.« less

Super Summer Safari Manual: 1989 Summer Library Program. Bulletin No. 9240.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roeber, Jane A., Ed.

Based on the theme, "Super Summer Safari: Make Books Your Big Game," this manual describes library activities intended to stimulate family explorations of local and regional natural environments, of urban parks, and of agricultural settings. The manual is divided into 6 sections: (1) "Planning and Promoting Programs"; (2)…

Competency Exams for Food Production-Related Occupations. Student and Instructor Manuals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Southworth, Julie; Kammerer, William R.

This document contains 20 competency-based examinations with student and instructor manuals for food production-related occupations. For each of the examinations, the student manual contains the following: the competency, the performance objective, directions, the materials and equipment needed, a space to note time started and time finished, and…

Optimized manual and automated recovery of amplifiable DNA from tissues preserved in buffered formalin and alcohol-based fixative.

PubMed

Duval, Kristin; Aubin, Rémy A; Elliott, James; Gorn-Hondermann, Ivan; Birnboim, H Chaim; Jonker, Derek; Fourney, Ron M; Frégeau, Chantal J

2010-02-01

Archival tissue preserved in fixative constitutes an invaluable resource for histological examination, molecular diagnostic procedures and for DNA typing analysis in forensic investigations. However, available material is often limited in size and quantity. Moreover, recovery of DNA is often severely compromised by the presence of covalent DNA-protein cross-links generated by formalin, the most prevalent fixative. We describe the evaluation of buffer formulations, sample lysis regimens and DNA recovery strategies and define optimized manual and automated procedures for the extraction of high quality DNA suitable for molecular diagnostics and genotyping. Using a 3-step enzymatic digestion protocol carried out in the absence of dithiothreitol, we demonstrate that DNA can be efficiently released from cells or tissues preserved in buffered formalin or the alcohol-based fixative GenoFix. This preparatory procedure can then be integrated to traditional phenol/chloroform extraction, a modified manual DNA IQ or automated DNA IQ/Te-Shake-based extraction in order to recover DNA for downstream applications. Quantitative recovery of high quality DNA was best achieved from specimens archived in GenoFix and extracted using magnetic bead capture.

Phantom Study Investigating the Accuracy of Manual and Automatic Image Fusion with the GE Logiq E9: Implications for use in Percutaneous Liver Interventions.

PubMed

Burgmans, Mark Christiaan; den Harder, J Michiel; Meershoek, Philippa; van den Berg, Nynke S; Chan, Shaun Xavier Ju Min; van Leeuwen, Fijs W B; van Erkel, Arian R

2017-06-01

To determine the accuracy of automatic and manual co-registration methods for image fusion of three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) with real-time ultrasonography (US) for image-guided liver interventions. CT images of a skills phantom with liver lesions were acquired and co-registered to US using GE Logiq E9 navigation software. Manual co-registration was compared to automatic and semiautomatic co-registration using an active tracker. Also, manual point registration was compared to plane registration with and without an additional translation point. Finally, comparison was made between manual and automatic selection of reference points. In each experiment, accuracy of the co-registration method was determined by measurement of the residual displacement in phantom lesions by two independent observers. Mean displacements for a superficial and deep liver lesion were comparable after manual and semiautomatic co-registration: 2.4 and 2.0 mm versus 2.0 and 2.5 mm, respectively. Both methods were significantly better than automatic co-registration: 5.9 and 5.2 mm residual displacement (p < 0.001; p < 0.01). The accuracy of manual point registration was higher than that of plane registration, the latter being heavily dependent on accurate matching of axial CT and US images by the operator. Automatic reference point selection resulted in significantly lower registration accuracy compared to manual point selection despite lower root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) values. The accuracy of manual and semiautomatic co-registration is better than that of automatic co-registration. For manual co-registration using a plane, choosing the correct plane orientation is an essential first step in the registration process. Automatic reference point selection based on RMSD values is error-prone.

Chemically assisted somatic cell nuclear transfer without micromanipulator in the goat: effects of demecolcine, cytochalasin-B, and MG-132 on the efficiency of a manual method of oocyte enucleation using a pulled Pasteur pipette.

