Error Patterns in Portuguese Students' Addition and Subtraction Calculation Tasks: Implications for Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Silvana Maria R.; Lopes, João; Oliveira, Célia; Judge, Sharon

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive study is to investigate why some elementary children have difficulties mastering addition and subtraction calculation tasks. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers have examined error types in addition and subtraction calculation made by 697 Portuguese students in elementary grades. Each student…

MONOCULAR DIPLOPIA DUE TO SPHEROCYLINDRICAL REFRACTIVE ERRORS (AN AMERICAN OPHTHALMOLOGICAL SOCIETY THESIS)

PubMed Central

Archer, Steven M.

2007-01-01

Purpose Ordinary spherocylindrical refractive errors have been recognized as a cause of monocular diplopia for over a century, yet explanation of this phenomenon using geometrical optics has remained problematic. This study tests the hypothesis that the diffraction theory treatment of refractive errors will provide a more satisfactory explanation of monocular diplopia. Methods Diffraction theory calculations were carried out for modulation transfer functions, point spread functions, and line spread functions under conditions of defocus, astigmatism, and mixed spherocylindrical refractive errors. Defocused photographs of inked and projected black lines were made to demonstrate the predicted consequences of the theoretical calculations. Results For certain amounts of defocus, line spread functions resulting from spherical defocus are predicted to have a bimodal intensity distribution that could provide the basis for diplopia with line targets. Multimodal intensity distributions are predicted in point spread functions and provide a basis for diplopia or polyopia of point targets under conditions of astigmatism. The predicted doubling effect is evident in defocused photographs of black lines, but the effect is not as robust as the subjective experience of monocular diplopia. Conclusions Monocular diplopia due to ordinary refractive errors can be predicted from diffraction theory. Higher-order aberrations—such as spherical aberration—are not necessary but may, under some circumstances, enhance the features of monocular diplopia. The physical basis for monocular diplopia is relatively subtle, and enhancement by neural processing is probably needed to account for the robustness of the percept. PMID:18427616

Unforced errors and error reduction in tennis

PubMed Central

Brody, H

2006-01-01

Only at the highest level of tennis is the number of winners comparable to the number of unforced errors. As the average player loses many more points due to unforced errors than due to winners by an opponent, if the rate of unforced errors can be reduced, it should lead to an increase in points won. This article shows how players can improve their game by understanding and applying the laws of physics to reduce the number of unforced errors. PMID:16632568

Skylab water balance error analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leonard, J. I.

1977-01-01

Estimates of the precision of the net water balance were obtained for the entire Skylab preflight and inflight phases as well as for the first two weeks of flight. Quantitative estimates of both total sampling errors and instrumentation errors were obtained. It was shown that measurement error is minimal in comparison to biological variability and little can be gained from improvement in analytical accuracy. In addition, a propagation of error analysis demonstrated that total water balance error could be accounted for almost entirely by the errors associated with body mass changes. Errors due to interaction between terms in the water balance equation (covariances) represented less than 10% of the total error. Overall, the analysis provides evidence that daily measurements of body water changes obtained from the indirect balance technique are reasonable, precise, and relaible. The method is not biased toward net retention or loss.

Optimal error analysis of the intraseasonal convection due to uncertainties of the sea surface temperature in a coupled model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaojing; Tang, Youmin; Yao, Zhixiong

2017-04-01

The predictability of the convection related to the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is studied using a coupled model CESM (Community Earth System Model) and the climatically relevant singular vector (CSV) approach. The CSV approach is an ensemble-based strategy to calculate the optimal initial error on climate scale. In this study, we focus on the optimal initial error of the sea surface temperature in Indian Ocean, where is the location of the MJO onset. Six MJO events are chosen from the 10 years model simulation output. The results show that the large values of the SVs are mainly located in the bay of Bengal and the south central IO (around (25°S, 90°E)), which is a meridional dipole-like pattern. The fast error growth of the CSVs have important impacts on the prediction of the convection related to the MJO. The initial perturbations with the SV pattern result in the deep convection damping more quickly in the east Pacific Ocean. Moreover, the sensitivity studies of the CSVs show that different initial fields do not affect the CSVs obviously, while the perturbation domain is a more responsive factor to the CSVs. The rapid growth of the CSVs is found to be related to the west bay of Bengal, where the wind stress starts to be perturbed due to the CSV initial error. These results contribute to the establishment of an ensemble prediction system, as well as the optimal observation network. In addition, the analysis of the error growth can provide us some enlightment about the relationship between SST and the intraseasonal convection related to the MJO.

Global Vision Impairment and Blindness Due to Uncorrected Refractive Error, 1990-2010.

PubMed

Naidoo, Kovin S; Leasher, Janet; Bourne, Rupert R; Flaxman, Seth R; Jonas, Jost B; Keeffe, Jill; Limburg, Hans; Pesudovs, Konrad; Price, Holly; White, Richard A; Wong, Tien Y; Taylor, Hugh R; Resnikoff, Serge

2016-03-01

The purpose of this systematic review was to estimate worldwide the number of people with moderate and severe visual impairment (MSVI; presenting visual acuity <6/18, ≥3/60) or blindness (presenting visual acuity <3/60) due to uncorrected refractive error (URE), to estimate trends in prevalence from 1990 to 2010, and to analyze regional differences. The review focuses on uncorrected refractive error which is now the most common cause of avoidable visual impairment globally. : The systematic review of 14,908 relevant manuscripts from 1990 to 2010 using Medline, Embase, and WHOLIS yielded 243 high-quality, population-based cross-sectional studies which informed a meta-analysis of trends by region. The results showed that in 2010, 6.8 million (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.7-8.8 million) people were blind (7.9% increase from 1990) and 101.2 million (95% CI: 87.88-125.5 million) vision impaired due to URE (15% increase since 1990), while the global population increased by 30% (1990-2010). The all-age age-standardized prevalence of URE blindness decreased 33% from 0.2% (95% CI: 0.1-0.2%) in 1990 to 0.1% (95% CI: 0.1-0.1%) in 2010, whereas the prevalence of URE MSVI decreased 25% from 2.1% (95% CI: 1.6-2.4%) in 1990 to 1.5% (95% CI: 1.3-1.9%) in 2010. In 2010, URE contributed 20.9% (95% CI: 15.2-25.9%) of all blindness and 52.9% (95% CI: 47.2-57.3%) of all MSVI worldwide. The contribution of URE to all MSVI ranged from 44.2 to 48.1% in all regions except in South Asia which was at 65.4% (95% CI: 62-72%). : We conclude that in 2010, uncorrected refractive error continues as the leading cause of vision impairment and the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, affecting a total of 108 million people or 1 in 90 persons.

Dealing with systematic laser scanner errors due to misalignment at area-based deformation analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holst, Christoph; Medić, Tomislav; Kuhlmann, Heiner

2018-04-01

The ability to acquire rapid, dense and high quality 3D data has made terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) a desirable instrument for tasks demanding a high geometrical accuracy, such as geodetic deformation analyses. However, TLS measurements are influenced by systematic errors due to internal misalignments of the instrument. The resulting errors in the point cloud might exceed the magnitude of random errors. Hence, it is important to assure that the deformation analysis is not biased by these influences. In this study, we propose and evaluate several strategies for reducing the effect of TLS misalignments on deformation analyses. The strategies are based on the bundled in-situ self-calibration and on the exploitation of two-face measurements. The strategies are verified analyzing the deformation of the Onsala Space Observatory's radio telescope's main reflector. It is demonstrated that either two-face measurements as well as the in-situ calibration of the laser scanner in a bundle adjustment improve the results of deformation analysis. The best solution is gained by a combination of both strategies.

Post-error response inhibition in high math-anxious individuals: Evidence from a multi-digit addition task.

PubMed

Núñez-Peña, M Isabel; Tubau, Elisabet; Suárez-Pellicioni, Macarena

2017-06-01

The aim of the study was to investigate how high math-anxious (HMA) individuals react to errors in an arithmetic task. Twenty HMA and 19 low math-anxious (LMA) individuals were presented with a multi-digit addition verification task and were given response feedback. Post-error adjustment measures (response time and accuracy) were analyzed in order to study differences between groups when faced with errors in an arithmetical task. Results showed that both HMA and LMA individuals were slower to respond following an error than following a correct answer. However, post-error accuracy effects emerged only for the HMA group, showing that they were also less accurate after having committed an error than after giving the right answer. Importantly, these differences were observed only when individuals needed to repeat the same response given in the previous trial. These results suggest that, for HMA individuals, errors caused reactive inhibition of the erroneous response, facilitating performance if the next problem required the alternative response but hampering it if the response was the same. This stronger reaction to errors could be a factor contributing to the difficulties that HMA individuals experience in learning math and doing math tasks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dipole estimation errors due to not incorporating anisotropic conductivities in realistic head models for EEG source analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallez, Hans; Staelens, Steven; Lemahieu, Ignace

2009-10-01

EEG source analysis is a valuable tool for brain functionality research and for diagnosing neurological disorders, such as epilepsy. It requires a geometrical representation of the human head or a head model, which is often modeled as an isotropic conductor. However, it is known that some brain tissues, such as the skull or white matter, have an anisotropic conductivity. Many studies reported that the anisotropic conductivities have an influence on the calculated electrode potentials. However, few studies have assessed the influence of anisotropic conductivities on the dipole estimations. In this study, we want to determine the dipole estimation errors due to not taking into account the anisotropic conductivities of the skull and/or brain tissues. Therefore, head models are constructed with the same geometry, but with an anisotropically conducting skull and/or brain tissue compartment. These head models are used in simulation studies where the dipole location and orientation error is calculated due to neglecting anisotropic conductivities of the skull and brain tissue. Results show that not taking into account the anisotropic conductivities of the skull yields a dipole location error between 2 and 25 mm, with an average of 10 mm. When the anisotropic conductivities of the brain tissues are neglected, the dipole location error ranges between 0 and 5 mm. In this case, the average dipole location error was 2.3 mm. In all simulations, the dipole orientation error was smaller than 10°. We can conclude that the anisotropic conductivities of the skull have to be incorporated to improve the accuracy of EEG source analysis. The results of the simulation, as presented here, also suggest that incorporation of the anisotropic conductivities of brain tissues is not necessary. However, more studies are needed to confirm these suggestions.

Anomalous annealing of floating gate errors due to heavy ion irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Yanan; Liu, Jie; Sun, Youmei; Hou, Mingdong; Liu, Tianqi; Ye, Bing; Ji, Qinggang; Luo, Jie; Zhao, Peixiong

2018-03-01

Using the heavy ions provided by the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL), the annealing of heavy-ion induced floating gate (FG) errors in 34 nm and 25 nm NAND Flash memories has been studied. The single event upset (SEU) cross section of FG and the evolution of the errors after irradiation depending on the ion linear energy transfer (LET) values, data pattern and feature size of the device are presented. Different rates of annealing for different ion LET and different pattern are observed in 34 nm and 25 nm memories. The variation of the percentage of different error patterns in 34 nm and 25 nm memories with annealing time shows that the annealing of FG errors induced by heavy-ion in memories will mainly take place in the cells directly hit under low LET ion exposure and other cells affected by heavy ions when the ion LET is higher. The influence of Multiple Cell Upsets (MCUs) on the annealing of FG errors is analyzed. MCUs with high error multiplicity which account for the majority of the errors can induce a large percentage of annealed errors.

Influence of Additive and Multiplicative Structure and Direction of Comparison on the Reversal Error

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

González-Calero, José Antonio; Arnau, David; Laserna-Belenguer, Belén

2015-01-01

An empirical study has been carried out to evaluate the potential of word order matching and static comparison as explanatory models of reversal error. Data was collected from 214 undergraduate students who translated a set of additive and multiplicative comparisons expressed in Spanish into algebraic language. In these multiplicative comparisons…

Estimate of higher order ionospheric errors in GNSS positioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoque, M. Mainul; Jakowski, N.

2008-10-01

Precise navigation and positioning using GPS/GLONASS/Galileo require the ionospheric propagation errors to be accurately determined and corrected for. Current dual-frequency method of ionospheric correction ignores higher order ionospheric errors such as the second and third order ionospheric terms in the refractive index formula and errors due to bending of the signal. The total electron content (TEC) is assumed to be same at two GPS frequencies. All these assumptions lead to erroneous estimations and corrections of the ionospheric errors. In this paper a rigorous treatment of these problems is presented. Different approximation formulas have been proposed to correct errors due to excess path length in addition to the free space path length, TEC difference at two GNSS frequencies, and third-order ionospheric term. The GPS dual-frequency residual range errors can be corrected within millimeter level accuracy using the proposed correction formulas.

Prevalence of visual impairment due to uncorrected refractive error: Results from Delhi-Rapid Assessment of Visual Impairment Study.

PubMed

Senjam, Suraj Singh; Vashist, Praveen; Gupta, Noopur; Malhotra, Sumit; Misra, Vasundhara; Bhardwaj, Amit; Gupta, Vivek

2016-05-01

To estimate the prevalence of visual impairment (VI) due to uncorrected refractive error (URE) and to assess the barriers to utilization of services in the adult urban population of Delhi. A population-based rapid assessment of VI was conducted among people aged 40 years and above in 24 randomly selected clusters of East Delhi district. Presenting visual acuity (PVA) was assessed in each eye using Snellen's "E" chart. Pinhole examination was done if PVA was <20/60 in either eye and ocular examination to ascertain the cause of VI. Barriers to utilization of services for refractive error were recorded with questionnaires. Of 2421 individuals enumerated, 2331 (96%) individuals were examined. Females were 50.7% among them. The mean age of all examined subjects was 51.32 ± 10.5 years (standard deviation). VI in either eye due to URE was present in 275 individuals (11.8%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.5-13.1). URE was identified as the most common cause (53.4%) of VI. The overall prevalence of VI due to URE in the study population was 6.1% (95% CI: 5.1-7.0). The elder population as well as females were more likely to have VI due to URE (odds ratio [OR] = 12.3; P < 0.001 and OR = 1.5; P < 0.02). Lack of felt need was the most common reported barrier (31.5%). The prevalence of VI due to URE among the urban adult population of Delhi is still high despite the availability of abundant eye care facilities. The majority of reported barriers are related to human behavior and attitude toward the refractive error. Understanding these aspects will help in planning appropriate strategies to eliminate VI due to URE.

A study of GPS measurement errors due to noise and multipath interference for CGADS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Axelrad, Penina; MacDoran, Peter F.; Comp, Christopher J.

1996-01-01

This report describes a study performed by the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) on GPS measurement errors in the Codeless GPS Attitude Determination System (CGADS) due to noise and multipath interference. Preliminary simulation models fo the CGADS receiver and orbital multipath are described. The standard FFT algorithms for processing the codeless data is described and two alternative algorithms - an auto-regressive/least squares (AR-LS) method, and a combined adaptive notch filter/least squares (ANF-ALS) method, are also presented. Effects of system noise, quantization, baseband frequency selection, and Doppler rates on the accuracy of phase estimates with each of the processing methods are shown. Typical electrical phase errors for the AR-LS method are 0.2 degrees, compared to 0.3 and 0.5 degrees for the FFT and ANF-ALS algorithms, respectively. Doppler rate was found to have the largest effect on the performance.

Tolerance analysis of optical telescopes using coherent addition of wavefront errors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davenport, J. W.

1982-01-01

A near diffraction-limited telescope requires that tolerance analysis be done on the basis of system wavefront error. One method of analyzing the wavefront error is to represent the wavefront error function in terms of its Zernike polynomial expansion. A Ramsey-Korsch ray trace package, a computer program that simulates the tracing of rays through an optical telescope system, was expanded to include the Zernike polynomial expansion up through the fifth-order spherical term. An option to determine a 3 dimensional plot of the wavefront error function was also included in the Ramsey-Korsch package. Several assimulation runs were analyzed to determine the particular set of coefficients in the Zernike expansion that are effected by various errors such as tilt, decenter and despace. A 3 dimensional plot of each error up through the fifth-order spherical term was also included in the study. Tolerance analysis data are presented.

Evidence Report: Risk of Performance Errors Due to Training Deficiencies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barshi, Immanuel; Dempsey, Donna L.

2016-01-01

Substantial evidence supports the claim that inadequate training leads to performance errors. Barshi and Loukopoulos (2012) demonstrate that even a task as carefully developed and refined over many years as operating an aircraft can be significantly improved by a systematic analysis, followed by improved procedures and improved training (see also Loukopoulos, Dismukes, & Barshi, 2009a). Unfortunately, such a systematic analysis of training needs rarely occurs during the preliminary design phase, when modifications are most feasible. Training is often seen as a way to compensate for deficiencies in task and system design, which in turn increases the training load. As a result, task performance often suffers, and with it, the operators suffer and so does the mission. On the other hand, effective training can indeed compensate for such design deficiencies, and can even go beyond to compensate for failures of our imagination to anticipate all that might be needed when we send our crew members to go where no one else has gone before. Much of the research literature on training is motivated by current training practices aimed at current training needs. Although there is some experience with operations in extreme environments on Earth, there is no experience with long-duration space missions where crews must practice semi-autonomous operations, where ground support must accommodate significant communication delays, and where so little is known about the environment. Thus, we must develop robust methodologies and tools to prepare our crews for the unknown. The research necessary to support such an endeavor does not currently exist, but existing research does reveal general challenges that are relevant to long-duration, high-autonomy missions. The evidence presented here describes issues related to the risk of performance errors due to training deficiencies. Contributing factors regarding training deficiencies may pertain to organizational process and training programs for

Error Modeling of Multi-baseline Optical Truss. Part II; Application to SIM Metrology Truss Field Dependent Error

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Liwei Dennis; Milman, Mark; Korechoff, Robert

2004-01-01

The current design of the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) employs a 19 laser-metrology-beam system (also called L19 external metrology truss) to monitor changes of distances between the fiducials of the flight system's multiple baselines. The function of the external metrology truss is to aid in the determination of the time-variations of the interferometer baseline. The largest contributor to truss error occurs in SIM wide-angle observations when the articulation of the siderostat mirrors (in order to gather starlight from different sky coordinates) brings to light systematic errors due to offsets at levels of instrument components (which include comer cube retro-reflectors, etc.). This error is labeled external metrology wide-angle field-dependent error. Physics-based model of field-dependent error at single metrology gauge level is developed and linearly propagated to errors in interferometer delay. In this manner delay error sensitivity to various error parameters or their combination can be studied using eigenvalue/eigenvector analysis. Also validation of physics-based field-dependent model on SIM testbed lends support to the present approach. As a first example, dihedral error model is developed for the comer cubes (CC) attached to the siderostat mirrors. Then the delay errors due to this effect can be characterized using the eigenvectors of composite CC dihedral error. The essence of the linear error model is contained in an error-mapping matrix. A corresponding Zernike component matrix approach is developed in parallel, first for convenience of describing the RMS of errors across the field-of-regard (FOR), and second for convenience of combining with additional models. Average and worst case residual errors are computed when various orders of field-dependent terms are removed from the delay error. Results of the residual errors are important in arriving at external metrology system component requirements. Double CCs with ideally co-incident vertices

Instrumental variables vs. grouping approach for reducing bias due to measurement error.

PubMed

Batistatou, Evridiki; McNamee, Roseanne

2008-01-01

Attenuation of the exposure-response relationship due to exposure measurement error is often encountered in epidemiology. Given that error cannot be totally eliminated, bias correction methods of analysis are needed. Many methods require more than one exposure measurement per person to be made, but the `group mean OLS method,' in which subjects are grouped into several a priori defined groups followed by ordinary least squares (OLS) regression on the group means, can be applied with one measurement. An alternative approach is to use an instrumental variable (IV) method in which both the single error-prone measure and an IV are used in IV analysis. In this paper we show that the `group mean OLS' estimator is equal to an IV estimator with the group mean used as IV, but that the variance estimators for the two methods are different. We derive a simple expression for the bias in the common estimator which is a simple function of group size, reliability and contrast of exposure between groups, and show that the bias can be very small when group size is large. We compare this method with a new proposal (group mean ranking method), also applicable with a single exposure measurement, in which the IV is the rank of the group means. When there are two independent exposure measurements per subject, we propose a new IV method (EVROS IV) and compare it with Carroll and Stefanski's (CS IV) proposal in which the second measure is used as an IV; the new IV estimator combines aspects of the `group mean' and `CS' strategies. All methods are evaluated in terms of bias, precision and root mean square error via simulations and a dataset from occupational epidemiology. The `group mean ranking method' does not offer much improvement over the `group mean method.' Compared with the `CS' method, the `EVROS' method is less affected by low reliability of exposure. We conclude that the group IV methods we propose may provide a useful way to handle mismeasured exposures in epidemiology with or

Dosage uniformity problems which occur due to technological errors in extemporaneously prepared suppositories in hospitals and pharmacies

PubMed Central

Kalmár, Éva; Lasher, Jason Richard; Tarry, Thomas Dean; Myers, Andrea; Szakonyi, Gerda; Dombi, György; Baki, Gabriella; Alexander, Kenneth S.

2013-01-01

The availability of suppositories in Hungary, especially in clinical pharmacy practice, is usually provided by extemporaneous preparations. Due to the known advantages of rectal drug administration, its benefits are frequently utilized in pediatrics. However, errors during the extemporaneous manufacturing process can lead to non-homogenous drug distribution within the dosage units. To determine the root cause of these errors and provide corrective actions, we studied suppository samples prepared with exactly known errors using both cerimetric titration and HPLC technique. Our results show that the most frequent technological error occurs when the pharmacist fails to use the correct displacement factor in the calculations which could lead to a 4.6% increase/decrease in the assay in individual dosage units. The second most important source of error can occur when the molding excess is calculated solely for the suppository base. This can further dilute the final suppository drug concentration causing the assay to be as low as 80%. As a conclusion we emphasize that the application of predetermined displacement factors in calculations for the formulation of suppositories is highly important, which enables the pharmacist to produce a final product containing exactly the determined dose of an active substance despite the different densities of the components. PMID:25161378

The nature of articulation errors in Egyptian Arabic-speaking children with velopharyngeal insufficiency due to cleft palate.

PubMed

Abou-Elsaad, Tamer; Baz, Hemmat; Afsah, Omayma; Mansy, Alzahraa

2015-09-01

Even with early surgical repair, the majority of cleft palate children demonstrate articulation errors and have typical cleft palate speech. Was to determine the nature of articulation errors of Arabic consonants in Egyptian Arabic-speaking children with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). Thirty Egyptian Arabic-speaking children with VPI due to cleft palate (whether primary repaired or secondary repaired) were studied. Auditory perceptual assessment (APA) of children speech was conducted. Nasopharyngoscopy was done to assess the velopharyngeal port (VPP) movements while the child was repeating speech tasks. Mansoura Arabic Articulation test (MAAT) was performed to analyze the consonants articulation of these children. The most frequent type of articulatory errors observed was substitution, more specifically, backing. Pharyngealization of anterior fricatives was the most frequent substitution, especially for the /s/ sound. The most frequent substituting sounds for other sounds were /ʔ/ followed by /k/ and /n/ sounds. Significant correlations were found between the degrees of the open nasality and VPP closure and the articulation errors. On the other hand, the sounds (/ʔ/,/ħ/,/ʕ/,/n/,/w/,/j/) were normally articulated in all studied group. The determination of articulation errors in VPI children could guide the therapists for designing appropriate speech therapy programs for these cases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dosage uniformity problems which occur due to technological errors in extemporaneously prepared suppositories in hospitals and pharmacies.

PubMed

Kalmár, Eva; Lasher, Jason Richard; Tarry, Thomas Dean; Myers, Andrea; Szakonyi, Gerda; Dombi, György; Baki, Gabriella; Alexander, Kenneth S

2014-09-01

The availability of suppositories in Hungary, especially in clinical pharmacy practice, is usually provided by extemporaneous preparations. Due to the known advantages of rectal drug administration, its benefits are frequently utilized in pediatrics. However, errors during the extemporaneous manufacturing process can lead to non-homogenous drug distribution within the dosage units. To determine the root cause of these errors and provide corrective actions, we studied suppository samples prepared with exactly known errors using both cerimetric titration and HPLC technique. Our results show that the most frequent technological error occurs when the pharmacist fails to use the correct displacement factor in the calculations which could lead to a 4.6% increase/decrease in the assay in individual dosage units. The second most important source of error can occur when the molding excess is calculated solely for the suppository base. This can further dilute the final suppository drug concentration causing the assay to be as low as 80%. As a conclusion we emphasize that the application of predetermined displacement factors in calculations for the formulation of suppositories is highly important, which enables the pharmacist to produce a final product containing exactly the determined dose of an active substance despite the different densities of the components.

Errors in clinical laboratories or errors in laboratory medicine?

PubMed

Plebani, Mario

2006-01-01

Laboratory testing is a highly complex process and, although laboratory services are relatively safe, they are not as safe as they could or should be. Clinical laboratories have long focused their attention on quality control methods and quality assessment programs dealing with analytical aspects of testing. However, a growing body of evidence accumulated in recent decades demonstrates that quality in clinical laboratories cannot be assured by merely focusing on purely analytical aspects. The more recent surveys on errors in laboratory medicine conclude that in the delivery of laboratory testing, mistakes occur more frequently before (pre-analytical) and after (post-analytical) the test has been performed. Most errors are due to pre-analytical factors (46-68.2% of total errors), while a high error rate (18.5-47% of total errors) has also been found in the post-analytical phase. Errors due to analytical problems have been significantly reduced over time, but there is evidence that, particularly for immunoassays, interference may have a serious impact on patients. A description of the most frequent and risky pre-, intra- and post-analytical errors and advice on practical steps for measuring and reducing the risk of errors is therefore given in the present paper. Many mistakes in the Total Testing Process are called "laboratory errors", although these may be due to poor communication, action taken by others involved in the testing process (e.g., physicians, nurses and phlebotomists), or poorly designed processes, all of which are beyond the laboratory's control. Likewise, there is evidence that laboratory information is only partially utilized. A recent document from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recommends a new, broader definition of the term "laboratory error" and a classification of errors according to different criteria. In a modern approach to total quality, centered on patients' needs and satisfaction, the risk of errors and mistakes

Reducing On-Board Computer Propagation Errors Due to Omitted Geopotential Terms by Judicious Selection of Uploaded State Vector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greatorex, Scott (Editor); Beckman, Mark

1996-01-01

Several future, and some current missions, use an on-board computer (OBC) force model that is very limited. The OBC geopotential force model typically includes only the J(2), J(3), J(4), C(2,2) and S(2,2) terms to model non-spherical Earth gravitational effects. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WIRE), Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE), Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS), and X-ray Timing Explorer (XTE) all plan to use this geopotential force model on-board. The Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) is already flying this geopotential force model. Past analysis has shown that one of the leading sources of error in the OBC propagated ephemeris is the omission of the higher order geopotential terms. However, these same analyses have shown a wide range of accuracies for the OBC ephemerides. Analysis was performed using EUVE state vectors that showed the EUVE four day OBC propagated ephemerides varied in accuracy from 200 m. to 45 km. depending on the initial vector used to start the propagation. The vectors used in the study were from a single EUVE orbit at one minute intervals in the ephemeris. Since each vector propagated practically the same path as the others, the differences seen had to be due to differences in the inital state vector only. An algorithm was developed that will optimize the epoch of the uploaded state vector. Proper selection can reduce the previous errors of anywhere from 200 m. to 45 km. to generally less than one km. over four days of propagation. This would enable flight projects to minimize state vector uploads to the spacecraft. Additionally, this method is superior to other methods in that no additional orbit estimates need be done. The definitive ephemeris generated on the ground can be used as long as the proper epoch is chosen. This algorithm can be easily coded in software that would pick the epoch within a specified time range that would

Solutions to decrease a systematic error related to AAPH addition in the fluorescence-based ORAC assay.

PubMed

Mellado-Ortega, Elena; Zabalgogeazcoa, Iñigo; Vázquez de Aldana, Beatriz R; Arellano, Juan B

2017-02-15

Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay in 96-well multi-detection plate readers is a rapid method to determine total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in biological samples. A disadvantage of this method is that the antioxidant inhibition reaction does not start in all of the 96 wells at the same time due to technical limitations when dispensing the free radical-generating azo initiator 2,2'-azobis (2-methyl-propanimidamide) dihydrochloride (AAPH). The time delay between wells yields a systematic error that causes statistically significant differences in TAC determination of antioxidant solutions depending on their plate position. We propose two alternative solutions to avoid this AAPH-dependent error in ORAC assays. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An improved estimator for the hydration of fat-free mass from in vivo measurements subject to additive technical errors.

PubMed

Kinnamon, Daniel D; Lipsitz, Stuart R; Ludwig, David A; Lipshultz, Steven E; Miller, Tracie L

2010-04-01

The hydration of fat-free mass, or hydration fraction (HF), is often defined as a constant body composition parameter in a two-compartment model and then estimated from in vivo measurements. We showed that the widely used estimator for the HF parameter in this model, the mean of the ratios of measured total body water (TBW) to fat-free mass (FFM) in individual subjects, can be inaccurate in the presence of additive technical errors. We then proposed a new instrumental variables estimator that accurately estimates the HF parameter in the presence of such errors. In Monte Carlo simulations, the mean of the ratios of TBW to FFM was an inaccurate estimator of the HF parameter, and inferences based on it had actual type I error rates more than 13 times the nominal 0.05 level under certain conditions. The instrumental variables estimator was accurate and maintained an actual type I error rate close to the nominal level in all simulations. When estimating and performing inference on the HF parameter, the proposed instrumental variables estimator should yield accurate estimates and correct inferences in the presence of additive technical errors, but the mean of the ratios of TBW to FFM in individual subjects may not.

Evaluation and mitigation of potential errors in radiochromic film dosimetry due to film curvature at scanning.

PubMed

Palmer, Antony L; Bradley, David A; Nisbet, Andrew

2015-03-08

This work considers a previously overlooked uncertainty present in film dosimetry which results from moderate curvature of films during the scanning process. Small film samples are particularly susceptible to film curling which may be undetected or deemed insignificant. In this study, we consider test cases with controlled induced curvature of film and with film raised horizontally above the scanner plate. We also evaluate the difference in scans of a film irradiated with a typical brachytherapy dose distribution with the film naturally curved and with the film held flat on the scanner. Typical naturally occurring curvature of film at scanning, giving rise to a maximum height 1 to 2 mm above the scan plane, may introduce dose errors of 1% to 4%, and considerably reduce gamma evaluation passing rates when comparing film-measured doses with treatment planning system-calculated dose distributions, a common application of film dosimetry in radiotherapy. The use of a triple-channel dosimetry algorithm appeared to mitigate the error due to film curvature compared to conventional single-channel film dosimetry. The change in pixel value and calibrated reported dose with film curling or height above the scanner plate may be due to variations in illumination characteristics, optical disturbances, or a Callier-type effect. There is a clear requirement for physically flat films at scanning to avoid the introduction of a substantial error source in film dosimetry. Particularly for small film samples, a compression glass plate above the film is recommended to ensure flat-film scanning. This effect has been overlooked to date in the literature.

[Epidemiology of refractive errors].

PubMed

Wolfram, C

2017-07-01

Refractive errors are very common and can lead to severe pathological changes in the eye. This article analyzes the epidemiology of refractive errors in the general population in Germany and worldwide and describes common definitions for refractive errors and clinical characteristics for pathologicaal changes. Refractive errors differ between age groups due to refractive changes during the life time and also due to generation-specific factors. Current research about the etiology of refractive errors has strengthened the influence of environmental factors, which led to new strategies for the prevention of refractive pathologies.

Uncertainty of the 20th century sea-level rise due to vertical land motion errors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santamaría-Gómez, Alvaro; Gravelle, Médéric; Dangendorf, Sönke; Marcos, Marta; Spada, Giorgio; Wöppelmann, Guy

2017-09-01

Assessing the vertical land motion (VLM) at tide gauges (TG) is crucial to understanding global and regional mean sea-level changes (SLC) over the last century. However, estimating VLM with accuracy better than a few tenths of a millimeter per year is not a trivial undertaking and many factors, including the reference frame uncertainty, must be considered. Using a novel reconstruction approach and updated geodetic VLM corrections, we found the terrestrial reference frame and the estimated VLM uncertainty may contribute to the global SLC rate error by ± 0.2 mmyr-1. In addition, a spurious global SLC acceleration may be introduced up to ± 4.8 ×10-3 mmyr-2. Regional SLC rate and acceleration errors may be inflated by a factor 3 compared to the global. The difference of VLM from two independent Glacio-Isostatic Adjustment models introduces global SLC rate and acceleration biases at the level of ± 0.1 mmyr-1 and 2.8 ×10-3 mmyr-2, increasing up to 0.5 mm yr-1 and 9 ×10-3 mmyr-2 for the regional SLC. Errors in VLM corrections need to be budgeted when considering past and future SLC scenarios.

Evaluation and mitigation of potential errors in radiochromic film dosimetry due to film curvature at scanning

PubMed Central

Bradley, David A.; Nisbet, Andrew

2015-01-01

This work considers a previously overlooked uncertainty present in film dosimetry which results from moderate curvature of films during the scanning process. Small film samples are particularly susceptible to film curling which may be undetected or deemed insignificant. In this study, we consider test cases with controlled induced curvature of film and with film raised horizontally above the scanner plate. We also evaluate the difference in scans of a film irradiated with a typical brachytherapy dose distribution with the film naturally curved and with the film held flat on the scanner. Typical naturally occurring curvature of film at scanning, giving rise to a maximum height 1 to 2 mm above the scan plane, may introduce dose errors of 1% to 4%, and considerably reduce gamma evaluation passing rates when comparing film‐measured doses with treatment planning system‐calculated dose distributions, a common application of film dosimetry in radiotherapy. The use of a triple‐channel dosimetry algorithm appeared to mitigate the error due to film curvature compared to conventional single‐channel film dosimetry. The change in pixel value and calibrated reported dose with film curling or height above the scanner plate may be due to variations in illumination characteristics, optical disturbances, or a Callier‐type effect. There is a clear requirement for physically flat films at scanning to avoid the introduction of a substantial error source in film dosimetry. Particularly for small film samples, a compression glass plate above the film is recommended to ensure flat‐film scanning. This effect has been overlooked to date in the literature. PACS numbers: 87.55.Qr, 87.56.bg, 87.55.km PMID:26103181

Impact of exposure measurement error in air pollution epidemiology: effect of error type in time-series studies.

PubMed

Goldman, Gretchen T; Mulholland, James A; Russell, Armistead G; Strickland, Matthew J; Klein, Mitchel; Waller, Lance A; Tolbert, Paige E

2011-06-22

Two distinctly different types of measurement error are Berkson and classical. Impacts of measurement error in epidemiologic studies of ambient air pollution are expected to depend on error type. We characterize measurement error due to instrument imprecision and spatial variability as multiplicative (i.e. additive on the log scale) and model it over a range of error types to assess impacts on risk ratio estimates both on a per measurement unit basis and on a per interquartile range (IQR) basis in a time-series study in Atlanta. Daily measures of twelve ambient air pollutants were analyzed: NO2, NOx, O3, SO2, CO, PM10 mass, PM2.5 mass, and PM2.5 components sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, elemental carbon and organic carbon. Semivariogram analysis was applied to assess spatial variability. Error due to this spatial variability was added to a reference pollutant time-series on the log scale using Monte Carlo simulations. Each of these time-series was exponentiated and introduced to a Poisson generalized linear model of cardiovascular disease emergency department visits. Measurement error resulted in reduced statistical significance for the risk ratio estimates for all amounts (corresponding to different pollutants) and types of error. When modelled as classical-type error, risk ratios were attenuated, particularly for primary air pollutants, with average attenuation in risk ratios on a per unit of measurement basis ranging from 18% to 92% and on an IQR basis ranging from 18% to 86%. When modelled as Berkson-type error, risk ratios per unit of measurement were biased away from the null hypothesis by 2% to 31%, whereas risk ratios per IQR were attenuated (i.e. biased toward the null) by 5% to 34%. For CO modelled error amount, a range of error types were simulated and effects on risk ratio bias and significance were observed. For multiplicative error, both the amount and type of measurement error impact health effect estimates in air pollution epidemiology. By modelling

Can the BMS Algorithm Decode Up to \\lfloor \\frac{d_G-g-1}{2}\\rfloor Errors? Yes, but with Some Additional Remarks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakata, Shojiro; Fujisawa, Masaya

It is a well-known fact [7], [9] that the BMS algorithm with majority voting can decode up to half the Feng-Rao designed distance dFR. Since dFR is not smaller than the Goppa designed distance dG, that algorithm can correct up to \\lfloor \\frac{d_G-1}{2}\\rfloor errors. On the other hand, it has been considered to be evident that the original BMS algorithm (without voting) [1], [2] can correct up to \\lfloor \\frac{d_G-g-1}{2}\\rfloor errors similarly to the basic algorithm by Skorobogatov-Vladut. But, is it true? In this short paper, we show that it is true, although we need a few remarks and some additional procedures for determining the Groebner basis of the error locator ideal exactly. In fact, as the basic algorithm gives a set of polynomials whose zero set contains the error locators as a subset, it cannot always give the exact error locators, unless the syndrome equation is solved to find the error values in addition.

Dosimetric impact of geometric errors due to respiratory motion prediction on dynamic multileaf collimator-based four-dimensional radiation delivery

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

Vedam, S.; Docef, A.; Fix, M.

2005-06-15

The synchronization of dynamic multileaf collimator (DMLC) response with respiratory motion is critical to ensure the accuracy of DMLC-based four dimensional (4D) radiation delivery. In practice, however, a finite time delay (response time) between the acquisition of tumor position and multileaf collimator response necessitates predictive models of respiratory tumor motion to synchronize radiation delivery. Predicting a complex process such as respiratory motion introduces geometric errors, which have been reported in several publications. However, the dosimetric effect of such errors on 4D radiation delivery has not yet been investigated. Thus, our aim in this work was to quantify the dosimetric effectsmore » of geometric error due to prediction under several different conditions. Conformal and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans for a lung patient were generated for anterior-posterior/posterior-anterior (AP/PA) beam arrangements at 6 and 18 MV energies to provide planned dose distributions. Respiratory motion data was obtained from 60 diaphragm-motion fluoroscopy recordings from five patients. A linear adaptive filter was employed to predict the tumor position. The geometric error of prediction was defined as the absolute difference between predicted and actual positions at each diaphragm position. Distributions of geometric error of prediction were obtained for all of the respiratory motion data. Planned dose distributions were then convolved with distributions for the geometric error of prediction to obtain convolved dose distributions. The dosimetric effect of such geometric errors was determined as a function of several variables: response time (0-0.6 s), beam energy (6/18 MV), treatment delivery (3D/4D), treatment type (conformal/IMRT), beam direction (AP/PA), and breathing training type (free breathing/audio instruction/visual feedback). Dose difference and distance-to-agreement analysis was employed to quantify results. Based on our data

Potential hazards due to food additives in oral hygiene products.

PubMed

Tuncer Budanur, Damla; Yas, Murat Cengizhan; Sepet, Elif

2016-01-01

Food additives used to preserve flavor or to enhance the taste and appearance of foods are also available in oral hygiene products. The aim of this review is to provide information concerning food additives in oral hygiene products and their adverse effects. A great many of food additives in oral hygiene products are potential allergens and they may lead to allergic reactions such as urticaria, contact dermatitis, rhinitis, and angioedema. Dental practitioners, as well as health care providers, must be aware of the possibility of allergic reactions due to food additives in oral hygiene products. Proper dosage levels, delivery vehicles, frequency, potential benefits, and adverse effects of oral health products should be explained completely to the patients. There is a necessity to raise the awareness among dental professionals on this subject and to develop a data gathering system for possible adverse reactions.

Geographically correlated orbit error

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosborough, G. W.

1989-01-01

The dominant error source in estimating the orbital position of a satellite from ground based tracking data is the modeling of the Earth's gravity field. The resulting orbit error due to gravity field model errors are predominantly long wavelength in nature. This results in an orbit error signature that is strongly correlated over distances on the size of ocean basins. Anderle and Hoskin (1977) have shown that the orbit error along a given ground track also is correlated to some degree with the orbit error along adjacent ground tracks. This cross track correlation is verified here and is found to be significant out to nearly 1000 kilometers in the case of TOPEX/POSEIDON when using the GEM-T1 gravity model. Finally, it was determined that even the orbit error at points where ascending and descending ground traces cross is somewhat correlated. The implication of these various correlations is that the orbit error due to gravity error is geographically correlated. Such correlations have direct implications when using altimetry to recover oceanographic signals.

Measurement variability error for estimates of volume change

Treesearch

James A. Westfall; Paul L. Patterson

2007-01-01

Using quality assurance data, measurement variability distributions were developed for attributes that affect tree volume prediction. Random deviations from the measurement variability distributions were applied to 19381 remeasured sample trees in Maine. The additional error due to measurement variation and measurement bias was estimated via a simulation study for...

Remediating Common Math Errors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Rudolph F.

1981-01-01

Explanations and remediation suggestions for five types of mathematics errors due either to perceptual or cognitive difficulties are given. Error types include directionality problems, mirror writing, visually misperceived signs, diagnosed directionality problems, and mixed process errors. (CL)

Medical error and related factors during internship and residency.

PubMed

Ahmadipour, Habibeh; Nahid, Mortazavi

2015-01-01

It is difficult to determine the real incidence of medical errors due to the lack of a precise definition of errors, as well as the failure to report them under certain circumstances. We carried out a cross- sectional study in Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran in 2013. The participants were selected through the census method. The data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of questions on the participants' demographic data and questions on the medical errors committed. The data were analysed by SPSS 19. It was found that 270 participants had committed medical errors. There was no significant difference in the frequency of errors committed by interns and residents. In the case of residents, the most common error was misdiagnosis and in that of interns, errors related to history-taking and physical examination. Considering that medical errors are common in the clinical setting, the education system should train interns and residents to prevent the occurrence of errors. In addition, the system should develop a positive attitude among them so that they can deal better with medical errors.

SBAR improves communication and safety climate and decreases incident reports due to communication errors in an anaesthetic clinic: a prospective intervention study.

PubMed

Randmaa, Maria; Mårtensson, Gunilla; Leo Swenne, Christine; Engström, Maria

2014-01-21

We aimed to examine staff members' perceptions of communication within and between different professions, safety attitudes and psychological empowerment, prior to and after implementation of the communication tool Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) at an anaesthetic clinic. The aim was also to study whether there was any change in the proportion of incident reports caused by communication errors. A prospective intervention study with comparison group using preassessments and postassessments. Questionnaire data were collected from staff in an intervention (n=100) and a comparison group (n=69) at the anaesthetic clinic in two hospitals prior to (2011) and after (2012) implementation of SBAR. The proportion of incident reports due to communication errors was calculated during a 1-year period prior to and after implementation. Anaesthetic clinics at two hospitals in Sweden. All licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and physicians working in the operating theatres, intensive care units and postanaesthesia care units at anaesthetic clinics in two hospitals were invited to participate. Implementation of SBAR in an anaesthetic clinic. The primary outcomes were staff members' perception of communication within and between different professions, as well as their perceptions of safety attitudes. Secondary outcomes were psychological empowerment and incident reports due to error of communication. In the intervention group, there were statistically significant improvements in the factors 'Between-group communication accuracy' (p=0.039) and 'Safety climate' (p=0.011). The proportion of incident reports due to communication errors decreased significantly (p<0.0001) in the intervention group, from 31% to 11%. Implementing the communication tool SBAR in anaesthetic clinics was associated with improvement in staff members' perception of communication between professionals and their perception of the safety climate as well as with a decreased proportion of

Triangulation Error Analysis for the Barium Ion Cloud Experiment. M.S. Thesis - North Carolina State Univ.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, S. A. T.

1973-01-01

The triangulation method developed specifically for the Barium Ion Cloud Project is discussed. Expression for the four displacement errors, the three slope errors, and the curvature error in the triangulation solution due to a probable error in the lines-of-sight from the observation stations to points on the cloud are derived. The triangulation method is then used to determine the effect of the following on these different errors in the solution: the number and location of the stations, the observation duration, east-west cloud drift, the number of input data points, and the addition of extra cameras to one of the stations. The pointing displacement errors, and the pointing slope errors are compared. The displacement errors in the solution due to a probable error in the position of a moving station plus the weighting factors for the data from the moving station are also determined.

Radar error statistics for the space shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lear, W. M.

1979-01-01

Radar error statistics of C-band and S-band that are recommended for use with the groundtracking programs to process space shuttle tracking data are presented. The statistics are divided into two parts: bias error statistics, using the subscript B, and high frequency error statistics, using the subscript q. Bias errors may be slowly varying to constant. High frequency random errors (noise) are rapidly varying and may or may not be correlated from sample to sample. Bias errors were mainly due to hardware defects and to errors in correction for atmospheric refraction effects. High frequency noise was mainly due to hardware and due to atmospheric scintillation. Three types of atmospheric scintillation were identified: horizontal, vertical, and line of sight. This was the first time that horizontal and line of sight scintillations were identified.

Errors in the estimation of approximate entropy and other recurrence-plot-derived indices due to the finite resolution of RR time series.

PubMed

García-González, Miguel A; Fernández-Chimeno, Mireya; Ramos-Castro, Juan

2009-02-01

An analysis of the errors due to the finite resolution of RR time series in the estimation of the approximate entropy (ApEn) is described. The quantification errors in the discrete RR time series produce considerable errors in the ApEn estimation (bias and variance) when the signal variability or the sampling frequency is low. Similar errors can be found in indices related to the quantification of recurrence plots. An easy way to calculate a figure of merit [the signal to resolution of the neighborhood ratio (SRN)] is proposed in order to predict when the bias in the indices could be high. When SRN is close to an integer value n, the bias is higher than when near n - 1/2 or n + 1/2. Moreover, if SRN is close to an integer value, the lower this value, the greater the bias is.

Edge profile analysis of Joint European Torus (JET) Thomson scattering data: Quantifying the systematic error due to edge localised mode synchronisation.

PubMed

Leyland, M J; Beurskens, M N A; Flanagan, J C; Frassinetti, L; Gibson, K J; Kempenaars, M; Maslov, M; Scannell, R

2016-01-01

The Joint European Torus (JET) high resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) system measures radial electron temperature and density profiles. One of the key capabilities of this diagnostic is measuring the steep pressure gradient, termed the pedestal, at the edge of JET plasmas. The pedestal is susceptible to limiting instabilities, such as Edge Localised Modes (ELMs), characterised by a periodic collapse of the steep gradient region. A common method to extract the pedestal width, gradient, and height, used on numerous machines, is by performing a modified hyperbolic tangent (mtanh) fit to overlaid profiles selected from the same region of the ELM cycle. This process of overlaying profiles, termed ELM synchronisation, maximises the number of data points defining the pedestal region for a given phase of the ELM cycle. When fitting to HRTS profiles, it is necessary to incorporate the diagnostic radial instrument function, particularly important when considering the pedestal width. A deconvolved fit is determined by a forward convolution method requiring knowledge of only the instrument function and profiles. The systematic error due to the deconvolution technique incorporated into the JET pedestal fitting tool has been documented by Frassinetti et al. [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 013506 (2012)]. This paper seeks to understand and quantify the systematic error introduced to the pedestal width due to ELM synchronisation. Synthetic profiles, generated with error bars and point-to-point variation characteristic of real HRTS profiles, are used to evaluate the deviation from the underlying pedestal width. We find on JET that the ELM synchronisation systematic error is negligible in comparison to the statistical error when assuming ten overlaid profiles (typical for a pre-ELM fit to HRTS profiles). This confirms that fitting a mtanh to ELM synchronised profiles is a robust and practical technique for extracting the pedestal structure.

Generalized additive models and Lucilia sericata growth: assessing confidence intervals and error rates in forensic entomology.

PubMed

Tarone, Aaron M; Foran, David R

2008-07-01

Forensic entomologists use blow fly development to estimate a postmortem interval. Although accurate, fly age estimates can be imprecise for older developmental stages and no standard means of assigning confidence intervals exists. Presented here is a method for modeling growth of the forensically important blow fly Lucilia sericata, using generalized additive models (GAMs). Eighteen GAMs were created to predict the extent of juvenile fly development, encompassing developmental stage, length, weight, strain, and temperature data, collected from 2559 individuals. All measures were informative, explaining up to 92.6% of the deviance in the data, though strain and temperature exerted negligible influences. Predictions made with an independent data set allowed for a subsequent examination of error. Estimates using length and developmental stage were within 5% of true development percent during the feeding portion of the larval life cycle, while predictions for postfeeding third instars were less precise, but within expected error.

SU-F-J-131: Reproducibility of Positioning Error Due to Temporarily Indwelled Urethral Catheter for Urethra-Sparing Prostate IMRT

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

Hirose, K; Takai, Y; Southern Tohoku BNCT Research Center, Koriyama

2016-06-15

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to prospectively assess the reproducibility of positioning errors due to temporarily indwelled catheter in urethra-sparing image-guided (IG) IMRT. Methods: Ten patients received urethra-sparing prostate IG-IMRT with implanted fiducials. After the first CT scan was performed in supine position, 6-Fr catheter was indwelled into urethra, and the second CT images were taken for planning. While the PTV received 80 Gy, 5% dose reduction was applied for the urethral PRV along the catheter. Additional CT scans were also performed at 5th and 30th fraction. Positions of interests (POIs) were set on posterior edge of prostatemore » at beam isocenter level (POI1) and cranial and caudal edge of prostatic urethra on the post-indwelled CT images. POIs were copied into the pre-indwelled, 5th and 30th fraction’s CT images after fiducial matching on these CT images. The deviation of each POI between pre- and post-indwelled CT and the reproducibility of prostate displacement due to catheter were evaluated. Results: The deviation of POI1 caused by the indwelled catheter to the directions of RL/AP/SI (mm) was 0.20±0.27/−0.64±2.43/1.02±2.31, respectively, and the absolute distances (mm) were 3.15±1.41. The deviation tends to be larger if closer to the caudal edge of prostate. Compared with the pre-indwelled CT scan, a median displacement of all POIs (mm) were 0.3±0.2/2.2±1.1/2.0±2.6 in the post-indwelled, 0.4±0.4/3.4±2.1/2.3±2.6 in 5th, and 0.5±0.5/1.7±2.2/1.9±3.1 in 30th fraction’s CT scan with a similar data distribution. There were 6 patients with 5-mm-over displacement in AP and/or CC directions. Conclusion: Reproducibility of positioning errors due to temporarily indwelling catheter was observed. Especially in case of patients with unusually large shifts by indwelling catheter at the planning process, treatment planning should be performed by using the pre-indwelled CT images with transferred contour of the urethra

Irradiance measurement errors due to the assumption of a Lambertian reference panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kimes, D. S.; Kirchner, J. A.

1982-01-01

A technique is presented for determining the error in diurnal irradiance measurements that results from the non-Lambertian behavior of a reference panel under various irradiance conditions. Spectral biconical reflectance factors of a spray-painted barium sulfate panel, along with simulated sky radiance data for clear and hazy skies at six solar zenith angles, were used to calculate the estimated panel irradiances and true irradiances for a nadir-looking sensor in two wavelength bands. The inherent errors in total spectral irradiance (0.68 microns) for a clear sky were 0.60, 6.0, 13.0, and 27.0% for solar zenith angles of 0, 45, 60, and 75 deg, respectively. The technique can be used to characterize the error of a specific panel used in field measurements, and thus eliminate any ambiguity of the effects of the type, preparation, and aging of the paint.

Error and Error Mitigation in Low-Coverage Genome Assemblies

PubMed Central

Hubisz, Melissa J.; Lin, Michael F.; Kellis, Manolis; Siepel, Adam

2011-01-01

The recent release of twenty-two new genome sequences has dramatically increased the data available for mammalian comparative genomics, but twenty of these new sequences are currently limited to ∼2× coverage. Here we examine the extent of sequencing error in these 2× assemblies, and its potential impact in downstream analyses. By comparing 2× assemblies with high-quality sequences from the ENCODE regions, we estimate the rate of sequencing error to be 1–4 errors per kilobase. While this error rate is fairly modest, sequencing error can still have surprising effects. For example, an apparent lineage-specific insertion in a coding region is more likely to reflect sequencing error than a true biological event, and the length distribution of coding indels is strongly distorted by error. We find that most errors are contributed by a small fraction of bases with low quality scores, in particular, by the ends of reads in regions of single-read coverage in the assembly. We explore several approaches for automatic sequencing error mitigation (SEM), making use of the localized nature of sequencing error, the fact that it is well predicted by quality scores, and information about errors that comes from comparisons across species. Our automatic methods for error mitigation cannot replace the need for additional sequencing, but they do allow substantial fractions of errors to be masked or eliminated at the cost of modest amounts of over-correction, and they can reduce the impact of error in downstream phylogenomic analyses. Our error-mitigated alignments are available for download. PMID:21340033

Extending the impulse response in order to reduce errors due to impulse noise and signal fading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webb, Joseph A.; Rolls, Andrew J.; Sirisena, H. R.

