Physicochemical and osteoplastic characteristics of 3D printed bone grafts based on synthetic calcium phosphates and natural polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nezhurina, E. K.; Karalkin, P. A.; Komlev, V. S.; Sviridova, I. K.; Kirsanova, V. A.; Akhmedova, S. A.; Shanskiy, Ya D.; Fedotov, A. Yu; Barinov, S. M.; Sergeeva, N. S.

2018-04-01

A creation of personalized implants for regeneration of bone tissue seems to be a very promising biomedical technological approach. We have studied the physicochemical characteristics, cyto- and biocompatibility of three-dimensional constructs based on sodium alginate and gelatin in combination with 2 types of calcium phosphate (tricalcium phosphate or octacalcium phosphate) obtained by inkjet 3D printing. In our experiments, we have studied the physical and chemical properties of the constructs – their porosity, chemical composition, microarchitecture of the surface and mechanical elasticity. The cytocompatibility of 3D constructs and matrix-for-cell properties were investigated in vitro on a model of human osteosarcoma MG-63 cell line by means of MTT assay. The biocompatibility of 3D constructs was studied on the model of subcutaneous implantation in mice up to 12 weeks. All types of 3D constructs were cytocompatible in vitro, demonstrated good matrix-for-cells properties, and had supported cell proliferation for 2 weeks. In results of subcutaneous in vivo test all constructs demonstrated biocompatibility with slow bioresorption of organic and inorganic components. Osteogenesis proceeded more actively in rat tibia model defects (marginal excision), substituted by 3D printed 3-component implants based on alginate, gelatin and octacalcium phosphate.

Development and validation of a fatigue assessment scale for U.S. construction workers.

PubMed

Zhang, Mingzong; Sparer, Emily H; Murphy, Lauren A; Dennerlein, Jack T; Fang, Dongping; Katz, Jeffrey N; Caban-Martinez, Alberto J

2015-02-01

To develop a fatigue assessment scale and test its reliability and validity for commercial construction workers. Using a two-phased approach, we first identified items (first phase) for the development of a Fatigue Assessment Scale for Construction Workers (FASCW) through review of existing scales in the scientific literature, key informant interviews (n = 11) and focus groups (three groups with six workers each) with construction workers. The second phase included assessment for the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of the new scale using a repeated-measures study design with a convenience sample of construction workers (n = 144). Phase one resulted in a 16-item preliminary scale that after factor analysis yielded a final 10-item scale with two sub-scales ("Lethargy" and "Bodily Ailment"). During phase two, the FASCW and its subscales demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (alpha coefficients were FASCW [0.91], Lethargy [0.86] and Bodily Ailment [0.84]) and acceptable test-retest reliability (Pearson Correlations Coefficients: 0.59-0.68; Intraclass Correlation Coefficients: 0.74-0.80). Correlation analysis substantiated concurrent and convergent validity. A discriminant analysis demonstrated that the FASCW differentiated between groups with arthritis status and different work hours. The 10-item FASCW with good reliability and validity is an effective tool for assessing the severity of fatigue among construction workers. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Creation and validation of the self-efficacy instrument for physical education teacher education majors toward inclusion.

PubMed

Block, Martin E; Hutzler, Yeshayahu; Barak, Sharon; Klavina, Aija

2013-04-01

The purpose was to validate a self-efficacy (SE) instrument toward including students with disability in physical education (PE). Three scales referring to intellectual disabilities (ID), physical disabilities (PD), or visual impairments (VI) were administered to 486 physical education teacher education (PETE) majors. The sample was randomly split, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA, respectively) were conducted. After deleting items that did not meet inclusion criteria, EFA item loadings ranged from 0.53 to 0.91, and Cronbach's alpha reliability was high (for ID = .86, PD = .90, and VI = .92). CFA showed that the ID scale demonstrated good goodness-of-fit, whereas in the PD and in the VI scales demonstrated moderate fit. Thus, the content and construct validity of the instrument was supported.

Study on the methods of rational analysis about the area of the Planning of Sea Usage of Regional Construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ya-Juan, Li; Tian-Yu, Mao; Mingjing-Tian

2018-03-01

The Planning of Sea Usage of Regional Construction is a new area, and the rational analysis about the area of which is one of its difficulties. Based on “Urban land classification and land use planning and construction standards”, the land use control index method study the rationality of the sea usage area of the whole region, by accumulating for specific land use indicators for each land type within the planning area. This paper, takeing the project named “caofeidian integrated service area” for example, make a little study on the land use control index method used by the sea usage demonstration of the planning of sea usage of regional construction. The study will be good for improving the technical methods of rational analysis about the area of the planning of sea usage of regional construction.

Development and Validation of Triarchic Psychopathy Scales from the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire

PubMed Central

Brislin, Sarah J.; Drislane, Laura E.; Smith, Shannon Toney; Edens, John F.; Patrick, Christopher J.

2015-01-01

Psychopathy is conceptualized by the triarchic model as encompassing three distinct phenotypic constructs: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. In the current study, the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), a normal-range personality measure, was evaluated for representation of these three constructs. Consensus ratings were used to identify MPQ items most related to each triarchic (Tri) construct. Scale measures were developed from items indicative of each construct, and scores for these scales were evaluated for convergent and discriminant validity in community (N = 176) and incarcerated samples (N = 240). A cross the two samples, MPQ-Tri scale scores demonstrated good internal consistencies and relationships with criterion measures of various types consistent with predictions based on the triarchic model. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for further investigation of the triarchic model constructs in preexisting datasets that include the MPQ, in particular longitudinal and genetically informative datasets. PMID:25642934

Fundamental Movement Skills Are More than Run, Throw and Catch: The Role of Stability Skills.

PubMed

Rudd, James R; Barnett, Lisa M; Butson, Michael L; Farrow, Damian; Berry, Jason; Polman, Remco C J

2015-01-01

In motor development literature fundamental movement skills are divided into three constructs: locomotive, object control and stability skills. Most fundamental movement skills research has focused on children's competency in locomotor and object control skills. The first aim of this study was to validate a test battery to assess the construct of stability skills, in children aged 6 to 10 (M age = 8.2, SD = 1.2). Secondly we assessed how the stability skills construct fitted into a model of fundamental movement skill. The Delphi method was used to select the stability skill battery. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess if the skills loaded onto the same construct and a new model of FMS was developed using structural equation modelling. Three postural control tasks were selected (the log roll, rock and back support) because they had good face and content validity. These skills also demonstrated good predictive validity with gymnasts scoring significantly better than children without gymnastic training and children from a high SES school performing better than those from a mid and low SES schools and the mid SES children scored better than the low SES children (all p < .05). Inter rater reliability tests were excellent for all three skills (ICC = 0.81, 0.87, 0.87) as was test re-test reliability (ICC 0.87-0.95). CFA provided good construct validity, and structural equation modelling revealed stability skills to be an independent factor in an overall FMS model which included locomotor (r = .88), object control (r = .76) and stability skills (r = .81). This study provides a rationale for the inclusion of stability skills in FMS assessment. The stability skills could be used alongside other FMS assessment tools to provide a holistic assessment of children's fundamental movement skills.

The measurement of threat orientations.

PubMed

Thompson, Suzanne C; Schlehofer, Michèle M; Bovin, Michelle J

2006-01-01

To develop measures of 3 threat orientations that affect responses to health behavior messages. In Study 1, college students (N = 47) completed items assessing threat orientations and health behaviors. In Study 2, college students and community adults (N = 110) completed the threat orientation items and measures of convergent and discriminant validity. In Study 1, the control-based, denial-based, and heightened-sensitivity-based threat orientation scales demonstrated good internal consistency and correlated with engagement in health behaviors. In Study 2, the convergent and discriminant validity of the 3 measures was established. The 3 scales have good internal reliability and construct validity.

The influence of a Classroom Model of Scientific Scholarship on Four Girls' Trajectories of Identification with Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, Melissa Sunshine

This study examines the teacher's role in shaping the identity construction resources available in a classroom and the ways in which individual students take up, modify, and appropriate those resources to construct themselves as scientists through interaction with their teacher and peers. Drawing on frameworks of identity construction and social positioning, I propose that the locally-negotiated classroom-level cultural model of what it means to be a "good" science student forms the arena in which students construct a sense of their own competence at, affiliation with, and interest in science. The setting for this study was a 6th grade science class at a progressive urban elementary school whose population roughly represents the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the state of California. The teacher was an experienced science and math teacher interested in social justice and inquiry teaching. Drawing from naturalistic observations, video and artifact analysis, survey data, and repeated interviews with students and the teacher, I demonstrated what it meant to be a "good" science student in this particular cultural community by analyzing what was required, reinforced, and rewarded in this classroom. Next, I traced the influence of this particular classroom's conception of what it meant to be good at science on the trajectories of identification with science of four 6th grade girls selected to represent a variety of stances towards science, levels of classroom participation, and personal backgrounds. Scientific scholarship in this class had two parts: values related to science as a discipline, and a more generic set of school-related values one might see in any classroom. Different meanings of and values for science were indexed in the everyday activities of the classroom: science as a language for describing the natural world, science as a set of rhetorical values, science as an adult social community, and science as a place for mess and explosions. Among school-related values, participation, cooperation, and completing work were most important. Individual students leveraged different aspects of the local cultural model of scientific scholarship to construct themselves as competent participants in the science classroom. This study extends and complicates current analyses of classroom norms by showing that to understand identity construction, we must do more than identify a list of norms operating in a classroom---we must map the relationships between norms. This analysis demonstrates how broader discourses, in this case about schooling and science, infiltrated the classroom and influenced the meaning and operation of classroom norms and individual students' efforts to position themselves in relation to the classroom model of a good student. Finally, these findings show the value in examining recognition from three interrelated lenses: self-narratives, other-narratives, and observational accounts of positioning.

Substance versus style: a new look at social desirability in motivating contexts.

PubMed

Smith, D Brent; Ellingson, Jill E

2002-04-01

Although there is an emerging consensus that social desirability does not meaningfully affect criterion-related validity, several researchers have reaffirmed the argument that social desirability degrades the construct validity of personality measures. Yet, most research demonstrating the adverse consequences of faking for construct validity uses a fake-good instruction set. The consequence of such a manipulation is to exacerbate the effects of response distortion beyond what would be expected under realistic circumstances (e.g., an applicant setting). The research reported in this article was designed to assess these issues by using real-world contexts not influenced by artificial instructions. Results suggest that response distortion has little impact on the construct validity of personality measures used in selection contexts.

The Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30): A New Multidimensional Construct Measure.

PubMed

Cassidy, Simon

2016-01-01

Resilience is a psychological construct observed in some individuals that accounts for success despite adversity. Resilience reflects the ability to bounce back, to beat the odds and is considered an asset in human characteristic terms. Academic resilience contextualizes the resilience construct and reflects an increased likelihood of educational success despite adversity. The paper provides an account of the development of a new multidimensional construct measure of academic resilience. The 30 item Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30) explores process-as opposed to outcome-aspects of resilience, providing a measure of academic resilience based on students' specific adaptive cognitive-affective and behavioral responses to academic adversity. Findings from the study involving a sample of undergraduate students ( N = 532) demonstrate that the ARS-30 has good internal reliability and construct validity. It is suggested that a measure such as the ARS-30, which is based on adaptive responses, aligns more closely with the conceptualisation of resilience and provides a valid construct measure of academic resilience relevant for research and practice in university student populations.

Time till death affects spider mobility and web-building behavior during web construction in an orb-web spider.

PubMed

Anotaux, Mylène; Toscani, Camille; Leborgne, Raymond; Chaline, Nicolas; Pasquet, Alain

2016-04-01

It is well known that age influences organism mobility. This was demonstrated in vertebrates (such as mammals and birds) but has been less studied in invertebrates with the exception of Drosophila and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we studied the influence of age on the mobility of the orb-weaving spider Zygiella x-notata during web construction. The orb-web is a good model because it has a characteristic geometrical structure and video tracking can be used to easily follow the spider's movements during web building. We investigated the influence of age (specifically chronological age, life span, and time till death) on different parameters of spider mobility during the construction of the capture spiral (distance traveled, duration of construction, spider velocity, spider movement, and spider inactivity) with a generalized linear model (GLM) procedure adjusted for the spider mass. The results showed that neither chronological age, nor life span affected the mobility parameters. However, when the time till death decreased, there was a decrease in the distance traveled, the duration of the construction of the capture spiral, and the spider movement. The spider velocity and the time of inactivity were not affected. These results could be correlated with a decrease in the length of the silky thread deposited for the construction of the capture spiral. Spiders with a shorter time till death built smaller web using less silk. Thus, our study suggests strongly that time till death affects spider mobility during web construction but not the chronological age and thus may be a good indicator of senescence.

Time till death affects spider mobility and web-building behavior during web construction in an orb-web spider

PubMed Central

Anotaux, Mylène; Toscani, Camille; Leborgne, Raymond; Chaline, Nicolas; Pasquet, Alain

2016-01-01

Abstract It is well known that age influences organism mobility. This was demonstrated in vertebrates (such as mammals and birds) but has been less studied in invertebrates with the exception of Drosophila and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we studied the influence of age on the mobility of the orb-weaving spider Zygiella x-notata during web construction. The orb-web is a good model because it has a characteristic geometrical structure and video tracking can be used to easily follow the spider’s movements during web building. We investigated the influence of age (specifically chronological age, life span, and time till death) on different parameters of spider mobility during the construction of the capture spiral (distance traveled, duration of construction, spider velocity, spider movement, and spider inactivity) with a generalized linear model (GLM) procedure adjusted for the spider mass. The results showed that neither chronological age, nor life span affected the mobility parameters. However, when the time till death decreased, there was a decrease in the distance traveled, the duration of the construction of the capture spiral, and the spider movement. The spider velocity and the time of inactivity were not affected. These results could be correlated with a decrease in the length of the silky thread deposited for the construction of the capture spiral. Spiders with a shorter time till death built smaller web using less silk. Thus, our study suggests strongly that time till death affects spider mobility during web construction but not the chronological age and thus may be a good indicator of senescence. PMID:29491899

Good reliability and validity for a new utility instrument measuring the birth experience, the Labor and Delivery Index.

PubMed

Gärtner, Fania R; de Miranda, Esteriek; Rijnders, Marlies E; Freeman, Liv M; Middeldorp, Johanna M; Bloemenkamp, Kitty W M; Stiggelbout, Anne M; van den Akker-van Marle, M Elske

2015-10-01

To validate the Labor and Delivery Index (LADY-X), a new delivery-specific utility measure. In a test-retest design, women were surveyed online, 6 to 8 weeks postpartum and again 1 to 2 weeks later. For reliability testing, we assessed the standard error of measurement (S.E.M.) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). For construct validity, we tested hypotheses on the association with comparison instruments (Mackey Childbirth Satisfaction Rating Scale and Wijma Delivery Experience Questionnaire), both on domain and total score levels. We assessed known-group differences using eight obstetrical indicators: method and place of birth, induction, transfer, control over pain medication, complications concerning mother and child, and experienced control. The questionnaire was completed by 308 women, 257 (83%) completed the retest. The distribution of LADY-X scores was skewed. The reliability was good, as the ICC exceeded 0.80 and the S.E.M. was 0.76. Requirements for good construct validity were fulfilled: all hypotheses for convergent and divergent validity were confirmed, and six of eight hypotheses for known-group differences were confirmed as all differences were statistically significant (P-values: <0.001-0.023), but for two tests, difference scores did not exceed the S.E.M. The LADY-X demonstrates good reliability and construct validity. Despite its skewed distribution, the LADY-X can discriminate between groups. With the preference weights available, the LADY-X might fulfill the need for a utility measure for cost-effectiveness studies for perinatal care interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Moral Construction of the Good Pupil Embedded in School Rules

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thornberg, Robert

2009-01-01

The aim of this field study was to investigate the hidden curriculum of school rules delimited to the moral construction of "the good pupil" embedded in the system of school rules in two primary schools. According to the findings, the rule system mediates a moral construction of the good pupil to the children, and this actually includes…

Development and Validation of a Fatigue Assessment Scale for U.S. Construction Workers

PubMed Central

Zhang, Mingzong; Sparer, Emily H.; Murphy, Lauren A.; Dennerlein, Jack T.; Fang, Dongping; Katz, Jeffrey N.; Caban-Martinez, Alberto J.

2015-01-01

Objective To develop a fatigue assessment scale and test its reliability and validity for commercial construction workers. Methods Using a two-phased approach, we first identified items for the development of a Fatigue Assessment Scale for Construction Workers (FASCW) through review of existing scales in the scientific literature, key informant interviews (n=11) and focus groups (3 groups with 6 workers each) with construction workers. The second phase included assessment for the reliability, validity and sensitivity of the new scale using a repeated-measures study design with a convenience sample of construction workers (n=144). Results Phase one resulted in a 16-item preliminary scale that after factor analysis yielded a final 10-item scale with two sub-scales (“Lethargy” and “Bodily Ailment”).. During phase two, the FASCW and its subscales demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (alpha coefficients were FASCW (0.91), Lethargy (0.86) and Bodily Ailment (0.84)) and acceptable test-retest reliability (Pearson Correlations Coefficients: 0.59–0.68; Intraclass Correlation Coefficients: 0.74–0.80). Correlation analysis substantiated concurrent and convergent validity. A discriminant analysis demonstrated that the FASCW differentiated between groups with arthritis status and different work hours. Conclusions The 10-item FASCW with good reliability and validity is an effective tool for assessing the severity of fatigue among construction workers. PMID:25603944

Issues in cross-cultural validity: example from the adaptation, reliability, and validity testing of a Turkish version of the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire.

PubMed

Küçükdeveci, Ayse A; Sahin, Hülya; Ataman, Sebnem; Griffiths, Bridget; Tennant, Alan

2004-02-15

Guidelines have been established for cross-cultural adaptation of outcome measures. However, invariance across cultures must also be demonstrated through analysis of Differential Item Functioning (DIF). This is tested in the context of a Turkish adaptation of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). Internal construct validity of the adapted HAQ is assessed by Rasch analysis; reliability, by internal consistency and the intraclass correlation coefficient; external construct validity, by association with impairments and American College of Rheumatology functional stages. Cross-cultural validity is tested through DIF by comparison with data from the UK version of the HAQ. The adapted version of the HAQ demonstrated good internal construct validity through fit of the data to the Rasch model (mean item fit 0.205; SD 0.998). Reliability was excellent (alpha = 0.97) and external construct validity was confirmed by expected associations. DIF for culture was found in only 1 item. Cross-cultural validity was found to be sufficient for use in international studies between the UK and Turkey. Future adaptation of instruments should include analysis of DIF at the field testing stage in the adaptation process.

A transformation method for constrained-function minimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, S. K.

1975-01-01

A direct method for constrained-function minimization is discussed. The method involves the construction of an appropriate function mapping all of one finite dimensional space onto the region defined by the constraints. Functions which produce such a transformation are constructed for a variety of constraint regions including, for example, those arising from linear and quadratic inequalities and equalities. In addition, the computational performance of this method is studied in the situation where the Davidon-Fletcher-Powell algorithm is used to solve the resulting unconstrained problem. Good performance is demonstrated for 19 test problems by achieving rapid convergence to a solution from several widely separated starting points.

ITER activities and fusion technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seki, M.

2007-10-01

At the 21st IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, 68 and 67 papers were presented in the categories of ITER activities and fusion technology, respectively. ITER performance prediction, results of technology R&D and the construction preparation provide good confidence in ITER realization. The superconducting tokamak EAST achieved the first plasma just before the conference. The construction of other new experimental machines has also shown steady progress. Future reactor studies stress the importance of down sizing and a steady-state approach. Reactor technology in the field of blanket including the ITER TBM programme and materials for the demonstration power plant showed sound progress in both R&D and design activities.

The factor structure and construct validity of the inventory of callous-unemotional traits in Chinese undergraduate students.

PubMed

Wang, Meng-Cheng; Gao, Yu; Deng, Jiaxin; Lai, Hongyu; Deng, Qiaowen; Armour, Cherie

2017-01-01

The current study assesses the factor structure and construct validity of the self-reported Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU) in 637 Chinese community adults (mean age = 25.98, SD = 5.79). A series of theoretical models proposed in previous studies were tested through confirmatory factor analyses. Results indicated that a shortened form that consists of 11 items (ICU-11) to assess callousness and uncaring factors has excellent overall fit. Additionally, correlations with a wide range of external variables demonstrated that this shortened form has similar construct validity compared to the original ICU. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the ICU-11 may be a promising self-report tool that could be a good substitute for the original form to assess callous-uncaring traits in adults.

Evaluation research on jiangsu green economy development capability: a case study of Xuzhou

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Fuhua; Liu, Haiyu; Wang, Zhaoxia

2018-02-01

As a national leading province of economic development and demonstration area of ecological civilization construction, Jiangsu makes a scientific and rational evaluation to its green economy development capability through the construction of index system and model, which is significant for better grasping its green development condition, implementing the “green” development concept and promoting Jiangsu to be a new Jiangsu with “good economy, rich public, favourable environment and civilized society degree”. The paper constructs the evaluation system of green economic development capability based on factor analysis method, adjusts indexes at all levels through factor analysis, calculates the factor score, determines the main influencing factors, analyzes the influence factor score, and puts forward the corresponding policy according to the practical situation of Jiangsu Province.

A continuous Late Holocene paleosecular variation record from Carmen Lake (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gogorza, Claudia S. G.; Irurzun, María A.; Orgeira, María J.; Palermo, Pedro; Llera, María

2018-07-01

Paleomagnetic secular variations (PSV) give us information on the mechanisms of the geodynamo and can also be used for stratigraphic correlation on a regional scale. In this article we present a high-resolution paleomagnetic and rock magnetic study of two cores, LCTF1 and LCTF2, collected at Carmen Lake (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina). An analysis of rock magnetic data suggests that the remanence signal is carried by Titanomagnetite grains in stable pseudo single domain (PSD) state. Notwithstanding the special mechanism of sedimentary deposition, the sequence is characterised by good paleomagnetic properties and can be used to reconstruct a continuous stratigraphic record that provides high-resolution declination, inclination and relative paleointensity curves for the period 1000-4000 cal years BP. The constructed PSV curves are in very good agreement with the available records of Southern Argentina, implying very promising results in the construction of curve patterns for the region. A comparison of the records of southern Argentina with the most recent models available demonstrates that there is a noticeable lack of agreement, which is interpreted as the critical need to add more data from the southern hemisphere in the construction of the geomagnetic field models.

Mothers' Appraisal of Goodness of Fit and Children's Social Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seifer, Ronald; Dickstein, Susan; Parade, Stephanie; Hayden, Lisa C.; Magee, Karin Dodge; Schiller, Masha

2014-01-01

Goodness of fit has been a key theoretical construct for understanding caregiver-child relationships. We developed an interview method to assess goodness of fit as a relationship construct, and employed this method in a longitudinal study of child temperament, family context, and attachment relationship formation. Goodness of fit at 4 and 8 months…

Psychometric properties of the Nurses Work Functioning Questionnaire (NWFQ).

PubMed

Gärtner, Fania R; Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; van Dijk, Frank J H; Sluiter, Judith K

2011-01-01

The Nurses Work Functioning Questionnaire (NWFQ) is a 50-item self-report questionnaire specifically developed for nurses and allied health professionals. Its seven subscales measure impairments in the work functioning due to common mental disorders. Aim of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the NWFQ, by assessing reproducibility and construct validity. The questionnaire was administered to 314 nurses and allied health professionals with a re-test in 112 subjects. Reproducibility was assessed by the intraclass correlations coefficients (ICC) and the standard error of measurement (SEM). For construct validity, correlations were calculated with a general work functioning scale, the Endicott Work Productivity Scale (EWPS) (convergent validity) and with a physical functioning scale (divergent validity). For discriminative validity, a Mann Whitney U test was performed testing for significant differences between subjects with mental health complaints and without. All subscales showed good reliability (ICC: 0.72-0.86), except for one (ICC = 0.16). Convergent validity was good in six subscales, correlations ranged from 0.38-0.62. However, in one subscale the correlation with the EWPS was too low (0.22). Divergent validity was good in all subscales based on correlations ranged from (-0.06)-(-0.23). Discriminative validity was good in all subscales, based on significant differences between subjects with and without mental health complaints (p<0.001-p = 0.003). The NWFQ demonstrates good psychometric properties, for six of the seven subscales. Subscale "impaired decision making" needs improvement before further use.

Experimental demonstration of interferometric imaging using photonic integrated circuits.

PubMed

Su, Tiehui; Scott, Ryan P; Ogden, Chad; Thurman, Samuel T; Kendrick, Richard L; Duncan, Alan; Yu, Runxiang; Yoo, S J B

2017-05-29

This paper reports design, fabrication, and demonstration of a silica photonic integrated circuit (PIC) capable of conducting interferometric imaging with multiple baselines around λ = 1550 nm. The PIC consists of four sets of five waveguides (total of twenty waveguides), each leading to a three-band spectrometer (total of sixty waveguides), after which a tunable Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) constructs interferograms from each pair of the waveguides. A total of thirty sets of interferograms (ten pairs of three spectral bands) is collected by the detector array at the output of the PIC. The optical path difference (OPD) of each interferometer baseline is kept to within 1 µm to maximize the visibility of the interference measurement. We constructed an experiment to utilize the two baselines for complex visibility measurement on a point source and a variable width slit. We used the point source to demonstrate near unity value of the PIC instrumental visibility, and used the variable slit to demonstrate visibility measurement for a simple extended object. The experimental result demonstrates the visibility of baseline 5 and 20 mm for a slit width of 0 to 500 µm in good agreement with theoretical predictions.

Comparison of the colloidal stability, bioaccessibility and antioxidant activity of corn protein hydrolysate and sodium caseinate stabilized curcumin nanoparticles.

PubMed

Wang, Yong-Hui; Yuan, Yang; Yang, Xiao-Quan; Wang, Jin-Mei; Guo, Jian; Lin, Yuan

2016-07-01

The aims of this work were to construct corn protein hydrolysate (CPH)-based curcumin nanoparticles (Cur NPs) and to compare the colloidal stability, bioaccessibility and antioxidant activity of the Cur NPs stabilized CPH and sodium caseinate (NaCas) respectively. The results indicated that Cur solubility could be considerably improved after the Cur NPs fabrication. The spectroscopy results demonstrated that the solubilization of Cur should be attributed to its complexation with CPH or NaCas. The Cur NPs exhibited good colloidal stability after 1 week's storage but showed smaller (40 nm) size in CPH than in NaCas (100 nm). After lyophilization, the Cur NPs powders showed good rehydration properties and chemical stability, and compared with NaCas, the size of Cur NPs stabilized by CPH was still smaller. Additionally, the Cur NPs exhibited higher chemical stability against the temperature compared with free Cur, and the CPH could protect Cur from degradation more efficiently. Comparing with NaCas, the Cur NPs stabilized by CPH exhibited better bioaccessibility and antioxidant activity. This study demonstrated that CPH may be better than NaCas in Cur NPs fabrication and it opens up the possibility of using hydrophobic protein hydrolysate to construct the NPs delivery system.

In Vivo Chondrogenesis in 3D Bioprinted Human Cell-laden Hydrogel Constructs

PubMed Central

Möller, Thomas; Hägg, Daniel; Brantsing, Camilla; Rotter, Nicole; Apelgren, Peter; Lindahl, Anders; Kölby, Lars; Gatenholm, Paul

2017-01-01

Background: The three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technology allows creation of 3D constructs in a layer-by-layer fashion utilizing biologically relevant materials such as biopolymers and cells. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of 3D bioprinting in a clinically relevant setting to evaluate the potential of this technique for in vivo chondrogenesis. Methods: Thirty-six nude mice (Balb-C, female) received a 5- × 5- × 1-mm piece of bioprinted cell-laden nanofibrillated cellulose/alginate construct in a subcutaneous pocket. Four groups of printed constructs were used: (1) human (male) nasal chondrocytes (hNCs), (2) human (female) bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs), (3) coculture of hNCs and hBMSCs in a 20/80 ratio, and (4) Cell-free scaffolds (blank). After 14, 30, and 60 days, the scaffolds were harvested for histological, immunohistochemical, and mechanical analysis. Results: The constructs had good mechanical properties and keep their structural integrity after 60 days of implantation. For both the hNC constructs and the cocultured constructs, a gradual increase of glycosaminoglycan production and hNC proliferation was observed. However, the cocultured group showed a more pronounced cell proliferation and enhanced deposition of human collagen II demonstrated by immunohistochemical analysis. Conclusions: In vivo chondrogenesis in a 3D bioprinted human cell-laden hydrogel construct has been demonstrated. The trophic role of the hBMSCs in stimulating hNC proliferation and matrix deposition in the coculture group suggests the potential of 3D bioprinting of human cartilage for future application in reconstructive surgery. PMID:28280669

In Vivo Chondrogenesis in 3D Bioprinted Human Cell-laden Hydrogel Constructs.

PubMed

Möller, Thomas; Amoroso, Matteo; Hägg, Daniel; Brantsing, Camilla; Rotter, Nicole; Apelgren, Peter; Lindahl, Anders; Kölby, Lars; Gatenholm, Paul

2017-02-01

The three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technology allows creation of 3D constructs in a layer-by-layer fashion utilizing biologically relevant materials such as biopolymers and cells. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of 3D bioprinting in a clinically relevant setting to evaluate the potential of this technique for in vivo chondrogenesis. Thirty-six nude mice (Balb-C, female) received a 5- × 5- × 1-mm piece of bioprinted cell-laden nanofibrillated cellulose/alginate construct in a subcutaneous pocket. Four groups of printed constructs were used: (1) human (male) nasal chondrocytes (hNCs), (2) human (female) bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs), (3) coculture of hNCs and hBMSCs in a 20/80 ratio, and (4) Cell-free scaffolds (blank). After 14, 30, and 60 days, the scaffolds were harvested for histological, immunohistochemical, and mechanical analysis. The constructs had good mechanical properties and keep their structural integrity after 60 days of implantation. For both the hNC constructs and the cocultured constructs, a gradual increase of glycosaminoglycan production and hNC proliferation was observed. However, the cocultured group showed a more pronounced cell proliferation and enhanced deposition of human collagen II demonstrated by immunohistochemical analysis. In vivo chondrogenesis in a 3D bioprinted human cell-laden hydrogel construct has been demonstrated. The trophic role of the hBMSCs in stimulating hNC proliferation and matrix deposition in the coculture group suggests the potential of 3D bioprinting of human cartilage for future application in reconstructive surgery.

'The Money's Good, The Fame's Good, The Girls Are Good': The Role of Playground Football in the Construction of Young Boys' Masculinity in a Junior School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swain, Jon

2000-01-01

Explores the effects of football (soccer) in the social construction of hegemonic masculine practices among a group of Year 6 English junior school boys. Argues that football (soccer) acts as a model for the boys in which they utilize the game as a means of constructing, negotiating, and performing their masculinity. (CMK)

Ultrathin nondoped emissive layers for efficient and simple monochrome and white organic light-emitting diodes.

PubMed

Zhao, Yongbiao; Chen, Jiangshan; Ma, Dongge

2013-02-01

In this paper, highly efficient and simple monochrome blue, green, orange, and red organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on ultrathin nondoped emissive layers (EMLs) have been reported. The ultrathin nondoped EML was constructed by introducing a 0.1 nm thin layer of pure phosphorescent dyes between a hole transporting layer and an electron transporting layer. The maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) reached 17.1%, 20.9%, 17.3%, and 19.2% for blue, green, orange, and red monochrome OLEDs, respectively, indicating the universality of the ultrathin nondoped EML for most phosphorescent dyes. On the basis of this, simple white OLED structures are also demonstrated. The demonstrated complementary blue/orange, three primary blue/green/red, and four color blue/green/orange/red white OLEDs show high efficiency and good white emission, indicating the advantage of ultrathin nondoped EMLs on constructing simple and efficient white OLEDs.

The Italian version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21: Factor structure and psychometric properties on community and clinical samples.

PubMed

Bottesi, Gioia; Ghisi, Marta; Altoè, Gianmarco; Conforti, Erica; Melli, Gabriele; Sica, Claudio

2015-07-01

The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) is the short version of a self-report measure that was originally developed to provide maximum differentiation between depressive and anxious symptoms. Despite encouraging evidence, the factor structure and other features of the DASS-21 are yet to be firmly established. A community sample of 417 participants and two clinical groups (32 depressive patients and 25 anxious patients) completed the Italian version of the DASS-21 along with several measures of psychopathology. Confirmatory factor analyses suggested that the DASS-21 is a measure of general distress plus three additional orthogonal dimensions (anxiety, depression, and stress). The internal consistency and temporal stability of the measure were good; each DASS-21 scale correlated more strongly with a measure of a similar construct, demonstrating good convergent and divergent validity. Lastly, the DASS-21 demonstrated good criterion-oriented validity. The validity of the Italian DASS-21 and its utility, both for community and clinical individuals, are supported. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Electro-focusing liquid extractive surface analysis (EF-LESA) coupled to mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Brenton, A Gareth; Godfrey, A Ruth

2014-04-01

Analysis of the chemical composition of surfaces by liquid sampling devices interfaced to mass spectrometry is attractive as the sample stream can be continuously monitored at good sensitivity and selectivity. A sampling probe has been constructed that takes discrete liquid samples (typically <100 nL) of a surface. It incorporates an electrostatic lens system, comprising three electrodes, to which static and pulsed voltages are applied to form a conical "liquid tip", employed to dissolve analytes at a surface. A prototype system demonstrates spatial resolution of 0.093 mm(2). Time of contact between the liquid tip and the surface is controlled to standardize extraction. Calibration graphs of different analyte concentrations on a stainless surface have been measured, together with the probe's reproducibility, carryover, and recovery. A leucine enkephalin-coated surface demonstrated good linearity (R(2) = 0.9936), with a recovery of 90% and a limit of detection of 38 fmol per single spot sampled. The probe is compact and can be fitted into automated sample analysis equipment having potential for rapid analysis of surfaces at a good spatial resolution.

Electro-Focusing Liquid Extractive Surface Analysis (EF-LESA) Coupled to Mass Spectrometry

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Analysis of the chemical composition of surfaces by liquid sampling devices interfaced to mass spectrometry is attractive as the sample stream can be continuously monitored at good sensitivity and selectivity. A sampling probe has been constructed that takes discrete liquid samples (typically <100 nL) of a surface. It incorporates an electrostatic lens system, comprising three electrodes, to which static and pulsed voltages are applied to form a conical “liquid tip”, employed to dissolve analytes at a surface. A prototype system demonstrates spatial resolution of 0.093 mm2. Time of contact between the liquid tip and the surface is controlled to standardize extraction. Calibration graphs of different analyte concentrations on a stainless surface have been measured, together with the probe’s reproducibility, carryover, and recovery. A leucine enkephalin-coated surface demonstrated good linearity (R2 = 0.9936), with a recovery of 90% and a limit of detection of 38 fmol per single spot sampled. The probe is compact and can be fitted into automated sample analysis equipment having potential for rapid analysis of surfaces at a good spatial resolution. PMID:24597530

Validation of the Middlesex Elderly Assessment of Mental State (MEAMS) as a cognitive screening test in patients with acquired brain injury in Turkey.

PubMed

Kutlay, Sehim; Kuçukdeveci, Ayse A; Elhan, Atilla H; Yavuzer, Gunes; Tennant, Alan

2007-02-28

Assessment of cognitive impairment with a valid cognitive screening tool is essential in neurorehabilitation. The aim of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Turkish-adapted version of the Middlesex Elderly Assessment of Mental State (MEAMS) among acquired brain injury patients in Turkey. Some 155 patients with acquired brain injury admitted for rehabilitation were assessed by the adapted version of MEAMS at admission and discharge. Reliability was tested by internal consistency, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and person separation index; internal construct validity by Rasch analysis; external construct validity by associations with physical and cognitive disability (FIM); and responsiveness by Effect Size. Reliability was found to be good with Cronbach's alpha of 0.82 at both admission and discharge; and likewise an ICC of 0.80. Person separation index was 0.813. Internal construct validity was good by fit of the data to the Rasch model (mean item fit -0.178; SD 1.019). Items were substantially free of differential item functioning. External construct validity was confirmed by expected associations with physical and cognitive disability. Effect size was 0.42 compared with 0.22 for cognitive FIM. The reliability and validity of the Turkish version of MEAMS as a cognitive impairment screening tool in acquired brain injury has been demonstrated.

Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing Hydroxyapatite/Epoxide Acrylate Maleic Compound Construction for Craniomaxillofacial Bone Defects.

PubMed

Zhang, Lei; Shen, Shunyao; Yu, Hongbo; Shen, Steve Guofang; Wang, Xudong

2015-07-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing hydroxyapatite (HA)/epoxide acrylate maleic (EAM) compound construction artificial implants for craniomaxillofacial bone defects. Computed tomography, computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing and three-dimensional reconstruction, as well as rapid prototyping were performed in 12 patients between 2008 and 2013. The customized HA/EAM compound artificial implants were manufactured through selective laser sintering using a rapid prototyping machine into the exact geometric shapes of the defect. The HA/EAM compound artificial implants were then implanted during surgical reconstruction. Color-coded superimpositions demonstrated the discrepancy between the virtual plan and achieved results using Geomagic Studio. As a result, the HA/EAM compound artificial bone implants were perfectly matched with the facial areas that needed reconstruction. The postoperative aesthetic and functional results were satisfactory. The color-coded superimpositions demonstrated good consistency between the virtual plan and achieved results. The three-dimensional maximum deviation is 2.12 ± 0.65  mm and the three-dimensional mean deviation is 0.27 ± 0.07  mm. No facial nerve weakness or pain was observed at the follow-up examinations. Only 1 implant had to be removed 2 months after the surgery owing to severe local infection. No other complication was noted during the follow-up period. In conclusion, computer-aided, individually fabricated HA/EAM compound construction artificial implant was a good craniomaxillofacial surgical technique that yielded improved aesthetic results and functional recovery after reconstruction.

The Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30): A New Multidimensional Construct Measure

PubMed Central

Cassidy, Simon

2016-01-01

Resilience is a psychological construct observed in some individuals that accounts for success despite adversity. Resilience reflects the ability to bounce back, to beat the odds and is considered an asset in human characteristic terms. Academic resilience contextualizes the resilience construct and reflects an increased likelihood of educational success despite adversity. The paper provides an account of the development of a new multidimensional construct measure of academic resilience. The 30 item Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30) explores process—as opposed to outcome—aspects of resilience, providing a measure of academic resilience based on students’ specific adaptive cognitive-affective and behavioral responses to academic adversity. Findings from the study involving a sample of undergraduate students (N = 532) demonstrate that the ARS-30 has good internal reliability and construct validity. It is suggested that a measure such as the ARS-30, which is based on adaptive responses, aligns more closely with the conceptualisation of resilience and provides a valid construct measure of academic resilience relevant for research and practice in university student populations. PMID:27917137

Fundamental Movement Skills Are More than Run, Throw and Catch: The Role of Stability Skills

PubMed Central

Rudd, James R.; Barnett, Lisa M.; Butson, Michael L.; Farrow, Damian; Berry, Jason; Polman, Remco C. J.

2015-01-01

Introduction In motor development literature fundamental movement skills are divided into three constructs: locomotive, object control and stability skills. Most fundamental movement skills research has focused on children’s competency in locomotor and object control skills. The first aim of this study was to validate a test battery to assess the construct of stability skills, in children aged 6 to 10 (M age = 8.2, SD = 1.2). Secondly we assessed how the stability skills construct fitted into a model of fundamental movement skill. Method The Delphi method was used to select the stability skill battery. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess if the skills loaded onto the same construct and a new model of FMS was developed using structural equation modelling. Results Three postural control tasks were selected (the log roll, rock and back support) because they had good face and content validity. These skills also demonstrated good predictive validity with gymnasts scoring significantly better than children without gymnastic training and children from a high SES school performing better than those from a mid and low SES schools and the mid SES children scored better than the low SES children (all p < .05). Inter rater reliability tests were excellent for all three skills (ICC = 0.81, 0.87, 0.87) as was test re-test reliability (ICC 0.87–0.95). CFA provided good construct validity, and structural equation modelling revealed stability skills to be an independent factor in an overall FMS model which included locomotor (r = .88), object control (r = .76) and stability skills (r = .81). Discussion This study provides a rationale for the inclusion of stability skills in FMS assessment. The stability skills could be used alongside other FMS assessment tools to provide a holistic assessment of children’s fundamental movement skills. PMID:26468644

The Getting-Out-of-Bed (GoB) Scale: A Measure of Motivation and Life Outlook in Older Adults with Cancer

PubMed Central

Clough-Gorr, Kerri M.; Rakowski, William; Clark, Melissa; Silliman, Rebecca A.

2009-01-01

Objective To develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a measure of motivation and life outlook (Getting-Out-of-Bed [GoB]). Design Secondary analysis of baseline and 6-month data from a longitudinal follow-up study of older breast cancer survivors. Participants Women (N=660) diagnosed with primary breast cancer stage I -IIIA disease, age ≥65-years, and permission to contact from an attending physician in four geographic regions in the USA (city-based Los Angeles, California; state-wide in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Rhode Island). Measurement Data were collected over 6-months of follow-up from consenting patients’ medical records and telephone interviews with patients. Data collected included the 4-item GoB, health related quality of life (HRQoL), breast cancer, socio-demographic and health-related characteristics. Results Factor analysis produced, as hypothesized, one principal component with eigen values of 2.74baseline and 2.916-months which explained 68.6%baseline and 72.7%6-months of total variance. In further psychometric analyses, GoB exhibited good construct validity (divergent: low non-statistically significant correlations with unrelated constructs; convergent: moderate statistically significant correlations with related constructs; discriminant: distinguished high HRQoL groups with a high level of significance), excellent internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha 0.84baseline,0.876-months), and produced stable measurements over 6-months. Women with GoB scores ≥50 at baseline were more likely at 6-months to have good HRQoL, good self-perceived health, and report regular exercise, indicating good predictive ability. Conclusion GoB demonstrated overall good psychometric properties in this sample of older breast cancer survivors, suggestive of a promising tool for assessing motivation and life outlook in older adults. Nevertheless, because it was developed and initially evaluated in a select sample, using measures with similar but not exact content overlap further evaluation is needed before it can be recommended for widespread use. PMID:19813135

Validating survey measurement scales for AIDS-related knowledge and stigma among construction workers in South Africa.

PubMed

Bowen, Paul; Govender, Rajen; Edwards, Peter

2016-01-23

Construction workers in South Africa are regarded as a high-risk group in the context of HIV/AIDS. HIV testing is pivotal to controlling HIV transmission and providing palliative care and AIDS-related knowledge and stigma are key issues in addressing the likelihood of testing behaviour. In exploring these issues, various studies have employed an 11-item AIDS-related knowledge scale (Kalichman and Simbayi, AIDS Care 16:572-580, 2004) and a 9-item stigma scale (Kalichman et al., AIDS Behav 9:135-143, 2005), but little evidence exists confirming the psychometric properties of these scales. Using survey data from 512 construction workers in the Western Cape, South Africa, this research examines the validity and reliability of the two scales through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency tests. From confirmatory factor analysis, a revised 10-item knowledge scale was developed (χ2 /df ratio = 1.675, CFI = 0.982, RMSEA = 0.038, and Hoelter (95 %) = 393). A revised 8-item stigma scale was also developed (χ2 /df ratio = 1.929, CFI = 0.974, RMSEA = 0.045, and Hoelter (95 %) = 380). Both revised scales demonstrated good model fit and all factor loadings were significant (p < 0.01). Reliability analysis demonstrated excellent to good internal consistency, with alpha values of 0.80 and 0.74, respectively. Both revised scales also demonstrated satisfactory convergent and divergent validity. Limitations of the original survey from which the data was obtained include the failure to properly account for respondent selection of language for completion of the survey, use of ethnicity as a proxy for identifying the native language of participants, the limited geographical area from which the survey data was collected, and the limitations associated with the convenience sample. A limitation of the validation study was the lack of available data for a more robust examination of reliability beyond internal consistency, such as test-retest reliability. The revised knowledge and stigma scales offered here hold considerable promise as measures of AIDS-related knowledge and stigma among South African construction workers.

Perceived visual informativeness (PVI): construct and scale development to assess visual information in printed materials.

PubMed

King, Andy J; Jensen, Jakob D; Davis, LaShara A; Carcioppolo, Nick

2014-01-01

There is a paucity of research on the visual images used in health communication messages and campaign materials. Even though many studies suggest further investigation of these visual messages and their features, few studies provide specific constructs or assessment tools for evaluating the characteristics of visual messages in health communication contexts. The authors conducted 2 studies to validate a measure of perceived visual informativeness (PVI), a message construct assessing visual messages presenting statistical or indexical information. In Study 1, a 7-item scale was created that demonstrated good internal reliability (α = .91), as well as convergent and divergent validity with related message constructs such as perceived message quality, perceived informativeness, and perceived attractiveness. PVI also converged with a preference for visual learning but was unrelated to a person's actual vision ability. In addition, PVI exhibited concurrent validity with a number of important constructs including perceived message effectiveness, decisional satisfaction, and three key public health theory behavior predictors: perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy. Study 2 provided more evidence that PVI is an internally reliable measure and demonstrates that PVI is a modifiable message feature that can be tested in future experimental work. PVI provides an initial step to assist in the evaluation and testing of visual messages in campaign and intervention materials promoting informed decision making and behavior change.

The factor structure and construct validity of the inventory of callous-unemotional traits in Chinese undergraduate students

PubMed Central

Gao, Yu; Deng, Jiaxin; Lai, Hongyu; Deng, Qiaowen; Armour, Cherie

2017-01-01

The current study assesses the factor structure and construct validity of the self-reported Inventory of Callous–Unemotional Traits (ICU) in 637 Chinese community adults (mean age = 25.98, SD = 5.79). A series of theoretical models proposed in previous studies were tested through confirmatory factor analyses. Results indicated that a shortened form that consists of 11 items (ICU-11) to assess callousness and uncaring factors has excellent overall fit. Additionally, correlations with a wide range of external variables demonstrated that this shortened form has similar construct validity compared to the original ICU. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the ICU-11 may be a promising self-report tool that could be a good substitute for the original form to assess callous-uncaring traits in adults. PMID:29216240

The development and validation of the Visual Analogue Self-Esteem Scale (VASES).

PubMed

Brumfitt, S M; Sheeran, P

1999-11-01

To develop a visual analogue measure of self-esteem and test its psychometric properties. Two correlational studies involving samples of university students and aphasic speakers. Two hundred and forty-three university students completed multiple measures of self-esteem, depression and anxiety as well as measures of transitory mood and social desirability (Study 1). Two samples of aphasic speakers (N = 14 and N = 20) completed the Visual Analogue Self-Esteem Scale (VASES), the Rosenberg (1965) self-esteem scale and measures of depression and anxiety. (Study 2). Study 1 found evidence of good internal and test-retest reliability, construct validity and convergent and discriminant validity for a 10-item VASES. Study 2 demonstrated good internal reliability among aphasic speakers. The VASES is a short and easy to administer measure of self-esteem that possesses good psychometric properties.

Marius and Trajan: Two Great Roman Strategists

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-04-01

soon respected as a good commander upon whom a soldier could count. His fairness of command is best demonstrated in an incident related by Plutarch ...to their discomfort and problems. (10:343) Plutarch also gave credit to Marius for altering the construction of the javelin. Marius replaced one of...Putnam’s Sons, 1927. 10. Plutarch (Translated by John Dryden, Revised by Arthur Hugh Clough). The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans. Chicago

17 CFR 250.90 - Transactions limited to cost.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...) GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS, PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1935 Service, Sales and Construction... service or construction for, or sell any goods to, any associate company thereof which is a public utility... construction for, or selling goods to, associate public utility companies, or enter into any contract to do so...

Of Organic Farmers and "Good Farmers": Changing Habitus in Rural England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sutherland, Lee-Ann; Darnhofer, Ika

2012-01-01

In recent years, numerous studies have identified the importance of cultural constructions of "good farming" to farming practice. In this paper, we develop the "good farming" construct through an empirical study of organic and conventional farmers, focussing on how change occurs. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of cultural…

Validity of the FACT-H&N (v 4.0) among Malaysian oral cancer patients.

PubMed

Doss, J G; Thomson, W M; Drummond, B K; Raja Latifah, R J

2011-07-01

To assess the cross-sectional construct validity of the Malay-translated and cross-culturally adapted FACT-H&N (v 4.0) for discriminative use in a sample of Malaysian oral cancer patients. A cross-sectional study of adults newly diagnosed with oral cancer. HRQOL data were collected using the FACT-H&N (v 4.0), a global question and a supplementary set of eight questions ('MAQ') obtained earlier in pilot work. Of the 76 participants (61.8% female; 23.7% younger than 50), most (96.1%) had oral squamous cell carcinoma; two-thirds were in Stages III or IV. At baseline, patients' mean FACT summary (FACT-G, FACT-H&N, FACT-H&N TOI, and FHNSI) and subscale (pwb, swb, ewb, fwb, and hnsc) scores were towards the higher end of the range. Equal proportions (36.8%) rated their overall HRQOL as 'good' or 'average'; fewer than one-quarter rated it as 'poor', and only two as 'very good'. All six FACT summary and most subscales had moderate-to-good internal consistency. For all summary scales, those with 'very poor/poor' self-rated HRQOL differed significantly from the 'good/very good' group. All FACT summary scales correlated strongly (r>0.75). Summary scales showed convergent validity (r>0.90) but little discriminant validity. The discriminant validity of the FHNSI improved with the addition of the MAQ. The FACT-H&N summary scales and most subscales demonstrated acceptable cross-sectional construct validity, reliability and discriminative ability, and thus appear appropriate for further use among Malaysian oral cancer patients. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

48 CFR 52.225-22 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Statute...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Statute-Construction Materials. 52.225-22 Section... of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Statute—Construction... Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Statute—Construction Materials (MAY 2014) (a...

48 CFR 52.225-21 - Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Statute-Construction...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Statute-Construction Materials. 52.225-21 Section 52... of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Statute—Construction Materials. As prescribed in 25.1102(e), insert the following clause: Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured...

Psychometric properties of the Treatment-Emergent Activation and Suicidality Assessment Profile (TEASAP) in youth with OCD.

PubMed

Bussing, Regina; Murphy, Tanya K; Storch, Eric A; McNamara, Joseph P H; Reid, Adam M; Garvan, Cynthia W; Goodman, Wayne K

2013-02-28

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the treatment-emergent activation and suicidality assessment profile (TEASAP) in a clinical sample of 56 youth aged 7-17 with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who participated in a double-blind randomized controlled trial. The 38-item TEASAP demonstrated good internal consistency for its total score (α=0.93) and adequate to good performance for its five subscale scores (α=0.65-0.92). One-week test-retest stability (N=18) was adequate (Intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]=0.68-0.80) except for Self-Injury (ICC=0.46). Construct validity was supported by total and subscale TEASAP score relationships with related constructs, including irritability, hyperactivity, externalizing behaviors, manic symptoms, and suicidal ideation, and the absence of relationships with unrelated constructs. Predictive validity was established for the Disinhibition subscale through significant associations with subsequent activation events. Furthermore, TEASAP sensitivity to change in activation scores over time was supported by longitudinal associations of TEASAP scores with clinician ratings of activation over the course of treatment. Findings indicate that the TEASAP has acceptable psychometric properties in a clinical sample of youth with OCD and merits further study in larger samples for additional refinement of its measurement approaches. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Good social skills despite poor theory of mind: exploring compensation in autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Livingston, Lucy Anne; Colvert, Emma; Bolton, Patrick; Happé, Francesca

2018-03-26

It is proposed that some individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can 'compensate' for their underlying difficulties (e.g. in theory of mind; ToM), thus demonstrating relatively few behavioural symptoms, despite continued core cognitive deficits. The mechanisms underpinning compensation are largely unexplored, as is its potential impact on mental health. This study aimed to estimate compensation patterns in ASD, by contrasting overt social behaviour with ToM task performance, in order to compare the characteristics of 'Low' and 'High' Compensators. A total of 136 autistic adolescents, from the ongoing Social Relationships Study, completed a range of cognitive tasks, the Autistic Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and a self-report anxiety questionnaire. Participants were assigned compensation group status; High Compensators demonstrated good ADOS scores despite poor ToM performance, while Low Compensators demonstrated similarly poor ToM, accompanied by poor ADOS scores. High Compensators demonstrated better IQ and executive function (EF), but greater self-reported anxiety, compared with Low Compensators. Such differences were not found when comparing individuals who had good versus poor ADOS scores, when ToM performance was good. Other core autistic characteristics (weak central coherence, nonsocial symptoms) did not differentiate the High and Low Compensators. IQ, EF and anxiety appear to be implicated in the processes by which certain autistic young people can compensate for their underlying ToM difficulties. This tendency to compensate does not appear to reflect the severity of 'hit' for ASD per se, suggesting that well-compensated individuals are not experiencing a milder form of ASD. The construct of compensation in ASD has implications for research and clinical practice. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Numerical and Experimental Analysis on Inorganic Phase Change Material Usage in Construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muthuvel, S.; Saravanasankar, S.; Sudhakarapandian, R.; Muthukannan, M.

2014-12-01

This work demonstrates the significance of Phase Change Material (PCM) in the construction of working sheds and product storage magazines in fireworks industries to maintain less temperature variation by passive cooling. The inorganic PCM, namely Calcium Chloride Hexahydrate (CCH) is selected in this study. First, the performance of two models with inbuilt CCH was analysed, using computational fluid dynamics. A significant change in the variation of inner wall temperature was observed, particularly during the working hours. This is mainly due to passive cooling, where the heat transfer from the surroundings to the room is partially used for the phase change from solid to liquid. The experiment was carried out by constructing two models, one with PCM packed in hollow brick walls and roof, and the other one as a conventional construction. The experimental results show that the temperature of the room got significantly reduced up to 7 °C. The experimental analysis results had good agreement with the numerical analysis results, and this reveals the advantage of the PCM in the fireworks industry construction.

The Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES): psychometric properties of a new tool for epidemiological studies among waged and salaried workers.

PubMed

Vives, Alejandra; Amable, Marcelo; Ferrer, Montserrat; Moncada, Salvador; Llorens, Clara; Muntaner, Carles; Benavides, Fernando G; Benach, Joan

2010-08-01

Despite the fact that labour market flexibility has resulted in an expansion of precarious employment in industrialised countries, to date there is limited empirical evidence concerning its health consequences. The Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES) is a newly developed, theory-based, multidimensional questionnaire specifically devised for epidemiological studies among waged and salaried workers. To assess the acceptability, reliability and construct validity of EPRES in a sample of waged and salaried workers in Spain. A sample of 6968 temporary and permanent workers from a population-based survey carried out in 2004-2005 was analysed. The survey questionnaire was interviewer administered and included the six EPRES subscales, and measures of the psychosocial work environment (COPSOQ ISTAS21) and perceived general and mental health (SF-36). A high response rate to all EPRES items indicated good acceptability; Cronbach's alpha coefficients, over 0.70 for all subscales and the global score, demonstrated good internal consistency reliability; exploratory factor analysis using principal axis analysis and varimax rotation confirmed the six-subscale structure and the theoretical allocation of all items. Patterns across known groups and correlation coefficients with psychosocial work environment measures and perceived health demonstrated the expected relations, providing evidence of construct validity. Our results provide evidence in support of the psychometric properties of EPRES, which appears to be a promising tool for the measurement of employment precariousness in public health research.

Psychometric properties of the neck disability index amongst patients with chronic neck pain using item response theory.

PubMed

Saltychev, Mikhail; Mattie, Ryan; McCormick, Zachary; Laimi, Katri

2017-05-13

The Neck Disability Index (NDI) is commonly used for clinical and research assessment for chronic neck pain, yet the original version of this tool has not undergone significant validity testing, and in particular, there has been minimal assessment using Item Response Theory. The goal of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the original version of the NDI in a large sample of individuals with chronic neck pain by defining its internal consistency, construct structure and validity, and its ability to discriminate between different degrees of functional limitation. This is a cross-sectional cohort study of 585 consecutive patients with chronic neck pain seen in a university hospital rehabilitation clinic. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha, construct structure was evaluated by exploratory factor analysis, and discrimination ability was determined by Item Response Theory. The NDI demonstrated good internal consistency assessed by Cronbach's alpha (0.87). The exploratory factor analysis identified only one factor with eigenvalue considered significant (cutoff 1.0). When analyzed by Item Response Theory, eight out of 10 items demonstrated almost ideal difficulty parameter estimates. In addition, eight out of 10 items showed high to perfect estimates of discrimination ability (overall range 0.8 to 2.9). Amongst patients with chronic neck pain, the NDI was found to have good internal consistency, have unidimensional properties, and an excellent ability to distinguish patients with different levels of perceived disability. Implications for Rehabilitation The Neck Disability Index has good internal consistency, unidimensional properties, and an excellent ability to distinguish patients with different levels of perceived disability. The Neck Disability Index is recommended for use when selecting patients for rehabilitation, setting rehabilitation goals, and measuring the outcome of intervention.

Psychometric properties of a four-component Norwegian Organizational Justice Scale.

PubMed

Olsen, Olav Kjellevold; Myrseth, Helga; Eidhamar, Are; Hystad, Sigurd W

2012-04-01

Organizational justice has attracted attention as a predictor of employees' mental and physical health as well as commitment and work outcomes. The lack of a Norwegian translation of an organizational justice scale has precluded its use in Norway. Four dimensions of the organizational justice construct were examined in a Norwegian military context, including facet measures of distributional, interpersonal, and informational justice developed by Colquitt in 2001, in addition to procedural justice developed by Moorman in 1991. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a four-dimensional structure with good internal consistency. Follow-up analyses have suggested that the four dimensions were nested beneath a general, latent organizational justice factor. A positive relationship between organizational justice and self-sacrificial behavior was found, indicating satisfactory construct validity. The results demonstrate that the Norwegian Organizational Justice Scale is a reliable and construct-valid measure of organizational justice in a Norwegian setting.

Construction of an artificial symbiotic community using a Chlorella–symbiont association as a model

PubMed Central

Imase, Masato; Watanabe, Keiji; Aoyagi, Hideki; Tanaka, Hideo

2008-01-01

Chlorella sorokiniana IAM C-212 produces a polysaccharide gel, termed a sheath, under photoautotrophic conditions. The C. sorokiniana sheath is a suitable habitat for several symbiotic microorganisms because it ensures close proximity between the C. sorokiniana and symbionts. In this study, we established a method for increasing the volume of the sheath produced by C. sorokiniana, and proposed a method for constructing artificial communities of Chlorella and symbiotic microorganisms. The C. sorokiniana sheath was increased by addition of calcium chloride solution. The sheath resulted in coflocculation of C. sorokiniana and the associated symbiotic bacteria, thus strengthening the bacterial–Chlorella symbiotic association. An application of this technique was demonstrated by constructing a complex of C. sorokiniana and a propionate-degrading bacterium (PDS1). Although propionate inhibited the growth of axenic C. sorokiniana, the C. sorokiniana–PDS1 complex showed good growth in a medium containing a high concentration of propionate. PMID:18269632

The hospital anxiety and depression scale--dimensionality, reliability and construct validity among cognitively intact nursing home patients.

PubMed

Haugan, Gørill; Drageset, Jorunn

2014-08-01

Depression and anxiety are particularly common among individuals living in long-term care facilities. Therefore, access to a valid and reliable measure of anxiety and depression among nursing home patients is highly warranted. To investigate the dimensionality, reliability and construct validity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) in a cognitively intact nursing home population. Cross-sectional data were collected from two samples; 429 cognitively intact nursing home patients participated, representing 74 different Norwegian nursing homes. Confirmative factor analyses and correlations with selected constructs were used. The two-factor model provided a good fit in Sample1, revealing a poorer fit in Sample2. Good-acceptable measurement reliability was demonstrated, and construct validity was supported. Using listwise deletion the sample sizes were 227 and 187, for Sample1 and Sample2, respectively. Greater sample sizes would have strengthen the statistical power in the tests. The researchers visited the participants to help fill in the questionnaires; this might have introduced some bias into the respondents׳ reporting. The 14 HADS items were part of greater questionnaires. Thus, frail, older NH patients might have tired during the interview causing a possible bias. Low reliability for depression was disclosed, mainly resulting from three items appearing to be inappropriate indicators for depression in this population. Further research is needed exploring which items might perform as more reliably indicators for depression among nursing home patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

17 CFR 250.87 - Subsidiaries authorized to perform services or construction or to sell goods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1935 Service, Sales and Construction Contracts § 250.87 Subsidiaries authorized to... consists of performance of a contract made before August 26, 1935, for the construction of a specific..., 1935; or (4) Such transaction consists of the sale, at not more than cost less depreciation, of goods...

Principles of Good School Building Design. School Buildings Planning, Design, and Construction Series No. 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odell, John H.

A school construction guide offers key personnel in school development projects information on the complex task of master planning and construction of schools in Australia. This chapter of the guide provides advice on school building design issues, such as the fundamentals of good design and designs that accommodate change, issues affecting…

48 CFR 52.225-21 - Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction Materials. 52.225-21 Section 52.225... of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Act—Construction Materials. As prescribed in 25.1102(e), insert the following clause: Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured...

48 CFR 52.225-21 - Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction Materials. 52.225-21 Section 52.225... of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Act—Construction Materials. As prescribed in 25.1102(e), insert the following clause: Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured...

48 CFR 52.225-21 - Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction Materials. 52.225-21 Section 52.225... of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Act—Construction Materials. As prescribed in 25.1102(e), insert the following clause: Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured...

48 CFR 52.225-21 - Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction Materials. 52.225-21 Section 52.225... of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Act—Construction Materials. As prescribed in 25.1102(e), insert the following clause: Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured...

The reliability and validity of the Maryland Assessment of Recovery in Serious Mental Illness Scale.

PubMed

Drapalski, Amy L; Medoff, Deborah; Dixon, Lisa; Bellack, Alan

2016-05-30

The current study aims to further evaluate the psychometric properties of the Maryland Assessment of Recovery in Serious Mental Illness (MARS), a relatively new instrument designed to assess personal recovery status in individuals with serious mental illness. Two hundred and fifty individuals with serious mental illness receiving outpatient mental health treatment completed a baseline assessment which included the MARS and measures to assess recovery-related constructs, clinical outcomes, and social and community functioning. The MARS demonstrated excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Good construct validity was evidenced by strong positive relationships between the MARS and recovery-related constructs (e.g. hope, empowerment, self-efficacy, and personal agency) and a strong negative relationship with self-stigma. Divergent validity was demonstrated by weaker relationships with cognitive and social functioning. The confirmatory factor analysis did not confirm the unitary factor structure found in previous research. Given the equivocal result of the CFA, additional exploratory work is needed to determine if a more complex factor structure is present. This study provides addition support for the psychometric soundness of the MARS and subsequently, its potential use as a measure of personal recovery status in people with serious mental illness. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

An instrument to assess subjective task value beliefs regarding the decision to pursue postgraduate training.

PubMed

Hagemeier, Nicholas E; Murawski, Matthew M

2014-02-12

To develop and validate an instrument to assess subjective ratings of the perceived value of various postgraduate training paths followed using expectancy-value as a theoretical framework; and to explore differences in value beliefs across type of postgraduate training pursued and type of pharmacy training completed prior to postgraduate training. A survey instrument was developed to sample 4 theoretical domains of subjective task value: intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value, and perceived cost. Retrospective self-report methodology was employed to examine respondents' (N=1,148) subjective task value beliefs specific to their highest level of postgraduate training completed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic techniques were used to evaluate and validate value belief constructs. Intrinsic, attainment, utility, cost, and financial value constructs resulted from exploratory factor analysis. Cross-validation resulted in a 26-item instrument that demonstrated good model fit. Differences in value beliefs were noted across type of postgraduate training pursued and pharmacy training characteristics. The Postgraduate Training Value Instrument demonstrated evidence of reliability and construct validity. The survey instrument can be used to assess value beliefs regarding multiple postgraduate training options in pharmacy and potentially inform targeted recruiting of individuals to those paths best matching their own value beliefs.

Psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 in older primary care patients.

PubMed

Gloster, Andrew T; Rhoades, Howard M; Novy, Diane; Klotsche, Jens; Senior, Ashley; Kunik, Mark; Wilson, Nancy; Stanley, Melinda A

2008-10-01

The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) was designed to efficiently measure the core symptoms of anxiety and depression and has demonstrated positive psychometric properties in adult samples of anxiety and depression patients and student samples. Despite these findings, the psychometric properties of the DASS remain untested in older adults, for whom the identification of efficient measures of these constructs is especially important. To determine the psychometric properties of the DASS 21-item version in older adults, we analyzed data from 222 medical patients seeking treatment to manage worry. Consistent with younger samples, a three-factor structure best fit the data. Results also indicated good internal consistency, excellent convergent validity, and good discriminative validity, especially for the Depression scale. Receiver operating curve analyses indicated that the DASS-21 predicted the diagnostic presence of generalized anxiety disorder and depression as well as other commonly used measures. These data suggest that the DASS may be used with older adults in lieu of multiple scales designed to measure similar constructs, thereby reducing participant burden and facilitating assessment in settings with limited assessment resources.

The displaced aggression questionnaire.

PubMed

Denson, Thomas F; Pedersen, William C; Miller, Norman

2006-06-01

Previous measures of aggressive personality have focused on direct aggression (i.e., retaliation toward the provoking agent). An original self-report measure of trait displaced aggression is presented. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a 3-factor conceptualization of the construct. These analyses identified an affective dimension (angry rumination), a cognitive dimension (revenge planning), and a behavioral dimension (general tendency to engage in displaced aggression). The trait measure demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability as well as convergent and discriminant construct validity. Unlike other related personality measures, trait displaced aggression significantly predicted indirect indicators of real-world displaced aggression (i.e., self-reported domestic abuse and road rage) as well as laboratory displaced aggression in 2 experiments. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Individual differences in situation awareness: Validation of the Situationism Scale

PubMed Central

Roberts, Megan E.; Gibbons, Frederick X.; Gerrard, Meg; Klein, William M. P.

2015-01-01

This paper concerns the construct of lay situationism—an individual’s belief in the importance of a behavior’s context. Study 1 identified a 13-item Situationism Scale, which demonstrated good reliability and validity. In particular, higher situationism was associated with greater situation-control (strategies to manipulate the environment in order to avoid temptation). Subsequent laboratory studies indicated that people higher on the situationism subscales used greater situation-control by sitting farther from junk food (Study 2) and choosing to drink non-alcoholic beverages before a cognitive task (Study 3). Overall, findings provide preliminary support for the psychometric validity and predictive utility of the Situationism Scale and offer this individual difference construct as a means to expand self-regulation theory. PMID:25329242

Chiral topological phases from artificial neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaubruegger, Raphael; Pastori, Lorenzo; Budich, Jan Carl

2018-05-01

Motivated by recent progress in applying techniques from the field of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to quantum many-body physics, we investigate to what extent the flexibility of ANNs can be used to efficiently study systems that host chiral topological phases such as fractional quantum Hall (FQH) phases. With benchmark examples, we demonstrate that training ANNs of restricted Boltzmann machine type in the framework of variational Monte Carlo can numerically solve FQH problems to good approximation. Furthermore, we show by explicit construction how n -body correlations can be kept at an exact level with ANN wave functions exhibiting polynomial scaling with power n in system size. Using this construction, we analytically represent the paradigmatic Laughlin wave function as an ANN state.

ELI-beamlines: progress in development of next generation short-pulse laser systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rus, B.; Bakule, P.; Kramer, D.; Naylon, J.; Thoma, J.; Fibrich, M.; Green, J. T.; Lagron, J. C.; Antipenkov, R.; Bartoníček, J.; Batysta, F.; Baše, R.; Boge, R.; Buck, S.; Cupal, J.; Drouin, M. A.; Durák, M.; Himmel, B.; Havlíček, T.; Homer, P.; Honsa, A.; Horáček, M.; Hríbek, P.; Hubáček, J.; Hubka, Z.; Kalinchenko, G.; Kasl, K.; Indra, L.; Korous, P.; Košelja, M.; Koubíková, L.; Laub, M.; Mazanec, T.; Meadows, A.; Novák, J.; Peceli, D.; Polan, J.; Snopek, D.; Šobr, V.; Trojek, P.; Tykalewicz, B.; Velpula, P.; Verhagen, E.; Vyhlídka, Å.; Weiss, J.; Haefner, C.; Bayramian, A.; Betts, S.; Erlandson, A.; Jarboe, J.; Johnson, G.; Horner, J.; Kim, D.; Koh, E.; Marshall, C.; Mason, D.; Sistrunk, E.; Smith, D.; Spinka, T.; Stanley, J.; Stolz, C.; Suratwala, T.; Telford, S.; Ditmire, T.; Gaul, E.; Donovan, M.; Frederickson, C.; Friedman, G.; Hammond, D.; Hidinger, D.; Chériaux, G.; Jochmann, A.; Kepler, M.; Malato, C.; Martinez, M.; Metzger, T.; Schultze, M.; Mason, P.; Ertel, K.; Lintern, A.; Edwards, C.; Hernandez-Gomez, C.; Collier, J.

2017-05-01

Overview of progress in construction and testing of the laser systems of ELI-Beamlines, accomplished since 2015, is presented. Good progress has been achieved in construction of all four lasers based largely on the technology of diode-pumped solid state lasers (DPSSL). The first part of the L1 laser, designed to provide 200 mJ <15 fs pulses at 1 kHz repetition rate, is up and running. The L2 is a development line employing a 10 J / 10 Hz cryogenic gas-cooled pump laser which has recently been equipped with an advanced cryogenic engine. Operation of the L3-HAPLS system, using a gas-cooled DPSSL pump laser and a Ti:sapphire broadband amplifier, was recently demonstrated at 16 J / 28 fs, at 3.33 Hz rep rate. Finally, the 5 Hz OPCPA front end of the L4 kJ laser is up running and amplification in the Nd:glass large-aperture power amplifiers was demonstrated.

Development and validation of the Body, Eating, and Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure (BEECOM) among college women.

PubMed

Fitzsimmons-Craft, Ellen E; Bardone-Cone, Anna M; Harney, Megan B

2012-09-01

We constructed and validated a measure of comparison dimensions associated with eating pathology, namely, the body, eating, and exercise comparison orientation measure (BEECOM). Participants were 441 undergraduate women. In Study 1, items were generated and refined via exploratory factor analysis, yielding three interpretable factors (i.e., body, eating, and exercise comparison orientation). Confirmatory factor analysis was then used to confirm the three-factor structure of the BEECOM and to investigate the potential presence of a higher-order factor. Given that the lower-order factors loaded strongly onto a higher-order factor, it is appropriate to use a total BEECOM score, in addition to subscale scores. Further, the BEECOM's scores yielded evidence of internal consistency and construct validity in this sample. Study 2 demonstrated two-week test-retest reliability of the BEECOM among college women. Overall, the BEECOM demonstrated good psychometric properties and may be useful for more comprehensively assessing eating disorder-related social comparison behavior. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

PubMed

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

2018-02-17

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

[Ecotourism exploitation model in Bita Lake Natural Reserve of Yunnan].

PubMed

Yang, G; Wang, Y; Zhong, L

2000-12-01

Bita lake provincial natural reserve is located in Shangri-La region of North-western Yunnan, and was set as a demonstrating area for ecotourism exploitation in 1998. After a year's exploitation construction and half a year's operation as a branch of the 99' Kunming International Horticulture Exposition to accept tourists, it was proved that the ecotourism demonstrating area attained four integrated functions of ecotourism, i.e., tourism, protection, poverty clearing and environment education. Five exploitation and management models including function zoned exploitation model, featured tourism communication model signs system designing model, local Tibetan family reception model and environmental monitoring model, were also successful, which were demonstrated and spreaded to the whole province. Bita lake provincial natural reserve could be a good sample for the ecotourism exploitation natural reserves of the whole country.

Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement (ACME) / Automated Construction of Expeditionary Structures (ACES) Materials Delivery System (MDS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, R. P.; Townsend, I. I.; Tamasy, G. J.; Evers, C. J.; Sibille, L. J.; Edmunson, J. E.; Fiske, M. R.; Fikes, J. C.; Case, M.

2018-01-01

The purpose of the Automated Construction of Expeditionary Structures, Phase 3 (ACES 3) project is to incorporate the Liquid Goods Delivery System (LGDS) into the Dry Goods Delivery System (DGDS) structure to create an integrated and automated Materials Delivery System (MDS) for 3D printing structures with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete. ACES 3 is a prototype for 3-D printing barracks for soldiers in forward bases, here on Earth. The LGDS supports ACES 3 by storing liquid materials, mixing recipe batches of liquid materials, and working with the Dry Goods Feed System (DGFS) previously developed for ACES 2, combining the materials that are eventually extruded out of the print nozzle. Automated Construction of Expeditionary Structures, Phase 3 (ACES 3) is a project led by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and supported by NASA. The equivalent 3D printing system for construction in space is designated Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement (ACME) by NASA.

Giant optical rotation in a three-dimensional semiconductor chiral photonic crystal.

PubMed

Takahashi, S; Tandaechanurat, A; Igusa, R; Ota, Y; Tatebayashi, J; Iwamoto, S; Arakawa, Y

2013-12-02

Optical rotation is experimentally demonstrated in a semiconductor-based three-dimensional chiral photonic crystal (PhC) at a telecommunication wavelength. We design a rotationally-stacked woodpile PhC structure, where neighboring layers are rotated by 45° and four layers construct a single helical unit. The mirror-asymmetric PhC made from GaAs with sub-micron periodicity is fabricated by a micro-manipulation technique. The linearly polarized light incident on the structure undergoes optical rotation during transmission. The obtained results show good agreement with numerical simulations. The measurement demonstrates the largest optical rotation angle as large as ∼ 23° at 1.3 μm wavelength for a single helical unit.

The PROactive instruments to measure physical activity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

PubMed Central

Gimeno-Santos, Elena; Raste, Yogini; Demeyer, Heleen; Louvaris, Zafeiris; de Jong, Corina; Rabinovich, Roberto A.; Hopkinson, Nicholas S.; Polkey, Michael I.; Vogiatzis, Ioannis; Tabberer, Maggie; Dobbels, Fabienne; Ivanoff, Nathalie; de Boer, Willem I.; van der Molen, Thys; Kulich, Karoly; Serra, Ignasi; Basagaña, Xavier; Troosters, Thierry; Puhan, Milo A.; Karlsson, Niklas

2015-01-01

No current patient-centred instrument captures all dimensions of physical activity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our objective was item reduction and initial validation of two instruments to measure physical activity in COPD. Physical activity was assessed in a 6-week, randomised, two-way cross-over, multicentre study using PROactive draft questionnaires (daily and clinical visit versions) and two activity monitors. Item reduction followed an iterative process including classical and Rasch model analyses, and input from patients and clinical experts. 236 COPD patients from five European centres were included. Results indicated the concept of physical activity in COPD had two domains, labelled “amount” and “difficulty”. After item reduction, the daily PROactive instrument comprised nine items and the clinical visit contained 14. Both demonstrated good model fit (person separation index >0.7). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the bidimensional structure. Both instruments had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α>0.8), test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥0.9) and exhibited moderate-to-high correlations (r>0.6) with related constructs and very low correlations (r<0.3) with unrelated constructs, providing evidence for construct validity. Daily and clinical visit “PROactive physical activity in COPD” instruments are hybrid tools combining a short patient-reported outcome questionnaire and two activity monitor variables which provide simple, valid and reliable measures of physical activity in COPD patients. PMID:26022965

Development and validation of the Chinese version of dry eye related quality of life scale.