PubMed

Hosseini, S M; Hajian, M; Forouzanfar, M; Ostadhosseini, S; Moulavi, F; Ghanaei, H R; Gourbai, H; Shahverdi, A H; Vosough, A D; Nasr-Esfahani, M H

2015-07-01

The present study aimed to facilitate widespread application of a previously described manual method of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) by investigating the effects of demecolcine (a microtubule-depolymerizing chemical), cytochalasin-B (a microfilament-depolymerizing chemical: 2.5μg/ml for 15min) and MG-132 (a proteasome inhibitor chemical) on the (i) incidence of cytoplasmic protrusion of MII chromosomes, (ii) improvement of manual oocyte enucleation, and (iii) in vitro and in vivo developmental competence of SCNT embryos in the goat. Following in vitro maturation, around 65% of goat oocytes contained a characteristic cytoplasmic protrusion of MII-chromosomes. Treatment with demecolcine (0.4μg/ml for 30min) significantly increased this rate to 92.2±4.5%. Treatment with MG-132 (2μM for 30min) could not improve this rate when used alone (61.4±11.5%), but when combined with demecolcine (86.4±8.1%). Treatment with cytochalasin-B completely suppressed this rate whenever used, either alone (7.7±5.1%) or in combination with demecolcine (3.9±1.3%). In a direct comparison, there was no significant difference in quantity and quality of embryos propagated by the manual vs. micromanipulation-based methods of SCNT (cleavage: 85.3±4.5 vs. 89.5±8.9%, blastocyst: 19.5±4.3 vs. 24.3±4.4%, grade 1 and 2 blastocyst: 33.8±7.1 vs. 29.5±6.3%, total cell count: 125±11.1 vs. 122±10.5, respectively). Furthermore, development to live kids at term was not significant between the two SCNT methods. From both technical and economical points of view, the overall in vitro and in vivo efficiency of this manual method of SCNT proved it a simple, fast and efficient alternative for large scale production of cloned goats. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Intensive, Manual-based Intervention for Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Results From a Randomized Pilot Trial.

PubMed

Sharp, William G; Stubbs, Kathryn H; Adams, Heyward; Wells, Brian M; Lesack, Roseanne S; Criado, Kristen K; Simon, Elizabeth L; McCracken, Courtney E; West, Leanne L; Scahill, Larry D

2016-04-01

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an intensive, manual-based behavioral feeding intervention for children with chronic food refusal and dependence on enteral feeding or oral nutritional formula supplementation. Twenty children ages 13 to 72 months (12 boys and 8 girls) meeting criteria for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder were randomly assigned to receive treatment for 5 consecutive days in a day treatment program (n = 10) or waitlist (n = 10). A team of trained therapists implemented treatment under the guidance of a multidisciplinary team. Parent training was delivered to support generalization of treatment gains. We tracked parental attrition and attendance, as well as therapist fidelity. Primary outcome measures were bite acceptance, disruptions, and grams consumed during meals. Caregivers reported high satisfaction and acceptability of the intervention. Three participants (1 intervention; 2 waitlist) dropped out of the study before endpoint. Of the expected 140 treatment meals for the intervention group, 137 (97.8%) were actually attended. The intervention group showed significantly greater improvements (P < 0.05) on all primary outcome measures (d = 1.03-2.11) compared with waitlist (d = -1.13-0.24). A 1-month follow-up suggested stability in treatment gains. Results from this pilot study corroborate evidence from single-subject and nonrandomized studies on the positive effects of behavioral intervention. Findings support the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of this manual-based approach to intervention. These results warrant a large-scale randomized trial to test the safety and efficacy of this intervention.

One small step for manuals: Computer-assisted training in twelve-step facilitation.

PubMed

Sholomskas, Diane E; Carroll, Kathleen M

2006-11-01

The burgeoning number of empirically validated therapies has not been met with systematic evaluation of practical, inexpensive means of teaching large numbers of clinicians to use these treatments effectively. An interactive, computer-assisted training program that sought to impart skills associated with the Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity) Twelve-Step Facilitation (TSF) manual was developed to address this need. Twenty-five community-based substance use-treatment clinicians were randomized to one of two training conditions: (1) access to the computer- assisted training program plus the TSF manual or (2) access to the manual only. The primary outcome measure was change from preto posttraining in the clinicians' ability to demonstrate key TSF skills. The data suggested that the clinicians' ability to implement TSF, as assessed by independent ratings of adherence and skill for the key TSF interventions, was significantly higher after training for those who had access to the computerized training condition than those who were assigned to the manual-only condition. Those assigned to the computer-assisted training condition also demonstrated greater gains in a knowledge test assessing familiarity with concepts presented in the TSF manual. Computer-based training may be a feasible and effective means of training larger numbers of clinicians in empirically supported, manual-guided therapies.