1988-01-01

A finite impulse response (FIR) digital smearing filter was designed to produce maximum intersymbol interference and maximum extension of the impulse response of the signal in a noiseless binary channel. A matched FIR desmearing filter at the receiver then reduced the intersymbol interference to zero. Signal fades were simulated by means of 100 percent signal blockage in the channel. Smearing and desmearing filters of length 256, 512, and 1024 were used for these simulations. Results indicate that impulse response extension by means of bit smearing appears to be a useful technique for correcting errors due to impulse noise or signal fading in a binary channel.

Characterizing the SWOT discharge error budget on the Sacramento River, CA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Y.; Durand, M. T.; Minear, J. T.; Smith, L.; Merry, C. J.

2013-12-01

significant degradation due to direct error in the discharge estimates. As the width error increases past 20%, the discharge error budget is dominated by the width error. Above two experiments are performed based on AirSWOT scenarios. In addition, we explore the sensitivity of the algorithm to the SWOT scenarios.

Measurement error in mobile source air pollution exposure estimates due to residential mobility during pregnancy

PubMed Central

Pennington, Audrey Flak; Strickland, Matthew J.; Klein, Mitchel; Zhai, Xinxin; Russell, Armistead G.; Hansen, Craig; Darrow, Lyndsey A.

2018-01-01

Prenatal air pollution exposure is frequently estimated using maternal residential location at the time of delivery as a proxy for residence during pregnancy. We describe residential mobility during pregnancy among 19,951 children from the Kaiser Air Pollution and Pediatric Asthma Study, quantify measurement error in spatially-resolved estimates of prenatal exposure to mobile source fine particulate matter (PM2.5) due to ignoring this mobility, and simulate the impact of this error on estimates of epidemiologic associations. Two exposure estimates were compared, one calculated using complete residential histories during pregnancy (weighted average based on time spent at each address) and the second calculated using only residence at birth. Estimates were computed using annual averages of primary PM2.5 from traffic emissions modeled using a research line-source dispersion model (RLINE) at 250 meter resolution. In this cohort, 18.6% of children were born to mothers who moved at least once during pregnancy. Mobile source PM2.5 exposure estimates calculated using complete residential histories during pregnancy and only residence at birth were highly correlated (rS>0.9). Simulations indicated that ignoring residential mobility resulted in modest bias of epidemiologic associations toward the null, but varied by maternal characteristics and prenatal exposure windows of interest (ranging from −2% to −10% bias). PMID:27966666

Measurement error in mobile source air pollution exposure estimates due to residential mobility during pregnancy.

PubMed

Pennington, Audrey Flak; Strickland, Matthew J; Klein, Mitchel; Zhai, Xinxin; Russell, Armistead G; Hansen, Craig; Darrow, Lyndsey A

2017-09-01

Prenatal air pollution exposure is frequently estimated using maternal residential location at the time of delivery as a proxy for residence during pregnancy. We describe residential mobility during pregnancy among 19,951 children from the Kaiser Air Pollution and Pediatric Asthma Study, quantify measurement error in spatially resolved estimates of prenatal exposure to mobile source fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) due to ignoring this mobility, and simulate the impact of this error on estimates of epidemiologic associations. Two exposure estimates were compared, one calculated using complete residential histories during pregnancy (weighted average based on time spent at each address) and the second calculated using only residence at birth. Estimates were computed using annual averages of primary PM 2.5 from traffic emissions modeled using a Research LINE-source dispersion model for near-surface releases (RLINE) at 250 m resolution. In this cohort, 18.6% of children were born to mothers who moved at least once during pregnancy. Mobile source PM 2.5 exposure estimates calculated using complete residential histories during pregnancy and only residence at birth were highly correlated (r S >0.9). Simulations indicated that ignoring residential mobility resulted in modest bias of epidemiologic associations toward the null, but varied by maternal characteristics and prenatal exposure windows of interest (ranging from -2% to -10% bias).

Error detection method

DOEpatents

Olson, Eric J.

2013-06-11

An apparatus, program product, and method that run an algorithm on a hardware based processor, generate a hardware error as a result of running the algorithm, generate an algorithm output for the algorithm, compare the algorithm output to another output for the algorithm, and detect the hardware error from the comparison. The algorithm is designed to cause the hardware based processor to heat to a degree that increases the likelihood of hardware errors to manifest, and the hardware error is observable in the algorithm output. As such, electronic components may be sufficiently heated and/or sufficiently stressed to create better conditions for generating hardware errors, and the output of the algorithm may be compared at the end of the run to detect a hardware error that occurred anywhere during the run that may otherwise not be detected by traditional methodologies (e.g., due to cooling, insufficient heat and/or stress, etc.).

Medication errors in anesthesia: unacceptable or unavoidable?

PubMed

Dhawan, Ira; Tewari, Anurag; Sehgal, Sankalp; Sinha, Ashish Chandra

Medication errors are the common causes of patient morbidity and mortality. It adds financial burden to the institution as well. Though the impact varies from no harm to serious adverse effects including death, it needs attention on priority basis since medication errors' are preventable. In today's world where people are aware and medical claims are on the hike, it is of utmost priority that we curb this issue. Individual effort to decrease medication error alone might not be successful until a change in the existing protocols and system is incorporated. Often drug errors that occur cannot be reversed. The best way to 'treat' drug errors is to prevent them. Wrong medication (due to syringe swap), overdose (due to misunderstanding or preconception of the dose, pump misuse and dilution error), incorrect administration route, under dosing and omission are common causes of medication error that occur perioperatively. Drug omission and calculation mistakes occur commonly in ICU. Medication errors can occur perioperatively either during preparation, administration or record keeping. Numerous human and system errors can be blamed for occurrence of medication errors. The need of the hour is to stop the blame - game, accept mistakes and develop a safe and 'just' culture in order to prevent medication errors. The newly devised systems like VEINROM, a fluid delivery system is a novel approach in preventing drug errors due to most commonly used medications in anesthesia. Similar developments along with vigilant doctors, safe workplace culture and organizational support all together can help prevent these errors. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.

Global tropospheric ozone modeling: Quantifying errors due to grid resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wild, Oliver; Prather, Michael J.

2006-06-01

Ozone production in global chemical models is dependent on model resolution because ozone chemistry is inherently nonlinear, the timescales for chemical production are short, and precursors are artificially distributed over the spatial scale of the model grid. In this study we examine the sensitivity of ozone, its precursors, and its production to resolution by running a global chemical transport model at four different resolutions between T21 (5.6° × 5.6°) and T106 (1.1° × 1.1°) and by quantifying the errors in regional and global budgets. The sensitivity to vertical mixing through the parameterization of boundary layer turbulence is also examined. We find less ozone production in the boundary layer at higher resolution, consistent with slower chemical production in polluted emission regions and greater export of precursors. Agreement with ozonesonde and aircraft measurements made during the NASA TRACE-P campaign over the western Pacific in spring 2001 is consistently better at higher resolution. We demonstrate that the numerical errors in transport processes on a given resolution converge geometrically for a tracer at successively higher resolutions. The convergence in ozone production on progressing from T21 to T42, T63, and T106 resolution is likewise monotonic but indicates that there are still large errors at 120 km scales, suggesting that T106 resolution is too coarse to resolve regional ozone production. Diagnosing the ozone production and precursor transport that follow a short pulse of emissions over east Asia in springtime allows us to quantify the impacts of resolution on both regional and global ozone. Production close to continental emission regions is overestimated by 27% at T21 resolution, by 13% at T42 resolution, and by 5% at T106 resolution. However, subsequent ozone production in the free troposphere is not greatly affected. We find that the export of short-lived precursors such as NOx by convection is overestimated at coarse resolution.

Errors in Computing the Normalized Protein Catabolic Rate due to Use of Single-pool Urea Kinetic Modeling or to Omission of the Residual Kidney Urea Clearance.

PubMed

Daugirdas, John T

2017-07-01

The protein catabolic rate normalized to body size (PCRn) often is computed in dialysis units to obtain information about protein ingestion. However, errors can manifest when inappropriate modeling methods are used. We used a variable volume 2-pool urea kinetic model to examine the percent errors in PCRn due to use of a 1-pool urea kinetic model or after omission of residual urea clearance (Kru). When a single-pool model was used, 2 sources of errors were identified. The first, dependent on the ratio of dialyzer urea clearance to urea distribution volume (K/V), resulted in a 7% inflation of the PCRn when K/V was in the range of 6 mL/min per L. A second, larger error appeared when Kt/V values were below 1.0 and was related to underestimation of urea distribution volume (due to overestimation of effective clearance) by the single-pool model. A previously reported prediction equation for PCRn was valid, but data suggest that it should be modified using 2-pool eKt/V and V coefficients instead of single-pool values. A third source of error, this one unrelated to use of a single-pool model, namely omission of Kru, was shown to result in an underestimation of PCRn, such that each ml/minute Kru per 35 L of V caused a 5.6% underestimate in PCRn. Marked overestimation of PCRn can result due to inappropriate use of a single-pool urea kinetic model, particularly when Kt/V <1.0 (as in short daily dialysis), or after omission of residual native kidney clearance. Copyright © 2017 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Model Error Estimation for the CPTEC Eta Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tippett, Michael K.; daSilva, Arlindo

1999-01-01

Statistical data assimilation systems require the specification of forecast and observation error statistics. Forecast error is due to model imperfections and differences between the initial condition and the actual state of the atmosphere. Practical four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) methods try to fit the forecast state to the observations and assume that the model error is negligible. Here with a number of simplifying assumption, a framework is developed for isolating the model error given the forecast error at two lead-times. Two definitions are proposed for the Talagrand ratio tau, the fraction of the forecast error due to model error rather than initial condition error. Data from the CPTEC Eta Model running operationally over South America are used to calculate forecast error statistics and lower bounds for tau.

To err is human nature. Can transfusion errors due to human factors ever be eliminated?

PubMed

Lau, F Y; Cheng, G

2001-11-01

Fatal hemolytic transfusion reaction due to ABO incompatibility occurs mainly as a result of clerical errors. Blood sample drawn from the wrong patient and labeled as another patient's specimen will not be detected by the blood bank unless there is a previous ABO grouping result. In Hong Kong, we had designed a transfusion wristband system--portable barcode scanner system to detect such clerical errors. The system was well accepted by the house staff and had prevented two BO mismatched transfusion. Other current system of patient's identification may have similar results, but the wristband system has the advantages of being simple, inexpensive and easy to implement. The Hong Kong Government is planning to replace the personal identity card for all citizens with an electronic smart card by 2003. If the new card contains the person's detailed red cell phenotypes in digital code, then the phenotypes of all blood donors and admitted patients will be readily available. It is feasible to issue phenotype-matched blood to patients without any need of pre-transfusion testing, therefore eliminating mismatched transfusions for most patients. Our pilot study of 474 patients showed that the system was safe and up to 98% of admitted patients could be transfused without delays. Patients with rare phenotypes, visitors or illegal immigrants may still need pre-transfusion antibody screen, but if most patients can be issued blood units without testings, the potential savings in health care amount to US$14 million/year.

Coping with medical error: a systematic review of papers to assess the effects of involvement in medical errors on healthcare professionals' psychological well-being.

PubMed

Sirriyeh, Reema; Lawton, Rebecca; Gardner, Peter; Armitage, Gerry

2010-12-01

Previous research has established health professionals as secondary victims of medical error, with the identification of a range of emotional and psychological repercussions that may occur as a result of involvement in error.2 3 Due to the vast range of emotional and psychological outcomes, research to date has been inconsistent in the variables measured and tools used. Therefore, differing conclusions have been drawn as to the nature of the impact of error on professionals and the subsequent repercussions for their team, patients and healthcare institution. A systematic review was conducted. Data sources were identified using database searches, with additional reference and hand searching. Eligibility criteria were applied to all studies identified, resulting in a total of 24 included studies. Quality assessment was conducted with the included studies using a tool that was developed as part of this research, but due to the limited number and diverse nature of studies, no exclusions were made on this basis. Review findings suggest that there is consistent evidence for the widespread impact of medical error on health professionals. Psychological repercussions may include negative states such as shame, self-doubt, anxiety and guilt. Despite much attention devoted to the assessment of negative outcomes, the potential for positive outcomes resulting from error also became apparent, with increased assertiveness, confidence and improved colleague relationships reported. It is evident that involvement in a medical error can elicit a significant psychological response from the health professional involved. However, a lack of literature around coping and support, coupled with inconsistencies and weaknesses in methodology, may need be addressed in future work.

A general model for attitude determination error analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markley, F. Landis; Seidewitz, ED; Nicholson, Mark

1988-01-01

An overview is given of a comprehensive approach to filter and dynamics modeling for attitude determination error analysis. The models presented include both batch least-squares and sequential attitude estimation processes for both spin-stabilized and three-axis stabilized spacecraft. The discussion includes a brief description of a dynamics model of strapdown gyros, but it does not cover other sensor models. Model parameters can be chosen to be solve-for parameters, which are assumed to be estimated as part of the determination process, or consider parameters, which are assumed to have errors but not to be estimated. The only restriction on this choice is that the time evolution of the consider parameters must not depend on any of the solve-for parameters. The result of an error analysis is an indication of the contributions of the various error sources to the uncertainties in the determination of the spacecraft solve-for parameters. The model presented gives the uncertainty due to errors in the a priori estimates of the solve-for parameters, the uncertainty due to measurement noise, the uncertainty due to dynamic noise (also known as process noise or measurement noise), the uncertainty due to the consider parameters, and the overall uncertainty due to all these sources of error.

Error-Based Design Space Windowing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Papila, Melih; Papila, Nilay U.; Shyy, Wei; Haftka, Raphael T.; Fitz-Coy, Norman

2002-01-01

Windowing of design space is considered in order to reduce the bias errors due to low-order polynomial response surfaces (RS). Standard design space windowing (DSW) uses a region of interest by setting a requirement on response level and checks it by a global RS predictions over the design space. This approach, however, is vulnerable since RS modeling errors may lead to the wrong region to zoom on. The approach is modified by introducing an eigenvalue error measure based on point-to-point mean squared error criterion. Two examples are presented to demonstrate the benefit of the error-based DSW.

Performance Metrics, Error Modeling, and Uncertainty Quantification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tian, Yudong; Nearing, Grey S.; Peters-Lidard, Christa D.; Harrison, Kenneth W.; Tang, Ling

2016-01-01

A common set of statistical metrics has been used to summarize the performance of models or measurements-­ the most widely used ones being bias, mean square error, and linear correlation coefficient. They assume linear, additive, Gaussian errors, and they are interdependent, incomplete, and incapable of directly quantifying un­certainty. The authors demonstrate that these metrics can be directly derived from the parameters of the simple linear error model. Since a correct error model captures the full error information, it is argued that the specification of a parametric error model should be an alternative to the metrics-based approach. The error-modeling meth­odology is applicable to both linear and nonlinear errors, while the metrics are only meaningful for linear errors. In addition, the error model expresses the error structure more naturally, and directly quantifies uncertainty. This argument is further explained by highlighting the intrinsic connections between the performance metrics, the error model, and the joint distribution between the data and the reference.

Potential errors in optical density measurements due to scanning side in EBT and EBT2 Gafchromic film dosimetry.

PubMed

Desroches, Joannie; Bouchard, Hugo; Lacroix, Frédéric

2010-04-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect on the measured optical density of scanning on either side of a Gafchromic EBT and EBT2 film using an Epson (Epson Canada Ltd., Toronto, Ontario) 10000XL flat bed scanner. Calibration curves were constructed using EBT2 film scanned in landscape orientation in both reflection and transmission mode on an Epson 10000XL scanner. Calibration curves were also constructed using EBT film. Potential errors due to an optical density difference from scanning the film on either side ("face up" or "face down") were simulated. Scanning the film face up or face down on the scanner bed while keeping the film angular orientation constant affects the measured optical density when scanning in reflection mode. In contrast, no statistically significant effect was seen when scanning in transmission mode. This effect can significantly affect relative and absolute dose measurements. As an application example, the authors demonstrate potential errors of 17.8% by inverting the film scanning side on the gamma index for 3%-3 mm criteria on a head and neck intensity modulated radiotherapy plan, and errors in absolute dose measurements ranging from 10% to 35% between 2 and 5 Gy. Process consistency is the key to obtaining accurate and precise results in Gafchromic film dosimetry. When scanning in reflection mode, care must be taken to place the film consistently on the same side on the scanner bed.

Calculation of stochastic broadening due to noise and field errors in the simple map in action-angle coordinates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinton, Courtney; Punjabi, Alkesh; Ali, Halima

2008-11-01

The simple map is the simplest map that has topology of divertor tokamaks [1]. Recently, the action-angle coordinates for simple map are analytically calculated, and simple map is constructed in action-angle coordinates [2]. Action-angle coordinates for simple map can not be inverted to real space coordinates (R,Z). Because there is logarithmic singularity on the ideal separatrix, trajectories can not cross separatrix [2]. Simple map in action-angle coordinates is applied to calculate stochastic broadening due to magnetic noise and field errors. Mode numbers for noise + field errors from the DIII-D tokamak are used. Mode numbers are (m,n)=(3,1), (4,1), (6,2), (7,2), (8,2), (9,3), (10,3), (11,3), (12,3) [3]. The common amplitude δ is varied from 0.8X10-5 to 2.0X10-5. For this noise and field errors, the width of stochastic layer in simple map is calculated. This work is supported by US Department of Energy grants DE-FG02-07ER54937, DE-FG02-01ER54624 and DE-FG02-04ER54793 1. A. Punjabi, H. Ali, T. Evans, and A. Boozer, Phys. Let. A 364, 140--145 (2007). 2. O. Kerwin, A. Punjabi, and H. Ali, to appear in Physics of Plasmas. 3. A. Punjabi and H. Ali, P1.012, 35^th EPS Conference on Plasma Physics, June 9-13, 2008, Hersonissos, Crete, Greece.

Quantifying the errors due to the superposition of analytical deformation sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuberg, J. W.; Pascal, K.

2012-04-01

The displacement field due to magma movement in the subsurface is often modelled using a Mogi point source or a dislocation Okada source embedded in a homogeneous elastic half-space. When the magmatic system cannot be modelled by a single source it is often represented by several sources, their respective deformation fields are superimposed. However, in such a case the assumption of homogeneity in the half-space is violated and the interaction between sources in an elastic medium is neglected. In this investigation we have quantified the effects of neglecting the interaction between sources on the surface deformation field. To do so, we calculated the vertical and horizontal displacements for models with adjacent sources and we tested them against the solutions of corresponding numerical 3D finite element models. We implemented several models combining spherical pressure sources and dislocation sources, varying the pressure or dislocation of the sources and their relative position. We also investigated three numerical methods to model a dike as a dislocation tensile source or as a pressurized tabular crack. We found that the discrepancies between simple superposition of the displacement field and a fully interacting numerical solution depend mostly on the source types and on their spacing. The errors induced when neglecting the source interaction are expected to vary greatly with the physical and geometrical parameters of the model. We demonstrated that for certain scenarios these discrepancies can be neglected (<5%) when the sources are separated by at least 4 radii for two combined Mogi sources and by at least 3 radii for juxtaposed Mogi and Okada sources

Asymmetric Memory Circuit Would Resist Soft Errors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buehler, Martin G.; Perlman, Marvin

1990-01-01

Some nonlinear error-correcting codes more efficient in presence of asymmetry. Combination of circuit-design and coding concepts expected to make integrated-circuit random-access memories more resistant to "soft" errors (temporary bit errors, also called "single-event upsets" due to ionizing radiation). Integrated circuit of new type made deliberately more susceptible to one kind of bit error than to other, and associated error-correcting code adapted to exploit this asymmetry in error probabilities.

Software error detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buechler, W.; Tucker, A. G.

1981-01-01

Several methods were employed to detect both the occurrence and source of errors in the operational software of the AN/SLQ-32. A large embedded real time electronic warfare command and control system for the ROLM 1606 computer are presented. The ROLM computer provides information about invalid addressing, improper use of privileged instructions, stack overflows, and unimplemented instructions. Additionally, software techniques were developed to detect invalid jumps, indices out of range, infinte loops, stack underflows, and field size errors. Finally, data are saved to provide information about the status of the system when an error is detected. This information includes I/O buffers, interrupt counts, stack contents, and recently passed locations. The various errors detected, techniques to assist in debugging problems, and segment simulation on a nontarget computer are discussed. These error detection techniques were a major factor in the success of finding the primary cause of error in 98% of over 500 system dumps.

Goldmann tonometer error correcting prism: clinical evaluation.

PubMed

McCafferty, Sean; Lim, Garrett; Duncan, William; Enikov, Eniko T; Schwiegerling, Jim; Levine, Jason; Kew, Corin

2017-01-01

Clinically evaluate a modified applanating surface Goldmann tonometer prism designed to substantially negate errors due to patient variability in biomechanics. A modified Goldmann prism with a correcting applanation tonometry surface (CATS) was mathematically optimized to minimize the intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement error due to patient variability in corneal thickness, stiffness, curvature, and tear film adhesion force. A comparative clinical study of 109 eyes measured IOP with CATS and Goldmann prisms. The IOP measurement differences between the CATS and Goldmann prisms were correlated to corneal thickness, hysteresis, and curvature. The CATS tonometer prism in correcting for Goldmann central corneal thickness (CCT) error demonstrated a reduction to <±2 mmHg in 97% of a standard CCT population. This compares to only 54% with CCT error <±2 mmHg using the Goldmann prism. Equal reductions of ~50% in errors due to corneal rigidity and curvature were also demonstrated. The results validate the CATS prism's improved accuracy and expected reduced sensitivity to Goldmann errors without IOP bias as predicted by mathematical modeling. The CATS replacement for the Goldmann prism does not change Goldmann measurement technique or interpretation.

Reducing Bias and Error in the Correlation Coefficient Due to Nonnormality.

PubMed

Bishara, Anthony J; Hittner, James B

2015-10-01

It is more common for educational and psychological data to be nonnormal than to be approximately normal. This tendency may lead to bias and error in point estimates of the Pearson correlation coefficient. In a series of Monte Carlo simulations, the Pearson correlation was examined under conditions of normal and nonnormal data, and it was compared with its major alternatives, including the Spearman rank-order correlation, the bootstrap estimate, the Box-Cox transformation family, and a general normalizing transformation (i.e., rankit), as well as to various bias adjustments. Nonnormality caused the correlation coefficient to be inflated by up to +.14, particularly when the nonnormality involved heavy-tailed distributions. Traditional bias adjustments worsened this problem, further inflating the estimate. The Spearman and rankit correlations eliminated this inflation and provided conservative estimates. Rankit also minimized random error for most sample sizes, except for the smallest samples ( n = 10), where bootstrapping was more effective. Overall, results justify the use of carefully chosen alternatives to the Pearson correlation when normality is violated.

Reducing Bias and Error in the Correlation Coefficient Due to Nonnormality

PubMed Central

Hittner, James B.

2014-01-01

It is more common for educational and psychological data to be nonnormal than to be approximately normal. This tendency may lead to bias and error in point estimates of the Pearson correlation coefficient. In a series of Monte Carlo simulations, the Pearson correlation was examined under conditions of normal and nonnormal data, and it was compared with its major alternatives, including the Spearman rank-order correlation, the bootstrap estimate, the Box–Cox transformation family, and a general normalizing transformation (i.e., rankit), as well as to various bias adjustments. Nonnormality caused the correlation coefficient to be inflated by up to +.14, particularly when the nonnormality involved heavy-tailed distributions. Traditional bias adjustments worsened this problem, further inflating the estimate. The Spearman and rankit correlations eliminated this inflation and provided conservative estimates. Rankit also minimized random error for most sample sizes, except for the smallest samples (n = 10), where bootstrapping was more effective. Overall, results justify the use of carefully chosen alternatives to the Pearson correlation when normality is violated. PMID:29795841

Review of a fluid resuscitation protocol: "fluid creep" is not due to nursing error.

PubMed

Faraklas, Iris; Cochran, Amalia; Saffle, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

Recent reviews of burn resuscitation have included the suggestion that "fluid creep" may be influenced by practitioner error. Our center uses a nursing-driven resuscitation protocol that permits titration of fluid based on hourly urine output, including the addition of colloid when patients fail to respond appropriately. The purpose of this study was to examine protocol compliance. We reviewed 140 patients (26 children) with burns of ≥20% TBSA who received protocol-directed resuscitation from 2005 to 2010. We compared each patient's actual hourly fluid infusion with that predicted by the protocol. Sixty-seven patients (48%) completed resuscitation using crystalloid alone, whereas 73 patients required colloid supplementation. Groups did not differ in age, gender, weight, or time from injury to admission. Patients requiring colloid had larger median total burns (33.0 vs 23.5% TBSA) and full-thickness burns (15.5 vs 4.5% TBSA) and more inhalation injuries (60.3 vs 28.4%; P < .001) than those who resuscitated with crystalloid alone. Because we included basic maintenance fluids in their regimen, patients had median predicted requirements of 5.4 ml/kg/%TBSA. Crystalloid-only patients required fluid volumes close to Parkland predictions (4.7 ml/kg/%TBSA), whereas patients who received colloid required more fluid than the predicted volume (7.5 ml/kg/%TBSA). However, the hourly difference between the predicted and received fluids was a median of only 1.0% (interquartile range: -6.1 to 11.1%) and did not differ between groups. Pediatric patients had greater calculated differences than adults. Crystalloid patients exhibited higher urine outputs than colloid patients until colloid was started, suggesting that early over-resuscitation did not contribute to fluid creep. Adherence to our protocol for burn shock resuscitation was excellent overall. Fluid creep exhibited by more seriously injured patients was not due to nurses' failure to follow the protocol. This review has

Theoretical evaluation of errors in aerosol optical depth retrievals from ground-based direct-sun measurements due to circumsolar and related effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kocifaj, Miroslav; Gueymard, Christian A.

2011-02-01

Aerosol optical depth (AOD) has a crucial importance for estimating the optical properties of the atmosphere, and is constantly present in optical models of aerosol systems. Any error in aerosol optical depth (∂AOD) has direct and indirect consequences. On the one hand, such errors affect the accuracy of radiative transfer models (thus implying, e.g., potential errors in the evaluation of radiative forcing by aerosols). Additionally, any error in determining AOD is reflected in the retrieved microphysical properties of aerosol particles, which might therefore be inaccurate. Three distinct effects (circumsolar radiation, optical mass, and solar disk's brightness distribution) affecting ∂AOD are qualified and quantified in the present study. The contribution of circumsolar (CS) radiation to the measured flux density of direct solar radiation has received more attention than the two other effects in the literature. It varies rapidly with meteorological conditions and size distribution of the aerosol particles, but also with instrument field of view. Numerical simulations of the three effects just mentioned were conducted, assuming otherwise "perfect" experimental conditions. The results show that CS is responsible for the largest error in AOD, while the effect of brightness distribution (BD) has only a negligible impact. The optical mass (OM) effect yields negligible errors in AOD generally, but noticeable errors for low sun (within 10° of the horizon). In general, the OM and BD effects result in negative errors in AOD (i.e. the true AOD is smaller than that of the experimental determination), conversely to CS. Although the rapid increase in optical mass at large zenith angles can change the sign of ∂AOD, the CS contribution frequently plays the leading role in ∂AOD. To maximize the accuracy in AOD retrievals, the CS effect should not be ignored. In practice, however, this effect can be difficult to evaluate correctly unless the instantaneous aerosols size

Opioid errors in inpatient palliative care services: a retrospective review.

PubMed

Heneka, Nicole; Shaw, Tim; Rowett, Debra; Lapkin, Samuel; Phillips, Jane L

2018-06-01

Opioids are a high-risk medicine frequently used to manage palliative patients' cancer-related pain and other symptoms. Despite the high volume of opioid use in inpatient palliative care services, and the potential for patient harm, few studies have focused on opioid errors in this population. To (i) identify the number of opioid errors reported by inpatient palliative care services, (ii) identify reported opioid error characteristics and (iii) determine the impact of opioid errors on palliative patient outcomes. A 24-month retrospective review of opioid errors reported in three inpatient palliative care services in one Australian state. Of the 55 opioid errors identified, 84% reached the patient. Most errors involved morphine (35%) or hydromorphone (29%). Opioid administration errors accounted for 76% of reported opioid errors, largely due to omitted dose (33%) or wrong dose (24%) errors. Patients were more likely to receive a lower dose of opioid than ordered as a direct result of an opioid error (57%), with errors adversely impacting pain and/or symptom management in 42% of patients. Half (53%) of the affected patients required additional treatment and/or care as a direct consequence of the opioid error. This retrospective review has provided valuable insights into the patterns and impact of opioid errors in inpatient palliative care services. Iatrogenic harm related to opioid underdosing errors contributed to palliative patients' unrelieved pain. Better understanding the factors that contribute to opioid errors and the role of safety culture in the palliative care service context warrants further investigation. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Reducing Bias and Error in the Correlation Coefficient Due to Nonnormality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bishara, Anthony J.; Hittner, James B.

2015-01-01

It is more common for educational and psychological data to be nonnormal than to be approximately normal. This tendency may lead to bias and error in point estimates of the Pearson correlation coefficient. In a series of Monte Carlo simulations, the Pearson correlation was examined under conditions of normal and nonnormal data, and it was compared…

Uncorrected refractive errors.

PubMed

Naidoo, Kovin S; Jaggernath, Jyoti

2012-01-01

Global estimates indicate that more than 2.3 billion people in the world suffer from poor vision due to refractive error; of which 670 million people are considered visually impaired because they do not have access to corrective treatment. Refractive errors, if uncorrected, results in an impaired quality of life for millions of people worldwide, irrespective of their age, sex and ethnicity. Over the past decade, a series of studies using a survey methodology, referred to as Refractive Error Study in Children (RESC), were performed in populations with different ethnic origins and cultural settings. These studies confirmed that the prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors is considerably high for children in low-and-middle-income countries. Furthermore, uncorrected refractive error has been noted to have extensive social and economic impacts, such as limiting educational and employment opportunities of economically active persons, healthy individuals and communities. The key public health challenges presented by uncorrected refractive errors, the leading cause of vision impairment across the world, require urgent attention. To address these issues, it is critical to focus on the development of human resources and sustainable methods of service delivery. This paper discusses three core pillars to addressing the challenges posed by uncorrected refractive errors: Human Resource (HR) Development, Service Development and Social Entrepreneurship.

Uncorrected refractive errors

PubMed Central

Naidoo, Kovin S; Jaggernath, Jyoti

2012-01-01

Global estimates indicate that more than 2.3 billion people in the world suffer from poor vision due to refractive error; of which 670 million people are considered visually impaired because they do not have access to corrective treatment. Refractive errors, if uncorrected, results in an impaired quality of life for millions of people worldwide, irrespective of their age, sex and ethnicity. Over the past decade, a series of studies using a survey methodology, referred to as Refractive Error Study in Children (RESC), were performed in populations with different ethnic origins and cultural settings. These studies confirmed that the prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors is considerably high for children in low-and-middle-income countries. Furthermore, uncorrected refractive error has been noted to have extensive social and economic impacts, such as limiting educational and employment opportunities of economically active persons, healthy individuals and communities. The key public health challenges presented by uncorrected refractive errors, the leading cause of vision impairment across the world, require urgent attention. To address these issues, it is critical to focus on the development of human resources and sustainable methods of service delivery. This paper discusses three core pillars to addressing the challenges posed by uncorrected refractive errors: Human Resource (HR) Development, Service Development and Social Entrepreneurship. PMID:22944755

Theoretical Study of the Conditions of Maximum Manifestation of the Error Due to Inhomogeneity of Thermocouple Legs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhigang; Song, Wenguang; Kochan, Orest; Mykyichuk, Mykola; Jun, Su

2017-07-01

The method of theoretical analysis of temperature ranges for the maximum manifestation of the error due to acquired thermoelectric inhomogeneity of thermocouple legs is proposed in this paper. The drift function of the reference function of a type K thermocouples in a ceramic insulation, that consisted of 1.2 mm diameter thermoelements after their exposure to 800°C for 10 000 h in an oxidizing atmosphere (air), is analyzed. The method takes into account various operating conditions to determine the optimal conditions for studying inhomogeneous thermocouples. The method can be applied for other types of thermocouples when taking into account their specific characteristics and the conditions that they have been exposed to.

Intrusion errors in visuospatial working memory performance.

PubMed

Cornoldi, Cesare; Mammarella, Nicola

2006-02-01

This study tested the hypothesis that failure in active visuospatial working memory tasks involves a difficulty in avoiding intrusions due to information that is already activated. Two experiments are described, in which participants were required to process several series of locations on a 4 x 4 matrix and then to produce only the final location of each series. Results revealed a higher number of errors due to already activated locations (intrusions) compared with errors due to new locations (inventions). Moreover, when participants were required to pay extra attention to some irrelevant (non-final) locations by tapping on the table, intrusion errors increased. Results are discussed in terms of current models of working memory functioning.

Voice Onset Time in Consonant Cluster Errors: Can Phonetic Accommodation Differentiate Cognitive from Motor Errors?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pouplier, Marianne; Marin, Stefania; Waltl, Susanne

2014-01-01

Purpose: Phonetic accommodation in speech errors has traditionally been used to identify the processing level at which an error has occurred. Recent studies have challenged the view that noncanonical productions may solely be due to phonetic, not phonological, processing irregularities, as previously assumed. The authors of the present study…

46 CFR Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q... - Application for Refund or Waiver of Freight Charges Due to Tariff or Quoting Error

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 9 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Application for Refund or Waiver of Freight Charges Due to Tariff or Quoting Error No. Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q [§ 502.271(d)] of Part 502 Shipping... or Waiver of Freight Charges Pt. 502, Subpt. Q, Exh. 1 Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q [§ 502.271(d)] of...

46 CFR Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q... - Application for Refund or Waiver of Freight Charges Due to Tariff or Quoting Error

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 9 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Application for Refund or Waiver of Freight Charges Due to Tariff or Quoting Error No. Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q [§ 502.271(d)] of Part 502 Shipping... or Waiver of Freight Charges Pt. 502, Subpt. Q, Exh. 1 Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q [§ 502.271(d)] of...

46 CFR Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q... - Application for Refund or Waiver of Freight Charges Due to Tariff or Quoting Error

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 9 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Application for Refund or Waiver of Freight Charges Due to Tariff or Quoting Error No. Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q [§ 502.271(d)] of Part 502 Shipping... or Waiver of Freight Charges Pt. 502, Subpt. Q, Exh. 1 Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q [§ 502.271(d)] of...

46 CFR Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q... - Application for Refund or Waiver of Freight Charges Due to Tariff or Quoting Error

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Application for Refund or Waiver of Freight Charges Due to Tariff or Quoting Error No. Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q [§ 502.271(d)] of Part 502 Shipping... or Waiver of Freight Charges Pt. 502, Subpt. Q, Exh. 1 Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q [§ 502.271(d)] of...

46 CFR Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q... - Application for Refund or Waiver of Freight Charges Due to Tariff or Quoting Error

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 9 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Application for Refund or Waiver of Freight Charges Due to Tariff or Quoting Error No. Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q [§ 502.271(d)] of Part 502 Shipping... or Waiver of Freight Charges Pt. 502, Subpt. Q, Exh. 1 Exhibit No. 1 to Subpart Q [§ 502.271(d)] of...

QUANTIFYING UNCERTAINTY DUE TO RANDOM ERRORS FOR MOMENT ANALYSES OF BREAKTHROUGH CURVES

EPA Science Inventory

The uncertainty in moments calculated from breakthrough curves (BTCs) is investigated as a function of random measurement errors in the data used to define the BTCs. The method presented assumes moments are calculated by numerical integration using the trapezoidal rule, and is t...

Discretization vs. Rounding Error in Euler's Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borges, Carlos F.

2011-01-01

Euler's method for solving initial value problems is an excellent vehicle for observing the relationship between discretization error and rounding error in numerical computation. Reductions in stepsize, in order to decrease discretization error, necessarily increase the number of steps and so introduce additional rounding error. The problem is…

Adaptive Sparse Representation for Source Localization with Gain/Phase Errors

PubMed Central

Sun, Ke; Liu, Yimin; Meng, Huadong; Wang, Xiqin

2011-01-01

Sparse representation (SR) algorithms can be implemented for high-resolution direction of arrival (DOA) estimation. Additionally, SR can effectively separate the coherent signal sources because the spectrum estimation is based on the optimization technique, such as the L1 norm minimization, but not on subspace orthogonality. However, in the actual source localization scenario, an unknown gain/phase error between the array sensors is inevitable. Due to this nonideal factor, the predefined overcomplete basis mismatches the actual array manifold so that the estimation performance is degraded in SR. In this paper, an adaptive SR algorithm is proposed to improve the robustness with respect to the gain/phase error, where the overcomplete basis is dynamically adjusted using multiple snapshots and the sparse solution is adaptively acquired to match with the actual scenario. The simulation results demonstrate the estimation robustness to the gain/phase error using the proposed method. PMID:22163875

Refractive errors.

PubMed

Schiefer, Ulrich; Kraus, Christina; Baumbach, Peter; Ungewiß, Judith; Michels, Ralf

2016-10-14

All over the world, refractive errors are among the most frequently occuring treatable distur - bances of visual function. Ametropias have a prevalence of nearly 70% among adults in Germany and are thus of great epidemiologic and socio-economic relevance. In the light of their own clinical experience, the authors review pertinent articles retrieved by a selective literature search employing the terms "ametropia, "anisometropia," "refraction," "visual acuity," and epidemiology." In 2011, only 31% of persons over age 16 in Germany did not use any kind of visual aid; 63.4% wore eyeglasses and 5.3% wore contact lenses. Refractive errors were the most common reason for consulting an ophthalmologist, accounting for 21.1% of all outpatient visits. A pinhole aperture (stenopeic slit) is a suitable instrument for the basic diagnostic evaluation of impaired visual function due to optical factors. Spherical refractive errors (myopia and hyperopia), cylindrical refractive errors (astigmatism), unequal refractive errors in the two eyes (anisometropia), and the typical optical disturbance of old age (presbyopia) cause specific functional limitations and can be detected by a physician who does not need to be an ophthalmologist. Simple functional tests can be used in everyday clinical practice to determine quickly, easily, and safely whether the patient is suffering from a benign and easily correctable type of visual impairment, or whether there are other, more serious underlying causes.

Flux Sampling Errors for Aircraft and Towers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahrt, Larry

1998-01-01

Various errors and influences leading to differences between tower- and aircraft-measured fluxes are surveyed. This survey is motivated by reports in the literature that aircraft fluxes are sometimes smaller than tower-measured fluxes. Both tower and aircraft flux errors are larger with surface heterogeneity due to several independent effects. Surface heterogeneity may cause tower flux errors to increase with decreasing wind speed. Techniques to assess flux sampling error are reviewed. Such error estimates suffer various degrees of inapplicability in real geophysical time series due to nonstationarity of tower time series (or inhomogeneity of aircraft data). A new measure for nonstationarity is developed that eliminates assumptions on the form of the nonstationarity inherent in previous methods. When this nonstationarity measure becomes large, the surface energy imbalance increases sharply. Finally, strategies for obtaining adequate flux sampling using repeated aircraft passes and grid patterns are outlined.

Errors in Bibliographic Citations: A Continuing Problem.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sweetland, James H.

1989-01-01

Summarizes studies examining citation errors and illustrates errors resulting from a lack of standardization, misunderstanding of foreign languages, failure to examine the document cited, and general lack of training in citation norms. It is argued that the failure to detect and correct citation errors is due to diffusion of responsibility in the…

Characteristics of pediatric chemotherapy medication errors in a national error reporting database.

PubMed

Rinke, Michael L; Shore, Andrew D; Morlock, Laura; Hicks, Rodney W; Miller, Marlene R

2007-07-01

Little is known regarding chemotherapy medication errors in pediatrics despite studies suggesting high rates of overall pediatric medication errors. In this study, the authors examined patterns in pediatric chemotherapy errors. The authors queried the United States Pharmacopeia MEDMARX database, a national, voluntary, Internet-accessible error reporting system, for all error reports from 1999 through 2004 that involved chemotherapy medications and patients aged <18 years. Of the 310 pediatric chemotherapy error reports, 85% reached the patient, and 15.6% required additional patient monitoring or therapeutic intervention. Forty-eight percent of errors originated in the administering phase of medication delivery, and 30% originated in the drug-dispensing phase. Of the 387 medications cited, 39.5% were antimetabolites, 14.0% were alkylating agents, 9.3% were anthracyclines, and 9.3% were topoisomerase inhibitors. The most commonly involved chemotherapeutic agents were methotrexate (15.3%), cytarabine (12.1%), and etoposide (8.3%). The most common error types were improper dose/quantity (22.9% of 327 cited error types), wrong time (22.6%), omission error (14.1%), and wrong administration technique/wrong route (12.2%). The most common error causes were performance deficit (41.3% of 547 cited error causes), equipment and medication delivery devices (12.4%), communication (8.8%), knowledge deficit (6.8%), and written order errors (5.5%). Four of the 5 most serious errors occurred at community hospitals. Pediatric chemotherapy errors often reached the patient, potentially were harmful, and differed in quality between outpatient and inpatient areas. This study indicated which chemotherapeutic agents most often were involved in errors and that administering errors were common. Investigation is needed regarding targeted medication administration safeguards for these high-risk medications. Copyright (c) 2007 American Cancer Society.

Extending Moore's Law via Computationally Error Tolerant Computing.

DOE PAGES

Deng, Bobin; Srikanth, Sriseshan; Hein, Eric R.; ...

2018-03-01

Dennard scaling has ended. Lowering the voltage supply (V dd) to sub-volt levels causes intermittent losses in signal integrity, rendering further scaling (down) no longer acceptable as a means to lower the power required by a processor core. However, it is possible to correct the occasional errors caused due to lower V dd in an efficient manner and effectively lower power. By deploying the right amount and kind of redundancy, we can strike a balance between overhead incurred in achieving reliability and energy savings realized by permitting lower V dd. One promising approach is the Redundant Residue Number System (RRNS)more » representation. Unlike other error correcting codes, RRNS has the important property of being closed under addition, subtraction and multiplication, thus enabling computational error correction at a fraction of an overhead compared to conventional approaches. We use the RRNS scheme to design a Computationally-Redundant, Energy-Efficient core, including the microarchitecture, Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) and RRNS centered algorithms. Finally, from the simulation results, this RRNS system can reduce the energy-delay-product by about 3× for multiplication intensive workloads and by about 2× in general, when compared to a non-error-correcting binary core.« less

Extending Moore's Law via Computationally Error Tolerant Computing.

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

Deng, Bobin; Srikanth, Sriseshan; Hein, Eric R.

Dennard scaling has ended. Lowering the voltage supply (V dd) to sub-volt levels causes intermittent losses in signal integrity, rendering further scaling (down) no longer acceptable as a means to lower the power required by a processor core. However, it is possible to correct the occasional errors caused due to lower V dd in an efficient manner and effectively lower power. By deploying the right amount and kind of redundancy, we can strike a balance between overhead incurred in achieving reliability and energy savings realized by permitting lower V dd. One promising approach is the Redundant Residue Number System (RRNS)more » representation. Unlike other error correcting codes, RRNS has the important property of being closed under addition, subtraction and multiplication, thus enabling computational error correction at a fraction of an overhead compared to conventional approaches. We use the RRNS scheme to design a Computationally-Redundant, Energy-Efficient core, including the microarchitecture, Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) and RRNS centered algorithms. Finally, from the simulation results, this RRNS system can reduce the energy-delay-product by about 3× for multiplication intensive workloads and by about 2× in general, when compared to a non-error-correcting binary core.« less

Heuristic errors in clinical reasoning.

PubMed

Rylander, Melanie; Guerrasio, Jeannette

2016-08-01

Errors in clinical reasoning contribute to patient morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to determine the types of heuristic errors made by third-year medical students and first-year residents. This study surveyed approximately 150 clinical educators inquiring about the types of heuristic errors they observed in third-year medical students and first-year residents. Anchoring and premature closure were the two most common errors observed amongst third-year medical students and first-year residents. There was no difference in the types of errors observed in the two groups. Errors in clinical reasoning contribute to patient morbidity and mortality Clinical educators perceived that both third-year medical students and first-year residents committed similar heuristic errors, implying that additional medical knowledge and clinical experience do not affect the types of heuristic errors made. Further work is needed to help identify methods that can be used to reduce heuristic errors early in a clinician's education. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

NASA Model of "Threat and Error" in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery: Patterns of Error Chains.

PubMed

Hickey, Edward; Pham-Hung, Eric; Nosikova, Yaroslavna; Halvorsen, Fredrik; Gritti, Michael; Schwartz, Steven; Caldarone, Christopher A; Van Arsdell, Glen

2017-04-01

We introduced the National Aeronautics and Space Association threat-and-error model to our surgical unit. All admissions are considered flights, which should pass through stepwise deescalations in risk during surgical recovery. We hypothesized that errors significantly influence risk deescalation and contribute to poor outcomes. Patient flights (524) were tracked in real time for threats, errors, and unintended states by full-time performance personnel. Expected risk deescalation was wean from mechanical support, sternal closure, extubation, intensive care unit (ICU) discharge, and discharge home. Data were accrued from clinical charts, bedside data, reporting mechanisms, and staff interviews. Infographics of flights were openly discussed weekly for consensus. In 12% (64 of 524) of flights, the child failed to deescalate sequentially through expected risk levels; unintended increments instead occurred. Failed deescalations were highly associated with errors (426; 257 flights; p < 0.0001). Consequential errors (263; 173 flights) were associated with a 29% rate of failed deescalation versus 4% in flights with no consequential error (p < 0.0001). The most dangerous errors were apical errors typically (84%) occurring in the operating room, which caused chains of propagating unintended states (n = 110): these had a 43% (47 of 110) rate of failed deescalation (versus 4%; p < 0.0001). Chains of unintended state were often (46%) amplified by additional (up to 7) errors in the ICU that would worsen clinical deviation. Overall, failed deescalations in risk were extremely closely linked to brain injury (n = 13; p < 0.0001) or death (n = 7; p < 0.0001). Deaths and brain injury after pediatric cardiac surgery almost always occur from propagating error chains that originate in the operating room and are often amplified by additional ICU errors. Copyright © 2017 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Error in Stroke-Reasons and Proposed Solutions.

PubMed

Bakradze, Ekaterina; Liberman, Ava L

2018-02-13

We discuss the frequency of stroke misdiagnosis and identify subgroups of stroke at high risk for specific diagnostic errors. In addition, we review common reasons for misdiagnosis and propose solutions to decrease error. According to a recent report by the National Academy of Medicine, most people in the USA are likely to experience a diagnostic error during their lifetimes. Nearly half of such errors result in serious disability and death. Stroke misdiagnosis is a major health care concern, with initial misdiagnosis estimated to occur in 9% of all stroke patients in the emergency setting. Under- or missed diagnosis (false negative) of stroke can result in adverse patient outcomes due to the preclusion of acute treatments and failure to initiate secondary prevention strategies. On the other hand, the overdiagnosis of stroke can result in inappropriate treatment, delayed identification of actual underlying disease, and increased health care costs. Young patients, women, minorities, and patients presenting with non-specific, transient, or posterior circulation stroke symptoms are at increased risk of misdiagnosis. Strategies to decrease diagnostic error in stroke have largely focused on early stroke detection via bedside examination strategies and a clinical decision rules. Targeted interventions to improve the diagnostic accuracy of stroke diagnosis among high-risk groups as well as symptom-specific clinical decision supports are needed. There are a number of open questions in the study of stroke misdiagnosis. To improve patient outcomes, existing strategies to improve stroke diagnostic accuracy should be more broadly adopted and novel interventions devised and tested to reduce diagnostic errors.

A Bayesian Measurment Error Model for Misaligned Radiographic Data

DOE PAGES

Lennox, Kristin P.; Glascoe, Lee G.

2013-09-06

An understanding of the inherent variability in micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) data is essential to tasks such as statistical process control and the validation of radiographic simulation tools. The data present unique challenges to variability analysis due to the relatively low resolution of radiographs, and also due to minor variations from run to run which can result in misalignment or magnification changes between repeated measurements of a sample. Positioning changes artificially inflate the variability of the data in ways that mask true physical phenomena. We present a novel Bayesian nonparametric regression model that incorporates both additive and multiplicative measurement error inmore » addition to heteroscedasticity to address this problem. We also use this model to assess the effects of sample thickness and sample position on measurement variability for an aluminum specimen. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.« less

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry: analysis of pediatric fat estimate errors due to tissue hydration effects.

PubMed

Testolin, C G; Gore, R; Rivkin, T; Horlick, M; Arbo, J; Wang, Z; Chiumello, G; Heymsfield, S B

2000-12-01

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) percent (%) fat estimates may be inaccurate in young children, who typically have high tissue hydration levels. This study was designed to provide a comprehensive analysis of pediatric tissue hydration effects on DXA %fat estimates. Phase 1 was experimental and included three in vitro studies to establish the physical basis of DXA %fat-estimation models. Phase 2 extended phase 1 models and consisted of theoretical calculations to estimate the %fat errors emanating from previously reported pediatric hydration effects. Phase 1 experiments supported the two-compartment DXA soft tissue model and established that pixel ratio of low to high energy (R values) are a predictable function of tissue elemental content. In phase 2, modeling of reference body composition values from birth to age 120 mo revealed that %fat errors will arise if a "constant" adult lean soft tissue R value is applied to the pediatric population; the maximum %fat error, approximately 0.8%, would be present at birth. High tissue hydration, as observed in infants and young children, leads to errors in DXA %fat estimates. The magnitude of these errors based on theoretical calculations is small and may not be of clinical or research significance.

Ozone Production in Global Tropospheric Models: Quantifying Errors due to Grid Resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wild, O.; Prather, M. J.

2005-12-01

Ozone production in global chemical models is dependent on model resolution because ozone chemistry is inherently nonlinear, the timescales for chemical production are short, and precursors are artificially distributed over the spatial scale of the model grid. In this study we examine the sensitivity of ozone, its precursors, and its production to resolution by running a global chemical transport model at four different resolutions between T21 (5.6° × 5.6°) and T106 (1.1° × 1.1°) and by quantifying the errors in regional and global budgets. The sensitivity to vertical mixing through the parameterization of boundary layer turbulence is also examined. We find less ozone production in the boundary layer at higher resolution, consistent with slower chemical production in polluted emission regions and greater export of precursors. Agreement with ozonesonde and aircraft measurements made during the NASA TRACE-P campaign over the Western Pacific in spring 2001 is consistently better at higher resolution. We demonstrate that the numerical errors in transport processes at a given resolution converge geometrically for a tracer at successively higher resolutions. The convergence in ozone production on progressing from T21 to T42, T63 and T106 resolution is likewise monotonic but still indicates large errors at 120~km scales, suggesting that T106 resolution is still too coarse to resolve regional ozone production. Diagnosing the ozone production and precursor transport that follow a short pulse of emissions over East Asia in springtime allows us to quantify the impacts of resolution on both regional and global ozone. Production close to continental emission regions is overestimated by 27% at T21 resolution, by 13% at T42 resolution, and by 5% at T106 resolution, but subsequent ozone production in the free troposphere is less significantly affected.

Phonological and Motor Errors in Individuals with Acquired Sound Production Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchwald, Adam; Miozzo, Michele

2012-01-01

Purpose: This study aimed to compare sound production errors arising due to phonological processing impairment with errors arising due to motor speech impairment. Method: Two speakers with similar clinical profiles who produced similar consonant cluster simplification errors were examined using a repetition task. We compared both overall accuracy…

Horizon sensor errors calculated by computer models compared with errors measured in orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ward, K. A.; Hogan, R.; Andary, J.

1982-01-01

Using a computer program to model the earth's horizon and to duplicate the signal processing procedure employed by the ESA (Earth Sensor Assembly), errors due to radiance variation have been computed for a particular time of the year. Errors actually occurring in flight at the same time of year are inferred from integrated rate gyro data for a satellite of the TIROS series of NASA weather satellites (NOAA-A). The predicted performance is compared with actual flight history.

Cirrus Cloud Retrieval Using Infrared Sounding Data: Multilevel Cloud Errors.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baum, Bryan A.; Wielicki, Bruce A.

1994-01-01

In this study we perform an error analysis for cloud-top pressure retrieval using the High-Resolution Infrared Radiometric Sounder (HIRS/2) 15-µm CO2 channels for the two-layer case of transmissive cirrus overlying an overcast, opaque stratiform cloud. This analysis includes standard deviation and bias error due to instrument noise and the presence of two cloud layers, the lower of which is opaque. Instantaneous cloud pressure retrieval errors are determined for a range of cloud amounts (0.1 1.0) and cloud-top pressures (850250 mb). Large cloud-top pressure retrieval errors are found to occur when a lower opaque layer is present underneath an upper transmissive cloud layer in the satellite field of view (FOV). Errors tend to increase with decreasing upper-cloud elective cloud amount and with decreasing cloud height (increasing pressure). Errors in retrieved upper-cloud pressure result in corresponding errors in derived effective cloud amount. For the case in which a HIRS FOV has two distinct cloud layers, the difference between the retrieved and actual cloud-top pressure is positive in all casts, meaning that the retrieved upper-cloud height is lower than the actual upper-cloud height. In addition, errors in retrieved cloud pressure are found to depend upon the lapse rate between the low-level cloud top and the surface. We examined which sounder channel combinations would minimize the total errors in derived cirrus cloud height caused by instrument noise and by the presence of a lower-level cloud. We find that while the sounding channels that peak between 700 and 1000 mb minimize random errors, the sounding channels that peak at 300—500 mb minimize bias errors. For a cloud climatology, the bias errors are most critical.