PubMed

Zheng, Bang; Liu, Xiao-Jing; Sun, Yue-Qian Fiona; Su, Jia-Zeng; Zhao, Yang; Xie, Zheng; Yu, Guang-Yan

2017-07-17

To develop the Chinese version of quality of life scale for dry eye patients based on the Impact of Dry Eye on Everyday Life (IDEEL) questionnaire and to assess the reliability and validity of the developed scale. The original IDEEL was adapted cross-culturally to Chinese language and further developed following standard procedures. A total of 100 Chinese patients diagnosed with dry eye syndrome were included to investigate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of scale. Psychometric tests included internal consistency (Cronbach's ɑ coefficients), construct validity (exploratory factor analysis), and known-groups validity (the analysis of variance). The Chinese version of Dry Eye Related Quality of Life (CDERQOL) Scale contains 45 items classified into 5 domains. Good to excellent internal consistency reliability was demonstrated for all 5 domains (Cronbach's ɑ coefficients range from 0.716 to 0.913). Construct validity assessment indicated a consistent factorial structure of the CDERQOL scale with hypothesized construct, with the exception of "Dry Eye Symptom-Bother" domain. All domain scores were detected with significant difference across three severity groups of dry eye patients (P < 0.05) except for "Satisfaction with Treatment" domain, indicating good known-groups validity. The results indicated that the CDERQOL scale is a reliable and valid instrument for patients with dry eye syndrome among Chinese population, and could be used as a supplementary diagnostic and treatment-effectiveness measure.

The PROactive instruments to measure physical activity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

PubMed

Gimeno-Santos, Elena; Raste, Yogini; Demeyer, Heleen; Louvaris, Zafeiris; de Jong, Corina; Rabinovich, Roberto A; Hopkinson, Nicholas S; Polkey, Michael I; Vogiatzis, Ioannis; Tabberer, Maggie; Dobbels, Fabienne; Ivanoff, Nathalie; de Boer, Willem I; van der Molen, Thys; Kulich, Karoly; Serra, Ignasi; Basagaña, Xavier; Troosters, Thierry; Puhan, Milo A; Karlsson, Niklas; Garcia-Aymerich, Judith

2015-10-01

No current patient-centred instrument captures all dimensions of physical activity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our objective was item reduction and initial validation of two instruments to measure physical activity in COPD.Physical activity was assessed in a 6-week, randomised, two-way cross-over, multicentre study using PROactive draft questionnaires (daily and clinical visit versions) and two activity monitors. Item reduction followed an iterative process including classical and Rasch model analyses, and input from patients and clinical experts.236 COPD patients from five European centres were included. Results indicated the concept of physical activity in COPD had two domains, labelled "amount" and "difficulty". After item reduction, the daily PROactive instrument comprised nine items and the clinical visit contained 14. Both demonstrated good model fit (person separation index >0.7). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the bidimensional structure. Both instruments had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α>0.8), test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥0.9) and exhibited moderate-to-high correlations (r>0.6) with related constructs and very low correlations (r<0.3) with unrelated constructs, providing evidence for construct validity.Daily and clinical visit "PROactive physical activity in COPD" instruments are hybrid tools combining a short patient-reported outcome questionnaire and two activity monitor variables which provide simple, valid and reliable measures of physical activity in COPD patients. Copyright ©ERS 2015.

Construction of a Cordyceps sinensis exopolysaccharide-conjugated selenium nanoparticles and enhancement of their antioxidant activities.

PubMed

Xiao, Yidong; Huang, Qilin; Zheng, Zhaomin; Guan, Han; Liu, Shiyu

2017-06-01

A Cordyceps sinensis exopolysaccharide (EPS)-conjugated selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) were successfully constructed through the reduction of SeO 3 2- . The EPS-SeNPs were characterized in terms of formation, morphology, size, Se distribution and phase by UV-vis, FT-IR, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) measurements. Results revealed that the SeNPs conjugated to EPS were amorphous and could be well dispersed at a size range of 80-125nm. The interactions between the OH groups of EPS and SeNPs substituted for intermolecular interaction in native EPS to form new CO⋯Se bonds, resulting in good dispersion of SeNPs in the EPS matrix. Besides, the EPS-SeNPs at different Se/P ratios exhibited significant scavenging ability on superoxide anion radical (O 2 - ) and ABTS radical cation (ABTS + ) when compared to pure EPS, indicating that the conjugated SeNPs reinforced antioxidant effect of EPS. This work not only provides a simple and efficient way to construct well-dispersed SeNPs in aqueous system, and demonstrates the vital role of the EPS as a biopolymer template for dispersion, stabilization and size control of SeNPs, but also finds the EPS-SeNPs can potentially serve as a good antioxidant towards O 2 - and ABTS + . Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electric field theory based approach to search-direction line definition in image segmentation: application to optimal femur-tibia cartilage segmentation in knee-joint 3-D MR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Y.; Sonka, M.

2010-03-01

A novel method is presented for definition of search lines in a variety of surface segmentation approaches. The method is inspired by properties of electric field direction lines and is applicable to general-purpose n-D shapebased image segmentation tasks. Its utility is demonstrated in graph construction and optimal segmentation of multiple mutually interacting objects. The properties of the electric field-based graph construction guarantee that inter-object graph connecting lines are non-intersecting and inherently covering the entire object-interaction space. When applied to inter-object cross-surface mapping, our approach generates one-to-one and all-to-all vertex correspondent pairs between the regions of mutual interaction. We demonstrate the benefits of the electric field approach in several examples ranging from relatively simple single-surface segmentation to complex multiobject multi-surface segmentation of femur-tibia cartilage. The performance of our approach is demonstrated in 60 MR images from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), in which our approach achieved a very good performance as judged by surface positioning errors (average of 0.29 and 0.59 mm for signed and unsigned cartilage positioning errors, respectively).

Procedural instructions, principles, and examples: how to structure instructions for procedural tasks to enhance performance, learning, and transfer.

PubMed

Eiriksdottir, Elsa; Catrambone, Richard

2011-12-01

The goal of this article is to investigate how instructions can be constructed to enhance performance and learning of procedural tasks. Important determinants of the effectiveness of instructions are type of instructions (procedural information, principles, and examples) and pedagogical goal (initial performance, learning, and transfer). Procedural instructions describe how to complete tasks in a stepwise manner, principles describe rules governing the tasks, and examples demonstrate how instances of the task are carried out. The authors review the research literature associated with each type of instruction to identify factors determining effectiveness for different pedagogical goals. The results suggest a trade-off between usability and learnability. Specific instructions help initial performance, whereas more general instructions, requiring problem solving, help learning and transfer. Learning from instructions takes cognitive effort, and research suggests that learners typically opt for low effort. However, it is possible to meet both goals of good initial performance and learning with methods such as fading and by combining different types of instructions. How instructions are constructed influences their effectiveness for the goals of good initial performance, learning, and transfer, and it is therefore important for researchers and practitioners alike to define the pedagogical goal of instructions. If the goal is good initial performance, then instructions should highly resemble the task at hand (e.g., in the form of detailed procedural instructions and examples), but if the goal is good learning and transfer, then instructions should be more abstract, inducing learners to expend the necessary cognitive effort for learning.

The Behavioural Assessment of Self-Structuring (BASS): psychometric properties in a post-acute brain injury rehabilitation programme.

PubMed

Jackson, Howard F; Tunstall, Victoria; Hague, Gemma; Daniels, Leanne; Crompton, Stacey; Taplin, Kimberly

2014-01-01

Jackson et al. (this edition) argue that structure is an important component in reducing the handicaps caused by cognitive impairments following acquired brain injury and that post-acute neuropsychological brain injury rehabilitation programmes should not only endeavour to provide structure but also aim to develop self-structuring. However, at present there is no standardized device for assessing self-structuring. To provide preliminary analysis of the psychometric properties of the Behavioural Assessment of Self-Structuring (BASS) staff rating scale (a 26 item informant five point rating scale based on the degree of support client requires to achieve self-structuring item). BASS data was utilised for clients attending residential rehabilitation. Reliability (inter-rarer and intra-rater), validity (construct, concurrent and discriminate) and sensitivity to change were investigated. Initial results indicate that the BASS has reasonably good reliability, good construct validity (via principal components analysis), good discriminant validity, and good concurrent validity correlating well with a number of other outcome measures (HoNOS; NPDS, Supervision Rating Scale, MPAI, FIM and FAM). The BASS did not correlate well with the NPCNA. Finally, the BASS was shown to demonstrate sensitivity to change. Although some caution is required in drawing firm conclusions at the present time and further exploration of the psychometric properties of the BASS is required, initial results are encouraging for the use of the BASS in assessing rehabilitation progress. These findings are discussed in terms of the value of the concept of self-structuring to the rehabilitation process for individuals with neuropsychological impairments consequent on acquired brain injury.

Loudspeaker line array educational demonstration.

PubMed

Anderson, Brian E; Moser, Brad; Gee, Kent L

2012-03-01

This paper presents a physical demonstration of an audio-range line array used to teach interference of multiple sources in a classroom or laboratory exercise setting. Software has been developed that permits real-time control and steering of the array. The graphical interface permits a user to vary the frequency, the angular response by phase shading, and reduce sidelobes through amplitude shading. An inexpensive, eight-element loudspeaker array has been constructed to test the control program. Directivity measurements of this array in an anechoic chamber and in a large classroom are presented. These measurements have good agreement with theoretical directivity predictions, thereby allowing its use as a quantitative learning tool for advanced students as well as a qualitative demonstration of arrays in other settings. Portions of this paper are directed toward educators who may wish to implement a similar demonstration for their advanced undergraduate or graduate level course in acoustics. © 2012 Acoustical Society of America

The development of the Adolescent Nervios Scale: preliminary findings.

PubMed

Livanis, Andrew; Tryon, Georgiana Shick

2010-01-01

This paper details the construction of a scale to measure the culture-bound syndrome of nervios in Latino early adolescents, ages 11 to 14. Informed by nervios literature and experts, we developed the 31-item Adolescent Nervios Scale (ANS) with items comprised of symptoms representing various psychiatric conditions common to Western culture. In contrast to 277 non-Latino early adolescents who responded to the items as representing disparate constructs, 307 Latino early adolescents responded to ANS items in a unitary fashion. For Latino early adolescents, the ANS demonstrated good internal consistency and stability as well as concurrent, discriminative, and criterion-based validity. The results support the measurement of nervios and its relationship to the school performance and adjustment of Latino youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Ab initio construction of magnetic phase diagrams in alloys: The case of Fe 1-xMn xPt

DOE PAGES

Pujari, B. S.; Larson, P.; Antropov, V. P.; ...

2015-07-28

A first-principles approach to the construction of concentration-temperature magnetic phase diagrams of metallic alloys is presented. The method employs self-consistent total energy calculations based on the coherent potential approximation for partially ordered and noncollinear magnetic states and is able to account for competing interactions and multiple magnetic phases. The application to the Fe 1–xMn xPt “magnetic chameleon” system yields the sequence of magnetic phases at T = 0 and the c-T magnetic phase diagram in good agreement with experiment, and a new low-temperature phase is predicted at the Mn-rich end. The importance of non-Heisenberg interactions for the description of themore » magnetic phase diagram is demonstrated.« less

Development and validation of the Delaying Gratification Inventory.

PubMed

Hoerger, Michael; Quirk, Stuart W; Weed, Nathan C

2011-09-01

Deficits in gratification delay are associated with a broad range of public health problems, such as obesity, risky sexual behavior, and substance abuse. However, 6 decades of research on the construct has progressed less quickly than might be hoped, largely because of measurement issues. Although past research has implicated 5 domains of delay behavior, involving food, physical pleasures, social interactions, money, and achievement, no published measure to date has tapped all 5 components of the content domain. Existing measures have been criticized for limitations related to efficiency, reliability, and construct validity. Using an innovative Internet-mediated approach to survey construction, we developed the 35-item 5-factor Delaying Gratification Inventory (DGI). Evidence from 4 studies and a large, diverse sample of respondents (N = 10,741) provided support for the psychometric properties of the measure. Specifically, scores on the DGI demonstrated strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability for the 35-item composite, each of the 5 domains, and a 10-item short form. The 5-factor structure fit the data well and had good measurement invariance across subgroups. Construct validity was supported by correlations with scores on closely related self-control measures, behavioral ratings, Big Five personality trait measures, and measures of adjustment and psychopathology, including those on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form. DGI scores also showed incremental validity in accounting for well-being and health-related variables. The present investigation holds implications for improving public health, accelerating future research on gratification delay, and facilitating survey construction research more generally by demonstrating the suitability of an Internet-mediated strategy.

Development and validation of the Delaying Gratification Inventory

PubMed Central

Hoerger, Michael; Quirk, Stuart W.; Weed, Nathan C.

2011-01-01

Deficits in gratification delay are associated with a broad range of public health problems, such as obesity, risky sexual behavior, and substance abuse. However, six decades of research on the construct has progressed less quickly than might be hoped, largely due to measurement issues. Although past research implicates five domains of delay behavior, involving food, physical pleasures, social interactions, money, and achievement, no published measure to date has tapped all five components of the content domain. Existing measures have been criticized for limitations related to efficiency, reliability, and construct validity. Using an innovative Internet-mediated approach to survey construction, we developed the 35-item five-factor Delaying Gratification Inventory (DGI). Evidence from four studies and a large, diverse sample of respondents (N = 10,741) provided support for the psychometric properties of the measure. Specifically, scores on the DGI demonstrated strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability for the 35-item composite, each of the five domains, and a 10-item short-form. The five-factor structure fit the data well and had good measurement invariance across subgroups. Construct validity was supported by correlations with scores on closely-related self-control measures, behavioral ratings, Big Five personality trait measures, and measures of adjustment and psychopathology, including those on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF). DGI scores also showed incremental validity in accounting for well-being and health-related variables. The present investigation holds implications for improving public health, accelerating future research on gratification delay, and facilitating survey construction research more generally by demonstrating the suitability of an Internet-mediated strategy. PMID:21480721

Prosthetic reconstruction of dentitions seriously compromised by periodontal disease.

PubMed

Lundgren, D

1991-07-01

Dentitions seriously compromised by periodontal disease are often in need not only of cause-related periodontal therapy of high quality but also of relevant prosthetic rehabilitation. Contrary to traditional claims, clinical investigations published during the last 2 decades demonstrate that, if adequately treated and controlled, such dentitions can carry fixed, cross-arch bridges on an extremely reduced amount of periodontium, with a good long-range prognosis. It has also been shown that a markedly reduced but healthy and favourably distributed periodontium supporting such constructions can withstand occlusal forces of considerable magnitude. Another controversial topic, related to fixed bridges, involves indications and contra-indications for cantilever segments. Some clinical investigations demonstrate a markedly increased risk of failure if the fixed bridge is provided with cantilever units, while other controlled studies with defined specifications on the design of the constructions exhibit a high success rate after 8 years or more also for bridgework where 2 or 3 cantilever units are included. The force pattern along cantilever segments of both tooth-supported and implant-supported bridges has been extensively studied. The results show that the force distribution depends not only on the occlusal contact pattern and the dimensioning of the cantilever beam, but also on the type of prosthetic construction in the opposite jaw occluding with the cantilever segment. The free-standing, implant-supported bridge has recently become an important treatment modality for rehabilitation of the partially edentulous jaw, and follow-up studies demonstrate a high success rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Dual-Functional Nanographene Oxide as Cancer-Targeted Drug-Delivery System to Selectively Induce Cancer-Cell Apoptosis.

PubMed

Zhou, Binwei; Huang, Yanyu; Yang, Fang; Zheng, Wenjie; Chen, Tianfeng

2016-04-05

Construction of bioresponsive drug-delivery nanosystems could enhance the anticancer efficacy of anticancer agents and reduce their toxic side effects. Herein, by using transferrin (Tf) as a surface decorator, we constructed a cancer-targeted nanographene oxide (NGO) nanosystem for use in drug delivery. This nanosystem (Tf-NGO@HPIP) drastically enhanced the cellular uptake, retention, and anticancer efficacy of loaded drugs but showed much lower toxicity to normal cells. The nanosystem was internalized through receptor-mediated endocytosis and triggered pH-dependent drug release in acidic environments and in the presence of cellular enzymes. Moreover, Tf-NGO@HPIP effectively induced cancer-cell apoptosis through activation of superoxide-mediated p53 and MAPK pathways along with inactivation of ERK and AKT. Taken together, this study demonstrates a good strategy for the construction of bioresponsive NGO drug-delivery nanosystems and their use as efficient anticancer drug carriers. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Possibility of using waste tire composites reinforced with rice straw as construction materials.

PubMed

Yang, Han-Seung; Kim, Dae-Jun; Lee, Young-Kyu; Kim, Hyun-Joong; Jeon, Jin-Yong; Kang, Chun-Won

2004-10-01

Agricultural lignocellulosic fiber (rice straw)-waste tire particle composite boards were manufactured for use as insulation boards in construction, using the same method as that used in the wood-based panel industry. The manufacturing parameters were: a specific gravity of 0.8 and a rice straw content (10/90, 20/80 and 30/70 by wt.% of rice straw/waste tire particle). A commercial polyurethane adhesive for rubber was used as the composite binder. The water proof, water absorption and thickness swelling properties of the composite boards were better than those of wood particleboard. Furthermore, the flexibility and flexural properties of the composite boards were superior to those of other wood-based panel products. The composite boards also demonstrated good acoustical insulation, electrical insulation, anti-caustic and anti-rot properties. These boards can be used to prevent impact damage, are easily modifiable and are inexpensive. They are able to be used as a substitute for insulation boards and other flexural materials in construction.

[Construction and characterization of a selective membrane electrode for tenoxicam determination].

PubMed

Murăraşu, Andreea Elena; Mândrescu, Mariana; Spac, A F; Dorneanu, V

2010-01-01

This paper describes the construction and characterization of a selective membrane electrode which can be used for determination of tenoxicam. The electroactive compound is a precipitate obtained in 2 N hydrocloric acid solution containing tenoxicam in which a solution of iodine is added. The membrane is made by mixing the electroactive compound with polyethylene using tetrahydrofurane as solvent. The solution is evaporated in order to obtain a thick membrane, which is attached at one end of a PVC tube and is fixed with the same polymeric solution. In this tube an internal Ag/AgCl reference electrode is inserted. The assembly is filled with an internal solution containing tenoxicam. The electrode was characterized (electrode slope, selectivity, optimal pH range, response time, life time). The developed method was validated. The method showed a good liniarity in the range of 10(-6)-10(-1) M (the correlation coefficient r = 0.9999). The detection limit (LD) was 7.347 x 10(-7) M and the quantification limit (LQ) was 1.017 x 10(-6) M. There were established the precision (RSD = 1.79%) and the accuracy (mean recovery is 100.17%) The experimental results demonstrated a good sensibility.

Development and validation of the Measure of Indigenous Racism Experiences (MIRE)

PubMed Central

Paradies, Yin C; Cunningham, Joan

2008-01-01

Background In recent decades there has been increasing evidence of a relationship between self-reported racism and health. Although a plethora of instruments to measure racism have been developed, very few have been described conceptually or psychometrically Furthermore, this research field has been limited by a dearth of instruments that examine reactions/responses to racism and by a restricted focus on African American populations. Methods In response to these limitations, the 31-item Measure of Indigenous Racism Experiences (MIRE) was developed to assess self-reported racism for Indigenous Australians. This paper describes the development of the MIRE together with an opportunistic examination of its content, construct and convergent validity in a population health study involving 312 Indigenous Australians. Results Focus group research supported the content validity of the MIRE, and inter-item/scale correlations suggested good construct validity. A good fit with a priori conceptual dimensions was demonstrated in factor analysis, and convergence with a separate item on discrimination was satisfactory. Conclusion The MIRE has considerable utility as an instrument that can assess multiple facets of racism together with responses/reactions to racism among indigenous populations and, potentially, among other ethnic/racial groups. PMID:18426602

Assessment of a condition-specific quality-of-life measure for patients with developmentally absent teeth: validity and reliability testing.

PubMed

Akram, A J; Ireland, A J; Postlethwaite, K C; Sandy, J R; Jerreat, A S

2013-11-01

This article describes the process of validity and reliability testing of a condition-specific quality-of-life measure for patients with hypodontia presenting for orthodontic treatment. The development of the instrument is described in a previous article. Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust & Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton. The child perception questionnaire was used as a standard against which to test criterion validity. The Bland and Altman method was used to check agreement between the two questionnaires. Construct validity was tested using principal component analysis on the four sections of the questionnaire. Test-retest reliability was tested using intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland and Altman method. Cronbach's alpha was used to test internal consistency reliability. Overall the questionnaire showed good reliability, criterion and construct validity. This together with previous evidence of good face and content validity suggests that the instrument may prove useful in clinical practice and further research. This study has demonstrated that the newly developed condition-specific quality-of-life questionnaire is both valid and reliable for use in young patients with hypodontia. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

On Classification in the Study of Failure, and a Challenge to Classifiers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wasson, Kimberly S.

2003-01-01

Classification schemes are abundant in the literature of failure. They serve a number of purposes, some more successfully than others. We examine several classification schemes constructed for various purposes relating to failure and its investigation, and discuss their values and limits. The analysis results in a continuum of uses for classification schemes, that suggests that the value of certain properties of these schemes is dependent on the goals a classification is designed to forward. The contrast in the value of different properties for different uses highlights a particular shortcoming: we argue that while humans are good at developing one kind of scheme: dynamic, flexible classifications used for exploratory purposes, we are not so good at developing another: static, rigid classifications used to trap and organize data for specific analytic goals. Our lack of strong foundation in developing valid instantiations of the latter impedes progress toward a number of investigative goals. This shortcoming and its consequences pose a challenge to researchers in the study of failure: to develop new methods for constructing and validating static classification schemes of demonstrable value in promoting the goals of investigations. We note current productive activity in this area, and outline foundations for more.

Evaluation of psychometric properties of the German Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture and its potential for cross-cultural comparisons: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Gambashidze, Nikoloz; Hammer, Antje; Brösterhaus, Mareen; Manser, Tanja

2017-11-09

To study the psychometric characteristics of German version of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture and to compare its dimensionality to other language versions in order to understand the instrument's potential for cross-national studies. Cross-sectional multicentre study to establish psychometric properties of German version of the survey instrument. 73 units from 37 departments of two German university hospitals. Clinical personnel (n=995 responses, response rate 39.6%). Psychometric properties (eg, model fit, internal consistency, construct validity) of the instrument and comparison of dimensionality across different language translations. The instrument demonstrated acceptable to good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.64-0.88). Confirmatory factor analysis of the original 12-factor model resulted in marginally satisfactory model fit (root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)=0.05; standardised root mean residual (SRMR)=0.05; comparative fit index (CFI)=0.90; goodness of fit index (GFI)=0.88; Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI)=0.88). Exploratory factor analysis resulted in an alternative eight-factor model with good model fit (RMSEA=0.05; SRMR=0.05; CFI=0.95; GFI=0.91; TLI=0.94) and good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.73-0.87) and construct validity. Analysis of the dimensionality compared with models from 10 other language versions revealed eight dimensions with relatively stable composition and appearance across different versions and four dimensions requiring further improvement. The German version of Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties for use in German hospitals. However, our comparison of instrument dimensionality across different language versions indicates limitations concerning cross-national studies. Results of this study can be considered in interpreting findings across national contexts, in further refinement of the instrument for cross-national studies and in better understanding the various facets and dimensions of patient safety culture. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

49 CFR 395.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... merchandising activities designed to retain the customer or to increase the sale of goods or services, in... transportation of construction and pavement materials, construction equipment, and construction maintenance...

Review on heavy ion radiotherapy facilities and related ion sources (invited)a)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitagawa, A.; Fujita, T.; Muramatsu, M.; Biri, S.; Drentje, A. G.

2010-02-01

Heavy ion radiotherapy awakens worldwide interest recently. The clinical results obtained by the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Japan have clearly demonstrated the advantages of carbon ion radiotherapy. Presently, there are four facilities for heavy ion radiotherapy in operation, and several new facilities are under construction or being planned. The most common requests for ion sources are a long lifetime and good stability and reproducibility. Sufficient intensity has been achieved by electron cyclotron resonance ion sources at the present facilities.

A Portuguese version of the student-teacher relationship scale - short form.

PubMed

Patrício, Joana Nunes; Barata, M Clara; Calheiros, M Manuela; Graça, João

2015-05-20

Research consistently demonstrates that positive student-teacher relationships are fundamental to the healthy development of all students. However, we lack a Portuguese-validated measure of student-teacher relationships. In this article we present the adaptation procedures and the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale - Short Form (Pianta, 1992). Five hundred and thirty five teachers from 127 schools completed the STRS-SF. The results demonstrate that this adapted version of the STRS-SF has good psychometric properties, namely high reliability (α = .84 to .87) and expected construct validity, which were tested through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (χ2/df = 1.65, CFI = .96, GFI = .93, RMSEA = 0.05). This study also showed that the correlations of student-teacher relationship with students' demographic variables are consistent with the evidence in the literature about this construct. Finally, the study indicated that female teachers reported more closeness, t(530) = 4.06, p < .001 and better overall student-teacher relationships, t(530) = 4.90, p < .001. In the discussion, we analyze the implications of these results.

Internalized Homophobia Scale for Gay Chinese Men: Conceptualization, Factor Structure, Reliability, and Associations With Hypothesized Correlates.

PubMed

Ren, Zhengjia; Hood, Ralph W

2018-04-01

This study reports the development of an inventory to assess the perceived internalized homophobia of gay men in a collectivistic Chinese cultural context. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using two samples suggested the viability and stability of a three-factor model: internalized heteronormativity (IHN), family-oriented identity (FOI), and socially oriented identity (SOI). The 11-item internalized homophobia inventory demonstrated good internal consistency and construct validity. Internalized homophobia was related positively to the extent of a sense of loneliness and negatively to self-evaluation and the discrepancy in self-identification as a gay man. In addition, the participants' internalized SOI consistently predicted their coming out choices in their social surroundings, while their FOI predicted their decisions to enter into heterosexual marriages. The findings suggest that sexual self-prejudice was correlated with IHN, family values, and social norms. The present research demonstrates that a culturally sensitive scale is necessary to understand the cultural and family-oriented values that influence gay Chinese men's everyday lives, self-constructs, and behavioral choices.

K-Ion Batteries Based on a P2-Type K 0.6CoO 2 Cathode

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

Kim, Haegyeom; Kim, Jae Chul; Bo, Shou-Hang

K-ion batteries are a potentially exciting and new energy storage technology that can combine high specific energy, cycle life, and good power capability, all while using abundant potassium resources. The discovery of novel cathodes is a critical step toward realizing K-ion batteries (KIBs). In this work, a layered P2-type K 0.6CoO 2 cathode is developed and highly reversible K ion intercalation is demonstrated. In situ X-ray diffraction combined with electrochemical titration reveals that P2-type K 0.6CoO 2 can store and release a considerable amount of K ions via a topotactic reaction. Despite the large amount of phase transitions as functionmore » of K content, the cathode operates highly reversibly and with good rate capability. The practical feasibility of KIBs is further demonstrated by constructing full cells with a graphite anode. This work highlights the potential of KIBs as viable alternatives for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries and provides new insights and directions for the development of next-generation energy storage systems.« less

K-Ion Batteries Based on a P2-Type K 0.6CoO 2 Cathode

DOE PAGES

Kim, Haegyeom; Kim, Jae Chul; Bo, Shou-Hang; ...

2017-05-02

K-ion batteries are a potentially exciting and new energy storage technology that can combine high specific energy, cycle life, and good power capability, all while using abundant potassium resources. The discovery of novel cathodes is a critical step toward realizing K-ion batteries (KIBs). In this work, a layered P2-type K 0.6CoO 2 cathode is developed and highly reversible K ion intercalation is demonstrated. In situ X-ray diffraction combined with electrochemical titration reveals that P2-type K 0.6CoO 2 can store and release a considerable amount of K ions via a topotactic reaction. Despite the large amount of phase transitions as functionmore » of K content, the cathode operates highly reversibly and with good rate capability. The practical feasibility of KIBs is further demonstrated by constructing full cells with a graphite anode. This work highlights the potential of KIBs as viable alternatives for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries and provides new insights and directions for the development of next-generation energy storage systems.« less

48 CFR 52.225-24 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Statute...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Statute-Construction Materials Under Trade....225-24 Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Statute...: Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Statute—Construction...

The multi-faceted assessment of independence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: preliminary validation from the ATTAIN study.

PubMed

Hassett, Afton L; Li, Tracy; Buyske, Steven; Savage, Shantal V; Gignac, Monique A M

2008-05-01

To consider the feasibility of assessing multiple facets of independence in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a measure developed from existing items and examining its face validity, construct validity and responsiveness to change. The ATTAIN (Abatacept Trial in Treatment of Anti-tumor necrosis factor [TNF] Inadequate responders) database was used. Patients with RA were randomized 2:1, abatacept (n = 258) and placebo (n = 133). A multi-faceted scale to measure physical and psychosocial independence was constructed using items from the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). Questions assessing activity limitations and need for outside caregiver help were also examined. Interviews with 20 RA patients assessed face validity. Item Response Theory analysis yielded two traits - 'Psychosocial Independence', derived from the number of days with activity limitations plus the Role Emotional, Social Functioning and Role Physical subscale items from the SF-36; and 'Physical Independence', derived from 15 HAQ items assessing need for help from another. The two traits showed no significant differential item functioning for age or gender and demonstrated good face validity. Changes over 169 days on Psychosocial Independence were greater (mean 0.46 units, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17-0.75) for the abatacept group than for placebo (p = 0.002). Changes in Physical Independence were greater (mean 0.59 units, 95% CI: 0.35-0.82) for the abatacept group than for placebo (p < 0.001). The multi-faceted assessment of independence in RA based on items from commonly used instruments is feasible suggesting promise for evaluating independence in future clinical trials. This approach demonstrated good face and construct validity and responsiveness in RA patients who had previously failed anti-TNF therapy. However, we caution against an interpretation that these data suggest that abatacept improves independence because the component parts of this assessment came from instruments used in the ATTAIN trial where data had been previously analyzed.

Psychometric Properties of Translation of the Child Perception Questionnaire (CPQ11-14) in Telugu Speaking Indian Children.

PubMed

Kumar, Santhosh; Kroon, Jeroen; Lalloo, Ratilal; Johnson, Newell W

2016-01-01

Oral health related quality of life research among children in India is still nascent and no measures have been validated to date. Although CPQ11-14 has been previously used in studies from the Indian sub-continent, the instrument has never been tested for cross-cultural adaptability. This study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of CPQ11-14 in Telugu speaking Indian school children. Primary school children of Medak district, Telangana State, India, were recruited by a multi-stage probability sampling method. The translated questionnaire was initially pilot tested on a small subset of children (n = 40). Children with informed consent from parents (N = 1342) were then provided with questionnaires containing the Telugu translation of CPQ11-14, followed by a clinical examination conducted by a single examiner, using Basic WHO survey methods for dental caries, malocclusion, and Dean's Fluorosis index. Children (n = 161) in randomly chosen schools were re-administered the same questionnaire after a two week interval to test reliability of CPQ11-14 on repeated administrations. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability as determined by Cronbach's alpha and Intra-class correlation coefficient for overall CPQ11-14 scale were 0.925 and 0.923, respectively. CPQ11-14 discriminated between the categories of fluorosis and malocclusion while its discriminant validity with respect to dental caries was limited. CPQ11-14 also demonstrated good construct validity with both overall CPQ11-14 and its subscales having significant positive correlation with global ratings of oral health and overall wellbeing, even after adjusting for confounding variables. CPQ11-14 had a correlation of 0.405 with self-evaluated oral health and 0.407 with self-evaluated impact of oral health on overall wellbeing. In conclusion, Telugu translation of CPQ11-14 demonstrated good internal consistency and excellent reliability on repeated administrations after two weeks. It also exhibited good discriminant and construct validity.

Predictive value and construct validity of the work functioning screener-healthcare (WFS-H).

PubMed

Boezeman, Edwin J; Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; Sluiter, Judith K

2016-05-25

To test the predictive value and convergent construct validity of a 6-item work functioning screener (WFS-H). Healthcare workers (249 nurses) completed a questionnaire containing the work functioning screener (WFS-H) and a work functioning instrument (NWFQ) measuring the following: cognitive aspects of task execution and general incidents, avoidance behavior, conflicts and irritation with colleagues, impaired contact with patients and their family, and level of energy and motivation. Productivity and mental health were also measured. Negative and positive predictive values, AUC values, and sensitivity and specificity were calculated to examine the predictive value of the screener. Correlation analysis was used to examine the construct validity. The screener had good predictive value, since the results showed that a negative screener score is a strong indicator of work functioning not hindered by mental health problems (negative predictive values: 94%-98%; positive predictive values: 21%-36%; AUC:.64-.82; sensitivity: 42%-76%; and specificity 85%-87%). The screener has good construct validity due to moderate, but significant (p<.001), associations with productivity (r=.51), mental health (r=.48), and distress (r=.47). The screener (WFS-H) had good predictive value and good construct validity. Its score offers occupational health professionals a helpful preliminary insight into the work functioning of healthcare workers.

Association between perceived present working conditions and demands versus attitude to early retirement among construction workers.

PubMed

Jebens, Einar; Medbø, Jon I; Knutsen, Oddvar; Mamen, Asgeir; Veiersted, Kaj Bo

2014-01-01

Early retirement is an increasing problem in the construction industry. There is limited information about causes leading employees to leave working life early. We have compared construction workers present situation with their perception of future demands at work to avoid early retirement. All 87 employees in a medium-sized Norwegian construction company participated in the study. All were men and answered questionnaires on health and pain, work ability, mechanical exposure, psychosocial conditions, and demands regarding future working conditions. Most workers showed good work ability, irrespective of age. Many reported high levels of mechanical exposure at work. The level of musculoskeletal pain was higher in the middle-aged (30-50 year old) age groups and seniors aged over 50 years than among the youngest workers less than 30 years of age. All workers reported that good health was important for continued working. Most workers stated that future work must not be too physically demanding. Many workers reported relatively low job satisfaction; consequently an interesting job was rated as important for continuing work. Good social conditions were a high priority. According to the examined construction workers, good health and reduced levels of mechanical exposure at work are essential to avoid early retirement.

Predicting Air Permeability of Handloom Fabrics: A Comparative Analysis of Regression and Artificial Neural Network Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitra, Ashis; Majumdar, Prabal Kumar; Bannerjee, Debamalya

2013-03-01

This paper presents a comparative analysis of two modeling methodologies for the prediction of air permeability of plain woven handloom cotton fabrics. Four basic fabric constructional parameters namely ends per inch, picks per inch, warp count and weft count have been used as inputs for artificial neural network (ANN) and regression models. Out of the four regression models tried, interaction model showed very good prediction performance with a meager mean absolute error of 2.017 %. However, ANN models demonstrated superiority over the regression models both in terms of correlation coefficient and mean absolute error. The ANN model with 10 nodes in the single hidden layer showed very good correlation coefficient of 0.982 and 0.929 and mean absolute error of only 0.923 and 2.043 % for training and testing data respectively.

Psychometric assessment of the Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit questionnaire in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Harrison, David A; Ferrando-Vivas, Paloma; Wright, Stephen E; McColl, Elaine; Heyland, Daren K; Rowan, Kathryn M

2017-04-01

To establish the psychometric properties of the Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit 24-item (FS-ICU-24) questionnaire in the United Kingdom. The Family-Reported Experiences Evaluation study recruited family members of patients staying at least 24 hours in 20 participating intensive care units. Questionnaires were evaluated for nonresponse, floor/ceiling effects, redundancy, and construct validity. Internal consistency was evaluated with item-to-own scale correlations and Cronbach α. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were used to explore the underlying structure. Twelve thousand three hundred forty-six family members of 6380 patients were recruited and 7173 (58%) family members of 4615 patients returned a completed questionnaire. One family member per patient was included in the psychometric assessment. Six items had greater than 10% nonresponse; 1 item had a ceiling effect; and 11 items had potential redundancy. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach α, overall .96; satisfaction with care, .94; satisfaction with decision making, .93). The 2-factor solution was not a good fit. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that satisfaction with decision making encompassed 2 constructs-satisfaction with information and satisfaction with the decision-making process. The Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit 24-item questionnaire demonstrated good psychometric properties in the United Kingdom setting. Construct validity could be improved by use of 3 domains and some scope for further improvement was identified. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dutch version of the Fear of Pain Questionnaire for adolescents with chronic pain.