Applicator Training Manual for: Forest Pest Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Jim

Described in this manual is the use of insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides in forestry. Both diseases and insects found in hardwoods and conifers are covered. Detailed information is given on methods of herbicide application. Finally, five important environmental considerations are given. (BB)

Worker productivity and herbicide usage for pine release with manual application methods

Treesearch

James H. Miller; G.R. Glover

1993-01-01

Abstract. Productivity, herbicide usage, and costs of manually-applied pine release treatments were examined with linear regression analysis and compared. Data came from a replicated study in a 3-year-old loblolly pine plantation in Alabama’s Piedmont. Brush sawing had the highest labor costs but lowest total treatment costs. While of the...

A computer program to obtain time-correlated gust loads for nonlinear aircraft using the matched-filter-based method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, Robert C.; Pototzky, Anthony S.; Perry, Boyd, III

1994-01-01

NASA Langley Research Center has, for several years, conducted research in the area of time-correlated gust loads for linear and nonlinear aircraft. The results of this work led NASA to recommend that the Matched-Filter-Based One-Dimensional Search Method be used for gust load analyses of nonlinear aircraft. This manual describes this method, describes a FORTRAN code which performs this method, and presents example calculations for a sample nonlinear aircraft model. The name of the code is MFD1DS (Matched-Filter-Based One-Dimensional Search). The program source code, the example aircraft equations of motion, a sample input file, and a sample program output are all listed in the appendices.

Manual Therapy: The Historical, Current, and Future Role in the Treatment of Pain

PubMed Central

Smith, A. Russell

2007-01-01

Manual therapy has been an approach in the management of patients with various disorders dating back to ancient times and continues to play a significant role in current health care. The future role of manual therapy in health care is an important area of research. This paper reviews the history of manual therapy, examines the current literature related to the use of manual techniques (including manipulation, massage, and nerve manipulation), and discusses future research topics. The literature related to manual therapy has historically been anecdotal and theoretical, and current research tends to have a generic approach with broad definitions of manual therapy and inconsistencies in the classification of specific disorders. Systematic reviews of various types of manual therapy have differed on their conclusions regarding the effectiveness of this treatment modality. The current demand in health care for evidence-based practice necessitates a movement towards more specificity in the research of the effectiveness of manual therapy, with emphasis on specific patient signs and symptoms and specific manual techniques that result in effective care. PMID:17334604

Industrial labor relations manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The NASA Industrial Labor Relations Manual provides internal guidelines and procedures to assist NASA Field Installations in dealing with contractor labor management disputes, Service Contract Act variance hearings, and to provide access of Labor Union Representatives to NASA for the purpose of maintaining schedules and goals in connection with vital NASA programs. This manual will be revised by page changes as revisions become necessary. Initial distribution of this manual has been made to NASA Headquarters and Field Installations.

Biosafety Manual

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

King, Bruce W.

2010-05-18

Work with or potential exposure to biological materials in the course of performing research or other work activities at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) must be conducted in a safe, ethical, environmentally sound, and compliant manner. Work must be conducted in accordance with established biosafety standards, the principles and functions of Integrated Safety Management (ISM), this Biosafety Manual, Chapter 26 (Biosafety) of the Health and Safety Manual (PUB-3000), and applicable standards and LBNL policies. The purpose of the Biosafety Program is to protect workers, the public, agriculture, and the environment from exposure to biological agents or materials that may causemore » disease or other detrimental effects in humans, animals, or plants. This manual provides workers; line management; Environment, Health, and Safety (EH&S) Division staff; Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) members; and others with a comprehensive overview of biosafety principles, requirements from biosafety standards, and measures needed to control biological risks in work activities and facilities at LBNL.« less

49 CFR 383.131 - Test manuals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... knowledge and skills test examiners. To be pre-approved by FMCSA, the examiner information manual must be... 49 Transportation 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Test manuals. 383.131 Section 383.131... STANDARDS; REQUIREMENTS AND PENALTIES Tests § 383.131 Test manuals. (a) Driver information manual. (1) A...

49 CFR 383.131 - Test manuals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... knowledge and skills test examiners. To be pre-approved by FMCSA, the examiner information manual must be... 49 Transportation 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Test manuals. 383.131 Section 383.131... STANDARDS; REQUIREMENTS AND PENALTIES Tests § 383.131 Test manuals. (a) Driver information manual. (1) A...