Mapping GRACE Accelerometer Error

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakumura, C.; Harvey, N.; McCullough, C. M.; Bandikova, T.; Kruizinga, G. L. H.

2017-12-01

After more than fifteen years in orbit, instrument noise, and accelerometer noise in particular, remains one of the limiting error sources for the NASA/DLR Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment mission. The recent V03 Level-1 reprocessing campaign used a Kalman filter approach to produce a high fidelity, smooth attitude solution fusing star camera and angular acceleration data. This process provided an unprecedented method for analysis and error estimation of each instrument. The accelerometer exhibited signal aliasing, differential scale factors between electrode plates, and magnetic effects. By applying the noise model developed for the angular acceleration data to the linear measurements, we explore the magnitude and geophysical pattern of gravity field error due to the electrostatic accelerometer.

Sinusoidal Siemens star spatial frequency response measurement errors due to misidentified target centers

DOE PAGES

Birch, Gabriel Carisle; Griffin, John Clark

2015-07-23

Numerous methods are available to measure the spatial frequency response (SFR) of an optical system. A recent change to the ISO 12233 photography resolution standard includes a sinusoidal Siemens star test target. We take the sinusoidal Siemens star proposed by the ISO 12233 standard, measure system SFR, and perform an analysis of errors induced by incorrectly identifying the center of a test target. We show a closed-form solution for the radial profile intensity measurement given an incorrectly determined center and describe how this error reduces the measured SFR of the system. As a result, using the closed-form solution, we proposemore » a two-step process by which test target centers are corrected and the measured SFR is restored to the nominal, correctly centered values.« less

Error Estimation of Pathfinder Version 5.3 SST Level 3C Using Three-way Error Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saha, K.; Dash, P.; Zhao, X.; Zhang, H. M.

2017-12-01

One of the essential climate variables for monitoring as well as detecting and attributing climate change, is Sea Surface Temperature (SST). A long-term record of global SSTs are available with observations obtained from ships in the early days to the more modern observation based on in-situ as well as space-based sensors (satellite/aircraft). There are inaccuracies associated with satellite derived SSTs which can be attributed to the errors associated with spacecraft navigation, sensor calibrations, sensor noise, retrieval algorithms, and leakages due to residual clouds. Thus it is important to estimate accurate errors in satellite derived SST products to have desired results in its applications.Generally for validation purposes satellite derived SST products are compared against the in-situ SSTs which have inaccuracies due to spatio/temporal inhomogeneity between in-situ and satellite measurements. A standard deviation in their difference fields usually have contributions from both satellite as well as the in-situ measurements. A real validation of any geophysical variable must require the knowledge of the "true" value of the said variable. Therefore a one-to-one comparison of satellite based SST with in-situ data does not truly provide us the real error in the satellite SST and there will be ambiguity due to errors in the in-situ measurements and their collocation differences. A Triple collocation (TC) or three-way error analysis using 3 mutually independent error-prone measurements, can be used to estimate root-mean square error (RMSE) associated with each of the measurements with high level of accuracy without treating any one system a perfectly-observed "truth". In this study we are estimating the absolute random errors associated with Pathfinder Version 5.3 Level-3C SST product Climate Data record. Along with the in-situ SST data, the third source of dataset used for this analysis is the AATSR reprocessing of climate (ARC) dataset for the corresponding

Noise-induced errors in geophysical parameter estimation from retarding potential analyzers in low Earth orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debchoudhury, Shantanab; Earle, Gregory

2017-04-01

Retarding Potential Analyzers (RPA) have a rich flight heritage. Standard curve-fitting analysis techniques exist that can infer state variables in the ionospheric plasma environment from RPA data, but the estimation process is prone to errors arising from a number of sources. Previous work has focused on the effects of grid geometry on uncertainties in estimation; however, no prior study has quantified the estimation errors due to additive noise. In this study, we characterize the errors in estimation of thermal plasma parameters by adding noise to the simulated data derived from the existing ionospheric models. We concentrate on low-altitude, mid-inclination orbits since a number of nano-satellite missions are focused on this region of the ionosphere. The errors are quantified and cross-correlated for varying geomagnetic conditions.

Determining relative error bounds for the CVBEM

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hromadka, T.V.

1985-01-01

The Complex Variable Boundary Element Methods provides a measure of relative error which can be utilized to subsequently reduce the error or provide information for further modeling analysis. By maximizing the relative error norm on each boundary element, a bound on the total relative error for each boundary element can be evaluated. This bound can be utilized to test CVBEM convergence, to analyze the effects of additional boundary nodal points in reducing the modeling error, and to evaluate the sensitivity of resulting modeling error within a boundary element from the error produced in another boundary element as a function of geometric distance. ?? 1985.

Interruption Practice Reduces Errors

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

dangers of errors at the PCS. Electronic health record systems are used to reduce certain errors related to poor- handwriting and dosage...10.16, MSE =.31, p< .05, η2 = .18 A significant interaction between the number of interruptions and interrupted trials suggests that trials...the variance when calculating whether a memory has a higher signal than interference. If something in addition to activation contributes to goal

A Low-Cost Environmental Monitoring System: How to Prevent Systematic Errors in the Design Phase through the Combined Use of Additive Manufacturing and Thermographic Techniques.

PubMed

Salamone, Francesco; Danza, Ludovico; Meroni, Italo; Pollastro, Maria Cristina

2017-04-11

nEMoS (nano Environmental Monitoring System) is a 3D-printed device built following the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) approach. It can be connected to the web and it can be used to assess indoor environmental quality (IEQ). It is built using some low-cost sensors connected to an Arduino microcontroller board. The device is assembled in a small-sized case and both thermohygrometric sensors used to measure the air temperature and relative humidity, and the globe thermometer used to measure the radiant temperature, can be subject to thermal effects due to overheating of some nearby components. A thermographic analysis was made to rule out this possibility. The paper shows how the pervasive technique of additive manufacturing can be combined with the more traditional thermographic techniques to redesign the case and to verify the accuracy of the optimized system in order to prevent instrumental systematic errors in terms of the difference between experimental and actual values of the above-mentioned environmental parameters.

A Low-Cost Environmental Monitoring System: How to Prevent Systematic Errors in the Design Phase through the Combined Use of Additive Manufacturing and Thermographic Techniques

PubMed Central

Salamone, Francesco; Danza, Ludovico; Meroni, Italo; Pollastro, Maria Cristina

2017-01-01

nEMoS (nano Environmental Monitoring System) is a 3D-printed device built following the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) approach. It can be connected to the web and it can be used to assess indoor environmental quality (IEQ). It is built using some low-cost sensors connected to an Arduino microcontroller board. The device is assembled in a small-sized case and both thermohygrometric sensors used to measure the air temperature and relative humidity, and the globe thermometer used to measure the radiant temperature, can be subject to thermal effects due to overheating of some nearby components. A thermographic analysis was made to rule out this possibility. The paper shows how the pervasive technique of additive manufacturing can be combined with the more traditional thermographic techniques to redesign the case and to verify the accuracy of the optimized system in order to prevent instrumental systematic errors in terms of the difference between experimental and actual values of the above-mentioned environmental parameters. PMID:28398225

Distance error correction for time-of-flight cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuersattel, Peter; Schaller, Christian; Maier, Andreas; Riess, Christian

2017-06-01

The measurement accuracy of time-of-flight cameras is limited due to properties of the scene and systematic errors. These errors can accumulate to multiple centimeters which may limit the applicability of these range sensors. In the past, different approaches have been proposed for improving the accuracy of these cameras. In this work, we propose a new method that improves two important aspects of the range calibration. First, we propose a new checkerboard which is augmented by a gray-level gradient. With this addition it becomes possible to capture the calibration features for intrinsic and distance calibration at the same time. The gradient strip allows to acquire a large amount of distance measurements for different surface reflectivities, which results in more meaningful training data. Second, we present multiple new features which are used as input to a random forest regressor. By using random regression forests, we circumvent the problem of finding an accurate model for the measurement error. During application, a correction value for each individual pixel is estimated with the trained forest based on a specifically tailored feature vector. With our approach the measurement error can be reduced by more than 40% for the Mesa SR4000 and by more than 30% for the Microsoft Kinect V2. In our evaluation we also investigate the impact of the individual forest parameters and illustrate the importance of the individual features.

[Errors in Peruvian medical journals references].

PubMed

Huamaní, Charles; Pacheco-Romero, José

2009-01-01

References are fundamental in our studies; an adequate selection is asimportant as an adequate description. To determine the number of errors in a sample of references found in Peruvian medical journals. We reviewed 515 scientific papers references selected by systematic randomized sampling and corroborated reference information with the original document or its citation in Pubmed, LILACS or SciELO-Peru. We found errors in 47,6% (245) of the references, identifying 372 types of errors; the most frequent were errors in presentation style (120), authorship (100) and title (100), mainly due to spelling mistakes (91). References error percentage was high, varied and multiple. We suggest systematic revision of references in the editorial process as well as to extend the discussion on this theme. references, periodicals, research, bibliometrics.

[Monitoring medication errors in personalised dispensing using the Sentinel Surveillance System method].

PubMed

Pérez-Cebrián, M; Font-Noguera, I; Doménech-Moral, L; Bosó-Ribelles, V; Romero-Boyero, P; Poveda-Andrés, J L

2011-01-01

To assess the efficacy of a new quality control strategy based on daily randomised sampling and monitoring a Sentinel Surveillance System (SSS) medication cart, in order to identify medication errors and their origin at different levels of the process. Prospective quality control study with one year follow-up. A SSS medication cart was randomly selected once a week and double-checked before dispensing medication. Medication errors were recorded before it was taken to the relevant hospital ward. Information concerning complaints after receiving medication and 24-hour monitoring were also noted. Type and origin error data were assessed by a Unit Dose Quality Control Group, which proposed relevant improvement measures. Thirty-four SSS carts were assessed, including 5130 medication lines and 9952 dispensed doses, corresponding to 753 patients. Ninety erroneous lines (1.8%) and 142 mistaken doses (1.4%) were identified at the Pharmacy Department. The most frequent error was dose duplication (38%) and its main cause inappropriate management and forgetfulness (69%). Fifty medication complaints (6.6% of patients) were mainly due to new treatment at admission (52%), and 41 (0.8% of all medication lines), did not completely match the prescription (0.6% lines) as recorded by the Pharmacy Department. Thirty-seven (4.9% of patients) medication complaints due to changes at admission and 32 matching errors (0.6% medication lines) were recorded. The main cause also was inappropriate management and forgetfulness (24%). The simultaneous recording of incidences due to complaints and new medication coincided in 33.3%. In addition, 433 (4.3%) of dispensed doses were returned to the Pharmacy Department. After the Unit Dose Quality Control Group conducted their feedback analysis, 64 improvement measures for Pharmacy Department nurses, 37 for pharmacists, and 24 for the hospital ward were introduced. The SSS programme has proven to be useful as a quality control strategy to identify Unit

On Time/Space Aggregation of Fine-Scale Error Estimates (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huffman, G. J.

2013-12-01

Estimating errors inherent in fine time/space-scale satellite precipitation data sets is still an on-going problem and a key area of active research. Complicating features of these data sets include the intrinsic intermittency of the precipitation in space and time and the resulting highly skewed distribution of precipitation rates. Additional issues arise from the subsampling errors that satellites introduce, the errors due to retrieval algorithms, and the correlated error that retrieval and merger algorithms sometimes introduce. Several interesting approaches have been developed recently that appear to make progress on these long-standing issues. At the same time, the monthly averages over 2.5°x2.5° grid boxes in the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Satellite-Gauge (SG) precipitation data set follow a very simple sampling-based error model (Huffman 1997) with coefficients that are set using coincident surface and GPCP SG data. This presentation outlines the unsolved problem of how to aggregate the fine-scale errors (discussed above) to an arbitrary time/space averaging volume for practical use in applications, reducing in the limit to simple Gaussian expressions at the monthly 2.5°x2.5° scale. Scatter diagrams with different time/space averaging show that the relationship between the satellite and validation data improves due to the reduction in random error. One of the key, and highly non-linear, issues is that fine-scale estimates tend to have large numbers of cases with points near the axes on the scatter diagram (one of the values is exactly or nearly zero, while the other value is higher). Averaging 'pulls' the points away from the axes and towards the 1:1 line, which usually happens for higher precipitation rates before lower rates. Given this qualitative observation of how aggregation affects error, we observe that existing aggregation rules, such as the Steiner et al. (2003) power law, only depend on the aggregated precipitation rate

Effects of various experimental parameters on errors in triangulation solution of elongated object in space. [barium ion cloud

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, S. A. T.

1975-01-01

The effects of various experimental parameters on the displacement errors in the triangulation solution of an elongated object in space due to pointing uncertainties in the lines of sight have been determined. These parameters were the number and location of observation stations, the object's location in latitude and longitude, and the spacing of the input data points on the azimuth-elevation image traces. The displacement errors due to uncertainties in the coordinates of a moving station have been determined as functions of the number and location of the stations. The effects of incorporating the input data from additional cameras at one of the stations were also investigated.

Fusing metabolomics data sets with heterogeneous measurement errors

PubMed Central

Waaijenborg, Sandra; Korobko, Oksana; Willems van Dijk, Ko; Lips, Mirjam; Hankemeier, Thomas; Wilderjans, Tom F.; Smilde, Age K.

2018-01-01

Combining different metabolomics platforms can contribute significantly to the discovery of complementary processes expressed under different conditions. However, analysing the fused data might be hampered by the difference in their quality. In metabolomics data, one often observes that measurement errors increase with increasing measurement level and that different platforms have different measurement error variance. In this paper we compare three different approaches to correct for the measurement error heterogeneity, by transformation of the raw data, by weighted filtering before modelling and by a modelling approach using a weighted sum of residuals. For an illustration of these different approaches we analyse data from healthy obese and diabetic obese individuals, obtained from two metabolomics platforms. Concluding, the filtering and modelling approaches that both estimate a model of the measurement error did not outperform the data transformation approaches for this application. This is probably due to the limited difference in measurement error and the fact that estimation of measurement error models is unstable due to the small number of repeats available. A transformation of the data improves the classification of the two groups. PMID:29698490

Magnetic Nanoparticle Thermometer: An Investigation of Minimum Error Transmission Path and AC Bias Error

PubMed Central

Du, Zhongzhou; Su, Rijian; Liu, Wenzhong; Huang, Zhixing

2015-01-01

The signal transmission module of a magnetic nanoparticle thermometer (MNPT) was established in this study to analyze the error sources introduced during the signal flow in the hardware system. The underlying error sources that significantly affected the precision of the MNPT were determined through mathematical modeling and simulation. A transfer module path with the minimum error in the hardware system was then proposed through the analysis of the variations of the system error caused by the significant error sources when the signal flew through the signal transmission module. In addition, a system parameter, named the signal-to-AC bias ratio (i.e., the ratio between the signal and AC bias), was identified as a direct determinant of the precision of the measured temperature. The temperature error was below 0.1 K when the signal-to-AC bias ratio was higher than 80 dB, and other system errors were not considered. The temperature error was below 0.1 K in the experiments with a commercial magnetic fluid (Sample SOR-10, Ocean Nanotechnology, Springdale, AR, USA) when the hardware system of the MNPT was designed with the aforementioned method. PMID:25875188

Learning from Past Classification Errors: Exploring Methods for Improving the Performance of a Deep Learning-based Building Extraction Model through Quantitative Analysis of Commission Errors for Optimal Sample Selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swan, B.; Laverdiere, M.; Yang, L.

2017-12-01

In the past five years, deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have been increasingly favored for computer vision applications due to their high accuracy and ability to generalize well in very complex problems; however, details of how they function and in turn how they may be optimized are still imperfectly understood. In particular, their complex and highly nonlinear network architecture, including many hidden layers and self-learned parameters, as well as their mathematical implications, presents open questions about how to effectively select training data. Without knowledge of the exact ways the model processes and transforms its inputs, intuition alone may fail as a guide to selecting highly relevant training samples. Working in the context of improving a CNN-based building extraction model used for the LandScan USA gridded population dataset, we have approached this problem by developing a semi-supervised, highly-scalable approach to select training samples from a dataset of identified commission errors. Due to the large scope this project, tens of thousands of potential samples could be derived from identified commission errors. To efficiently trim those samples down to a manageable and effective set for creating additional training sample, we statistically summarized the spectral characteristics of areas with rates of commission errors at the image tile level and grouped these tiles using affinity propagation. Highly representative members of each commission error cluster were then used to select sites for training sample creation. The model will be incrementally re-trained with the new training data to allow for an assessment of how the addition of different types of samples affects the model performance, such as precision and recall rates. By using quantitative analysis and data clustering techniques to select highly relevant training samples, we hope to improve model performance in a manner that is resource efficient, both in terms of training process

Exploring the impact of forcing error characteristics on physically based snow simulations within a global sensitivity analysis framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raleigh, M. S.; Lundquist, J. D.; Clark, M. P.

2015-07-01

Physically based models provide insights into key hydrologic processes but are associated with uncertainties due to deficiencies in forcing data, model parameters, and model structure. Forcing uncertainty is enhanced in snow-affected catchments, where weather stations are scarce and prone to measurement errors, and meteorological variables exhibit high variability. Hence, there is limited understanding of how forcing error characteristics affect simulations of cold region hydrology and which error characteristics are most important. Here we employ global sensitivity analysis to explore how (1) different error types (i.e., bias, random errors), (2) different error probability distributions, and (3) different error magnitudes influence physically based simulations of four snow variables (snow water equivalent, ablation rates, snow disappearance, and sublimation). We use the Sobol' global sensitivity analysis, which is typically used for model parameters but adapted here for testing model sensitivity to coexisting errors in all forcings. We quantify the Utah Energy Balance model's sensitivity to forcing errors with 1 840 000 Monte Carlo simulations across four sites and five different scenarios. Model outputs were (1) consistently more sensitive to forcing biases than random errors, (2) generally less sensitive to forcing error distributions, and (3) critically sensitive to different forcings depending on the relative magnitude of errors. For typical error magnitudes found in areas with drifting snow, precipitation bias was the most important factor for snow water equivalent, ablation rates, and snow disappearance timing, but other forcings had a more dominant impact when precipitation uncertainty was due solely to gauge undercatch. Additionally, the relative importance of forcing errors depended on the model output of interest. Sensitivity analysis can reveal which forcing error characteristics matter most for hydrologic modeling.

Eliminating US hospital medical errors.

PubMed

Kumar, Sameer; Steinebach, Marc

2008-01-01

Healthcare costs in the USA have continued to rise steadily since the 1980s. Medical errors are one of the major causes of deaths and injuries of thousands of patients every year, contributing to soaring healthcare costs. The purpose of this study is to examine what has been done to deal with the medical-error problem in the last two decades and present a closed-loop mistake-proof operation system for surgery processes that would likely eliminate preventable medical errors. The design method used is a combination of creating a service blueprint, implementing the six sigma DMAIC cycle, developing cause-and-effect diagrams as well as devising poka-yokes in order to develop a robust surgery operation process for a typical US hospital. In the improve phase of the six sigma DMAIC cycle, a number of poka-yoke techniques are introduced to prevent typical medical errors (identified through cause-and-effect diagrams) that may occur in surgery operation processes in US hospitals. It is the authors' assertion that implementing the new service blueprint along with the poka-yokes, will likely result in the current medical error rate to significantly improve to the six-sigma level. Additionally, designing as many redundancies as possible in the delivery of care will help reduce medical errors. Primary healthcare providers should strongly consider investing in adequate doctor and nurse staffing, and improving their education related to the quality of service delivery to minimize clinical errors. This will lead to an increase in higher fixed costs, especially in the shorter time frame. This paper focuses additional attention needed to make a sound technical and business case for implementing six sigma tools to eliminate medical errors that will enable hospital managers to increase their hospital's profitability in the long run and also ensure patient safety.

Understanding human management of automation errors.

PubMed

McBride, Sara E; Rogers, Wendy A; Fisk, Arthur D

2014-01-01

Automation has the potential to aid humans with a diverse set of tasks and support overall system performance. Automated systems are not always reliable, and when automation errs, humans must engage in error management, which is the process of detecting, understanding, and correcting errors. However, this process of error management in the context of human-automation interaction is not well understood. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of the variables that contribute to error management. We examined relevant research in human-automation interaction and human error to identify critical automation, person, task, and emergent variables. We propose a framework for management of automation errors to incorporate and build upon previous models. Further, our analysis highlights variables that may be addressed through design and training to positively influence error management. Additional efforts to understand the error management process will contribute to automation designed and implemented to support safe and effective system performance.

Superior bit error rate and jitter due to improved switching field distribution in exchange spring magnetic recording media

PubMed Central

Suess, D.; Fuger, M.; Abert, C.; Bruckner, F.; Vogler, C.

2016-01-01

We report two effects that lead to a significant reduction of the switching field distribution in exchange spring media. The first effect relies on a subtle mechanism of the interplay between exchange coupling between soft and hard layers and anisotropy that allows significant reduction of the switching field distribution in exchange spring media. This effect reduces the switching field distribution by about 30% compared to single-phase media. A second effect is that due to the improved thermal stability of exchange spring media over single-phase media, the jitter due to thermal fluctuation is significantly smaller for exchange spring media than for single-phase media. The influence of this overall improved switching field distribution on the transition jitter in granular recording and the bit error rate in bit-patterned magnetic recording is discussed. The transition jitter in granular recording for a distribution of Khard values of 3% in the hard layer, taking into account thermal fluctuations during recording, is estimated to be a = 0.78 nm, which is similar to the best reported calculated jitter in optimized heat-assisted recording media. PMID:27245287

Error in Dasibi flight measurements of atmospheric ozone due to instrument wall-loss

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ainsworth, J. E.; Hagemeyer, J. R.; Reed, E. I.

1981-01-01

Theory suggests that in laminar flow the percent loss of a trace constituent to the walls of a measuring instrument varies as P to the -2/3, where P is the total gas pressure. Preliminary laboratory ozone wall-loss measurements confirm this P to the -2/3 dependence. Accurate assessment of wall-loss is thus of particular importance for those balloon-borne instruments utilizing laminar flow at ambient pressure, since the ambient pressure decreases by a factor of 350 during ascent to 40 km. Measurements and extrapolations made for a Dasibi ozone monitor modified for balloon flight indicate that the wall-loss error at 40 km was between 6 and 30 percent and that the wall-loss error in the derived total ozone column-content for the region from the surface to 40 km altitude was between 2 and 10 percent. At 1000 mb, turbulence caused an order of magnitude increase in the Dasibi wall-loss.

Mesoscale Predictability and Error Growth in Short Range Ensemble Forecasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gingrich, Mark

Although it was originally suggested that small-scale, unresolved errors corrupt forecasts at all scales through an inverse error cascade, some authors have proposed that those mesoscale circulations resulting from stationary forcing on the larger scale may inherit the predictability of the large-scale motions. Further, the relative contributions of large- and small-scale uncertainties in producing error growth in the mesoscales remain largely unknown. Here, 100 member ensemble forecasts are initialized from an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) to simulate two winter storms impacting the East Coast of the United States in 2010. Four verification metrics are considered: the local snow water equivalence, total liquid water, and 850 hPa temperatures representing mesoscale features; and the sea level pressure field representing a synoptic feature. It is found that while the predictability of the mesoscale features can be tied to the synoptic forecast, significant uncertainty existed on the synoptic scale at lead times as short as 18 hours. Therefore, mesoscale details remained uncertain in both storms due to uncertainties at the large scale. Additionally, the ensemble perturbation kinetic energy did not show an appreciable upscale propagation of error for either case. Instead, the initial condition perturbations from the cycling EnKF were maximized at large scales and immediately amplified at all scales without requiring initial upscale propagation. This suggests that relatively small errors in the synoptic-scale initialization may have more importance in limiting predictability than errors in the unresolved, small-scale initial conditions.

Quantification of LiDAR measurement uncertainty through propagation of errors due to sensor sub-systems and terrain morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goulden, T.; Hopkinson, C.

2013-12-01

The quantification of LiDAR sensor measurement uncertainty is important for evaluating the quality of derived DEM products, compiling risk assessment of management decisions based from LiDAR information, and enhancing LiDAR mission planning capabilities. Current quality assurance estimates of LiDAR measurement uncertainty are limited to post-survey empirical assessments or vendor estimates from commercial literature. Empirical evidence can provide valuable information for the performance of the sensor in validated areas; however, it cannot characterize the spatial distribution of measurement uncertainty throughout the extensive coverage of typical LiDAR surveys. Vendor advertised error estimates are often restricted to strict and optimal survey conditions, resulting in idealized values. Numerical modeling of individual pulse uncertainty provides an alternative method for estimating LiDAR measurement uncertainty. LiDAR measurement uncertainty is theoretically assumed to fall into three distinct categories, 1) sensor sub-system errors, 2) terrain influences, and 3) vegetative influences. This research details the procedures for numerical modeling of measurement uncertainty from the sensor sub-system (GPS, IMU, laser scanner, laser ranger) and terrain influences. Results show that errors tend to increase as the laser scan angle, altitude or laser beam incidence angle increase. An experimental survey over a flat and paved runway site, performed with an Optech ALTM 3100 sensor, showed an increase in modeled vertical errors of 5 cm, at a nadir scan orientation, to 8 cm at scan edges; for an aircraft altitude of 1200 m and half scan angle of 15°. In a survey with the same sensor, at a highly sloped glacial basin site absent of vegetation, modeled vertical errors reached over 2 m. Validation of error models within the glacial environment, over three separate flight lines, respectively showed 100%, 85%, and 75% of elevation residuals fell below error predictions. Future

Clover: Compiler directed lightweight soft error resilience

DOE PAGES

Liu, Qingrui; Lee, Dongyoon; Jung, Changhee; ...

2015-05-01

This paper presents Clover, a compiler directed soft error detection and recovery scheme for lightweight soft error resilience. The compiler carefully generates soft error tolerant code based on idem-potent processing without explicit checkpoint. During program execution, Clover relies on a small number of acoustic wave detectors deployed in the processor to identify soft errors by sensing the wave made by a particle strike. To cope with DUE (detected unrecoverable errors) caused by the sensing latency of error detection, Clover leverages a novel selective instruction duplication technique called tail-DMR (dual modular redundancy). Once a soft error is detected by either themore » sensor or the tail-DMR, Clover takes care of the error as in the case of exception handling. To recover from the error, Clover simply redirects program control to the beginning of the code region where the error is detected. Lastly, the experiment results demonstrate that the average runtime overhead is only 26%, which is a 75% reduction compared to that of the state-of-the-art soft error resilience technique.« less

Compact disk error measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howe, D.; Harriman, K.; Tehranchi, B.

1993-01-01

The objectives of this project are as follows: provide hardware and software that will perform simple, real-time, high resolution (single-byte) measurement of the error burst and good data gap statistics seen by a photoCD player read channel when recorded CD write-once discs of variable quality (i.e., condition) are being read; extend the above system to enable measurement of the hard decision (i.e., 1-bit error flags) and soft decision (i.e., 2-bit error flags) decoding information that is produced/used by the Cross Interleaved - Reed - Solomon - Code (CIRC) block decoder employed in the photoCD player read channel; construct a model that uses data obtained via the systems described above to produce meaningful estimates of output error rates (due to both uncorrected ECC words and misdecoded ECC words) when a CD disc having specific (measured) error statistics is read (completion date to be determined); and check the hypothesis that current adaptive CIRC block decoders are optimized for pressed (DAD/ROM) CD discs. If warranted, do a conceptual design of an adaptive CIRC decoder that is optimized for write-once CD discs.

Geographically correlated errors observed from a laser-based short-arc technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonnefond, P.; Exertier, P.; Barlier, F.

1999-07-01

The laser-based short-arc technique has been developed in order to avoid local errors which affect the dynamical orbit computation, such as those due to mismodeling in the geopotential. It is based on a geometric method and consists in fitting short arcs (about 4000 km), issued from a global orbit, with satellite laser ranging tracking measurements from a ground station network. Ninety-two TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) cycles of laser-based short-arc orbits have then been compared to JGM-2 and JGM-3 T/P orbits computed by the Precise Orbit Determination (POD) teams (Service d'Orbitographie Doris/Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales and Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA) over two areas: (1) the Mediterranean area and (2) a part of the Pacific (including California and Hawaii) called hereafter the U.S. area. Geographically correlated orbit errors in these areas are clearly evidenced: for example, -2.6 cm and +0.7 cm for the Mediterranean and U.S. areas, respectively, relative to JGM-3 orbits. However, geographically correlated errors (GCE) which are commonly linked to errors in the gravity model, can also be due to systematic errors in the reference frame and/or to biases in the tracking measurements. The short-arc technique being very sensitive to such error sources, our analysis however demonstrates that the induced geographical systematic effects are at the level of 1-2 cm on the radial orbit component. Results are also compared with those obtained with the GPS-based reduced dynamic technique. The time-dependent part of GCE has also been studied. Over 6 years of T/P data, coherent signals in the radial component of T/P Precise Orbit Ephemeris (POE) are clearly evidenced with a time period of about 6 months. In addition, impact of time varying-error sources coming from the reference frame and the tracking data accuracy has been analyzed, showing a possible linear trend of about 0.5-1 mm/yr in the radial component of T/P POE.

Hospital-based transfusion error tracking from 2005 to 2010: identifying the key errors threatening patient transfusion safety.

PubMed

Maskens, Carolyn; Downie, Helen; Wendt, Alison; Lima, Ana; Merkley, Lisa; Lin, Yulia; Callum, Jeannie

2014-01-01

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of transfusion errors occurring at a large teaching hospital and aims to determine key errors that are threatening transfusion safety, despite implementation of safety measures. Errors were prospectively identified from 2005 to 2010. Error data were coded on a secure online database called the Transfusion Error Surveillance System. Errors were defined as any deviation from established standard operating procedures. Errors were identified by clinical and laboratory staff. Denominator data for volume of activity were used to calculate rates. A total of 15,134 errors were reported with a median number of 215 errors per month (range, 85-334). Overall, 9083 (60%) errors occurred on the transfusion service and 6051 (40%) on the clinical services. In total, 23 errors resulted in patient harm: 21 of these errors occurred on the clinical services and two in the transfusion service. Of the 23 harm events, 21 involved inappropriate use of blood. Errors with no harm were 657 times more common than events that caused harm. The most common high-severity clinical errors were sample labeling (37.5%) and inappropriate ordering of blood (28.8%). The most common high-severity error in the transfusion service was sample accepted despite not meeting acceptance criteria (18.3%). The cost of product and component loss due to errors was $593,337. Errors occurred at every point in the transfusion process, with the greatest potential risk of patient harm resulting from inappropriate ordering of blood products and errors in sample labeling. © 2013 American Association of Blood Banks (CME).

Estimating genotype error rates from high-coverage next-generation sequence data.

PubMed

Wall, Jeffrey D; Tang, Ling Fung; Zerbe, Brandon; Kvale, Mark N; Kwok, Pui-Yan; Schaefer, Catherine; Risch, Neil

2014-11-01

Exome and whole-genome sequencing studies are becoming increasingly common, but little is known about the accuracy of the genotype calls made by the commonly used platforms. Here we use replicate high-coverage sequencing of blood and saliva DNA samples from four European-American individuals to estimate lower bounds on the error rates of Complete Genomics and Illumina HiSeq whole-genome and whole-exome sequencing. Error rates for nonreference genotype calls range from 0.1% to 0.6%, depending on the platform and the depth of coverage. Additionally, we found (1) no difference in the error profiles or rates between blood and saliva samples; (2) Complete Genomics sequences had substantially higher error rates than Illumina sequences had; (3) error rates were higher (up to 6%) for rare or unique variants; (4) error rates generally declined with genotype quality (GQ) score, but in a nonlinear fashion for the Illumina data, likely due to loss of specificity of GQ scores greater than 60; and (5) error rates increased with increasing depth of coverage for the Illumina data. These findings, especially (3)-(5), suggest that caution should be taken in interpreting the results of next-generation sequencing-based association studies, and even more so in clinical application of this technology in the absence of validation by other more robust sequencing or genotyping methods. © 2014 Wall et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Error in Airspeed Measurement Due to the Static-Pressure Field Ahead of an Airplane at Transonic Speeds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Bryan, Thomas C; Danforth, Edward C B; Johnston, J Ford

1955-01-01

The magnitude and variation of the static-pressure error for various distances ahead of sharp-nose bodies and open-nose air inlets and for a distance of 1 chord ahead of the wing tip of a swept wing are defined by a combination of experiment and theory. The mechanism of the error is discussed in some detail to show the contributing factors that make up the error. The information presented provides a useful means for choosing a proper location for measurement of static pressure for most purposes.

Systematic error of diode thermometer.

PubMed

Iskrenovic, Predrag S

2009-08-01

Semiconductor diodes are often used for measuring temperatures. The forward voltage across a diode decreases, approximately linearly, with the increase in temperature. The applied method is mainly the simplest one. A constant direct current flows through the diode, and voltage is measured at diode terminals. The direct current that flows through the diode, putting it into operating mode, heats up the diode. The increase in temperature of the diode-sensor, i.e., the systematic error due to self-heating, depends on the intensity of current predominantly and also on other factors. The results of systematic error measurements due to heating up by the forward-bias current have been presented in this paper. The measurements were made at several diodes over a wide range of bias current intensity.

Sources of error in the retracted scientific literature.

PubMed

Casadevall, Arturo; Steen, R Grant; Fang, Ferric C

2014-09-01

Retraction of flawed articles is an important mechanism for correction of the scientific literature. We recently reported that the majority of retractions are associated with scientific misconduct. In the current study, we focused on the subset of retractions for which no misconduct was identified, in order to identify the major causes of error. Analysis of the retraction notices for 423 articles indexed in PubMed revealed that the most common causes of error-related retraction are laboratory errors, analytical errors, and irreproducible results. The most common laboratory errors are contamination and problems relating to molecular biology procedures (e.g., sequencing, cloning). Retractions due to contamination were more common in the past, whereas analytical errors are now increasing in frequency. A number of publications that have not been retracted despite being shown to contain significant errors suggest that barriers to retraction may impede correction of the literature. In particular, few cases of retraction due to cell line contamination were found despite recognition that this problem has affected numerous publications. An understanding of the errors leading to retraction can guide practices to improve laboratory research and the integrity of the scientific literature. Perhaps most important, our analysis has identified major problems in the mechanisms used to rectify the scientific literature and suggests a need for action by the scientific community to adopt protocols that ensure the integrity of the publication process. © FASEB.

Medication Errors: New EU Good Practice Guide on Risk Minimisation and Error Prevention.

PubMed

Goedecke, Thomas; Ord, Kathryn; Newbould, Victoria; Brosch, Sabine; Arlett, Peter

2016-06-01

A medication error is an unintended failure in the drug treatment process that leads to, or has the potential to lead to, harm to the patient. Reducing the risk of medication errors is a shared responsibility between patients, healthcare professionals, regulators and the pharmaceutical industry at all levels of healthcare delivery. In 2015, the EU regulatory network released a two-part good practice guide on medication errors to support both the pharmaceutical industry and regulators in the implementation of the changes introduced with the EU pharmacovigilance legislation. These changes included a modification of the 'adverse reaction' definition to include events associated with medication errors, and the requirement for national competent authorities responsible for pharmacovigilance in EU Member States to collaborate and exchange information on medication errors resulting in harm with national patient safety organisations. To facilitate reporting and learning from medication errors, a clear distinction has been made in the guidance between medication errors resulting in adverse reactions, medication errors without harm, intercepted medication errors and potential errors. This distinction is supported by an enhanced MedDRA(®) terminology that allows for coding all stages of the medication use process where the error occurred in addition to any clinical consequences. To better understand the causes and contributing factors, individual case safety reports involving an error should be followed-up with the primary reporter to gather information relevant for the conduct of root cause analysis where this may be appropriate. Such reports should also be summarised in periodic safety update reports and addressed in risk management plans. Any risk minimisation and prevention strategy for medication errors should consider all stages of a medicinal product's life-cycle, particularly the main sources and types of medication errors during product development. This article

Simulation of Dose to Surrounding Normal Structures in Tangential Breast Radiotherapy Due to Setup Error

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

Prabhakar, Ramachandran; Department of Nuclear Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; Department of Radiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Setup error plays a significant role in the final treatment outcome in radiotherapy. The effect of setup error on the planning target volume (PTV) and surrounding critical structures has been studied and the maximum allowed tolerance in setup error with minimal complications to the surrounding critical structure and acceptable tumor control probability is determined. Twelve patients were selected for this study after breast conservation surgery, wherein 8 patients were right-sided and 4 were left-sided breast. Tangential fields were placed on the 3-dimensional-computed tomography (3D-CT) dataset by isocentric technique and the dose to the PTV, ipsilateral lung (IL), contralateral lung (CLL),more » contralateral breast (CLB), heart, and liver were then computed from dose-volume histograms (DVHs). The planning isocenter was shifted for 3 and 10 mm in all 3 directions (X, Y, Z) to simulate the setup error encountered during treatment. Dosimetric studies were performed for each patient for PTV according to ICRU 50 guidelines: mean doses to PTV, IL, CLL, heart, CLB, liver, and percentage of lung volume that received a dose of 20 Gy or more (V20); percentage of heart volume that received a dose of 30 Gy or more (V30); and volume of liver that received a dose of 50 Gy or more (V50) were calculated for all of the above-mentioned isocenter shifts and compared to the results with zero isocenter shift. Simulation of different isocenter shifts in all 3 directions showed that the isocentric shifts along the posterior direction had a very significant effect on the dose to the heart, IL, CLL, and CLB, which was followed by the lateral direction. The setup error in isocenter should be strictly kept below 3 mm. The study shows that isocenter verification in the case of tangential fields should be performed to reduce future complications to adjacent normal tissues.« less

Understanding human management of automation errors

PubMed Central

McBride, Sara E.; Rogers, Wendy A.; Fisk, Arthur D.

2013-01-01

Automation has the potential to aid humans with a diverse set of tasks and support overall system performance. Automated systems are not always reliable, and when automation errs, humans must engage in error management, which is the process of detecting, understanding, and correcting errors. However, this process of error management in the context of human-automation interaction is not well understood. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of the variables that contribute to error management. We examined relevant research in human-automation interaction and human error to identify critical automation, person, task, and emergent variables. We propose a framework for management of automation errors to incorporate and build upon previous models. Further, our analysis highlights variables that may be addressed through design and training to positively influence error management. Additional efforts to understand the error management process will contribute to automation designed and implemented to support safe and effective system performance. PMID:25383042

Improved astigmatic focus error detection method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bernacki, Bruce E.

1992-01-01

All easy-to-implement focus- and track-error detection methods presently used in magneto-optical (MO) disk drives using pre-grooved media suffer from a side effect known as feedthrough. Feedthrough is the unwanted focus error signal (FES) produced when the optical head is seeking a new track, and light refracted from the pre-grooved disk produces an erroneous FES. Some focus and track-error detection methods are more resistant to feedthrough, but tend to be complicated and/or difficult to keep in alignment as a result of environmental insults. The astigmatic focus/push-pull tracking method is an elegant, easy-to-align focus- and track-error detection method. Unfortunately, it is also highly susceptible to feedthrough when astigmatism is present, with the worst effects caused by astigmatism oriented such that the tangential and sagittal foci are at 45 deg to the track direction. This disclosure outlines a method to nearly completely eliminate the worst-case form of feedthrough due to astigmatism oriented 45 deg to the track direction. Feedthrough due to other primary aberrations is not improved, but performance is identical to the unimproved astigmatic method.

Errors of five-day mean surface wind and temperature conditions due to inadequate sampling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Legler, David M.

1991-01-01

Surface meteorological reports of wind components, wind speed, air temperature, and sea-surface temperature from buoys located in equatorial and midlatitude regions are used in a simulation of random sampling to determine errors of the calculated means due to inadequate sampling. Subsampling the data with several different sample sizes leads to estimates of the accuracy of the subsampled means. The number N of random observations needed to compute mean winds with chosen accuracies of 0.5 (N sub 0.5) and 1.0 (N sub 1,0) m/s and mean air and sea surface temperatures with chosen accuracies of 0.1 (N sub 0.1) and 0.2 (N sub 0.2) C were calculated for each 5-day and 30-day period in the buoy datasets. Mean values of N for the various accuracies and datasets are given. A second-order polynomial relation is established between N and the variability of the data record. This relationship demonstrates that for the same accuracy, N increases as the variability of the data record increases. The relationship is also independent of the data source. Volunteer-observing ship data do not satisfy the recommended minimum number of observations for obtaining 0.5 m/s and 0.2 C accuracy for most locations. The effect of having remotely sensed data is discussed.

[From the concept of guilt to the value-free notification of errors in medicine. Risks, errors and patient safety].

PubMed

Haller, U; Welti, S; Haenggi, D; Fink, D

2005-06-01

The number of liability cases but also the size of individual claims due to alleged treatment errors are increasing steadily. Spectacular sentences, especially in the USA, encourage this trend. Wherever human beings work, errors happen. The health care system is particularly susceptible and shows a high potential for errors. Therefore risk management has to be given top priority in hospitals. Preparing the introduction of critical incident reporting (CIR) as the means to notify errors is time-consuming and calls for a change in attitude because in many places the necessary base of trust has to be created first. CIR is not made to find the guilty and punish them but to uncover the origins of errors in order to eliminate them. The Department of Anesthesiology of the University Hospital of Basel has developed an electronic error notification system, which, in collaboration with the Swiss Medical Association, allows each specialist society to participate electronically in a CIR system (CIRS) in order to create the largest database possible and thereby to allow statements concerning the extent and type of error sources in medicine. After a pilot project in 2000-2004, the Swiss Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics is now progressively introducing the 'CIRS Medical' of the Swiss Medical Association. In our country, such programs are vulnerable to judicial intervention due to the lack of explicit legal guarantees of protection. High-quality data registration and skillful counseling are all the more important. Hospital directors and managers are called upon to examine those incidents which are based on errors inherent in the system.

Quantum Error Correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lidar, Daniel A.; Brun, Todd A.

2013-09-01

Prologue; Preface; Part I. Background: 1. Introduction to decoherence and noise in open quantum systems Daniel Lidar and Todd Brun; 2. Introduction to quantum error correction Dave Bacon; 3. Introduction to decoherence-free subspaces and noiseless subsystems Daniel Lidar; 4. Introduction to quantum dynamical decoupling Lorenza Viola; 5. Introduction to quantum fault tolerance Panos Aliferis; Part II. Generalized Approaches to Quantum Error Correction: 6. Operator quantum error correction David Kribs and David Poulin; 7. Entanglement-assisted quantum error-correcting codes Todd Brun and Min-Hsiu Hsieh; 8. Continuous-time quantum error correction Ognyan Oreshkov; Part III. Advanced Quantum Codes: 9. Quantum convolutional codes Mark Wilde; 10. Non-additive quantum codes Markus Grassl and Martin Rötteler; 11. Iterative quantum coding systems David Poulin; 12. Algebraic quantum coding theory Andreas Klappenecker; 13. Optimization-based quantum error correction Andrew Fletcher; Part IV. Advanced Dynamical Decoupling: 14. High order dynamical decoupling Zhen-Yu Wang and Ren-Bao Liu; 15. Combinatorial approaches to dynamical decoupling Martin Rötteler and Pawel Wocjan; Part V. Alternative Quantum Computation Approaches: 16. Holonomic quantum computation Paolo Zanardi; 17. Fault tolerance for holonomic quantum computation Ognyan Oreshkov, Todd Brun and Daniel Lidar; 18. Fault tolerant measurement-based quantum computing Debbie Leung; Part VI. Topological Methods: 19. Topological codes Héctor Bombín; 20. Fault tolerant topological cluster state quantum computing Austin Fowler and Kovid Goyal; Part VII. Applications and Implementations: 21. Experimental quantum error correction Dave Bacon; 22. Experimental dynamical decoupling Lorenza Viola; 23. Architectures Jacob Taylor; 24. Error correction in quantum communication Mark Wilde; Part VIII. Critical Evaluation of Fault Tolerance: 25. Hamiltonian methods in QEC and fault tolerance Eduardo Novais, Eduardo Mucciolo and

Subaperture test of wavefront error of large telescopes: error sources and stitching performance simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shanyong; Li, Shengyi; Wang, Guilin

2014-11-01

The wavefront error of large telescopes requires to be measured to check the system quality and also estimate the misalignment of the telescope optics including the primary, the secondary and so on. It is usually realized by a focal plane interferometer and an autocollimator flat (ACF) of the same aperture with the telescope. However, it is challenging for meter class telescopes due to high cost and technological challenges in producing the large ACF. Subaperture test with a smaller ACF is hence proposed in combination with advanced stitching algorithms. Major error sources include the surface error of the ACF, misalignment of the ACF and measurement noises. Different error sources have different impacts on the wavefront error. Basically the surface error of the ACF behaves like systematic error and the astigmatism will be cumulated and enlarged if the azimuth of subapertures remains fixed. It is difficult to accurately calibrate the ACF because it suffers considerable deformation induced by gravity or mechanical clamping force. Therefore a selfcalibrated stitching algorithm is employed to separate the ACF surface error from the subaperture wavefront error. We suggest the ACF be rotated around the optical axis of the telescope for subaperture test. The algorithm is also able to correct the subaperture tip-tilt based on the overlapping consistency. Since all subaperture measurements are obtained in the same imaging plane, lateral shift of the subapertures is always known and the real overlapping points can be recognized in this plane. Therefore lateral positioning error of subapertures has no impact on the stitched wavefront. In contrast, the angular positioning error changes the azimuth of the ACF and finally changes the systematic error. We propose an angularly uneven layout of subapertures to minimize the stitching error, which is very different from our knowledge. At last, measurement noises could never be corrected but be suppressed by means of averaging and

Error-related brain activity and error awareness in an error classification paradigm.

PubMed

Di Gregorio, Francesco; Steinhauser, Marco; Maier, Martin E

2016-10-01

Error-related brain activity has been linked to error detection enabling adaptive behavioral adjustments. However, it is still unclear which role error awareness plays in this process. Here, we show that the error-related negativity (Ne/ERN), an event-related potential reflecting early error monitoring, is dissociable from the degree of error awareness. Participants responded to a target while ignoring two different incongruent distractors. After responding, they indicated whether they had committed an error, and if so, whether they had responded to one or to the other distractor. This error classification paradigm allowed distinguishing partially aware errors, (i.e., errors that were noticed but misclassified) and fully aware errors (i.e., errors that were correctly classified). The Ne/ERN was larger for partially aware errors than for fully aware errors. Whereas this speaks against the idea that the Ne/ERN foreshadows the degree of error awareness, it confirms the prediction of a computational model, which relates the Ne/ERN to post-response conflict. This model predicts that stronger distractor processing - a prerequisite of error classification in our paradigm - leads to lower post-response conflict and thus a smaller Ne/ERN. This implies that the relationship between Ne/ERN and error awareness depends on how error awareness is related to response conflict in a specific task. Our results further indicate that the Ne/ERN but not the degree of error awareness determines adaptive performance adjustments. Taken together, we conclude that the Ne/ERN is dissociable from error awareness and foreshadows adaptive performance adjustments. Our results suggest that the relationship between the Ne/ERN and error awareness is correlative and mediated by response conflict. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Coherent errors in quantum error correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenbaum, Daniel; Dutton, Zachary

Analysis of quantum error correcting (QEC) codes is typically done using a stochastic, Pauli channel error model for describing the noise on physical qubits. However, it was recently found that coherent errors (systematic rotations) on physical data qubits result in both physical and logical error rates that differ significantly from those predicted by a Pauli model. We present analytic results for the logical error as a function of concatenation level and code distance for coherent errors under the repetition code. For data-only coherent errors, we find that the logical error is partially coherent and therefore non-Pauli. However, the coherent part of the error is negligible after two or more concatenation levels or at fewer than ɛ - (d - 1) error correction cycles. Here ɛ << 1 is the rotation angle error per cycle for a single physical qubit and d is the code distance. These results support the validity of modeling coherent errors using a Pauli channel under some minimum requirements for code distance and/or concatenation. We discuss extensions to imperfect syndrome extraction and implications for general QEC.

Classification and reduction of pilot error

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogers, W. H.; Logan, A. L.; Boley, G. D.

1989-01-01

Human error is a primary or contributing factor in about two-thirds of commercial aviation accidents worldwide. With the ultimate goal of reducing pilot error accidents, this contract effort is aimed at understanding the factors underlying error events and reducing the probability of certain types of errors by modifying underlying factors such as flight deck design and procedures. A review of the literature relevant to error classification was conducted. Classification includes categorizing types of errors, the information processing mechanisms and factors underlying them, and identifying factor-mechanism-error relationships. The classification scheme developed by Jens Rasmussen was adopted because it provided a comprehensive yet basic error classification shell or structure that could easily accommodate addition of details on domain-specific factors. For these purposes, factors specific to the aviation environment were incorporated. Hypotheses concerning the relationship of a small number of underlying factors, information processing mechanisms, and error types types identified in the classification scheme were formulated. ASRS data were reviewed and a simulation experiment was performed to evaluate and quantify the hypotheses.

Analysis of phase error effects in multishot diffusion-prepared turbo spin echo imaging

PubMed Central

Cervantes, Barbara; Kooijman, Hendrik; Karampinos, Dimitrios C.

2017-01-01

Background To characterize the effect of phase errors on the magnitude and the phase of the diffusion-weighted (DW) signal acquired with diffusion-prepared turbo spin echo (dprep-TSE) sequences. Methods Motion and eddy currents were identified as the main sources of phase errors. An analytical expression for the effect of phase errors on the acquired signal was derived and verified using Bloch simulations, phantom, and in vivo experiments. Results Simulations and experiments showed that phase errors during the diffusion preparation cause both magnitude and phase modulation on the acquired data. When motion-induced phase error (MiPe) is accounted for (e.g., with motion-compensated diffusion encoding), the signal magnitude modulation due to the leftover eddy-current-induced phase error cannot be eliminated by the conventional phase cycling and sum-of-squares (SOS) method. By employing magnitude stabilizers, the phase-error-induced magnitude modulation, regardless of its cause, was removed but the phase modulation remained. The in vivo comparison between pulsed gradient and flow-compensated diffusion preparations showed that MiPe needed to be addressed in multi-shot dprep-TSE acquisitions employing magnitude stabilizers. Conclusions A comprehensive analysis of phase errors in dprep-TSE sequences showed that magnitude stabilizers are mandatory in removing the phase error induced magnitude modulation. Additionally, when multi-shot dprep-TSE is employed the inconsistent signal phase modulation across shots has to be resolved before shot-combination is performed. PMID:28516049

Reduction of Orifice-Induced Pressure Errors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plentovich, Elizabeth B.; Gloss, Blair B.; Eves, John W.; Stack, John P.

1987-01-01

Use of porous-plug orifice reduces or eliminates errors, induced by orifice itself, in measuring static pressure on airfoil surface in wind-tunnel experiments. Piece of sintered metal press-fitted into static-pressure orifice so it matches surface contour of model. Porous material reduces orifice-induced pressure error associated with conventional orifice of same or smaller diameter. Also reduces or eliminates additional errors in pressure measurement caused by orifice imperfections. Provides more accurate measurements in regions with very thin boundary layers.

Patterns of technical error among surgical malpractice claims: an analysis of strategies to prevent injury to surgical patients.

PubMed

Regenbogen, Scott E; Greenberg, Caprice C; Studdert, David M; Lipsitz, Stuart R; Zinner, Michael J; Gawande, Atul A

2007-11-01

To identify the most prevalent patterns of technical errors in surgery, and evaluate commonly recommended interventions in light of these patterns. The majority of surgical adverse events involve technical errors, but little is known about the nature and causes of these events. We examined characteristics of technical errors and common contributing factors among closed surgical malpractice claims. Surgeon reviewers analyzed 444 randomly sampled surgical malpractice claims from four liability insurers. Among 258 claims in which injuries due to error were detected, 52% (n = 133) involved technical errors. These technical errors were further analyzed with a structured review instrument designed by qualitative content analysis. Forty-nine percent of the technical errors caused permanent disability; an additional 16% resulted in death. Two-thirds (65%) of the technical errors were linked to manual error, 9% to errors in judgment, and 26% to both manual and judgment error. A minority of technical errors involved advanced procedures requiring special training ("index operations"; 16%), surgeons inexperienced with the task (14%), or poorly supervised residents (9%). The majority involved experienced surgeons (73%), and occurred in routine, rather than index, operations (84%). Patient-related complexities-including emergencies, difficult or unexpected anatomy, and previous surgery-contributed to 61% of technical errors, and technology or systems failures contributed to 21%. Most technical errors occur in routine operations with experienced surgeons, under conditions of increased patient complexity or systems failure. Commonly recommended interventions, including restricting high-complexity operations to experienced surgeons, additional training for inexperienced surgeons, and stricter supervision of trainees, are likely to address only a minority of technical errors. Surgical safety research should instead focus on improving decision-making and performance in routine

Error Analysis: Past, Present, and Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCloskey, George

2017-01-01

This commentary will take an historical perspective on the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA) error analysis, discussing where it started, where it is today, and where it may be headed in the future. In addition, the commentary will compare and contrast the KTEA error analysis procedures that are rooted in psychometric methodology and…

Claims, errors, and compensation payments in medical malpractice litigation.