PubMed

Dekker, Carolien; Bastiaenen, Caroline H G; de Vries, Janneke E; Simons, Laura E; Goossens, Mariëlle E J B; Verbunt, Jeanine A M C F

2018-06-01

Fear of pain is important in the development and maintenance of chronic pain. The Fear of Pain Questionnaire-Child version has been developed to assess pain related fear in children and adolescents. Translating the original questionnaire into Dutch, and investigating internal consistency and construct validity to enable use in the Dutch pain rehabilitation setting for treatment and research. Cross-sectional validation study: After forward and back translation of the FOPQ-C, adolescents (11-22 years old) with chronic musculoskeletal pain completed an assessment containing the Dutch Fear of Pain Questionnaire, and questionnaires about demographics, pain catastrophizing, functional disability, and pain intensity. Internal consistency and construct validity were evaluated through exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factoring with oblique rotation) and hypotheses testing using pain catastrophizing, functional disability, and pain intensity as comparative constructs. Eighty-six adolescents completed the assessment. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a two-factor structure, explaining 43% of the variance. Internal consistency was strong (Cronbach's α = 0.92 total scale, α = 0.88 factor 1, and α = .86 factor 2). Five out of 6 hypotheses were confirmed. The Dutch version demonstrated good internal consistency and good construct validity in a population of adolescents with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Implications for rehabilitation The Fear of Pain Questionnaire-Child version was developed to measure fear of pain and avoidance in children and adolescents with chronic pain. Identification of fear of pain and activities that are being avoided are important during screening and assessment of the adolescent for chronic pain rehabilitation treatment. The presence of fear of pain and/or avoidance behavior is important information to shape and target multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment.

Questionnaire for measuring organisational attributes in dental-care practices: psychometric properties and test-retest reliability.

PubMed

Goetz, Katja; Hasse, Philipp; Szecsenyi, Joachim; Campbell, Stephen M

2016-04-01

The consideration of organisational aspects, such as shared goals and clear communication, within the health care team is important to ensure good quality care. In primary health care, the instrument Survey of Organizational Attributes for Primary Care (SOAPC) is available to measure organisational attributes of care. However, there is no instrument available for dental care. The aim of the present study was to investigate psychometric properties and test-retest reliability of the version of SOAPC adapted for dental care, namely the Survey of Organizational Attributes in Dental Care (SOADC). The SOADC consists of 21 items in the following four subscales: communication; decision making; stress/chaos; and history of change. Convergent construct validity was measured using the job satisfaction scale. A total of 287 dental-care practices were asked to participate in the validation study. Psychometric properties and test-retest reliability were observed. A total of 43 dental-care practices responded to the survey. At baseline, 178 dental-care staff completed the questionnaire, and 4 weeks later 138 did so. Internal consistency, measured by Cronbach's alpha, was 0.718 or higher in the subscales. The test-retest reliability for each subscale and the overall SOADC score demonstrated good correlations over the 4-week test-retest interval, except for 'history of change'. A strong correlation with the aggregated job-satisfaction scale showed high convergent construct validity of SOADC. The consideration of organisational aspects from the perspective of dental-care teams is important for providing good quality of care. The SOADC is a reliable instrument with good psychometric properties and is suitable for the evaluation of organisational attributes in dental-care practices. © 2015 FDI World Dental Federation.

Nitrogen-doped graphene network supported copper nanoparticles encapsulated with graphene shells for surface-enhanced Raman scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiang; Shi, Chunsheng; Liu, Enzuo; Li, Jiajun; Zhao, Naiqin; He, Chunnian

2015-10-01

In this study, we demonstrated nitrogen-doped graphene network supported few-layered graphene shell encapsulated Cu nanoparticles (NPs) (Cu@G-NGNs) as a sensing platform, which were constructed by a simple and scalable in situ chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique with the assistance of a self-assembled three-dimensional (3D) NaCl template. Compared with pure Cu NPs and graphene decorated Cu NPs, the graphene shells can strengthen the plasmonic coupling between graphene and Cu, thereby contributing to an obvious improvement in the local electromagnetic field that was validated by finite element numerical simulations, while the 3D nitrogen-doped graphene walls with a large surface area facilitated molecule adsorption and the doped nitrogen atoms embedded in the graphene lattice can reduce the surface energy of the system. With these merits, a good surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) activity of the 3D Cu@G-NGN painting film on glass was demonstrated using rhodamine 6G and crystal violet as model analytes, exhibiting a satisfactory sensitivity, reproducibility and stability. As far as we know, this is the first report on the in situ synthesis of nitrogen-doped graphene/copper nanocomposites and this facile and low-cost Cu-based strategy tends to be a good supplement to Ag and Au based substrates for SERS applications.In this study, we demonstrated nitrogen-doped graphene network supported few-layered graphene shell encapsulated Cu nanoparticles (NPs) (Cu@G-NGNs) as a sensing platform, which were constructed by a simple and scalable in situ chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique with the assistance of a self-assembled three-dimensional (3D) NaCl template. Compared with pure Cu NPs and graphene decorated Cu NPs, the graphene shells can strengthen the plasmonic coupling between graphene and Cu, thereby contributing to an obvious improvement in the local electromagnetic field that was validated by finite element numerical simulations, while the 3D nitrogen-doped graphene walls with a large surface area facilitated molecule adsorption and the doped nitrogen atoms embedded in the graphene lattice can reduce the surface energy of the system. With these merits, a good surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) activity of the 3D Cu@G-NGN painting film on glass was demonstrated using rhodamine 6G and crystal violet as model analytes, exhibiting a satisfactory sensitivity, reproducibility and stability. As far as we know, this is the first report on the in situ synthesis of nitrogen-doped graphene/copper nanocomposites and this facile and low-cost Cu-based strategy tends to be a good supplement to Ag and Au based substrates for SERS applications. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr04259c

Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis Version 2.1: Construction, Observational Verification, and New Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eldridge, J. J.; Stanway, E. R.; Xiao, L.; McClelland, L. A. S.; Taylor, G.; Ng, M.; Greis, S. M. L.; Bray, J. C.

2017-11-01

The Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis suite of binary stellar evolution models and synthetic stellar populations provides a framework for the physically motivated analysis of both the integrated light from distant stellar populations and the detailed properties of those nearby. We present a new version 2.1 data release of these models, detailing the methodology by which Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis incorporates binary mass transfer and its effect on stellar evolution pathways, as well as the construction of simple stellar populations. We demonstrate key tests of the latest Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis model suite demonstrating its ability to reproduce the colours and derived properties of resolved stellar populations, including well-constrained eclipsing binaries. We consider observational constraints on the ratio of massive star types and the distribution of stellar remnant masses. We describe the identification of supernova progenitors in our models, and demonstrate a good agreement to the properties of observed progenitors. We also test our models against photometric and spectroscopic observations of unresolved stellar populations, both in the local and distant Universe, finding that binary models provide a self-consistent explanation for observed galaxy properties across a broad redshift range. Finally, we carefully describe the limitations of our models, and areas where we expect to see significant improvement in future versions.

Positive prenatal well-being: conceptualising and measuring mindfulness and gratitude in pregnancy.

PubMed

O' Leary, Karen; Dockray, Samantha; Hammond, Sean

2016-08-01

Little research has examined the usefulness of positive well-being factors during pregnancy. Recent mindfulness research demonstrates that inconsistencies and the suitability of extant measures have yet to be examined in pregnancy. Effects of gratitude during pregnancy have yet to be examined despite consistently reported benefits in non-pregnant groups. The aims of this paper were to develop the Gratitude during Pregnancy (GDP) scale, validate the Mindfulness Awareness Attention Scale (MAAS) and examine the importance of gratitude and mindfulness during pregnancy. In study 1, 375 pregnant women completed gratitude and mindfulness measures. The one-factor structure of the MAAS was retained and demonstrated good reliability α = 0.88. Using exploratory factor analysis, an 18-item GDP scale was developed, demonstrating good reliability α = 0.89. The four GDP factors are as follows: general gratitude, physical changes, antenatal care and social support. In study 2, 87 pregnant women completed well-being questionnaires, including the GDP and MAAS. Gratitude correlated with positive affect, life satisfaction and pregnancy uplifts (p < .001); mindfulness correlated negatively with negative affect and pregnancy hassles (p < .001) and positively correlated with positive affect and pregnancy uplifts (p < .05). These findings highlight the importance of mindfulness and gratitude and provide a reliable means to measure both constructs during pregnancy.

Construct Validity of the Multidimensional Structure of Bullying and Victimization: An Application of Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marsh, Herbert W.; Nagengast, Benjamin; Morin, Alexandre J. S.; Parada, Roberto H.; Craven, Rhonda G.; Hamilton, Linda R.

2011-01-01

Existing research posits multiple dimensions of bullying and victimization but has not identified well-differentiated facets of these constructs that meet standards of good measurement: goodness of fit, measurement invariance, lack of differential item functioning, and well-differentiated factors that are not so highly correlated as to detract…

48 CFR 52.225-24 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction Materials Under Trade Agreements....225-24 Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Act...: Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Act—Construction...

The application of waste fly ash and construction-waste in cement filling material in goaf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, W. X.; Xiao, F. K.; Guan, X. H.; Cheng, Y.; Shi, X. P.; Liu, S. M.; Wang, W. W.

2018-01-01

As the process of urbanization accelerated, resulting in a large number of abandoned fly ash and construction waste, which have occupied the farmland and polluted the environment. In this paper, a large number of construction waste and abandoned fly ash are mixed into the filling material in goaf, the best formula of the filling material which containing a large amount of abandoned fly ash and construction waste is obtained, and the performance of the filling material is analyzed. The experimental results show that the cost of filling material is very low while the performance is very good, which have a good prospect in goaf.

Rater reliability and construct validity of a mobile application for posture analysis

PubMed Central

Szucs, Kimberly A.; Brown, Elena V. Donoso

2018-01-01

[Purpose] Measurement of posture is important for those with a clinical diagnosis as well as researchers aiming to understand the impact of faulty postures on the development of musculoskeletal disorders. A reliable, cost-effective and low tech posture measure may be beneficial for research and clinical applications. The purpose of this study was to determine rater reliability and construct validity of a posture screening mobile application in healthy young adults. [Subjects and Methods] Pictures of subjects were taken in three standing positions. Two raters independently digitized the static standing posture image twice. The app calculated posture variables, including sagittal and coronal plane translations and angulations. Intra- and inter-rater reliability were calculated using the appropriate ICC models for complete agreement. Construct validity was determined through comparison of known groups using repeated measures ANOVA. [Results] Intra-rater reliability ranged from 0.71 to 0.99. Inter-rater reliability was good to excellent for all translations. ICCs were stronger for translations versus angulations. The construct validity analysis found that the app was able to detect the change in the four variables selected. [Conclusion] The posture mobile application has demonstrated strong rater reliability and preliminary evidence of construct validity. This application may have utility in clinical and research settings. PMID:29410561

The DASS-14: Improving the Construct Validity and Reliability of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale in a Cohort of Health Professionals.

PubMed

Wise, Frances M; Harris, Darren W; Olver, John H

2017-01-01

Considerable research has been undertaken in evaluating the DASS-21 in a variety of clinical populations, but studies of the instrument's psychometric adequacy in healthcare professionals is lacking. This study aimed to establish and improve the construct validity and reliability of the DASS-21 in a cohort of Australian health professionals. 343 rehabilitation health professionals completed the DASS-21, along with a demographic questionnaire. Principal components analysis was performed to identify potential factors in the DASS-21. Factors were interpreted against theoretical constructs underlying the instrument. Items loading on separate factors were then subjected to reliability analysis to determine internal consistency of subscales. Items that demonstrated poor fit, or loaded onto more than one factor, were deleted to maximise the reliability of each subscale. Principal components analysis identified three dimensions (depression, anxiety, stress) in a modified version of the DASS-21 (renamed DASS-14), with appropriate construct validity and good reliability (a=0.73 to 0.88). The three dimensions accounted for over 62% of variance between items. The modified DASS-14 scale is a more parsimonious measure of depression, anxiety, and stress, with acceptable reliability and construct validity, in rehabilitation health professionals and is appropriate for use in studies of similar populations.

Rater reliability and construct validity of a mobile application for posture analysis.

PubMed

Szucs, Kimberly A; Brown, Elena V Donoso

2018-01-01

[Purpose] Measurement of posture is important for those with a clinical diagnosis as well as researchers aiming to understand the impact of faulty postures on the development of musculoskeletal disorders. A reliable, cost-effective and low tech posture measure may be beneficial for research and clinical applications. The purpose of this study was to determine rater reliability and construct validity of a posture screening mobile application in healthy young adults. [Subjects and Methods] Pictures of subjects were taken in three standing positions. Two raters independently digitized the static standing posture image twice. The app calculated posture variables, including sagittal and coronal plane translations and angulations. Intra- and inter-rater reliability were calculated using the appropriate ICC models for complete agreement. Construct validity was determined through comparison of known groups using repeated measures ANOVA. [Results] Intra-rater reliability ranged from 0.71 to 0.99. Inter-rater reliability was good to excellent for all translations. ICCs were stronger for translations versus angulations. The construct validity analysis found that the app was able to detect the change in the four variables selected. [Conclusion] The posture mobile application has demonstrated strong rater reliability and preliminary evidence of construct validity. This application may have utility in clinical and research settings.

Reliability and Validity of Assessing User Satisfaction With Web-Based Health Interventions

PubMed Central

Lehr, Dirk; Reis, Dorota; Vis, Christiaan; Riper, Heleen; Berking, Matthias; Ebert, David Daniel

2016-01-01

Background The perspective of users should be taken into account in the evaluation of Web-based health interventions. Assessing the users’ satisfaction with the intervention they receive could enhance the evidence for the intervention effects. Thus, there is a need for valid and reliable measures to assess satisfaction with Web-based health interventions. Objective The objective of this study was to analyze the reliability, factorial structure, and construct validity of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire adapted to Internet-based interventions (CSQ-I). Methods The psychometric quality of the CSQ-I was analyzed in user samples from 2 separate randomized controlled trials evaluating Web-based health interventions, one from a depression prevention intervention (sample 1, N=174) and the other from a stress management intervention (sample 2, N=111). At first, the underlying measurement model of the CSQ-I was analyzed to determine the internal consistency. The factorial structure of the scale and the measurement invariance across groups were tested by multigroup confirmatory factor analyses. Additionally, the construct validity of the scale was examined by comparing satisfaction scores with the primary clinical outcome. Results Multigroup confirmatory analyses on the scale yielded a one-factorial structure with a good fit (root-mean-square error of approximation =.09, comparative fit index =.96, standardized root-mean-square residual =.05) that showed partial strong invariance across the 2 samples. The scale showed very good reliability, indicated by McDonald omegas of .95 in sample 1 and .93 in sample 2. Significant correlations with change in depressive symptoms (r=−.35, P<.001) and perceived stress (r=−.48, P<.001) demonstrated the construct validity of the scale. Conclusions The proven internal consistency, factorial structure, and construct validity of the CSQ-I indicate a good overall psychometric quality of the measure to assess the user’s general satisfaction with Web-based interventions for depression and stress management. Multigroup analyses indicate its robustness across different samples. Thus, the CSQ-I seems to be a suitable measure to consider the user’s perspective in the overall evaluation of Web-based health interventions. PMID:27582341

Reliability and Validity of Assessing User Satisfaction With Web-Based Health Interventions.

PubMed

Boß, Leif; Lehr, Dirk; Reis, Dorota; Vis, Christiaan; Riper, Heleen; Berking, Matthias; Ebert, David Daniel

2016-08-31

The perspective of users should be taken into account in the evaluation of Web-based health interventions. Assessing the users' satisfaction with the intervention they receive could enhance the evidence for the intervention effects. Thus, there is a need for valid and reliable measures to assess satisfaction with Web-based health interventions. The objective of this study was to analyze the reliability, factorial structure, and construct validity of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire adapted to Internet-based interventions (CSQ-I). The psychometric quality of the CSQ-I was analyzed in user samples from 2 separate randomized controlled trials evaluating Web-based health interventions, one from a depression prevention intervention (sample 1, N=174) and the other from a stress management intervention (sample 2, N=111). At first, the underlying measurement model of the CSQ-I was analyzed to determine the internal consistency. The factorial structure of the scale and the measurement invariance across groups were tested by multigroup confirmatory factor analyses. Additionally, the construct validity of the scale was examined by comparing satisfaction scores with the primary clinical outcome. Multigroup confirmatory analyses on the scale yielded a one-factorial structure with a good fit (root-mean-square error of approximation =.09, comparative fit index =.96, standardized root-mean-square residual =.05) that showed partial strong invariance across the 2 samples. The scale showed very good reliability, indicated by McDonald omegas of .95 in sample 1 and .93 in sample 2. Significant correlations with change in depressive symptoms (r=-.35, P<.001) and perceived stress (r=-.48, P<.001) demonstrated the construct validity of the scale. The proven internal consistency, factorial structure, and construct validity of the CSQ-I indicate a good overall psychometric quality of the measure to assess the user's general satisfaction with Web-based interventions for depression and stress management. Multigroup analyses indicate its robustness across different samples. Thus, the CSQ-I seems to be a suitable measure to consider the user's perspective in the overall evaluation of Web-based health interventions.

Development and validation of PediaTrac™: A web-based tool to track developing infants.

PubMed

Lajiness-O'Neill, Renée; Brooks, Judith; Lukomski, Angela; Schilling, Stephen; Huth-Bocks, Alissa; Warschausky, Seth; Flores, Ana-Mercedes; Swick, Casey; Nyman, Tristin; Andersen, Tiffany; Morris, Natalie; Schmitt, Thomas A; Bell-Smith, Jennifer; Moir, Barbara; Hodges, Elise K; Lyddy, James E

2018-02-01

PediaTrac™, a 363-item web-based tool to track infant development, administered in modules of ∼40-items per sampling period, newborn (NB), 2--, 4--, 6--, 9-- and 12--months was validated. Caregivers answered demographic, medical, and environmental questions, and questions covering the sensorimotor, feeding/eating, sleep, speech/language, cognition, social-emotional, and attachment domains. Expert Panel Reviews and Cognitive Interviews (CI) were conducted to validate the item bank. Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) methods were employed to examine the dimensionality and psychometric properties of PediaTrac with pooled longitudinal and cross-sectional cohorts (N = 132). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for the Expert Panel Review revealed moderate agreement at 6 -months and good reliability at other sampling periods. ICC estimates for CI revealed moderate reliability regarding clarity of the items at NB and 4 months, good reliability at 2--, 9-- and 12--months and excellent reliability at 6 -months. CTT revealed good coefficient alpha estimates (α ≥ 0.77 for five of the six ages) for the Social-Emotional/Communication, Attachment (α ≥ 0.89 for all ages), and Sensorimotor (α ≥ 0.75 at 6-months) domains, revealing the need for better targeting of sensorimotor items. IRT modeling revealed good reliability (r = 0.85-0.95) for three distinct domains (Feeding/Eating, Social-Emotional/Communication and Attachment) and four subdomains (Feeding Breast/Formula, Feeding Solid Food, Social-Emotional Information Processing, Communication/Cognition). Convergent and discriminant construct validity were demonstrated between our IRT-modeled domains and constructs derived from existing developmental, behavioral and caregiver measures. Our Attachment domain was significantly correlated with existing measures at the NB and 2-month periods, while the Social-Emotional/Communication domain was highly correlated with similar constructs at the 6-, 9- and 12-month periods. PediaTrac has potential for producing novel and effective estimates of infant development via the Sensorimotor, Feeding/Eating, Social-Emotional/Communication and Attachment domains. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Construct validity, test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the Thai version of the disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand questionnaire (DASH-TH) in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.

PubMed

Buntragulpoontawee, Montana; Phutrit, Suphatha; Tongprasert, Siam; Wongpakaran, Tinakon; Khunachiva, Jeeranan

2018-03-27

This study evaluated additional psychometric properties of the Thai version of the disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand questionnaire (DASH-TH) which included, test-retest reliability, construct validity, internal consistency of in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. As for determining construct validity, the Thai EuroQOL questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) was also administered in order to examine convergent and divergent validity. Fifty patients completed both questionnaires. The DASH-TH showed excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.811) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.911). The exploratory factor analysis yielded a six-factor solution while the confirmatory factor analysis denoted that the hypothesized model adequately fit the data with a comparative fit index of 0.967 and a Tucker-Lewis index of 0.964. The related subscales between the DASH-TH and the Thai EQ-5D-5L were significantly correlated, indicating the DASH-TH's convergent and discriminant validity. The DASH-TH demonstrated good reliability, internal consistency construct validity, and multidimensionality, in assessing the upper extremity function in carpal tunnel syndrome patients.

A CuNi/C Nanosheet Array Based on a Metal-Organic Framework Derivate as a Supersensitive Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Li; Ye, Chen; Li, Xu; Ding, Yaru; Liang, Hongbo; Zhao, Guangyu; Wang, Yan

2018-06-01

Bimetal catalysts are good alternatives for non-enzymatic glucose sensors owing to their low cost, high activity, good conductivity, and ease of fabrication. In the present study, a self-supported CuNi/C electrode prepared by electrodepositing Cu nanoparticles on a Ni-based metal-organic framework (MOF) derivate was used as a non-enzymatic glucose sensor. The porous construction and carbon scaffold inherited from the Ni-MOF guarantee good kinetics of the electrode process in electrochemical glucose detection. Furthermore, Cu nanoparticles disturb the array structure of MOF derived films and evidently enhance their electrochemical performances in glucose detection. Electrochemical measurements indicate that the CuNi/C electrode possesses a high sensitivity of 17.12 mA mM-1 cm-2, a low detection limit of 66.67 nM, and a wider linearity range from 0.20 to 2.72 mM. Additionally, the electrode exhibits good reusability, reproducibility, and stability, thereby catering to the practical use of glucose sensors. Similar values of glucose concentrations in human blood serum samples are detected with our electrode and with the method involving glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase; the results further demonstrate the practical feasibility of our electrode.

Validity and reliability of the robotic objective structured assessment of technical skills

PubMed Central

Siddiqui, Nazema Y.; Galloway, Michael L.; Geller, Elizabeth J.; Green, Isabel C.; Hur, Hye-Chun; Langston, Kyle; Pitter, Michael C.; Tarr, Megan E.; Martino, Martin A.

2015-01-01

Objective Objective structured assessments of technical skills (OSATS) have been developed to measure the skill of surgical trainees. Our aim was to develop an OSATS specifically for trainees learning robotic surgery. Study Design This is a multi-institutional study in eight academic training programs. We created an assessment form to evaluate robotic surgical skill through five inanimate exercises. Obstetrics/gynecology, general surgery, and urology residents, fellows, and faculty completed five robotic exercises on a standard training model. Study sessions were recorded and randomly assigned to three blinded judges who scored performance using the assessment form. Construct validity was evaluated by comparing scores between participants with different levels of surgical experience; inter- and intra-rater reliability were also assessed. Results We evaluated 83 residents, 9 fellows, and 13 faculty, totaling 105 participants; 88 (84%) were from obstetrics/gynecology. Our assessment form demonstrated construct validity, with faculty and fellows performing significantly better than residents (mean scores: 89 ± 8 faculty; 74 ± 17 fellows; 59 ± 22 residents, p<0.01). In addition, participants with more robotic console experience scored significantly higher than those with fewer prior console surgeries (p<0.01). R-OSATS demonstrated good inter-rater reliability across all five drills (mean Cronbach's α: 0.79 ± 0.02). Intra-rater reliability was also high (mean Spearman's correlation: 0.91 ± 0.11). Conclusions We developed an assessment form for robotic surgical skill that demonstrates construct validity, inter- and intra-rater reliability. When paired with standardized robotic skill drills this form may be useful to distinguish between levels of trainee performance. PMID:24807319

"You're Not Just Learning It, You're Living It!" Constructing the "Good Life" in Australian University Online Promotional Videos

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottschall, Kristina; Saltmarsh, Sue

2017-01-01

Online promotional videos on Australian university websites are a form of institutional branding and marketing that construct university experience in a variety of ways. Here we consider how these multimedia texts represent student lifestyles, identities and aspirations in terms of the "good life." We consider how the "promise of…

Discussion on Construction Technology of Prestressed Reinforced Concrete Pipeline of Municipal Water Supply and Drainage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chunyan

2017-11-01

Prestressed reinforced concrete pipe has the advantages of good bending resistance, good anti-corrosion, anti-seepage, low price and so on. It is very common in municipal water supply and drainage engineering. This paper mainly explore the analyze the construction technology of the prestressed reinforced concrete pipe in municipal water supply and drainage engineering.

A Diastereoselective Multicomponent Reaction for Construction of Alkynylamide-Substituted α,β-Diamino Acid Derivatives To Hunt Hits.

PubMed

Lei, Ruirui; Wu, Yong; Dong, Suzhen; Jia, Kaili; Liu, Shunying; Hu, Wenhao

2017-03-17

A highly diasetereoselective Mannich-type multicomponent reaction was developed to rapidly construct alkynylamide-substituted α,β-diamino acid derivatives from simple starting materials under mild conditions in moderate to good yields for hit hunting. Most of the resulting products 4 exhibited good anticancer activity in HCT116, BEL7402, and SMMC7721 cells.

48 CFR 52.225-22 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction Materials. 52.225-22 Section 52... Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Act—Construction Materials. As prescribed in 25.1102(e), insert the following provision: Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and...

48 CFR 52.225-22 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction Materials. 52.225-22 Section 52... Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Act—Construction Materials. As prescribed in 25.1102(e), insert the following provision: Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and...

48 CFR 52.225-22 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction Materials. 52.225-22 Section 52... Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Act—Construction Materials. As prescribed in 25.1102(e), insert the following provision: Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and...

48 CFR 52.225-22 - Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods-Buy American Act-Construction Materials. 52.225-22 Section 52... Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and Manufactured Goods—Buy American Act—Construction Materials. As prescribed in 25.1102(e), insert the following provision: Notice of Required Use of American Iron, Steel, and...

Sense and nonsense of logic-level optical interconnect: reflections on an experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Campenhout, Jan M.; Brunfaut, Marnik; Meeus, Wim; Dambre, Joni; De Wilde, Michiel

2001-12-01

Centimeter-range high-density optical interconnect between chips is coming into reach with current optical interconnect technology. Many theoretical studies have identified several good reasons why to use such types of interconnect as a replacement of various layers of the traditional electronic interconnect hierarchy. However, the true feasibility and usefulness of optical interconnects can only be established by actually building and evaluating them in a real system setting. This contribution reports on our experience in using short-range high-density optical inter-chip interconnects. It is based on the design and construction of a fully functional optoelectronic demonstrator system. We discuss the rationale for building the demonstrator in the first place, the implications of using many low-level optical interconnections in electronic systems, and the degree to which our expectations have been fulfilled by the demonstrator. The detailed description of the architecture, design and implementation of the demonstrator is not presented here, but can be found elsewhere in this issue.

A Water-Soluble Fluorescent Probe for SO2 Derivatives in Aqueous Solution and Serum Based on Phenanthroimidazole Dye.

PubMed

Zhou, Yang; Wang, Ying; Xiao, Shuzhang; He, Xiafeng; Zhang, Nuonuo; Li, Dejiang; Zheng, Kaibo

2017-05-01

A water-soluble fluorescent SO 2 derivatives probe PI-SO 2 based on a phenanthroimidazole dye, and a sensitive SO 2 recognition site, aldehyde was constructed. The probe PI-SO 2 exhibits desirable properties such as high sensitivity, high selectivity and good water-solubility. Significantly, we have demonstrated that the probe PI-SO 2 is suitable for rapidly fluorescence detecting of SO 2 derivatives in aqueous solution and serum. The application of the novel probe PI-SO 2 proved that it was not only a useful tool for the detection of SO 2 derivatives in vitro, but also a potential assay for investigating the effects of SO 2 derivatives, and demonstrating its value in practical applicationin of complex biological samples.

Using Markov state models to study self-assembly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perkett, Matthew R.; Hagan, Michael F.

2014-06-01

Markov state models (MSMs) have been demonstrated to be a powerful method for computationally studying intramolecular processes such as protein folding and macromolecular conformational changes. In this article, we present a new approach to construct MSMs that is applicable to modeling a broad class of multi-molecular assembly reactions. Distinct structures formed during assembly are distinguished by their undirected graphs, which are defined by strong subunit interactions. Spatial inhomogeneities of free subunits are accounted for using a recently developed Gaussian-based signature. Simplifications to this state identification are also investigated. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated on two different coarse-grained models for virus self-assembly. We find good agreement between the dynamics predicted by the MSMs and long, unbiased simulations, and that the MSMs can reduce overall simulation time by orders of magnitude.

Liquid Quinones for Solvent-Free Redox Flow Batteries.

PubMed

Shimizu, Akihiro; Takenaka, Keisuke; Handa, Naoyuki; Nokami, Toshiki; Itoh, Toshiyuki; Yoshida, Jun-Ichi

2017-11-01

Liquid benzoquinone and naphthoquinone having diethylene glycol monomethyl ether groups are designed and synthesized as redox active materials that dissolve supporting electrolytes. The Li-ion batteries based on the liquid quinones using LiBF 4 /PC show good performance in terms of voltage, capacity, energy efficiency, and cyclability in both static and flow modes. A battery is constructed without using intentionally added organic solvent, and its high energy density (264 W h L -1 ) demonstrates the potential of solvent-free organic redox flow batteries using liquid active materials. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Reduced and simplified chemical kinetics for air dissociation using Computational Singular Perturbation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goussis, D. A.; Lam, S. H.; Gnoffo, P. A.

1990-01-01

The Computational Singular Perturbation CSP methods is employed (1) in the modeling of a homogeneous isothermal reacting system and (2) in the numerical simulation of the chemical reactions in a hypersonic flowfield. Reduced and simplified mechanisms are constructed. The solutions obtained on the basis of these approximate mechanisms are shown to be in very good agreement with the exact solution based on the full mechanism. Physically meaningful approximations are derived. It is demonstrated that the deduction of these approximations from CSP is independent of the complexity of the problem and requires no intuition or experience in chemical kinetics.

Robust neural network with applications to credit portfolio data analysis.

PubMed

Feng, Yijia; Li, Runze; Sudjianto, Agus; Zhang, Yiyun

2010-01-01

In this article, we study nonparametric conditional quantile estimation via neural network structure. We proposed an estimation method that combines quantile regression and neural network (robust neural network, RNN). It provides good smoothing performance in the presence of outliers and can be used to construct prediction bands. A Majorization-Minimization (MM) algorithm was developed for optimization. Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted to assess the performance of RNN. Comparison with other nonparametric regression methods (e.g., local linear regression and regression splines) in real data application demonstrate the advantage of the newly proposed procedure.

Development of a reconstructed cornea from collagen-chondroitin sulfate foams and human cell cultures.

PubMed

Vrana, N Engin; Builles, Nicolas; Justin, Virginie; Bednarz, Jurgen; Pellegrini, Graziella; Ferrari, Barbara; Damour, Odile; Hulmes, David J S; Hasirci, Vasif

2008-12-01

To develop an artificial cornea, the ability to coculture the different cell types present in the cornea is essential. Here the goal was to develop a full-thickness artificial cornea using an optimized collagen-chondroitin sulfate foam, with a thickness close to that of human cornea, by coculturing human corneal epithelial and stromal cells and transfected human endothelial cells. Corneal extracellular matrix was simulated by a porous collagen/glycosaminoglycan-based scaffold seeded with stromal keratocytes and then, successively, epithelial and endothelial cells. Scaffolds were characterized for bulk porosity and pore size distribution. The performance of the three-dimensional construct was studied by histology, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry. The scaffold had 85% porosity and an average pore size of 62.1 microm. Keratocytes populated the scaffold and produced a newly synthesized extracellular matrix as characterized by immunohistochemistry. Even though the keratocytes lost their CD34 phenotype marker, the absence of smooth muscle actin fibers showed that these cells had not differentiated into myofibroblasts. The epithelial cells formed a stratified epithelium and began basement membrane deposition. An endothelial cell monolayer beneath the foam was also apparent. These results demonstrate that collagen-chondroitin sulfate scaffolds are good substrates for artificial cornea construction with good resilience, long-term culture capability, and handling properties.

Preliminary validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale.

PubMed

Gearhardt, Ashley N; Corbin, William R; Brownell, Kelly D

2009-04-01

Previous research has found similarities between addiction to psychoactive substances and excessive food consumption. Further exploration is needed to evaluate the concept of "food addiction," as there is currently a lack of psychometrically validated measurement tools in this area. The current study represents a preliminary exploration of the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), designed to identify those exhibiting signs of addiction towards certain types of foods (e.g., high fat and high sugar). Survey data were collected from 353 respondents from a stratified random sample of young adults. In addition to the YFAS, the survey assessed eating pathology, alcohol consumption and other health behaviors. The YFAS exhibited adequate internal reliability, and showed good convergent validity with measures of similar constructs and good discriminant validity relative to related but dissimilar constructs. Additionally, the YFAS predicted binge-eating behavior above and beyond existing measures of eating pathology, demonstrating incremental validity. The YFAS is a sound tool for identifying eating patterns that are similar to behaviors seen in classic areas of addiction. Further evaluation of the scale is needed, especially due to a low response rate of 24.5% and a non-clinical sample, but confirmation of the reliability and validity of the scale has the potential to facilitate empirical research on the concept of "food addiction".

Joint learning of labels and distance metric.

PubMed

Liu, Bo; Wang, Meng; Hong, Richang; Zha, Zhengjun; Hua, Xian-Sheng

2010-06-01

Machine learning algorithms frequently suffer from the insufficiency of training data and the usage of inappropriate distance metric. In this paper, we propose a joint learning of labels and distance metric (JLLDM) approach, which is able to simultaneously address the two difficulties. In comparison with the existing semi-supervised learning and distance metric learning methods that focus only on label prediction or distance metric construction, the JLLDM algorithm optimizes the labels of unlabeled samples and a Mahalanobis distance metric in a unified scheme. The advantage of JLLDM is multifold: 1) the problem of training data insufficiency can be tackled; 2) a good distance metric can be constructed with only very few training samples; and 3) no radius parameter is needed since the algorithm automatically determines the scale of the metric. Extensive experiments are conducted to compare the JLLDM approach with different semi-supervised learning and distance metric learning methods, and empirical results demonstrate its effectiveness.

Crafting the TALE: construction of a measure to assess the functions of autobiographical remembering.

PubMed

Bluck, Susan; Alea, Nicole

2011-07-01

Theory suggests that autobiographical remembering serves several functions. This research builds on previous empirical efforts (Bluck, Alea, Habermas, & Rubin, 2005) with the aim of constructing a brief, valid measure of three functions of autobiographical memory. Participants (N=306) completed 28 theoretically derived items concerning the frequency with which they use autobiographical memory to serve a variety of functions. To examine convergent and discriminant validity, participants rated their tendency to think about and talk about the past, and measures of future time orientation, self-concept clarity, and trait personality. Confirmatory factor analysis of the function items resulted in a respecified model with 15 items in three factors. The newly developed Thinking about Life Experiences scale (TALE) shows good internal consistency as well as convergent validity for three subscales: Self-Continuity, Social-Bonding, and Directing-Behaviour. Analyses demonstrate factorial equivalence across age and gender groups. Potential use and limitations of the TALE are discussed.

Targeted ENO schemes with tailored resolution property for hyperbolic conservation laws

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Lin; Hu, Xiangyu Y.; Adams, Nikolaus A.

2017-11-01

In this paper, we extend the range of targeted ENO (TENO) schemes (Fu et al. (2016) [18]) by proposing an eighth-order TENO8 scheme. A general formulation to construct the high-order undivided difference τK within the weighting strategy is proposed. With the underlying scale-separation strategy, sixth-order accuracy for τK in the smooth solution regions is designed for good performance and robustness. Furthermore, a unified framework to optimize independently the dispersion and dissipation properties of high-order finite-difference schemes is proposed. The new framework enables tailoring of dispersion and dissipation as function of wavenumber. The optimal linear scheme has minimum dispersion error and a dissipation error that satisfies a dispersion-dissipation relation. Employing the optimal linear scheme, a sixth-order TENO8-opt scheme is constructed. A set of benchmark cases involving strong discontinuities and broadband fluctuations is computed to demonstrate the high-resolution properties of the new schemes.

Construction of MoS2/Si nanowire array heterojunction for ultrahigh-sensitivity gas sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Di; Lou, Zhenhua; Wang, Yuange; Xu, Tingting; Shi, Zhifeng; Xu, Junmin; Tian, Yongtao; Li, Xinjian

2017-10-01

Few-layer MoS2 thin films were synthesized by a two-step thermal decomposition process. In addition, MoS2/Si nanowire array (SiNWA) heterojunctions exhibiting excellent gas sensing properties were constructed and investigated. Further analysis reveals that such MoS2/SiNWA heterojunction devices are highly sensitive to nitric oxide (NO) gas under reverse voltages at room temperature (RT). The gas sensor demonstrated a minimum detection limit of 10 ppb, which represents the lowest value obtained for MoS2-based sensors, as well as an ultrahigh response of 3518% (50 ppm NO, ˜50% RH), with good repeatability and selectivity of the MoS2/SiNWA heterojunction. The sensing mechanisms were also discussed. The performance of the MoS2/SiNWA heterojunction gas sensors is superior to previous results, revealing that they have great potential in applications relating to highly sensitive gas sensors.

Development and validation of the coping with terror scale.