49 CFR 383.131 - Test manuals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... knowledge and skills test examiners. To be pre-approved by FMCSA, the examiner information manual must be... 49 Transportation 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Test manuals. 383.131 Section 383.131... STANDARDS; REQUIREMENTS AND PENALTIES Tests § 383.131 Test manuals. (a) Driver information manual. (1) A...

Expressive Vocabulary Acquisition in Children with Intellectual Disability: Speech or Manual Signs?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandereet, Joke; Maes, Bea; Lembrechts, Dirk; Zink, Inge

2011-01-01

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the degree to which children with intellectual disability (ID) depend on manual signs during their expressive vocabulary acquisition, in relation to child and social-environmental characteristics. Method: Expressive vocabulary acquisition in speech and manual signs was monitored over a 2-year period…

Tennessee environmental procedures manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-04-16

The Tennessee Environmental Procedures Manual (TEPM or manual) provides guidance for the preparation of environmental analysis and documentation for federally funded and state-funded transportation projects. /Abstract from report, p. I-1/

Wisconsin Recertification Manual for Public Librarians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Robert; And Others

Designed to assist public librarians certified after May 1, 1979, this manual explains Wisconsin recertification requirements based on continuing education. It provides continuing education guidelines, a flow chart of the recertification process, an individual learning activity form, an annual report form, a conversion chart for assignment of…

MAGIC Computer Simulation. Volume 2: Analyst Manual, Part 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1971-05-01

A review of the subject Magic Computer Simulation User and Analyst Manuals has been conducted based upon a request received from the US Army...1971 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE MAGIC Computer Simulation Analyst Manual Part 1 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6...14. ABSTRACT The MAGIC computer simulation generates target description data consisting of item-by-item listings of the target’s components and air

USEPA MANUAL OF METHODS FOR VIROLOGY | Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This chapter describes procedures for the detection of coliphases in water matrices. These procedures are based on those presented in the Supplement to the 20th Edition of Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Eastewater and EPA Methods 1601 and 1602. Two quantitative procedures and one qualitative, presence-absence procedures are presented. The procedures can be used, without supplementary methods, to assay small volumes of water (10 mL to 1L). For larger volumes (>100L), large-scale concentration methods such as described in Chapter 14 may be incorporated into the assay scheme. However, as some concentration procedures may result in appreciable loss or inactivation of coliphage, it is recommended that the suitability of any large volume concentration method be evaluated in measured recovery trials before implementation. Develop sensitive techniques to detect and identify emerging human waterborne pathogenic viruses and viruses on the CCL.Determine effectiveness of viral indicators to measure microbial quality in water matrices.Support activities: (a) culture and distribution of mammalian cells for Agency and scientific community research needs, (b) provide operator expertise for research requiring confocal and electron microscopy, (c) glassware cleaning, sterilization and biological waste disposal for the Cincinnati EPA facility, (d) operation of infectious pathogenic suite, (e) maintenance of walk-in constant temperature rooms and (f) provid

Systematic review of efficacy for manual lymphatic drainage techniques in sports medicine and rehabilitation: an evidence-based practice approach.

PubMed

Vairo, Giampietro L; Miller, Sayers John; McBrier, Nicole M; Buckley, William E

2009-01-01

Manual therapists question integrating manual lymphatic drainage techniques (MLDTs) into conventional treatments for athletic injuries due to the scarcity of literature concerning musculoskeletal applications and established orthopaedic clinical practice guidelines. The purpose of this systematic review is to provide manual therapy clinicians with pertinent information regarding progression of MLDTs as well as to critique the evidence for efficacy of this method in sports medicine. We surveyed English-language publications from 1998 to 2008 by searching PubMed, PEDro, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and SPORTDiscus databases using the terms lymphatic system, lymph drainage, lymphatic therapy, manual lymph drainage, and lymphatic pump techniques. We selected articles investigating the effects of MLDTs on orthopaedic and athletic injury outcomes. Nine articles met inclusion criteria, of which 3 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We evaluated the 3 RCTs using a validity score (PEDro scale). Due to differences in experimental design, data could not be collapsed for meta-analysis. Animal model experiments reinforce theoretical principles for application of MLDTs. When combined with concomitant musculoskeletal therapy, pilot and case studies demonstrate MLDT effectiveness. The best evidence suggests that efficacy of MLDT in sports medicine and rehabilitation is specific to resolution of enzyme serum levels associated with acute skeletal muscle cell damage as well as reduction of edema following acute ankle joint sprain and radial wrist fracture. Currently, there is limited high-ranking evidence available. Well-designed RCTs assessing outcome variables following implementation of MLDTs in treating athletic injuries may provide conclusive evidence for establishing applicable clinical practice guidelines in sports medicine and rehabilitation.