PubMed

Studdert, David M; Mello, Michelle M; Gawande, Atul A; Gandhi, Tejal K; Kachalia, Allen; Yoon, Catherine; Puopolo, Ann Louise; Brennan, Troyen A

2006-05-11

In the current debate over tort reform, critics of the medical malpractice system charge that frivolous litigation--claims that lack evidence of injury, substandard care, or both--is common and costly. Trained physicians reviewed a random sample of 1452 closed malpractice claims from five liability insurers to determine whether a medical injury had occurred and, if so, whether it was due to medical error. We analyzed the prevalence, characteristics, litigation outcomes, and costs of claims that lacked evidence of error. For 3 percent of the claims, there were no verifiable medical injuries, and 37 percent did not involve errors. Most of the claims that were not associated with errors (370 of 515 [72 percent]) or injuries (31 of 37 [84 percent]) did not result in compensation; most that involved injuries due to error did (653 of 889 [73 percent]). Payment of claims not involving errors occurred less frequently than did the converse form of inaccuracy--nonpayment of claims associated with errors. When claims not involving errors were compensated, payments were significantly lower on average than were payments for claims involving errors (313,205 dollars vs. 521,560 dollars, P=0.004). Overall, claims not involving errors accounted for 13 to 16 percent of the system's total monetary costs. For every dollar spent on compensation, 54 cents went to administrative expenses (including those involving lawyers, experts, and courts). Claims involving errors accounted for 78 percent of total administrative costs. Claims that lack evidence of error are not uncommon, but most are denied compensation. The vast majority of expenditures go toward litigation over errors and payment of them. The overhead costs of malpractice litigation are exorbitant. Copyright 2006 Massachusetts Medical Society.

A priori discretization error metrics for distributed hydrologic modeling applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hongli; Tolson, Bryan A.; Craig, James R.; Shafii, Mahyar

2016-12-01

Watershed spatial discretization is an important step in developing a distributed hydrologic model. A key difficulty in the spatial discretization process is maintaining a balance between the aggregation-induced information loss and the increase in computational burden caused by the inclusion of additional computational units. Objective identification of an appropriate discretization scheme still remains a challenge, in part because of the lack of quantitative measures for assessing discretization quality, particularly prior to simulation. This study proposes a priori discretization error metrics to quantify the information loss of any candidate discretization scheme without having to run and calibrate a hydrologic model. These error metrics are applicable to multi-variable and multi-site discretization evaluation and provide directly interpretable information to the hydrologic modeler about discretization quality. The first metric, a subbasin error metric, quantifies the routing information loss from discretization, and the second, a hydrological response unit (HRU) error metric, improves upon existing a priori metrics by quantifying the information loss due to changes in land cover or soil type property aggregation. The metrics are straightforward to understand and easy to recode. Informed by the error metrics, a two-step discretization decision-making approach is proposed with the advantage of reducing extreme errors and meeting the user-specified discretization error targets. The metrics and decision-making approach are applied to the discretization of the Grand River watershed in Ontario, Canada. Results show that information loss increases as discretization gets coarser. Moreover, results help to explain the modeling difficulties associated with smaller upstream subbasins since the worst discretization errors and highest error variability appear in smaller upstream areas instead of larger downstream drainage areas. Hydrologic modeling experiments under

Error properties of Argos satellite telemetry locations using least squares and Kalman filtering.

PubMed

Boyd, Janice D; Brightsmith, Donald J

2013-01-01

Study of animal movements is key for understanding their ecology and facilitating their conservation. The Argos satellite system is a valuable tool for tracking species which move long distances, inhabit remote areas, and are otherwise difficult to track with traditional VHF telemetry and are not suitable for GPS systems. Previous research has raised doubts about the magnitude of position errors quoted by the satellite service provider CLS. In addition, no peer-reviewed publications have evaluated the usefulness of the CLS supplied error ellipses nor the accuracy of the new Kalman filtering (KF) processing method. Using transmitters hung from towers and trees in southeastern Peru, we show the Argos error ellipses generally contain <25% of the true locations and therefore do not adequately describe the true location errors. We also find that KF processing does not significantly increase location accuracy. The errors for both LS and KF processing methods were found to be lognormally distributed, which has important repercussions for error calculation, statistical analysis, and data interpretation. In brief, "good" positions (location codes 3, 2, 1, A) are accurate to about 2 km, while 0 and B locations are accurate to about 5-10 km. However, due to the lognormal distribution of the errors, larger outliers are to be expected in all location codes and need to be accounted for in the user's data processing. We evaluate five different empirical error estimates and find that 68% lognormal error ellipses provided the most useful error estimates. Longitude errors are larger than latitude errors by a factor of 2 to 3, supporting the use of elliptical error ellipses. Numerous studies over the past 15 years have also found fault with the CLS-claimed error estimates yet CLS has failed to correct their misleading information. We hope this will be reversed in the near future.

Alignment error of mirror modules of advanced telescope for high-energy astrophysics due to wavefront aberrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zocchi, Fabio E.

2017-10-01

One of the approaches that is being tested for the integration of the mirror modules of the advanced telescope for high-energy astrophysics x-ray mission of the European Space Agency consists in aligning each module on an optical bench operated at an ultraviolet wavelength. The mirror module is illuminated by a plane wave and, in order to overcome diffraction effects, the centroid of the image produced by the module is used as a reference to assess the accuracy of the optical alignment of the mirror module itself. Among other sources of uncertainty, the wave-front error of the plane wave also introduces an error in the position of the centroid, thus affecting the quality of the mirror module alignment. The power spectral density of the position of the point spread function centroid is here derived from the power spectral density of the wave-front error of the plane wave in the framework of the scalar theory of Fourier diffraction. This allows the defining of a specification on the collimator quality used for generating the plane wave starting from the contribution to the error budget allocated for the uncertainty of the centroid position. The theory generally applies whenever Fourier diffraction is a valid approximation, in which case the obtained result is identical to that derived by geometrical optics considerations.

Modeling human response errors in synthetic flight simulator domain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ntuen, Celestine A.

1992-01-01

This paper presents a control theoretic approach to modeling human response errors (HRE) in the flight simulation domain. The human pilot is modeled as a supervisor of a highly automated system. The synthesis uses the theory of optimal control pilot modeling for integrating the pilot's observation error and the error due to the simulation model (experimental error). Methods for solving the HRE problem are suggested. Experimental verification of the models will be tested in a flight quality handling simulation.

Quantifying Errors in Jet Noise Research Due to Microphone Support Reflection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nallasamy, Nambi; Bridges, James

2002-01-01

The reflection coefficient of a microphone support structure used insist noise testing is documented through tests performed in the anechoic AeroAcoustic Propulsion Laboratory. The tests involve the acquisition of acoustic data from a microphone mounted in the support structure while noise is generated from a known broadband source. The ratio of reflected signal amplitude to the original signal amplitude is determined by performing an auto-correlation function on the data. The documentation of the reflection coefficients is one component of the validation of jet noise data acquired using the given microphone support structure. Finally. two forms of acoustic material were applied to the microphone support structure to determine their effectiveness in reducing reflections which give rise to bias errors in the microphone measurements.

Experimental investigation of false positive errors in auditory species occurrence surveys

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, David A.W.; Weir, Linda A.; McClintock, Brett T.; Grant, Evan H. Campbell; Bailey, Larissa L.; Simons, Theodore R.

2012-01-01

False positive errors are a significant component of many ecological data sets, which in combination with false negative errors, can lead to severe biases in conclusions about ecological systems. We present results of a field experiment where observers recorded observations for known combinations of electronically broadcast calling anurans under conditions mimicking field surveys to determine species occurrence. Our objectives were to characterize false positive error probabilities for auditory methods based on a large number of observers, to determine if targeted instruction could be used to reduce false positive error rates, and to establish useful predictors of among-observer and among-species differences in error rates. We recruited 31 observers, ranging in abilities from novice to expert, that recorded detections for 12 species during 180 calling trials (66,960 total observations). All observers made multiple false positive errors and on average 8.1% of recorded detections in the experiment were false positive errors. Additional instruction had only minor effects on error rates. After instruction, false positive error probabilities decreased by 16% for treatment individuals compared to controls with broad confidence interval overlap of 0 (95% CI: -46 to 30%). This coincided with an increase in false negative errors due to the treatment (26%; -3 to 61%). Differences among observers in false positive and in false negative error rates were best predicted by scores from an online test and a self-assessment of observer ability completed prior to the field experiment. In contrast, years of experience conducting call surveys was a weak predictor of error rates. False positive errors were also more common for species that were played more frequently, but were not related to the dominant spectral frequency of the call. Our results corroborate other work that demonstrates false positives are a significant component of species occurrence data collected by auditory

Addressing Medical Errors in Hand Surgery

PubMed Central

Johnson, Shepard P.; Adkinson, Joshua M.; Chung, Kevin C.

2014-01-01

Influential think-tank such as the Institute of Medicine has raised awareness about the implications of medical errors. In response, organizations, medical societies, and institutions have initiated programs to decrease the incidence and effects of these errors. Surgeons deal with the direct implications of adverse events involving patients. In addition to managing the physical consequences, they are confronted with ethical and social issues when caring for a harmed patient. Although there is considerable effort to implement system-wide changes, there is little guidance for hand surgeons on how to address medical errors. Admitting an error is difficult, but a transparent environment where patients are notified of errors and offered consolation and compensation is essential to maintain trust. Further, equipping hand surgeons with a guide for addressing medical errors will promote compassionate patient interaction, help identify system failures, provide learning points for safety improvement, and demonstrate a commitment to ethically responsible medical care. PMID:25154576

Image enhancement by spectral-error correction for dual-energy computed tomography.

PubMed

Park, Kyung-Kook; Oh, Chang-Hyun; Akay, Metin

2011-01-01

Dual-energy CT (DECT) was reintroduced recently to use the additional spectral information of X-ray attenuation and aims for accurate density measurement and material differentiation. However, the spectral information lies in the difference between low and high energy images or measurements, so that it is difficult to acquire accurate spectral information due to amplification of high pixel noise in the resulting difference image. In this work, an image enhancement technique for DECT is proposed, based on the fact that the attenuation of a higher density material decreases more rapidly as X-ray energy increases. We define as spectral error the case when a pixel pair of low and high energy images deviates far from the expected attenuation trend. After analyzing the spectral-error sources of DECT images, we propose a DECT image enhancement method, which consists of three steps: water-reference offset correction, spectral-error correction, and anti-correlated noise reduction. It is the main idea of this work that makes spectral errors distributed like random noise over the true attenuation and suppressed by the well-known anti-correlated noise reduction. The proposed method suppressed noise of liver lesions and improved contrast between liver lesions and liver parenchyma in DECT contrast-enhanced abdominal images and their two-material decomposition.

The impact of response measurement error on the analysis of designed experiments

DOE PAGES

Anderson-Cook, Christine Michaela; Hamada, Michael Scott; Burr, Thomas Lee

2016-11-01

This study considers the analysis of designed experiments when there is measurement error in the true response or so-called response measurement error. We consider both additive and multiplicative response measurement errors. Through a simulation study, we investigate the impact of ignoring the response measurement error in the analysis, that is, by using a standard analysis based on t-tests. In addition, we examine the role of repeat measurements in improving the quality of estimation and prediction in the presence of response measurement error. We also study a Bayesian approach that accounts for the response measurement error directly through the specification ofmore » the model, and allows including additional information about variability in the analysis. We consider the impact on power, prediction, and optimization. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.« less

The impact of response measurement error on the analysis of designed experiments

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

Anderson-Cook, Christine Michaela; Hamada, Michael Scott; Burr, Thomas Lee

This study considers the analysis of designed experiments when there is measurement error in the true response or so-called response measurement error. We consider both additive and multiplicative response measurement errors. Through a simulation study, we investigate the impact of ignoring the response measurement error in the analysis, that is, by using a standard analysis based on t-tests. In addition, we examine the role of repeat measurements in improving the quality of estimation and prediction in the presence of response measurement error. We also study a Bayesian approach that accounts for the response measurement error directly through the specification ofmore » the model, and allows including additional information about variability in the analysis. We consider the impact on power, prediction, and optimization. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.« less

Error model of geomagnetic-field measurement and extended Kalman-filter based compensation method

PubMed Central

Ge, Zhilei; Liu, Suyun; Li, Guopeng; Huang, Yan; Wang, Yanni

2017-01-01

The real-time accurate measurement of the geomagnetic-field is the foundation to achieving high-precision geomagnetic navigation. The existing geomagnetic-field measurement models are essentially simplified models that cannot accurately describe the sources of measurement error. This paper, on the basis of systematically analyzing the source of geomagnetic-field measurement error, built a complete measurement model, into which the previously unconsidered geomagnetic daily variation field was introduced. This paper proposed an extended Kalman-filter based compensation method, which allows a large amount of measurement data to be used in estimating parameters to obtain the optimal solution in the sense of statistics. The experiment results showed that the compensated strength of the geomagnetic field remained close to the real value and the measurement error was basically controlled within 5nT. In addition, this compensation method has strong applicability due to its easy data collection and ability to remove the dependence on a high-precision measurement instrument. PMID:28445508

Lateral velocity estimation bias due to beamforming delay errors (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez-Molares, Alfonso; Fadnes, Solveig; Swillens, Abigail; Løvstakken, Lasse

2017-03-01

An artefact has recently been reported [1,2] in the estimation of the lateral blood velocity using speckle tracking. This artefact shows as a net velocity bias in presence of strong spatial velocity gradients such as those that occur at the edges of the filling jets in the heart. Even though this artifact has been found both in vitro and in simulated data, its causes are still undescribed. Here we demonstrate that a potential source of this artefact can be traced to smaller errors in the beamforming setup. By inserting a small offset in the beamforming delay, one can artificially create a net lateral movement in the speckle in areas of high velocity gradient. That offset does not have a strong impact in the image quality and can easily go undetected.

Action errors, error management, and learning in organizations.

PubMed

Frese, Michael; Keith, Nina

2015-01-03

Every organization is confronted with errors. Most errors are corrected easily, but some may lead to negative consequences. Organizations often focus on error prevention as a single strategy for dealing with errors. Our review suggests that error prevention needs to be supplemented by error management--an approach directed at effectively dealing with errors after they have occurred, with the goal of minimizing negative and maximizing positive error consequences (examples of the latter are learning and innovations). After defining errors and related concepts, we review research on error-related processes affected by error management (error detection, damage control). Empirical evidence on positive effects of error management in individuals and organizations is then discussed, along with emotional, motivational, cognitive, and behavioral pathways of these effects. Learning from errors is central, but like other positive consequences, learning occurs under certain circumstances--one being the development of a mind-set of acceptance of human error.

Sources of medical error in refractive surgery.

PubMed

Moshirfar, Majid; Simpson, Rachel G; Dave, Sonal B; Christiansen, Steven M; Edmonds, Jason N; Culbertson, William W; Pascucci, Stephen E; Sher, Neal A; Cano, David B; Trattler, William B

2013-05-01

To evaluate the causes of laser programming errors in refractive surgery and outcomes in these cases. In this multicenter, retrospective chart review, 22 eyes of 18 patients who had incorrect data entered into the refractive laser computer system at the time of treatment were evaluated. Cases were analyzed to uncover the etiology of these errors, patient follow-up treatments, and final outcomes. The results were used to identify potential methods to avoid similar errors in the future. Every patient experienced compromised uncorrected visual acuity requiring additional intervention, and 7 of 22 eyes (32%) lost corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) of at least one line. Sixteen patients were suitable candidates for additional surgical correction to address these residual visual symptoms and six were not. Thirteen of 22 eyes (59%) received surgical follow-up treatment; nine eyes were treated with contact lenses. After follow-up treatment, six patients (27%) still had a loss of one line or more of CDVA. Three significant sources of error were identified: errors of cylinder conversion, data entry, and patient identification error. Twenty-seven percent of eyes with laser programming errors ultimately lost one or more lines of CDVA. Patients who underwent surgical revision had better outcomes than those who did not. Many of the mistakes identified were likely avoidable had preventive measures been taken, such as strict adherence to patient verification protocol or rigorous rechecking of treatment parameters. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.

Modeling coherent errors in quantum error correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenbaum, Daniel; Dutton, Zachary

2018-01-01

Analysis of quantum error correcting codes is typically done using a stochastic, Pauli channel error model for describing the noise on physical qubits. However, it was recently found that coherent errors (systematic rotations) on physical data qubits result in both physical and logical error rates that differ significantly from those predicted by a Pauli model. Here we examine the accuracy of the Pauli approximation for noise containing coherent errors (characterized by a rotation angle ɛ) under the repetition code. We derive an analytic expression for the logical error channel as a function of arbitrary code distance d and concatenation level n, in the small error limit. We find that coherent physical errors result in logical errors that are partially coherent and therefore non-Pauli. However, the coherent part of the logical error is negligible at fewer than {ε }-({dn-1)} error correction cycles when the decoder is optimized for independent Pauli errors, thus providing a regime of validity for the Pauli approximation. Above this number of correction cycles, the persistent coherent logical error will cause logical failure more quickly than the Pauli model would predict, and this may need to be combated with coherent suppression methods at the physical level or larger codes.

Prescribing Errors Involving Medication Dosage Forms

PubMed Central

Lesar, Timothy S

2002-01-01

CONTEXT Prescribing errors involving medication dose formulations have been reported to occur frequently in hospitals. No systematic evaluations of the characteristics of errors related to medication dosage formulation have been performed. OBJECTIVE To quantify the characteristics, frequency, and potential adverse patient effects of prescribing errors involving medication dosage forms . DESIGN Evaluation of all detected medication prescribing errors involving or related to medication dosage forms in a 631-bed tertiary care teaching hospital. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Type, frequency, and potential for adverse effects of prescribing errors involving or related to medication dosage forms. RESULTS A total of 1,115 clinically significant prescribing errors involving medication dosage forms were detected during the 60-month study period. The annual number of detected errors increased throughout the study period. Detailed analysis of the 402 errors detected during the last 16 months of the study demonstrated the most common errors to be: failure to specify controlled release formulation (total of 280 cases; 69.7%) both when prescribing using the brand name (148 cases; 36.8%) and when prescribing using the generic name (132 cases; 32.8%); and prescribing controlled delivery formulations to be administered per tube (48 cases; 11.9%). The potential for adverse patient outcome was rated as potentially “fatal or severe” in 3 cases (0.7%), and “serious” in 49 cases (12.2%). Errors most commonly involved cardiovascular agents (208 cases; 51.7%). CONCLUSIONS Hospitalized patients are at risk for adverse outcomes due to prescribing errors related to inappropriate use of medication dosage forms. This information should be considered in the development of strategies to prevent adverse patient outcomes resulting from such errors. PMID:12213138

Quantifying the impact of material-model error on macroscale quantities-of-interest using multiscale a posteriori error-estimation techniques

DOE PAGES

Brown, Judith A.; Bishop, Joseph E.

2016-07-20

An a posteriori error-estimation framework is introduced to quantify and reduce modeling errors resulting from approximating complex mesoscale material behavior with a simpler macroscale model. Such errors may be prevalent when modeling welds and additively manufactured structures, where spatial variations and material textures may be present in the microstructure. We consider a case where a <100> fiber texture develops in the longitudinal scanning direction of a weld. Transversely isotropic elastic properties are obtained through homogenization of a microstructural model with this texture and are considered the reference weld properties within the error-estimation framework. Conversely, isotropic elastic properties are considered approximatemore » weld properties since they contain no representation of texture. Errors introduced by using isotropic material properties to represent a weld are assessed through a quantified error bound in the elastic regime. Lastly, an adaptive error reduction scheme is used to determine the optimal spatial variation of the isotropic weld properties to reduce the error bound.« less

Estimating errors in least-squares fitting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richter, P. H.

1995-01-01

While least-squares fitting procedures are commonly used in data analysis and are extensively discussed in the literature devoted to this subject, the proper assessment of errors resulting from such fits has received relatively little attention. The present work considers statistical errors in the fitted parameters, as well as in the values of the fitted function itself, resulting from random errors in the data. Expressions are derived for the standard error of the fit, as a function of the independent variable, for the general nonlinear and linear fitting problems. Additionally, closed-form expressions are derived for some examples commonly encountered in the scientific and engineering fields, namely ordinary polynomial and Gaussian fitting functions. These results have direct application to the assessment of the antenna gain and system temperature characteristics, in addition to a broad range of problems in data analysis. The effects of the nature of the data and the choice of fitting function on the ability to accurately model the system under study are discussed, and some general rules are deduced to assist workers intent on maximizing the amount of information obtained form a given set of measurements.

Adaptive reduction of constitutive model-form error using a posteriori error estimation techniques

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

Bishop, Joseph E.; Brown, Judith Alice

In engineering practice, models are typically kept as simple as possible for ease of setup and use, computational efficiency, maintenance, and overall reduced complexity to achieve robustness. In solid mechanics, a simple and efficient constitutive model may be favored over one that is more predictive, but is difficult to parameterize, is computationally expensive, or is simply not available within a simulation tool. In order to quantify the modeling error due to the choice of a relatively simple and less predictive constitutive model, we adopt the use of a posteriori model-form error-estimation techniques. Based on local error indicators in the energymore » norm, an algorithm is developed for reducing the modeling error by spatially adapting the material parameters in the simpler constitutive model. The resulting material parameters are not material properties per se, but depend on the given boundary-value problem. As a first step to the more general nonlinear case, we focus here on linear elasticity in which the “complex” constitutive model is general anisotropic elasticity and the chosen simpler model is isotropic elasticity. As a result, the algorithm for adaptive error reduction is demonstrated using two examples: (1) A transversely-isotropic plate with hole subjected to tension, and (2) a transversely-isotropic tube with two side holes subjected to torsion.« less

Adaptive reduction of constitutive model-form error using a posteriori error estimation techniques

DOE PAGES

Bishop, Joseph E.; Brown, Judith Alice

2018-06-15

In engineering practice, models are typically kept as simple as possible for ease of setup and use, computational efficiency, maintenance, and overall reduced complexity to achieve robustness. In solid mechanics, a simple and efficient constitutive model may be favored over one that is more predictive, but is difficult to parameterize, is computationally expensive, or is simply not available within a simulation tool. In order to quantify the modeling error due to the choice of a relatively simple and less predictive constitutive model, we adopt the use of a posteriori model-form error-estimation techniques. Based on local error indicators in the energymore » norm, an algorithm is developed for reducing the modeling error by spatially adapting the material parameters in the simpler constitutive model. The resulting material parameters are not material properties per se, but depend on the given boundary-value problem. As a first step to the more general nonlinear case, we focus here on linear elasticity in which the “complex” constitutive model is general anisotropic elasticity and the chosen simpler model is isotropic elasticity. As a result, the algorithm for adaptive error reduction is demonstrated using two examples: (1) A transversely-isotropic plate with hole subjected to tension, and (2) a transversely-isotropic tube with two side holes subjected to torsion.« less

Errors in causal inference: an organizational schema for systematic error and random error.

PubMed

Suzuki, Etsuji; Tsuda, Toshihide; Mitsuhashi, Toshiharu; Mansournia, Mohammad Ali; Yamamoto, Eiji

2016-11-01

To provide an organizational schema for systematic error and random error in estimating causal measures, aimed at clarifying the concept of errors from the perspective of causal inference. We propose to divide systematic error into structural error and analytic error. With regard to random error, our schema shows its four major sources: nondeterministic counterfactuals, sampling variability, a mechanism that generates exposure events and measurement variability. Structural error is defined from the perspective of counterfactual reasoning and divided into nonexchangeability bias (which comprises confounding bias and selection bias) and measurement bias. Directed acyclic graphs are useful to illustrate this kind of error. Nonexchangeability bias implies a lack of "exchangeability" between the selected exposed and unexposed groups. A lack of exchangeability is not a primary concern of measurement bias, justifying its separation from confounding bias and selection bias. Many forms of analytic errors result from the small-sample properties of the estimator used and vanish asymptotically. Analytic error also results from wrong (misspecified) statistical models and inappropriate statistical methods. Our organizational schema is helpful for understanding the relationship between systematic error and random error from a previously less investigated aspect, enabling us to better understand the relationship between accuracy, validity, and precision. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Grid convergence errors in hemodynamic solution of patient-specific cerebral aneurysms.

PubMed

Hodis, Simona; Uthamaraj, Susheil; Smith, Andrea L; Dennis, Kendall D; Kallmes, David F; Dragomir-Daescu, Dan

2012-11-15

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has become a cutting-edge tool for investigating hemodynamic dysfunctions in the body. It has the potential to help physicians quantify in more detail the phenomena difficult to capture with in vivo imaging techniques. CFD simulations in anatomically realistic geometries pose challenges in generating accurate solutions due to the grid distortion that may occur when the grid is aligned with complex geometries. In addition, results obtained with computational methods should be trusted only after the solution has been verified on multiple high-quality grids. The objective of this study was to present a comprehensive solution verification of the intra-aneurysmal flow results obtained on different morphologies of patient-specific cerebral aneurysms. We chose five patient-specific brain aneurysm models with different dome morphologies and estimated the grid convergence errors for each model. The grid convergence errors were estimated with respect to an extrapolated solution based on the Richardson extrapolation method, which accounts for the degree of grid refinement. For four of the five models, calculated velocity, pressure, and wall shear stress values at six different spatial locations converged monotonically, with maximum uncertainty magnitudes ranging from 12% to 16% on the finest grids. Due to the geometric complexity of the fifth model, the grid convergence errors showed oscillatory behavior; therefore, each patient-specific model required its own grid convergence study to establish the accuracy of the analysis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effects of error augmentation on learning to walk on a narrow balance beam.

PubMed

Domingo, Antoinette; Ferris, Daniel P

2010-10-01

Error augmentation during training has been proposed as a means to facilitate motor learning due to the human nervous system's reliance on performance errors to shape motor commands. We studied the effects of error augmentation on short-term learning of walking on a balance beam to determine whether it had beneficial effects on motor performance. Four groups of able-bodied subjects walked on a treadmill-mounted balance beam (2.5-cm wide) before and after 30 min of training. During training, two groups walked on the beam with a destabilization device that augmented error (Medium and High Destabilization groups). A third group walked on a narrower beam (1.27-cm) to augment error (Narrow). The fourth group practiced walking on the 2.5-cm balance beam (Wide). Subjects in the Wide group had significantly greater improvements after training than the error augmentation groups. The High Destabilization group had significantly less performance gains than the Narrow group in spite of similar failures per minute during training. In a follow-up experiment, a fifth group of subjects (Assisted) practiced with a device that greatly reduced catastrophic errors (i.e., stepping off the beam) but maintained similar pelvic movement variability. Performance gains were significantly greater in the Wide group than the Assisted group, indicating that catastrophic errors were important for short-term learning. We conclude that increasing errors during practice via destabilization and a narrower balance beam did not improve short-term learning of beam walking. In addition, the presence of qualitatively catastrophic errors seems to improve short-term learning of walking balance.

Automated error correction in IBM quantum computer and explicit generalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Debjit; Agarwal, Pratik; Pandey, Pratyush; Behera, Bikash K.; Panigrahi, Prasanta K.

2018-06-01

Construction of a fault-tolerant quantum computer remains a challenging problem due to unavoidable noise and fragile quantum states. However, this goal can be achieved by introducing quantum error-correcting codes. Here, we experimentally realize an automated error correction code and demonstrate the nondestructive discrimination of GHZ states in IBM 5-qubit quantum computer. After performing quantum state tomography, we obtain the experimental results with a high fidelity. Finally, we generalize the investigated code for maximally entangled n-qudit case, which could both detect and automatically correct any arbitrary phase-change error, or any phase-flip error, or any bit-flip error, or combined error of all types of error.

[Medication reconciliation: an innovative experience in an internal medicine unit to decrease errors due to inacurrate medication histories].

PubMed

Pérennes, Maud; Carde, Axel; Nicolas, Xavier; Dolz, Manuel; Bihannic, René; Grimont, Pauline; Chapot, Thierry; Granier, Hervé

2012-03-01

An inaccurate medication history may prevent the discovery of a pre-admission iatrogenic event or lead to interrupted drug therapy during hospitalization. Medication reconciliation is a process that ensures the transfer of medication information at admission to the hospital. The aims of this prospective study were to evaluate the interest in clinical practice of this concept and the resources needed for its implementation. We chose to include patients aged 65 years or over admitted in the internal medicine unit between June and October 2010. We obtained an accurate list of each patient's home medications. This list was then compared with medication orders. All medication variances were classified as intended or unintended. An internist and a pharmacist classified the clinical importance of each unintended variance. Sixty-one patients (mean age: 78 ± 7.4 years) were included in our study. We identified 38 unintended discrepancies. The average number of unintended discrepancies was 0.62 per patient. Twenty-five patients (41%) had one or more unintended discrepancies at admission. The contact with the community pharmacist permitted us to identify 21 (55%) unintended discrepancies. The most common errors were the omission of a regularly used medication (76%) and an incorrect dosage (16%). Our intervention resulted in order changes by the physician for 30 (79%) unintended discrepancies. Fifty percent of the unintended variances were judged by the internist and 76% by the pharmacist to be clinically significant. The admission to the hospital is a critical transition point for the continuity of care in medication management. Medication reconciliation can identify and resolve errors due to inaccurate medication histories. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Physician's error: medical or legal concept?

PubMed

Mujovic-Zornic, Hajrija M

2010-06-01

This article deals with the common term of different physician's errors that often happen in daily practice of health care. Author begins with the term of medical malpractice, defined broadly as practice of unjustified acts or failures to act upon the part of a physician or other health care professionals, which results in harm to the patient. It is a common term that includes many types of medical errors, especially physician's errors. The author also discusses the concept of physician's error in particular, which is understood no more in traditional way only as classic error in acting something manually wrong without necessary skills (medical concept), but as an error which violates patient's basic rights and which has its final legal consequence (legal concept). In every case the essential element of liability is to establish this error as a breach of the physician's duty. The first point to note is that the standard of procedure and the standard of due care against which the physician will be judged is not going to be that of the ordinary reasonable man who enjoys no medical expertise. The court's decision should give finale answer and legal qualification in each concrete case. The author's conclusion is that higher protection of human rights in the area of health equaly demands broader concept of physician's error with the accent to its legal subject matter.

Errors in imaging of traumatic injuries.

PubMed

Scaglione, Mariano; Iaselli, Francesco; Sica, Giacomo; Feragalli, Beatrice; Nicola, Refky

2015-10-01

The advent of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) has drastically improved the outcomes of patients with multiple traumatic injuries. However, there are still diagnostic challenges to be considered. A missed or the delay of a diagnosis in trauma patients can sometimes be related to perception or other non-visual cues, while other errors are due to poor technique or poor image quality. In order to avoid any serious complications, it is important for the practicing radiologist to be cognizant of some of the most common types of errors. The objective of this article is to review the various types of errors in the evaluation of patients with multiple trauma injuries or polytrauma with MDCT.

Robust best linear estimator for Cox regression with instrumental variables in whole cohort and surrogates with additive measurement error in calibration sample.

PubMed

Wang, Ching-Yun; Song, Xiao

2016-11-01

Biomedical researchers are often interested in estimating the effect of an environmental exposure in relation to a chronic disease endpoint. However, the exposure variable of interest may be measured with errors. In a subset of the whole cohort, a surrogate variable is available for the true unobserved exposure variable. The surrogate variable satisfies an additive measurement error model, but it may not have repeated measurements. The subset in which the surrogate variables are available is called a calibration sample. In addition to the surrogate variables that are available among the subjects in the calibration sample, we consider the situation when there is an instrumental variable available for all study subjects. An instrumental variable is correlated with the unobserved true exposure variable, and hence can be useful in the estimation of the regression coefficients. In this paper, we propose a nonparametric method for Cox regression using the observed data from the whole cohort. The nonparametric estimator is the best linear combination of a nonparametric correction estimator from the calibration sample and the difference of the naive estimators from the calibration sample and the whole cohort. The asymptotic distribution is derived, and the finite sample performance of the proposed estimator is examined via intensive simulation studies. The methods are applied to the Nutritional Biomarkers Study of the Women's Health Initiative. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Robust best linear estimator for Cox regression with instrumental variables in whole cohort and surrogates with additive measurement error in calibration sample

PubMed Central

Wang, Ching-Yun; Song, Xiao

2017-01-01

SUMMARY Biomedical researchers are often interested in estimating the effect of an environmental exposure in relation to a chronic disease endpoint. However, the exposure variable of interest may be measured with errors. In a subset of the whole cohort, a surrogate variable is available for the true unobserved exposure variable. The surrogate variable satisfies an additive measurement error model, but it may not have repeated measurements. The subset in which the surrogate variables are available is called a calibration sample. In addition to the surrogate variables that are available among the subjects in the calibration sample, we consider the situation when there is an instrumental variable available for all study subjects. An instrumental variable is correlated with the unobserved true exposure variable, and hence can be useful in the estimation of the regression coefficients. In this paper, we propose a nonparametric method for Cox regression using the observed data from the whole cohort. The nonparametric estimator is the best linear combination of a nonparametric correction estimator from the calibration sample and the difference of the naive estimators from the calibration sample and the whole cohort. The asymptotic distribution is derived, and the finite sample performance of the proposed estimator is examined via intensive simulation studies. The methods are applied to the Nutritional Biomarkers Study of the Women’s Health Initiative. PMID:27546625

A steep peripheral ring in irregular cornea topography, real or an instrument error?

PubMed

Galindo-Ferreiro, Alicia; Galvez-Ruiz, Alberto; Schellini, Silvana A; Galindo-Alonso, Julio

2016-01-01

To demonstrate that the steep peripheral ring (red zone) on corneal topography after myopic laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) could possibly due to instrument error and not always to a real increase in corneal curvature. A spherical model for the corneal surface and modifying topography software was used to analyze the cause of an error due to instrument design. This study involved modification of the software of a commercially available topographer. A small modification of the topography image results in a red zone on the corneal topography color map. Corneal modeling indicates that the red zone could be an artifact due to an instrument-induced error. The steep curvature changes after LASIK, signified by the red zone, could be also an error due to the plotting algorithms of the corneal topographer, besides a steep curvature change.

Error Sensitivity to Environmental Noise in Quantum Circuits for Chemical State Preparation.

PubMed

Sawaya, Nicolas P D; Smelyanskiy, Mikhail; McClean, Jarrod R; Aspuru-Guzik, Alán

2016-07-12

Calculating molecular energies is likely to be one of the first useful applications to achieve quantum supremacy, performing faster on a quantum than a classical computer. However, if future quantum devices are to produce accurate calculations, errors due to environmental noise and algorithmic approximations need to be characterized and reduced. In this study, we use the high performance qHiPSTER software to investigate the effects of environmental noise on the preparation of quantum chemistry states. We simulated 18 16-qubit quantum circuits under environmental noise, each corresponding to a unitary coupled cluster state preparation of a different molecule or molecular configuration. Additionally, we analyze the nature of simple gate errors in noise-free circuits of up to 40 qubits. We find that, in most cases, the Jordan-Wigner (JW) encoding produces smaller errors under a noisy environment as compared to the Bravyi-Kitaev (BK) encoding. For the JW encoding, pure dephasing noise is shown to produce substantially smaller errors than pure relaxation noise of the same magnitude. We report error trends in both molecular energy and electron particle number within a unitary coupled cluster state preparation scheme, against changes in nuclear charge, bond length, number of electrons, noise types, and noise magnitude. These trends may prove to be useful in making algorithmic and hardware-related choices for quantum simulation of molecular energies.

A Bayesian approach to model structural error and input variability in groundwater modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, T.; Valocchi, A. J.; Lin, Y. F. F.; Liang, F.

2015-12-01

Effective water resource management typically relies on numerical models to analyze groundwater flow and solute transport processes. Model structural error (due to simplification and/or misrepresentation of the "true" environmental system) and input forcing variability (which commonly arises since some inputs are uncontrolled or estimated with high uncertainty) are ubiquitous in groundwater models. Calibration that overlooks errors in model structure and input data can lead to biased parameter estimates and compromised predictions. We present a fully Bayesian approach for a complete assessment of uncertainty for spatially distributed groundwater models. The approach explicitly recognizes stochastic input and uses data-driven error models based on nonparametric kernel methods to account for model structural error. We employ exploratory data analysis to assist in specifying informative prior for error models to improve identifiability. The inference is facilitated by an efficient sampling algorithm based on DREAM-ZS and a parameter subspace multiple-try strategy to reduce the required number of forward simulations of the groundwater model. We demonstrate the Bayesian approach through a synthetic case study of surface-ground water interaction under changing pumping conditions. It is found that explicit treatment of errors in model structure and input data (groundwater pumping rate) has substantial impact on the posterior distribution of groundwater model parameters. Using error models reduces predictive bias caused by parameter compensation. In addition, input variability increases parametric and predictive uncertainty. The Bayesian approach allows for a comparison among the contributions from various error sources, which could inform future model improvement and data collection efforts on how to best direct resources towards reducing predictive uncertainty.

Airplane wing vibrations due to atmospheric turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pastel, R. L.; Caruthers, J. E.; Frost, W.

1981-01-01

The magnitude of error introduced due to wing vibration when measuring atmospheric turbulence with a wind probe mounted at the wing tip was studied. It was also determined whether accelerometers mounted on the wing tip are needed to correct this error. A spectrum analysis approach is used to determine the error. Estimates of the B-57 wing characteristics are used to simulate the airplane wing, and von Karman's cross spectrum function is used to simulate atmospheric turbulence. It was found that wing vibration introduces large error in measured spectra of turbulence in the frequency's range close to the natural frequencies of the wing.

Mitigation of Angle Tracking Errors Due to Color Dependent Centroid Shifts in SIM-Lite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nemati, Bijan; An, Xin; Goullioud, Renaud; Shao, Michael; Shen, Tsae-Pyng; Wehmeier, Udo J.; Weilert, Mark A.; Wang, Xu; Werne, Thomas A.; Wu, Janet P.;

Comparing errors in ED computer-assisted vs conventional pediatric drug dosing and administration.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Loren; Kanemori, Joan

2010-06-01

Compared to fixed-dose single-vial drug administration in adults, pediatric drug dosing and administration requires a series of calculations, all of which are potentially error prone. The purpose of this study is to compare error rates and task completion times for common pediatric medication scenarios using computer program assistance vs conventional methods. Two versions of a 4-part paper-based test were developed. Each part consisted of a set of medication administration and/or dosing tasks. Emergency department and pediatric intensive care unit nurse volunteers completed these tasks using both methods (sequence assigned to start with a conventional or a computer-assisted approach). Completion times, errors, and the reason for the error were recorded. Thirty-eight nurses completed the study. Summing the completion of all 4 parts, the mean conventional total time was 1243 seconds vs the mean computer program total time of 879 seconds (P < .001). The conventional manual method had a mean of 1.8 errors vs the computer program with a mean of 0.7 errors (P < .001). Of the 97 total errors, 36 were due to misreading the drug concentration on the label, 34 were due to calculation errors, and 8 were due to misplaced decimals. Of the 36 label interpretation errors, 18 (50%) occurred with digoxin or insulin. Computerized assistance reduced errors and the time required for drug administration calculations. A pattern of errors emerged, noting that reading/interpreting certain drug labels were more error prone. Optimizing the layout of drug labels could reduce the error rate for error-prone labels. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An investigation of error characteristics and coding performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ebel, William J.; Ingels, Frank M.

1992-01-01

The performance of forward error correcting coding schemes on errors anticipated for the Earth Observation System (EOS) Ku-band downlink are studied. The EOS transmits picture frame data to the ground via the Telemetry Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) to a ground-based receiver at White Sands. Due to unintentional RF interference from other systems operating in the Ku band, the noise at the receiver is non-Gaussian which may result in non-random errors output by the demodulator. That is, the downlink channel cannot be modeled by a simple memoryless Gaussian-noise channel. From previous experience, it is believed that those errors are bursty. The research proceeded by developing a computer based simulation, called Communication Link Error ANalysis (CLEAN), to model the downlink errors, forward error correcting schemes, and interleavers used with TDRSS. To date, the bulk of CLEAN was written, documented, debugged, and verified. The procedures for utilizing CLEAN to investigate code performance were established and are discussed.

The economics of health care quality and medical errors.

PubMed

Andel, Charles; Davidow, Stephen L; Hollander, Mark; Moreno, David A

2012-01-01

Hospitals have been looking for ways to improve quality and operational efficiency and cut costs for nearly three decades, using a variety of quality improvement strategies. However, based on recent reports, approximately 200,000 Americans die from preventable medical errors including facility-acquired conditions and millions may experience errors. In 2008, medical errors cost the United States $19.5 billion. About 87 percent or $17 billion were directly associated with additional medical cost, including: ancillary services, prescription drug services, and inpatient and outpatient care, according to a study sponsored by the Society for Actuaries and conducted by Milliman in 2010. Additional costs of $1.4 billion were attributed to increased mortality rates with $1.1 billion or 10 million days of lost productivity from missed work based on short-term disability claims. The authors estimate that the economic impact is much higher, perhaps nearly $1 trillion annually when quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) are applied to those that die. Using the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) estimate of 98,000 deaths due to preventable medical errors annually in its 1998 report, To Err Is Human, and an average of ten lost years of life at $75,000 to $100,000 per year, there is a loss of $73.5 billion to $98 billion in QALYs for those deaths--conservatively. These numbers are much greater than those we cite from studies that explore the direct costs of medical errors. And if the estimate of a recent Health Affairs article is correct-preventable death being ten times the IOM estimate-the cost is $735 billion to $980 billion. Quality care is less expensive care. It is better, more efficient, and by definition, less wasteful. It is the right care, at the right time, every time. It should mean that far fewer patients are harmed or injured. Obviously, quality care is not being delivered consistently throughout U.S. hospitals. Whatever the measure, poor quality is costing payers and

Medical Error and Moral Luck.

PubMed

Hubbeling, Dieneke

2016-09-01

This paper addresses the concept of moral luck. Moral luck is discussed in the context of medical error, especially an error of omission that occurs frequently, but only rarely has adverse consequences. As an example, a failure to compare the label on a syringe with the drug chart results in the wrong medication being administered and the patient dies. However, this error may have previously occurred many times with no tragic consequences. Discussions on moral luck can highlight conflicting intuitions. Should perpetrators receive a harsher punishment because of an adverse outcome, or should they be dealt with in the same way as colleagues who have acted similarly, but with no adverse effects? An additional element to the discussion, specifically with medical errors, is that according to the evidence currently available, punishing individual practitioners does not seem to be effective in preventing future errors. The following discussion, using relevant philosophical and empirical evidence, posits a possible solution for the moral luck conundrum in the context of medical error: namely, making a distinction between the duty to make amends and assigning blame. Blame should be assigned on the basis of actual behavior, while the duty to make amends is dependent on the outcome.

Seeing Your Error Alters My Pointing: Observing Systematic Pointing Errors Induces Sensori-Motor After-Effects

PubMed Central

Ronchi, Roberta; Revol, Patrice; Katayama, Masahiro; Rossetti, Yves; Farnè, Alessandro

2011-01-01

During the procedure of prism adaptation, subjects execute pointing movements to visual targets under a lateral optical displacement: As consequence of the discrepancy between visual and proprioceptive inputs, their visuo-motor activity is characterized by pointing errors. The perception of such final errors triggers error-correction processes that eventually result into sensori-motor compensation, opposite to the prismatic displacement (i.e., after-effects). Here we tested whether the mere observation of erroneous pointing movements, similar to those executed during prism adaptation, is sufficient to produce adaptation-like after-effects. Neurotypical participants observed, from a first-person perspective, the examiner's arm making incorrect pointing movements that systematically overshot visual targets location to the right, thus simulating a rightward optical deviation. Three classical after-effect measures (proprioceptive, visual and visual-proprioceptive shift) were recorded before and after first-person's perspective observation of pointing errors. Results showed that mere visual exposure to an arm that systematically points on the right-side of a target (i.e., without error correction) produces a leftward after-effect, which mostly affects the observer's proprioceptive estimation of her body midline. In addition, being exposed to such a constant visual error induced in the observer the illusion “to feel” the seen movement. These findings indicate that it is possible to elicit sensori-motor after-effects by mere observation of movement errors. PMID:21731649

A method to map errors in the deformable registration of 4DCT images1

PubMed Central

Vaman, Constantin; Staub, David; Williamson, Jeffrey; Murphy, Martin J.

2010-01-01

Purpose: To present a new approach to the problem of estimating errors in deformable image registration (DIR) applied to sequential phases of a 4DCT data set. Methods: A set of displacement vector fields (DVFs) are made by registering a sequence of 4DCT phases. The DVFs are assumed to display anatomical movement, with the addition of errors due to the imaging and registration processes. The positions of physical landmarks in each CT phase are measured as ground truth for the physical movement in the DVF. Principal component analysis of the DVFs and the landmarks is used to identify and separate the eigenmodes of physical movement from the error eigenmodes. By subtracting the physical modes from the principal components of the DVFs, the registration errors are exposed and reconstructed as DIR error maps. The method is demonstrated via a simple numerical model of 4DCT DVFs that combines breathing movement with simulated maps of spatially correlated DIR errors. Results: The principal components of the simulated DVFs were observed to share the basic properties of principal components for actual 4DCT data. The simulated error maps were accurately recovered by the estimation method. Conclusions: Deformable image registration errors can have complex spatial distributions. Consequently, point-by-point landmark validation can give unrepresentative results that do not accurately reflect the registration uncertainties away from the landmarks. The authors are developing a method for mapping the complete spatial distribution of DIR errors using only a small number of ground truth validation landmarks. PMID:21158288

Diagnosing and Correcting Mass Accuracy and Signal Intensity Error Due to Initial Ion Position Variations in a MALDI TOFMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malys, Brian J.; Piotrowski, Michelle L.; Owens, Kevin G.

2018-02-01

Frustrated by worse than expected error for both peak area and time-of-flight (TOF) in matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) experiments using samples prepared by electrospray deposition, it was finally determined that there was a correlation between sample location on the target plate and the measured TOF/peak area. Variations in both TOF and peak area were found to be due to small differences in the initial position of ions formed in the source region of the TOF mass spectrometer. These differences arise largely from misalignment of the instrument sample stage, with a smaller contribution arising from the non-ideal shape of the target plates used. By physically measuring the target plates used and comparing TOF data collected from three different instruments, an estimate of the magnitude and direction of the sample stage misalignment was determined for each of the instruments. A correction method was developed to correct the TOFs and peak areas obtained for a given combination of target plate and instrument. Two correction factors are determined, one by initially collecting spectra from each sample position used and another by using spectra from a single position for each set of samples on a target plate. For TOF and mass values, use of the correction factor reduced the error by a factor of 4, with the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the corrected masses being reduced to 12-24 ppm. For the peak areas, the RSD was reduced from 28% to 16% for samples deposited twice onto two target plates over two days.

Diagnosing and Correcting Mass Accuracy and Signal Intensity Error Due to Initial Ion Position Variations in a MALDI TOFMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malys, Brian J.; Piotrowski, Michelle L.; Owens, Kevin G.

2017-12-01

Frustrated by worse than expected error for both peak area and time-of-flight (TOF) in matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) experiments using samples prepared by electrospray deposition, it was finally determined that there was a correlation between sample location on the target plate and the measured TOF/peak area. Variations in both TOF and peak area were found to be due to small differences in the initial position of ions formed in the source region of the TOF mass spectrometer. These differences arise largely from misalignment of the instrument sample stage, with a smaller contribution arising from the non-ideal shape of the target plates used. By physically measuring the target plates used and comparing TOF data collected from three different instruments, an estimate of the magnitude and direction of the sample stage misalignment was determined for each of the instruments. A correction method was developed to correct the TOFs and peak areas obtained for a given combination of target plate and instrument. Two correction factors are determined, one by initially collecting spectra from each sample position used and another by using spectra from a single position for each set of samples on a target plate. For TOF and mass values, use of the correction factor reduced the error by a factor of 4, with the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the corrected masses being reduced to 12-24 ppm. For the peak areas, the RSD was reduced from 28% to 16% for samples deposited twice onto two target plates over two days. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

The role of model errors represented by nonlinear forcing singular vector tendency error in causing the "spring predictability barrier" within ENSO predictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Wansuo; Zhao, Peng

2017-04-01

Within the Zebiak-Cane model, the nonlinear forcing singular vector (NFSV) approach is used to investigate the role of model errors in the "Spring Predictability Barrier" (SPB) phenomenon within ENSO predictions. NFSV-related errors have the largest negative effect on the uncertainties of El Niño predictions. NFSV errors can be classified into two types: the first is characterized by a zonal dipolar pattern of SST anomalies (SSTA), with the western poles centered in the equatorial central-western Pacific exhibiting positive anomalies and the eastern poles in the equatorial eastern Pacific exhibiting negative anomalies; and the second is characterized by a pattern almost opposite the first type. The first type of error tends to have the worst effects on El Niño growth-phase predictions, whereas the latter often yields the largest negative effects on decaying-phase predictions. The evolution of prediction errors caused by NFSV-related errors exhibits prominent seasonality, with the fastest error growth in the spring and/or summer seasons; hence, these errors result in a significant SPB related to El Niño events. The linear counterpart of NFSVs, the (linear) forcing singular vector (FSV), induces a less significant SPB because it contains smaller prediction errors. Random errors cannot generate a SPB for El Niño events. These results show that the occurrence of an SPB is related to the spatial patterns of tendency errors. The NFSV tendency errors cause the most significant SPB for El Niño events. In addition, NFSVs often concentrate these large value errors in a few areas within the equatorial eastern and central-western Pacific, which likely represent those areas sensitive to El Niño predictions associated with model errors. Meanwhile, these areas are also exactly consistent with the sensitive areas related to initial errors determined by previous studies. This implies that additional observations in the sensitive areas would not only improve the accuracy of

Statistics of the residual refraction errors in laser ranging data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, C. S.

1977-01-01

A theoretical model for the range error covariance was derived by assuming that the residual refraction errors are due entirely to errors in the meteorological data which are used to calculate the atmospheric correction. The properties of the covariance function are illustrated by evaluating the theoretical model for the special case of a dense network of weather stations uniformly distributed within a circle.

Uncertainties of predictions from parton distributions II: theoretical errors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, A. D.; Roberts, R. G.; Stirling, W. J.; Thorne, R. S.

2004-06-01

We study the uncertainties in parton distributions, determined in global fits to deep inelastic and related hard scattering data, due to so-called theoretical errors. Amongst these, we include potential errors due to the change of perturbative order (NLO to NNLO), ln(1/x) and ln(1-x) effects, absorptive corrections and higher-twist contributions. We investigate these uncertainties both by including explicit corrections to our standard global analysis and by examining the sensitivity to changes of the x, Q 2, W 2 cuts on the data that are fitted. In this way we expose those kinematic regions where the conventional DGLAP description is inadequate. As a consequence we obtain a set of NLO, and of NNLO, conservative partons where the data are fully consistent with DGLAP evolution, but over a restricted kinematic domain. We also examine the potential effects of such issues as the choice of input parametrisation, heavy target corrections, assumptions about the strange quark sea and isospin violation. Hence we are able to compare the theoretical errors with those uncertainties due to errors on the experimental measurements, which we studied previously. We use W and Higgs boson production at the Tevatron and the LHC as explicit examples of the uncertainties arising from parton distributions. For many observables the theoretical error is dominant, but for the cross section for W production at the Tevatron both the theoretical and experimental uncertainties are small, and hence the NNLO prediction may serve as a valuable luminosity monitor.

A pharmacometric case study regarding the sensitivity of structural model parameter estimation to error in patient reported dosing times.

PubMed

Knights, Jonathan; Rohatagi, Shashank

2015-12-01

Although there is a body of literature focused on minimizing the effect of dosing inaccuracies on pharmacokinetic (PK) parameter estimation, most of the work centers on missing doses. No attempt has been made to specifically characterize the effect of error in reported dosing times. Additionally, existing work has largely dealt with cases in which the compound of interest is dosed at an interval no less than its terminal half-life. This work provides a case study investigating how error in patient reported dosing times might affect the accuracy of structural model parameter estimation under sparse sampling conditions when the dosing interval is less than the terminal half-life of the compound, and the underlying kinetics are monoexponential. Additional effects due to noncompliance with dosing events are not explored and it is assumed that the structural model and reasonable initial estimates of the model parameters are known. Under the conditions of our simulations, with structural model CV % ranging from ~20 to 60 %, parameter estimation inaccuracy derived from error in reported dosing times was largely controlled around 10 % on average. Given that no observed dosing was included in the design and sparse sampling was utilized, we believe these error results represent a practical ceiling given the variability and parameter estimates for the one-compartment model. The findings suggest additional investigations may be of interest and are noteworthy given the inability of current PK software platforms to accommodate error in dosing times.