PubMed

Stein, Nathan R; Schorr, Yonit; Litz, Brett T; King, Lynda A; King, Daniel W; Solomon, Zahava; Horesh, Danny

2013-10-01

Terrorism creates lingering anxiety about future attacks. In prior terror research, the conceptualization and measurement of coping behaviors were constrained by the use of existing coping scales that index reactions to daily hassles and demands. The authors created and validated the Coping with Terror Scale to fill the measurement gap. The authors emphasized content validity, leveraging the knowledge of terror experts and groups of Israelis. A multistep approach involved construct definition and item generation, trimming and refining the measure, exploring the factor structure underlying item responses, and garnering evidence for reliability and validity. The final scale comprised six factors that were generally consistent with the authors' original construct specifications. Scores on items linked to these factors demonstrate good reliability and validity. Future studies using the Coping with Terror Scale with other populations facing terrorist threats are needed to test its ability to predict resilience, functional impairment, and psychological distress.

Construction of MoS2/Si nanowire array heterojunction for ultrahigh-sensitivity gas sensor.

PubMed

Wu, Di; Lou, Zhenhua; Wang, Yuange; Xu, Tingting; Shi, Zhifeng; Xu, Junmin; Tian, Yongtao; Li, Xinjian

2017-10-27

Few-layer MoS 2 thin films were synthesized by a two-step thermal decomposition process. In addition, MoS 2 /Si nanowire array (SiNWA) heterojunctions exhibiting excellent gas sensing properties were constructed and investigated. Further analysis reveals that such MoS 2 /SiNWA heterojunction devices are highly sensitive to nitric oxide (NO) gas under reverse voltages at room temperature (RT). The gas sensor demonstrated a minimum detection limit of 10 ppb, which represents the lowest value obtained for MoS 2 -based sensors, as well as an ultrahigh response of 3518% (50 ppm NO, ∼50% RH), with good repeatability and selectivity of the MoS 2 /SiNWA heterojunction. The sensing mechanisms were also discussed. The performance of the MoS 2 /SiNWA heterojunction gas sensors is superior to previous results, revealing that they have great potential in applications relating to highly sensitive gas sensors.

Highly efficient growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on Fe-Ni based metal alloy foils for supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amalina Raja Seman, Raja Noor; Asyadi Azam, Mohd; Ambri Mohamed, Mohd

2016-12-01

Supercapacitors are highly promising energy devices with superior charge storage performance and a long lifecycle. Construction of the supercapacitor cell, especially electrode fabrication, is critical to ensure good performance in applications. This work demonstrates direct growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on Fe-Ni based metal alloy foils, namely SUS 310S, Inconel 600 and YEF 50, and their use in symmetric vertically aligned CNT supercapacitor electrodes. Alumina and cobalt thin film catalysts were deposited onto the foils, and then CNT growth was performed using alcohol catalytic chemical vapour deposition. By this method, vertically aligned CNTs were successfully grown and used directly as a binder-free supercapacitor electrode to deliver excellent electrochemical performance. The device showed relatively good specific capacitance, a superior rate capability and excellent cycle stability, maintaining about 96% capacitance up to 1000 cycles.

The Trivers–Willard hypothesis: sex ratio or investment?

PubMed Central

Veller, Carl; Haig, David; Nowak, Martin A.

2016-01-01

The Trivers–Willard hypothesis has commonly been considered to predict two things. First, that a mother in good condition should bias the sex ratio of her offspring towards males (if males exhibit greater variation in reproductive value). Second, that a mother in good condition should invest more per son than per daughter. These two predictions differ empirically, mechanistically and, as we demonstrate here, theoretically too. We construct a simple model of sex allocation that allows simultaneous analysis of both versions of the Trivers–Willard hypothesis. We show that the sex ratio version holds under very general conditions, being valid for a large class of male and female fitness functions. The investment version, on the other hand, is shown to hold only for a small subset of male and female fitness functions. Our results help to make sense of the observation that the sex ratio version is empirically more successful than the investment version. PMID:27170721

Photoinitiated Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly of Glycidyl Methacrylate for the Synthesis of Epoxy-Functionalized Block Copolymer Nano-Objects.

PubMed

Tan, Jianbo; Liu, Dongdong; Huang, Chundong; Li, Xueliang; He, Jun; Xu, Qin; Zhang, Li

2017-08-01

Herein, a novel photoinitiated polymerization-induced self-assembly formulation via photoinitiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer dispersion polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) in ethanol-water at room temperature is reported. It is demonstrated that conducting polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) at low temperatures is crucial for obtaining colloidal stable PGMA-based diblock copolymer nano-objects. Good control is maintained during the photo-PISA process with a high rate of polymerization. The polymerization can be switched between "ON" and "OFF" in response to visible light. A phase diagram is constructed by varying monomer concentration and degree of polymerization. The PGMA-based diblock copolymer nano-objects can be further cross-linked by using a bifunctional primary amine reagent. Finally, silver nanoparticles are loaded within cross-linked vesicles via in situ reduction, exhibiting good catalytic properties. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Isn't That Just Good Teaching? Disaggregate Instruction and the Language Identity Dilemma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Bryan A.

2011-12-01

The manuscript examines the relationship between language, identity, and classroom learning. Through an exploration of a series of research studies conducted over the course of 6 years, this manuscript examines how the idea of "Good Teaching" fails to account for the language-identity learning dilemma. In stage one of the research, a series of studies demonstrated how students encountered cultural conflicts as they attempted to use the language of science. The results of that research lead to the development of the construct of Discursive Identity as a lens to understand language interactions. Stage two of the research involved a series of examinations of alternative approaches to teaching that would assist minority students in their science learning. The implications of this research highlight the relationship between students' cognition and the sociocultural interaction that effect students' willingness to engage in academic discourse.

Inverting the parameters of an earthquake-ruptured fault with a genetic algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Ting-To; Fernàndez, Josè; Rundle, John B.

1998-03-01

Natural selection is the spirit of the genetic algorithm (GA): by keeping the good genes in the current generation, thereby producing better offspring during evolution. The crossover function ensures the heritage of good genes from parent to offspring. Meanwhile, the process of mutation creates a special gene, the character of which does not exist in the parent generation. A program based on genetic algorithms using C language is constructed to invert the parameters of an earthquake-ruptured fault. The verification and application of this code is shown to demonstrate its capabilities. It is determined that this code is able to find the global extreme and can be used to solve more practical problems with constraints gathered from other sources. It is shown that GA is superior to other inverting schema in many aspects. This easy handling and yet powerful algorithm should have many suitable applications in the field of geosciences.

[Development of a Questionnaire Measuring Sexual Mental Health of Tibetan University Students].

PubMed

Chen, Jun-cheng; Yan, Yu-ruo; Ai, Li; Guo, Xue-hua; He, Jian-xiu; Yuan, Ping

2016-05-01

To develop a questionnaire measuring sexual mental health of Tibetan university students. A draft questionnaire was developed with reference to the Sexual Civilization Survey for University Students of New Century and other published literature, and in consultation with experts. The questionnaire was tested in 230 students. Exploratory factor analyses with principal component and varimax orthogonal rotation were performed. Common factors with a > 1 eigenvalues and ≥ 3 loaded items (factor loading ≥ 0.4) were retained. Items with a < 0.4 factor loading, < 0.2 commonality, or falling into a common factor with < 3 items were excluded. The revised questionnaire was administered in another sample of 481 university students. Cronbach's α and split-half reliabilities were estimated. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to test the construct validity of the questionnaire. Four rounds of exploratory factor analyses reduced the draft questionnaire items from 39 to 34 with a 7-factor structure. The questionnaire had a Cronbach's α of 0.920, 0.898, 0.812, 0.844, 0.787, 0.684, 0.703, and 0.608, and a Spearman-Brown coefficient of 0.763, 0.867, 0.742, 0838, 0.746, 0.822, 0.677, and 0.564 for the overall questionnaire and its 7 domains, respectively, suggesting good internal reliability. The structural equation of confirmatory factor analysis fitted well with the raw data: fit index χ²/df 3.736; root mean square residual (RMR) 0.081; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA = 0.076; goodness of fit index (GFI) 0.805; adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) 0.770; normed fit index (NFI) = 0.774; relative fit index (RFI) 0.749; incremental fit index (IFI) 0.824; non-normed fit index (NNFI) = 0.803; comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.823; parsimony goodness of fit index (PGFI) = 0.684; parsimony normed fit index (PNFI) = 0.698; parsimony comparative fit index (PCFI) = 0.742, suggesting good construct validity of the questionnaire. The Sexual Mental Health Questionnaire for Tibetan University Student has demonstrated good reliability and validity.

Exploring the construct validity of the social cognition and object relations scale in a clinical sample.

PubMed

Stein, Michelle B; Slavin-Mulford, Jenelle; Sinclair, S Justin; Siefert, Caleb J; Blais, Mark A

2012-01-01

The Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale-Global rating method (SCORS-G; Stein, Hilsenroth, Slavin-Mulford, & Pinsker, 2011; Westen, 1995) measures the quality of object relations in narrative material. This study employed a multimethod approach to explore the structure and construct validity of the SCORS-G. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943) was administered to 59 patients referred for psychological assessment at a large Northeastern U.S. hospital. The resulting 301 TAT narratives were rated using the SCORS-G method. The 8 SCORS variables were found to have high interrater reliability and good internal consistency. Principal components analysis revealed a 3-component solution with components tapping emotions/affect regulation in relationships, self-image, and aspects of cognition. Next, the construct validity of the SCORS-G components was explored using measures of intellectual and executive functioning, psychopathology, and normal personality. The 3 SCORS-G components showed unique and theoretically meaningful relationships across these broad and diverse psychological measures. This study demonstrates the value of using a standardized scoring method, like the SCORS-G, to reveal the rich and complex nature of narrative material.

Construction of Solar-Wind-Like Magnetic Fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, Dana Aaron

2012-01-01

Fluctuations in the solar wind fields tend to not only have velocities and magnetic fields correlated in the sense consistent with Alfven waves traveling from the Sun, but they also have the magnitude of the magnetic field remarkably constant despite their being broadband. This paper provides, for the first time, a method for constructing fields with nearly constant magnetic field, zero divergence, and with any specified power spectrum for the fluctuations of the components of the field. Every wave vector, k, is associated with two polarizations the relative phases of these can be chosen to minimize the variance of the field magnitude while retaining the\\random character of the fields. The method is applied to a case with one spatial coordinate that demonstrates good agreement with observed time series and power spectra of the magnetic field in the solar wind, as well as with the distribution of the angles of rapid changes (discontinuities), thus showing a deep connection between two seemingly unrelated issues. It is suggested that using this construction will lead to more realistic simulations of solar wind turbulence and of the propagation of energetic particles.

Excavation-caused extra deformation of existing masonry residence in soft soil region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Y.; Franceschelli, S.

2017-04-01

Growing need for construction of infrastructures and buildings in fast urbanization process creates challenges of interaction between buildings under construction and adjacent existing buildings. This paper presents the mitigation of contradiction between two parties who are involved the interaction using civil engineering techniques. Through the in-depth analysis of the results of monitoring surveys and enhanced accuracy and reliability of surveys, a better understanding of the behavior of deformable buildings is achieved. Combination with the original construction documents, the two parties agree that both of them are responsible for building damages and a better understanding for the rehabilitation of the existing buildings is focused on. Two cases studies are used to demonstrate and describe the importance of better understanding of the behavior of existing buildings and their rehabilitations. The objective of this study is to insight into mechanisms of soil-structure interaction for buildings adjacent to deep excavations, which can result in a damage in existing masonry residence, and to take the optimized measures to make deep excavations safety and economic and adjacent buildings keep good serviceability in urban areas with soft soil conditions.

Analysis of a cultural consensus model of two good-life sub-domains--health & well-being and migration & socioeconomic milieu--in three population groups in Croatia.

PubMed

Peternel, Lana; Malnar, Ana; Klarić, Irena Martinović

2015-07-01

In this study the construct of a 'good life' was explored among upper secondary school senior pupils and their parents and teachers by applying cultural consensus model analysis. A total of 469 students, 474 parents and 158 teachers from four Croatian cities participated in the study, which was conducted in 2011/2012. The information collected through interviewing and free-listing during the first phase of the study was used to create a set of structured questionnaire questions as a part of the survey in the second phase of data collection. The results are reported on two good-life sub-domains: 'health & well-being' and 'migration & socioeconomic milieu'. The results indicate heterogeneity of the sample groups, incomplete inter-generational transmission of cultural values and examples of two sub-groups that resist cultural norms and do not comply with the dominant 'competence-as-sharing' paradigm. The value of testing the cultural consensus model based on the emic approach and locally significant phenomena is demonstrated for planning and conducting holistic anthropological research.

Constructing Free Standing Metal Organic Framework MIL-53 Membrane Based on Anodized Aluminum Oxide Precursor

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yunlu; Gao, Qiuming; Lin, Zhi; Zhang, Tao; Xu, Jiandong; Tan, Yanli; Tian, Weiqian; Jiang, Lei

2014-01-01

Metal organic framework (MOF) materials have attracted great attention due to their well-ordered and controllable pores possessing of prominent potentials for gas molecule sorption and separation performances. Organizing the MOF crystals to a continuous membrane with a certain scale will better exhibit their prominent potentials. Reports in recent years concentrate on well grown MOF membranes on specific substrates. Free standing MOF membranes could have more important applications since they are independent from the substrates. However, the method to prepare such a membrane has been a great challenge because good mechanical properties and stabilities are highly required. Here, we demonstrate a novel and facile technique for preparing the free standing membrane with a size as large as centimeter scale. The substrate we use proved itself not only a good skeleton but also an excellent precursor to fulfill the reaction. This kind of membrane owns a strong mechanical strength, based on the fact that it is much thinner than the composite membranes grown on substrates and it could exhibit good property of gas separation. PMID:24821299

On the Performance of the Marginal Homogeneity Test to Detect Rater Drift.

PubMed

Sgammato, Adrienne; Donoghue, John R

2018-06-01

When constructed response items are administered repeatedly, "trend scoring" can be used to test for rater drift. In trend scoring, raters rescore responses from the previous administration. Two simulation studies evaluated the utility of Stuart's Q measure of marginal homogeneity as a way of evaluating rater drift when monitoring trend scoring. In the first study, data were generated based on trend scoring tables obtained from an operational assessment. The second study tightly controlled table margins to disentangle certain features present in the empirical data. In addition to Q , the paired t test was included as a comparison, because of its widespread use in monitoring trend scoring. Sample size, number of score categories, interrater agreement, and symmetry/asymmetry of the margins were manipulated. For identical margins, both statistics had good Type I error control. For a unidirectional shift in margins, both statistics had good power. As expected, when shifts in the margins were balanced across categories, the t test had little power. Q demonstrated good power for all conditions and identified almost all items identified by the t test. Q shows substantial promise for monitoring of trend scoring.

30 CFR 57.8531 - Construction and maintenance of ventilation doors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Construction and maintenance of ventilation... NONMETAL MINES Ventilation Underground Only § 57.8531 Construction and maintenance of ventilation doors... constructed of wood; (c) Maintained in good condition; (d) Self-closing, if manually operated; and (e...

Being Confined within? Constructions of the Good Childhood and Outdoor Play in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings in Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kernan, Margaret; Devine, Dympna

2010-01-01

This study is based on a study of the experience of the outdoors in early childhood education and care settings in Ireland. Central to the analyses are the inter-linkages drawn between constructions of a "good" childhood, and children's "need" for outdoor play, as well as the contradictions which arise around competing…

[Ecological demonstration activity and eco-civilization construction mode: review and prospects].

PubMed

Mao, Hui-ping; He, Xuan; He, Jia; Niu, Dong-jie; Bao, Cun-kuan

2013-04-01

Ecological civilization is to normalize human development behaviors to harmonize the relationships between social and ecological development and eco-environment protection. In this paper, a comparative analysis was made on the ecological demonstration activities of ecological demonstration areas led by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, exemplar cities of national environmental protection, and ecological provinces, cities, and counties. It was considered that all the ecological demonstration activities had the problems of lacking pertinence of construction goals, disordered construction subjects, inefficient construction processes, and lacking continuous incentive mechanisms of assessment. In the meantime, through the analysis of the connotations of eco-civilization, the relationships between eco-civilization and eco-demonstration constructions were approached, and the eco-civilization construction mode was put forward in terms of construction goal, construction subject, and construction processes and assessment. The construction mode included the construction goal based on regional characteristics; the synergistic cooperation of construction subjects, the expanding ways of public participation, and the establishment of evaluation system for comprehensively measuring the 'actions and results'.

"Being on Both Sides": Canadian Medical Students' Experiences With Disability, the Hidden Curriculum, and Professional Identity Construction.

PubMed

Stergiopoulos, Erene; Fernando, Oshan; Martimianakis, Maria Athina

2018-05-22

Medical students with disabilities hold firsthand knowledge as healthcare recipients, yet face barriers to disclosure and support. Their experiences provide a unique lens for understanding professional identity construction; therefore, this study explored how disabled medical students experience training as both patients and trainees. The authors conducted qualitative interviews with 10 medical students at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine with self-identified disabilities. They performed textual analysis of documents concerning medical student wellness from 13 Canadian universities, including policies, student services, and student blogs (July 2016 to March 2017). Using principles of critical discourse analysis, the authors coded the interviews and texts to identify operating discourses and core themes, drawing from sociocultural theories of professional identity construction and the hidden curriculum. Two dominant discourses emerged from the interviews and texts, revealing institutionalized notions of the perceived "good student" and "good patient." These roles held contradictory demands, demonstrating how institutions often implicitly and explicitly framed wellness as a means to optimal academic performance. Two additional themes, "identity compartmentalization" and "identity intersection," captured students' experiences navigating identities as patients and trainees. Although students lacked explicit opportunities to express their expertise as patients in the formal curriculum, their experiences in both roles led to improved communication, advocacy, and compassion. Institutional discourses around disability and academic performance hold material implications for curricular content, clinical teaching, and availability of supports in medical school. By repositioning students' experiences with disability as sources of expertise, this study highlights opportunities for teaching compassionate care.

Polar codes for achieving the classical capacity of a quantum channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guha, Saikat; Wilde, Mark

2012-02-01

We construct the first near-explicit, linear, polar codes that achieve the capacity for classical communication over quantum channels. The codes exploit the channel polarization phenomenon observed by Arikan for classical channels. Channel polarization is an effect in which one can synthesize a set of channels, by ``channel combining'' and ``channel splitting,'' in which a fraction of the synthesized channels is perfect for data transmission while the other fraction is completely useless for data transmission, with the good fraction equal to the capacity of the channel. Our main technical contributions are threefold. First, we demonstrate that the channel polarization effect occurs for channels with classical inputs and quantum outputs. We then construct linear polar codes based on this effect, and the encoding complexity is O(N log N), where N is the blocklength of the code. We also demonstrate that a quantum successive cancellation decoder works well, i.e., the word error rate decays exponentially with the blocklength of the code. For a quantum channel with binary pure-state outputs, such as a binary-phase-shift-keyed coherent-state optical communication alphabet, the symmetric Holevo information rate is in fact the ultimate channel capacity, which is achieved by our polar code.

Doxorubicin conjugation and drug linker chemistry alter the intravenous and pulmonary pharmacokinetics of a PEGylated Generation 4 polylysine dendrimer in rats.

PubMed

Leong, Nathania J; Mehta, Dharmini; McLeod, Victoria M; Kelly, Brian D; Pathak, Rashmi; Owen, David J; Porter, Christopher Jh; Kaminskas, Lisa M

2018-05-28

PEGylated polylysine dendrimers have demonstrated potential as inhalable drug delivery systems that can improve the treatment of lung cancers. Their treatment potential may be enhanced by developing constructs that display prolonged lung retention, together with good systemic absorption, the capacity to passively target lung tumours from the blood and highly selective, yet rapid liberation in the tumour microenvironment. This study sought to characterise how the nature of cathepsin B cleavable peptide linkers, used to conjugate doxorubicin to a PEGylated (PEG570) G4 polylysine dendrimer, affect drug liberation kinetics and intravenous and pulmonary pharmacokinetics in rats. The construct bearing a self-emolative diglycolic acid-V-Citrulline linker exhibited faster doxorubicin release kinetics compared to constructs bearing self emolative diglycolic acid-GLFG, or non-self emolative glutaric acid-GLFG linkers. The V-Citrulline construct exhibited slower plasma clearance, but faster absorption from the lungs than a GLFG construct, although mucociliary clearance and urinary elimination were unchanged. Doxorubicin-conjugation enhanced localisation in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid compared to lung tissue, suggesting that projection of doxorubicin from the dendrimer surface reduced tissue uptake. These data show that the linker chemistry employed to conjugate drugs to PEGylated carriers can affect drug release profiles and systemic and lung disposition. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Glucose-Responsive Supramolecular Vesicles Based on Water-Soluble Pillar[5]arene and Pyridylboronic Acid Derivatives for Controlled Insulin Delivery.

PubMed

Gao, Lei; Wang, Tingting; Jia, Keke; Wu, Xuan; Yao, Chenhao; Shao, Wei; Zhang, Dongmei; Hu, Xiao-Yu; Wang, Leyong

2017-05-11

The stimuli-responsive behavior of supramolecular nanocarriers is crucial for their potential applications as smart drug delivery systems. We hereby constructed a glucose-responsive supramolecular drug delivery system based on the host-guest interaction between a water-soluble pillar[5]arene (WP5) and a pyridylboronic acid derivative (G) for insulin delivery and controlled release under physiological conditions. The approach represents the ideal treatment of diabetes mellitus. The drug loading and in vitro drug release experiments demonstrated that large molecular weight insulin could be encapsulated into the vesicles with high loading efficiency, which, to our knowledge, is the first example of small-size supramolecular vesicles with excellent encapsulation capacity of a large protein molecule. Moreover, FITC-labeled insulin was used to evaluate the release behavior of insulin, and it was demonstrated that high glucose concentration could facilitate the quick release of insulin, suggesting a smart drug delivery system for potential application in controlled insulin release only under hyperglycemic conditions. Finally, we demonstrated that these supramolecular nanocarriers have good cytocompatibility, which is essential for their further biomedical applications. The present study provides a novel strategy for the construction of glucose-responsive smart supramolecular drug delivery systems, which has potential applications for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D-CHN): a school-based study in China.

PubMed

Yang, Peirong; Chen, Gang; Wang, Peng; Zhang, Kejian; Deng, Feng; Yang, Haifeng; Zhuang, Guihua

2018-05-05

The Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D), a new generic preference-based health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instrument, was developed specifically for the application in cost-effectiveness analyses of treatments and interventions for children and adolescents. The main objective of this study was to examine the psychometric property of the Chinese version of CHU9D (CHU9D-CHN) in a large school-based sample in China. Data were collected using a multi-stage sampling method from third-to-ninth-grade students in Shaanxi Province, China. Participants self-completed a hard-copy questionnaire including the CHU9D-CHN instrument, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales (PedsQL), information on socio-demographic characteristics and self-reported health status. The psychometric properties of the CHU9D-CHN, including the internal consistency, 2-week test-retest reliability, convergent and known-groups validity were studied. A total of 1912 students participated in the survey. The CHU9D-CHN internal consistency and test-retest reliability were good to excellent with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.77 and an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.65, respectively. The CHU9D utility scores moderately correlated with the PedsQL total scores (r = .57, P < .001), demonstrating good convergent validity. Difference of the CHU9D utility scores among the different participants with levels of self-reported general health, health services utilisation and left-behind status demonstrated good construct validity. The findings demonstrated adequate psychometric performance for the CHU9D-CHN. The CHU9D-CHN was a satisfactory, reliable and valid instrument to measure and value HRQoL for children and adolescents in China.

Matrix metalloproteinase triggered size-shrinkable gelatin-gold fabricated nanoparticles for tumor microenvironment sensitive penetration and diagnosis of glioma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruan, Shaobo; He, Qin; Gao, Huile

2015-05-01

To improve glioma targeting delivery efficiency and to monitor drug delivery and treatment outcome, a novel tumor microenvironment sensitive size-shrinkable theranostic system was constructed and evaluated. The G-AuNPs-DC-RRGD system was constructed by fabricating small sized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) degradable gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs), doxorubicin (DOX) and Cy5.5 were decorated onto AuNPs through a hydrazone bond to enable the system with pH triggered cargoes release, and RRGD, a tandem peptide of RGD and octarginine was surface-modified onto the system to enable it with glioma active targeting ability. In vitro, the size of G-AuNPs-DC-RRGD could effectively shrink from 188.2 nm to 55.9 nm after incubation with MMP-2, while DOX and Cy5.5 were released in a pH dependent manner. Cellular uptake demonstrated that G-AuNPs-DC-RRGD could be effectively taken up by cells with higher intensity than G-AuNPs-DC-PEG. A study of tumor spheroids further demonstrated that the particles with smaller size showed better penetration ability, while RRGD modification could further improve permeability. In vivo, G-AuNPs-DC-RRGD displayed the best glioma targeting and accumulation efficiency, with good colocalization with neovessels. Cy5.5 also was colocalized well with DOX, indicating that Cy5.5 could be used for imaging of DOX delivery.To improve glioma targeting delivery efficiency and to monitor drug delivery and treatment outcome, a novel tumor microenvironment sensitive size-shrinkable theranostic system was constructed and evaluated. The G-AuNPs-DC-RRGD system was constructed by fabricating small sized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) degradable gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs), doxorubicin (DOX) and Cy5.5 were decorated onto AuNPs through a hydrazone bond to enable the system with pH triggered cargoes release, and RRGD, a tandem peptide of RGD and octarginine was surface-modified onto the system to enable it with glioma active targeting ability. In vitro, the size of G-AuNPs-DC-RRGD could effectively shrink from 188.2 nm to 55.9 nm after incubation with MMP-2, while DOX and Cy5.5 were released in a pH dependent manner. Cellular uptake demonstrated that G-AuNPs-DC-RRGD could be effectively taken up by cells with higher intensity than G-AuNPs-DC-PEG. A study of tumor spheroids further demonstrated that the particles with smaller size showed better penetration ability, while RRGD modification could further improve permeability. In vivo, G-AuNPs-DC-RRGD displayed the best glioma targeting and accumulation efficiency, with good colocalization with neovessels. Cy5.5 also was colocalized well with DOX, indicating that Cy5.5 could be used for imaging of DOX delivery. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr01408e

49 CFR 395.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... merchandising activities designed to retain the customer or to increase the sale of goods or services, in... construction materials and equipment means the transportation of construction and pavement materials...

Oncology patients' perceptions of "the good nurse": a descriptive study in Flanders, Belgium.

PubMed

Van der Elst, Elisa; Dierckx de Casterlé, Bernadette; Biets, Robin; Rchaidia, Leila; Gastmans, Chris

2013-11-01

The image of "the good nurse" is mainly studied from the perspective of nurses, which often does not match the image held by patients. Therefore, a descriptive study was conducted to examine oncology patients' perceptions of "the good nurse" and the influence of patient- and context-related variables. A cross-sectional, comparative, descriptive design was used. The sample comprised 557 oncology patients at one of six Flemish hospitals, where they were treated in an oncology day-care unit, oncology hospital ward, or palliative care unit. Data were collected using the Flemish Care-Q instrument. Factor analysis summarised the most important characteristics of "the good nurse". We reassessed the reliability and construct validity of the Flemish Care-Q and examined the influence of patient- and context-related variables on patient perceptions. Using factor analysis, we grouped the different items of the Flemish Care-Q according to three characteristics: "the good nurse" (I) has a supportive and communicative attitude towards patient and family, (II) is competent and employs a professional attitude, and (III) demonstrates personal involvement towards patient and family. Median factor scores of Factors I, II, and III, respectively, were 8.00, 9.00, and 8.00 (varying from 1, not important, to 10, very important). In order of importance, Factors II, I, and III were identified as valuable characteristics of "the good nurse". Gender, care setting, and province were influential variables. As perceived by oncology patients, "the good nurse" has a broad range of qualities, of which competence and professionalism are the most valuable.

Predicting discharge mortality after acute ischemic stroke using balanced data.

PubMed

Ho, King Chung; Speier, William; El-Saden, Suzie; Liebeskind, David S; Saver, Jeffery L; Bui, Alex A T; Arnold, Corey W

2014-01-01

Several models have been developed to predict stroke outcomes (e.g., stroke mortality, patient dependence, etc.) in recent decades. However, there is little discussion regarding the problem of between-class imbalance in stroke datasets, which leads to prediction bias and decreased performance. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of the Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique to overcome such problems. We also compare state of the art machine learning methods and construct a six-variable support vector machine (SVM) model to predict stroke mortality at discharge. Finally, we discuss how the identification of a reduced feature set allowed us to identify additional cases in our research database for validation testing. Our classifier achieved a c-statistic of 0.865 on the cross-validated dataset, demonstrating good classification performance using a reduced set of variables.

Controlled impact demonstration on-board (interior) photographic system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

May, C. J.

1986-01-01

Langley Research Center (LaRC) was responsible for the design, manufacture, and integration of all hardware required for the photographic system used to film the interior of the controlled impact demonstration (CID) B-720 aircraft during actual crash conditions. Four independent power supplies were constructed to operate the ten high-speed 16 mm cameras and twenty-four floodlights. An up-link command system, furnished by Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility (ADFRF), was necessary to activate the power supplies and start the cameras. These events were accomplished by initiation of relays located on each of the photo power pallets. The photographic system performed beyond expectations. All four power distribution pallets with their 20 year old Minuteman batteries performed flawlessly. All 24 lamps worked. All ten on-board high speed (400 fps) 16 mm cameras containing good resolution film data were recovered.

The Skin Picking Impact Scale: Factor structure, validity and development of a short version.

PubMed

Snorrason, Ivar; Olafsson, Ragnar P; Flessner, Christopher A; Keuthen, Nancy J; Franklin, Martin E; Woods, Douglas W

2013-08-01

In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties of the Skin Picking Impact Scale (SPIS; Keuthen, Deckersbach, Wilhelm et al., 2001), a 10 item self-report questionnaire designed to assess the psychosocial impact of skin picking disorder (SPD). Participants were 650 individuals who met criteria for SPD in an online survey. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated a unitary factor structure with high internal consistency (α = 0.94). Consequently, we constructed an abbreviated 4-item version that retained good internal consistency (α = 0.87) and a robust factor structure. Both the short and the full versions demonstrated discriminant and convergent/concurrent validity. In conclusion, the findings indicate that both versions are psychometrically sound measures of SPD related psychosocial impact; however, some potential limitations of the full scale are discussed. © 2013 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

Hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields.

PubMed

Gao, Xu-Zhen; Pan, Yue; Cai, Meng-Qiang; Li, Yongnan; Tu, Chenghou; Wang, Hui-Tian

2015-12-14

We present and construct a new kind of orthogonal coordinate system, hyperbolic coordinate system. We present and design a new kind of local linearly polarized vector fields, which is defined as the hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields because the points with the same polarization form a series of hyperbolae. We experimentally demonstrate the generation of such a kind of hyperbolic-symmetry vector optical fields. In particular, we also study the modified hyperbolic-symmetry vector optical fields with the twofold and fourfold symmetric states of polarization when introducing the mirror symmetry. The tight focusing behaviors of these vector fields are also investigated. In addition, we also fabricate micro-structures on the K9 glass surfaces by several tightly focused (modified) hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields patterns, which demonstrate that the simulated tightly focused fields are in good agreement with the fabricated micro-structures.

Using Markov state models to study self-assembly

PubMed Central

Perkett, Matthew R.; Hagan, Michael F.

2014-01-01

Markov state models (MSMs) have been demonstrated to be a powerful method for computationally studying intramolecular processes such as protein folding and macromolecular conformational changes. In this article, we present a new approach to construct MSMs that is applicable to modeling a broad class of multi-molecular assembly reactions. Distinct structures formed during assembly are distinguished by their undirected graphs, which are defined by strong subunit interactions. Spatial inhomogeneities of free subunits are accounted for using a recently developed Gaussian-based signature. Simplifications to this state identification are also investigated. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated on two different coarse-grained models for virus self-assembly. We find good agreement between the dynamics predicted by the MSMs and long, unbiased simulations, and that the MSMs can reduce overall simulation time by orders of magnitude. PMID:24907984

The Trunk Impairment Scale - modified to ordinal scales in the Norwegian version.

PubMed

Gjelsvik, Bente; Breivik, Kyrre; Verheyden, Geert; Smedal, Tori; Hofstad, Håkon; Strand, Liv Inger

2012-01-01

To translate the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), a measure of trunk control in patients after stroke, into Norwegian (TIS-NV), and to explore its construct validity, internal consistency, intertester and test-retest reliability. TIS was translated according to international guidelines. The validity study was performed on data from 201 patients with acute stroke. Fifty patients with stroke and acquired brain injury were recruited to examine intertester and test-retest reliability. Construct validity was analyzed with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory, internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha test, and intertester and test-retest reliability with kappa and intraclass correlation coefficient tests. The back-translated version of TIS-NV was validated by the original developer. The subscale Static sitting balance was removed. By combining items from the subscales Dynamic sitting balance and Coordination, six ordinal superitems (testlets) were constructed. The TIS-NV was renamed the modified TIS-NV (TIS-modNV). After modifications the TIS-modNV fitted well to a locally dependent unidimensional item response theory model. It demonstrated good construct validity, excellent internal consistency, and high intertester and test-retest reliability for the total score. This study supports that the TIS-modNV is a valid and reliable scale for use in clinical practice and research.

Construction of a high-density genetic map for grape using specific length amplified fragment (SLAF) sequencing

PubMed Central

Guo, Yinshan; Xing, Huiyang; Zhao, Yuhui; Liu, Zhendong; Li, Kun; Guo, Xiuwu

2017-01-01

Genetic maps are important tools in plant genomics and breeding. We report a large-scale discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using the specific length amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) technique for the construction of high-density genetic maps for two elite wine grape cultivars, ‘Chardonnay’ and ‘Beibinghong’, and their 130 F1 plants. A total of 372.53 M paired-end reads were obtained after preprocessing. The average sequencing depth was 33.81 for ‘Chardonnay’ (the female parent), 48.20 for ‘Beibinghong’ (the male parent), and 12.66 for the F1 offspring. We detected 202,349 high-quality SLAFs of which 144,972 were polymorphic; 10,042 SNPs were used to construct a genetic map that spanned 1,969.95 cM, with an average genetic distance of 0.23 cM between adjacent markers. This genetic map contains the largest molecular marker number of the grape maps so far reported. We thus demonstrate that SLAF-seq is a promising strategy for the construction of high-density genetic maps; the map that we report here is a good potential resource for QTL mapping of genes linked to major economic and agronomic traits, map-based cloning, and marker-assisted selection of grape. PMID:28746364

Two-body potential model based on cosine series expansion for ionic materials

DOE PAGES

Oda, Takuji; Weber, William J.; Tanigawa, Hisashi

2015-09-23

There is a method to construct a two-body potential model for ionic materials with a Fourier series basis and we examine it. For this method, the coefficients of cosine basis functions are uniquely determined by solving simultaneous linear equations to minimize the sum of weighted mean square errors in energy, force and stress, where first-principles calculation results are used as the reference data. As a validation test of the method, potential models for magnesium oxide are constructed. The mean square errors appropriately converge with respect to the truncation of the cosine series. This result mathematically indicates that the constructed potentialmore » model is sufficiently close to the one that is achieved with the non-truncated Fourier series and demonstrates that this potential virtually provides minimum error from the reference data within the two-body representation. The constructed potential models work appropriately in both molecular statics and dynamics simulations, especially if a two-step correction to revise errors expected in the reference data is performed, and the models clearly outperform two existing Buckingham potential models that were tested. Moreover, the good agreement over a broad range of energies and forces with first-principles calculations should enable the prediction of materials behavior away from equilibrium conditions, such as a system under irradiation.« less

Environmental Assessment: Construct Fuel Bowser Storage Area Install Underground Storage Tank, Security Fencing, Lighting Construct Bowser Open Storage Pavement at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-10-01

218-681-1903 GOOD F Larimore is experienced and Servers shihs. "Meet me Good Friends 701-343-2987. ll’T II,_ ;_, -’ rELINE BI~AR HOROSCOPE ...never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true . You may have to work for it, however. " -- Richard Bach -----Original

Tale taming radioactive fears: Linking nuclear waste disposal to the "continuum of the good".

PubMed

Yli-Kauhaluoma, Sari; Hänninen, Hannu

2014-04-01

We examine how the constructor of the world's first repository for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Eurajoki, Finland, aims to shape lay understanding of the facility's risks and to tame the nuclear fears of the local community by producing positive associations, imagery and tales. Our empirical material consists of the constructor's newsletters targeted mainly at the local residents. In the narrative analysis, we identified a storyline where the construction of the repository is linked into the "continuum of the good" in the municipality of the construction site and the surrounding areas. The storyline consists of five different themes all emphasizing the "continuum of the good" in the area: cultural heritage, well-being, developing expertise, natural environment, and local families. Our study contributes to the literature on pro-nuclear storytelling by showing how the inclination is towards narratives that are constructed around local symbols, cultural landmarks, and institutions.

17 CFR 250.91 - Determination of cost.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... RULES AND REGULATIONS, PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1935 Service, Sales and Construction... amount of capital reasonably necessary for the performance of services or construction for, or the... service, sales, or construction contract. (c) Any expense (including the price paid for goods) incurred in...

The theoretical and psychometric properties of the Subjective Traumatic Outlook (STO) questionnaire.