Distribution Characteristics of Air-Bone Gaps – Evidence of Bias in Manual Audiometry

PubMed Central

Margolis, Robert H.; Wilson, Richard H.; Popelka, Gerald R.; Eikelboom, Robert H.; Swanepoel, De Wet; Saly, George L.

2015-01-01

Objective Five databases were mined to examine distributions of air-bone gaps obtained by automated and manual audiometry. Differences in distribution characteristics were examined for evidence of influences unrelated to the audibility of test signals. Design The databases provided air- and bone-conduction thresholds that permitted examination of air-bone gap distributions that were free of ceiling and floor effects. Cases with conductive hearing loss were eliminated based on air-bone gaps, tympanometry, and otoscopy, when available. The analysis is based on 2,378,921 threshold determinations from 721,831 subjects from five databases. Results Automated audiometry produced air-bone gaps that were normally distributed suggesting that air- and bone-conduction thresholds are normally distributed. Manual audiometry produced air-bone gaps that were not normally distributed and show evidence of biasing effects of assumptions of expected results. In one database, the form of the distributions showed evidence of inclusion of conductive hearing losses. Conclusions Thresholds obtained by manual audiometry show tester bias effects from assumptions of the patient’s hearing loss characteristics. Tester bias artificially reduces the variance of bone-conduction thresholds and the resulting air-bone gaps. Because the automated method is free of bias from assumptions of expected results, these distributions are hypothesized to reflect the true variability of air- and bone-conduction thresholds and the resulting air-bone gaps. PMID:26627469

On the Agreement between Manual and Automated Methods for Single-Trial Detection and Estimation of Features from Event-Related Potentials

PubMed Central

Biurrun Manresa, José A.; Arguissain, Federico G.; Medina Redondo, David E.; Mørch, Carsten D.; Andersen, Ole K.

2015-01-01

The agreement between humans and algorithms on whether an event-related potential (ERP) is present or not and the level of variation in the estimated values of its relevant features are largely unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the categorical and quantitative agreement between manual and automated methods for single-trial detection and estimation of ERP features. To this end, ERPs were elicited in sixteen healthy volunteers using electrical stimulation at graded intensities below and above the nociceptive withdrawal reflex threshold. Presence/absence of an ERP peak (categorical outcome) and its amplitude and latency (quantitative outcome) in each single-trial were evaluated independently by two human observers and two automated algorithms taken from existing literature. Categorical agreement was assessed using percentage positive and negative agreement and Cohen’s κ, whereas quantitative agreement was evaluated using Bland-Altman analysis and the coefficient of variation. Typical values for the categorical agreement between manual and automated methods were derived, as well as reference values for the average and maximum differences that can be expected if one method is used instead of the others. Results showed that the human observers presented the highest categorical and quantitative agreement, and there were significantly large differences between detection and estimation of quantitative features among methods. In conclusion, substantial care should be taken in the selection of the detection/estimation approach, since factors like stimulation intensity and expected number of trials with/without response can play a significant role in the outcome of a study. PMID:26258532

ACT Plan: Technical Manual. 2013/2014

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ACT, Inc., 2013

2013-01-01

This manual contains information about the American College Test (ACT) Plan® program. The principal focus of this manual is to document the Plan program's technical adequacy in light of its intended purposes. This manual supersedes the 2011 edition. The content of this manual responds to requirements of the testing industry as established in the…

Accuracy of localization of prostate lesions using manual palpation and ultrasound elastography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kut, Carmen; Schneider, Caitlin; Carter-Monroe, Naima; Su, Li-Ming; Boctor, Emad; Taylor, Russell