Low-dimensional Representation of Error Covariance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tippett, Michael K.; Cohn, Stephen E.; Todling, Ricardo; Marchesin, Dan

2000-01-01

Ensemble and reduced-rank approaches to prediction and assimilation rely on low-dimensional approximations of the estimation error covariances. Here stability properties of the forecast/analysis cycle for linear, time-independent systems are used to identify factors that cause the steady-state analysis error covariance to admit a low-dimensional representation. A useful measure of forecast/analysis cycle stability is the bound matrix, a function of the dynamics, observation operator and assimilation method. Upper and lower estimates for the steady-state analysis error covariance matrix eigenvalues are derived from the bound matrix. The estimates generalize to time-dependent systems. If much of the steady-state analysis error variance is due to a few dominant modes, the leading eigenvectors of the bound matrix approximate those of the steady-state analysis error covariance matrix. The analytical results are illustrated in two numerical examples where the Kalman filter is carried to steady state. The first example uses the dynamics of a generalized advection equation exhibiting nonmodal transient growth. Failure to observe growing modes leads to increased steady-state analysis error variances. Leading eigenvectors of the steady-state analysis error covariance matrix are well approximated by leading eigenvectors of the bound matrix. The second example uses the dynamics of a damped baroclinic wave model. The leading eigenvectors of a lowest-order approximation of the bound matrix are shown to approximate well the leading eigenvectors of the steady-state analysis error covariance matrix.

Intensive Treatment with Ultrasound Visual Feedback for Speech Sound Errors in Childhood Apraxia

PubMed Central

Preston, Jonathan L.; Leece, Megan C.; Maas, Edwin

2016-01-01

Ultrasound imaging is an adjunct to traditional speech therapy that has shown to be beneficial in the remediation of speech sound errors. Ultrasound biofeedback can be utilized during therapy to provide clients with additional knowledge about their tongue shapes when attempting to produce sounds that are erroneous. The additional feedback may assist children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) in stabilizing motor patterns, thereby facilitating more consistent and accurate productions of sounds and syllables. However, due to its specialized nature, ultrasound visual feedback is a technology that is not widely available to clients. Short-term intensive treatment programs are one option that can be utilized to expand access to ultrasound biofeedback. Schema-based motor learning theory suggests that short-term intensive treatment programs (massed practice) may assist children in acquiring more accurate motor patterns. In this case series, three participants ages 10–14 years diagnosed with CAS attended 16 h of speech therapy over a 2-week period to address residual speech sound errors. Two participants had distortions on rhotic sounds, while the third participant demonstrated lateralization of sibilant sounds. During therapy, cues were provided to assist participants in obtaining a tongue shape that facilitated a correct production of the erred sound. Additional practice without ultrasound was also included. Results suggested that all participants showed signs of acquisition of sounds in error. Generalization and retention results were mixed. One participant showed generalization and retention of sounds that were treated; one showed generalization but limited retention; and the third showed no evidence of generalization or retention. Individual characteristics that may facilitate generalization are discussed. Short-term intensive treatment programs using ultrasound biofeedback may result in the acquisition of more accurate motor patterns and improved articulation

Evaluating the prevalence and impact of examiner errors on the Wechsler scales of intelligence: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Styck, Kara M; Walsh, Shana M

2016-01-01

The purpose of the present investigation was to conduct a meta-analysis of the literature on examiner errors for the Wechsler scales of intelligence. Results indicate that a mean of 99.7% of protocols contained at least 1 examiner error when studies that included a failure to record examinee responses as an error were combined and a mean of 41.2% of protocols contained at least 1 examiner error when studies that ignored errors of omission were combined. Furthermore, graduate student examiners were significantly more likely to make at least 1 error on Wechsler intelligence test protocols than psychologists. However, psychologists made significantly more errors per protocol than graduate student examiners regardless of the inclusion or exclusion of failure to record examinee responses as errors. On average, 73.1% of Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores changed as a result of examiner errors, whereas 15.8%-77.3% of scores on the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), Working Memory Index (WMI), and Processing Speed Index changed as a result of examiner errors. In addition, results suggest that examiners tend to overestimate FSIQ scores and underestimate VCI scores. However, no strong pattern emerged for the PRI and WMI. It can be concluded that examiner errors occur frequently and impact index and FSIQ scores. Consequently, current estimates for the standard error of measurement of popular IQ tests may not adequately capture the variance due to the examiner. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Factors that influence the generation of autobiographical memory conjunction errors.

PubMed

Devitt, Aleea L; Monk-Fromont, Edwin; Schacter, Daniel L; Addis, Donna Rose

2016-01-01

The constructive nature of memory is generally adaptive, allowing us to efficiently store, process and learn from life events, and simulate future scenarios to prepare ourselves for what may come. However, the cost of a flexibly constructive memory system is the occasional conjunction error, whereby the components of an event are authentic, but the combination of those components is false. Using a novel recombination paradigm, it was demonstrated that details from one autobiographical memory (AM) may be incorrectly incorporated into another, forming AM conjunction errors that elude typical reality monitoring checks. The factors that contribute to the creation of these conjunction errors were examined across two experiments. Conjunction errors were more likely to occur when the corresponding details were partially rather than fully recombined, likely due to increased plausibility and ease of simulation of partially recombined scenarios. Brief periods of imagination increased conjunction error rates, in line with the imagination inflation effect. Subjective ratings suggest that this inflation is due to similarity of phenomenological experience between conjunction and authentic memories, consistent with a source monitoring perspective. Moreover, objective scoring of memory content indicates that increased perceptual detail may be particularly important for the formation of AM conjunction errors.

Error begat error: design error analysis and prevention in social infrastructure projects.

PubMed

Love, Peter E D; Lopez, Robert; Edwards, David J; Goh, Yang M

2012-09-01

Design errors contribute significantly to cost and schedule growth in social infrastructure projects and to engineering failures, which can result in accidents and loss of life. Despite considerable research that has addressed their error causation in construction projects they still remain prevalent. This paper identifies the underlying conditions that contribute to design errors in social infrastructure projects (e.g. hospitals, education, law and order type buildings). A systemic model of error causation is propagated and subsequently used to develop a learning framework for design error prevention. The research suggests that a multitude of strategies should be adopted in congruence to prevent design errors from occurring and so ensure that safety and project performance are ameliorated. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effect of Numerical Error on Gravity Field Estimation for GRACE and Future Gravity Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCullough, Christopher; Bettadpur, Srinivas

2015-04-01

In recent decades, gravity field determination from low Earth orbiting satellites, such as the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), has become increasingly more effective due to the incorporation of high accuracy measurement devices. Since instrumentation quality will only increase in the near future and the gravity field determination process is computationally and numerically intensive, numerical error from the use of double precision arithmetic will eventually become a prominent error source. While using double-extended or quadruple precision arithmetic will reduce these errors, the numerical limitations of current orbit determination algorithms and processes must be accurately identified and quantified in order to adequately inform the science data processing techniques of future gravity missions. The most obvious numerical limitation in the orbit determination process is evident in the comparison of measured observables with computed values, derived from mathematical models relating the satellites' numerically integrated state to the observable. Significant error in the computed trajectory will corrupt this comparison and induce error in the least squares solution of the gravitational field. In addition, errors in the numerically computed trajectory propagate into the evaluation of the mathematical measurement model's partial derivatives. These errors amalgamate in turn with numerical error from the computation of the state transition matrix, computed using the variational equations of motion, in the least squares mapping matrix. Finally, the solution of the linearized least squares system, computed using a QR factorization, is also susceptible to numerical error. Certain interesting combinations of each of these numerical errors are examined in the framework of GRACE gravity field determination to analyze and quantify their effects on gravity field recovery.

Numerical Error Estimation with UQ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ackmann, Jan; Korn, Peter; Marotzke, Jochem

2014-05-01

Ocean models are still in need of means to quantify model errors, which are inevitably made when running numerical experiments. The total model error can formally be decomposed into two parts, the formulation error and the discretization error. The formulation error arises from the continuous formulation of the model not fully describing the studied physical process. The discretization error arises from having to solve a discretized model instead of the continuously formulated model. Our work on error estimation is concerned with the discretization error. Given a solution of a discretized model, our general problem statement is to find a way to quantify the uncertainties due to discretization in physical quantities of interest (diagnostics), which are frequently used in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. The approach we use to tackle this problem is called the "Goal Error Ensemble method". The basic idea of the Goal Error Ensemble method is that errors in diagnostics can be translated into a weighted sum of local model errors, which makes it conceptually based on the Dual Weighted Residual method from Computational Fluid Dynamics. In contrast to the Dual Weighted Residual method these local model errors are not considered deterministically but interpreted as local model uncertainty and described stochastically by a random process. The parameters for the random process are tuned with high-resolution near-initial model information. However, the original Goal Error Ensemble method, introduced in [1], was successfully evaluated only in the case of inviscid flows without lateral boundaries in a shallow-water framework and is hence only of limited use in a numerical ocean model. Our work consists in extending the method to bounded, viscous flows in a shallow-water framework. As our numerical model, we use the ICON-Shallow-Water model. In viscous flows our high-resolution information is dependent on the viscosity parameter, making our uncertainty measures viscosity-dependent. We

Influence of measurement error on Maxwell's demon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sørdal, Vegard; Bergli, Joakim; Galperin, Y. M.

2017-06-01

In any general cycle of measurement, feedback, and erasure, the measurement will reduce the entropy of the system when information about the state is obtained, while erasure, according to Landauer's principle, is accompanied by a corresponding increase in entropy due to the compression of logical and physical phase space. The total process can in principle be fully reversible. A measurement error reduces the information obtained and the entropy decrease in the system. The erasure still gives the same increase in entropy, and the total process is irreversible. Another consequence of measurement error is that a bad feedback is applied, which further increases the entropy production if the proper protocol adapted to the expected error rate is not applied. We consider the effect of measurement error on a realistic single-electron box Szilard engine, and we find the optimal protocol for the cycle as a function of the desired power P and error ɛ .

Error Modelling for Multi-Sensor Measurements in Infrastructure-Free Indoor Navigation

PubMed Central

Ruotsalainen, Laura; Kirkko-Jaakkola, Martti; Rantanen, Jesperi; Mäkelä, Maija

2018-01-01

The long-term objective of our research is to develop a method for infrastructure-free simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) and context recognition for tactical situational awareness. Localization will be realized by propagating motion measurements obtained using a monocular camera, a foot-mounted Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), sonar, and a barometer. Due to the size and weight requirements set by tactical applications, Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) sensors will be used. However, MEMS sensors suffer from biases and drift errors that may substantially decrease the position accuracy. Therefore, sophisticated error modelling and implementation of integration algorithms are key for providing a viable result. Algorithms used for multi-sensor fusion have traditionally been different versions of Kalman filters. However, Kalman filters are based on the assumptions that the state propagation and measurement models are linear with additive Gaussian noise. Neither of the assumptions is correct for tactical applications, especially for dismounted soldiers, or rescue personnel. Therefore, error modelling and implementation of advanced fusion algorithms are essential for providing a viable result. Our approach is to use particle filtering (PF), which is a sophisticated option for integrating measurements emerging from pedestrian motion having non-Gaussian error characteristics. This paper discusses the statistical modelling of the measurement errors from inertial sensors and vision based heading and translation measurements to include the correct error probability density functions (pdf) in the particle filter implementation. Then, model fitting is used to verify the pdfs of the measurement errors. Based on the deduced error models of the measurements, particle filtering method is developed to fuse all this information, where the weights of each particle are computed based on the specific models derived. The performance of the developed method is tested via two

Potential loss of revenue due to errors in clinical coding during the implementation of the Malaysia diagnosis related group (MY-DRG®) Casemix system in a teaching hospital in Malaysia.

PubMed

Zafirah, S A; Nur, Amrizal Muhammad; Puteh, Sharifa Ezat Wan; Aljunid, Syed Mohamed

2018-01-25

The accuracy of clinical coding is crucial in the assignment of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) codes, especially if the hospital is using Casemix System as a tool for resource allocations and efficiency monitoring. The aim of this study was to estimate the potential loss of income due to an error in clinical coding during the implementation of the Malaysia Diagnosis Related Group (MY-DRG ® ) Casemix System in a teaching hospital in Malaysia. Four hundred and sixty-four (464) coded medical records were selected, re-examined and re-coded by an independent senior coder (ISC). This ISC re-examined and re-coded the error code that was originally entered by the hospital coders. The pre- and post-coding results were compared, and if there was any disagreement, the codes by the ISC were considered the accurate codes. The cases were then re-grouped using a MY-DRG ® grouper to assess and compare the changes in the DRG assignment and the hospital tariff assignment. The outcomes were then verified by a casemix expert. Coding errors were found in 89.4% (415/424) of the selected patient medical records. Coding errors in secondary diagnoses were the highest, at 81.3% (377/464), followed by secondary procedures at 58.2% (270/464), principal procedures of 50.9% (236/464) and primary diagnoses at 49.8% (231/464), respectively. The coding errors resulted in the assignment of different MY-DRG ® codes in 74.0% (307/415) of the cases. From this result, 52.1% (160/307) of the cases had a lower assigned hospital tariff. In total, the potential loss of income due to changes in the assignment of the MY-DRG ® code was RM654,303.91. The quality of coding is a crucial aspect in implementing casemix systems. Intensive re-training and the close monitoring of coder performance in the hospital should be performed to prevent the potential loss of hospital income.

Error in Radar-Derived Soil Moisture due to Roughness Parameterization: An Analysis Based on Synthetical Surface Profiles

PubMed Central

Lievens, Hans; Vernieuwe, Hilde; Álvarez-Mozos, Jesús; De Baets, Bernard; Verhoest, Niko E.C.

2009-01-01

In the past decades, many studies on soil moisture retrieval from SAR demonstrated a poor correlation between the top layer soil moisture content and observed backscatter coefficients, which mainly has been attributed to difficulties involved in the parameterization of surface roughness. The present paper describes a theoretical study, performed on synthetical surface profiles, which investigates how errors on roughness parameters are introduced by standard measurement techniques, and how they will propagate through the commonly used Integral Equation Model (IEM) into a corresponding soil moisture retrieval error for some of the currently most used SAR configurations. Key aspects influencing the error on the roughness parameterization and consequently on soil moisture retrieval are: the length of the surface profile, the number of profile measurements, the horizontal and vertical accuracy of profile measurements and the removal of trends along profiles. Moreover, it is found that soil moisture retrieval with C-band configuration generally is less sensitive to inaccuracies in roughness parameterization than retrieval with L-band configuration. PMID:22399956

Errors in radiation oncology: A study in pathways and dosimetric impact

PubMed Central

Drzymala, Robert E.; Purdy, James A.; Michalski, Jeff

2005-01-01

As complexity for treating patients increases, so does the risk of error. Some publications have suggested that record and verify (R&V) systems may contribute in propagating errors. Direct data transfer has the potential to eliminate most, but not all, errors. And although the dosimetric consequences may be obvious in some cases, a detailed study does not exist. In this effort, we examined potential errors in terms of scenarios, pathways of occurrence, and dosimetry. Our goal was to prioritize error prevention according to likelihood of event and dosimetric impact. For conventional photon treatments, we investigated errors of incorrect source‐to‐surface distance (SSD), energy, omitted wedge (physical, dynamic, or universal) or compensating filter, incorrect wedge or compensating filter orientation, improper rotational rate for arc therapy, and geometrical misses due to incorrect gantry, collimator or table angle, reversed field settings, and setup errors. For electron beam therapy, errors investigated included incorrect energy, incorrect SSD, along with geometric misses. For special procedures we examined errors for total body irradiation (TBI, incorrect field size, dose rate, treatment distance) and LINAC radiosurgery (incorrect collimation setting, incorrect rotational parameters). Likelihood of error was determined and subsequently rated according to our history of detecting such errors. Dosimetric evaluation was conducted by using dosimetric data, treatment plans, or measurements. We found geometric misses to have the highest error probability. They most often occurred due to improper setup via coordinate shift errors or incorrect field shaping. The dosimetric impact is unique for each case and depends on the proportion of fields in error and volume mistreated. These errors were short‐lived due to rapid detection via port films. The most significant dosimetric error was related to a reversed wedge direction. This may occur due to incorrect collimator

"Fragment errors" in deep dysgraphia: further support for a lexical hypothesis.

PubMed

Bormann, Tobias; Wallesch, Claus-W; Blanken, Gerhard

2008-07-01

In addition to various lexical errors, the writing of patients with deep dysgraphia may include a large number of segmental spelling errors, which increase towards the end of the word. Frequently, these errors involve deletion of two or more letters resulting in so-called "fragment errors". Different positions have been brought forward regarding their origin, including rapid decay of activation in the graphemic buffer and an impairment of more central (i.e., lexical or semantic) processing. We present data from a patient (M.D.) with deep dysgraphia who showed an increase of segmental spelling errors towards the end of the word. Several tasks were carried out to explore M.D.'s underlying functional impairment. Errors affected word-final positions in tasks like backward spelling and fragment completion. In a delayed copying task, length of the delay had no influence. In addition, when asked to recall three serially presented letters, a task which had not been carried out before, M.D. exhibited a preference for the first and the third letter and poor performance for the second letter. M.D.'s performance on these tasks contradicts the rapid decay account and instead supports a lexical-semantic account of segmental errors in deep dysgraphia. In addition, the results fit well with an implemented computational model of deep dysgraphia and segmental spelling errors.

Modeling Nonlinear Errors in Surface Electromyography Due To Baseline Noise: A New Methodology

PubMed Central

Law, Laura Frey; Krishnan, Chandramouli; Avin, Keith

2010-01-01

The surface electromyographic (EMG) signal is often contaminated by some degree of baseline noise. It is customary for scientists to subtract baseline noise from the measured EMG signal prior to further analyses based on the assumption that baseline noise adds linearly to the observed EMG signal. The stochastic nature of both the baseline and EMG signal, however, may invalidate this assumption. Alternately, “true” EMG signals may be either minimally or nonlinearly affected by baseline noise. This information is particularly relevant at low contraction intensities when signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) may be lowest. Thus, the purpose of this simulation study was to investigate the influence of varying levels of baseline noise (approximately 2 – 40 % maximum EMG amplitude) on mean EMG burst amplitude and to assess the best means to account for signal noise. The simulations indicated baseline noise had minimal effects on mean EMG activity for maximum contractions, but increased nonlinearly with increasing noise levels and decreasing signal amplitudes. Thus, the simple baseline noise subtraction resulted in substantial error when estimating mean activity during low intensity EMG bursts. Conversely, correcting EMG signal as a nonlinear function of both baseline and measured signal amplitude provided highly accurate estimates of EMG amplitude. This novel nonlinear error modeling approach has potential implications for EMG signal processing, particularly when assessing co-activation of antagonist muscles or small amplitude contractions where the SNR can be low. PMID:20869716

Error analysis and prevention of cosmic ion-induced soft errors in static CMOS RAMs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diehl, S. E.; Ochoa, A., Jr.; Dressendorfer, P. V.; Koga, P.; Kolasinski, W. A.

1982-12-01

Cosmic ray interactions with memory cells are known to cause temporary, random, bit errors in some designs. The sensitivity of polysilicon gate CMOS static RAM designs to logic upset by impinging ions has been studied using computer simulations and experimental heavy ion bombardment. Results of the simulations are confirmed by experimental upset cross-section data. Analytical models have been extended to determine and evaluate design modifications which reduce memory cell sensitivity to cosmic ions. A simple design modification, the addition of decoupling resistance in the feedback path, is shown to produce static RAMs immune to cosmic ray-induced bit errors.

Analysis of error type and frequency in apraxia of speech among Portuguese speakers.

PubMed

Cera, Maysa Luchesi; Minett, Thaís Soares Cianciarullo; Ortiz, Karin Zazo

2010-01-01

Most studies characterizing errors in the speech of patients with apraxia involve English language. To analyze the types and frequency of errors produced by patients with apraxia of speech whose mother tongue was Brazilian Portuguese. 20 adults with apraxia of speech caused by stroke were assessed. The types of error committed by patients were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, and frequencies compared. We observed the presence of substitution, omission, trial-and-error, repetition, self-correction, anticipation, addition, reiteration and metathesis, in descending order of frequency, respectively. Omission type errors were one of the most commonly occurring whereas addition errors were infrequent. These findings differed to those reported in English speaking patients, probably owing to differences in the methodologies used for classifying error types; the inclusion of speakers with apraxia secondary to aphasia; and the difference in the structure of Portuguese language to English in terms of syllable onset complexity and effect on motor control. The frequency of omission and addition errors observed differed to the frequency reported for speakers of English.

Understanding error generation in fused deposition modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bochmann, Lennart; Bayley, Cindy; Helu, Moneer; Transchel, Robert; Wegener, Konrad; Dornfeld, David

2015-03-01

Additive manufacturing offers completely new possibilities for the manufacturing of parts. The advantages of flexibility and convenience of additive manufacturing have had a significant impact on many industries, and optimizing part quality is crucial for expanding its utilization. This research aims to determine the sources of imprecision in fused deposition modeling (FDM). Process errors in terms of surface quality, accuracy and precision are identified and quantified, and an error-budget approach is used to characterize errors of the machine tool. It was determined that accuracy and precision in the y direction (0.08-0.30 mm) are generally greater than in the x direction (0.12-0.62 mm) and the z direction (0.21-0.57 mm). Furthermore, accuracy and precision tend to decrease at increasing axis positions. The results of this work can be used to identify possible process improvements in the design and control of FDM technology.

Probabilistic model of nonlinear penalties due to collision-induced timing jitter for calculation of the bit error ratio in wavelength-division-multiplexed return-to-zero systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinkin, Oleg V.; Grigoryan, Vladimir S.; Menyuk, Curtis R.

2006-12-01

We introduce a fully deterministic, computationally efficient method for characterizing the effect of nonlinearity in optical fiber transmission systems that utilize wavelength-division multiplexing and return-to-zero modulation. The method accurately accounts for bit-pattern-dependent nonlinear distortion due to collision-induced timing jitter and for amplifier noise. We apply this method to calculate the error probability as a function of channel spacing in a prototypical multichannel return-to-zero undersea system.

Development of an errorable car-following driver model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, H.-H.; Peng, H.

2010-06-01

An errorable car-following driver model is presented in this paper. An errorable driver model is one that emulates human driver's functions and can generate both nominal (error-free), as well as devious (with error) behaviours. This model was developed for evaluation and design of active safety systems. The car-following data used for developing and validating the model were obtained from a large-scale naturalistic driving database. The stochastic car-following behaviour was first analysed and modelled as a random process. Three error-inducing behaviours were then introduced. First, human perceptual limitation was studied and implemented. Distraction due to non-driving tasks was then identified based on the statistical analysis of the driving data. Finally, time delay of human drivers was estimated through a recursive least-square identification process. By including these three error-inducing behaviours, rear-end collisions with the lead vehicle could occur. The simulated crash rate was found to be similar but somewhat higher than that reported in traffic statistics.

Measurements of the toroidal torque balance of error field penetration locked modes

DOE PAGES

Shiraki, Daisuke; Paz-Soldan, Carlos; Hanson, Jeremy M.; ...

2015-01-05

Here, detailed measurements from the DIII-D tokamak of the toroidal dynamics of error field penetration locked modes under the influence of slowly evolving external fields, enable study of the toroidal torques on the mode, including interaction with the intrinsic error field. The error field in these low density Ohmic discharges is well known based on the mode penetration threshold, allowing resonant and non-resonant torque effects to be distinguished. These m/n = 2/1 locked modes are found to be well described by a toroidal torque balance between the resonant interaction with n = 1 error fields, and a viscous torque inmore » the electron diamagnetic drift direction which is observed to scale as the square of the perturbed field due to the island. Fitting to this empirical torque balance allows a time-resolved measurement of the intrinsic error field of the device, providing evidence for a time-dependent error field in DIII-D due to ramping of the Ohmic coil current.« less

Counteracting structural errors in ensemble forecast of influenza outbreaks.

PubMed

Pei, Sen; Shaman, Jeffrey

2017-10-13

For influenza forecasts generated using dynamical models, forecast inaccuracy is partly attributable to the nonlinear growth of error. As a consequence, quantification of the nonlinear error structure in current forecast models is needed so that this growth can be corrected and forecast skill improved. Here, we inspect the error growth of a compartmental influenza model and find that a robust error structure arises naturally from the nonlinear model dynamics. By counteracting these structural errors, diagnosed using error breeding, we develop a new forecast approach that combines dynamical error correction and statistical filtering techniques. In retrospective forecasts of historical influenza outbreaks for 95 US cities from 2003 to 2014, overall forecast accuracy for outbreak peak timing, peak intensity and attack rate, are substantially improved for predicted lead times up to 10 weeks. This error growth correction method can be generalized to improve the forecast accuracy of other infectious disease dynamical models.Inaccuracy of influenza forecasts based on dynamical models is partly due to nonlinear error growth. Here the authors address the error structure of a compartmental influenza model, and develop a new improved forecast approach combining dynamical error correction and statistical filtering techniques.

Speech therapy for errors secondary to cleft palate and velopharyngeal dysfunction.

PubMed

Kummer, Ann W

2011-05-01

Individuals with a history of cleft lip/palate or velopharyngeal dysfunction may demonstrate any combination of speech sound errors, hypernasality, and nasal emission. Speech sound distortion can also occur due to other structural anomalies, including malocclusion. Whenever there are structural anomalies, speech can be affected by obligatory distortions or compensatory errors. Obligatory distortions (including hypernasality due to velopharyngeal insufficiency) are caused by abnormal structure and not by abnormal function. Therefore, surgery or other forms of physical management are needed for correction. In contrast, speech therapy is indicated for compensatory articulation productions where articulation placement is changed in response to the abnormal structure. Speech therapy is much more effective if it is done after normalization of the structure. When speech therapy is appropriate, the techniques involve methods to change articulation placement using standard articulation therapy principles. Oral-motor exercises, including the use of blowing and sucking, are never indicated to improve velopharyngeal function. The purpose of this article is to provide information regarding when speech therapy is appropriate for individuals with a history of cleft palate or other structural anomalies and when physical management is needed. In addition, some specific therapy techniques are offered for the elimination of common compensatory articulation productions. © Thieme Medical Publishers.

Distance Measurement Error in Time-of-Flight Sensors Due to Shot Noise

PubMed Central

Illade-Quinteiro, Julio; Brea, Víctor M.; López, Paula; Cabello, Diego; Doménech-Asensi, Gines

2015-01-01

Unlike other noise sources, which can be reduced or eliminated by different signal processing techniques, shot noise is an ever-present noise component in any imaging system. In this paper, we present an in-depth study of the impact of shot noise on time-of-flight sensors in terms of the error introduced in the distance estimation. The paper addresses the effect of parameters, such as the size of the photosensor, the background and signal power or the integration time, and the resulting design trade-offs. The study is demonstrated with different numerical examples, which show that, in general, the phase shift determination technique with two background measurements approach is the most suitable for pixel arrays of large resolution. PMID:25723141

Accounting for optical errors in microtensiometry.

PubMed

Hinton, Zachary R; Alvarez, Nicolas J

2018-09-15

Drop shape analysis (DSA) techniques measure interfacial tension subject to error in image analysis and the optical system. While considerable efforts have been made to minimize image analysis errors, very little work has treated optical errors. There are two main sources of error when considering the optical system: the angle of misalignment and the choice of focal plane. Due to the convoluted nature of these sources, small angles of misalignment can lead to large errors in measured curvature. We demonstrate using microtensiometry the contributions of these sources to measured errors in radius, and, more importantly, deconvolute the effects of misalignment and focal plane. Our findings are expected to have broad implications on all optical techniques measuring interfacial curvature. A geometric model is developed to analytically determine the contributions of misalignment angle and choice of focal plane on measurement error for spherical cap interfaces. This work utilizes a microtensiometer to validate the geometric model and to quantify the effect of both sources of error. For the case of a microtensiometer, an empirical calibration is demonstrated that corrects for optical errors and drastically simplifies implementation. The combination of geometric modeling and experimental results reveal a convoluted relationship between the true and measured interfacial radius as a function of the misalignment angle and choice of focal plane. The validated geometric model produces a full operating window that is strongly dependent on the capillary radius and spherical cap height. In all cases, the contribution of optical errors is minimized when the height of the spherical cap is equivalent to the capillary radius, i.e. a hemispherical interface. The understanding of these errors allow for correct measure of interfacial curvature and interfacial tension regardless of experimental setup. For the case of microtensiometry, this greatly decreases the time for experimental setup

Errors, error detection, error correction and hippocampal-region damage: data and theories.

PubMed

MacKay, Donald G; Johnson, Laura W

2013-11-01

This review and perspective article outlines 15 observational constraints on theories of errors, error detection, and error correction, and their relation to hippocampal-region (HR) damage. The core observations come from 10 studies with H.M., an amnesic with cerebellar and HR damage but virtually no neocortical damage. Three studies examined the detection of errors planted in visual scenes (e.g., a bird flying in a fish bowl in a school classroom) and sentences (e.g., I helped themselves to the birthday cake). In all three experiments, H.M. detected reliably fewer errors than carefully matched memory-normal controls. Other studies examined the detection and correction of self-produced errors, with controls for comprehension of the instructions, impaired visual acuity, temporal factors, motoric slowing, forgetting, excessive memory load, lack of motivation, and deficits in visual scanning or attention. In these studies, H.M. corrected reliably fewer errors than memory-normal and cerebellar controls, and his uncorrected errors in speech, object naming, and reading aloud exhibited two consistent features: omission and anomaly. For example, in sentence production tasks, H.M. omitted one or more words in uncorrected encoding errors that rendered his sentences anomalous (incoherent, incomplete, or ungrammatical) reliably more often than controls. Besides explaining these core findings, the theoretical principles discussed here explain H.M.'s retrograde amnesia for once familiar episodic and semantic information; his anterograde amnesia for novel information; his deficits in visual cognition, sentence comprehension, sentence production, sentence reading, and object naming; and effects of aging on his ability to read isolated low frequency words aloud. These theoretical principles also explain a wide range of other data on error detection and correction and generate new predictions for future test. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the impact of error detection on computer performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shin, K. C.; Lee, Y. H.

1983-01-01

Conventionally, reliability analyses either assume that a fault/error is detected immediately following its occurrence, or neglect damages caused by latent errors. Though unrealistic, this assumption was imposed in order to avoid the difficulty of determining the respective probabilities that a fault induces an error and the error is then detected in a random amount of time after its occurrence. As a remedy for this problem a model is proposed to analyze the impact of error detection on computer performance under moderate assumptions. Error latency, the time interval between occurrence and the moment of detection, is used to measure the effectiveness of a detection mechanism. This model is used to: (1) predict the probability of producing an unreliable result, and (2) estimate the loss of computation due to fault and/or error.

Error monitoring issues for common channel signaling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Victor T.; Kant, Krishna; Ramaswami, V.; Wang, Jonathan L.

1994-04-01

Motivated by field data which showed a large number of link changeovers and incidences of link oscillations between in-service and out-of-service states in common channel signaling (CCS) networks, a number of analyses of the link error monitoring procedures in the SS7 protocol were performed by the authors. This paper summarizes the results obtained thus far and include the following: (1) results of an exact analysis of the performance of the error monitoring procedures under both random and bursty errors; (2) a demonstration that there exists a range of error rates within which the error monitoring procedures of SS7 may induce frequent changeovers and changebacks; (3) an analysis of the performance ofthe SS7 level-2 transmission protocol to determine the tolerable error rates within which the delay requirements can be met; (4) a demonstration that the tolerable error rate depends strongly on various link and traffic characteristics, thereby implying that a single set of error monitor parameters will not work well in all situations; (5) some recommendations on a customizable/adaptable scheme of error monitoring with a discussion on their implementability. These issues may be particularly relevant in the presence of anticipated increases in SS7 traffic due to widespread deployment of Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) and Personal Communications Service (PCS) as well as for developing procedures for high-speed SS7 links currently under consideration by standards bodies.

Evaluating concentration estimation errors in ELISA microarray experiments

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

Daly, Don S.; White, Amanda M.; Varnum, Susan M.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a standard immunoassay to predict a protein concentration in a sample. Deploying ELISA in a microarray format permits simultaneous prediction of the concentrations of numerous proteins in a small sample. These predictions, however, are uncertain due to processing error and biological variability. Evaluating prediction error is critical to interpreting biological significance and improving the ELISA microarray process. Evaluating prediction error must be automated to realize a reliable high-throughput ELISA microarray system. Methods: In this paper, we present a statistical method based on propagation of error to evaluate prediction errors in the ELISA microarray process. Althoughmore » propagation of error is central to this method, it is effective only when comparable data are available. Therefore, we briefly discuss the roles of experimental design, data screening, normalization and statistical diagnostics when evaluating ELISA microarray prediction errors. We use an ELISA microarray investigation of breast cancer biomarkers to illustrate the evaluation of prediction errors. The illustration begins with a description of the design and resulting data, followed by a brief discussion of data screening and normalization. In our illustration, we fit a standard curve to the screened and normalized data, review the modeling diagnostics, and apply propagation of error.« less

A Fast Surrogate-facilitated Data-driven Bayesian Approach to Uncertainty Quantification of a Regional Groundwater Flow Model with Structural Error

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, T.; Valocchi, A. J.; Ye, M.; Liang, F.

2016-12-01

Due to simplification and/or misrepresentation of the real aquifer system, numerical groundwater flow and solute transport models are usually subject to model structural error. During model calibration, the hydrogeological parameters may be overly adjusted to compensate for unknown structural error. This may result in biased predictions when models are used to forecast aquifer response to new forcing. In this study, we extend a fully Bayesian method [Xu and Valocchi, 2015] to calibrate a real-world, regional groundwater flow model. The method uses a data-driven error model to describe model structural error and jointly infers model parameters and structural error. In this study, Bayesian inference is facilitated using high performance computing and fast surrogate models. The surrogate models are constructed using machine learning techniques to emulate the response simulated by the computationally expensive groundwater model. We demonstrate in the real-world case study that explicitly accounting for model structural error yields parameter posterior distributions that are substantially different from those derived by the classical Bayesian calibration that does not account for model structural error. In addition, the Bayesian with error model method gives significantly more accurate prediction along with reasonable credible intervals.

Factors that influence the generation of autobiographical memory conjunction errors

PubMed Central

Devitt, Aleea L.; Monk-Fromont, Edwin; Schacter, Daniel L.; Addis, Donna Rose

2015-01-01

The constructive nature of memory is generally adaptive, allowing us to efficiently store, process and learn from life events, and simulate future scenarios to prepare ourselves for what may come. However, the cost of a flexibly constructive memory system is the occasional conjunction error, whereby the components of an event are authentic, but the combination of those components is false. Using a novel recombination paradigm, it was demonstrated that details from one autobiographical memory may be incorrectly incorporated into another, forming autobiographical memory conjunction errors that elude typical reality monitoring checks. The factors that contribute to the creation of these conjunction errors were examined across two experiments. Conjunction errors were more likely to occur when the corresponding details were partially rather than fully recombined, likely due to increased plausibility and ease of simulation of partially recombined scenarios. Brief periods of imagination increased conjunction error rates, in line with the imagination inflation effect. Subjective ratings suggest that this inflation is due to similarity of phenomenological experience between conjunction and authentic memories, consistent with a source monitoring perspective. Moreover, objective scoring of memory content indicates that increased perceptual detail may be particularly important for the formation of autobiographical memory conjunction errors. PMID:25611492

Disclosure of Medical Errors in Oman

PubMed Central

Norrish, Mark I. K.

2015-01-01

Objectives: This study aimed to provide insight into the preferences for and perceptions of medical error disclosure (MED) by members of the public in Oman. Methods: Between January and June 2012, an online survey was used to collect responses from 205 members of the public across five governorates of Oman. Results: A disclosure gap was revealed between the respondents’ preferences for MED and perceived current MED practices in Oman. This disclosure gap extended to both the type of error and the person most likely to disclose the error. Errors resulting in patient harm were found to have a strong influence on individuals’ perceived quality of care. In addition, full disclosure was found to be highly valued by respondents and able to mitigate for a perceived lack of care in cases where medical errors led to damages. Conclusion: The perceived disclosure gap between respondents’ MED preferences and perceptions of current MED practices in Oman needs to be addressed in order to increase public confidence in the national health care system. PMID:26052463

Underlying Cause(s) of Letter Perseveration Errors

PubMed Central

Fischer-Baum, Simon; Rapp, Brenda

2011-01-01

Perseverations, the inappropriate intrusion of elements from a previous response into a current response, are commonly observed in individuals with acquired deficits. This study specifically investigates the contribution of failure-to activate and failure-to-inhibit deficit(s) in the generation of letter perseveration errors in acquired dysgraphia. We provide evidence from the performance 12 dysgraphic individuals indicating that a failure to activate graphemes for a target word gives rise to letter perseveration errors. In addition, we also provide evidence that, in some individuals, a failure-to-inhibit deficit may also contribute to the production of perseveration errors. PMID:22178232

Nonlinear Errors Resulting from Ghost Reflection and Its Coupling with Optical Mixing in Heterodyne Laser Interferometers

PubMed Central

Fu, Haijin; Wang, Yue; Tan, Jiubin; Fan, Zhigang

2018-01-01

Even after the Heydemann correction, residual nonlinear errors, ranging from hundreds of picometers to several nanometers, are still found in heterodyne laser interferometers. This is a crucial factor impeding the realization of picometer level metrology, but its source and mechanism have barely been investigated. To study this problem, a novel nonlinear model based on optical mixing and coupling with ghost reflection is proposed and then verified by experiments. After intense investigation of this new model’s influence, results indicate that new additional high-order and negative-order nonlinear harmonics, arising from ghost reflection and its coupling with optical mixing, have only a negligible contribution to the overall nonlinear error. In real applications, any effect on the Lissajous trajectory might be invisible due to the small ghost reflectance. However, even a tiny ghost reflection can significantly worsen the effectiveness of the Heydemann correction, or even make this correction completely ineffective, i.e., compensation makes the error larger rather than smaller. Moreover, the residual nonlinear error after correction is dominated only by ghost reflectance. PMID:29498685

Characterizing the physical-basis of orographic rainfall retrieval errors due to terrain artifacts on GPM-DPR reflectivity profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arulraj, M.; Barros, A. P.

2017-12-01

GPM-DPR reflectivity profiles in mountainous regions are severely handicapped by low level ground-clutter artifacts which have different error characteristics depending on landform (upwind slopes of high mountains versus complex topography in middle-mountains) and precipitation regime. These artifacts result in high detection and estimation errors especially in mid-latitude and tropical mountain regions where low-level light precipitation and complex multi-layer clouds interact with incoming storms. Here, we present results assessment studies in the Southern Appalachian Mountains (SAM) and preliminary results over the eastern slopes of the Andes using ground-based observations from the long-term hydrometeorological networks and model studies toward developing a physically-based framework to systematically identify and attribute measurement errors. Specifically, the focus is on events when GPM-DPR Ka- and Ku- Band precipitation radar misses low-level precipitation with vertical altitude less than 2 km AGL (above ground level). For this purpose, ground-based MRR and Parsivel disdrometer observations near the surface are compared with the reflectivity profiles observed by the GPM-DPR overpasses, the raindrop-size spectra are used to classify the precipitation regime associated with different classes of detection and estimation errors. This information will be used along with a coupled rainfall dynamics and radar simulator model to 1) merge the low-level GPM-DPR measured reflectivity with the MRR reflectivities optimally under strict physically-based constraints and 2) build a library of reflectivity profile corrections. Finally, preliminary 4D analysis of the organization of reflectivity correction modes, microphysical regimes, topography and storm environment will be presented toward developing a general physically-based error model.

A-posteriori error estimation for second order mechanical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiner, Thomas; Fehr, Jörg; Haasdonk, Bernard; Eberhard, Peter

2012-06-01

One important issue for the simulation of flexible multibody systems is the reduction of the flexible bodies degrees of freedom. As far as safety questions are concerned knowledge about the error introduced by the reduction of the flexible degrees of freedom is helpful and very important. In this work, an a-posteriori error estimator for linear first order systems is extended for error estimation of mechanical second order systems. Due to the special second order structure of mechanical systems, an improvement of the a-posteriori error estimator is achieved. A major advantage of the a-posteriori error estimator is that the estimator is independent of the used reduction technique. Therefore, it can be used for moment-matching based, Gramian matrices based or modal based model reduction techniques. The capability of the proposed technique is demonstrated by the a-posteriori error estimation of a mechanical system, and a sensitivity analysis of the parameters involved in the error estimation process is conducted.

Interactions of timing and prediction error learning.

PubMed

Kirkpatrick, Kimberly

2014-01-01

Timing and prediction error learning have historically been treated as independent processes, but growing evidence has indicated that they are not orthogonal. Timing emerges at the earliest time point when conditioned responses are observed, and temporal variables modulate prediction error learning in both simple conditioning and cue competition paradigms. In addition, prediction errors, through changes in reward magnitude or value alter timing of behavior. Thus, there appears to be a bi-directional interaction between timing and prediction error learning. Modern theories have attempted to integrate the two processes with mixed success. A neurocomputational approach to theory development is espoused, which draws on neurobiological evidence to guide and constrain computational model development. Heuristics for future model development are presented with the goal of sparking new approaches to theory development in the timing and prediction error fields. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Medication errors as malpractice-a qualitative content analysis of 585 medication errors by nurses in Sweden.

PubMed

Björkstén, Karin Sparring; Bergqvist, Monica; Andersén-Karlsson, Eva; Benson, Lina; Ulfvarson, Johanna

2016-08-24

Many studies address the prevalence of medication errors but few address medication errors serious enough to be regarded as malpractice. Other studies have analyzed the individual and system contributory factor leading to a medication error. Nurses have a key role in medication administration, and there are contradictory reports on the nurses' work experience in relation to the risk and type for medication errors. All medication errors where a nurse was held responsible for malpractice (n = 585) during 11 years in Sweden were included. A qualitative content analysis and classification according to the type and the individual and system contributory factors was made. In order to test for possible differences between nurses' work experience and associations within and between the errors and contributory factors, Fisher's exact test was used, and Cohen's kappa (k) was performed to estimate the magnitude and direction of the associations. There were a total of 613 medication errors in the 585 cases, the most common being "Wrong dose" (41 %), "Wrong patient" (13 %) and "Omission of drug" (12 %). In 95 % of the cases, an average of 1.4 individual contributory factors was found; the most common being "Negligence, forgetfulness or lack of attentiveness" (68 %), "Proper protocol not followed" (25 %), "Lack of knowledge" (13 %) and "Practice beyond scope" (12 %). In 78 % of the cases, an average of 1.7 system contributory factors was found; the most common being "Role overload" (36 %), "Unclear communication or orders" (30 %) and "Lack of adequate access to guidelines or unclear organisational routines" (30 %). The errors "Wrong patient due to mix-up of patients" and "Wrong route" and the contributory factors "Lack of knowledge" and "Negligence, forgetfulness or lack of attentiveness" were more common in less experienced nurses. The experienced nurses were more prone to "Practice beyond scope of practice" and to make errors in spite of "Lack of adequate

How to Avoid Errors in Error Propagation: Prediction Intervals and Confidence Intervals in Forest Biomass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lilly, P.; Yanai, R. D.; Buckley, H. L.; Case, B. S.; Woollons, R. C.; Holdaway, R. J.; Johnson, J.

2016-12-01

Calculations of forest biomass and elemental content require many measurements and models, each contributing uncertainty to the final estimates. While sampling error is commonly reported, based on replicate plots, error due to uncertainty in the regression used to estimate biomass from tree diameter is usually not quantified. Some published estimates of uncertainty due to the regression models have used the uncertainty in the prediction of individuals, ignoring uncertainty in the mean, while others have propagated uncertainty in the mean while ignoring individual variation. Using the simple case of the calcium concentration of sugar maple leaves, we compare the variation among individuals (the standard deviation) to the uncertainty in the mean (the standard error) and illustrate the declining importance in the prediction of individual concentrations as the number of individuals increases. For allometric models, the analogous statistics are the prediction interval (or the residual variation in the model fit) and the confidence interval (describing the uncertainty in the best fit model). The effect of propagating these two sources of error is illustrated using the mass of sugar maple foliage. The uncertainty in individual tree predictions was large for plots with few trees; for plots with 30 trees or more, the uncertainty in individuals was less important than the uncertainty in the mean. Authors of previously published analyses have reanalyzed their data to show the magnitude of these two sources of uncertainty in scales ranging from experimental plots to entire countries. The most correct analysis will take both sources of uncertainty into account, but for practical purposes, country-level reports of uncertainty in carbon stocks, as required by the IPCC, can ignore the uncertainty in individuals. Ignoring the uncertainty in the mean will lead to exaggerated estimates of confidence in estimates of forest biomass and carbon and nutrient contents.

Errors and conflict at the task level and the response level.

PubMed

Desmet, Charlotte; Fias, Wim; Hartstra, Egbert; Brass, Marcel

2011-01-26

In the last decade, research on error and conflict processing has become one of the most influential research areas in the domain of cognitive control. There is now converging evidence that a specific part of the posterior frontomedian cortex (pFMC), the rostral cingulate zone (RCZ), is crucially involved in the processing of errors and conflict. However, error-related research has focused primarily on a specific error type, namely, response errors. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether errors on the task level rely on the same neural and functional mechanisms. Here we report a dissociation of both error types in the pFMC: whereas response errors activate the RCZ, task errors activate the dorsal frontomedian cortex. Although this last region shows an overlap in activation for task and response errors on the group level, a closer inspection of the single-subject data is more in accordance with a functional anatomical dissociation. When investigating brain areas related to conflict on the task and response levels, a clear dissociation was perceived between areas associated with response conflict and with task conflict. Overall, our data support a dissociation between response and task levels of processing in the pFMC. In addition, we provide additional evidence for a dissociation between conflict and errors both at the response level and at the task level.

Counting OCR errors in typeset text

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandberg, Jonathan S.

1995-03-01

Frequently object recognition accuracy is a key component in the performance analysis of pattern matching systems. In the past three years, the results of numerous excellent and rigorous studies of OCR system typeset-character accuracy (henceforth OCR accuracy) have been published, encouraging performance comparisons between a variety of OCR products and technologies. These published figures are important; OCR vendor advertisements in the popular trade magazines lead readers to believe that published OCR accuracy figures effect market share in the lucrative OCR market. Curiously, a detailed review of many of these OCR error occurrence counting results reveals that they are not reproducible as published and they are not strictly comparable due to larger variances in the counts than would be expected by the sampling variance. Naturally, since OCR accuracy is based on a ratio of the number of OCR errors over the size of the text searched for errors, imprecise OCR error accounting leads to similar imprecision in OCR accuracy. Some published papers use informal, non-automatic, or intuitively correct OCR error accounting. Still other published results present OCR error accounting methods based on string matching algorithms such as dynamic programming using Levenshtein (edit) distance but omit critical implementation details (such as the existence of suspect markers in the OCR generated output or the weights used in the dynamic programming minimization procedure). The problem with not specifically revealing the accounting method is that the number of errors found by different methods are significantly different. This paper identifies the basic accounting methods used to measure OCR errors in typeset text and offers an evaluation and comparison of the various accounting methods.

Reduced error signalling in medication-naive children with ADHD: associations with behavioural variability and post-error adaptations

PubMed Central

Plessen, Kerstin J.; Allen, Elena A.; Eichele, Heike; van Wageningen, Heidi; Høvik, Marie Farstad; Sørensen, Lin; Worren, Marius Kalsås; Hugdahl, Kenneth; Eichele, Tom

2016-01-01

Background We examined the blood-oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) activation in brain regions that signal errors and their association with intraindividual behavioural variability and adaptation to errors in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods We acquired functional MRI data during a Flanker task in medication-naive children with ADHD and healthy controls aged 8–12 years and analyzed the data using independent component analysis. For components corresponding to performance monitoring networks, we compared activations across groups and conditions and correlated them with reaction times (RT). Additionally, we analyzed post-error adaptations in behaviour and motor component activations. Results We included 25 children with ADHD and 29 controls in our analysis. Children with ADHD displayed reduced activation to errors in cingulo-opercular regions and higher RT variability, but no differences of interference control. Larger BOLD amplitude to error trials significantly predicted reduced RT variability across all participants. Neither group showed evidence of post-error response slowing; however, post-error adaptation in motor networks was significantly reduced in children with ADHD. This adaptation was inversely related to activation of the right-lateralized ventral attention network (VAN) on error trials and to task-driven connectivity between the cingulo-opercular system and the VAN. Limitations Our study was limited by the modest sample size and imperfect matching across groups. Conclusion Our findings show a deficit in cingulo-opercular activation in children with ADHD that could relate to reduced signalling for errors. Moreover, the reduced orienting of the VAN signal may mediate deficient post-error motor adaptions. Pinpointing general performance monitoring problems to specific brain regions and operations in error processing may help to guide the targets of future treatments for ADHD. PMID:26441332

Learning time-dependent noise to reduce logical errors: real time error rate estimation in quantum error correction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huo, Ming-Xia; Li, Ying

2017-12-01

Quantum error correction is important to quantum information processing, which allows us to reliably process information encoded in quantum error correction codes. Efficient quantum error correction benefits from the knowledge of error rates. We propose a protocol for monitoring error rates in real time without interrupting the quantum error correction. Any adaptation of the quantum error correction code or its implementation circuit is not required. The protocol can be directly applied to the most advanced quantum error correction techniques, e.g. surface code. A Gaussian processes algorithm is used to estimate and predict error rates based on error correction data in the past. We find that using these estimated error rates, the probability of error correction failures can be significantly reduced by a factor increasing with the code distance.

Paediatric in-patient prescribing errors in Malaysia: a cross-sectional multicentre study.

PubMed

Khoo, Teik Beng; Tan, Jing Wen; Ng, Hoong Phak; Choo, Chong Ming; Bt Abdul Shukor, Intan Nor Chahaya; Teh, Siao Hean

2017-06-01

Background There is a lack of large comprehensive studies in developing countries on paediatric in-patient prescribing errors in different settings. Objectives To determine the characteristics of in-patient prescribing errors among paediatric patients. Setting General paediatric wards, neonatal intensive care units and paediatric intensive care units in government hospitals in Malaysia. Methods This is a cross-sectional multicentre study involving 17 participating hospitals. Drug charts were reviewed in each ward to identify the prescribing errors. All prescribing errors identified were further assessed for their potential clinical consequences, likely causes and contributing factors. Main outcome measures Incidence, types, potential clinical consequences, causes and contributing factors of the prescribing errors. Results The overall prescribing error rate was 9.2% out of 17,889 prescribed medications. There was no significant difference in the prescribing error rates between different types of hospitals or wards. The use of electronic prescribing had a higher prescribing error rate than manual prescribing (16.9 vs 8.2%, p < 0.05). Twenty eight (1.7%) prescribing errors were deemed to have serious potential clinical consequences and 2 (0.1%) were judged to be potentially fatal. Most of the errors were attributed to human factors, i.e. performance or knowledge deficit. The most common contributing factors were due to lack of supervision or of knowledge. Conclusions Although electronic prescribing may potentially improve safety, it may conversely cause prescribing errors due to suboptimal interfaces and cumbersome work processes. Junior doctors need specific training in paediatric prescribing and close supervision to reduce prescribing errors in paediatric in-patients.

Information systems and human error in the lab.

PubMed

Bissell, Michael G

2004-01-01

Health system costs in clinical laboratories are incurred daily due to human error. Indeed, a major impetus for automating clinical laboratories has always been the opportunity it presents to simultaneously reduce cost and improve quality of operations by decreasing human error. But merely automating these processes is not enough. To the extent that introduction of these systems results in operators having less practice in dealing with unexpected events or becoming deskilled in problemsolving, however new kinds of error will likely appear. Clinical laboratories could potentially benefit by integrating findings on human error from modern behavioral science into their operations. Fully understanding human error requires a deep understanding of human information processing and cognition. Predicting and preventing negative consequences requires application of this understanding to laboratory operations. Although the occurrence of a particular error at a particular instant cannot be absolutely prevented, human error rates can be reduced. The following principles are key: an understanding of the process of learning in relation to error; understanding the origin of errors since this knowledge can be used to reduce their occurrence; optimal systems should be forgiving to the operator by absorbing errors, at least for a time; although much is known by industrial psychologists about how to write operating procedures and instructions in ways that reduce the probability of error, this expertise is hardly ever put to use in the laboratory; and a feedback mechanism must be designed into the system that enables the operator to recognize in real time that an error has occurred.

Chromosomal locus tracking with proper accounting of static and dynamic errors

PubMed Central

Backlund, Mikael P.; Joyner, Ryan; Moerner, W. E.