PubMed

Palgi, Yuval; Shrira, Amit; Ben-Ezra, Menachem

2017-07-01

The present study aimed to develop the theoretical construct and examine the psychometric properties of a new scale for measuring subjective traumatic outlook (STO) among individuals exposed to traumatic events. The main idea behind this construct is to assess individual differences in the way people exposed to traumatic experiences subjectively perceive their trauma. Using four samples, we conducted five studies that examine the new questionnaire's exploratory/confirmatory factor analysis (EFA/CFA), test-retest reliability, and construct validity. The STO was best captured by a five-item factor construct. This construct was found to have good convergent validity with similar, related subjective evaluations of PTSD and PTSD-related constructs. Yet, the STO also has unique and divergent properties compared to other questionnaires. The STO is a new, short questionnaire with excellent psychometric properties. It may provide practitioners with a good screening tool for attaining first impression about one's inner traumatic world, and predicting future risk for developing PTSD. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Enantioselective Rhodium-Catalyzed Dimerization of ω-Allenyl Carboxylic Acids: Straightforward Synthesis of C2 -Symmetric Macrodiolides.

PubMed

Steib, Philip; Breit, Bernhard

2018-04-19

Herein, we report on the first enantioselective and atom-efficient catalytic one-step dimerization method to selectively transform ω-allenyl carboxylic acids into C 2 -symmetric 14- to 28-membered bismacrolactones (macrodiolides). This convenient asymmetric access serves as an attractive route towards multiple naturally occuring homodimeric macrocyclic scaffolds and demonstrates excellent efficiency to construct the complex, symmetric core structures. By utilizing a rhodium catalyst with a modified chiral cyclopentylidene-diop ligand, the desired diolides were obtained in good to high yields, high diastereoselectivity, and excellent enantioselectivity. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High-efficiency reconciliation for continuous variable quantum key distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Zengliang; Yang, Shenshen; Li, Yongmin

2017-04-01

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is the most mature application of quantum information technology. Information reconciliation is a crucial step in QKD and significantly affects the final secret key rates shared between two legitimate parties. We analyze and compare various construction methods of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes and design high-performance irregular LDPC codes with a block length of 106. Starting from these good codes and exploiting the slice reconciliation technique based on multilevel coding and multistage decoding, we realize high-efficiency Gaussian key reconciliation with efficiency higher than 95% for signal-to-noise ratios above 1. Our demonstrated method can be readily applied in continuous variable QKD.

Gain-clamped semiconductor optical amplifiers based on compensating light: Theoretical model and performance analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Xin-Hong; Wu, Zheng-Mao; Xia, Guang-Qiong

2006-12-01

It is well known that the gain-clamped semiconductor optical amplifier (GC-SOA) based on lasing effect is subject to transmission rate restriction because of relaxation oscillation. The GC-SOA based on compensating effect between signal light and amplified spontaneous emission by combined SOA and fiber Bragg grating (FBG) can be used to overcome this problem. In this paper, the theoretical model on GC-SOA based on compensating light has been constructed. The numerical simulations demonstrate that good gain and noise figure characteristics can be realized by selecting reasonably the FBG insertion position, the peak reflectivity of FBG and the biasing current of GC-SOA.

Developing a tool to measure satisfaction among health professionals in sub-Saharan Africa

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background In sub-Saharan Africa, lack of motivation and job dissatisfaction have been cited as causes of poor healthcare quality and outcomes. Measurement of health workers’ satisfaction adapted to sub-Saharan African working conditions and cultures is a challenge. The objective of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure satisfaction among health professionals in the sub-Saharan African context. Methods A survey was conducted in Senegal and Mali in 2011 among 962 care providers (doctors, midwives, nurses and technicians) practicing in 46 hospitals (capital, regional and district). The participation rate was very high: 97% (937/962). After exploratory factor analysis (EFA), construct validity was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The discriminant validity of our subscales was evaluated by comparing the average variance extracted (AVE) for each of the constructs with the squared interconstruct correlation (SIC), and finally for criterion validity, each subscale was tested with two hypotheses. Two dimensions of reliability were assessed: internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha subscales and stability over time using a test-retest process. Results Eight dimensions of satisfaction encompassing 24 items were identified and validated using a process that combined psychometric analyses and expert opinions: continuing education, salary and benefits, management style, tasks, work environment, workload, moral satisfaction and job stability. All eight dimensions demonstrated significant discriminant validity. The final model showed good performance, with a root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) of 0.0508 (90% CI: 0.0448 to 0.0569) and a comparative fit index (CFI) of 0.9415. The concurrent criterion validity of the eight dimensions was good. Reliability was assessed based on internal consistency, which was good for all dimensions but one (moral satisfaction < 0.70). Test-retest showed satisfactory temporal stability (intra class coefficient range: 0.60 to 0.91). Conclusions Job satisfaction is a complex construct; this study provides a multidimensional instrument whose content, construct and criterion validities were verified to ensure its suitability for the sub-Saharan African context. When using these subscales in further studies, the variability of the reliability of the subscales should be taken in to account for calculating the sample sizes. The instrument will be useful in evaluative studies which will help guide interventions aimed at improving both the quality of care and its effectiveness. PMID:23826720

Analysis of expert validation on developing integrated science worksheet to improve problem solving skills of natural science prospective teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widodo, W.; Sudibyo, E.; Sari, D. A. P.

2018-04-01

This study aims to develop student worksheets for higher education that apply integrated science learning in discussing issues about motion in humans. These worksheets will guide students to solve the problem about human movement. They must integrate their knowledge about biology, physics, and chemistry to solve the problem. The worksheet was validated by three experts in Natural Science Integrated Science, especially in Human Movement topic. The aspects of the validation were feasibility of the content, the construction, and the language. This research used the Likert scale to measure the validity of each aspect, which is 4.00 for very good validity criteria, 3.00 for good validity criteria, 2.00 for more or less validity criteria, and 1.00 for not good validity criteria. Data showed that the validity for each aspect were in the range of good validity and very good validity criteria (3.33 to 3.67 for the content aspect, 2.33 to 4.00 for the construction aspect, and 3.33 to 4.00 for language aspect). However, there was a part of construction aspect that needed to improve. Overall, this students’ worksheet can be applied in classroom after some revisions based on suggestions from the validators.

Cross-cultural evaluation of the French version of the LEIPAD, a health-related quality of life instrument for use in the elderly living at home.

PubMed

Jalenques, I; Auclair, C; Roblin, J; Morand, D; Tourtauchaux, R; May, R; Vaille-Perret, E; Watts, J; Gerbaud, L; De Leo, D

2013-04-01

To cross-culturally adapt a French version of the LEIPAD, a self-administered questionnaire assessing the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adults aged 65 years and over living at home, and to evaluate its psychometric properties. After having translated LEIPAD in accordance with guidelines, we studied psychometric properties: reliability and construct validity-factor analysis, relationships between items and scales, internal consistency, concurrent validity with the Medical Outcome Study Short-Form 36 and known-groups validity. The results obtained in a sample of 195 elderly from the general population showed very good acceptability, with response rates superior to 93 %. Exploratory factor analysis extracted eight factors providing a multidimensionality structure with five misclassifications of items in the seven theoretical scales. Good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.73 and 0.86) and strong test-retest reliability (ICCs higher than 0.80 for six scales and 0.70 for one) were demonstrated. Concurrent validity with the SF-36 showed small to strong expected correlations. This first evaluation of the French version of LEIPAD's psychometric properties provides evidence in construct validity and reliability. It would allow HRQoL assessment in clinical and common practice, and investigators would be able to take part in national and international research projects.

[The Family Questionnaire (FB-K) - A Short Version of the General Family Questionnaire and its Reliability and Validity].

PubMed

Sidor, Anna; Cierpka, Manfred

2016-01-01

A standardized assessment of a family system plays a crucial role in family therapy research and diagnostic, as well as in a family therapy itself. A 14-item short version of the General Family Questionnaire (FB-K) was designed to get a tool for assessing family functionality that is low time-consuming. The short version was developed by factor analysis from the long version FA-A. The quality criteria of the family questionnaire were verified in a control sample of 208 high-risk families four months after the birth of their child. The new family questionnaire demonstrates a very good reliability and a satisfactory 8-months-stability. The concurrent validity with the FACES scale "cohesion" is assured. Regarding the construct validity a positive correlation to the feeling of coherence was found. The family questionnaire shows a negative correlation to the maternal postnatal depressive symptoms, the degree of maternal stress burden, the dysfunctionality of the mother-child-relationship and impaired bonding. The values taken from a norm sample with infants are higher by trend and in the sample with children under 18 do not deviate from the values of the risk sample. FB-K covers two aspects of family functioning, the bond between family members and their willingness to communicate. The internal consistency of FB-K is excellent, the criterion and the construct validity are good.

In silico analysis and experimental validation of azelastine hydrochloride (N4) targeting sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) in HBV therapy.

PubMed

Fu, L-L; Liu, J; Chen, Y; Wang, F-T; Wen, X; Liu, H-Q; Wang, M-Y; Ouyang, L; Huang, J; Bao, J-K; Wei, Y-Q

2014-08-01

The aim of this study was to explore sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) exerting its function with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and its targeted candidate compounds, in HBV therapy. Identification of NTCP as a novel HBV target for screening candidate small molecules, was used by phylogenetic analysis, network construction, molecular modelling, molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. In vitro virological examination, q-PCR, western blotting and cytotoxicity studies were used for validating efficacy of the candidate compound. We used the phylogenetic analysis of NTCP and constructed its protein-protein network. Also, we screened compounds from Drugbank and ZINC, among which five were validated for their authentication in HepG 2.2.15 cells. Then, we selected compound N4 (azelastine hydrochloride) as the most potent of them. This showed good inhibitory activity against HBsAg (IC50 = 7.5 μm) and HBeAg (IC50 = 3.7 μm), as well as high SI value (SI = 4.68). Further MD simulation results supported good interaction between compound N4 and NTCP. In silico analysis and experimental validation together demonstrated that compound N4 can target NTCP in HepG2.2.15 cells, which may shed light on exploring it as a potential anti-HBV drug. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Stroke Self-efficacy Questionnaire: a Rasch-refined measure of confidence post stroke.

PubMed

Riazi, Afsane; Aspden, Trefor; Jones, Fiona

2014-05-01

Measuring self-efficacy during rehabilitation provides an important insight into understanding recovery post stroke. A Rasch analysis of the Stroke Self-efficacy Questionnaire (SSEQ) was undertaken to establish its use as a clinically meaningful and scientifically rigorous measure. One hundred and eighteen stroke patients completed the SSEQ with the help of an interviewer. Participants were recruited from local acute stroke units and community stroke rehabilitation teams. Data were analysed with confirmatory factor analysis conducted using AMOS and Rasch analysis conducted using RUMM2030 software. Confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analyses demonstrated the presence of two separate scales that measure stroke survivors' self-efficacy with: i) self-management and ii) functional activities. Guided by Rasch analyses, the response categories of these two scales were collapsed from an 11-point to a 4-point scale. Modified scales met the expectations of the Rasch model. Items satisfied the Rasch requirements (overall and individual item fit, local response independence, differential item functioning, unidimensionality). Furthermore, the two subscales showed evidence of good construct validity. The new SSEQ has good psychometric properties and is a clinically useful assessment of self-efficacy after stroke. The scale measures stroke survivors' self-efficacy with self-management and activities as two unidimensional constructs. It is recommended for use in clinical and research interventions, and in evaluating stroke self-management interventions.

Validity and cultural equivalence of the standard Greene Climacteric Scale in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Chen, Run Qiu; Davis, Susan R; Wong, Chit Ming; Lam, Tai Hing

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to translate the standard Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS) and a urogenital symptom scale into colloquial Chinese (Hong Kong) and test their validity and reliability in Hong Kong Chinese women. The scales were translated with standard techniques, and cross-cultural construct validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and responsiveness were tested on samples of women aged 40 to 60 years recruited from the community. A total of 611 women, with mean (SD) age of 48.9 (5.3) years, provided completed scales for the study. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated construct validity of the translated standard GCS. The items were found to have good homogeneity in measuring the scale concepts (Cronbach alpha > 0.7). But the three-item urogenital scale had poor internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.43), and a combination of this scale with the standard GCS resulted in a reduced model fit to the data. Test-retest reliability for the GCS was good on women recruited for a retest (n = 52). The translated GCS was found to be responsive to change over time (effect size, 0.59; n = 19). The Chinese (Hong Kong) version of the standard GCS is a valid and cultural-equivalent instrument. Our data do not support inclusion of the urogenital scale to the standard GCS. Measurement of urogenital symptoms is subject to further study.

Good sex/bad sex: the individualised focus of US HIV prevention policy in sub-Saharan Africa, 1995-2005.

PubMed

Esacove, Anne W

2013-01-01

The expanding reliance on the health sciences to address social problems is well documented, as are the effects of the social construction of public (health) problems on 'target' populations, intervention design and broader social systems. Less attention has been given in the literature to the cultural meanings that configure public health efforts themselves. This study demonstrates how the cultural understandings of sex and sexuality that inform US human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention policy in sub-Saharan Africa shape policy recommendations. Based on an analysis of 119 US policy documents, a relatively stable and highly gendered narrative of sexual risk was found across the Clinton and (G.W.) Bush administrations. This narrative locates HIV risk in (what is constructed to be) the inevitable clash between women's sexuality and men's sexuality, and delineates HIV risk by the form of relationship in which sex occurs. The two narratives diverge at this point, offering different definitions of 'bad' sex and 'good' sex. This divergence helps to explain the different prevention foci of the administrations - condoms during the Clinton era and abstinence-outside-of-marriage during the Bush administration. In both cases, the sexual risk narrative points to individual targeted prevention strategies, even as the policy identifies structural factors as driving global HIV epidemics. © 2012 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2012 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

'A world of difference': a qualitative study of medical students' views on professionalism and the 'good doctor'.

PubMed

Cuesta-Briand, Beatriz; Auret, Kirsten; Johnson, Paula; Playford, Denese

2014-04-12

The importance of professional behaviour has been emphasized in medical school curricula. However, the lack of consensus on what constitutes professionalism poses a challenge to medical educators, who often resort to a negative model of assessment based on the identification of unacceptable behaviour. This paper presents results from a study exploring medical students' views on professionalism, and reports on students' constructs of the 'good' and the 'professional' doctor. Data for this qualitative study were collected through focus groups conducted with medical students from one Western Australian university over a period of four years. Students were recruited through unit coordinators and invited to participate in a focus group. De-identified socio-demographic data were obtained through a brief questionnaire. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and subjected to inductive thematic analysis. A total of 49 medical students took part in 13 focus groups. Differences between students' understandings of the 'good' and 'professional' doctor were observed. Being competent, a good communicator and a good teacher were the main characteristics of the 'good' doctor. Professionalism was strongly associated with the adoption of a professional persona; following a code of practice and professional guidelines, and treating others with respect were also associated with the 'professional' doctor. Students felt more connected to the notion of the 'good' doctor, and perceived professionalism as an external and imposed construct. When both constructs were seen as acting in opposition, students tended to forgo professionalism in favour of becoming a 'good' doctor.Results suggest that the teaching of professionalism should incorporate more formal reflection on the complexities of medical practice, allowing students and educators to openly explore and articulate any perceived tensions between what is formally taught and what is being observed in clinical practice.

47 CFR 73.3598 - Period of construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... a showing of good cause. The LPFM permittee must file for an extension on or before the expiration... original construction permit shall toll when construction is prevented by the following causes not under... natural disasters (e.g., floods, tornados, hurricanes, or earthquakes); (2) The grant of the permit is the...

47 CFR 73.3598 - Period of construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... a showing of good cause. The LPFM permittee must file for an extension on or before the expiration... original construction permit shall toll when construction is prevented by the following causes not under... natural disasters (e.g., floods, tornados, hurricanes, or earthquakes); (2) The grant of the permit is the...

47 CFR 73.3598 - Period of construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... a showing of good cause. The LPFM permittee must file for an extension on or before the expiration... original construction permit shall toll when construction is prevented by the following causes not under... natural disasters (e.g., floods, tornados, hurricanes, or earthquakes); (2) The grant of the permit is the...

47 CFR 73.3598 - Period of construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... a showing of good cause. The LPFM permittee must file for an extension on or before the expiration... original construction permit shall toll when construction is prevented by the following causes not under... natural disasters (e.g., floods, tornados, hurricanes, or earthquakes); (2) The grant of the permit is the...

How to reduce your fire insurance rates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dubain, M.

1971-01-01

Construction procedures and utilization of materials to reduce the cost of insuring large buildings against losses from fire are discussed. Examples of good and bad techniques in building construction and fire safety management are provided. The inadequacies of building codes and the hazards resulting from improper construction are examined.

The Special Goods of Childhood: Lessons from Social Constructionism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giesinger, Johannes

2017-01-01

To what extent does the common claim that childhood is "socially constructed" affect the ethical debate on the "intrinsic" and "special" goods of childhood? Philosophers have referred to this kind of goods in their critique of overly adult-centred and future-oriented conceptions of childhood. The view that some goods…

The Work Disability Functional Assessment Battery (WD-FAB): Feasibility and Psychometric Properties

PubMed Central

Meterko, Mark; Marfeo, Elizabeth E.; McDonough, Christine M.; Jette, Alan M.; Ni, Pengsheng; Bogusz, Kara; Rasch, Elizabeth K; Brandt, Diane E.; Chan, Leighton

2015-01-01

Objectives To assess the feasibility and psychometric properties of eight scales covering two domains of the newly developed Work Disability Functional Assessment Battery (WD-FAB): physical function (PF) and behavioral health (BH) function. Design Cross-sectional. Setting Community. Participants Adults unable to work due to a physical (n=497) or mental (n=476) disability. Interventions None. Main Outcome Measures Each disability group responded to a survey consisting of the relevant WD-FAB scales and existing measures of established validity. The WD-FAB scales were evaluated with regard to data quality (score distribution; percent “I don’t know” responses), efficiency of administration (number of items required to achieve reliability criterion; time required to complete the scale) by computerized adaptive testing (CAT), and measurement accuracy as tested by person fit. Construct validity was assessed by examining both convergent and discriminant correlations between the WD-FAB scales and scores on same-domain and cross-domain established measures. Results Data quality was good and CAT efficiency was high across both WD-FAB domains. Measurement accuracy was very good for the PF scales; BH scales demonstrated more variability. Construct validity correlations, both convergent and divergent, between all WD-FAB scales and established measures were in the expected direction and range of magnitude. Conclusions The data quality, CAT efficacy, person fit and construct validity of the WD-FAB scales were well supported and suggest that the WD-FAB could be used to assess physical and behavioral health function related to work disability. Variation in scale performance suggests the need for future work on item replenishment and refinement, particularly regarding the Self-Efficacy scale. PMID:25528263

40 CFR 33.301 - What does this subpart require?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... AGENCY PROGRAMS Good Faith Efforts § 33.301 What does this subpart require? A recipient, including one... good faith efforts whenever procuring construction, equipment, services and supplies under an EPA...

40 CFR 33.301 - What does this subpart require?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... AGENCY PROGRAMS Good Faith Efforts § 33.301 What does this subpart require? A recipient, including one... good faith efforts whenever procuring construction, equipment, services and supplies under an EPA...

40 CFR 33.301 - What does this subpart require?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... AGENCY PROGRAMS Good Faith Efforts § 33.301 What does this subpart require? A recipient, including one... good faith efforts whenever procuring construction, equipment, services and supplies under an EPA...

40 CFR 33.301 - What does this subpart require?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... AGENCY PROGRAMS Good Faith Efforts § 33.301 What does this subpart require? A recipient, including one... good faith efforts whenever procuring construction, equipment, services and supplies under an EPA...

Inhibitors and facilitators of willingness to participate (WTP) in an HIV vaccine trial: construction and initial validation of the Inhibitors and Facilitators of Willingness to Participate Scale (WPS) among women at risk for HIV infection.

PubMed

Fincham, Dylan; Kagee, Ashraf; Swartz, Leslie

2010-04-01

A psychometric scale assessing inhibitors and facilitators of willingness to participate (WTP) in an HIV vaccine trial has not yet been developed. This study aimed to construct and derive the exploratory factor structure of such a scale. The 35-item Inhibitors and Facilitators of Willingness to Participate Scale (WPS) was developed and administered to a convenience sample of 264 Black females between the ages of 16 and 49 years living in an urban-informal settlement near Cape Town. The subscales of the WPS demonstrated good internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging between 0.69 and 0.82. A principal components exploratory factor analysis revealed the presence of five latent factors. The factors, which accounted for 45.93% of the variance in WTP, were (1) personal costs, (2) safety and convenience, (3) stigmatisation, (4) personal gains and (5) social approval and trust. Against the backdrop of the study limitations, these results provide initial support for the reliability and construct validity of the WPS among the most eligible trial participants in the Western Cape of South Africa.

The utility of the Total Neuropathy Score as an instrument to assess neuropathy severity in chronic kidney disease: A validation study.

PubMed

Issar, Tushar; Arnold, Ria; Kwai, Natalie C G; Pussell, Bruce A; Endre, Zoltan H; Poynten, Ann M; Kiernan, Matthew C; Krishnan, Arun V

2018-05-01

To demonstrate construct validity of the Total Neuropathy Score (TNS) in assessing peripheral neuropathy in subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD). 113 subjects with CKD and 40 matched controls were assessed for peripheral neuropathy using the TNS. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted and internal consistency of the scale was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity of the TNS was tested by comparing scores between case and control groups. Factor analysis revealed valid item correlations and internal consistency of the TNS was good with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.897. Subjects with CKD scored significantly higher on the TNS (CKD: median, 6, interquartile range, 1-13; controls: median, 0, interquartile range, 0-1; p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed construct validity was maintained for subjects with stages 3-5 CKD with and without diabetes. The TNS is a valid measure of peripheral neuropathy in patients with CKD. The TNS is the first neuropathy scale to be formally validated in patients with CKD. Copyright © 2018 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An appealing photo-powered multi-functional energy system for the poly-generation of hydrogen and electricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Tiantian; Li, Kan; Shen, Zhemin; Sun, Tonghua; Wang, Yalin; Jia, Jinping

2015-10-01

This paper focuses on a photo-powered poly-generation system (PPS) that is powered by the photocatalytic oxidation of organic substrate to produce hydrogen energy and electrical energy synchronously. This particular device runs entirely on light energy and chemical energy of substrate without external voltage. The performance measurements and optimization experiments are all investigated by using the low concentration of pure ethanol (EtOH) solution. Compared with the conventional submerged reactor for the photogeneration of hydrogen, the hydrogen and the electric current obtained in the constructed PPS are all relatively stable in experimental period and the numerical values detected are many times higher than that of the former by using various simulated ethanol waste liquid. When using Chinese rice wine as substrate at the same ethanol content level (i.e., 0.1 mol L-1), the production of hydrogen is close to that of the pure ethanol solution in the constructed PPS, but no hydrogen is detected in the conventional submerged reactor. These results demonstrate that the constructed PPS could effectively utilize light energy and perform good capability in poly-generation of hydrogen and electricity.

A two-dimensional model of disrupted body integrity: initial evaluation in head and neck cancer.

PubMed

Mah, Kenneth; Lebel, Sophie; Irish, Jonathan; Bezjak, Andrea; Payne, Ada Y M; Devins, Gerald M

2018-04-13

This cross-sectional study presents an initial psychometric evaluation of a two-dimensional (perceptual and evaluative) conceptualization and measure of disrupted body integrity (DBI)-illness-related disruption of the sense of the body as an integrated, smoothly functioning whole. Male and female head and neck cancer (HNC) outpatients (N = 98) completed a questionnaire package prior to outpatient visits. The Disrupted Body Integrity Scale (DBIS) was developed to measure the perceptual and evaluative facets of DBI. Self-report measures of disfigurement, stigma, depressive symptoms, and negative affect were also completed. Almost all DBIS subscales demonstrated good internal consistency. Results largely supported the DBIS's construct validity. The majority of subscales correlated within the predicted range of r's = .40-.70. Almost all DBIS constructs were positively linked with either depressive symptoms or disfigurement. None correlated with positive affect, and only two subscales, abnormal sensations (perceptual) and physical vulnerability (evaluative), correlated with negative affect. DBIS constructs showed little relation with stigma, once disfigurement effects were controlled for. Findings offer preliminary evidence for the DBIS and the relevance of DBI in HNC. Further evaluation of DBI in disease adaptation and the DBIS's factor structure is warranted.

Validation of the Self-Beliefs Related to Social Anxiety Scale

PubMed Central

Moulds, Michelle L.; Rapee, Ronald M.

2014-01-01

The importance of self-beliefs in prominent models of social phobia has led to the development of measures that tap this cognitive construct. The Self-Beliefs Related to Social Anxiety (SBSA) Scale is one such measure and taps the three maladaptive belief types proposed in Clark and Wells’s model of social phobia. This study aimed to replicate and extend previous research on the psychometric properties of the SBSA. Replicating previous research, in an (undiagnosed) undergraduate sample (n = 235), the SBSA was found to have a correlated three-factor structure using confirmatory factor analyses, and the SBSA and its subscales demonstrated good internal consistency and test–retest reliability. The SBSA and its subscales also had unique relationships with social anxiety and depression, the majority of which replicated previous research. Extending previous research, the SBSA and its subscales showed good incremental validity in the undergraduate sample and good discriminative validity using the undergraduate sample and a sample of individuals with social phobia (n = 33). The SBSA’s strong theoretical basis and the findings of this study suggest that the SBSA is an ideal research and clinical tool to assess the cognitions characteristic of social phobia. PMID:23575344

Validation of the self-beliefs related to social anxiety scale: a replication and extension.

PubMed

Wong, Quincy J J; Moulds, Michelle L; Rapee, Ronald M

2014-06-01

The importance of self-beliefs in prominent models of social phobia has led to the development of measures that tap this cognitive construct. The Self-Beliefs Related to Social Anxiety (SBSA) Scale is one such measure and taps the three maladaptive belief types proposed in Clark and Wells's model of social phobia. This study aimed to replicate and extend previous research on the psychometric properties of the SBSA. Replicating previous research, in an (undiagnosed) undergraduate sample (n = 235), the SBSA was found to have a correlated three-factor structure using confirmatory factor analyses, and the SBSA and its subscales demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The SBSA and its subscales also had unique relationships with social anxiety and depression, the majority of which replicated previous research. Extending previous research, the SBSA and its subscales showed good incremental validity in the undergraduate sample and good discriminative validity using the undergraduate sample and a sample of individuals with social phobia (n = 33). The SBSA's strong theoretical basis and the findings of this study suggest that the SBSA is an ideal research and clinical tool to assess the cognitions characteristic of social phobia. © The Author(s) 2013.

Examples of actions that improve partnering cooperation among the participants of construction projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radziszewska-Zielina, E.; Szewczyk, B.

2017-10-01

The aim of the article is to present examples of actions that can be undertaken in order to improve partnering cooperation in construction projects. These actions are a practical supplementation to the previously developed fuzzy system of controlling partnering relations in construction projects. The actions relate to 18 parameters of partnering relations that describe cooperation between a general contractor or a company that manages the project and four other participants: the contractors (subcontractors), the designer, the material and equipment suppliers and the real estate developer. The actions have been listed based on a review of subject literature, self-analysis, as well as interviews with participants of construction projects. They can provide examples of good practices that maintain partnering cooperation at a high level. Good cooperation, in turn, translates into a better performance of the project.

Femtosecond laser surface texturing of 3D poly-ε-caprolactone matrices for bone tissue engineering applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daskalova, A.; Bliznakova, I.; Zhelyazkova, A.; Ostrowska, B.; Trifonov, A.; Buchvarov, I.; Avramov, L.; Husinsky, W.

2018-03-01

Fibrous 3D matrices were fabricated from poly-ɛ-caprolactone (PCL) by fused deposition modeling. Femtosecond laser irradiation was then used to demonstrate the possibility to affect the porosity of the 3D PCL fiber meshes. The surface characteristics were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal microscopy. The interrelationship was examined between the laser processing parameters (number of pulses, pulse energy applied) and the response of the biomaterial. The formation was demonstrated of well-defined micropores, while the original fiber structure was retained. The study of cells cultivation on the laser-modified scaffolds showed good adhesion compared to a non-modified scaffold. The results obtained showed that femtosecond laser processing can be used as an alternative non-contact tool in enhancing the porosity of artificial constructs, thus influencing the cell adhesion into fibrous meshes.

Reduced quenching effects of organic gain media with metallic electrodes via introducing a conjugated macroelectrolyte interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Jianpeng; Huang, Jinjin; Liu, Chengfang; Lai, Wen-Yong; Huang, Wei

2017-01-01

We have demonstrated amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) restoration and threshold reduction by introducing a novel water/alcohol soluble conjugated macroelectrolyte, tris(4-(7-(9,9-di(hexyl-1-N,N-diethanolamino)-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-9,9-di(hexyl-1-N,N-diethanolamino)-9H-fluoren-2-yl)phenyl)amine (TPAOH), serving as an interfacial layer between the gain media layer, dioctyl substituted polyfluorene (PFO), and the Ag electrode layer. By optimizing the film thickness of TPAOH, enhanced ASE performance has been achieved with the lowest threshold of 21 μJ/cm2, demonstrating 3.5-fold reduction from 74 μJ/cm2. Atomic force microscopy results showed good compatibility between the TPAOH film and the PFO layer. The results suggest a facile and low-cost solution-processing interfacial technique to construct efficient organic semiconductor lasers in the presence of metallic electrodes.

Digital synthetic impedance for application in vibration damping.

PubMed

Nečásek, J; Václavík, J; Marton, P

2016-02-01

In this work we present construction details of a precision, standalone, and compact digital synthetic impedance for application in the field of vibration damping. The presented device is based on an embedded ARM microcontroller with external AD and DA converters and a special analog front-end. The performance of the device is tested by comparing the actually synthesized impedance with several prescribed impedances and shows very good match. Fine-tuning ability of the device, which is crucial for the considered application, is also demonstrated and reaches as small step as 0.1% for the most complicated impedance structure and drops below the level of direct measurability with less complex structures. The real application in vibration damping is demonstrated on a simple and well understood case of a one-dimensional vibrating spring-mass system with piezoelectric actuator embedded as the interface between source of vibrations and vibrating mass.

Digital synthetic impedance for application in vibration damping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nečásek, J.; Václavík, J.; Marton, P.

2016-02-01

In this work we present construction details of a precision, standalone, and compact digital synthetic impedance for application in the field of vibration damping. The presented device is based on an embedded ARM microcontroller with external AD and DA converters and a special analog front-end. The performance of the device is tested by comparing the actually synthesized impedance with several prescribed impedances and shows very good match. Fine-tuning ability of the device, which is crucial for the considered application, is also demonstrated and reaches as small step as 0.1% for the most complicated impedance structure and drops below the level of direct measurability with less complex structures. The real application in vibration damping is demonstrated on a simple and well understood case of a one-dimensional vibrating spring-mass system with piezoelectric actuator embedded as the interface between source of vibrations and vibrating mass.

Fabrication of Poly(ε-caprolactone) Scaffolds Reinforced with Cellulose Nanofibers, with and without the Addition of Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles.

PubMed

Morouço, Pedro; Biscaia, Sara; Viana, Tânia; Franco, Margarida; Malça, Cândida; Mateus, Artur; Moura, Carla; Ferreira, Frederico C; Mitchell, Geoffrey; Alves, Nuno M

2016-01-01

Biomaterial properties and controlled architecture of scaffolds are essential features to provide an adequate biological and mechanical support for tissue regeneration, mimicking the ingrowth tissues. In this study, a bioextrusion system was used to produce 3D biodegradable scaffolds with controlled architecture, comprising three types of constructs: (i) poly( ε -caprolactone) (PCL) matrix as reference; (ii) PCL-based matrix reinforced with cellulose nanofibers (CNF); and (iii) PCL-based matrix reinforced with CNF and hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HANP). The effect of the addition and/or combination of CNF and HANP into the polymeric matrix of PCL was investigated, with the effects of the biomaterial composition on the constructs (morphological, thermal, and mechanical performances) being analysed. Scaffolds were produced using a single lay-down pattern of 0/90°, with the same processing parameters among all constructs being assured. The performed morphological analyses showed a satisfactory distribution of CNF within the polymer matrix and high reliability was obtained among the produced scaffolds. Significant effects on surface wettability and thermal properties were observed, among scaffolds. Regarding the mechanical properties, higher scaffold stiffness in the reinforced scaffolds was obtained. Results from the cytotoxicity assay suggest that all the composite scaffolds presented good biocompatibility. The results of this first study on cellulose and hydroxyapatite reinforced constructs with controlled architecture clearly demonstrate the potential of these 3D composite constructs for cell cultivation with enhanced mechanical properties.

Combined protein construct and synthetic gene engineering for heterologous protein expression and crystallization using Gene Composer

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

Raymond, Amy; Lovell, Scott; Lorimer, Don

2009-12-01

With the goal of improving yield and success rates of heterologous protein production for structural studies we have developed the database and algorithm software package Gene Composer. This freely available electronic tool facilitates the information-rich design of protein constructs and their engineered synthetic gene sequences, as detailed in the accompanying manuscript. In this report, we compare heterologous protein expression levels from native sequences to that of codon engineered synthetic gene constructs designed by Gene Composer. A test set of proteins including a human kinase (P38{alpha}), viral polymerase (HCV NS5B), and bacterial structural protein (FtsZ) were expressed in both E. colimore » and a cell-free wheat germ translation system. We also compare the protein expression levels in E. coli for a set of 11 different proteins with greatly varied G:C content and codon bias. The results consistently demonstrate that protein yields from codon engineered Gene Composer designs are as good as or better than those achieved from the synonymous native genes. Moreover, structure guided N- and C-terminal deletion constructs designed with the aid of Gene Composer can lead to greater success in gene to structure work as exemplified by the X-ray crystallographic structure determination of FtsZ from Bacillus subtilis. These results validate the Gene Composer algorithms, and suggest that using a combination of synthetic gene and protein construct engineering tools can improve the economics of gene to structure research.« less

Development of a measure of sense of community for individuals with serious mental illness residing in community settings.

PubMed

Townley, Greg; Kloos, Bret

2009-03-03

The psychological sense of community is one of the most commonly investigated constructs in community psychology. Sense of community may be particularly important for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) because they often face societal barriers to participation in community living, including stigma and discrimination. To date, no published studies have investigated the psychometric qualities of sense of community measures among individuals with SMI. The current study tested a series of confirmatory factor analyses using the Brief Sense of Community Index (BSCI, Long & Perkins, 2003) in a sample of 416 persons with SMI living in community settings to suggest a model of sense of community for individuals with SMI and other disabilities. The resulting scale, the Brief Sense of Community Index- Disability (BSCI-D), demonstrated good model fit and construct validity. Implications are discussed for how this scale may be used in research investigating community integration and adaptive functioning in community settings.

Development of a measure of sense of community for individuals with serious mental illness residing in community settings

PubMed Central

Townley, Greg; Kloos, Bret

2008-01-01

The psychological sense of community is one of the most commonly investigated constructs in community psychology. Sense of community may be particularly important for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) because they often face societal barriers to participation in community living, including stigma and discrimination. To date, no published studies have investigated the psychometric qualities of sense of community measures among individuals with SMI. The current study tested a series of confirmatory factor analyses using the Brief Sense of Community Index (BSCI, Long & Perkins, 2003) in a sample of 416 persons with SMI living in community settings to suggest a model of sense of community for individuals with SMI and other disabilities. The resulting scale, the Brief Sense of Community Index- Disability (BSCI-D), demonstrated good model fit and construct validity. Implications are discussed for how this scale may be used in research investigating community integration and adaptive functioning in community settings. PMID:19305637

Free-form surface design method for a collimator TIR lens.

PubMed

Tsai, Chung-Yu

2016-04-01

A free-form (FF) surface design method is proposed for a general axial-symmetrical collimator system consisting of a light source and a total internal reflection lens with two coupled FF boundary surfaces. The profiles of the boundary surfaces are designed using a FF surface construction method such that each incident ray is directed (refracted and reflected) in such a way as to form a specified image pattern on the target plane. The light ray paths within the system are analyzed using an exact analytical model and a skew-ray tracing approach. In addition, the validity of the proposed FF design method is demonstrated by means of ZEMAX simulations. It is shown that the illumination distribution formed on the target plane is in good agreement with that specified by the user. The proposed surface construction method is mathematically straightforward and easily implemented in computer code. As such, it provides a useful tool for the design and analysis of general axial-symmetrical optical systems.

Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Screening in Primary Care: Development of the Behavioral Health Checklist

PubMed Central

Koshy, Anson J.; Watkins, Marley W.; Cassano, Michael C.; Wahlberg, Andrea C.; Mautone, Jennifer A.; Blum, Nathan J.

2013-01-01

Objective To evaluate the construct validity of the Behavioral Health Checklist (BHCL) for children aged from 4 to 12 years from diverse backgrounds. Method The parents of 4–12-year-old children completed the BHCL in urban and suburban primary care practices affiliated with a tertiary-care children’s hospital. Across practices, 1,702 were eligible and 1,406 (82.6%) provided consent. Children of participating parents were primarily non-Hispanic black/African American and white/Caucasian from low- to middle-income groups. Confirmatory factor analyses examined model fit for the total sample and subsamples defined by demographic characteristics. Results The findings supported the hypothesized 3-factor structure: Internalizing Problems, Externalizing Problems, and Inattention/Hyperactivity. The model demonstrated adequate to good fit across age-groups, gender, races, income groups, and suburban versus urban practices. Conclusion The findings provide strong evidence of the construct validity, developmental appropriateness, and cultural sensitivity of the BHCL when used for screening in primary care. PMID:23978505

Component-based integration of chemistry and optimization software.