2009-02-01

Purpose: To compare the accuracy of detecting tumor location and size in the prostate using both manual palpation and ultrasound elastography (UE). Methods: Tumors in the prostate were simulated using both synthetic and ex vivo tissue phantoms. 25 participants were asked to provide the presence, size and depth of these simulated lesions using manual palpation and UE. Ultrasound images were captured using a laparoscopic ultrasound probe, fitted with a Gore-Tetrad transducer with frequency of 7.5 MHz and a RF capture depth of 4-5 cm. A MATLAB GUI application was employed to process the RF data for ex vivo phantoms, and to generate UE images using a cross-correlation algorithm. Ultrasonix software was used to provide real time elastography during laparoscopic palpation of the synthetic phantoms. Statistical analyses were performed based on a two-tailed, student t-test with α = 0.05. Results: UE displays both a higher accuracy and specificity in tumor detection (sensitivity = 84%, specificity = 74%). Tumor diameters and depths are better estimated using ultrasound elastography when compared with manual palpation. Conclusions: Our results indicate that UE has strong potential in assisting surgeons to intra-operatively evaluate the tumor depth and size. We have also demonstrated that ultrasound elastography can be implemented in a laparoscopic environment, in which manual palpation would not be feasible. With further work, this application can provide accurate and clinically relevant information for surgeons during prostate resection.

Positive Association of Child Involvement and Treatment Outcome within a Manual-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Children with Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chu, Brian C.; Kendall, Philip C.

2004-01-01

Ratings of child involvement in manual-based cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety were associated with the absence of primary anxiety diagnosis and reductions in impairment ratings at posttreatment for 59 children with anxiety (ages 8-14 years). Good-to-excellent interrater reliability was established for the independent ratings of 237…

Update of the Dutch manual for costing studies in health care

PubMed Central

Kanters, Tim A.; Bouwmans, Clazien A. M.; van der Linden, Naomi; Tan, Siok Swan; Hakkaart-van Roijen, Leona

2017-01-01

Objectives Dutch health economic guidelines include a costing manual, which describes preferred research methodology for costing studies and reference prices to ensure high quality studies and comparability between study outcomes. This paper describes the most important revisions of the costing manual compared to the previous version. Methods An online survey was sent out to potential users of the costing manual to identify topics for improvement. The costing manual was aligned with contemporary health economic guidelines. All methodology sections and parameter values needed for costing studies, particularly reference prices, were updated. An expert panel of health economists was consulted several times during the review process. The revised manual was reviewed by two members of the expert panel and by reviewers of the Dutch Health Care Institute. Results The majority of survey respondents was satisfied with content and usability of the existing costing manual. Respondents recommended updating reference prices and adding some particular commonly needed reference prices. Costs categories were adjusted to the international standard: 1) costs within the health care sector; 2) patient and family costs; and 3) costs in other sectors. Reference prices were updated to reflect 2014 values. The methodology chapter was rewritten to match the requirements of the costing manual and preferences of the users. Reference prices for nursing days of specific wards, for diagnostic procedures and nurse practitioners were added. Conclusions The usability of the costing manual was increased and parameter values were updated. The costing manual became integrated in the new health economic guidelines. PMID:29121647

Do Performance-Based Wheelchair Propulsion Tests Detect Changes Among Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury During Inpatient Rehabilitation in Quebec?

PubMed

Gagnon, Dany H; Roy, Audrey; Verrier, Molly C; Duclos, Cyril; Craven, B Cathy; Nadeau, Sylvie

2016-07-01

To quantify and compare the responsiveness and concurrent validity of 3 performance-based manual wheelchair propulsion tests among manual wheelchair users with subacute spinal cord injury (SCI) undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. Quasi-experimental repeated-measures design. Publicly funded comprehensive inpatient SCI rehabilitation program. Consenting adult manual wheelchair users with a subacute SCI admitted and discharged from inpatient rehabilitation (N=14). Participants performed 20-m propulsion at both self-selected natural and maximal speeds, the slalom, and the 6-minute propulsion tests at rehabilitation admission and discharge. Time required to complete the performance-based wheelchair propulsion tests. Standardized response means (SRMs) were computed for each performance test and Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were calculated to explore the associations between performance tests. The slalom (SRM=1.24), 20-m propulsion at maximum speed (SRM=.99), and 6-minute propulsion tests (SRM=.84) were the most responsive. The slalom and 20-m propulsion at maximum speed were strongly correlated at both admission (r=.93) and discharge (r=.92). The slalom and 6-minute propulsion tests best document wheelchair propulsion performance change over the course of inpatient rehabilitation. Adding the 20-m propulsion test performed at maximal speed provides a complementary description of performance change. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Calculating the Mean Amplitude of Glycemic Excursions from Continuous Glucose Data Using an Open-Code Programmable Algorithm Based on the Integer Nonlinear Method.