2015-01-01

The mean-squared displacement (MSD) and velocity autocorrelation (VAC) of tracked single particles or molecules are ubiquitous metrics for extracting parameters that describe the object’s motion, but they are both corrupted by experimental errors that hinder the quantitative extraction of underlying parameters. For the simple case of pure Brownian motion, the effects of localization error due to photon statistics (“static error”) and motion blur due to finite exposure time (“dynamic error”) on the MSD and VAC are already routinely treated. However, particles moving through complex environments such as cells, nuclei, or polymers often exhibit anomalous diffusion, for which the effects of these errors are less often sufficiently treated. We present data from tracked chromosomal loci in yeast that demonstrate the necessity of properly accounting for both static and dynamic error in the context of an anomalous diffusion that is consistent with a fractional Brownian motion (FBM). We compare these data to analytical forms of the expected values of the MSD and VAC for a general FBM in the presence of these errors. PMID:26172745

FRamework Assessing Notorious Contributing Influences for Error (FRANCIE): Perspective on Taxonomy Development to Support Error Reporting and Analysis

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

Lon N. Haney; David I. Gertman

2003-04-01

Beginning in the 1980s a primary focus of human reliability analysis was estimation of human error probabilities. However, detailed qualitative modeling with comprehensive representation of contextual variables often was lacking. This was likely due to the lack of comprehensive error and performance shaping factor taxonomies, and the limited data available on observed error rates and their relationship to specific contextual variables. In the mid 90s Boeing, America West Airlines, NASA Ames Research Center and INEEL partnered in a NASA sponsored Advanced Concepts grant to: assess the state of the art in human error analysis, identify future needs for human errormore » analysis, and develop an approach addressing these needs. Identified needs included the need for a method to identify and prioritize task and contextual characteristics affecting human reliability. Other needs identified included developing comprehensive taxonomies to support detailed qualitative modeling and to structure meaningful data collection efforts across domains. A result was the development of the FRamework Assessing Notorious Contributing Influences for Error (FRANCIE) with a taxonomy for airline maintenance tasks. The assignment of performance shaping factors to generic errors by experts proved to be valuable to qualitative modeling. Performance shaping factors and error types from such detailed approaches can be used to structure error reporting schemes. In a recent NASA Advanced Human Support Technology grant FRANCIE was refined, and two new taxonomies for use on space missions were developed. The development, sharing, and use of error taxonomies, and the refinement of approaches for increased fidelity of qualitative modeling is offered as a means to help direct useful data collection strategies.« less

An Introduction to Error Analysis for Quantitative Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neman, R. L.

1972-01-01

Describes two formulas for calculating errors due to instrument limitations which are usually found in gravimetric volumetric analysis and indicates their possible applications to other fields of science. (CC)

Postoperative Refractive Errors Following Pediatric Cataract Extraction with Intraocular Lens Implantation.

PubMed

Indaram, Maanasa; VanderVeen, Deborah K

2018-01-01

Advances in surgical techniques allow implantation of intraocular lenses (IOL) with cataract extraction, even in young children. However, there are several challenges unique to the pediatric population that result in greater degrees of postoperative refractive error compared to adults. Literature review of the techniques and outcomes of pediatric cataract surgery with IOL implantation. Pediatric cataract surgery is associated with several sources of postoperative refractive error. These include planned refractive error based on age or fellow eye status, loss of accommodation, and unexpected refractive errors due to inaccuracies in biometry technique, use of IOL power formulas based on adult normative values, and late refractive changes due to unpredictable eye growth. Several factors can preclude the achievement of optimal refractive status following pediatric cataract extraction with IOL implantation. There is a need for new technology to reduce postoperative refractive surprises and address refractive adjustment in a growing eye.

Intrinsic errors in transporting a single-spin qubit through a double quantum dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiao; Barnes, Edwin; Kestner, J. P.; Das Sarma, S.

2017-07-01

Coherent spatial transport or shuttling of a single electron spin through semiconductor nanostructures is an important ingredient in many spintronic and quantum computing applications. In this work we analyze the possible errors in solid-state quantum computation due to leakage in transporting a single-spin qubit through a semiconductor double quantum dot. In particular, we consider three possible sources of leakage errors associated with such transport: finite ramping times, spin-dependent tunneling rates between quantum dots induced by finite spin-orbit couplings, and the presence of multiple valley states. In each case we present quantitative estimates of the leakage errors, and discuss how they can be minimized. The emphasis of this work is on how to deal with the errors intrinsic to the ideal semiconductor structure, such as leakage due to spin-orbit couplings, rather than on errors due to defects or noise sources. In particular, we show that in order to minimize leakage errors induced by spin-dependent tunnelings, it is necessary to apply pulses to perform certain carefully designed spin rotations. We further develop a formalism that allows one to systematically derive constraints on the pulse shapes and present a few examples to highlight the advantage of such an approach.

Feedback on prescribing errors to junior doctors: exploring views, problems and preferred methods.

PubMed

Bertels, Jeroen; Almoudaris, Alex M; Cortoos, Pieter-Jan; Jacklin, Ann; Franklin, Bryony Dean

2013-06-01

Prescribing errors are common in hospital inpatients. However, the literature suggests that doctors are often unaware of their errors as they are not always informed of them. It has been suggested that providing more feedback to prescribers may reduce subsequent error rates. Only few studies have investigated the views of prescribers towards receiving such feedback, or the views of hospital pharmacists as potential feedback providers. Our aim was to explore the views of junior doctors and hospital pharmacists regarding feedback on individual doctors' prescribing errors. Objectives were to determine how feedback was currently provided and any associated problems, to explore views on other approaches to feedback, and to make recommendations for designing suitable feedback systems. A large London NHS hospital trust. To explore views on current and possible feedback mechanisms, self-administered questionnaires were given to all junior doctors and pharmacists, combining both 5-point Likert scale statements and open-ended questions. Agreement scores for statements regarding perceived prescribing error rates, opinions on feedback, barriers to feedback, and preferences for future practice. Response rates were 49% (37/75) for junior doctors and 57% (57/100) for pharmacists. In general, doctors did not feel threatened by feedback on their prescribing errors. They felt that feedback currently provided was constructive but often irregular and insufficient. Most pharmacists provided feedback in various ways; however some did not or were inconsistent. They were willing to provide more feedback, but did not feel it was always effective or feasible due to barriers such as communication problems and time constraints. Both professional groups preferred individual feedback with additional regular generic feedback on common or serious errors. Feedback on prescribing errors was valued and acceptable to both professional groups. From the results, several suggested methods of providing

Characterization of errors in a coupled snow hydrology-microwave emission model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Andreadis, K.M.; Liang, D.; Tsang, L.; Lettenmaier, D.P.; Josberger, E.G.

2008-01-01

Traditional approaches to the direct estimation of snow properties from passive microwave remote sensing have been plagued by limitations such as the tendency of estimates to saturate for moderately deep snowpacks and the effects of mixed land cover within remotely sensed pixels. An alternative approach is to assimilate satellite microwave emission observations directly, which requires embedding an accurate microwave emissions model into a hydrologic prediction scheme, as well as quantitative information of model and observation errors. In this study a coupled snow hydrology [Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC)] and microwave emission [Dense Media Radiative Transfer (DMRT)] model are evaluated using multiscale brightness temperature (TB) measurements from the Cold Land Processes Experiment (CLPX). The ability of VIC to reproduce snowpack properties is shown with the use of snow pit measurements, while TB model predictions are evaluated through comparison with Ground-Based Microwave Radiometer (GBMR), air-craft [Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSR)], and satellite [Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E)] TB measurements. Limitations of the model at the point scale were not as evident when comparing areal estimates. The coupled model was able to reproduce the TB spatial patterns observed by PSR in two of three sites. However, this was mostly due to the presence of relatively dense forest cover. An interesting result occurs when examining the spatial scaling behavior of the higher-resolution errors; the satellite-scale error is well approximated by the mode of the (spatial) histogram of errors at the smaller scale. In addition, TB prediction errors were almost invariant when aggregated to the satellite scale, while forest-cover fractions greater than 30% had a significant effect on TB predictions. ?? 2008 American Meteorological Society.

76 FR 13431 - Major Portion Prices and Due Date for Additional Royalty Payments on Indian Gas Production in...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-11

...: Notice of major portion prices for calendar year 2009. SUMMARY: Final regulations for valuing gas produced from Indian leases, published August 10, 1999, require the Office of Natural Resources Revenue... calendar year 2009. DATES: The due date to pay additional royalties based on the major portion prices is...

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice.

PubMed

Sellitto, Manuela; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe

2016-06-05

Nowadays, the increasing incidence of eating disorders due to poor self-control has given rise to increased obesity and other chronic weight problems, and ultimately, to reduced life expectancy. The capacity to refrain from automatic responses is usually high in situations in which making errors is highly likely. The protocol described here aims at reducing imprudent preference in women during hypothetical intertemporal choices about appetitive food by associating it with errors. First, participants undergo an error task where two different edible stimuli are associated with two different error likelihoods (high and low). Second, they make intertemporal choices about the two edible stimuli, separately. As a result, this method decreases the discount rate for future amounts of the edible reward that cued higher error likelihood, selectively. This effect is under the influence of the self-reported hunger level. The present protocol demonstrates that errors, well known as motivationally salient events, can induce the recruitment of cognitive control, thus being ultimately useful in reducing impatient choices for edible commodities.

Peeling Away Timing Error in NetFlow Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trammell, Brian; Tellenbach, Bernhard; Schatzmann, Dominik; Burkhart, Martin

In this paper, we characterize, quantify, and correct timing errors introduced into network flow data by collection and export via Cisco NetFlow version 9. We find that while some of these sources of error (clock skew, export delay) are generally implementation-dependent and known in the literature, there is an additional cyclic error of up to one second that is inherent to the design of the export protocol. We present a method for correcting this cyclic error in the presence of clock skew and export delay. In an evaluation using traffic with known timing collected from a national-scale network, we show that this method can successfully correct the cyclic error. However, there can also be other implementation-specific errors for which insufficient information remains for correction. On the routers we have deployed in our network, this limits the accuracy to about 70ms, reinforcing the point that implementation matters when conducting research on network measurement data.

One-dimensional analysis of unsteady flows due to supercritical heat addition in high speed condensing steam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malek, N. A.; Hasini, H.; Yusoff, M. Z.

2013-06-01

Unsteadiness in supersonic flow in nozzles can be generated by the release of heat due to spontaneous condensation. The heat released is termed "supercritical" and may be responsible for turbine blades failure in turbine cascade as it causes a supersonic flow to decelerate. When the Mach number is reduced to unity, the flow can no longer sustain the additional heat and becomes unstable. This paper aims to numerically investigate the unsteadiness caused by supercritical heat addition in one-dimensional condensing flows. The governing equations for mass, momentum and energy, coupled with the equations describing the wetness fraction and droplet growth are integrated and solved iteratively to reveal the final solution. Comparison is made with well-established experimental and numerical solution done by previous researchers that shows similar phenomena.

Target Uncertainty Mediates Sensorimotor Error Correction.

PubMed

Acerbi, Luigi; Vijayakumar, Sethu; Wolpert, Daniel M

2017-01-01

Human movements are prone to errors that arise from inaccuracies in both our perceptual processing and execution of motor commands. We can reduce such errors by both improving our estimates of the state of the world and through online error correction of the ongoing action. Two prominent frameworks that explain how humans solve these problems are Bayesian estimation and stochastic optimal feedback control. Here we examine the interaction between estimation and control by asking if uncertainty in estimates affects how subjects correct for errors that may arise during the movement. Unbeknownst to participants, we randomly shifted the visual feedback of their finger position as they reached to indicate the center of mass of an object. Even though participants were given ample time to compensate for this perturbation, they only fully corrected for the induced error on trials with low uncertainty about center of mass, with correction only partial in trials involving more uncertainty. The analysis of subjects' scores revealed that participants corrected for errors just enough to avoid significant decrease in their overall scores, in agreement with the minimal intervention principle of optimal feedback control. We explain this behavior with a term in the loss function that accounts for the additional effort of adjusting one's response. By suggesting that subjects' decision uncertainty, as reflected in their posterior distribution, is a major factor in determining how their sensorimotor system responds to error, our findings support theoretical models in which the decision making and control processes are fully integrated.

Grammatical Errors Produced by English Majors: The Translation Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohaghegh, Hamid; Zarandi, Fatemeh Mahmoudi; Shariati, Mohammad

2011-01-01

This study investigated the frequency of the grammatical errors related to the four categories of preposition, relative pronoun, article, and tense using the translation task. In addition, the frequencies of these grammatical errors in different categories and in each category were examined. The quantitative component of the study further looked…

The grasping side of post-error slowing.

PubMed

Ceccarini, Francesco; Castiello, Umberto

2018-06-07

A common finding across many speeded reaction time (RT) tasks is that people tend to respond more slowly after making an error. This phenomenon, known as post-error slowing (PES), has been traditionally hypothesized to reflect a strategic increase in response caution, aimed at preventing the occurrence of new errors. However, this interpretation of PES has been challenged on multiple fronts. Firstly, recent investigations have suggested that errors may produce a decrement in performance accuracy and that PES might occur because error processing has a detrimental effect on subsequent information processing. Secondly, previous research has been criticized because of the limited ecological validity of speeded RT tasks. In the present study, we investigated error-reactivity in the context of goal-directed actions, in order to examine the extent to which PES effects impact on realistic and complex movements. Specifically, we investigated the effect of errors on the reach to grasp movement (Experiment 1). In addition to RTs, we performed a kinematical analysis in order to explore the underlying reorganization of the movements after an error. The results of the present study showed that error reactivity strategically influences the grasping component of the action, whereas the reaching component appears to be impermeable to PES. The resistance of the reaching component to PES was confirmed in a second 'only reaching' experiment (Experiment 2). These finding supports the hypothesis that error reactivity is a flexible process whose effects on behavior also depend on the motor components involved in the action. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Compensating additional optical power in the central zone of a multifocal contact lens forminimization of the shrinkage error of the shell mold in the injection molding process.

PubMed

Vu, Lien T; Chen, Chao-Chang A; Lee, Chia-Cheng; Yu, Chia-Wei

2018-04-20

This study aims to develop a compensating method to minimize the shrinkage error of the shell mold (SM) in the injection molding (IM) process to obtain uniform optical power in the central optical zone of soft axial symmetric multifocal contact lenses (CL). The Z-shrinkage error along the Z axis or axial axis of the anterior SM corresponding to the anterior surface of a dry contact lens in the IM process can be minimized by optimizing IM process parameters and then by compensating for additional (Add) powers in the central zone of the original lens design. First, the shrinkage error is minimized by optimizing three levels of four IM parameters, including mold temperature, injection velocity, packing pressure, and cooling time in 18 IM simulations based on an orthogonal array L 18 (2 1 ×3 4 ). Then, based on the Z-shrinkage error from IM simulation, three new contact lens designs are obtained by increasing the Add power in the central zone of the original multifocal CL design to compensate for the optical power errors. Results obtained from IM process simulations and the optical simulations show that the new CL design with 0.1 D increasing in Add power has the closest shrinkage profile to the original anterior SM profile with percentage of reduction in absolute Z-shrinkage error of 55% and more uniform power in the central zone than in the other two cases. Moreover, actual experiments of IM of SM for casting soft multifocal CLs have been performed. The final product of wet CLs has been completed for the original design and the new design. Results of the optical performance have verified the improvement of the compensated design of CLs. The feasibility of this compensating method has been proven based on the measurement results of the produced soft multifocal CLs of the new design. Results of this study can be further applied to predict or compensate for the total optical power errors of the soft multifocal CLs.

Quantum error correction assisted by two-way noisy communication

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhuo; Yu, Sixia; Fan, Heng; Oh, C. H.

2014-01-01

Pre-shared non-local entanglement dramatically simplifies and improves the performance of quantum error correction via entanglement-assisted quantum error-correcting codes (EAQECCs). However, even considering the noise in quantum communication only, the non-local sharing of a perfectly entangled pair is technically impossible unless additional resources are consumed, such as entanglement distillation, which actually compromises the efficiency of the codes. Here we propose an error-correcting protocol assisted by two-way noisy communication that is more easily realisable: all quantum communication is subjected to general noise and all entanglement is created locally without additional resources consumed. In our protocol the pre-shared noisy entangled pairs are purified simultaneously by the decoding process. For demonstration, we first present an easier implementation of the well-known EAQECC [[4, 1, 3; 1

Quantum error correction assisted by two-way noisy communication.

PubMed

Wang, Zhuo; Yu, Sixia; Fan, Heng; Oh, C H

2014-11-26

Pre-shared non-local entanglement dramatically simplifies and improves the performance of quantum error correction via entanglement-assisted quantum error-correcting codes (EAQECCs). However, even considering the noise in quantum communication only, the non-local sharing of a perfectly entangled pair is technically impossible unless additional resources are consumed, such as entanglement distillation, which actually compromises the efficiency of the codes. Here we propose an error-correcting protocol assisted by two-way noisy communication that is more easily realisable: all quantum communication is subjected to general noise and all entanglement is created locally without additional resources consumed. In our protocol the pre-shared noisy entangled pairs are purified simultaneously by the decoding process. For demonstration, we first present an easier implementation of the well-known EAQECC [[4, 1, 3; 1

Power Measurement Errors on a Utility Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bousman, William G.

2002-01-01

Extensive flight test data obtained from two recent performance tests of a UH 60A aircraft are reviewed. A power difference is calculated from the power balance equation and is used to examine power measurement errors. It is shown that the baseline measurement errors are highly non-Gaussian in their frequency distribution and are therefore influenced by additional, unquantified variables. Linear regression is used to examine the influence of other variables and it is shown that a substantial portion of the variance depends upon measurements of atmospheric parameters. Correcting for temperature dependence, although reducing the variance in the measurement errors, still leaves unquantified effects. Examination of the power difference over individual test runs indicates significant errors from drift, although it is unclear how these may be corrected. In an idealized case, where the drift is correctable, it is shown that the power measurement errors are significantly reduced and the error distribution is Gaussian. A new flight test program is recommended that will quantify the thermal environment for all torque measurements on the UH 60. Subsequently, the torque measurement systems will be recalibrated based on the measured thermal environment and a new power measurement assessment performed.

Error in the determination of the deformed shape of prismatic beams using the double integration of curvature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sigurdardottir, Dorotea H.; Stearns, Jett; Glisic, Branko

2017-07-01

The deformed shape is a consequence of loading the structure and it is defined by the shape of the centroid line of the beam after deformation. The deformed shape is a universal parameter of beam-like structures. It is correlated with the curvature of the cross-section; therefore, any unusual behavior that affects the curvature is reflected through the deformed shape. Excessive deformations cause user discomfort, damage to adjacent structural members, and may ultimately lead to issues in structural safety. However, direct long-term monitoring of the deformed shape in real-life settings is challenging, and an alternative is indirect determination of the deformed shape based on curvature monitoring. The challenge of the latter is an accurate evaluation of error in the deformed shape determination, which is directly correlated with the number of sensors needed to achieve the desired accuracy. The aim of this paper is to study the deformed shape evaluated by numerical double integration of the monitored curvature distribution along the beam, and create a method to predict the associated errors and suggest the number of sensors needed to achieve the desired accuracy. The error due to the accuracy in the curvature measurement is evaluated within the scope of this work. Additionally, the error due to the numerical integration is evaluated. This error depends on the load case (i.e., the shape of the curvature diagram), the magnitude of curvature, and the density of the sensor network. The method is tested on a laboratory specimen and a real structure. In a laboratory setting, the double integration is in excellent agreement with the beam theory solution which was within the predicted error limits of the numerical integration. Consistent results are also achieved on a real structure—Streicker Bridge on Princeton University campus.

The effect of timing errors in optical digital systems.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gagliardi, R. M.

1972-01-01

The use of digital transmission with narrow light pulses appears attractive for data communications, but carries with it a stringent requirement on system bit timing. The effects of imperfect timing in direct-detection (noncoherent) optical binary systems are investigated using both pulse-position modulation and on-off keying for bit transmission. Particular emphasis is placed on specification of timing accuracy and an examination of system degradation when this accuracy is not attained. Bit error probabilities are shown as a function of timing errors from which average error probabilities can be computed for specific synchronization methods. Of significance is the presence of a residual or irreducible error probability in both systems, due entirely to the timing system, which cannot be overcome by the data channel.

Effects of tropospheric and ionospheric refraction errors in the utilization of GEOS-C altimeter data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goad, C. C.

1977-01-01

The effects of tropospheric and ionospheric refraction errors are analyzed for the GEOS-C altimeter project in terms of their resultant effects on C-band orbits and the altimeter measurement itself. Operational procedures using surface meteorological measurements at ground stations and monthly means for ocean surface conditions are assumed, with no corrections made for ionospheric effects. Effects on the orbit height due to tropospheric errors are approximately 15 cm for single pass short arcs (such as for calibration) and 10 cm for global orbits of one revolution. Orbit height errors due to neglect of the ionosphere have an amplitude of approximately 40 cm when the orbits are determined from C-band range data with predominantly daylight tracking. Altimeter measurement errors are approximately 10 cm due to residual tropospheric refraction correction errors. Ionospheric effects on the altimeter range measurement are also on the order of 10 cm during the GEOS-C launch and early operation period.

Goldmann Tonometer Prism with an Optimized Error Correcting Applanation Surface.

PubMed

McCafferty, Sean; Lim, Garrett; Duncan, William; Enikov, Eniko; Schwiegerling, Jim

2016-09-01

We evaluate solutions for an applanating surface modification to the Goldmann tonometer prism, which substantially negates the errors due to patient variability in biomechanics. A modified Goldmann or correcting applanation tonometry surface (CATS) prism is presented which was optimized to minimize the intraocular pressure (IOP) error due to corneal thickness, stiffness, curvature, and tear film. Mathematical modeling with finite element analysis (FEA) and manometric IOP referenced cadaver eyes were used to optimize and validate the design. Mathematical modeling of the optimized CATS prism indicates an approximate 50% reduction in each of the corneal biomechanical and tear film errors. Manometric IOP referenced pressure in cadaveric eyes demonstrates substantial equivalence to GAT in nominal eyes with the CATS prism as predicted by modeling theory. A CATS modified Goldmann prism is theoretically able to significantly improve the accuracy of IOP measurement without changing Goldmann measurement technique or interpretation. Clinical validation is needed but the analysis indicates a reduction in CCT error alone to less than ±2 mm Hg using the CATS prism in 100% of a standard population compared to only 54% less than ±2 mm Hg error with the present Goldmann prism. This article presents an easily adopted novel approach and critical design parameters to improve the accuracy of a Goldmann applanating tonometer.

Disclosing harmful medical errors to patients: tackling three tough cases.

PubMed

Gallagher, Thomas H; Bell, Sigall K; Smith, Kelly M; Mello, Michelle M; McDonald, Timothy B

2009-09-01

A gap exists between recommendations to disclose errors to patients and current practice. This gap may reflect important, yet unanswered questions about implementing disclosure principles. We explore some of these unanswered questions by presenting three real cases that pose challenging disclosure dilemmas. The first case involves a pancreas transplant that failed due to the pancreas graft being discarded, an error that was not disclosed partly because the family did not ask clarifying questions. Relying on patient or family questions to determine the content of disclosure is problematic. We propose a standard of materiality that can help clinicians to decide what information to disclose. The second case involves a fatal diagnostic error that the patient's widower was unaware had happened. The error was not disclosed out of concern that disclosure would cause the widower more harm than good. This case highlights how institutions can overlook patients' and families' needs following errors and emphasizes that benevolent deception has little role in disclosure. Institutions should consider whether involving neutral third parties could make disclosures more patient centered. The third case presents an intraoperative cardiac arrest due to a large air embolism where uncertainty around the clinical event was high and complicated the disclosure. Uncertainty is common to many medical errors but should not deter open conversations with patients and families about what is and is not known about the event. Continued discussion within the medical profession about applying disclosure principles to real-world cases can help to better meet patients' and families' needs following medical errors.

Spatial Assessment of Model Errors from Four Regression Techniques

Treesearch

Lianjun Zhang; Jeffrey H. Gove; Jeffrey H. Gove

2005-01-01

Fomst modelers have attempted to account for the spatial autocorrelations among trees in growth and yield models by applying alternative regression techniques such as linear mixed models (LMM), generalized additive models (GAM), and geographicalIy weighted regression (GWR). However, the model errors are commonly assessed using average errors across the entire study...

Modular error embedding

DOEpatents

Sandford, II, Maxwell T.; Handel, Theodore G.; Ettinger, J. Mark

1999-01-01

A method of embedding auxiliary information into the digital representation of host data containing noise in the low-order bits. The method applies to digital data representing analog signals, for example digital images. The method reduces the error introduced by other methods that replace the low-order bits with auxiliary information. By a substantially reverse process, the embedded auxiliary data can be retrieved easily by an authorized user through use of a digital key. The modular error embedding method includes a process to permute the order in which the host data values are processed. The method doubles the amount of auxiliary information that can be added to host data values, in comparison with bit-replacement methods for high bit-rate coding. The invention preserves human perception of the meaning and content of the host data, permitting the addition of auxiliary data in the amount of 50% or greater of the original host data.

Detecting Signatures of GRACE Sensor Errors in Range-Rate Residuals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goswami, S.; Flury, J.

2016-12-01

In order to reach the accuracy of the GRACE baseline, predicted earlier from the design simulations, efforts are ongoing since a decade. GRACE error budget is highly dominated by noise from sensors, dealiasing models and modeling errors. GRACE range-rate residuals contain these errors. Thus, their analysis provides an insight to understand the individual contribution to the error budget. Hence, we analyze the range-rate residuals with focus on contribution of sensor errors due to mis-pointing and bad ranging performance in GRACE solutions. For the analysis of pointing errors, we consider two different reprocessed attitude datasets with differences in pointing performance. Then range-rate residuals are computed from these two datasetsrespectively and analysed. We further compare the system noise of four K-and Ka- band frequencies of the two spacecrafts, with range-rate residuals. Strong signatures of mis-pointing errors can be seen in the range-rate residuals. Also, correlation between range frequency noise and range-rate residuals are seen.

Sensitivity analysis of periodic errors in heterodyne interferometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganguly, Vasishta; Kim, Nam Ho; Kim, Hyo Soo; Schmitz, Tony

2011-03-01

Periodic errors in heterodyne displacement measuring interferometry occur due to frequency mixing in the interferometer. These nonlinearities are typically characterized as first- and second-order periodic errors which cause a cyclical (non-cumulative) variation in the reported displacement about the true value. This study implements an existing analytical periodic error model in order to identify sensitivities of the first- and second-order periodic errors to the input parameters, including rotational misalignments of the polarizing beam splitter and mixing polarizer, non-orthogonality of the two laser frequencies, ellipticity in the polarizations of the two laser beams, and different transmission coefficients in the polarizing beam splitter. A local sensitivity analysis is first conducted to examine the sensitivities of the periodic errors with respect to each input parameter about the nominal input values. Next, a variance-based approach is used to study the global sensitivities of the periodic errors by calculating the Sobol' sensitivity indices using Monte Carlo simulation. The effect of variation in the input uncertainty on the computed sensitivity indices is examined. It is seen that the first-order periodic error is highly sensitive to non-orthogonality of the two linearly polarized laser frequencies, while the second-order error is most sensitive to the rotational misalignment between the laser beams and the polarizing beam splitter. A particle swarm optimization technique is finally used to predict the possible setup imperfections based on experimentally generated values for periodic errors.

Estimating standard errors in feature network models.

PubMed

Frank, Laurence E; Heiser, Willem J

2007-05-01

Feature network models are graphical structures that represent proximity data in a discrete space while using the same formalism that is the basis of least squares methods employed in multidimensional scaling. Existing methods to derive a network model from empirical data only give the best-fitting network and yield no standard errors for the parameter estimates. The additivity properties of networks make it possible to consider the model as a univariate (multiple) linear regression problem with positivity restrictions on the parameters. In the present study, both theoretical and empirical standard errors are obtained for the constrained regression parameters of a network model with known features. The performance of both types of standard error is evaluated using Monte Carlo techniques.

Hypervitaminosis D associated with a vitamin D dispensing error.

PubMed

Jacobsen, Ryan B; Hronek, Brett W; Schmidt, Ginelle A; Schilling, Margo L

2011-10-01

To report a case of hypervitaminosis D resulting in hypercalcemia and acute kidney injury in a 70-year-old female who was prescribed a standard dose of vitamin D but given a toxic dose of vitamin D 50,000 IU (1.25 mg) daily resulting from a dispensing error. A 70-year-old female in her usual state of health was instructed to begin supplementation with vitamin D 1000 IU daily. Three months later she developed confusion, slurred speech, unstable gait, and increased fatigue. She was hospitalized for hypercalcemia and acute kidney injury secondary to hypervitaminosis D. All vitamin D supplementation was discontinued and 5 months after discharge, the patient's serum calcium and vitamin D concentrations, as well as renal function, had returned to baseline values. Upon review of the patient's records, it was discovered that she had been taking vitamin D 50,000 IU daily. There is an increased interest in vitamin D, resulting in more health care providers recommending--and patients taking--supplemental vitamin D. Hypervitaminosis D is rarely reported and generally only in the setting of gross excess of vitamin D. This report highlights a case of hypervitaminosis D in the setting of a prescribed standard dose of vitamin D that resulted in toxic ingestion of vitamin D 50,000 IU daily due to a dispensing error. As more and more people use vitamin D supplements, it is important to recognize that, while rare, hypervitaminosis D is a possibility and dosage conversion of vitamin D units can result in errors. Health care providers and patients should be educated on the advantages and risks associated with vitamin D supplementation and be informed of safety measures to avoid hypervitaminosis D. In addition, health care providers should understand dosage conversion regarding vitamin D and electronic prescribing and dispensing software should be designed to detect such errors.

Reducing errors in the GRACE gravity solutions using regularization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Save, Himanshu; Bettadpur, Srinivas; Tapley, Byron D.

2012-09-01

The nature of the gravity field inverse problem amplifies the noise in the GRACE data, which creeps into the mid and high degree and order harmonic coefficients of the Earth's monthly gravity fields provided by GRACE. Due to the use of imperfect background models and data noise, these errors are manifested as north-south striping in the monthly global maps of equivalent water heights. In order to reduce these errors, this study investigates the use of the L-curve method with Tikhonov regularization. L-curve is a popular aid for determining a suitable value of the regularization parameter when solving linear discrete ill-posed problems using Tikhonov regularization. However, the computational effort required to determine the L-curve is prohibitively high for a large-scale problem like GRACE. This study implements a parameter-choice method, using Lanczos bidiagonalization which is a computationally inexpensive approximation to L-curve. Lanczos bidiagonalization is implemented with orthogonal transformation in a parallel computing environment and projects a large estimation problem on a problem of the size of about 2 orders of magnitude smaller for computing the regularization parameter. Errors in the GRACE solution time series have certain characteristics that vary depending on the ground track coverage of the solutions. These errors increase with increasing degree and order. In addition, certain resonant and near-resonant harmonic coefficients have higher errors as compared with the other coefficients. Using the knowledge of these characteristics, this study designs a regularization matrix that provides a constraint on the geopotential coefficients as a function of its degree and order. This regularization matrix is then used to compute the appropriate regularization parameter for each monthly solution. A 7-year time-series of the candidate regularized solutions (Mar 2003-Feb 2010) show markedly reduced error stripes compared with the unconstrained GRACE release 4

Errors in short circuit measurements due to spectral mismatch between sunlight and solar simulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curtis, H. B.

1976-01-01

Errors in short circuit current measurement were calculated for a variety of spectral mismatch conditions. The differences in spectral irradiance between terrestrial sunlight and three types of solar simulator were studied, as well as the differences in spectral response between three types of reference solar cells and various test cells. The simulators considered were a short arc xenon lamp AMO sunlight simulator, an ordinary quartz halogen lamp, and an ELH-type quartz halogen lamp. Three types of solar cells studied were a silicon cell, a cadmium sulfide cell and a gallium arsenide cell.

Challenge and Error: Critical Events and Attention-Related Errors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheyne, James Allan; Carriere, Jonathan S. A.; Solman, Grayden J. F.; Smilek, Daniel

2011-01-01

Attention lapses resulting from reactivity to task challenges and their consequences constitute a pervasive factor affecting everyday performance errors and accidents. A bidirectional model of attention lapses (error [image omitted] attention-lapse: Cheyne, Solman, Carriere, & Smilek, 2009) argues that errors beget errors by generating attention…

Error analysis of the Golay3 optical imaging system.

PubMed

Wu, Quanying; Fan, Junliu; Wu, Feng; Zhao, Jun; Qian, Lin

2013-05-01

We use aberration theory to derive a generalized pupil function of the Golay3 imaging system when astigmatisms exist in its submirrors. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulation using ZEMAX show that the point spread function (PSF) and the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the Golay3 sparse aperture system have a periodic change when there are piston errors. When the peak-valley value of the wavefront (PV(tilt)) due to the tilt error increases from zero to λ, the PSF and the MTF change significantly, and the change direction is determined by the location of the submirror with the tilt error. When PV(tilt) becomes larger than λ, the PSF and the MTF remain unvaried. We calculate the peaks of the signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) resulting from the piston and tilt errors according to the Strehl ratio, and show that the PSNR decreases when the errors increase.

A preliminary taxonomy of medical errors in family practice.

PubMed

Dovey, S M; Meyers, D S; Phillips, R L; Green, L A; Fryer, G E; Galliher, J M; Kappus, J; Grob, P

2002-09-01

To develop a preliminary taxonomy of primary care medical errors. Qualitative analysis to identify categories of error reported during a randomized controlled trial of computer and paper reporting methods. The National Network for Family Practice and Primary Care Research. Family physicians. Medical error category, context, and consequence. Forty two physicians made 344 reports: 284 (82.6%) arose from healthcare systems dysfunction; 46 (13.4%) were errors due to gaps in knowledge or skills; and 14 (4.1%) were reports of adverse events, not errors. The main subcategories were: administrative failure (102; 30.9% of errors), investigation failures (82; 24.8%), treatment delivery lapses (76; 23.0%), miscommunication (19; 5.8%), payment systems problems (4; 1.2%), error in the execution of a clinical task (19; 5.8%), wrong treatment decision (14; 4.2%), and wrong diagnosis (13; 3.9%). Most reports were of errors that were recognized and occurred in reporters' practices. Affected patients ranged in age from 8 months to 100 years, were of both sexes, and represented all major US ethnic groups. Almost half the reports were of events which had adverse consequences. Ten errors resulted in patients being admitted to hospital and one patient died. This medical error taxonomy, developed from self-reports of errors observed by family physicians during their routine clinical practice, emphasizes problems in healthcare processes and acknowledges medical errors arising from shortfalls in clinical knowledge and skills. Patient safety strategies with most effect in primary care settings need to be broader than the current focus on medication errors.

Error Mitigation for Short-Depth Quantum Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Temme, Kristan; Bravyi, Sergey; Gambetta, Jay M.

2017-11-01

Two schemes are presented that mitigate the effect of errors and decoherence in short-depth quantum circuits. The size of the circuits for which these techniques can be applied is limited by the rate at which the errors in the computation are introduced. Near-term applications of early quantum devices, such as quantum simulations, rely on accurate estimates of expectation values to become relevant. Decoherence and gate errors lead to wrong estimates of the expectation values of observables used to evaluate the noisy circuit. The two schemes we discuss are deliberately simple and do not require additional qubit resources, so to be as practically relevant in current experiments as possible. The first method, extrapolation to the zero noise limit, subsequently cancels powers of the noise perturbations by an application of Richardson's deferred approach to the limit. The second method cancels errors by resampling randomized circuits according to a quasiprobability distribution.

Negligence, genuine error, and litigation

PubMed Central

Sohn, David H

2013-01-01

Not all medical injuries are the result of negligence. In fact, most medical injuries are the result either of the inherent risk in the practice of medicine, or due to system errors, which cannot be prevented simply through fear of disciplinary action. This paper will discuss the differences between adverse events, negligence, and system errors; the current medical malpractice tort system in the United States; and review current and future solutions, including medical malpractice reform, alternative dispute resolution, health courts, and no-fault compensation systems. The current political environment favors investigation of non-cap tort reform remedies; investment into more rational oversight systems, such as health courts or no-fault systems may reap both quantitative and qualitative benefits for a less costly and safer health system. PMID:23426783

An error analysis perspective for patient alignment systems.

PubMed

Figl, Michael; Kaar, Marcus; Hoffman, Rainer; Kratochwil, Alfred; Hummel, Johann

2013-09-01

This paper analyses the effects of error sources which can be found in patient alignment systems. As an example, an ultrasound (US) repositioning system and its transformation chain are assessed. The findings of this concept can also be applied to any navigation system. In a first step, all error sources were identified and where applicable, corresponding target registration errors were computed. By applying error propagation calculations on these commonly used registration/calibration and tracking errors, we were able to analyse the components of the overall error. Furthermore, we defined a special situation where the whole registration chain reduces to the error caused by the tracking system. Additionally, we used a phantom to evaluate the errors arising from the image-to-image registration procedure, depending on the image metric used. We have also discussed how this analysis can be applied to other positioning systems such as Cone Beam CT-based systems or Brainlab's ExacTrac. The estimates found by our error propagation analysis are in good agreement with the numbers found in the phantom study but significantly smaller than results from patient evaluations. We probably underestimated human influences such as the US scan head positioning by the operator and tissue deformation. Rotational errors of the tracking system can multiply these errors, depending on the relative position of tracker and probe. We were able to analyse the components of the overall error of a typical patient positioning system. We consider this to be a contribution to the optimization of the positioning accuracy for computer guidance systems.

Target Uncertainty Mediates Sensorimotor Error Correction

PubMed Central

Vijayakumar, Sethu; Wolpert, Daniel M.

2017-01-01

Human movements are prone to errors that arise from inaccuracies in both our perceptual processing and execution of motor commands. We can reduce such errors by both improving our estimates of the state of the world and through online error correction of the ongoing action. Two prominent frameworks that explain how humans solve these problems are Bayesian estimation and stochastic optimal feedback control. Here we examine the interaction between estimation and control by asking if uncertainty in estimates affects how subjects correct for errors that may arise during the movement. Unbeknownst to participants, we randomly shifted the visual feedback of their finger position as they reached to indicate the center of mass of an object. Even though participants were given ample time to compensate for this perturbation, they only fully corrected for the induced error on trials with low uncertainty about center of mass, with correction only partial in trials involving more uncertainty. The analysis of subjects’ scores revealed that participants corrected for errors just enough to avoid significant decrease in their overall scores, in agreement with the minimal intervention principle of optimal feedback control. We explain this behavior with a term in the loss function that accounts for the additional effort of adjusting one’s response. By suggesting that subjects’ decision uncertainty, as reflected in their posterior distribution, is a major factor in determining how their sensorimotor system responds to error, our findings support theoretical models in which the decision making and control processes are fully integrated. PMID:28129323

Applying Intelligent Algorithms to Automate the Identification of Error Factors.

PubMed

Jin, Haizhe; Qu, Qingxing; Munechika, Masahiko; Sano, Masataka; Kajihara, Chisato; Duffy, Vincent G; Chen, Han

2018-05-03

Medical errors are the manifestation of the defects occurring in medical processes. Extracting and identifying defects as medical error factors from these processes are an effective approach to prevent medical errors. However, it is a difficult and time-consuming task and requires an analyst with a professional medical background. The issues of identifying a method to extract medical error factors and reduce the extraction difficulty need to be resolved. In this research, a systematic methodology to extract and identify error factors in the medical administration process was proposed. The design of the error report, extraction of the error factors, and identification of the error factors were analyzed. Based on 624 medical error cases across four medical institutes in both Japan and China, 19 error-related items and their levels were extracted. After which, they were closely related to 12 error factors. The relational model between the error-related items and error factors was established based on a genetic algorithm (GA)-back-propagation neural network (BPNN) model. Additionally, compared to GA-BPNN, BPNN, partial least squares regression and support vector regression, GA-BPNN exhibited a higher overall prediction accuracy, being able to promptly identify the error factors from the error-related items. The combination of "error-related items, their different levels, and the GA-BPNN model" was proposed as an error-factor identification technology, which could automatically identify medical error factors.

Transfer Error and Correction Approach in Mobile Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao-kai, Wu; Yong-jin, Shi; Da-jin, Chen; Bing-he, Ma; Qi-li, Zhou

With the development of information technology and social progress, human demand for information has become increasingly diverse, wherever and whenever people want to be able to easily, quickly and flexibly via voice, data, images and video and other means to communicate. Visual information to the people direct and vivid image, image / video transmission also been widespread attention. Although the third generation mobile communication systems and the emergence and rapid development of IP networks, making video communications is becoming the main business of the wireless communications, however, the actual wireless and IP channel will lead to error generation, such as: wireless channel multi- fading channels generated error and blocking IP packet loss and so on. Due to channel bandwidth limitations, the video communication compression coding of data is often beyond the data, and compress data after the error is very sensitive to error conditions caused a serious decline in image quality.

Classification-Based Spatial Error Concealment for Visual Communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Meng; Zheng, Yefeng; Wu, Min

2006-12-01

In an error-prone transmission environment, error concealment is an effective technique to reconstruct the damaged visual content. Due to large variations of image characteristics, different concealment approaches are necessary to accommodate the different nature of the lost image content. In this paper, we address this issue and propose using classification to integrate the state-of-the-art error concealment techniques. The proposed approach takes advantage of multiple concealment algorithms and adaptively selects the suitable algorithm for each damaged image area. With growing awareness that the design of sender and receiver systems should be jointly considered for efficient and reliable multimedia communications, we proposed a set of classification-based block concealment schemes, including receiver-side classification, sender-side attachment, and sender-side embedding. Our experimental results provide extensive performance comparisons and demonstrate that the proposed classification-based error concealment approaches outperform the conventional approaches.

Error Patterns in Ordering Fractions among At-Risk Fourth-Grade Students

PubMed Central

Malone, Amelia S.; Fuchs, Lynn S.

2016-01-01

The 3 purposes of this study were to: (a) describe fraction ordering errors among at-risk 4th-grade students; (b) assess the effect of part-whole understanding and accuracy of fraction magnitude estimation on the probability of committing errors; and (c) examine the effect of students' ability to explain comparing problems on the probability of committing errors. Students (n = 227) completed a 9-item ordering test. A high proportion (81%) of problems were completed incorrectly. Most (65% of) errors were due to students misapplying whole number logic to fractions. Fraction-magnitude estimation skill, but not part-whole understanding, significantly predicted the probability of committing this type of error. Implications for practice are discussed. PMID:26966153

Incidence of speech recognition errors in the emergency department.

PubMed

Goss, Foster R; Zhou, Li; Weiner, Scott G

2016-09-01

Physician use of computerized speech recognition (SR) technology has risen in recent years due to its ease of use and efficiency at the point of care. However, error rates between 10 and 23% have been observed, raising concern about the number of errors being entered into the permanent medical record, their impact on quality of care and medical liability that may arise. Our aim was to determine the incidence and types of SR errors introduced by this technology in the emergency department (ED). Level 1 emergency department with 42,000 visits/year in a tertiary academic teaching hospital. A random sample of 100 notes dictated by attending emergency physicians (EPs) using SR software was collected from the ED electronic health record between January and June 2012. Two board-certified EPs annotated the notes and conducted error analysis independently. An existing classification schema was adopted to classify errors into eight errors types. Critical errors deemed to potentially impact patient care were identified. There were 128 errors in total or 1.3 errors per note, and 14.8% (n=19) errors were judged to be critical. 71% of notes contained errors, and 15% contained one or more critical errors. Annunciation errors were the highest at 53.9% (n=69), followed by deletions at 18.0% (n=23) and added words at 11.7% (n=15). Nonsense errors, homonyms and spelling errors were present in 10.9% (n=14), 4.7% (n=6), and 0.8% (n=1) of notes, respectively. There were no suffix or dictionary errors. Inter-annotator agreement was 97.8%. This is the first estimate at classifying speech recognition errors in dictated emergency department notes. Speech recognition errors occur commonly with annunciation errors being the most frequent. Error rates were comparable if not lower than previous studies. 15% of errors were deemed critical, potentially leading to miscommunication that could affect patient care. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantum Error Correction with Biased Noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brooks, Peter

Quantum computing offers powerful new techniques for speeding up the calculation of many classically intractable problems. Quantum algorithms can allow for the efficient simulation of physical systems, with applications to basic research, chemical modeling, and drug discovery; other algorithms have important implications for cryptography and internet security. At the same time, building a quantum computer is a daunting task, requiring the coherent manipulation of systems with many quantum degrees of freedom while preventing environmental noise from interacting too strongly with the system. Fortunately, we know that, under reasonable assumptions, we can use the techniques of quantum error correction and fault tolerance to achieve an arbitrary reduction in the noise level. In this thesis, we look at how additional information about the structure of noise, or "noise bias," can improve or alter the performance of techniques in quantum error correction and fault tolerance. In Chapter 2, we explore the possibility of designing certain quantum gates to be extremely robust with respect to errors in their operation. This naturally leads to structured noise where certain gates can be implemented in a protected manner, allowing the user to focus their protection on the noisier unprotected operations. In Chapter 3, we examine how to tailor error-correcting codes and fault-tolerant quantum circuits in the presence of dephasing biased noise, where dephasing errors are far more common than bit-flip errors. By using an appropriately asymmetric code, we demonstrate the ability to improve the amount of error reduction and decrease the physical resources required for error correction. In Chapter 4, we analyze a variety of protocols for distilling magic states, which enable universal quantum computation, in the presence of faulty Clifford operations. Here again there is a hierarchy of noise levels, with a fixed error rate for faulty gates, and a second rate for errors in the distilled

Error Analysis for High Resolution Topography with Bi-Static Single-Pass SAR Interferometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muellerschoen, Ronald J.; Chen, Curtis W.; Hensley, Scott; Rodriguez, Ernesto

2006-01-01

We present a flow down error analysis from the radar system to topographic height errors for bi-static single pass SAR interferometry for a satellite tandem pair. Because of orbital dynamics the baseline length and baseline orientation evolve spatially and temporally, the height accuracy of the system is modeled as a function of the spacecraft position and ground location. Vector sensitivity equations of height and the planar error components due to metrology, media effects, and radar system errors are derived and evaluated globally for a baseline mission. Included in the model are terrain effects that contribute to layover and shadow and slope effects on height errors. The analysis also accounts for nonoverlapping spectra and the non-overlapping bandwidth due to differences between the two platforms' viewing geometries. The model is applied to a 514 km altitude 97.4 degree inclination tandem satellite mission with a 300 m baseline separation and X-band SAR. Results from our model indicate that global DTED level 3 can be achieved.

How Do Simulated Error Experiences Impact Attitudes Related to Error Prevention?

PubMed

Breitkreuz, Karen R; Dougal, Renae L; Wright, Melanie C

2016-10-01

The objective of this project was to determine whether simulated exposure to error situations changes attitudes in a way that may have a positive impact on error prevention behaviors. Using a stratified quasi-randomized experiment design, we compared risk perception attitudes of a control group of nursing students who received standard error education (reviewed medication error content and watched movies about error experiences) to an experimental group of students who reviewed medication error content and participated in simulated error experiences. Dependent measures included perceived memorability of the educational experience, perceived frequency of errors, and perceived caution with respect to preventing errors. Experienced nursing students perceived the simulated error experiences to be more memorable than movies. Less experienced students perceived both simulated error experiences and movies to be highly memorable. After the intervention, compared with movie participants, simulation participants believed errors occurred more frequently. Both types of education increased the participants' intentions to be more cautious and reported caution remained higher than baseline for medication errors 6 months after the intervention. This study provides limited evidence of an advantage of simulation over watching movies describing actual errors with respect to manipulating attitudes related to error prevention. Both interventions resulted in long-term impacts on perceived caution in medication administration. Simulated error experiences made participants more aware of how easily errors can occur, and the movie education made participants more aware of the devastating consequences of errors.

Evaluation and error apportionment of an ensemble of ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Through the comparison of several regional-scale chemistry transport modelling systems that simulate meteorology and air quality over the European and American continents, this study aims at i) apportioning the error to the responsible processes using time-scale analysis, ii) helping to detect causes of models error, and iii) identifying the processes and scales most urgently requiring dedicated investigations. The analysis is conducted within the framework of the third phase of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) and tackles model performance gauging through measurement-to-model comparison, error decomposition and time series analysis of the models biases for several fields (ozone, CO, SO2, NO, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, wind speed, and temperature). The operational metrics (magnitude of the error, sign of the bias, associativity) provide an overall sense of model strengths and deficiencies, while apportioning the error to its constituent parts (bias, variance and covariance) can help to assess the nature and quality of the error. Each of the error components is analysed independently and apportioned to specific processes based on the corresponding timescale (long scale, synoptic, diurnal, and intra-day) using the error apportionment technique devised in the former phases of AQMEII.The application of the error apportionment method to the AQMEII Phase 3 simulations provides several key insights. In addition to reaffirming the strong impact

Incorporating measurement error in n = 1 psychological autoregressive modeling

PubMed Central

Schuurman, Noémi K.; Houtveen, Jan H.; Hamaker, Ellen L.

2015-01-01

Measurement error is omnipresent in psychological data. However, the vast majority of applications of autoregressive time series analyses in psychology do not take measurement error into account. Disregarding measurement error when it is present in the data results in a bias of the autoregressive parameters. We discuss two models that take measurement error into account: An autoregressive model with a white noise term (AR+WN), and an autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model. In a simulation study we compare the parameter recovery performance of these models, and compare this performance for both a Bayesian and frequentist approach. We find that overall, the AR+WN model performs better. Furthermore, we find that for realistic (i.e., small) sample sizes, psychological research would benefit from a Bayesian approach in fitting these models. Finally, we illustrate the effect of disregarding measurement error in an AR(1) model by means of an empirical application on mood data in women. We find that, depending on the person, approximately 30–50% of the total variance was due to measurement error, and that disregarding this measurement error results in a substantial underestimation of the autoregressive parameters. PMID:26283988

Incorporating measurement error in n = 1 psychological autoregressive modeling.

PubMed

Schuurman, Noémi K; Houtveen, Jan H; Hamaker, Ellen L

2015-01-01

Measurement error is omnipresent in psychological data. However, the vast majority of applications of autoregressive time series analyses in psychology do not take measurement error into account. Disregarding measurement error when it is present in the data results in a bias of the autoregressive parameters. We discuss two models that take measurement error into account: An autoregressive model with a white noise term (AR+WN), and an autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model. In a simulation study we compare the parameter recovery performance of these models, and compare this performance for both a Bayesian and frequentist approach. We find that overall, the AR+WN model performs better. Furthermore, we find that for realistic (i.e., small) sample sizes, psychological research would benefit from a Bayesian approach in fitting these models. Finally, we illustrate the effect of disregarding measurement error in an AR(1) model by means of an empirical application on mood data in women. We find that, depending on the person, approximately 30-50% of the total variance was due to measurement error, and that disregarding this measurement error results in a substantial underestimation of the autoregressive parameters.

Multiple Cognitive Control Effects of Error Likelihood and Conflict

PubMed Central

Brown, Joshua W.

2010-01-01

Recent work on cognitive control has suggested a variety of performance monitoring functions of the anterior cingulate cortex, such as errors, conflict, error likelihood, and others. Given the variety of monitoring effects, a corresponding variety of control effects on behavior might be expected. This paper explores whether conflict and error likelihood produce distinct cognitive control effects on behavior, as measured by response time. A change signal task (Brown & Braver, 2005) was modified to include conditions of likely errors due to tardy as well as premature responses, in conditions with and without conflict. The results discriminate between competing hypotheses of independent vs. interacting conflict and error likelihood control effects. Specifically, the results suggest that the likelihood of premature vs. tardy response errors can lead to multiple distinct control effects, which are independent of cognitive control effects driven by response conflict. As a whole, the results point to the existence of multiple distinct cognitive control mechanisms and challenge existing models of cognitive control that incorporate only a single control signal. PMID:19030873

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

PubMed Central

Sellitto, Manuela; di Pellegrino, Giuseppe

2016-01-01

Nowadays, the increasing incidence of eating disorders due to poor self-control has given rise to increased obesity and other chronic weight problems, and ultimately, to reduced life expectancy. The capacity to refrain from automatic responses is usually high in situations in which making errors is highly likely. The protocol described here aims at reducing imprudent preference in women during hypothetical intertemporal choices about appetitive food by associating it with errors. First, participants undergo an error task where two different edible stimuli are associated with two different error likelihoods (high and low). Second, they make intertemporal choices about the two edible stimuli, separately. As a result, this method decreases the discount rate for future amounts of the edible reward that cued higher error likelihood, selectively. This effect is under the influence of the self-reported hunger level. The present protocol demonstrates that errors, well known as motivationally salient events, can induce the recruitment of cognitive control, thus being ultimately useful in reducing impatient choices for edible commodities. PMID:27341281

Role of memory errors in quantum repeaters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartmann, L.; Kraus, B.; Briegel, H.-J.; Dür, W.