PubMed

Kenny, Joseph P; Benson, Steven J; Alexeev, Yuri; Sarich, Jason; Janssen, Curtis L; McInnes, Lois Curfman; Krishnan, Manojkumar; Nieplocha, Jarek; Jurrus, Elizabeth; Fahlstrom, Carl; Windus, Theresa L

2004-11-15

Typical scientific software designs make rigid assumptions regarding programming language and data structures, frustrating software interoperability and scientific collaboration. Component-based software engineering is an emerging approach to managing the increasing complexity of scientific software. Component technology facilitates code interoperability and reuse. Through the adoption of methodology and tools developed by the Common Component Architecture Forum, we have developed a component architecture for molecular structure optimization. Using the NWChem and Massively Parallel Quantum Chemistry packages, we have produced chemistry components that provide capacity for energy and energy derivative evaluation. We have constructed geometry optimization applications by integrating the Toolkit for Advanced Optimization, Portable Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation, and Global Arrays packages, which provide optimization and linear algebra capabilities. We present a brief overview of the component development process and a description of abstract interfaces for chemical optimizations. The components conforming to these abstract interfaces allow the construction of applications using different chemistry and mathematics packages interchangeably. Initial numerical results for the component software demonstrate good performance, and highlight potential research enabled by this platform.

Development and Validation of Triarchic Construct Scales from the Psychopathic Personality Inventory

PubMed Central

Hall, Jason R.; Drislane, Laura E.; Patrick, Christopher J.; Morano, Mario; Lilienfeld, Scott O.; Poythress, Norman G.

2014-01-01

The Triarchic model of psychopathy describes this complex condition in terms of distinct phenotypic components of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. Brief self-report scales designed specifically to index these psychopathy facets have thus far demonstrated promising construct validity. The present study sought to develop and validate scales for assessing facets of the Triarchic model using items from a well-validated existing measure of psychopathy—the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI). A consensus rating approach was used to identify PPI items relevant to each Triarchic facet, and the convergent and discriminant validity of the resulting PPI-based Triarchic scales were evaluated in relation to multiple criterion variables (i.e., other psychopathy inventories, antisocial personality disorder features, personality traits, psychosocial functioning) in offender and non-offender samples. The PPI-based Triarchic scales showed good internal consistency and related to criterion variables in ways consistent with predictions based on the Triarchic model. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for conceptualization and assessment of psychopathy. PMID:24447280

Development and validation of Triarchic construct scales from the psychopathic personality inventory.

PubMed

Hall, Jason R; Drislane, Laura E; Patrick, Christopher J; Morano, Mario; Lilienfeld, Scott O; Poythress, Norman G

2014-06-01

The Triarchic model of psychopathy describes this complex condition in terms of distinct phenotypic components of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. Brief self-report scales designed specifically to index these psychopathy facets have thus far demonstrated promising construct validity. The present study sought to develop and validate scales for assessing facets of the Triarchic model using items from a well-validated existing measure of psychopathy-the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI). A consensus-rating approach was used to identify PPI items relevant to each Triarchic facet, and the convergent and discriminant validity of the resulting PPI-based Triarchic scales were evaluated in relation to multiple criterion variables (i.e., other psychopathy inventories, antisocial personality disorder features, personality traits, psychosocial functioning) in offender and nonoffender samples. The PPI-based Triarchic scales showed good internal consistency and related to criterion variables in ways consistent with predictions based on the Triarchic model. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for conceptualization and assessment of psychopathy.

Measuring Hope Among Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Cross-Cultural Construct Validity of the Children's Hope Scale.

PubMed

Haroz, Emily E; Jordans, Mark; de Jong, Joop; Gross, Alden; Bass, Judith; Tol, Wietse

2017-06-01

We investigated the cross-cultural construct validity of hope, a factor associated with mental health protection and promotion, using the Children's Hope Scale (CHS). The sample ( n = 1,057; 48% girls) included baseline data from three cluster-randomized controlled trials with children affected by armed conflict ( n = 329 Burundi; n = 403 Indonesia; n = 325 Nepal). The confirmatory factor analysis in each country indicated good fit for the hypothesized two-factor model. Analysis by gender indicated that configural invariance was supported and that scalar invariance was demonstrated in Indonesia. However, metric and scalar invariance were not supported in Burundi and Nepal. In country comparisons, configural and metric invariance were met, but scalar invariance was not supported. Evidence from this study supports the use of the CHS within various sociocultural settings and across genders, but direct comparisons of CHS scores across groups should be done with caution. Rigorous evaluations of the measurement properties of mental health protective and promotive factors are necessary to inform both research and practice.

Green synthesis of amphipathic graphene aerogel constructed by using the framework of polymer-surfactant complex for water remediation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Jingjing; Wang, Ziyuan; Yang, Xianhou; Tu, Jing; Wu, Ronglan; Wang, Wei

2018-06-01

Graphene aerogels have been extensively studied in water treatment and oil remediation. We report a mild and green method to prepare a 3D-columnar graphene aerogel. The aerogel was synthesized by using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and stearic acid (SA) as crosslinking agents to construct a framework of reduced graphene oxide (RGO). The interaction between PVA, SA, and stacked RGO sheets created a mechanically very robust aerogel. The aerogel possesses ultra-light performance with the destiny ranging from 4.9 to 10 mg cm-3. The aerogel also demonstrated ultrafast oil absorption, good fire-resistance, and excellent mechanical properties. The adsorptive capacities are in the range of 105-250 times of its original weight for various organic liquids after the absorption. The aerogel also exhibited a strong durability and reusability, and after ten cycles of absorbing-squeezing, the adsorptive capacity is nearly unchanged, indicating potential application in practical oil remediation.

Role of adjacency-matrix degeneracy in maximum-entropy-weighted network models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sagarra, O.; Pérez Vicente, C. J.; Díaz-Guilera, A.

2015-11-01

Complex network null models based on entropy maximization are becoming a powerful tool to characterize and analyze data from real systems. However, it is not easy to extract good and unbiased information from these models: A proper understanding of the nature of the underlying events represented in them is crucial. In this paper we emphasize this fact stressing how an accurate counting of configurations compatible with given constraints is fundamental to build good null models for the case of networks with integer-valued adjacency matrices constructed from an aggregation of one or multiple layers. We show how different assumptions about the elements from which the networks are built give rise to distinctively different statistics, even when considering the same observables to match those of real data. We illustrate our findings by applying the formalism to three data sets using an open-source software package accompanying the present work and demonstrate how such differences are clearly seen when measuring network observables.

Introducing a short version of the physical self description questionnaire: new strategies, short-form evaluative criteria, and applications of factor analyses.

PubMed

Marsh, Herbert W; Martin, Andrew J; Jackson, Susan

2010-08-01

Based on the Physical Self Description Questionnaire (PSDQ) normative archive (n = 1,607 Australian adolescents), 40 of 70 items were selected to construct a new short form (PSDQ-S). The PSDQ-S was evaluated in a new cross-validation sample of 708 Australian adolescents and four additional samples: 349 Australian elite-athlete adolescents, 986 Spanish adolescents, 395 Israeli university students, 760 Australian older adults. Across these six groups, the 11 PSDQ-S factors had consistently high reliabilities and invariant factor structures. Study 1, using a missing-by-design variation of multigroup invariance tests, showed invariance across 40 PSDQ-S items and 70 PSDQ items. Study 2 demonstrated factorial invariance over a 1-year interval (test-retest correlations .57-.90; Mdn = .77), and good convergent and discriminant validity in relation to time. Study 3 showed good and nearly identical support for convergent and discriminant validity of PSDQ and PSDQ-S responses in relation to two other physical self-concept instruments.

Enhanced electrochromic and energy storage performance in mesoporous WO3 film and its application in a bi-functional smart window.

PubMed

Wang, Wei-Qi; Wang, Xiu-Li; Xia, Xin-Hui; Yao, Zhu-Jun; Zhong, Yu; Tu, Jiang-Ping

2018-05-03

Construction of multifunctional photoelectrochemical energy devices is of great importance to energy saving. In this study, we have successfully prepared a mesoporous WO3 film on FTO glass via a facile dip-coating sol-gel method; the designed mesoporous WO3 film exhibited advantages including high transparency, good adhesion and high porosity. Also, multifunctional integrated energy storage and optical modulation ability are simultaneously achieved by the mesoporous WO3 film. Impressively, the mesoporous WO3 film exhibits a noticeable electrochromic energy storage performance with a large optical modulation up to 75.6% at 633 nm, accompanied by energy storage with a specific capacity of 75.3 mA h g-1. Furthermore, a full electrochromic energy storage window assembled with the mesoporous WO3 anode and PANI nanoparticle cathode is demonstrated with large optical modulation and good long-term stability. Our research provides a new route to realize the coincident utilization of optical-electrochemical energy.

Development and Validation of a Measure of Quality of Life for the Young Elderly in Sri Lanka.

PubMed

de Silva, Sudirikku Hennadige Padmal; Jayasuriya, Anura Rohan; Rajapaksa, Lalini Chandika; de Silva, Ambepitiyawaduge Pubudu; Barraclough, Simon

2016-01-01

Sri Lanka has one of the fastest aging populations in the world. Measurement of quality of life (QoL) in the elderly needs instruments developed that encompass the sociocultural settings. An instrument was developed to measure QoL in the young elderly in Sri Lanka (QLI-YES), using accepted methods to generate and reduce items. The measure was validated using a community sample. Construct, criterion and predictive validity and reliability were tested. A first-order model of 24 items with 6 domains was found to have good fit indices (CMIN/df = 1.567, RMR = 0.05, CFI = 0.95, and RMSEA = 0.053). Both criterion and predictive validity were demonstrated. Good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.93) was shown. The development of the QLI-YES using a societal perspective relevant to the social and cultural beliefs has resulted in a robust and valid instrument to measure QoL for the young elderly in Sri Lanka. © 2015 APJPH.

Controllable Synthesis of Copper Oxide/Carbon Core/Shell Nanowire Arrays and Their Application for Electrochemical Energy Storage

PubMed Central

Zhan, Jiye; Chen, Minghua; Xia, Xinhui

2015-01-01

Rational design/fabrication of integrated porous metal oxide arrays is critical for the construction of advanced electrochemical devices. Herein, we report self-supported CuO/C core/shell nanowire arrays prepared by the combination of electro-deposition and chemical vapor deposition methods. CuO/C nanowires with diameters of ~400 nm grow quasi-vertically to the substrates forming three-dimensional arrays architecture. A thin carbon shell is uniformly coated on the CuO nanowire cores. As an anode of lithium ion batteries, the resultant CuO/C nanowire arrays are demonstrated to have high specific capacity (672 mAh·g−1 at 0.2 C) and good cycle stability (425 mAh·g−1 at 1 C up to 150 cycles). The core/shell arrays structure plays positive roles in the enhancement of Li ion storage due to fast ion/electron transfer path, good strain accommodation and sufficient contact between electrolyte and active materials. PMID:28347084

Development and Validation of a Measure of Quality of Life for the Young Elderly in Sri Lanka

PubMed Central

de Silva, Sudirikku Hennadige Padmal; Jayasuriya, Anura Rohan; Rajapaksa, Lalini Chandika; de Silva, Ambepitiyawaduge Pubudu; Barraclough, Simon

2016-01-01

Sri Lanka has one of the fastest aging populations in the world. Measurement of quality of life (QoL) in the elderly needs instruments developed that encompass the sociocultural settings. An instrument was developed to measure QoL in the young elderly in Sri Lanka (QLI-YES), using accepted methods to generate and reduce items. The measure was validated using a community sample. Construct, criterion and predictive validity and reliability were tested. A first-order model of 24 items with 6 domains was found to have good fit indices (CMIN/df = 1.567, RMR = 0.05, CFI = 0.95, and RMSEA = 0.053). Both criterion and predictive validity were demonstrated. Good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.93) was shown. The development of the QLI-YES using a societal perspective relevant to the social and cultural beliefs has resulted in a robust and valid instrument to measure QoL for the young elderly in Sri Lanka. PMID:26712893

Psychiatry during the Nazi era: ethical lessons for the modern professional

PubMed Central

Strous, Rael D

2007-01-01

For the first time in history, psychiatrists during the Nazi era sought to systematically exterminate their patients. However, little has been published from this dark period analyzing what may be learned for clinical and research psychiatry. At each stage in the murderous process lay a series of unethical and heinous practices, with many psychiatrists demonstrating a profound commitment to the atrocities, playing central, pivotal roles critical to the success of Nazi policy. Several misconceptions led to this misconduct, including allowing philosophical constructs to define clinical practice, focusing exclusively on preventative medicine, allowing political pressures to influence practice, blurring the roles of clinicians and researchers, and falsely believing that good science and good ethics always co-exist. Psychiatry during this period provides a most horrifying example of how science may be perverted by external forces. It thus becomes crucial to include the Nazi era psychiatry experience in ethics training as an example of proper practice gone awry. PMID:17326822

Development and validation of the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SORC).

PubMed

Martinson, Brian C; Thrush, Carol R; Lauren Crain, A

2013-09-01

Development and targeting efforts by academic organizations to effectively promote research integrity can be enhanced if they are able to collect reliable data to benchmark baseline conditions, to assess areas needing improvement, and to subsequently assess the impact of specific initiatives. To date, no standardized and validated tool has existed to serve this need. A web- and mail-based survey was administered in the second half of 2009 to 2,837 randomly selected biomedical and social science faculty and postdoctoral fellows at 40 academic health centers in top-tier research universities in the United States. Measures included the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SORC) as well as measures of perceptions of organizational justice. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded seven subscales of organizational research climate, all of which demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's α ranging from 0.81 to 0.87) and adequate test-retest reliability (Pearson r ranging from 0.72 to 0.83). A broad range of correlations between the seven subscales and five measures of organizational justice (unadjusted regression coefficients ranging from 0.13 to 0.95) document both construct and discriminant validity of the instrument. The SORC demonstrates good internal (alpha) and external reliability (test-retest) as well as both construct and discriminant validity.

Development and evaluation of oral Cancer quality-of-life questionnaire (QOL-OC).

PubMed

Nie, Min; Liu, Chang; Pan, Yi-Chen; Jiang, Chen-Xi; Li, Bao-Ru; Yu, Xi-Jie; Wu, Xin-Yu; Zheng, Shu-Ning

2018-05-03

In this study scales and items for the Oral Cancer Quality-of-life Questionnaire (QOL-OC) were designed and the instrument was evaluated. The QOL-OC was developed and modified using the international definition of quality of life (QOL) promulgated by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and analysis of the precedent measuring instruments. The contents of each item were determined in the context of the specific characteristics of oral cancer. Two hundred thirteen oral cancer patients were asked to complete both the EORTC core quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLC-C30) and the QOL-OC. Data collected was used to conduct factor analysis, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity. Questionnaire compliance was relatively high. Fourteen of the 213 subjects accepted the same tests after 24 to 48 h demonstrating a high test-retest reliability for all five scales. Overall internal consistency surpasses 0.8. The outcome of the factor analysis coincides substantially with our theoretical conception. Each item shows a higher correlation coefficient within its own scale than the others which indicates high construct validity. QOL-OC demonstrates fairly good statistical reliability, validity, and feasibility. However, further tests and modification are needed to ensure its applicability to the quality-of-life assessment of Chinese oral cancer patients.

Development and Validation of the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SORC)

PubMed Central

Martinson, Brian C.; Thrush, Carol R.; Crain, A. Lauren

2012-01-01

Background Development and targeting efforts by academic organizations to effectively promote research integrity can be enhanced if they are able to collect reliable data to benchmark baseline conditions, to assess areas needing improvement, and to subsequently assess the impact of specific initiatives. To date, no standardized and validated tool has existed to serve this need. Methods A web- and mail-based survey was administered in the second half of 2009 to 2,837 randomly selected biomedical and social science faculty and postdoctoral fellows at 40 academic health centers in top-tier research universities in the United States. Measures included the Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SORC) as well as measures of perceptions of organizational justice. Results Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded seven subscales of organizational research climate, all of which demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s α ranging from 0.81 to 0.87) and adequate test-retest reliability (Pearson r ranging from 0.72 to 0.83). A broad range of correlations between the seven subscales and five measures of organizational justice (unadjusted regression coefficients ranging from .13 to .95) document both construct and discriminant validity of the instrument. Conclusions The SORC demonstrates good internal (alpha) and external reliability (test-retest) as well as both construct and discriminant validity. PMID:23096775

Construction material properties of slag from the high temperature arc gasification of municipal solid waste.

PubMed

Roessler, Justin G; Olivera, Fernando D; Wasman, Scott J; Townsend, Timothy G; McVay, Michael C; Ferraro, Christopher C; Blaisi, Nawaf I

2016-06-01

Slag from the high temperature arc gasification (HTAG) of municipal solid waste (MSW) was tested to evaluate its material properties with respect to use as a construction aggregate. These data were compared to previously compiled values for waste to energy bottom ash, the most commonly produced and beneficially used thermal treatment residue. The slag was tested using gradations representative of a base course and a course aggregate. Los Angeles (LA) abrasion testing demonstrated that the HTAG slag had a high resistance to fracture with a measured LA loss of 24%. Soundness testing indicated a low potential for reactivity and good weathering resistance with a mean soundness loss of 3.14%. The modified Proctor compaction testing found the slag to possess a maximum dry density (24.04kN/m(3)) greater than conventionally used aggregates and WTE BA. The LBR tests demonstrated a substantial bearing capacity (>200). Mineralogical analysis of the HTAG suggested the potential for self cementing character which supports the elevated LBR results. Preliminary material characterization of the HTAG slag establishes potential for beneficial use; larger and longer term studies focusing on the material's possibility for swelling and performance at the field scale level are needed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Translation and validation of a chinese version of the parenting sense of competence scale in chinese mothers.

PubMed

Ngai, Fei-Wan; Wai-Chi Chan, Sally; Holroyd, Eleanor

2007-01-01

Women's sense of competence and satisfaction in the maternal role are essential for positive parenting practices and child development. Measures of maternal role competence and satisfaction are limited in the Chinese population. To translate the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale into Chinese (C-PSOC) and to examine the psychometric properties of the C-PSOC. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a convenience sample of 170 mothers recruited from a postnatal unit. Participants completed the C-PSOC, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. A randomly selected subsample of 57 mothers participated in the 4-week retest. The C-PSOC demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .85) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = .87). Factor analysis supported the two-factor structure reflecting the efficacy and satisfaction dimensions of the original instrument. The scale discriminated between primiparas and multiparas (t = 2.2, p < .05). Significant correlations with Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (r = .60, p < .01) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (r = -.48, p < .01) demonstrated good construct validity. The C-PSOC has satisfactory psychometric properties. It has the potential to be used as a clinical and research instrument for measuring maternal role competence and satisfaction in the Chinese population.

Modelling rainfall amounts using mixed-gamma model for Kuantan district

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakaria, Roslinazairimah; Moslim, Nor Hafizah

2017-05-01

An efficient design of flood mitigation and construction of crop growth models depend upon good understanding of the rainfall process and characteristics. Gamma distribution is usually used to model nonzero rainfall amounts. In this study, the mixed-gamma model is applied to accommodate both zero and nonzero rainfall amounts. The mixed-gamma model presented is for the independent case. The formulae of mean and variance are derived for the sum of two and three independent mixed-gamma variables, respectively. Firstly, the gamma distribution is used to model the nonzero rainfall amounts and the parameters of the distribution (shape and scale) are estimated using the maximum likelihood estimation method. Then, the mixed-gamma model is defined for both zero and nonzero rainfall amounts simultaneously. The formulae of mean and variance for the sum of two and three independent mixed-gamma variables derived are tested using the monthly rainfall amounts from rainfall stations within Kuantan district in Pahang Malaysia. Based on the Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness of fit test, the results demonstrate that the descriptive statistics of the observed sum of rainfall amounts is not significantly different at 5% significance level from the generated sum of independent mixed-gamma variables. The methodology and formulae demonstrated can be applied to find the sum of more than three independent mixed-gamma variables.

The Psychometric Properties of an Arabic version of the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale Tested for Children with Cancer.

PubMed

Al-Gamal, Ekhlas; Long, Tony

2017-09-01

Fatigue is considered to be one of the most reported symptoms experienced by children with cancer. A major aim of this study was to develop an Arabic version of the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (child report) and to test its psychometric proprieties for the assessment of fatigue in Arabic children with cancer. The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (Arabic version) and the PedsQL TM 4.0 Generic Core scale (existing Arabic version) were completed by 70 Jordanian children with cancer. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were found to be 0.90 for the total PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (Arabic version), 0.94 for the general fatigue subscale, 0.67 for the sleep/rest fatigue subscale, and 0.87 for the cognitive fatigue subscale. The PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale scores correlated significantly with the PedsQL TM 4.0 Generic Core scale and demonstrated good construct validity. The results demonstrate excellent reliability and good validity of the PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (Arabic version) for children with cancer. This is the first validated scale that assesses fatigue in Arabic children with cancer. The English scale has been used with several pediatric clinical populations, so this Arabic version may be equally useful beyond the field of cancer.

Nitrogen-doped graphene network supported copper nanoparticles encapsulated with graphene shells for surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiang; Shi, Chunsheng; Liu, Enzuo; Li, Jiajun; Zhao, Naiqin; He, Chunnian

2015-10-28

In this study, we demonstrated nitrogen-doped graphene network supported few-layered graphene shell encapsulated Cu nanoparticles (NPs) (Cu@G-NGNs) as a sensing platform, which were constructed by a simple and scalable in situ chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique with the assistance of a self-assembled three-dimensional (3D) NaCl template. Compared with pure Cu NPs and graphene decorated Cu NPs, the graphene shells can strengthen the plasmonic coupling between graphene and Cu, thereby contributing to an obvious improvement in the local electromagnetic field that was validated by finite element numerical simulations, while the 3D nitrogen-doped graphene walls with a large surface area facilitated molecule adsorption and the doped nitrogen atoms embedded in the graphene lattice can reduce the surface energy of the system. With these merits, a good surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) activity of the 3D Cu@G-NGN painting film on glass was demonstrated using rhodamine 6G and crystal violet as model analytes, exhibiting a satisfactory sensitivity, reproducibility and stability. As far as we know, this is the first report on the in situ synthesis of nitrogen-doped graphene/copper nanocomposites and this facile and low-cost Cu-based strategy tends to be a good supplement to Ag and Au based substrates for SERS applications.

Guide for Schoolhouse Planning and Construction 1969.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New Jersey State Dept. of Education, Trenton. Bureau of School Planning Services.

This guide sets forth requirements common to all good school construction which must be met and recommends additional procedures which can lead to a still better facility. It covers the construction of new buildings, of additions to or remodeling of existing structures, and the acquisition of buildings occupied or to be occupied by pupils.…

42 CFR 124.708 - Waiver of recovery-good cause for other use of facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... facility. 124.708 Section 124.708 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT MEDICAL FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND MODERNIZATION Recovery of Grant Funds § 124.708 Waiver of recovery—good cause for other use of facility. The Secretary may for good...

46 CFR 160.056-2 - Construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... construction shall be such as is accepted as good engineering practice in the case of the specific material... protected from mechanical damage. It shall be distributed uniformly in the boat and such that at least one...

46 CFR 160.056-2 - Construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... construction shall be such as is accepted as good engineering practice in the case of the specific material... protected from mechanical damage. It shall be distributed uniformly in the boat and such that at least one...

46 CFR 160.056-2 - Construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... construction shall be such as is accepted as good engineering practice in the case of the specific material... protected from mechanical damage. It shall be distributed uniformly in the boat and such that at least one...

46 CFR 160.056-2 - Construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... construction shall be such as is accepted as good engineering practice in the case of the specific material... protected from mechanical damage. It shall be distributed uniformly in the boat and such that at least one...

46 CFR 160.056-2 - Construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... construction shall be such as is accepted as good engineering practice in the case of the specific material... protected from mechanical damage. It shall be distributed uniformly in the boat and such that at least one...

Validation and clinical significance of the Childhood Myositis Assessment Scale for assessment of muscle function in the juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.

PubMed

Huber, Adam M; Feldman, Brian M; Rennebohm, Robert M; Hicks, Jeanne E; Lindsley, Carol B; Perez, Maria D; Zemel, Lawrence S; Wallace, Carol A; Ballinger, Susan H; Passo, Murray H; Reed, Ann M; Summers, Ronald M; White, Patience H; Katona, Ildy M; Miller, Frederick W; Lachenbruch, Peter A; Rider, Lisa G

2004-05-01

To examine the measurement characteristics of the Childhood Myositis Assessment Scale (CMAS) in children with juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (juvenile IIM), and to obtain preliminary data on the clinical significance of CMAS scores. One hundred eight children with juvenile IIM were evaluated on 2 occasions, 7-9 months apart, using various measures of physical function, strength, and disease activity. Interrater reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness of the CMAS were examined. The minimum clinically important difference (MID) and CMAS scores corresponding to various degrees of physical disability were estimated. The intraclass correlation coefficient for 26 patients assessed by 2 examiners was 0.89, indicating very good interrater reliability. The CMAS score correlated highly with the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (C-HAQ) score and with findings on manual muscle testing (MMT) (r(s) = -0.73 and 0.73, respectively) and moderately with physician-assessed global disease activity and skin activity, parent-assessed global disease severity, and muscle magnetic resonance imaging (r(s) = -0.44 to -0.61), thereby demonstrating good construct validity. The standardized response mean was 0.81 (95% confidence interval 0.53, 1.09) in patients with at least 0.8 cm improvement on a 10-cm visual analog scale for physician-assessed global disease activity, indicating strong responsiveness. In bivariate regression models predicting physician-assessed global disease activity, MMT remained significant in models containing the CMAS (P = 0.03) while the C-HAQ did not (P = 0.4). Estimates of the MID ranged from 1.5 to 3.0 points on a 0-52-point scale. CMAS scores corresponding to no, mild, mild-to-moderate, and moderate physical disability, respectively, were 48, 45, 39, and 30. The CMAS exhibits good reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness, and is therefore a valid instrument for the assessment of physical function, muscle strength, and endurance in children with juvenile IIM. Preliminary data on MID and corresponding levels of disability should aid in the clinical interpretation of CMAS scores when assessing patients with juvenile IIM.

Residential building codes, affordability, and health protection: a risk-tradeoff approach.

PubMed

Hammitt, J K; Belsky, E S; Levy, J I; Graham, J D

1999-12-01

Residential building codes intended to promote health and safety may produce unintended countervailing risks by adding to the cost of construction. Higher construction costs increase the price of new homes and may increase health and safety risks through "income" and "stock" effects. The income effect arises because households that purchase a new home have less income remaining for spending on other goods that contribute to health and safety. The stock effect arises because suppression of new-home construction leads to slower replacement of less safe housing units. These countervailing risks are not presently considered in code debates. We demonstrate the feasibility of estimating the approximate magnitude of countervailing risks by combining the income effect with three relatively well understood and significant home-health risks. We estimate that a code change that increases the nationwide cost of constructing and maintaining homes by $150 (0.1% of the average cost to build a single-family home) would induce offsetting risks yielding between 2 and 60 premature fatalities or, including morbidity effects, between 20 and 800 lost quality-adjusted life years (both discounted at 3%) each year the code provision remains in effect. To provide a net health benefit, the code change would need to reduce risk by at least this amount. Future research should refine these estimates, incorporate quantitative uncertainty analysis, and apply a full risk-tradeoff approach to real-world case studies of proposed code changes.

Engineering solutions for polymer composites solar water heaters production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frid, S. E.; Arsatov, A. V.; Oshchepkov, M. Yu.

2016-06-01

Analysis of engineering solutions aimed at a considerable decrease of solar water heaters cost via the use of polymer composites in heaters construction and solar collector and heat storage integration into a single device representing an integrated unit results are considered. Possibilities of creating solar water heaters of only three components and changing welding, soldering, mechanical treatment, and assembly of a complicate construction for large components molding of polymer composites and their gluing are demonstrated. Materials of unit components and engineering solutions for their manufacturing are analyzed with consideration for construction requirements of solar water heaters. Optimal materials are fiber glass and carbon-filled plastics based on hot-cure thermosets, and an optimal molding technology is hot molding. It is necessary to manufacture the absorbing panel as corrugated and to use a special paint as its selective coating. Parameters of the unit have been optimized by calculation. Developed two-dimensional numerical model of the unit demonstrates good agreement with the experiment. Optimal ratio of daily load to receiving surface area of a solar water heater operating on a clear summer day in the midland of Russia is 130‒150 L/m2. Storage tank volume and load schedule have a slight effect on solar water heater output. A thermal insulation layer of 35‒40 mm is sufficient to provide an efficient thermal insulation of the back and side walls. An experimental model layout representing a solar water heater prototype of a prime cost of 70‒90/(m2 receiving surface) has been developed for a manufacturing volume of no less than 5000 pieces per year.

A Comparison of Reliability and Construct Validity between the Original and Revised Versions of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

PubMed Central

Nahathai, Wongpakaran

2012-01-01

Objective The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) is a widely used instrument that has been tested for reliability and validity in many settings; however, some negative-worded items appear to have caused it to reveal low reliability in a number of studies. In this study, we revised one negative item that had previously (from the previous studies) produced the worst outcome in terms of the structure of the scale, then re-analyzed the new version for its reliability and construct validity, comparing it to the original version with respect to fit indices. Methods In total, 851 students from Chiang Mai University (mean age: 19.51±1.7, 57% of whom were female), participated in this study. Of these, 664 students completed the Thai version of the original RSES - containing five positively worded and five negatively worded items, while 187 students used the revised version containing six positively worded and four negatively worded items. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied, using a uni-dimensional model with method effects and a correlated uniqueness approach. Results The revised version showed the same level of reliability (good) as the original, but yielded a better model fit. The revised RSES demonstrated excellent fit statistics, with χ2=29.19 (df=19, n=187, p=0.063), GFI=0.970, TFI=0.969, NFI=0.964, CFI=0.987, SRMR=0.040 and RMSEA=0.054. Conclusion The revised version of the Thai RSES demonstrated an equivalent level of reliability but a better construct validity when compared to the original. PMID:22396685

A comparison of reliability and construct validity between the original and revised versions of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.

PubMed

Wongpakaran, Tinakon; Tinakon, Wongpakaran; Wongpakaran, Nahathai; Nahathai, Wongpakaran

2012-03-01

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) is a widely used instrument that has been tested for reliability and validity in many settings; however, some negative-worded items appear to have caused it to reveal low reliability in a number of studies. In this study, we revised one negative item that had previously (from the previous studies) produced the worst outcome in terms of the structure of the scale, then re-analyzed the new version for its reliability and construct validity, comparing it to the original version with respect to fit indices. In total, 851 students from Chiang Mai University (mean age: 19.51±1.7, 57% of whom were female), participated in this study. Of these, 664 students completed the Thai version of the original RSES - containing five positively worded and five negatively worded items, while 187 students used the revised version containing six positively worded and four negatively worded items. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied, using a uni-dimensional model with method effects and a correlated uniqueness approach. The revised version showed the same level of reliability (good) as the original, but yielded a better model fit. The revised RSES demonstrated excellent fit statistics, with χ²=29.19 (df=19, n=187, p=0.063), GFI=0.970, TFI=0.969, NFI=0.964, CFI=0.987, SRMR=0.040 and RMSEA=0.054. The revised version of the Thai RSES demonstrated an equivalent level of reliability but a better construct validity when compared to the original.

Stratification of Recanalization for Patients with Endovascular Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms

PubMed Central

Ogilvy, Christopher S.; Chua, Michelle H.; Fusco, Matthew R.; Reddy, Arra S.; Thomas, Ajith J.

2015-01-01

Background With increasing utilization of endovascular techniques in the treatment of both ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms, the issue of obliteration efficacy has become increasingly important. Objective Our goal was to systematically develop a comprehensive model for predicting retreatment with various types of endovascular treatment. Methods We retrospectively reviewed medical records that were prospectively collected for 305 patients who received endovascular treatment for intracranial aneurysms from 2007 to 2013. Multivariable logistic regression was performed on candidate predictors identified by univariable screening analysis to detect independent predictors of retreatment. A composite risk score was constructed based on the proportional contribution of independent predictors in the multivariable model. Results Size (>10 mm), aneurysm rupture, stent assistance, and post-treatment degree of aneurysm occlusion were independently associated with retreatment while intraluminal thrombosis and flow diversion demonstrated a trend towards retreatment. The Aneurysm Recanalization Stratification Scale was constructed by assigning the following weights to statistically and clinically significant predictors. Aneurysm-specific factors: Size (>10 mm), 2 points; rupture, 2 points; presence of thrombus, 2 points. Treatment-related factors: Stent assistance, -1 point; flow diversion, -2 points; Raymond Roy 2 occlusion, 1 point; Raymond Roy 3 occlusion, 2 points. This scale demonstrated good discrimination with a C-statistic of 0.799. Conclusion Surgical decision-making and patient-centered informed consent require comprehensive and accessible information on treatment efficacy. We have constructed the Aneurysm Recanalization Stratification Scale to enhance this decision-making process. This is the first comprehensive model that has been developed to quantitatively predict the risk of retreatment following endovascular therapy. PMID:25621984

Development of a Comprehensive Assessment of Food Parenting Practices: The Home Self-Administered Tool for Environmental Assessment of Activity and Diet Family Food Practices Survey.

PubMed

Vaughn, Amber E; Dearth-Wesley, Tracy; Tabak, Rachel G; Bryant, Maria; Ward, Dianne S

2017-02-01

Parents' food parenting practices influence children's dietary intake and risk for obesity and chronic disease. Understanding the influence and interactions between parents' practices and children's behavior is limited by a lack of development and psychometric testing and/or limited scope of current measures. The Home Self-Administered Tool for Environmental Assessment of Activity and Diet (HomeSTEAD) was created to address this gap. This article describes development and psychometric testing of the HomeSTEAD family food practices survey. Between August 2010 and May 2011, a convenience sample of 129 parents of children aged 3 to 12 years were recruited from central North Carolina and completed the self-administered HomeSTEAD survey on three occasions during a 12- to 18-day window. Demographic characteristics and child diet were assessed at Time 1. Child height and weight were measured during the in-home observations (following Time 1 survey). Exploratory factor analysis with Time 1 data was used to identify potential scales. Scales with more than three items were examined for scale reduction. Following this, mean scores were calculated at each time point. Construct validity was assessed by examining Spearman rank correlations between mean scores (Time 1) and children's diet (fruits and vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages, snacks, sweets) and body mass index (BMI) z scores. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine differences in mean scores between time points, and single-measure intraclass correlations were calculated to examine test-retest reliability between time points. Exploratory factor analysis identified 24 factors and retained 124 items; however, scale reduction narrowed items to 86. The final instrument captures five coercive control practices (16 items), seven autonomy support practices (24 items), and 12 structure practices (46 items). All scales demonstrated good internal reliability (α>.62), 18 factors demonstrated construct validity (significant association with child diet, P<0.05), and 22 demonstrated good reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient>0.61). The HomeSTEAD family food practices survey provides a brief, yet comprehensive and psychometrically sound assessment of food parenting practices. Copyright © 2017 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Test-retest reliability and construct validity of the ENERGY-parent questionnaire on parenting practices, energy balance-related behaviours and their potential behavioural determinants: the ENERGY-project.

PubMed

Singh, Amika S; Chinapaw, Mai J M; Uijtdewilligen, Léonie; Vik, Froydis N; van Lippevelde, Wendy; Fernández-Alvira, Juan M; Stomfai, Sarolta; Manios, Yannis; van der Sluijs, Maria; Terwee, Caroline; Brug, Johannes

2012-08-13

Insight in parental energy balance-related behaviours, their determinants and parenting practices are important to inform childhood obesity prevention. Therefore, reliable and valid tools to measure these variables in large-scale population research are needed. The objective of the current study was to examine the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the parent questionnaire used in the ENERGY-project, assessing parental energy balance-related behaviours, their determinants, and parenting practices among parents of 10-12 year old children. We collected data among parents (n = 316 in the test-retest reliability study; n = 109 in the construct validity study) of 10-12 year-old children in six European countries, i.e. Belgium, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. Test-retest reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and percentage agreement comparing scores from two measurements, administered one week apart. To assess construct validity, the agreement between questionnaire responses and a subsequent interview was assessed using ICC and percentage agreement.All but one item showed good to excellent test-retest reliability as indicated by ICCs > .60 or percentage agreement ≥ 75%. Construct validity appeared to be good to excellent for 92 out of 121 items, as indicated by ICCs > .60 or percentage agreement ≥ 75%. From the other 29 items, construct validity was moderate for 24 and poor for 5 items. The reliability and construct validity of the items of the ENERGY-parent questionnaire on multiple energy balance-related behaviours, their potential determinants, and parenting practices appears to be good. Based on the results of the validity study, we strongly recommend adapting parts of the ENERGY-parent questionnaire if used in future research.

42 CFR 57.409 - Good cause for other use of completed facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Grants for Construction of Nurse Training Facilities § 57.409 Good cause for other use of completed... facilities not previously utilized for nurse training will be so utilized and are substantially the...

42 CFR 57.409 - Good cause for other use of completed facility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Grants for Construction of Nurse Training Facilities § 57.409 Good cause for other use of completed... facilities not previously utilized for nurse training will be so utilized and are substantially the...

Load-bearing masonry system adoption and performance: A case study of construction company in a developing country

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramli, Nor Azlinda; Abdullah, Che Sobry; Nawi, Mohd Nasrun Mohd; Bahaudin, Ahmad Yusni

2016-08-01

This study addresses the factors that influence the adoption of load-bearing masonry (LBM) system. A case study of the load-bearing masonry (LBM) system adoption is conducted through an interview to explore the situation of the technology adoption in a construction company. The finding indicates the factors influence the adoption of LBM system for the construction company are: organizational resources, usefulness, less maintenance, reduce construction time and cost. From the findings, these factors consistent with previous literature. Furthermore, the performance of the company was measured by looking into the financial and non-financial aspects. The LBM system brings good performance as it increased the profits of the company, a good quality of product and attracts more demand from customers. Thus, these factors should be considered for the other companies that are interested in implementing the LBM system in their projects.