PubMed

Yu, Xuefei; Lin, Liangzhuo; Shen, Jie; Chen, Zhi; Jian, Jun; Li, Bin; Xin, Sherman Xuegang

2018-01-01

The mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE) is an essential index for glycemic variability assessment, which is treated as a key reference for blood glucose controlling at clinic. However, the traditional "ruler and pencil" manual method for the calculation of MAGE is time-consuming and prone to error due to the huge data size, making the development of robust computer-aided program an urgent requirement. Although several software products are available instead of manual calculation, poor agreement among them is reported. Therefore, more studies are required in this field. In this paper, we developed a mathematical algorithm based on integer nonlinear programming. Following the proposed mathematical method, an open-code computer program named MAGECAA v1.0 was developed and validated. The results of the statistical analysis indicated that the developed program was robust compared to the manual method. The agreement among the developed program and currently available popular software is satisfied, indicating that the worry about the disagreement among different software products is not necessary. The open-code programmable algorithm is an extra resource for those peers who are interested in the related study on methodology in the future.

Automatic diet monitoring: a review of computer vision and wearable sensor-based methods.

PubMed

Hassannejad, Hamid; Matrella, Guido; Ciampolini, Paolo; De Munari, Ilaria; Mordonini, Monica; Cagnoni, Stefano

2017-09-01

Food intake and eating habits have a significant impact on people's health. Widespread diseases, such as diabetes and obesity, are directly related to eating habits. Therefore, monitoring diet can be a substantial base for developing methods and services to promote healthy lifestyle and improve personal and national health economy. Studies have demonstrated that manual reporting of food intake is inaccurate and often impractical. Thus, several methods have been proposed to automate the process. This article reviews the most relevant and recent researches on automatic diet monitoring, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. In particular, the article reviews two approaches to this problem, accounting for most of the work in the area. The first approach is based on image analysis and aims at extracting information about food content automatically from food images. The second one relies on wearable sensors and has the detection of eating behaviours as its main goal.

Classifying zones of suitability for manual drilling using textural and hydraulic parameters of shallow aquifers: a case study in northwestern Senegal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fussi, F. Fabio; Fumagalli, Letizia; Fava, Francesco; Di Mauro, Biagio; Kane, Cheik Hamidou; Niang, Magatte; Wade, Souleye; Hamidou, Barry; Colombo, Roberto; Bonomi, Tullia

2017-12-01

A method is proposed that uses analysis of borehole stratigraphic logs for the characterization of shallow aquifers and for the assessment of areas suitable for manual drilling. The model is based on available borehole-log parameters: depth to hard rock, depth to water, thickness of laterite and hydraulic transmissivity of the shallow aquifer. The model is applied to a study area in northwestern Senegal. A dataset of boreholes logs has been processed using a software package (TANGAFRIC) developed during the research. After a manual procedure to assign a standard category describing the lithological characteristics, the next step is the automated extraction of different textural parameters and the estimation of hydraulic conductivity using reference values available in the literature. The hydraulic conductivity values estimated from stratigraphic data have been partially validated, by comparing them with measured values from a series of pumping tests carried out in large-diameter wells. The results show that this method is able to produce a reliable interpretation of the shallow hydrogeological context using information generally available in the region. The research contributes to improving the identification of areas where conditions are suitable for manual drilling. This is achieved by applying the described method, based on a structured and semi-quantitative approach, to classify the zones of suitability for given manual drilling techniques using data available in most African countries. Ultimately, this work will support proposed international programs aimed at promoting low-cost water supply in Africa and enhancing access to safe drinking water for the population.

Assessing Auditory Discrimination Skill of Malay Children Using Computer-based Method.

PubMed

Ting, H; Yunus, J; Mohd Nordin, M Z

2005-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the auditory discrimination skill of Malay children using computer-based method. Currently, most of the auditory discrimination assessments are conducted manually by Speech-Language Pathologist. These conventional tests are actually general tests of sound discrimination, which do not reflect the client's specific speech sound errors. Thus, we propose computer-based Malay auditory discrimination test to automate the whole process of assessment as well as to customize the test according to the specific speech error sounds of the client. The ability in discriminating voiced and unvoiced Malay speech sounds was studied for the Malay children aged between 7 and 10 years old. The study showed no major difficulty for the children in discriminating the Malay speech sounds except differentiating /g/-/k/ sounds. Averagely the children of 7 years old failed to discriminate /g/-/k/ sounds.