2007-03-01

We investigate the influence of memory errors in the quantum repeater scheme for long-range quantum communication. We show that the communication distance is limited in standard operation mode due to memory errors resulting from unavoidable waiting times for classical signals. We show how to overcome these limitations by (i) improving local memory and (ii) introducing two operational modes of the quantum repeater. In both operational modes, the repeater is run blindly, i.e., without waiting for classical signals to arrive. In the first scheme, entanglement purification protocols based on one-way classical communication are used allowing to communicate over arbitrary distances. However, the error thresholds for noise in local control operations are very stringent. The second scheme makes use of entanglement purification protocols with two-way classical communication and inherits the favorable error thresholds of the repeater run in standard mode. One can increase the possible communication distance by an order of magnitude with reasonable overhead in physical resources. We outline the architecture of a quantum repeater that can possibly ensure intercontinental quantum communication.

Precision and Error of Three-dimensional Phenotypic Measures Acquired from 3dMD Photogrammetric Images

PubMed Central

Aldridge, Kristina; Boyadjiev, Simeon A.; Capone, George T.; DeLeon, Valerie B.; Richtsmeier, Joan T.

2015-01-01

The genetic basis for complex phenotypes is currently of great interest for both clinical investigators and basic scientists. In order to acquire a thorough understanding of the translation from genotype to phenotype, highly precise measures of phenotypic variation are required. New technologies, such as 3D photogrammetry are being implemented in phenotypic studies due to their ability to collect data rapidly and non-invasively. Before these systems can be broadly implemented the error associated with data collected from images acquired using these technologies must be assessed. This study investigates the precision, error, and repeatability associated with anthropometric landmark coordinate data collected from 3D digital photogrammetric images acquired with the 3dMDface System. Precision, error due to the imaging system, error due to digitization of the images, and repeatability are assessed in a sample of children and adults (N=15). Results show that data collected from images with the 3dMDface System are highly repeatable and precise. The average error associated with the placement of landmarks is sub-millimeter; both the error due to digitization and to the imaging system are very low. The few measures showing a higher degree of error include those crossing the labial fissure, which are influenced by even subtle movement of the mandible. These results suggest that 3D anthropometric data collected using the 3dMDface System are highly reliable and therefore useful for evaluation of clinical dysmorphology and surgery, analyses of genotype-phenotype correlations, and inheritance of complex phenotypes. PMID:16158436

Error Suppression for Hamiltonian-Based Quantum Computation Using Subsystem Codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marvian, Milad; Lidar, Daniel A.

2017-01-01

We present general conditions for quantum error suppression for Hamiltonian-based quantum computation using subsystem codes. This involves encoding the Hamiltonian performing the computation using an error detecting subsystem code and the addition of a penalty term that commutes with the encoded Hamiltonian. The scheme is general and includes the stabilizer formalism of both subspace and subsystem codes as special cases. We derive performance bounds and show that complete error suppression results in the large penalty limit. To illustrate the power of subsystem-based error suppression, we introduce fully two-local constructions for protection against local errors of the swap gate of adiabatic gate teleportation and the Ising chain in a transverse field.

Error Suppression for Hamiltonian-Based Quantum Computation Using Subsystem Codes.

PubMed

Marvian, Milad; Lidar, Daniel A

2017-01-20

We present general conditions for quantum error suppression for Hamiltonian-based quantum computation using subsystem codes. This involves encoding the Hamiltonian performing the computation using an error detecting subsystem code and the addition of a penalty term that commutes with the encoded Hamiltonian. The scheme is general and includes the stabilizer formalism of both subspace and subsystem codes as special cases. We derive performance bounds and show that complete error suppression results in the large penalty limit. To illustrate the power of subsystem-based error suppression, we introduce fully two-local constructions for protection against local errors of the swap gate of adiabatic gate teleportation and the Ising chain in a transverse field.

Left neglect dyslexia: Perseveration and reading error types.

PubMed

Ronchi, Roberta; Algeri, Lorella; Chiapella, Laura; Gallucci, Marcello; Spada, Maria Simonetta; Vallar, Giuseppe

2016-08-01

Right-brain-damaged patients may show a reading disorder termed neglect dyslexia. Patients with left neglect dyslexia omit letters on the left-hand-side (the beginning, when reading left-to-right) part of the letter string, substitute them with other letters, and add letters to the left of the string. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of association, if any, between error types in patients with left neglect dyslexia and recurrent perseveration (a productive visuo-motor deficit characterized by addition of marks) in target cancellation. Specifically, we aimed at assessing whether different productive symptoms (relative to the reading and the visuo-motor domains) could be associated in patients with left spatial neglect. Fifty-four right-brain-damaged patients took part in the study: 50 out of the 54 patients showed left spatial neglect, with 27 of them also exhibiting left neglect dyslexia. Neglect dyslexic patients who showed perseveration produced mainly substitution neglect errors in reading. Conversely, omissions were the prevailing reading error pattern in neglect dyslexic patients without perseveration. Addition reading errors were much infrequent. Different functional pathological mechanisms may underlie omission and substitution reading errors committed by right-brain-damaged patients with left neglect dyslexia. One such mechanism, involving the defective stopping of inappropriate responses, may contribute to both recurrent perseveration in target cancellation, and substitution errors in reading. Productive pathological phenomena, together with deficits of spatial attention to events taking place on the left-hand-side of space, shape the manifestations of neglect dyslexia, and, more generally, of spatial neglect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advancing the research agenda for diagnostic error reduction.

PubMed

Zwaan, Laura; Schiff, Gordon D; Singh, Hardeep

2013-10-01

Diagnostic errors remain an underemphasised and understudied area of patient safety research. We briefly summarise the methods that have been used to conduct research on epidemiology, contributing factors and interventions related to diagnostic error and outline directions for future research. Research methods that have studied epidemiology of diagnostic error provide some estimate on diagnostic error rates. However, there appears to be a large variability in the reported rates due to the heterogeneity of definitions and study methods used. Thus, future methods should focus on obtaining more precise estimates in different settings of care. This would lay the foundation for measuring error rates over time to evaluate improvements. Research methods have studied contributing factors for diagnostic error in both naturalistic and experimental settings. Both approaches have revealed important and complementary information. Newer conceptual models from outside healthcare are needed to advance the depth and rigour of analysis of systems and cognitive insights of causes of error. While the literature has suggested many potentially fruitful interventions for reducing diagnostic errors, most have not been systematically evaluated and/or widely implemented in practice. Research is needed to study promising intervention areas such as enhanced patient involvement in diagnosis, improving diagnosis through the use of electronic tools and identification and reduction of specific diagnostic process 'pitfalls' (eg, failure to conduct appropriate diagnostic evaluation of a breast lump after a 'normal' mammogram). The last decade of research on diagnostic error has made promising steps and laid a foundation for more rigorous methods to advance the field.

Sampling Errors of SSM/I and TRMM Rainfall Averages: Comparison with Error Estimates from Surface Data and a Sample Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, Thomas L.; Kundu, Prasun K.; Kummerow, Christian D.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Quantitative use of satellite-derived maps of monthly rainfall requires some measure of the accuracy of the satellite estimates. The rainfall estimate for a given map grid box is subject to both remote-sensing error and, in the case of low-orbiting satellites, sampling error due to the limited number of observations of the grid box provided by the satellite. A simple model of rain behavior predicts that Root-mean-square (RMS) random error in grid-box averages should depend in a simple way on the local average rain rate, and the predicted behavior has been seen in simulations using surface rain-gauge and radar data. This relationship was examined using satellite SSM/I data obtained over the western equatorial Pacific during TOGA COARE. RMS error inferred directly from SSM/I rainfall estimates was found to be larger than predicted from surface data, and to depend less on local rain rate than was predicted. Preliminary examination of TRMM microwave estimates shows better agreement with surface data. A simple method of estimating rms error in satellite rainfall estimates is suggested, based on quantities that can be directly computed from the satellite data.

A preliminary taxonomy of medical errors in family practice

PubMed Central

Dovey, S; Meyers, D; Phillips, R; Green, L; Fryer, G; Galliher, J; Kappus, J; Grob, P

2002-01-01

Objective: To develop a preliminary taxonomy of primary care medical errors. Design: Qualitative analysis to identify categories of error reported during a randomized controlled trial of computer and paper reporting methods. Setting: The National Network for Family Practice and Primary Care Research. Participants: Family physicians. Main outcome measures: Medical error category, context, and consequence. Results: Forty two physicians made 344 reports: 284 (82.6%) arose from healthcare systems dysfunction; 46 (13.4%) were errors due to gaps in knowledge or skills; and 14 (4.1%) were reports of adverse events, not errors. The main subcategories were: administrative failures (102; 30.9% of errors), investigation failures (82; 24.8%), treatment delivery lapses (76; 23.0%), miscommunication (19; 5.8%), payment systems problems (4; 1.2%), error in the execution of a clinical task (19; 5.8%), wrong treatment decision (14; 4.2%), and wrong diagnosis (13; 3.9%). Most reports were of errors that were recognized and occurred in reporters' practices. Affected patients ranged in age from 8 months to 100 years, were of both sexes, and represented all major US ethnic groups. Almost half the reports were of events which had adverse consequences. Ten errors resulted in patients being admitted to hospital and one patient died. Conclusions: This medical error taxonomy, developed from self-reports of errors observed by family physicians during their routine clinical practice, emphasizes problems in healthcare processes and acknowledges medical errors arising from shortfalls in clinical knowledge and skills. Patient safety strategies with most effect in primary care settings need to be broader than the current focus on medication errors. PMID:12486987

Errors in the determination of the solar constant by the Langley method due to the presence of volcanic aerosol

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

Schotland, R.M.; Hartman, J.E.

1989-02-01

The accuracy in the determination of the solar constant by means of the Langley method is strongly influenced by the spatial inhomogeneities of the atmospheric aerosol. Volcanos frequently inject aerosol into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. This paper evaluates the solar constant error that would occur if observations had been taken throughout the plume of El Chichon observed by NASA aircraft in the fall of 1982 and the spring of 1983. A lidar method is suggested to minimize this error. 15 refs.

Slope Error Measurement Tool for Solar Parabolic Trough Collectors: Preprint

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

Stynes, J. K.; Ihas, B.

2012-04-01

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed an optical measurement tool for parabolic solar collectors that measures the combined errors due to absorber misalignment and reflector slope error. The combined absorber alignment and reflector slope errors are measured using a digital camera to photograph the reflected image of the absorber in the collector. Previous work using the image of the reflection of the absorber finds the reflector slope errors from the reflection of the absorber and an independent measurement of the absorber location. The accuracy of the reflector slope error measurement is thus dependent on the accuracy of themore » absorber location measurement. By measuring the combined reflector-absorber errors, the uncertainty in the absorber location measurement is eliminated. The related performance merit, the intercept factor, depends on the combined effects of the absorber alignment and reflector slope errors. Measuring the combined effect provides a simpler measurement and a more accurate input to the intercept factor estimate. The minimal equipment and setup required for this measurement technique make it ideal for field measurements.« less

Enhanced orbit determination filter sensitivity analysis: Error budget development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estefan, J. A.; Burkhart, P. D.

1994-01-01

An error budget analysis is presented which quantifies the effects of different error sources in the orbit determination process when the enhanced orbit determination filter, recently developed, is used to reduce radio metric data. The enhanced filter strategy differs from more traditional filtering methods in that nearly all of the principal ground system calibration errors affecting the data are represented as filter parameters. Error budget computations were performed for a Mars Observer interplanetary cruise scenario for cases in which only X-band (8.4-GHz) Doppler data were used to determine the spacecraft's orbit, X-band ranging data were used exclusively, and a combined set in which the ranging data were used in addition to the Doppler data. In all three cases, the filter model was assumed to be a correct representation of the physical world. Random nongravitational accelerations were found to be the largest source of error contributing to the individual error budgets. Other significant contributors, depending on the data strategy used, were solar-radiation pressure coefficient uncertainty, random earth-orientation calibration errors, and Deep Space Network (DSN) station location uncertainty.

Propagation of resist heating mask error to wafer level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babin, S. V.; Karklin, Linard

2006-10-01

As technology is approaching 45 nm and below the IC industry is experiencing a severe product yield hit due to rapidly shrinking process windows and unavoidable manufacturing process variations. Current EDA tools are unable by their nature to deliver optimized and process-centered designs that call for 'post design' localized layout optimization DFM tools. To evaluate the impact of different manufacturing process variations on final product it is important to trace and evaluate all errors through design to manufacturing flow. Photo mask is one of the critical parts of this flow, and special attention should be paid to photo mask manufacturing process and especially to mask tight CD control. Electron beam lithography (EBL) is a major technique which is used for fabrication of high-end photo masks. During the writing process, resist heating is one of the sources for mask CD variations. Electron energy is released in the mask body mainly as heat, leading to significant temperature fluctuations in local areas. The temperature fluctuations cause changes in resist sensitivity, which in turn leads to CD variations. These CD variations depend on mask writing speed, order of exposure, pattern density and its distribution. Recent measurements revealed up to 45 nm CD variation on the mask when using ZEP resist. The resist heating problem with CAR resists is significantly smaller compared to other types of resists. This is partially due to higher resist sensitivity and the lower exposure dose required. However, there is no data yet showing CD errors on the wafer induced by CAR resist heating on the mask. This effect can be amplified by high MEEF values and should be carefully evaluated at 45nm and below technology nodes where tight CD control is required. In this paper, we simulated CD variation on the mask due to resist heating; then a mask pattern with the heating error was transferred onto the wafer. So, a CD error on the wafer was evaluated subject to only one term of the

Medication errors of nurses and factors in refusal to report medication errors among nurses in a teaching medical center of iran in 2012.

PubMed

Mostafaei, Davoud; Barati Marnani, Ahmad; Mosavi Esfahani, Haleh; Estebsari, Fatemeh; Shahzaidi, Shiva; Jamshidi, Ensiyeh; Aghamiri, Seyed Samad

2014-10-01

About one third of unwanted reported medication consequences are due to medication errors, resulting in one-fifth of hospital injuries. The aim of this study was determined formal and informal medication errors of nurses and the level of importance of factors in refusal to report medication errors among nurses. The cross-sectional study was done on the nursing staff of Shohada Tajrish Hospital, Tehran, Iran in 2012. The data was gathered through a questionnaire, made by the researchers. The questionnaires' face and content validity was confirmed by experts and for measuring its reliability test-retest was used. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics. We used SPSS for related statistical analyses. The most important factors in refusal to report medication errors respectively were: lack of medication error recording and reporting system in the hospital (3.3%), non-significant error reporting to hospital authorities and lack of appropriate feedback (3.1%), and lack of a clear definition for a medication error (3%). There were both formal and informal reporting of medication errors in this study. Factors pertaining to management in hospitals as well as the fear of the consequences of reporting are two broad fields among the factors that make nurses not report their medication errors. In this regard, providing enough education to nurses, boosting the job security for nurses, management support and revising related processes and definitions are some factors that can help decreasing medication errors and increasing their report in case of occurrence.

Prediction of discretization error using the error transport equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Celik, Ismail B.; Parsons, Don Roscoe

2017-06-01

This study focuses on an approach to quantify the discretization error associated with numerical solutions of partial differential equations by solving an error transport equation (ETE). The goal is to develop a method that can be used to adequately predict the discretization error using the numerical solution on only one grid/mesh. The primary problem associated with solving the ETE is the formulation of the error source term which is required for accurately predicting the transport of the error. In this study, a novel approach is considered which involves fitting the numerical solution with a series of locally smooth curves and then blending them together with a weighted spline approach. The result is a continuously differentiable analytic expression that can be used to determine the error source term. Once the source term has been developed, the ETE can easily be solved using the same solver that is used to obtain the original numerical solution. The new methodology is applied to the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations in the laminar flow regime. A simple unsteady flow case is also considered. The discretization error predictions based on the methodology presented in this study are in good agreement with the 'true error'. While in most cases the error predictions are not quite as accurate as those from Richardson extrapolation, the results are reasonable and only require one numerical grid. The current results indicate that there is much promise going forward with the newly developed error source term evaluation technique and the ETE.

Irregular analytical errors in diagnostic testing - a novel concept.

PubMed

Vogeser, Michael; Seger, Christoph

2018-02-23

-isotope-dilution mass spectrometry methods are increasingly used for pre-market validation of routine diagnostic assays (these tests also involve substantial sets of clinical validation samples). Based on this definition/terminology, we list recognized causes of irregular analytical error as a risk catalog for clinical chemistry in this article. These issues include reproducible individual analytical errors (e.g. caused by anti-reagent antibodies) and non-reproducible, sporadic errors (e.g. errors due to incorrect pipetting volume due to air bubbles in a sample), which can both lead to inaccurate results and risks for patients.

Effects of Contextual Sight-Singing and Aural Skills Training on Error-Detection Abilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheldon, Deborah A.

1998-01-01

Examines the effects of contextual sight-singing and ear training on pitch and rhythm error detection abilities among undergraduate instrumental music education majors. Shows that additional training produced better error detection, particularly with rhythm errors and in one-part examples. Maintains that differences attributable to texture were…

Emergency department discharge prescription errors in an academic medical center

PubMed Central

Belanger, April; Devine, Lauren T.; Lane, Aaron; Condren, Michelle E.

2017-01-01

This study described discharge prescription medication errors written for emergency department patients. This study used content analysis in a cross-sectional design to systematically categorize prescription errors found in a report of 1000 discharge prescriptions submitted in the electronic medical record in February 2015. Two pharmacy team members reviewed the discharge prescription list for errors. Open-ended data were coded by an additional rater for agreement on coding categories. Coding was based upon majority rule. Descriptive statistics were used to address the study objective. Categories evaluated were patient age, provider type, drug class, and type and time of error. The discharge prescription error rate out of 1000 prescriptions was 13.4%, with “incomplete or inadequate prescription” being the most commonly detected error (58.2%). The adult and pediatric error rates were 11.7% and 22.7%, respectively. The antibiotics reviewed had the highest number of errors. The highest within-class error rates were with antianginal medications, antiparasitic medications, antacids, appetite stimulants, and probiotics. Emergency medicine residents wrote the highest percentage of prescriptions (46.7%) and had an error rate of 9.2%. Residents of other specialties wrote 340 prescriptions and had an error rate of 20.9%. Errors occurred most often between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. PMID:28405061

Emergence of DNA Polymerase ε Antimutators That Escape Error-Induced Extinction in Yeast

PubMed Central

Williams, Lindsey N.; Herr, Alan J.; Preston, Bradley D.

2013-01-01

DNA polymerases (Pols) ε and δ perform the bulk of yeast leading- and lagging-strand DNA synthesis. Both Pols possess intrinsic proofreading exonucleases that edit errors during polymerization. Rare errors that elude proofreading are extended into duplex DNA and excised by the mismatch repair (MMR) system. Strains that lack Pol proofreading or MMR exhibit a 10- to 100-fold increase in spontaneous mutation rate (mutator phenotype), and inactivation of both Pol δ proofreading (pol3-01) and MMR is lethal due to replication error-induced extinction (EEX). It is unclear whether a similar synthetic lethal relationship exists between defects in Pol ε proofreading (pol2-4) and MMR. Using a plasmid-shuffling strategy in haploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we observed synthetic lethality of pol2-4 with alleles that completely abrogate MMR (msh2Δ, mlh1Δ, msh3Δ msh6Δ, or pms1Δ mlh3Δ) but not with partial MMR loss (msh3Δ, msh6Δ, pms1Δ, or mlh3Δ), indicating that high levels of unrepaired Pol ε errors drive extinction. However, variants that escape this error-induced extinction (eex mutants) frequently emerged. Five percent of pol2-4 msh2Δ eex mutants encoded second-site changes in Pol ε that reduced the pol2-4 mutator phenotype between 3- and 23-fold. The remaining eex alleles were extragenic to pol2-4. The locations of antimutator amino-acid changes in Pol ε and their effects on mutation spectra suggest multiple mechanisms of mutator suppression. Our data indicate that unrepaired leading- and lagging-strand polymerase errors drive extinction within a few cell divisions and suggest that there are polymerase-specific pathways of mutator suppression. The prevalence of suppressors extragenic to the Pol ε gene suggests that factors in addition to proofreading and MMR influence leading-strand DNA replication fidelity. PMID:23307893

Exploring Discretization Error in Simulation-Based Aerodynamic Databases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aftosmis, Michael J.; Nemec, Marian

2010-01-01

This work examines the level of discretization error in simulation-based aerodynamic databases and introduces strategies for error control. Simulations are performed using a parallel, multi-level Euler solver on embedded-boundary Cartesian meshes. Discretization errors in user-selected outputs are estimated using the method of adjoint-weighted residuals and we use adaptive mesh refinement to reduce these errors to specified tolerances. Using this framework, we examine the behavior of discretization error throughout a token database computed for a NACA 0012 airfoil consisting of 120 cases. We compare the cost and accuracy of two approaches for aerodynamic database generation. In the first approach, mesh adaptation is used to compute all cases in the database to a prescribed level of accuracy. The second approach conducts all simulations using the same computational mesh without adaptation. We quantitatively assess the error landscape and computational costs in both databases. This investigation highlights sensitivities of the database under a variety of conditions. The presence of transonic shocks or the stiffness in the governing equations near the incompressible limit are shown to dramatically increase discretization error requiring additional mesh resolution to control. Results show that such pathologies lead to error levels that vary by over factor of 40 when using a fixed mesh throughout the database. Alternatively, controlling this sensitivity through mesh adaptation leads to mesh sizes which span two orders of magnitude. We propose strategies to minimize simulation cost in sensitive regions and discuss the role of error-estimation in database quality.

Sources of variability and systematic error in mouse timing behavior.

PubMed

Gallistel, C R; King, Adam; McDonald, Robert

2004-01-01

In the peak procedure, starts and stops in responding bracket the target time at which food is expected. The variability in start and stop times is proportional to the target time (scalar variability), as is the systematic error in the mean center (scalar error). The authors investigated the source of the error and the variability, using head poking in the mouse, with target intervals of 5 s, 15 s, and 45 s, in the standard procedure, and in a variant with 3 different target intervals at 3 different locations in a single trial. The authors conclude that the systematic error is due to the asymmetric location of start and stop decision criteria, and the scalar variability derives primarily from sources other than memory.

DNA assembly with error correction on a droplet digital microfluidics platform.

PubMed

Khilko, Yuliya; Weyman, Philip D; Glass, John I; Adams, Mark D; McNeil, Melanie A; Griffin, Peter B

2018-06-01

Custom synthesized DNA is in high demand for synthetic biology applications. However, current technologies to produce these sequences using assembly from DNA oligonucleotides are costly and labor-intensive. The automation and reduced sample volumes afforded by microfluidic technologies could significantly decrease materials and labor costs associated with DNA synthesis. The purpose of this study was to develop a gene assembly protocol utilizing a digital microfluidic device. Toward this goal, we adapted bench-scale oligonucleotide assembly methods followed by enzymatic error correction to the Mondrian™ digital microfluidic platform. We optimized Gibson assembly, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and enzymatic error correction reactions in a single protocol to assemble 12 oligonucleotides into a 339-bp double- stranded DNA sequence encoding part of the human influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) gene. The reactions were scaled down to 0.6-1.2 μL. Initial microfluidic assembly methods were successful and had an error frequency of approximately 4 errors/kb with errors originating from the original oligonucleotide synthesis. Relative to conventional benchtop procedures, PCR optimization required additional amounts of MgCl 2 , Phusion polymerase, and PEG 8000 to achieve amplification of the assembly and error correction products. After one round of error correction, error frequency was reduced to an average of 1.8 errors kb - 1 . We demonstrated that DNA assembly from oligonucleotides and error correction could be completely automated on a digital microfluidic (DMF) platform. The results demonstrate that enzymatic reactions in droplets show a strong dependence on surface interactions, and successful on-chip implementation required supplementation with surfactants, molecular crowding agents, and an excess of enzyme. Enzymatic error correction of assembled fragments improved sequence fidelity by 2-fold, which was a significant improvement but somewhat lower than

Procedural errors in air traffic control: effects of traffic density, expertise, and automation.

PubMed

Di Nocera, Francesco; Fabrizi, Roberto; Terenzi, Michela; Ferlazzo, Fabio

2006-06-01

Air traffic management requires operators to frequently shift between multiple tasks and/or goals with different levels of accomplishment. Procedural errors can occur when a controller accomplishes one of the tasks before the entire operation has been completed. The present study had two goals: first, to verify the occurrence of post-completion errors in air traffic control (ATC) tasks; and second, to assess effects on performance of medium term conflict detection (MTCD) tools. There were 18 military controllers who performed a simulated ATC task with and without automation support (MTCD vs. manual) in high and low air traffic density conditions. During the task, which consisted of managing several simulated flights in an enroute ATC scenario, a trace suddenly disappeared "after" the operator took the aircraft in charge, "during" the management of the trace, or "before" the pilot's first contact. In the manual condition, only the fault type "during" was found to be significantly different from the other two. On the contrary, when in the MTCD condition, the fault type "after" generated significantly less errors than the fault type "before." Additionally, automation was found to affect performance of junior controllers, whereas seniors' performance was not affected. Procedural errors can happen in ATC, but automation can mitigate this effect. Lack of benefits for the "before" fault type may be due to the fact that operators extend their reliance to a part of the task that is unsupported by the automated system.

Constrained motion estimation-based error resilient coding for HEVC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Weihan; Zhang, Yongfei; Li, Bo

2018-04-01

Unreliable communication channels might lead to packet losses and bit errors in the videos transmitted through it, which will cause severe video quality degradation. This is even worse for HEVC since more advanced and powerful motion estimation methods are introduced to further remove the inter-frame dependency and thus improve the coding efficiency. Once a Motion Vector (MV) is lost or corrupted, it will cause distortion in the decoded frame. More importantly, due to motion compensation, the error will propagate along the motion prediction path, accumulate over time, and significantly degrade the overall video presentation quality. To address this problem, we study the problem of encoder-sider error resilient coding for HEVC and propose a constrained motion estimation scheme to mitigate the problem of error propagation to subsequent frames. The approach is achieved by cutting off MV dependencies and limiting the block regions which are predicted by temporal motion vector. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively suppress the error propagation caused by bit errors of motion vector and can improve the robustness of the stream in the bit error channels. When the bit error probability is 10-5, an increase of the decoded video quality (PSNR) by up to1.310dB and on average 0.762 dB can be achieved, compared to the reference HEVC.

A methodology for translating positional error into measures of attribute error, and combining the two error sources

Treesearch

Yohay Carmel; Curtis Flather; Denis Dean

2006-01-01

This paper summarizes our efforts to investigate the nature, behavior, and implications of positional error and attribute error in spatiotemporal datasets. Estimating the combined influence of these errors on map analysis has been hindered by the fact that these two error types are traditionally expressed in different units (distance units, and categorical units,...

ERM model analysis for adaptation to hydrological model errors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baymani-Nezhad, M.; Han, D.

2018-05-01

Hydrological conditions are changed continuously and these phenomenons generate errors on flood forecasting models and will lead to get unrealistic results. Therefore, to overcome these difficulties, a concept called model updating is proposed in hydrological studies. Real-time model updating is one of the challenging processes in hydrological sciences and has not been entirely solved due to lack of knowledge about the future state of the catchment under study. Basically, in terms of flood forecasting process, errors propagated from the rainfall-runoff model are enumerated as the main source of uncertainty in the forecasting model. Hence, to dominate the exciting errors, several methods have been proposed by researchers to update the rainfall-runoff models such as parameter updating, model state updating, and correction on input data. The current study focuses on investigations about the ability of rainfall-runoff model parameters to cope with three types of existing errors, timing, shape and volume as the common errors in hydrological modelling. The new lumped model, the ERM model, has been selected for this study to evaluate its parameters for its use in model updating to cope with the stated errors. Investigation about ten events proves that the ERM model parameters can be updated to cope with the errors without the need to recalibrate the model.

Detecting and overcoming systematic errors in genome-scale phylogenies.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Ezpeleta, Naiara; Brinkmann, Henner; Roure, Béatrice; Lartillot, Nicolas; Lang, B Franz; Philippe, Hervé

2007-06-01

Genome-scale data sets result in an enhanced resolution of the phylogenetic inference by reducing stochastic errors. However, there is also an increase of systematic errors due to model violations, which can lead to erroneous phylogenies. Here, we explore the impact of systematic errors on the resolution of the eukaryotic phylogeny using a data set of 143 nuclear-encoded proteins from 37 species. The initial observation was that, despite the impressive amount of data, some branches had no significant statistical support. To demonstrate that this lack of resolution is due to a mutual annihilation of phylogenetic and nonphylogenetic signals, we created a series of data sets with slightly different taxon sampling. As expected, these data sets yielded strongly supported but mutually exclusive trees, thus confirming the presence of conflicting phylogenetic and nonphylogenetic signals in the original data set. To decide on the correct tree, we applied several methods expected to reduce the impact of some kinds of systematic error. Briefly, we show that (i) removing fast-evolving positions, (ii) recoding amino acids into functional categories, and (iii) using a site-heterogeneous mixture model (CAT) are three effective means of increasing the ratio of phylogenetic to nonphylogenetic signal. Finally, our results allow us to formulate guidelines for detecting and overcoming phylogenetic artefacts in genome-scale phylogenetic analyses.

SU-E-T-385: Evaluation of DVH Change for PTV Due to Patient Weight Loss in Prostate VMAT Using Gaussian Error Function

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

Viraganathan, H; Jiang, R; Chow, J

Purpose: We proposed a method to predict the change of dose-volume histogram (DVH) for PTV due to patient weight loss in prostate volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). This method is based on a pre-calculated patient dataset and DVH curve fitting using the Gaussian error function (GEF). Methods: Pre-calculated dose-volume data from patients having weight loss in prostate VMAT was employed to predict the change of PTV coverage due to reduced depth in external contour. The effect of patient weight loss in treatment was described by a prostate dose-volume factor (PDVF), which was evaluated by the prostate PTV. Along with themore » PDVF, the GEF was used to fit into the DVH curve for the PTV. To predict a new DVH due to weight loss, parameters from the GEF describing the shape of DVH curve were determined. Since the parameters were related to the PDVF as per the specific reduced depth, we could first predict the PDVF at a reduced depth based on the prostate size from the pre-calculated dataset. Then parameters of the GEF could be determined from the PDVF to plot the new DVH for the PTV corresponding to the reduced depth. Results: A MATLAB program was built basing on the patient dataset with different prostate sizes. We input data of the prostate size and reduced depth of the patient into the program. The program then calculated the PDVF and DVH for the PTV considering the patient weight loss. The program was verified by different patient cases with various reduced depths. Conclusion: Our method can estimate the change of DVH for the PTV due to patient weight loss quickly without CT rescan and replan. This would help the radiation staff to predict the change of PTV coverage, when patient’s external contour reduced in prostate VMAT.« less

SU-E-J-164: Estimation of DVH Variation for PTV Due to Interfraction Organ Motion in Prostate VMAT Using Gaussian Error Function

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

Lewis, C; Jiang, R; Chow, J

2015-06-15

Purpose: We developed a method to predict the change of DVH for PTV due to interfraction organ motion in prostate VMAT without repeating the CT scan and treatment planning. The method is based on a pre-calculated patient database with DVH curves of PTV modelled by the Gaussian error function (GEF). Methods: For a group of 30 patients with different prostate sizes, their VMAT plans were recalculated by shifting their PTVs 1 cm with 10 increments in the anterior-posterior, left-right and superior-inferior directions. The DVH curve of PTV in each replan was then fitted by the GEF to determine parameters describingmore » the shape of curve. Information of parameters, varying with the DVH change due to prostate motion for different prostate sizes, was analyzed and stored in a database of a program written by MATLAB. Results: To predict a new DVH for PTV due to prostate interfraction motion, prostate size and shift distance with direction were input to the program. Parameters modelling the DVH for PTV were determined based on the pre-calculated patient dataset. From the new parameters, DVH curves of PTVs with and without considering the prostate motion were plotted for comparison. The program was verified with different prostate cases involving interfraction prostate shifts and replans. Conclusion: Variation of DVH for PTV in prostate VMAT can be predicted using a pre-calculated patient database with DVH curve fitting. The computing time is fast because CT rescan and replan are not required. This quick DVH estimation can help radiation staff to determine if the changed PTV coverage due to prostate shift is tolerable in the treatment. However, it should be noted that the program can only consider prostate interfraction motions along three axes, and is restricted to prostate VMAT plan using the same plan script in the treatment planning system.« less

Quantum error correction for continuously detected errors with any number of error channels per qubit

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

Ahn, Charlene; Wiseman, Howard; Jacobs, Kurt

2004-08-01

It was shown by Ahn, Wiseman, and Milburn [Phys. Rev. A 67, 052310 (2003)] that feedback control could be used as a quantum error correction process for errors induced by weak continuous measurement, given one perfectly measured error channel per qubit. Here we point out that this method can be easily extended to an arbitrary number of error channels per qubit. We show that the feedback protocols generated by our method encode n-2 logical qubits in n physical qubits, thus requiring just one more physical qubit than in the previous case.

Optimizer convergence and local minima errors and their clinical importance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeraj, Robert; Wu, Chuan; Mackie, Thomas R.

2003-09-01

Two of the errors common in the inverse treatment planning optimization have been investigated. The first error is the optimizer convergence error, which appears because of non-perfect convergence to the global or local solution, usually caused by a non-zero stopping criterion. The second error is the local minima error, which occurs when the objective function is not convex and/or the feasible solution space is not convex. The magnitude of the errors, their relative importance in comparison to other errors as well as their clinical significance in terms of tumour control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) were investigated. Two inherently different optimizers, a stochastic simulated annealing and deterministic gradient method were compared on a clinical example. It was found that for typical optimization the optimizer convergence errors are rather small, especially compared to other convergence errors, e.g., convergence errors due to inaccuracy of the current dose calculation algorithms. This indicates that stopping criteria could often be relaxed leading into optimization speed-ups. The local minima errors were also found to be relatively small and typically in the range of the dose calculation convergence errors. Even for the cases where significantly higher objective function scores were obtained the local minima errors were not significantly higher. Clinical evaluation of the optimizer convergence error showed good correlation between the convergence of the clinical TCP or NTCP measures and convergence of the physical dose distribution. On the other hand, the local minima errors resulted in significantly different TCP or NTCP values (up to a factor of 2) indicating clinical importance of the local minima produced by physical optimization.

Optimizer convergence and local minima errors and their clinical importance.

PubMed

Jeraj, Robert; Wu, Chuan; Mackie, Thomas R

2003-09-07

Two of the errors common in the inverse treatment planning optimization have been investigated. The first error is the optimizer convergence error, which appears because of non-perfect convergence to the global or local solution, usually caused by a non-zero stopping criterion. The second error is the local minima error, which occurs when the objective function is not convex and/or the feasible solution space is not convex. The magnitude of the errors, their relative importance in comparison to other errors as well as their clinical significance in terms of tumour control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) were investigated. Two inherently different optimizers, a stochastic simulated annealing and deterministic gradient method were compared on a clinical example. It was found that for typical optimization the optimizer convergence errors are rather small, especially compared to other convergence errors, e.g., convergence errors due to inaccuracy of the current dose calculation algorithms. This indicates that stopping criteria could often be relaxed leading into optimization speed-ups. The local minima errors were also found to be relatively small and typically in the range of the dose calculation convergence errors. Even for the cases where significantly higher objective function scores were obtained the local minima errors were not significantly higher. Clinical evaluation of the optimizer convergence error showed good correlation between the convergence of the clinical TCP or NTCP measures and convergence of the physical dose distribution. On the other hand, the local minima errors resulted in significantly different TCP or NTCP values (up to a factor of 2) indicating clinical importance of the local minima produced by physical optimization.

New Gear Transmission Error Measurement System Designed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oswald, Fred B.

2001-01-01

The prime source of vibration and noise in a gear system is the transmission error between the meshing gears. Transmission error is caused by manufacturing inaccuracy, mounting errors, and elastic deflections under load. Gear designers often attempt to compensate for transmission error by modifying gear teeth. This is done traditionally by a rough "rule of thumb" or more recently under the guidance of an analytical code. In order for a designer to have confidence in a code, the code must be validated through experiment. NASA Glenn Research Center contracted with the Design Unit of the University of Newcastle in England for a system to measure the transmission error of spur and helical test gears in the NASA Gear Noise Rig. The new system measures transmission error optically by means of light beams directed by lenses and prisms through gratings mounted on the gear shafts. The amount of light that passes through both gratings is directly proportional to the transmission error of the gears. A photodetector circuit converts the light to an analog electrical signal. To increase accuracy and reduce "noise" due to transverse vibration, there are parallel light paths at the top and bottom of the gears. The two signals are subtracted via differential amplifiers in the electronics package. The output of the system is 40 mV/mm, giving a resolution in the time domain of better than 0.1 mm, and discrimination in the frequency domain of better than 0.01 mm. The new system will be used to validate gear analytical codes and to investigate mechanisms that produce vibration and noise in parallel axis gears.

Characterizing Satellite Rainfall Errors based on Land Use and Land Cover and Tracing Error Source in Hydrologic Model Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gebregiorgis, A. S.; Peters-Lidard, C. D.; Tian, Y.; Hossain, F.

2011-12-01

Hydrologic modeling has benefited from operational production of high resolution satellite rainfall products. The global coverage, near-real time availability, spatial and temporal sampling resolutions have advanced the application of physically based semi-distributed and distributed hydrologic models for wide range of environmental decision making processes. Despite these successes, the existence of uncertainties due to indirect way of satellite rainfall estimates and hydrologic models themselves remain a challenge in making meaningful and more evocative predictions. This study comprises breaking down of total satellite rainfall error into three independent components (hit bias, missed precipitation and false alarm), characterizing them as function of land use and land cover (LULC), and tracing back the source of simulated soil moisture and runoff error in physically based distributed hydrologic model. Here, we asked "on what way the three independent total bias components, hit bias, missed, and false precipitation, affect the estimation of soil moisture and runoff in physically based hydrologic models?" To understand the clear picture of the outlined question above, we implemented a systematic approach by characterizing and decomposing the total satellite rainfall error as a function of land use and land cover in Mississippi basin. This will help us to understand the major source of soil moisture and runoff errors in hydrologic model simulation and trace back the information to algorithm development and sensor type which ultimately helps to improve algorithms better and will improve application and data assimilation in future for GPM. For forest and woodland and human land use system, the soil moisture was mainly dictated by the total bias for 3B42-RT, CMORPH, and PERSIANN products. On the other side, runoff error was largely dominated by hit bias than the total bias. This difference occurred due to the presence of missed precipitation which is a major

Medication administration error: magnitude and associated factors among nurses in Ethiopia.

PubMed

Feleke, Senafikish Amsalu; Mulatu, Muluadam Abebe; Yesmaw, Yeshaneh Seyoum

2015-01-01

The significant impact of medication administration errors affect patients in terms of morbidity, mortality, adverse drug events, and increased length of hospital stay. It also increases costs for clinicians and healthcare systems. Due to this, assessing the magnitude and associated factors of medication administration error has a significant contribution for improving the quality of patient care. The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and associated factors of medication administration errors among nurses at the Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital inpatient department. A prospective, observation-based, cross-sectional study was conducted from March 24-April 7, 2014 at the Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital inpatient department. A total of 82 nurses were interviewed using a pre-tested structured questionnaire, and observed while administering 360 medications by using a checklist supplemented with a review of medication charts. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 20 software package and logistic regression was done to identify possible factors associated with medication administration error. The incidence of medication administration error was 199 (56.4 %). The majority (87.5 %) of the medications have documentation error, followed by technique error 263 (73.1 %) and time error 193 (53.6 %). Variables which were significantly associated with medication administration error include nurses between the ages of 18-25 years [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 2.9, 95 % CI (1.65,6.38)], 26-30 years [AOR = 2.3, 95 % CI (1.55, 7.26)] and 31-40 years [AOR = 2.1, 95 % CI (1.07, 4.12)], work experience of less than or equal to 10 years [AOR = 1.7, 95 % CI (1.33, 4.99)], nurse to patient ratio of 7-10 [AOR = 1.6, 95 % CI (1.44, 3.19)] and greater than 10 [AOR = 1.5, 95 % CI (1.38, 3.89)], interruption of the respondent at the time of medication administration [AOR = 1.5, 95 % CI (1.14, 3.21)], night shift of medication administration

Diffraction analysis of sidelobe characteristics of optical elements with ripple error

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Lei; Luo, Yupeng; Bai, Jian; Zhou, Xiangdong; Du, Juan; Liu, Qun; Luo, Yujie

2018-03-01

The ripple errors of the lens lead to optical damage in high energy laser system. The analysis of sidelobe on the focal plane, caused by ripple error, provides a reference to evaluate the error and the imaging quality. In this paper, we analyze the diffraction characteristics of sidelobe of optical elements with ripple errors. First, we analyze the characteristics of ripple error and build relationship between ripple error and sidelobe. The sidelobe results from the diffraction of ripple errors. The ripple error tends to be periodic due to fabrication method on the optical surface. The simulated experiments are carried out based on angular spectrum method by characterizing ripple error as rotationally symmetric periodic structures. The influence of two major parameter of ripple including spatial frequency and peak-to-valley value to sidelobe is discussed. The results indicate that spatial frequency and peak-to-valley value both impact sidelobe at the image plane. The peak-tovalley value is the major factor to affect the energy proportion of the sidelobe. The spatial frequency is the major factor to affect the distribution of the sidelobe at the image plane.

Errors in Viking Lander Atmospheric Profiles Discovered Using MOLA Topography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Withers, Paul; Lorenz, R. D.; Neumann, G. A.

2002-01-01

Each Viking lander measured a topographic profile during entry. Comparing to MOLA (Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter), we find a vertical error of 1-2 km in the Viking trajectory. This introduces a systematic error of 10-20% in the Viking densities and pressures at a given altitude. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Error of semiclassical eigenvalues in the semiclassical limit - an asymptotic analysis of the Sinai billiard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahlqvist, Per

1999-10-01

We estimate the error in the semiclassical trace formula for the Sinai billiard under the assumption that the largest source of error is due to penumbra diffraction: namely, diffraction effects for trajectories passing within a distance Ricons/Journals/Common/cdot" ALT="cdot" ALIGN="TOP"/>O((kR)-2/3) to the disc and trajectories being scattered in very forward directions. Here k is the momentum and R the radius of the scatterer. The semiclassical error is estimated by perturbing the Berry-Keating formula. The analysis necessitates an asymptotic analysis of very long periodic orbits. This is obtained within an approximation originally due to Baladi, Eckmann and Ruelle. We find that the average error, for sufficiently large values of kR, will exceed the mean level spacing.

The causes of and factors associated with prescribing errors in hospital inpatients: a systematic review.

PubMed

Tully, Mary P; Ashcroft, Darren M; Dornan, Tim; Lewis, Penny J; Taylor, David; Wass, Val

2009-01-01

Prescribing errors are common, they result in adverse events and harm to patients and it is unclear how best to prevent them because recommendations are more often based on surmized rather than empirically collected data. The aim of this systematic review was to identify all informative published evidence concerning the causes of and factors associated with prescribing errors in specialist and non-specialist hospitals, collate it, analyse it qualitatively and synthesize conclusions from it. Seven electronic databases were searched for articles published between 1985-July 2008. The reference lists of all informative studies were searched for additional citations. To be included, a study had to be of handwritten prescriptions for adult or child inpatients that reported empirically collected data on the causes of or factors associated with errors. Publications in languages other than English and studies that evaluated errors for only one disease, one route of administration or one type of prescribing error were excluded. Seventeen papers reporting 16 studies, selected from 1268 papers identified by the search, were included in the review. Studies from the US and the UK in university-affiliated hospitals predominated (10/16 [62%]). The definition of a prescribing error varied widely and the included studies were highly heterogeneous. Causes were grouped according to Reason's model of accident causation into active failures, error-provoking conditions and latent conditions. The active failure most frequently cited was a mistake due to inadequate knowledge of the drug or the patient. Skills-based slips and memory lapses were also common. Where error-provoking conditions were reported, there was at least one per error. These included lack of training or experience, fatigue, stress, high workload for the prescriber and inadequate communication between healthcare professionals. Latent conditions included reluctance to question senior colleagues and inadequate provision of

Improved characterisation of measurement errors in electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tso, C. H. M.; Binley, A. M.; Kuras, O.; Graham, J.

2016-12-01

Measurement errors can play a pivotal role in geophysical inversion. Most inverse models require users to prescribe a statistical model of data errors before inversion. Wrongly prescribed error levels can lead to over- or under-fitting of data, yet commonly used models of measurement error are relatively simplistic. With the heightening interests in uncertainty estimation across hydrogeophysics, better characterisation and treatment of measurement errors is needed to provide more reliable estimates of uncertainty. We have analysed two time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) datasets; one contains 96 sets of direct and reciprocal data collected from a surface ERT line within a 24h timeframe, while the other is a year-long cross-borehole survey at a UK nuclear site with over 50,000 daily measurements. Our study included the characterisation of the spatial and temporal behaviour of measurement errors using autocorrelation and covariance analysis. We find that, in addition to well-known proportionality effects, ERT measurements can also be sensitive to the combination of electrodes used. This agrees with reported speculation in previous literature that ERT errors could be somewhat correlated. Based on these findings, we develop a new error model that allows grouping based on electrode number in additional to fitting a linear model to transfer resistance. The new model fits the observed measurement errors better and shows superior inversion and uncertainty estimates in synthetic examples. It is robust, because it groups errors together based on the number of the four electrodes used to make each measurement. The new model can be readily applied to the diagonal data weighting matrix commonly used in classical inversion methods, as well as to the data covariance matrix in the Bayesian inversion framework. We demonstrate its application using extensive ERT monitoring datasets from the two aforementioned sites.

Multi-bits error detection and fast recovery in RISC cores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jing, Wang; Xing, Yang; Yuanfu, Zhao; Weigong, Zhang; Jiao, Shen; Keni, Qiu

2015-11-01

The particles-induced soft errors are a major threat to the reliability of microprocessors. Even worse, multi-bits upsets (MBUs) are ever-increased due to the rapidly shrinking feature size of the IC on a chip. Several architecture-level mechanisms have been proposed to protect microprocessors from soft errors, such as dual and triple modular redundancies (DMR and TMR). However, most of them are inefficient to combat the growing multi-bits errors or cannot well balance the critical paths delay, area and power penalty. This paper proposes a novel architecture, self-recovery dual-pipeline (SRDP), to effectively provide soft error detection and recovery with low cost for general RISC structures. We focus on the following three aspects. First, an advanced DMR pipeline is devised to detect soft error, especially MBU. Second, SEU/MBU errors can be located by enhancing self-checking logic into pipelines stage registers. Third, a recovery scheme is proposed with a recovery cost of 1 or 5 clock cycles. Our evaluation of a prototype implementation exhibits that the SRDP can successfully detect particle-induced soft errors up to 100% and recovery is nearly 95%, the other 5% will inter a specific trap.

Measurement-based analysis of error latency. [in computer operating system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chillarege, Ram; Iyer, Ravishankar K.

1987-01-01

This paper demonstrates a practical methodology for the study of error latency under a real workload. The method is illustrated with sampled data on the physical memory activity, gathered by hardware instrumentation on a VAX 11/780 during the normal workload cycle of the installation. These data are used to simulate fault occurrence and to reconstruct the error discovery process in the system. The technique provides a means to study the system under different workloads and for multiple days. An approach to determine the percentage of undiscovered errors is also developed and a verification of the entire methodology is performed. This study finds that the mean error latency, in the memory containing the operating system, varies by a factor of 10 to 1 (in hours) between the low and high workloads. It is found that of all errors occurring within a day, 70 percent are detected in the same day, 82 percent within the following day, and 91 percent within the third day. The increase in failure rate due to latency is not so much a function of remaining errors but is dependent on whether or not there is a latent error.

Quantum error-correction failure distributions: Comparison of coherent and stochastic error models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnes, Jeff P.; Trout, Colin J.; Lucarelli, Dennis; Clader, B. D.

2017-06-01

We compare failure distributions of quantum error correction circuits for stochastic errors and coherent errors. We utilize a fully coherent simulation of a fault-tolerant quantum error correcting circuit for a d =3 Steane and surface code. We find that the output distributions are markedly different for the two error models, showing that no simple mapping between the two error models exists. Coherent errors create very broad and heavy-tailed failure distributions. This suggests that they are susceptible to outlier events and that mean statistics, such as pseudothreshold estimates, may not provide the key figure of merit. This provides further statistical insight into why coherent errors can be so harmful for quantum error correction. These output probability distributions may also provide a useful metric that can be utilized when optimizing quantum error correcting codes and decoding procedures for purely coherent errors.

Human error in hospitals and industrial accidents: current concepts.

PubMed

Spencer, F C

2000-10-01

Most data concerning errors and accidents are from industrial accidents and airline injuries. General Electric, Alcoa, and Motorola, among others, all have reported complex programs that resulted in a marked reduction in frequency of worker injuries. In the field of medicine, however, with the outstanding exception of anesthesiology, there is a paucity of information, most reports referring to the 1984 Harvard-New York State Study, more than 16 years ago. This scarcity of information indicates the complexity of the problem. It seems very unlikely that simple exhortation or additional regulations will help because the problem lies principally in the multiple human-machine interfaces that constitute modern medical care. The absence of success stories also indicates that the best methods have to be learned by experience. A liaison with industry should be helpful, although the varieties of human illness are far different from a standardized manufacturing process. Concurrent with the studies of industrial and nuclear accidents, cognitive psychologists have intensively studied how the brain stores and retrieves information. Several concepts have emerged. First, errors are not character defects to be treated by the classic approach of discipline and education, but are byproducts of normal thinking that occur frequently. Second, major accidents are rarely causedby a single error; instead, they are often a combination of chronic system errors, termed latent errors. Identifying and correcting these latent errors should be the principal focus for corrective planning rather than searching for an individual culprit. This nonpunitive concept of errors is a key basis for an effective reporting system, brilliantly demonstrated in aviation with the ASRS system developed more than 25 years ago. The ASRS currently receives more than 30,000 reports annually and is credited with the remarkable increase in safety of airplane travel. Adverse drug events constitute about 25% of hospital

National Aeronautics and Space Administration "threat and error" model applied to pediatric cardiac surgery: error cycles precede ∼85% of patient deaths.

PubMed

Hickey, Edward J; Nosikova, Yaroslavna; Pham-Hung, Eric; Gritti, Michael; Schwartz, Steven; Caldarone, Christopher A; Redington, Andrew; Van Arsdell, Glen S

2015-02-01

We hypothesized that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration "threat and error" model (which is derived from analyzing >30,000 commercial flights, and explains >90% of crashes) is directly applicable to pediatric cardiac surgery. We implemented a unit-wide performance initiative, whereby every surgical admission constitutes a "flight" and is tracked in real time, with the aim of identifying errors. The first 500 consecutive patients (524 flights) were analyzed, with an emphasis on the relationship between error cycles and permanent harmful outcomes. Among 524 patient flights (risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery category: 1-6; median: 2) 68 (13%) involved residual hemodynamic lesions, 13 (2.5%) permanent end-organ injuries, and 7 deaths (1.3%). Preoperatively, 763 threats were identified in 379 (72%) flights. Only 51% of patient flights (267) were error free. In the remaining 257 flights, 430 errors occurred, most commonly related to proficiency (280; 65%) or judgment (69, 16%). In most flights with errors (173 of 257; 67%), an unintended clinical state resulted, ie, the error was consequential. In 60% of consequential errors (n = 110; 21% of total), subsequent cycles of additional error/unintended states occurred. Cycles, particularly those containing multiple errors, were very significantly associated with permanent harmful end-states, including residual hemodynamic lesions (P < .0001), end-organ injury (P < .0001), and death (P < .0001). Deaths were almost always preceded by cycles (6 of 7; P < .0001). Human error, if not mitigated, often leads to cycles of error and unintended patient states, which are dangerous and precede the majority of harmful outcomes. Efforts to manage threats and error cycles (through crew resource management techniques) are likely to yield large increases in patient safety. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Concurrent remote entanglement with quantum error correction against photon losses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Ananda; Stone, A. Douglas; Jiang, Liang

2016-09-01

Remote entanglement of distant, noninteracting quantum entities is a key primitive for quantum information processing. We present a protocol to remotely entangle two stationary qubits by first entangling them with propagating ancilla qubits and then performing a joint two-qubit measurement on the ancillas. Subsequently, single-qubit measurements are performed on each of the ancillas. We describe two continuous variable implementations of the protocol using propagating microwave modes. The first implementation uses propagating Schr o ̈ dinger cat states as the flying ancilla qubits, a joint-photon-number-modulo-2 measurement of the propagating modes for the two-qubit measurement, and homodyne detections as the final single-qubit measurements. The presence of inefficiencies in realistic quantum systems limit the success rate of generating high fidelity Bell states. This motivates us to propose a second continuous variable implementation, where we use quantum error correction to suppress the decoherence due to photon loss to first order. To that end, we encode the ancilla qubits in superpositions of Schrödinger cat states of a given photon-number parity, use a joint-photon-number-modulo-4 measurement as the two-qubit measurement, and homodyne detections as the final single-qubit measurements. We demonstrate the resilience of our quantum-error-correcting remote entanglement scheme to imperfections. Further, we describe a modification of our error-correcting scheme by incorporating additional individual photon-number-modulo-2 measurements of the ancilla modes to improve the success rate of generating high-fidelity Bell states. Our protocols can be straightforwardly implemented in state-of-the-art superconducting circuit-QED systems.