Interchange Safety Analysis Tool (ISAT) : user manual

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-06-01

This User Manual describes the usage and operation of the spreadsheet-based Interchange Safety Analysis Tool (ISAT). ISAT provides design and safety engineers with an automated tool for assessing the safety effects of geometric design and traffic con...

Standardisation of costs: the Dutch Manual for Costing in economic evaluations.

PubMed

Oostenbrink, Jan B; Koopmanschap, Marc A; Rutten, Frans F H

2002-01-01

The lack of a uniform costing methodology is often considered a weakness of economic evaluations that hinders the interpretation and comparison of studies. Standardisation is therefore an important topic within the methodology of economic evaluations and in national guidelines that formulate the formal requirements for studies to be considered when deciding on the reimbursement of new medical therapies. Recently, the Dutch Manual for Costing: Methods and Standard Costs for Economic Evaluations in Health Care (further referred to as "the manual") has been published, in addition to the Dutch guidelines for pharmacoeconomic research. The objectives of this article are to describe the main content of the manual and to discuss some key issues of the manual in relation to the standardisation of costs. The manual introduces a six-step procedure for costing. These steps concern: the scope of the study;the choice of cost categories;the identification of units;the measurement of resource use;the monetary valuation of units; andthe calculation of unit costs. Each step consists of a number of choices and these together define the approach taken. In addition to a description of the costing process, five key issues regarding the standardisation of costs are distinguished. These are the use of basic principles, methods for measurement and valuation, standard costs (average prices of healthcare services), standard values (values that can be used within unit cost calculations), and the reporting of outcomes. The use of the basic principles, standard values and minimal requirements for reporting outcomes, as defined in the manual, are obligatory in studies that support submissions to acquire reimbursement for new pharmaceuticals. Whether to use standard costs, and the choice of a particular method to measure or value costs, is left mainly to the investigator, depending on the specific study setting. In conclusion, several instruments are available to increase standardisation in

Practices & Procedures of Mason Tending I & II. Instructor Manual. Trainee Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laborers-AGC Education and Training Fund, Pomfret Center, CT.

This packet consists of the instructor and trainee manuals for two courses: practices and procedures of mason tending I and II. The instructor manual for mason tending I contains a schedule for a 40-hour, 5-day course and instructor outline. The outline provides a step-by-step description of the instructor's activities and includes answer sheets…

Response Evaluation of Malignant Liver Lesions After TACE/SIRT: Comparison of Manual and Semi-Automatic Measurement of Different Response Criteria in Multislice CT.

PubMed

Höink, Anna Janina; Schülke, Christoph; Koch, Raphael; Löhnert, Annika; Kammerer, Sara; Fortkamp, Rasmus; Heindel, Walter; Buerke, Boris

2017-11-01

Purpose  To compare measurement precision and interobserver variability in the evaluation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver metastases in MSCT before and after transarterial local ablative therapies. Materials and Methods  Retrospective study of 72 patients with malignant liver lesions (42 metastases; 30 HCCs) before and after therapy (43 SIRT procedures; 29 TACE procedures). Established (LAD; SAD; WHO) and vitality-based parameters (mRECIST; mLAD; mSAD; EASL) were assessed manually and semi-automatically by two readers. The relative interobserver difference (RID) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated. Results  The median RID for vitality-based parameters was lower from semi-automatic than from manual measurement of mLAD (manual 12.5 %; semi-automatic 3.4 %), mSAD (manual 12.7 %; semi-automatic 5.7 %) and EASL (manual 10.4 %; semi-automatic 1.8 %). The difference in established parameters was not statistically noticeable (p > 0.05). The ICCs of LAD (manual 0.984; semi-automatic 0.982), SAD (manual 0.975; semi-automatic 0.958) and WHO (manual 0.984; semi-automatic 0.978) are high, both in manual and semi-automatic measurements. The ICCs of manual measurements of mLAD (0.897), mSAD (0.844) and EASL (0.875) are lower. This decrease cannot be found in semi-automatic measurements of mLAD (0.997), mSAD (0.992) and EASL (0.998). Conclusion  Vitality-based tumor measurements of HCC and metastases after transarterial local therapies should be performed semi-automatically due to greater measurement precision, thus increasing the reproducibility and in turn the reliability of therapeutic decisions. Key points   · Liver lesion measurements according to EASL and mRECIST are more precise when performed semi-automatically.. · The higher reproducibility may facilitate a more reliable classification of therapy response.. · Measurements according to RECIST and WHO offer equivalent precision semi