Error coding simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noble, Viveca K.

1993-01-01

There are various elements such as radio frequency interference (RFI) which may induce errors in data being transmitted via a satellite communication link. When a transmission is affected by interference or other error-causing elements, the transmitted data becomes indecipherable. It becomes necessary to implement techniques to recover from these disturbances. The objective of this research is to develop software which simulates error control circuits and evaluate the performance of these modules in various bit error rate environments. The results of the evaluation provide the engineer with information which helps determine the optimal error control scheme. The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) recommends the use of Reed-Solomon (RS) and convolutional encoders and Viterbi and RS decoders for error correction. The use of forward error correction techniques greatly reduces the received signal to noise needed for a certain desired bit error rate. The use of concatenated coding, e.g. inner convolutional code and outer RS code, provides even greater coding gain. The 16-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code is recommended by CCSDS for error detection.

[Diagnostic Errors in Medicine].

PubMed

Buser, Claudia; Bankova, Andriyana

2015-12-09

The recognition of diagnostic errors in everyday practice can help improve patient safety. The most common diagnostic errors are the cognitive errors, followed by system-related errors and no fault errors. The cognitive errors often result from mental shortcuts, known as heuristics. The rate of cognitive errors can be reduced by a better understanding of heuristics and the use of checklists. The autopsy as a retrospective quality assessment of clinical diagnosis has a crucial role in learning from diagnostic errors. Diagnostic errors occur more often in primary care in comparison to hospital settings. On the other hand, the inpatient errors are more severe than the outpatient errors.

Neuromotor Noise Is Malleable by Amplifying Perceived Errors

PubMed Central

Zhang, Zhaoran; Abe, Masaki O.; Sternad, Dagmar

2016-01-01

Variability in motor performance results from the interplay of error correction and neuromotor noise. This study examined whether visual amplification of error, previously shown to improve performance, affects not only error correction, but also neuromotor noise, typically regarded as inaccessible to intervention. Seven groups of healthy individuals, with six participants in each group, practiced a virtual throwing task for three days until reaching a performance plateau. Over three more days of practice, six of the groups received different magnitudes of visual error amplification; three of these groups also had noise added. An additional control group was not subjected to any manipulations for all six practice days. The results showed that the control group did not improve further after the first three practice days, but the error amplification groups continued to decrease their error under the manipulations. Analysis of the temporal structure of participants’ corrective actions based on stochastic learning models revealed that these performance gains were attained by reducing neuromotor noise and, to a considerably lesser degree, by increasing the size of corrective actions. Based on these results, error amplification presents a promising intervention to improve motor function by decreasing neuromotor noise after performance has reached an asymptote. These results are relevant for patients with neurological disorders and the elderly. More fundamentally, these results suggest that neuromotor noise may be accessible to practice interventions. PMID:27490197

The Error in Total Error Reduction

PubMed Central

Witnauer, James E.; Urcelay, Gonzalo P.; Miller, Ralph R.

2013-01-01

Most models of human and animal learning assume that learning is proportional to the discrepancy between a delivered outcome and the outcome predicted by all cues present during that trial (i.e., total error across a stimulus compound). This total error reduction (TER) view has been implemented in connectionist and artificial neural network models to describe the conditions under which weights between units change. Electrophysiological work has revealed that the activity of dopamine neurons is correlated with the total error signal in models of reward learning. Similar neural mechanisms presumably support fear conditioning, human contingency learning, and other types of learning. Using a computational modelling approach, we compared several TER models of associative learning to an alternative model that rejects the TER assumption in favor of local error reduction (LER), which assumes that learning about each cue is proportional to the discrepancy between the delivered outcome and the outcome predicted by that specific cue on that trial. The LER model provided a better fit to the reviewed data than the TER models. Given the superiority of the LER model with the present data sets, acceptance of TER should be tempered. PMID:23891930

The error in total error reduction.

PubMed

Witnauer, James E; Urcelay, Gonzalo P; Miller, Ralph R

2014-02-01

Most models of human and animal learning assume that learning is proportional to the discrepancy between a delivered outcome and the outcome predicted by all cues present during that trial (i.e., total error across a stimulus compound). This total error reduction (TER) view has been implemented in connectionist and artificial neural network models to describe the conditions under which weights between units change. Electrophysiological work has revealed that the activity of dopamine neurons is correlated with the total error signal in models of reward learning. Similar neural mechanisms presumably support fear conditioning, human contingency learning, and other types of learning. Using a computational modeling approach, we compared several TER models of associative learning to an alternative model that rejects the TER assumption in favor of local error reduction (LER), which assumes that learning about each cue is proportional to the discrepancy between the delivered outcome and the outcome predicted by that specific cue on that trial. The LER model provided a better fit to the reviewed data than the TER models. Given the superiority of the LER model with the present data sets, acceptance of TER should be tempered. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning a locomotor task: with or without errors?

PubMed

Marchal-Crespo, Laura; Schneider, Jasmin; Jaeger, Lukas; Riener, Robert

2014-03-04

Robotic haptic guidance is the most commonly used robotic training strategy to reduce performance errors while training. However, research on motor learning has emphasized that errors are a fundamental neural signal that drive motor adaptation. Thus, researchers have proposed robotic therapy algorithms that amplify movement errors rather than decrease them. However, to date, no study has analyzed with precision which training strategy is the most appropriate to learn an especially simple task. In this study, the impact of robotic training strategies that amplify or reduce errors on muscle activation and motor learning of a simple locomotor task was investigated in twenty two healthy subjects. The experiment was conducted with the MAgnetic Resonance COmpatible Stepper (MARCOS) a special robotic device developed for investigations in the MR scanner. The robot moved the dominant leg passively and the subject was requested to actively synchronize the non-dominant leg to achieve an alternating stepping-like movement. Learning with four different training strategies that reduce or amplify errors was evaluated: (i) Haptic guidance: errors were eliminated by passively moving the limbs, (ii) No guidance: no robot disturbances were presented, (iii) Error amplification: existing errors were amplified with repulsive forces, (iv) Noise disturbance: errors were evoked intentionally with a randomly-varying force disturbance on top of the no guidance strategy. Additionally, the activation of four lower limb muscles was measured by the means of surface electromyography (EMG). Strategies that reduce or do not amplify errors limit muscle activation during training and result in poor learning gains. Adding random disturbing forces during training seems to increase attention, and therefore improve motor learning. Error amplification seems to be the most suitable strategy for initially less skilled subjects, perhaps because subjects could better detect their errors and correct them

Neural evidence for enhanced error detection in major depressive disorder.

PubMed

Chiu, Pearl H; Deldin, Patricia J

2007-04-01

Anomalies in error processing have been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of major depressive disorder. In particular, depressed individuals exhibit heightened sensitivity to error-related information and negative environmental cues, along with reduced responsivity to positive reinforcers. The authors examined the neural activation associated with error processing in individuals diagnosed with and without major depression and the sensitivity of these processes to modulation by monetary task contingencies. The error-related negativity and error-related positivity components of the event-related potential were used to characterize error monitoring in individuals with major depressive disorder and the degree to which these processes are sensitive to modulation by monetary reinforcement. Nondepressed comparison subjects (N=17) and depressed individuals (N=18) performed a flanker task under two external motivation conditions (i.e., monetary reward for correct responses and monetary loss for incorrect responses) and a nonmonetary condition. After each response, accuracy feedback was provided. The error-related negativity component assessed the degree of anomaly in initial error detection, and the error positivity component indexed recognition of errors. Across all conditions, the depressed participants exhibited greater amplitude of the error-related negativity component, relative to the comparison subjects, and equivalent error positivity amplitude. In addition, the two groups showed differential modulation by task incentives in both components. These data implicate exaggerated early error-detection processes in the etiology and maintenance of major depressive disorder. Such processes may then recruit excessive neural and cognitive resources that manifest as symptoms of depression.

Errors in fluid therapy in medical wards.

PubMed

Mousavi, Maryam; Khalili, Hossein; Dashti-Khavidaki, Simin

2012-04-01

Intravenous fluid therapy remains an essential part of patients' care during hospitalization. There are only few studies that focused on fluid therapy in the hospitalized patients, and there is not any consensus statement about fluid therapy in patients who are hospitalized in medical wards. The aim of the present study was to assess intravenous fluid therapy status and related errors in the patients during the course of hospitalization in the infectious diseases wards of a referral teaching hospital. This study was conducted in the infectious diseases wards of Imam Khomeini Complex Hospital, Tehran, Iran. During a retrospective study, data related to intravenous fluid therapy were collected by two clinical pharmacists of infectious diseases from 2008 to 2010. Intravenous fluid therapy information including indication, type, volume and rate of fluid administration was recorded for each patient. An internal protocol for intravenous fluid therapy was designed based on literature review and available recommendations. The data related to patients' fluid therapy were compared with this protocol. The fluid therapy was considered appropriate if it was compatible with the protocol regarding indication of intravenous fluid therapy, type, electrolyte content and rate of fluid administration. Any mistake in the selection of fluid type, content, volume and rate of administration was considered as intravenous fluid therapy errors. Five hundred and ninety-six of medication errors were detected during the study period in the patients. Overall rate of fluid therapy errors was 1.3 numbers per patient during hospitalization. Errors in the rate of fluid administration (29.8%), incorrect fluid volume calculation (26.5%) and incorrect type of fluid selection (24.6%) were the most common types of errors. The patients' male sex, old age, baseline renal diseases, diabetes co-morbidity, and hospitalization due to endocarditis, HIV infection and sepsis are predisposing factors for the

Economic measurement of medical errors using a hospital claims database.

PubMed

David, Guy; Gunnarsson, Candace L; Waters, Heidi C; Horblyuk, Ruslan; Kaplan, Harold S

2013-01-01

The primary objective of this study was to estimate the occurrence and costs of medical errors from the hospital perspective. Methods from a recent actuarial study of medical errors were used to identify medical injuries. A visit qualified as an injury visit if at least 1 of 97 injury groupings occurred at that visit, and the percentage of injuries caused by medical error was estimated. Visits with more than four injuries were removed from the population to avoid overestimation of cost. Population estimates were extrapolated from the Premier hospital database to all US acute care hospitals. There were an estimated 161,655 medical errors in 2008 and 170,201 medical errors in 2009. Extrapolated to the entire US population, there were more than 4 million unique injury visits containing more than 1 million unique medical errors each year. This analysis estimated that the total annual cost of measurable medical errors in the United States was $985 million in 2008 and just over $1 billion in 2009. The median cost per error to hospitals was $892 for 2008 and rose to $939 in 2009. Nearly one third of all medical injuries were due to error in each year. Medical errors directly impact patient outcomes and hospitals' profitability, especially since 2008 when Medicare stopped reimbursing hospitals for care related to certain preventable medical errors. Hospitals must rigorously analyze causes of medical errors and implement comprehensive preventative programs to reduce their occurrence as the financial burden of medical errors shifts to hospitals. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Error analysis and system optimization of non-null aspheric testing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Yongjie; Yang, Yongying; Liu, Dong; Tian, Chao; Zhuo, Yongmo

2010-10-01

A non-null aspheric testing system, which employs partial null lens (PNL for short) and reverse iterative optimization reconstruction (ROR for short) technique, is proposed in this paper. Based on system modeling in ray tracing software, the parameter of each optical element is optimized and this makes system modeling more precise. Systematic error of non-null aspheric testing system is analyzed and can be categorized into two types, the error due to surface parameters of PNL in the system modeling and the rest from non-null interferometer by the approach of error storage subtraction. Experimental results show that, after systematic error is removed from testing result of non-null aspheric testing system, the aspheric surface is precisely reconstructed by ROR technique and the consideration of systematic error greatly increase the test accuracy of non-null aspheric testing system.

PREVALENCE OF REFRACTIVE ERRORS IN MADRASSA STUDENTS OF HARIPUR DISTRICT.

PubMed

Atta, Zoia; Arif, Abdus Salam; Ahmed, Iftikhar; Farooq, Umer

2015-01-01

Visual impairment due to refractive errors is one of the most common problems among school-age children and is the second leading cause of treatable blindness. The Right to Sight, a global initiative launched by a coalition of non-government organizations and the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to eliminate avoidable visual impairment and blindness at a global level. In order to achieve this goal it is important to know the prevalence of different refractive errors in a community. Children and teenagers are the most susceptible groups to be affected by refractive errors. So, this population needs to be screened for different types of refractive errors. The study was done with the objective to find the frequency of different types of refractive errors in students of madrassas between the ages of 5-20 years in Haripur. This cross sectional study was done with 300 students between ages of 5-20 years in Madrassas of Haripur. The students were screened for refractive errors and the types of the errors were noted. After screening for refractive errors-the glasses were prescribed to the students. Myopia being 52.6% was the most frequent refractive error in students, followed by hyperopia 28.4% and astigmatism 19%. This study showed that myopia is an important problem in madrassa population. Females and males are almost equally affected. Spectacle correction of refractive errors is the cheapest and easy solution of this problem.

Hedonic price models with omitted variables and measurement errors: a constrained autoregression-structural equation modeling approach with application to urban Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suparman, Yusep; Folmer, Henk; Oud, Johan H. L.

2014-01-01

Omitted variables and measurement errors in explanatory variables frequently occur in hedonic price models. Ignoring these problems leads to biased estimators. In this paper, we develop a constrained autoregression-structural equation model (ASEM) to handle both types of problems. Standard panel data models to handle omitted variables bias are based on the assumption that the omitted variables are time-invariant. ASEM allows handling of both time-varying and time-invariant omitted variables by constrained autoregression. In the case of measurement error, standard approaches require additional external information which is usually difficult to obtain. ASEM exploits the fact that panel data are repeatedly measured which allows decomposing the variance of a variable into the true variance and the variance due to measurement error. We apply ASEM to estimate a hedonic housing model for urban Indonesia. To get insight into the consequences of measurement error and omitted variables, we compare the ASEM estimates with the outcomes of (1) a standard SEM, which does not account for omitted variables, (2) a constrained autoregression model, which does not account for measurement error, and (3) a fixed effects hedonic model, which ignores measurement error and time-varying omitted variables. The differences between the ASEM estimates and the outcomes of the three alternative approaches are substantial.

Addressee Errors in ATC Communications: The Call Sign Problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monan, W. P.

1983-01-01

Communication errors involving aircraft call signs were portrayed in reports of 462 hazardous incidents voluntarily submitted to the ASRS during an approximate four-year period. These errors resulted in confusion, disorder, and uncoordinated traffic conditions and produced the following types of operational anomalies: altitude deviations, wrong-way headings, aborted takeoffs, go arounds, runway incursions, missed crossing altitude restrictions, descents toward high terrain, and traffic conflicts in flight and on the ground. Analysis of the report set resulted in identification of five categories of errors involving call signs: (1) faulty radio usage techniques, (2) call sign loss or smearing due to frequency congestion, (3) confusion resulting from similar sounding call signs, (4) airmen misses of call signs leading to failures to acknowledge or readback, and (5) controller failures regarding confirmation of acknowledgements or readbacks. These error categories are described in detail and several associated hazard mitigating measures that might be aken are considered.

Correcting systematic errors in high-sensitivity deuteron polarization measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brantjes, N. P. M.; Dzordzhadze, V.; Gebel, R.; Gonnella, F.; Gray, F. E.; van der Hoek, D. J.; Imig, A.; Kruithof, W. L.; Lazarus, D. M.; Lehrach, A.; Lorentz, B.; Messi, R.; Moricciani, D.; Morse, W. M.; Noid, G. A.; Onderwater, C. J. G.; Özben, C. S.; Prasuhn, D.; Levi Sandri, P.; Semertzidis, Y. K.; da Silva e Silva, M.; Stephenson, E. J.; Stockhorst, H.; Venanzoni, G.; Versolato, O. O.

2012-02-01

This paper reports deuteron vector and tensor beam polarization measurements taken to investigate the systematic variations due to geometric beam misalignments and high data rates. The experiments used the In-Beam Polarimeter at the KVI-Groningen and the EDDA detector at the Cooler Synchrotron COSY at Jülich. By measuring with very high statistical precision, the contributions that are second-order in the systematic errors become apparent. By calibrating the sensitivity of the polarimeter to such errors, it becomes possible to obtain information from the raw count rate values on the size of the errors and to use this information to correct the polarization measurements. During the experiment, it was possible to demonstrate that corrections were satisfactory at the level of 10 -5 for deliberately large errors. This may facilitate the real time observation of vector polarization changes smaller than 10 -6 in a search for an electric dipole moment using a storage ring.

Medical errors; causes, consequences, emotional response and resulting behavioral change

PubMed Central

Bari, Attia; Khan, Rehan Ahmed; Rathore, Ahsan Waheed

2016-01-01

Objective: To determine the causes of medical errors, the emotional and behavioral response of pediatric medicine residents to their medical errors and to determine their behavior change affecting their future training. Methods: One hundred thirty postgraduate residents were included in the study. Residents were asked to complete questionnaire about their errors and responses to their errors in three domains: emotional response, learning behavior and disclosure of the error. The names of the participants were kept confidential. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: A total of 130 residents were included. Majority 128(98.5%) of these described some form of error. Serious errors that occurred were 24(19%), 63(48%) minor, 24(19%) near misses,2(2%) never encountered an error and 17(12%) did not mention type of error but mentioned causes and consequences. Only 73(57%) residents disclosed medical errors to their senior physician but disclosure to patient’s family was negligible 15(11%). Fatigue due to long duty hours 85(65%), inadequate experience 66(52%), inadequate supervision 58(48%) and complex case 58(45%) were common causes of medical errors. Negative emotions were common and were significantly associated with lack of knowledge (p=0.001), missing warning signs (p=<0.001), not seeking advice (p=0.003) and procedural complications (p=0.001). Medical errors had significant impact on resident’s behavior; 119(93%) residents became more careful, increased advice seeking from seniors 109(86%) and 109(86%) started paying more attention to details. Intrinsic causes of errors were significantly associated with increased information seeking behavior and vigilance (p=0.003) and (p=0.01) respectively. Conclusion: Medical errors committed by residents have inadequate disclosure to senior physicians and result in negative emotions but there was positive change in their behavior, which resulted in improvement in their future training and patient care. PMID:27375682

Errors due to the truncation of the computational domain in static three-dimensional electrical impedance tomography.

PubMed

Vauhkonen, P J; Vauhkonen, M; Kaipio, J P

2000-02-01

In electrical impedance tomography (EIT), an approximation for the internal resistivity distribution is computed based on the knowledge of the injected currents and measured voltages on the surface of the body. The currents spread out in three dimensions and therefore off-plane structures have a significant effect on the reconstructed images. A question arises: how far from the current carrying electrodes should the discretized model of the object be extended? If the model is truncated too near the electrodes, errors are produced in the reconstructed images. On the other hand if the model is extended very far from the electrodes the computational time may become too long in practice. In this paper the model truncation problem is studied with the extended finite element method. Forward solutions obtained using so-called infinite elements, long finite elements and separable long finite elements are compared to the correct solution. The effects of the truncation of the computational domain on the reconstructed images are also discussed and results from the three-dimensional (3D) sensitivity analysis are given. We show that if the finite element method with ordinary elements is used in static 3D EIT, the dimension of the problem can become fairly large if the errors associated with the domain truncation are to be avoided.

Error sources affecting thermocouple thermometry in RF electromagnetic fields.

PubMed

Chakraborty, D P; Brezovich, I A

1982-03-01

Thermocouple thermometry errors in radiofrequency (typically 13, 56 MHZ) electromagnetic fields such as are encountered in hyperthermia are described. RF currents capacitatively or inductively coupled into the thermocouple-detector circuit produce errors which are a combination of interference, i.e., 'pick-up' error, and genuine rf induced temperature changes at the junction of the thermocouple. The former can be eliminated by adequate filtering and shielding; the latter is due to (a) junction current heating in which the generally unequal resistances of the thermocouple wires cause a net current flow from the higher to the lower resistance wire across the junction, (b) heating in the surrounding resistive material (tissue in hyperthermia), and (c) eddy current heating of the thermocouple wires in the oscillating magnetic field. Low frequency theories are used to estimate these errors under given operating conditions and relevant experiments demonstrating these effects and precautions necessary to minimize the errors are described. It is shown that at 13.56 MHz and voltage levels below 100 V rms these errors do not exceed 0.1 degrees C if the precautions are observed and thermocouples with adequate insulation (e.g., Bailey IT-18) are used. Results of this study are being currently used in our clinical work with good success.

Analysis of Medication Error Reports

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

Whitney, Paul D.; Young, Jonathan; Santell, John

In medicine, as in many areas of research, technological innovation and the shift from paper based information to electronic records has created a climate of ever increasing availability of raw data. There has been, however, a corresponding lag in our abilities to analyze this overwhelming mass of data, and classic forms of statistical analysis may not allow researchers to interact with data in the most productive way. This is true in the emerging area of patient safety improvement. Traditionally, a majority of the analysis of error and incident reports has been carried out based on an approach of data comparison,more » and starts with a specific question which needs to be answered. Newer data analysis tools have been developed which allow the researcher to not only ask specific questions but also to “mine” data: approach an area of interest without preconceived questions, and explore the information dynamically, allowing questions to be formulated based on patterns brought up by the data itself. Since 1991, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) has been collecting data on medication errors through voluntary reporting programs. USP’s MEDMARXsm reporting program is the largest national medication error database and currently contains well over 600,000 records. Traditionally, USP has conducted an annual quantitative analysis of data derived from “pick-lists” (i.e., items selected from a list of items) without an in-depth analysis of free-text fields. In this paper, the application of text analysis and data analysis tools used by Battelle to analyze the medication error reports already analyzed in the traditional way by USP is described. New insights and findings were revealed including the value of language normalization and the distribution of error incidents by day of the week. The motivation for this effort is to gain additional insight into the nature of medication errors to support improvements in medication safety.« less

Computing and analyzing the sensitivity of MLP due to the errors of the i.i.d. inputs and weights based on CLT.

PubMed

Yang, Sheng-Sung; Ho, Chia-Lu; Siu, Sammy

2010-12-01

In this paper, we propose an algorithm based on the central limit theorem to compute the sensitivity of the multilayer perceptron (MLP) due to the errors of the inputs and weights. For simplicity and practicality, all inputs and weights studied here are independently identically distributed (i.i.d.). The theoretical results derived from the proposed algorithm show that the sensitivity of the MLP is affected by the number of layers and the number of neurons adopted in each layer. To prove the reliability of the proposed algorithm, some experimental results of the sensitivity are also presented, and they match the theoretical ones. The good agreement between the theoretical results and the experimental results verifies the reliability and feasibility of the proposed algorithm. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm can also be applied to compute precisely the sensitivity of the MLP with any available activation functions and any types of i.i.d. inputs and weights.

Accounting for Errors in Low Coverage High-Throughput Sequencing Data When Constructing Genetic Maps Using Biparental Outcrossed Populations

PubMed Central

Bilton, Timothy P.; Schofield, Matthew R.; Black, Michael A.; Chagné, David; Wilcox, Phillip L.; Dodds, Ken G.

2018-01-01

Next-generation sequencing is an efficient method that allows for substantially more markers than previous technologies, providing opportunities for building high-density genetic linkage maps, which facilitate the development of nonmodel species’ genomic assemblies and the investigation of their genes. However, constructing genetic maps using data generated via high-throughput sequencing technology (e.g., genotyping-by-sequencing) is complicated by the presence of sequencing errors and genotyping errors resulting from missing parental alleles due to low sequencing depth. If unaccounted for, these errors lead to inflated genetic maps. In addition, map construction in many species is performed using full-sibling family populations derived from the outcrossing of two individuals, where unknown parental phase and varying segregation types further complicate construction. We present a new methodology for modeling low coverage sequencing data in the construction of genetic linkage maps using full-sibling populations of diploid species, implemented in a package called GUSMap. Our model is based on the Lander–Green hidden Markov model but extended to account for errors present in sequencing data. We were able to obtain accurate estimates of the recombination fractions and overall map distance using GUSMap, while most existing mapping packages produced inflated genetic maps in the presence of errors. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using low coverage sequencing data to produce genetic maps without requiring extensive filtering of potentially erroneous genotypes, provided that the associated errors are correctly accounted for in the model. PMID:29487138

Accounting for Errors in Low Coverage High-Throughput Sequencing Data When Constructing Genetic Maps Using Biparental Outcrossed Populations.

PubMed

Bilton, Timothy P; Schofield, Matthew R; Black, Michael A; Chagné, David; Wilcox, Phillip L; Dodds, Ken G

2018-05-01

Next-generation sequencing is an efficient method that allows for substantially more markers than previous technologies, providing opportunities for building high-density genetic linkage maps, which facilitate the development of nonmodel species' genomic assemblies and the investigation of their genes. However, constructing genetic maps using data generated via high-throughput sequencing technology ( e.g. , genotyping-by-sequencing) is complicated by the presence of sequencing errors and genotyping errors resulting from missing parental alleles due to low sequencing depth. If unaccounted for, these errors lead to inflated genetic maps. In addition, map construction in many species is performed using full-sibling family populations derived from the outcrossing of two individuals, where unknown parental phase and varying segregation types further complicate construction. We present a new methodology for modeling low coverage sequencing data in the construction of genetic linkage maps using full-sibling populations of diploid species, implemented in a package called GUSMap. Our model is based on the Lander-Green hidden Markov model but extended to account for errors present in sequencing data. We were able to obtain accurate estimates of the recombination fractions and overall map distance using GUSMap, while most existing mapping packages produced inflated genetic maps in the presence of errors. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using low coverage sequencing data to produce genetic maps without requiring extensive filtering of potentially erroneous genotypes, provided that the associated errors are correctly accounted for in the model. Copyright © 2018 Bilton et al.

The interaction of the flux errors and transport errors in modeled atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, S.; Lauvaux, T.; Butler, M. P.; Keller, K.; Davis, K. J.; Jacobson, A. R.; Schuh, A. E.; Basu, S.; Liu, J.; Baker, D.; Crowell, S.; Zhou, Y.; Williams, C. A.

2017-12-01

Regional estimates of biogenic carbon fluxes over North America from top-down atmospheric inversions and terrestrial biogeochemical (or bottom-up) models remain inconsistent at annual and sub-annual time scales. While top-down estimates are impacted by limited atmospheric data, uncertain prior flux estimates and errors in the atmospheric transport models, bottom-up fluxes are affected by uncertain driver data, uncertain model parameters and missing mechanisms across ecosystems. This study quantifies both flux errors and transport errors, and their interaction in the CO2 atmospheric simulation. These errors are assessed by an ensemble approach. The WRF-Chem model is set up with 17 biospheric fluxes from the Multiscale Synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project, CarbonTracker-Near Real Time, and the Simple Biosphere model. The spread of the flux ensemble members represents the flux uncertainty in the modeled CO2 concentrations. For the transport errors, WRF-Chem is run using three physical model configurations with three stochastic perturbations to sample the errors from both the physical parameterizations of the model and the initial conditions. Additionally, the uncertainties from boundary conditions are assessed using four CO2 global inversion models which have assimilated tower and satellite CO2 observations. The error structures are assessed in time and space. The flux ensemble members overall overestimate CO2 concentrations. They also show larger temporal variability than the observations. These results suggest that the flux ensemble is overdispersive. In contrast, the transport ensemble is underdispersive. The averaged spatial distribution of modeled CO2 shows strong positive biogenic signal in the southern US and strong negative signals along the eastern coast of Canada. We hypothesize that the former is caused by the 3-hourly downscaling algorithm from which the nighttime respiration dominates the daytime modeled CO2 signals and that the latter

New dimension analyses with error analysis for quaking aspen and black spruce

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woods, K. D.; Botkin, D. B.; Feiveson, A. H.

1987-01-01

Dimension analysis for black spruce in wetland stands and trembling aspen are reported, including new approaches in error analysis. Biomass estimates for sacrificed trees have standard errors of 1 to 3%; standard errors for leaf areas are 10 to 20%. Bole biomass estimation accounts for most of the error for biomass, while estimation of branch characteristics and area/weight ratios accounts for the leaf area error. Error analysis provides insight for cost effective design of future analyses. Predictive equations for biomass and leaf area, with empirically derived estimators of prediction error, are given. Systematic prediction errors for small aspen trees and for leaf area of spruce from different site-types suggest a need for different predictive models within species. Predictive equations are compared with published equations; significant differences may be due to species responses to regional or site differences. Proportional contributions of component biomass in aspen change in ways related to tree size and stand development. Spruce maintains comparatively constant proportions with size, but shows changes corresponding to site. This suggests greater morphological plasticity of aspen and significance for spruce of nutrient conditions.

Error suppression and correction for quantum annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lidar, Daniel

While adiabatic quantum computing and quantum annealing enjoy a certain degree of inherent robustness against excitations and control errors, there is no escaping the need for error correction or suppression. In this talk I will give an overview of our work on the development of such error correction and suppression methods. We have experimentally tested one such method combining encoding, energy penalties and decoding, on a D-Wave Two processor, with encouraging results. Mean field theory shows that this can be explained in terms of a softening of the closing of the gap due to the energy penalty, resulting in protection against excitations that occur near the quantum critical point. Decoding recovers population from excited states and enhances the success probability of quantum annealing. Moreover, we have demonstrated that using repetition codes with increasing code distance can lower the effective temperature of the annealer. References: K.L. Pudenz, T. Albash, D.A. Lidar, ``Error corrected quantum annealing with hundreds of qubits'', Nature Commun. 5, 3243 (2014). K.L. Pudenz, T. Albash, D.A. Lidar, ``Quantum annealing correction for random Ising problems'', Phys. Rev. A. 91, 042302 (2015). S. Matsuura, H. Nishimori, T. Albash, D.A. Lidar, ``Mean Field Analysis of Quantum Annealing Correction''. arXiv:1510.07709. W. Vinci et al., in preparation.

Correcting false memories: Errors must be noticed and replaced.

PubMed

Mullet, Hillary G; Marsh, Elizabeth J

2016-04-01

Memory can be unreliable. For example, after reading The new baby stayed awake all night, people often misremember that the new baby cried all night (Brewer, 1977); similarly, after hearing bed, rest, and tired, people often falsely remember that sleep was on the list (Roediger & McDermott, 1995). In general, such false memories are difficult to correct, persisting despite warnings and additional study opportunities. We argue that errors must first be detected to be corrected; consistent with this argument, two experiments showed that false memories were nearly eliminated when conditions facilitated comparisons between participants' errors and corrective feedback (e.g., immediate trial-by-trial feedback that allowed direct comparisons between their responses and the correct information). However, knowledge that they had made an error was insufficient; unless the feedback message also contained the correct answer, the rate of false memories remained relatively constant. On the one hand, there is nothing special about correcting false memories: simply labeling an error as "wrong" is also insufficient for correcting other memory errors, including misremembered facts or mistranslations. However, unlike these other types of errors--which often benefit from the spacing afforded by delayed feedback--false memories require a special consideration: Learners may fail to notice their errors unless the correction conditions specifically highlight them.

Refractive errors in medical students in Singapore.

PubMed

Woo, W W; Lim, K A; Yang, H; Lim, X Y; Liew, F; Lee, Y S; Saw, S M

2004-10-01

Refractive errors are becoming more of a problem in many societies, with prevalence rates of myopia in many Asian urban countries reaching epidemic proportions. This study aims to determine the prevalence rates of various refractive errors in Singapore medical students. 157 second year medical students (aged 19-23 years) in Singapore were examined. Refractive error measurements were determined using a stand-alone autorefractor. Additional demographical data was obtained via questionnaires filled in by the students. The prevalence rate of myopia in Singapore medical students was 89.8 percent (Spherical equivalence (SE) at least -0.50 D). Hyperopia was present in 1.3 percent (SE more than +0.50 D) of the participants and the overall astigmatism prevalence rate was 82.2 percent (Cylinder at least 0.50 D). Prevalence rates of myopia and astigmatism in second year Singapore medical students are one of the highest in the world.

Swing arm profilometer: analytical solutions of misalignment errors for testing axisymmetric optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Ling; Luo, Xiao; Liu, Zhenyu; Wang, Xiaokun; Hu, Haixiang; Zhang, Feng; Zheng, Ligong; Zhang, Xuejun

2016-07-01

The swing arm profilometer (SAP) has been playing a very important role in testing large aspheric optics. As one of most significant error sources that affects the test accuracy, misalignment error leads to low-order errors such as aspherical aberrations and coma apart from power. In order to analyze the effect of misalignment errors, the relation between alignment parameters and test results of axisymmetric optics is presented. Analytical solutions of SAP system errors from tested mirror misalignment, arm length L deviation, tilt-angle θ deviation, air-table spin error, and air-table misalignment are derived, respectively; and misalignment tolerance is given to guide surface measurement. In addition, experiments on a 2-m diameter parabolic mirror are demonstrated to verify the model; according to the error budget, we achieve the SAP test for low-order errors except power with accuracy of 0.1 μm root-mean-square.

Using Fault Trees to Advance Understanding of Diagnostic Errors.

PubMed

Rogith, Deevakar; Iyengar, M Sriram; Singh, Hardeep

2017-11-01

Diagnostic errors annually affect at least 5% of adults in the outpatient setting in the United States. Formal analytic techniques are only infrequently used to understand them, in part because of the complexity of diagnostic processes and clinical work flows involved. In this article, diagnostic errors were modeled using fault tree analysis (FTA), a form of root cause analysis that has been successfully used in other high-complexity, high-risk contexts. How factors contributing to diagnostic errors can be systematically modeled by FTA to inform error understanding and error prevention is demonstrated. A team of three experts reviewed 10 published cases of diagnostic error and constructed fault trees. The fault trees were modeled according to currently available conceptual frameworks characterizing diagnostic error. The 10 trees were then synthesized into a single fault tree to identify common contributing factors and pathways leading to diagnostic error. FTA is a visual, structured, deductive approach that depicts the temporal sequence of events and their interactions in a formal logical hierarchy. The visual FTA enables easier understanding of causative processes and cognitive and system factors, as well as rapid identification of common pathways and interactions in a unified fashion. In addition, it enables calculation of empirical estimates for causative pathways. Thus, fault trees might provide a useful framework for both quantitative and qualitative analysis of diagnostic errors. Future directions include establishing validity and reliability by modeling a wider range of error cases, conducting quantitative evaluations, and undertaking deeper exploration of other FTA capabilities. Copyright © 2017 The Joint Commission. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Geometric error characterization and error budgets. [thematic mapper

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beyer, E.

1982-01-01

Procedures used in characterizing geometric error sources for a spaceborne imaging system are described using the LANDSAT D thematic mapper ground segment processing as the prototype. Software was tested through simulation and is undergoing tests with the operational hardware as part of the prelaunch system evaluation. Geometric accuracy specifications, geometric correction, and control point processing are discussed. Cross track and along track errors are tabulated for the thematic mapper, the spacecraft, and ground processing to show the temporal registration error budget in pixel (42.5 microrad) 90%.

Competition between learned reward and error outcome predictions in anterior cingulate cortex.

PubMed

Alexander, William H; Brown, Joshua W

2010-02-15

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is implicated in performance monitoring and cognitive control. Non-human primate studies of ACC show prominent reward signals, but these are elusive in human studies, which instead show mainly conflict and error effects. Here we demonstrate distinct appetitive and aversive activity in human ACC. The error likelihood hypothesis suggests that ACC activity increases in proportion to the likelihood of an error, and ACC is also sensitive to the consequence magnitude of the predicted error. Previous work further showed that error likelihood effects reach a ceiling as the potential consequences of an error increase, possibly due to reductions in the average reward. We explored this issue by independently manipulating reward magnitude of task responses and error likelihood while controlling for potential error consequences in an Incentive Change Signal Task. The fMRI results ruled out a modulatory effect of expected reward on error likelihood effects in favor of a competition effect between expected reward and error likelihood. Dynamic causal modeling showed that error likelihood and expected reward signals are intrinsic to the ACC rather than received from elsewhere. These findings agree with interpretations of ACC activity as signaling both perceptions of risk and predicted reward. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Thermal error analysis and compensation for digital image/volume correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Bing

2018-02-01

Digital image/volume correlation (DIC/DVC) rely on the digital images acquired by digital cameras and x-ray CT scanners to extract the motion and deformation of test samples. Regrettably, these imaging devices are unstable optical systems, whose imaging geometry may undergo unavoidable slight and continual changes due to self-heating effect or ambient temperature variations. Changes in imaging geometry lead to both shift and expansion in the recorded 2D or 3D images, and finally manifest as systematic displacement and strain errors in DIC/DVC measurements. Since measurement accuracy is always the most important requirement in various experimental mechanics applications, these thermal-induced errors (referred to as thermal errors) should be given serious consideration in order to achieve high accuracy, reproducible DIC/DVC measurements. In this work, theoretical analyses are first given to understand the origin of thermal errors. Then real experiments are conducted to quantify thermal errors. Three solutions are suggested to mitigate or correct thermal errors. Among these solutions, a reference sample compensation approach is highly recommended because of its easy implementation, high accuracy and in-situ error correction capability. Most of the work has appeared in our previously published papers, thus its originality is not claimed. Instead, this paper aims to give a comprehensive overview and more insights of our work on thermal error analysis and compensation for DIC/DVC measurements.

Overview of medical errors and adverse events

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Safety is a global concept that encompasses efficiency, security of care, reactivity of caregivers, and satisfaction of patients and relatives. Patient safety has emerged as a major target for healthcare improvement. Quality assurance is a complex task, and patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are more likely than other hospitalized patients to experience medical errors, due to the complexity of their conditions, need for urgent interventions, and considerable workload fluctuation. Medication errors are the most common medical errors and can induce adverse events. Two approaches are available for evaluating and improving quality-of-care: the room-for-improvement model, in which problems are identified, plans are made to resolve them, and the results of the plans are measured; and the monitoring model, in which quality indicators are defined as relevant to potential problems and then monitored periodically. Indicators that reflect structures, processes, or outcomes have been developed by medical societies. Surveillance of these indicators is organized at the hospital or national level. Using a combination of methods improves the results. Errors are caused by combinations of human factors and system factors, and information must be obtained on how people make errors in the ICU environment. Preventive strategies are more likely to be effective if they rely on a system-based approach, in which organizational flaws are remedied, rather than a human-based approach of encouraging people not to make errors. The development of a safety culture in the ICU is crucial to effective prevention and should occur before the evaluation of safety programs, which are more likely to be effective when they involve bundles of measures. PMID:22339769

NP-hardness of decoding quantum error-correction codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsieh, Min-Hsiu; Le Gall, François

2011-05-01

Although the theory of quantum error correction is intimately related to classical coding theory and, in particular, one can construct quantum error-correction codes (QECCs) from classical codes with the dual-containing property, this does not necessarily imply that the computational complexity of decoding QECCs is the same as their classical counterparts. Instead, decoding QECCs can be very much different from decoding classical codes due to the degeneracy property. Intuitively, one expects degeneracy would simplify the decoding since two different errors might not and need not be distinguished in order to correct them. However, we show that general quantum decoding problem is NP-hard regardless of the quantum codes being degenerate or nondegenerate. This finding implies that no considerably fast decoding algorithm exists for the general quantum decoding problems and suggests the existence of a quantum cryptosystem based on the hardness of decoding QECCs.

Relationships of Measurement Error and Prediction Error in Observed-Score Regression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moses, Tim

2012-01-01

The focus of this paper is assessing the impact of measurement errors on the prediction error of an observed-score regression. Measures are presented and described for decomposing the linear regression's prediction error variance into parts attributable to the true score variance and the error variances of the dependent variable and the predictor…

Errors in otology.

PubMed

Kartush, J M

1996-11-01

Practicing medicine successfully requires that errors in diagnosis and treatment be minimized. Malpractice laws encourage litigators to ascribe all medical errors to incompetence and negligence. There are, however, many other causes of unintended outcomes. This article describes common causes of errors and suggests ways to minimize mistakes in otologic practice. Widespread dissemination of knowledge about common errors and their precursors can reduce the incidence of their occurrence. Consequently, laws should be passed to allow for a system of non-punitive, confidential reporting of errors and "near misses" that can be shared by physicians nationwide.

L2 Spelling Errors in Italian Children with Dyslexia.

PubMed

Palladino, Paola; Cismondo, Dhebora; Ferrari, Marcella; Ballagamba, Isabella; Cornoldi, Cesare

2016-05-01

The present study aimed to investigate L2 spelling skills in Italian children by administering an English word dictation task to 13 children with dyslexia (CD), 13 control children (comparable in age, gender, schooling and IQ) and a group of 10 children with an English learning difficulty, but no L1 learning disorder. Patterns of difficulties were examined for accuracy and type of errors, in spelling dictated short and long words (i.e. disyllables and three syllables). Notably, CD were poor in spelling English words. Furthermore, their errors were mainly related with phonological representation of words, as they made more 'phonologically' implausible errors than controls. In addition, CD errors were more frequent for short than long words. Conversely, the three groups did not differ in the number of plausible ('non-phonological') errors, that is, words that were incorrectly written, but whose reading could correspond to the dictated word via either Italian or English rules. Error analysis also showed syllable position differences in the spelling patterns of CD, children with and English learning difficulty and control children. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Visuomotor adaptation needs a validation of prediction error by feedback error

PubMed Central

Gaveau, Valérie; Prablanc, Claude; Laurent, Damien; Rossetti, Yves; Priot, Anne-Emmanuelle

2014-01-01

The processes underlying short-term plasticity induced by visuomotor adaptation to a shifted visual field are still debated. Two main sources of error can induce motor adaptation: reaching feedback errors, which correspond to visually perceived discrepancies between hand and target positions, and errors between predicted and actual visual reafferences of the moving hand. These two sources of error are closely intertwined and difficult to disentangle, as both the target and the reaching limb are simultaneously visible. Accordingly, the goal of the present study was to clarify the relative contributions of these two types of errors during a pointing task under prism-displaced vision. In “terminal feedback error” condition, viewing of their hand by subjects was allowed only at movement end, simultaneously with viewing of the target. In “movement prediction error” condition, viewing of the hand was limited to movement duration, in the absence of any visual target, and error signals arose solely from comparisons between predicted and actual reafferences of the hand. In order to prevent intentional corrections of errors, a subthreshold, progressive stepwise increase in prism deviation was used, so that subjects remained unaware of the visual deviation applied in both conditions. An adaptive aftereffect was observed in the “terminal feedback error” condition only. As far as subjects remained unaware of the optical deviation and self-assigned pointing errors, prediction error alone was insufficient to induce adaptation. These results indicate a critical role of hand-to-target feedback error signals in visuomotor adaptation; consistent with recent neurophysiological findings, they suggest that a combination of feedback and prediction error signals is necessary for eliciting aftereffects. They also suggest that feedback error updates the prediction of reafferences when a visual perturbation is introduced gradually and cognitive factors are eliminated or strongly

Error analysis of mathematical problems on TIMSS: A case of Indonesian secondary students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priyani, H. A.; Ekawati, R.

2018-01-01

Indonesian students’ competence in solving mathematical problems is still considered as weak. It was pointed out by the results of international assessment such as TIMSS. This might be caused by various types of errors made. Hence, this study aimed at identifying students’ errors in solving mathematical problems in TIMSS in the topic of numbers that considered as the fundamental concept in Mathematics. This study applied descriptive qualitative analysis. The subject was three students with most errors in the test indicators who were taken from 34 students of 8th graders. Data was obtained through paper and pencil test and student’s’ interview. The error analysis indicated that in solving Applying level problem, the type of error that students made was operational errors. In addition, for reasoning level problem, there are three types of errors made such as conceptual errors, operational errors and principal errors. Meanwhile, analysis of the causes of students’ errors showed that students did not comprehend the mathematical problems given.

Determination of Barometric Altimeter Errors for the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 Entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Denise L.; Munoz, Jean-Philippe; Gay, Robert

2011-01-01

The EFT-1 mission is the unmanned flight test for the upcoming Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). During entry, the EFT-1 vehicle will trigger several Landing and Recovery System (LRS) events, such as parachute deployment, based on onboard altitude information. The primary altitude source is the filtered navigation solution updated with GPS measurement data. The vehicle also has three barometric altimeters that will be used to measure atmospheric pressure during entry. In the event that GPS data is not available during entry, the altitude derived from the barometric altimeter pressure will be used to trigger chute deployment for the drogues and main parachutes. Therefore it is important to understand the impact of error sources on the pressure measured by the barometric altimeters and on the altitude derived from that pressure. There are four primary error sources impacting the sensed pressure: sensor errors, Analog to Digital conversion errors, aerodynamic errors, and atmosphere modeling errors. This last error source is induced by the conversion from pressure to altitude in the vehicle flight software, which requires an atmosphere model such as the US Standard 1976 Atmosphere model. There are several secondary error sources as well, such as waves, tides, and latencies in data transmission. Typically, for error budget calculations it is assumed that all error sources are independent, normally distributed variables. Thus, the initial approach to developing the EFT-1 barometric altimeter altitude error budget was to create an itemized error budget under these assumptions. This budget was to be verified by simulation using high fidelity models of the vehicle hardware and software. The simulation barometric altimeter model includes hardware error sources and a data-driven model of the aerodynamic errors expected to impact the pressure in the midbay compartment in which the sensors are located. The aerodynamic model includes the pressure difference between the midbay

Error Characterization of Flight Trajectories Reconstructed Using Structure from Motion

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-27

adjustment using IMU rotation information, the accuracy of the yaw, pitch and roll is limited and numerical errors can be as high as 1e-4 depending on...due to either zero mean, Gaussian noise and/or bias in the IMU measured yaw, pitch and roll angles. It is possible that when errors in these...requires both the information on how the camera is mounted to the IMU /aircraft and the measured yaw, pitch and roll at the time of the first image

Taking the Error Term of the Factor Model into Account: The Factor Score Predictor Interval

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beauducel, Andre

2013-01-01

The problem of factor score indeterminacy implies that the factor and the error scores cannot be completely disentangled in the factor model. It is therefore proposed to compute Harman's factor score predictor that contains an additive combination of factor and error variance. This additive combination is discussed in the framework of classical…

Detecting Role Errors in the Gene Hierarchy of the NCI Thesaurus

PubMed Central

Min, Hua; Cohen, Barry; Halper, Michael; Oren, Marc; Perl, Yehoshua

2008-01-01

Gene terminologies are playing an increasingly important role in the ever-growing field of genomic research. While errors in large, complex terminologies are inevitable, gene terminologies are even more susceptible to them due to the rapid growth of genomic knowledge and the nature of its discovery. It is therefore very important to establish quality-assurance protocols for such genomic-knowledge repositories. Different kinds of terminologies oftentimes require auditing methodologies adapted to their particular structures. In light of this, an auditing methodology tailored to the characteristics of the NCI Thesaurus’s (NCIT’s) Gene hierarchy is presented. The Gene hierarchy is of particular interest to the NCIT’s designers due to the primary role of genomics in current cancer research. This multiphase methodology focuses on detecting role-errors, such as missing roles or roles with incorrect or incomplete target structures, occurring within that hierarchy. The methodology is based on two kinds of abstraction networks, called taxonomies, that highlight the role distribution among concepts within the IS-A (subsumption) hierarchy. These abstract views tend to highlight portions of the hierarchy having a higher concentration of errors. The errors found during an application of the methodology are reported. Hypotheses pertaining to the efficacy of our methodology are investigated. PMID:19221606

Sun compass error model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blucker, T. J.; Ferry, W. W.

1971-01-01

An error model is described for the Apollo 15 sun compass, a contingency navigational device. Field test data are presented along with significant results of the test. The errors reported include a random error resulting from tilt in leveling the sun compass, a random error because of observer sighting inaccuracies, a bias error because of mean tilt in compass leveling, a bias error in the sun compass itself, and a bias error because the device is leveled to the local terrain slope.

Restrictions on surgical resident shift length does not impact type of medical errors.

PubMed

Anderson, Jamie E; Goodman, Laura F; Jensen, Guy W; Salcedo, Edgardo S; Galante, Joseph M

2017-05-15

In 2011, resident duty hours were restricted in an attempt to improve patient safety and resident education. With the goal of reducing fatigue, shorter shift length leads to more patient handoffs, raising concerns about adverse effects on patient safety. This study seeks to determine whether differences in duty-hour restrictions influence types of errors made by residents. This is a nested retrospective cohort study at a surgery department in an academic medical center. During 2013-14, standard 2011 duty hours were in place for residents. In 2014-15, duty-hour restrictions at the study site were relaxed ("flexible") with no restrictions on shift length. We reviewed all morbidity and mortality submissions from July 1, 2013-June 30, 2015 and compared differences in types of errors between these periods. A total of 383 patients experienced adverse events, including 59 deaths (15.4%). Comparing standard versus flexible periods, there was no difference in mortality (15.7% versus 12.6%, P = 0.479) or complication rates (2.6% versus 2.5%, P = 0.696). There was no difference in types of errors between periods (P = 0.050-0.808). The most number of errors were due to cognitive failures (229, 59.6%), whereas the fewest number of errors were due to team failure (127, 33.2%). By subset, technical errors resulted in the highest number of errors (169, 44.1%). There were no differences between types of errors of cases that were nonelective, at night, or involving residents. Among adverse events reported in this departmental surgical morbidity and mortality, there were no differences in types of errors when resident duty hours were less restrictive. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Insar Unwrapping Error Correction Based on Quasi-Accurate Detection of Gross Errors (quad)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Y.; Zhao, C. Y.; Zhang, Q.; Yang, C. S.

2018-04-01

Unwrapping error is a common error in the InSAR processing, which will seriously degrade the accuracy of the monitoring results. Based on a gross error correction method, Quasi-accurate detection (QUAD), the method for unwrapping errors automatic correction is established in this paper. This method identifies and corrects the unwrapping errors by establishing a functional model between the true errors and interferograms. The basic principle and processing steps are presented. Then this method is compared with the L1-norm method with simulated data. Results show that both methods can effectively suppress the unwrapping error when the ratio of the unwrapping errors is low, and the two methods can complement each other when the ratio of the unwrapping errors is relatively high. At last the real SAR data is tested for the phase unwrapping error correction. Results show that this new method can correct the phase unwrapping errors successfully in the practical application.

Trans-dimensional inversion of microtremor array dispersion data with hierarchical autoregressive error models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dettmer, Jan; Molnar, Sheri; Steininger, Gavin; Dosso, Stan E.; Cassidy, John F.

2012-02-01

This paper applies a general trans-dimensional Bayesian inference methodology and hierarchical autoregressive data-error models to the inversion of microtremor array dispersion data for shear wave velocity (vs) structure. This approach accounts for the limited knowledge of the optimal earth model parametrization (e.g. the number of layers in the vs profile) and of the data-error statistics in the resulting vs parameter uncertainty estimates. The assumed earth model parametrization influences estimates of parameter values and uncertainties due to different parametrizations leading to different ranges of data predictions. The support of the data for a particular model is often non-unique and several parametrizations may be supported. A trans-dimensional formulation accounts for this non-uniqueness by including a model-indexing parameter as an unknown so that groups of models (identified by the indexing parameter) are considered in the results. The earth model is parametrized in terms of a partition model with interfaces given over a depth-range of interest. In this work, the number of interfaces (layers) in the partition model represents the trans-dimensional model indexing. In addition, serial data-error correlations are addressed by augmenting the geophysical forward model with a hierarchical autoregressive error model that can account for a wide range of error processes with a small number of parameters. Hence, the limited knowledge about the true statistical distribution of data errors is also accounted for in the earth model parameter estimates, resulting in more realistic uncertainties and parameter values. Hierarchical autoregressive error models do not rely on point estimates of the model vector to estimate data-error statistics, and have no requirement for computing the inverse or determinant of a data-error covariance matrix. This approach is particularly useful for trans-dimensional inverse problems, as point estimates may not be representative of the

The intention to disclose medical errors among doctors in a referral hospital in North Malaysia.

PubMed

Hs, Arvinder-Singh; Rashid, Abdul

2017-01-23

In this study, medical errors are defined as unintentional patient harm caused by a doctor's mistake. This topic, due to limited research, is poorly understood in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of doctors intending to disclose medical errors, and their attitudes/perception pertaining to medical errors. This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary public hospital from July- December 2015 among 276 randomly selected doctors. Data was collected using a standardized and validated self-administered questionnaire intending to measure disclosure and attitudes/perceptions. The scale had four vignettes in total two medical and two surgical. Each vignette consisted of five questions and each question measured the disclosure. Disclosure was categorised as "No Disclosure", "Partial Disclosure" or "Full Disclosure". Data was keyed in and analysed using STATA v 13.0. Only 10.1% (n = 28) intended to disclose medical errors. Most respondents felt that they possessed an attitude/perception of adequately disclosing errors to patients. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) when comparing the intention of disclosure with perceived disclosures. Most respondents were in common agreement that disclosing an error would make them less likely to get sued, that minor errors should be reported and that they experienced relief from disclosing errors. Most doctors in this study would not disclose medical errors although they perceived that the errors were serious and felt responsible for it. Poor disclosure could be due the fear of litigations and improper mechanisms/procedures available for disclosure.