Graph-based structural change detection for rotating machinery monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Guoliang; Liu, Jie; Yan, Peng

2018-01-01

Detection of structural changes is critically important in operational monitoring of a rotating machine. This paper presents a novel framework for this purpose, where a graph model for data modeling is adopted to represent/capture statistical dynamics in machine operations. Meanwhile we develop a numerical method for computing temporal anomalies in the constructed graphs. The martingale-test method is employed for the change detection when making decisions on possible structural changes, where excellent performance is demonstrated outperforming exciting results such as the autoregressive-integrated-moving average (ARIMA) model. Comprehensive experimental results indicate good potentials of the proposed algorithm in various engineering applications. This work is an extension of a recent result (Lu et al., 2017).

Au-Ge MEAM potential fitted to the binary phase diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yanming; Santana, Adriano; Cai, Wei

2017-02-01

We have developed a modified embedded atom method potential for the gold-germanium (Au-Ge) binary system that is fitted to the experimental binary phase diagram. The phase diagram is obtained from the common tangent construction of the free energy curves calculated by the adiabatic switching method. While maintaining the accuracy of the melting points of pure Au and Ge, this potential reproduces the eutectic temperature, eutectic composition and the solubility of Ge in solid Au, all in good agreement with the experimental values. To demonstrate the self-consistency of the potential, we performed benchmark molecular dynamics simulations of Ge crystal growth and etching in contact with a Au-Ge liquid alloy.

Factorizable Schemes for the Equations of Fluid Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sidilkover, David

1999-01-01

We present an upwind high-resolution factorizable (UHF) discrete scheme for the compressible Euler equations that allows to distinguish between full-potential and advection factors at the discrete level. The scheme approximates equations in their general conservative form and is related to the family of genuinely multidimensional upwind schemes developed previously and demonstrated to have good shock-capturing capabilities. A unique property of this scheme is that in addition to the aforementioned features it is also factorizable, i.e., it allows to distinguish between full-potential and advection factors at the discrete level. The latter property facilitates the construction of optimally efficient multigrid solvers. This is done through a relaxation procedure that utilizes the factorizability property.

1-dimension nano-material-based flexible device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xing; Zhou, Zhaoying; Zheng, Fuzhong

2009-11-01

1D nano-material-based flexible devices has attracted considerable attention owing to the growing need of the high-sensitivity flexible sensor, portable consumer electronics etc.. In this paper, the 1D nano-materials-based flexible device on polyimide substrate was proposed. The bottom-up and top-down combined process were used for constructing the ZnO nanowire and the CNT-based flexible devices. Their electrical characteristics were also investigated. The measurement results demonstrate that the flexible device covered with a layer of Al2O3 has good ohm electrical contact behavior between the nano-material and micro-electrodes. The proposed 1D nano-material-based flexible device shows the application potential in the sensing fields.

Emergence and stability of intermediate open vesicles in disk-to-vesicle transitions.

PubMed

Li, Jianfeng; Zhang, Hongdong; Qiu, Feng; Shi, An-Chang

2013-07-01

The transition between two basic structures, a disk and an enclosed vesicle, of a finite membrane is studied by examining the minimum energy path (MEP) connecting these two states. The MEP is constructed using the string method applied to continuum elastic membrane models. The results reveal that, besides the commonly observed disk and vesicle, open vesicles (bowl-shaped vesicles or vesicles with a pore) can become stable or metastable shapes. The emergence, stability, and probability distribution of these open vesicles are analyzed. It is demonstrated that open vesicles can be stabilized by higher-order elastic energies. The estimated probability distribution of the different structures is in good agreement with available experiments.

Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using aspartame and their catalytic activity for p-nitrophenol reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Shufen; Yan, Songjing; Qi, Wei; Huang, Renliang; Cui, Jing; Su, Rongxin; He, Zhimin

2015-05-01

We demonstrated a facile and environmental-friendly approach to form gold nanoparticles through the reduction of HAuCl4 by aspartame. The single-crystalline structure was illustrated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results indicated that aspartame played a pivotal role in the reduction and stabilization of the gold crystals. The crystals were stabilized through the successive hydrogen-bonding network constructed between the water and aspartame molecules. Additionally, gold nanoparticles synthesized through aspartame were shown to have good catalytic activity for the reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol in the presence of NaBH4.

On-chip optical diode based on silicon photonic crystal heterojunctions.

PubMed

Wang, Chen; Zhou, Chang-Zhu; Li, Zhi-Yuan

2011-12-19

Optical isolation is a long pursued object with fundamental difficulty in integrated photonics. As a step towards this goal, we demonstrate the design, fabrication, and characterization of on-chip wavelength-scale optical diodes that are made from the heterojunction between two different silicon two-dimensional square-lattice photonic crystal slabs with directional bandgap mismatch and different mode transitions. The measured transmission spectra show considerable unidirectional transmission behavior, in good agreement with numerical simulations. The experimental realization of on-chip optical diodes with wavelength-scale size using all-dielectric, passive, and linear silicon photonic crystal structures may help to construct on-chip optical logical devices without nonlinearity or magnetism, and would open up a road towards photonic computers.

Guided waves in a monopile of an offshore wind turbine.

PubMed

Zernov, V; Fradkin, L; Mudge, P

2011-01-01

We study the guided waves in a structure which consists of two overlapping steel plates, with the overlapping section grouted. This geometry is often encountered in support structures of large industrial offshore constructions, such as wind turbine monopiles. It has been recognized for some time that the guided wave technology offers distinctive advantages for the ultrasonic inspections and health monitoring of structures of this extent. It is demonstrated that there exist advantageous operational regimes of ultrasonic transducers guaranteeing a good inspection range, even when the structures are totally submerged in water, which is a consideration when the wind turbines are deployed off shore. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Multifunctional nitrogen-doped graphene nanoribbon aerogels for superior lithium storage and cell culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Wang, Xuzhen; Wan, Wubo; Li, Lingli; Dong, Yanfeng; Zhao, Zongbin; Qiu, Jieshan

2016-01-01

Nitrogen-doped graphene nanoribbon aerogels (N-GNRAs) are fabricated through the self-assembly of graphene oxide nanoribbons (GONRs) combined with a thermal annealing process. Amino-groups are grafted to the surface of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) by an epoxy ring-opening reaction. High nitrogen doping level (7.6 atm% as confirmed by elemental analysis) is achieved during thermal treatment resulting from functionalization and the rich edge structures of GNRs. The three dimensional (3D) N-GNRAs feature a hierarchical porous structure. The quasi-one dimensional (1D) GNRs act as the building blocks for the construction of fishnet-like GNR sheets, which further create 3D frameworks with micrometer-scale pores. The edge effect of GNRs combined with nitrogen doping and porosity give rise to good electrical conductivity, superhydrophilic, highly compressible and low density GNRAs. As a result, a high capacity of 910 mA h g-1 is achieved at a current density of 0.5 A g-1 when they are tested as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. Further cell culture experiments with the GNRAs as human medulloblastoma DAOY cell scaffolds demonstrate their good biocompatibility, inferring potential applications in the biomedical field.Nitrogen-doped graphene nanoribbon aerogels (N-GNRAs) are fabricated through the self-assembly of graphene oxide nanoribbons (GONRs) combined with a thermal annealing process. Amino-groups are grafted to the surface of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) by an epoxy ring-opening reaction. High nitrogen doping level (7.6 atm% as confirmed by elemental analysis) is achieved during thermal treatment resulting from functionalization and the rich edge structures of GNRs. The three dimensional (3D) N-GNRAs feature a hierarchical porous structure. The quasi-one dimensional (1D) GNRs act as the building blocks for the construction of fishnet-like GNR sheets, which further create 3D frameworks with micrometer-scale pores. The edge effect of GNRs combined with nitrogen doping and porosity give rise to good electrical conductivity, superhydrophilic, highly compressible and low density GNRAs. As a result, a high capacity of 910 mA h g-1 is achieved at a current density of 0.5 A g-1 when they are tested as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. Further cell culture experiments with the GNRAs as human medulloblastoma DAOY cell scaffolds demonstrate their good biocompatibility, inferring potential applications in the biomedical field. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr05909g

Feasibility study of a magnetic fusion production reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moir, R. W.

1986-12-01

A magnetic fusion reactor can produce 10.8 kg of tritium at a fusion power of only 400 MW —an order of magnitude lower power than that of a fission production reactor. Alternatively, the same fusion reactor can produce 995 kg of plutonium. Either a tokamak or a tandem mirror production plant can be used for this purpose; the cost is estimated at about 1.4 billion (1982 dollars) in either case. (The direct costs are estimated at 1.1 billion.) The production cost is calculated to be 22,000/g for tritium and 260/g for plutonium of quite high purity (1%240Pu). Because of the lack of demonstrated technology, such a plant could not be constructed today without significant risk. However, good progress is being made in fusion technology and, although success in magnetic fusion science and engineering is hard to predict with assurance, it seems possible that the physics basis and much of the needed technology could be demonstrated in facilities now under construction. Most of the remaining technology could be demonstrated in the early 1990s in a fusion test reactor of a few tens of megawatts. If the Magnetic Fusion Energy Program constructs a fusion test reactor of approximately 400 MW of fusion power as a next step in fusion power development, such a facility could be used later as a production reactor in a spinoff application. A construction decision in the late 1980s could result in an operating production reactor in the late 1990s. A magnetic fusion production reactor (MFPR) has four potential advantages over a fission production reactor: (1) no fissile material input is needed; (2) no fissioning exists in the tritium mode and very low fissioning exists in the plutonium mode thus avoiding the meltdown hazard; (3) the cost will probably be lower because of the smaller thermal power required; (4) and no reprocessing plant is needed in the tritium mode. The MFPR also has two disadvantages: (1) it will be more costly to operate because it consumes rather than sells electricity, and (2) there is a risk of not meeting the design goals.

Advanced Stochastic Collocation Methods for Polynomial Chaos in RAVEN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talbot, Paul W.

As experiment complexity in fields such as nuclear engineering continually increases, so does the demand for robust computational methods to simulate them. In many simulations, input design parameters and intrinsic experiment properties are sources of uncertainty. Often small perturbations in uncertain parameters have significant impact on the experiment outcome. For instance, in nuclear fuel performance, small changes in fuel thermal conductivity can greatly affect maximum stress on the surrounding cladding. The difficulty quantifying input uncertainty impact in such systems has grown with the complexity of numerical models. Traditionally, uncertainty quantification has been approached using random sampling methods like Monte Carlo. For some models, the input parametric space and corresponding response output space is sufficiently explored with few low-cost calculations. For other models, it is computationally costly to obtain good understanding of the output space. To combat the expense of random sampling, this research explores the possibilities of using advanced methods in Stochastic Collocation for generalized Polynomial Chaos (SCgPC) as an alternative to traditional uncertainty quantification techniques such as Monte Carlo (MC) and Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) methods for applications in nuclear engineering. We consider traditional SCgPC construction strategies as well as truncated polynomial spaces using Total Degree and Hyperbolic Cross constructions. We also consider applying anisotropy (unequal treatment of different dimensions) to the polynomial space, and offer methods whereby optimal levels of anisotropy can be approximated. We contribute development to existing adaptive polynomial construction strategies. Finally, we consider High-Dimensional Model Reduction (HDMR) expansions, using SCgPC representations for the subspace terms, and contribute new adaptive methods to construct them. We apply these methods on a series of models of increasing complexity. We use analytic models of various levels of complexity, then demonstrate performance on two engineering-scale problems: a single-physics nuclear reactor neutronics problem, and a multiphysics fuel cell problem coupling fuels performance and neutronics. Lastly, we demonstrate sensitivity analysis for a time-dependent fuels performance problem. We demonstrate the application of all the algorithms in RAVEN, a production-level uncertainty quantification framework.

Shell Structure Water Cellar’s Rapid Construct Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xian Zhuang, Wen; Qing Yin, De; Chen, Shu Fa

2018-05-01

Tradition concrete water cellar’s problems, such as high cost, long construction term, easy to crack, are pointed out. A new construct method, and it’s matching airbag mould, of constructing concrete shell structure water cellars, are introduced. Combine with full-scale verifying cellar’s construct test, full-load water storage test, analyzed the technology in terms of construction term, cost, crack resistance, air bag pressure etc. It is believed that this new technology can successfully solve the problems that tradition technology has, and it will have a good prospect in rainfall resources utilization.

Multidimensional Trellis Coded Phase Modulation Using a Multilevel Concatenation Approach. Part 1; Code Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajpal, Sandeep; Rhee, Do Jun; Lin, Shu

1997-01-01

The first part of this paper presents a simple and systematic technique for constructing multidimensional M-ary phase shift keying (MMK) trellis coded modulation (TCM) codes. The construction is based on a multilevel concatenation approach in which binary convolutional codes with good free branch distances are used as the outer codes and block MPSK modulation codes are used as the inner codes (or the signal spaces). Conditions on phase invariance of these codes are derived and a multistage decoding scheme for these codes is proposed. The proposed technique can be used to construct good codes for both the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and fading channels as is shown in the second part of this paper.

Development of a precast bridge deck overhang system

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-02-01

Prestressed-precast panels are commonly used at interior beams for bridge decks in Texas. The use of these panels can provide ease : of construction, sufficient capacity, and good economy for the construction of bridge decks in Texas. Current practic...

Item-level psychometrics of the ADL instrument of the Korean National Survey on persons with physical disabilities.

PubMed

Hong, Ickpyo; Lee, Mi Jung; Kim, Moon Young; Park, Hae Yean

2017-10-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the psychometrics of the 12 items of an instrument assessing activities of daily living (ADL) using an item response theory model. A total of 648 adults with physical disabilities and having difficulties in ADLs were retrieved from the 2014 Korean National Survey on People with Disabilities. The psychometric testing included factor analysis, internal consistency, precision, and differential item functioning (DIF) across categories including sex, older age, marital status, and physical impairment area. The sample had a mean age of 69.7 years old (SD = 13.7). The majority of the sample had lower extremity impairments (62.0%) and had at least 2.1 chronic conditions. The instrument demonstrated unidimensional construct and good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.95). The instrument precisely estimated person measures within a wide range of theta values (-2.22 logits < θ < 0.27 logits) with a reliability of 0.9. Only the changing position item demonstrated misfit (χ 2  = 36.6, df = 17, p = 0.0038), and the dressing item demonstrated DIF on the impairment type (upper extremity/others, McFadden's Pseudo R 2  > 5.0%). Our findings indicate that the dressing item would need to be modified to improve its psychometrics. Overall, the ADL instrument demonstrates good psychometrics, and thus, it may be used as a standardized instrument for measuring disability in rehabilitation contexts. However, the findings are limited to adults with physical disabilities. Future studies should replicate psychometric testing for survey respondents with other disorders and for children.

Learning to build large structures in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hagler, T.; Patterson, H. G.; Nathan, C. A.

1977-01-01

The paper examines some of the key technologies and forms of construction know-how that will have to be developed and tested for eventual application to building large structures in space. Construction of a shuttle-tended space construction/demonstration platform would comprehensively demonstrate large structure technology, develop construction capability, and furnish a construction platform for a variety of operational large structures. Completion of this platform would lead to demonstrations of the Satellite Power System (SPS) concept, including microwave transmission, fabrication of 20-m-deep beams, conductor installation, rotary joint installation, and solar blanket installation.

Psychometric properties of a revised version of the Assisting Hand Assessment (Kids-AHA 5.0).

PubMed

Holmefur, Marie M; Krumlinde-Sundholm, Lena

2016-06-01

The aim of this study was to scrutinize the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA) version 4.4 for possible improvements and to evaluate the psychometric properties regarding internal scale validity and aspects of reliability of a revised version of the AHA. In collaboration with experts, scoring criteria were changed for four items, and one fully new item was constructed. Twenty-two original, one new, and four revised items were scored for 164 assessments of children with unilateral cerebral palsy aged 18 months to 12 years. Rasch measurement analysis was used to evaluate internal scale validity by exploring rating-scale functioning, item and person goodness-of-fit, and principal component analysis. Targeting and scale reliability were also evaluated. After removal of misfitting items, a 20-item scale showed satisfactory goodness-of-fit. Unidimensionality was confirmed by principal component analysis. The rating scale functioned well for the 20 items, and the item difficulty was well suited to the ability level of the sample. The person reliability coefficient was 0.98, indicating high separation ability of the scale. A conversion table of AHA scores between the previous version (4.4) and the new version (5.0) was constructed. The new, 20-item version of the Kids-AHA (version 5.0), demonstrated excellent internal scale validity, suggesting improved responsiveness to changes and shortened scoring time. For comparison of scores from version 4.4 to 5.0, a transformation table is presented. © 2015 Mac Keith Press.

Yeast surface displaying glucose oxidase as whole-cell biocatalyst: construction, characterization, and its electrochemical glucose sensing application.

PubMed

Wang, Hongwei; Lang, Qiaolin; Li, Liang; Liang, Bo; Tang, Xiangjiang; Kong, Lingrang; Mascini, Marco; Liu, Aihua

2013-06-18

The display of glucose oxidase (GOx) on yeast cell surface using a-agglutinin as an anchor motif was successfully developed. Both the immunochemical analysis and enzymatic assay showed that active GOx was efficiently expressed and translocated on the cell surface. Compared with conventional GOx, the yeast cell surface that displayed GOx (GOx-yeast) demonstrated excellent enzyme properties, such as good stability within a wide pH range (pH 3.5-11.5), good thermostability (retaining over 94.8% enzyme activity at 52 °C and 84.2% enzyme activity at 56 °C), and high d-glucose specificity. In addition, direct electrochemistry was achieved at a GOx-yeast/multiwalled-carbon-nanotube modified electrode, suggesting that the host cell of yeast did not have any adverse effect on the electrocatalytic property of the recombinant GOx. Thus, a novel electrochemical glucose biosensor based on this GOx-yeast was developed. The as-prepared biosensor was linear with the concentration of d-glucose within the range of 0.1-14 mM and a low detection limit of 0.05 mM (signal-to-noise ratio of S/N = 3). Moreover, the as-prepared biosensor is stable, specific, reproducible, simple, and cost-effective, which can be applicable for real sample detection. The proposed strategy to construct robust GOx-yeast may be applied to explore other oxidase-displaying-system-based whole-cell biocatalysts, which can find broad potential application in biosensors, bioenergy, and industrial catalysis.

Fabrication of Multiple-Layered Hydrogel Scaffolds with Elaborate Structure and Good Mechanical Properties via 3D Printing and Ionic Reinforcement.

PubMed

Wang, Xiaotong; Wei, Changzheng; Cao, Bin; Jiang, Lixia; Hou, Yongtai; Chang, Jiang

2018-05-30

A major challenge in three-dimensional (3D) printing of hydrogels is the fabrication of stable constructs with high precision and good mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Existing methods typically feature complicated reinforcement steps or use potentially toxic components, such as photocuring polymers and crosslinking reagents. In this study, we used a thermally sensitive hydrogel, hydroxybutyl chitosan (HBC), for 3D-printing applications. For the first time, we demonstrated that this modified polysaccharide is affected by the specific ion effect. As the salt concentration was increased and stronger kosmotropic anions were used, the lower critical solution temperature of the HBC decreased and the storage modulus was improved, indicating a more hydrophobic structure and stronger molecular chain interactions. On the basis of the thermosensitivity and the ion effects of HBC, a 25-layered hydrogel scaffold with strong mechanical properties and an elaborate structure was prepared via a 3D-printing method and one-step ionic post-treatment. In particular, the scaffold treated with 10% NaCl solution exhibited a tunable elastic modulus of 73.2 kPa to 40 MPa and excellent elastic recovery, as well as biodegradability and cytocompatibility, suggesting the potential for its applications to cartilage tissue repair. By simply controlling the temperature and salt concentrations, this novel approach provides a convenient and green route to improving the structural accuracy and regulating the properties of 3D-printed hydrogel constructs.

Facile construction of structurally diverse thiazolidinedione-derived compounds via divergent stereoselective cascade organocatalysis and their biological exploratory studies.

PubMed

Zhang, Yongqiang; Wang, Shengzheng; Wu, Shanchao; Zhu, Shiping; Dong, Guoqiang; Miao, Zhenyuan; Yao, Jianzhong; Zhang, Wannian; Sheng, Chunquan; Wang, Wei

2013-06-10

In this article, we present a new approach by merging two powerful synthetic tactics, divergent synthesis and cascade organocatalysis, to create a divergent cascade organocatalysis strategy for the facile construction of new "privileged" substructure-based DOS (pDOS) library. As demonstrated, notably 5 distinct molecular architectures are produced facilely from readily available simple synthons thiazolidinedione and its analogues and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in 1-3 steps with the powerful strategy. The beauty of the chemistry is highlighted by the efficient formation of structurally new and diverse products from structurally close reactants under the similar reaction conditions. Notably, structurally diverse spiro-thiazolidinediones and -rhodanines are produced from organocatalytic enantioselective 3-component Michael-Michael-aldol cascade reactions of respective thiazolidinediones and rhodanines with enals. Nevertheless, under the similar reaction conditions, reactions of isorhodanine via a Michael-cyclization cascade lead to structurally different fused thiopyranoid scaffolds. This strategy significantly minimizes time- and cost-consuming synthetic works. Furthermore, these molecules possess high structural complexity and functional, stereochemical, and skeletal diversity with similarity to natural scaffolds. In the preliminary biological studies of these molecules, compounds 4f, 8a, and 10a exhibit inhibitory activity against the human breast cancer cells, while compounds 8a, 9a, and 9b display good antifungal activities against Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Notably, their structures are different from clinically used triazole antifungal drugs. Therefore, they could serve as good lead compounds for the development of new generation of antifungal agents.

Common Characteristics of Good and Poorly Performing PCC Pavements

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-01-01

This report documents the analysis and findings of a study to identify the site conditions and design/construction features of concrete pavements (JPCP, JRCP, CRCP) that lead to good performance and those that lead to poor performance. Data from Long...

Common Characteristics of Good and Poorly Performing AC Pavements

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-12-01

This report documents the analysis and findings of a study to identify the site conditions and design/construction features of : flexible pavements that lead to good performance and those that lead to poor performance. Data from the Long Term Pavemen...

Item bank development, calibration and validation for patient-reported outcomes in female urinary incontinence

PubMed Central

Sung, Vivian W.; Griffith, James W.; Rogers, Rebecca G.; Raker, Christina A.; Clark, Melissa A.

2016-01-01

Purpose Current patient-reported outcomes for female urinary incontinence (UI) are limited by their inability to be tailored. Our objective is to describe the development and field-testing of 7 item banks designed to measure domains identified as important UI in females (UIf). We also describe the calibration and validation properties of the UIf-item banks, which allow for more efficient computerized-adaptive testing (CAT) in the future. METHODS The UIf-measures included 168 items covering 7 domains: Stress UI (SUI), Overactive Bladder (OAB), Urinary Frequency, Physical, Social and Emotional Health Impact, and Adaptation. Items underwent rigorous qualitative development and psychometric testing across 2 sites. Items were calibrated using item response theory and evaluated for internal consistency, construct validity and responsiveness. RESULTS 750 women (249 SUI, 249 OAB, and 252 mixed UI) participated. Mean age was 55±14 years ,23% were Hispanic, 80% white. In addition to face and content validity, the measures demonstrated good internal consistency (coefficient alpha 0.92-0.98) and unidimensionality. There was evidence for construct validity with moderate to strong correlations with the UDI (r’s ≥ 0.6) and IIQ (r’s = ≥ 0.6) scales. The measures were responsive to change for SUI treatment (paired t-test p <.001, ES range=1.3 to 2.9; SRM range=1.3 to 2.5) and OAB treatment (paired t-test p <.05 for all domains except Social Health Impact and Adaptation, ES range=.3 to 1.5, SRM range=0.4 to 1.0). The measures were responsive based on concurrent changes with the UDI and IIQ (p < 0.05). CAT versions were developed and pilot tested. CONCLUSIONS The UIf-item banks demonstrate good psychometric characteristics and are a sufficiently valid set of customizable tools for measuring UI symptoms and life impact. PMID:26732514

T2-weighted prostate MRI at 7 Tesla using a simplified external transmit-receive coil array: correlation with radical prostatectomy findings in two prostate cancer patients.

PubMed

Rosenkrantz, Andrew B; Zhang, Bei; Ben-Eliezer, Noam; Le Nobin, Julien; Melamed, Jonathan; Deng, Fang-Ming; Taneja, Samir S; Wiggins, Graham C

2015-01-01

To report design of a simplified external transmit-receive coil array for 7 Tesla (T) prostate MRI, including demonstration of the array for tumor localization using T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) at 7T before prostatectomy. Following simulations of transmitter designs not requiring parallel transmission or radiofrequency-shimming, a coil array was constructed using loop elements, with anterior and posterior rows comprising one transmit-receive element and three receive-only elements. This coil structure was optimized using a whole-body phantom. In vivo sequence optimization was performed to optimize achieved flip angle (FA) and signal to noise ratio (SNR) in prostate. The system was evaluated in a healthy volunteer at 3T and 7T. The 7T T2WI was performed in two prostate cancer patients before prostatectomy, and localization of dominant tumors was subjectively compared with histopathological findings. Image quality was compared between 3T and 7T in these patients. Simulations of the B1(+) field in prostate using two-loop design showed good magnitude (B1(+) of 0.245 A/m/w(1/2)) and uniformity (nonuniformity [SD/mean] of 10.4%). In the volunteer, 90° FA was achieved in prostate using 225 v 1 ms hard-pulse (indicating good efficiency), FA maps confirmed good uniformity (14.1% nonuniformity), and SNR maps showed SNR gain of 2.1 at 7T versus 3T. In patients, 7T T2WI showed excellent visual correspondence with prostatectomy findings. 7T images demonstrated higher estimated SNR (eSNR) in benign peripheral zone (PZ) and tumor compared with 3T, but lower eSNR in fat and slight decreases in tumor-to-PZ contrast and PZ-homogeneity. We have demonstrated feasibility of a simplified external coil array for high-resolution T2-weighted prostate MRI at 7T. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Disability Measurement for Korean Community-Dwelling Adults With Stroke: Item-Level Psychometric Analysis of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Objective To investigate the psychometric properties of the activities of daily living (ADL) instrument used in the analysis of Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) dataset. Methods A retrospective study was carried out involving 2006 KLoSA records of community-dwelling adults diagnosed with stroke. The ADL instrument used for the analysis of KLoSA included 17 items, which were analyzed using Rasch modeling to develop a robust outcome measure. The unidimensionality of the ADL instrument was examined based on confirmatory factor analysis with a one-factor model. Item-level psychometric analysis of the ADL instrument included fit statistics, internal consistency, precision, and the item difficulty hierarchy. Results The study sample included a total of 201 community-dwelling adults (1.5% of the Korean population with an age over 45 years; mean age=70.0 years, SD=9.7) having a history of stroke. The ADL instrument demonstrated unidimensional construct. Two misfit items, money management (mean square [MnSq]=1.56, standardized Z-statistics [ZSTD]=2.3) and phone use (MnSq=1.78, ZSTD=2.3) were removed from the analysis. The remaining 15 items demonstrated good item fit, high internal consistency (person reliability=0.91), and good precision (person strata=3.48). The instrument precisely estimated person measures within a wide range of theta (−4.75 logits < θ < 3.97 logits) and a reliability of 0.9, with a conceptual hierarchy of item difficulty. Conclusion The findings indicate that the 15 ADL items met Rasch expectations of unidimensionality and demonstrated good psychometric properties. It is proposed that the validated ADL instrument can be used as a primary outcome measure for assessing longitudinal disability trajectories in the Korean adult population and can be employed for comparative analysis of international disability across national aging studies. PMID:29765888

17 CFR 250.95 - Reports required from affiliate service companies and companies principally engaged in performing...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... performance of any service or construction for, or any sale of goods to, any company of which it is an affiliate and no company whose principal business is the performance of service or construction for, or sale... REGULATIONS, PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1935 Service, Sales and Construction Contracts § 250.95...

17 CFR 250.95 - Reports required from affiliate service companies and companies principally engaged in performing...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... performance of any service or construction for, or any sale of goods to, any company of which it is an affiliate and no company whose principal business is the performance of service or construction for, or sale... REGULATIONS, PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1935 Service, Sales and Construction Contracts § 250.95...

Coming Full Circle in Standard Setting: A Commentary on Wyse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skaggs, Gary

2013-01-01

The construct map is a particularly good way to approach instrument development, and this author states that he was delighted to read Adam Wyse's thoughts about how to use construct maps for standard setting. For a number of popular standard-setting methods, Wyse shows how typical feedback to panelists fits within a construct map framework.…

The Persian Version of the "Life Satisfaction Scale": Construct Validity and Test-Re-Test Reliability among Iranian Older Adults.

PubMed

Moghadam, Manije; Salavati, Mahyar; Sahaf, Robab; Rassouli, Maryam; Moghadam, Mojgan; Kamrani, Ahmad Ali Akbari

2018-03-01

After forward-backward translation, the LSS was administered to 334 Persian speaking, cognitively healthy elderly aged 60 years and over recruited through convenience sampling. To analyze the validity of the model's constructs and the relationships between the constructs, a confirmatory factor analysis followed by PLS analysis was performed. The Construct validity was further investigated by calculating the correlations between the LSS and the "Short Form Health Survey" (SF-36) subscales measuring similar and dissimilar constructs. The LSS was re-administered to 50 participants a month later to assess the reliability. For the eight-factor model of the life satisfaction construct, adequate goodness of fit between the hypothesized model and the model derived from the sample data was attained (positive and statistically significant beta coefficients, good R-squares and acceptable GoF). Construct validity was supported by convergent and discriminant validity, and correlations between the LSS and SF-36 subscales. Minimum Intraclass Correlation Coefficient level of 0.60 was exceeded by all subscales. Minimum level of reliability indices (Cronbach's α, composite reliability and indicator reliability) was exceeded by all subscales. The Persian-version of the Life Satisfaction Scale is a reliable and valid instrument, with psychometric properties which are consistent with the original version.

[Mechanical testing of implant properties of thoracoscopic implantation of ventral spinal stabilizing systems. Comparative study with the ISO/DIS 12189-2 corpectomy model and an improved synthetic model].

PubMed

Grupp, T M; Beisse, R; Potulski, M; Marnay, T; Beger, J; Blömer, W

2002-04-01

A new modular anterior fixation system MACS TL (modular anterior construct system for the thoracic and lumbar spine) has been developed for use in thoracoscopic spondylodesis. This system demonstrates high angular stability and meets the surgical requirements for an endoscopic approach. The objective of the current study was fatigue testing of the MACS TL implant system using a corpectomy model according to ISO/DIS 12189-2 and a synthetic model recently developed by Kotani et al. [6]. The MACS TL system demonstrated good mechanical properties with a high stiffness compared to the published data reviewed. The importance of dynamic testing in a corpectomy model has been demonstrated by comparing the MACS TL plate system with an early prototype, which has not yet been clinically evaluated. The corpectomy model according to Kotani et al. offers an interesting alternative to the ISO/DIS 12189-2 test method for asymmetrically designed and antero-laterally positioned spinal implants due to the unconstrained ball joint.

Studies on questions of design and construction of chain scraper conveyors. [mining operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guder, H.

1980-01-01

The basic behavior of mining crushed goods in chain scraper conveyors was examined using a special test stand. The characteristics resistance lines of the upper end-piece were determined for conveyor idle as a function of the determinative crushed good characteristics (granular structure, moisture content, type of goods) on the size of the conveyor load, on the conveyor construction and on the stopped time of the conveyor. Crushed goods with a narrow granular profile and sphere-like grains caused about 35% greater resistance than fine coal and raw coal with broad granular profile. For goods containing water more than 10% by weight, the solids friction retreated in favor of flow friction. The coefficient of resistance decreased considerably in the range of lower speeds and then increased with increasing conveyor speed. The conveyance of sandstone ore required about 280% greater specific drive than the conveyance of raw coal. Resistance coefficients for coal and raw coal showed no dependence on the design of the conveyor. Start-up of loaded conveyors after longer stop times was simulated and the specific break-loose force was determined.

Research on Computer Aided Innovation Model of Weapon Equipment Requirement Demonstration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yong; Guo, Qisheng; Wang, Rui; Li, Liang

Firstly, in order to overcome the shortcoming of using only AD or TRIZ solely, and solve the problems currently existed in weapon equipment requirement demonstration, the paper construct the method system of weapon equipment requirement demonstration combining QFD, AD, TRIZ, FA. Then, we construct a CAI model frame of weapon equipment requirement demonstration, which include requirement decomposed model, requirement mapping model and requirement plan optimization model. Finally, we construct the computer aided innovation model of weapon equipment requirement demonstration, and developed CAI software of equipment requirement demonstration.

Confirmation of the Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Children's Scale of Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive in Clinic-Referred Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Farmer, Cristan A; Kaat, Aaron J; Mazurek, Micah O; Lainhart, Janet E; DeWitt, Mary Beth; Cook, Edwin H; Butter, Eric M; Aman, Michael G

2016-02-01

The measurement of aggression in its different forms (e.g., physical and verbal) and functions (e.g., impulsive and instrumental) is given little attention in subjects with developmental disabilities (DD). In this study, we confirm the factor structure of the Children's Scale for Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive (C-SHARP) and demonstrate measurement invariance (consistent performance across clinical groups) between clinic-referred groups with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We also provide evidence of the construct validity of the C-SHARP. Caregivers provided C-SHARP, Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and Proactive/Reactive Rating Scale (PRRS) ratings for 644 children, adolescents, and young adults 2-21 years of age. Five types of measurement invariance were evaluated within a confirmatory factor analytic framework. Associations among the C-SHARP, CBCL, and PRRS were explored. The factor structure of the C-SHARP had a good fit to the data from both groups, and strict measurement invariance between ASD and non-ASD groups was demonstrated (i.e., equivalent structure, factor loadings, item intercepts and residuals, and latent variance/covariance between groups). The C-SHARP Problem Scale was more strongly associated with CBCL Externalizing than with CBCL Internalizing, supporting its construct validity. Subjects classified with the PRRS as both Reactive and Proactive had significantly higher C-SHARP Proactive Scores than those classified as Reactive only, who were rated significantly higher than those classified by the PRRS as Neither Reactive nor Proactive. A similar pattern was observed for the C-SHARP Reactive Score. This study provided evidence of the validity of the C-SHARP through confirmation of its factor structure and its relationship with more established scales. The demonstration of measurement invariance demonstrates that differences in C-SHARP factor scores were the result of differences in the construct rather than to error or unmeasured/nuisance variables. These data suggest that the C-SHARP is useful for quantifying subtypes of aggressive behavior in children, adolescents, and young adults with DD.

An ANSERLIN array for mobile satellite applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colomb, F. Y.; Kunkee, D. B.; Mayes, P. E.; Smith, D. W.; Jamnejad, V.

1990-01-01

Design, analysis, construction, and test of linear arrays of ANSERLIN (annular sector, radiating line) elements are reported and discussed. Due to feeding simplicity and easy construction as well as good CP performance, a planar array composed of a number of such linear arrays each producing a shaped beam tilted in elevation, is a good candidate as a vehicle-mounted mechanically steered antenna for mobile satellite applications. A single level construction technique was developed that makes this type of array very cost competitive with other low-profile arrays. An asymmetric 19.5 inch long four-element array was fabricated and tested with reasonable performance. A smaller five-element symmetric array (16 inch long) was also designed and tested capable of operating in either sense of circular polarization. Efforts were made to successfully reduce this effect.

Error control techniques for satellite and space communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Costello, Daniel J., Jr.

1992-01-01

Worked performed during the reporting period is summarized. Construction of robustly good trellis codes for use with sequential decoding was developed. The robustly good trellis codes provide a much better trade off between free distance and distance profile. The unequal error protection capabilities of convolutional codes was studied. The problem of finding good large constraint length, low rate convolutional codes for deep space applications is investigated. A formula for computing the free distance of 1/n convolutional codes was discovered. Double memory (DM) codes, codes with two memory units per unit bit position, were studied; a search for optimal DM codes is being conducted. An algorithm for constructing convolutional codes from a given quasi-cyclic code was developed. Papers based on the above work are included in the appendix.

Demonstration Results of Phytoremediation of Explosives-Contaminated Groundwater Using Constructed Wetlands At The Milan Army Ammunition Plant, Milan, Tennessee Volume IV.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-12-01

1030 1 DEMONSTRATION RESULTS OF PHYTOREMEDIATION OF EXPLOSIVES-CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER USING CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS AT THE MILAN ARMY...88826V Report No. SFIM-AEC-ET-CR-97059 UTIC QUALITY INSPECTED 4 Demonstration Results of Phytoremediation of Explosives-Contaminated Groundwater...SUBTITLE Demonstration Results of Phytoremediation of Explosives-Contaminated Groundwater Using Constructed Wetlands at the Milan Army Ammunition Plant

3Demonstration Results of Phytoremediation of Explosives-Contaminated Groundwater Using Constructed Wetlands at the Milan Army Ammunition Plant, Milan, Tennessee Volume III.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-12-01

10301 ~>& DEMONSTRATION RESULTS OF PHYTOREMEDIATION OF EXPLOSIVES-CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER USING CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS AT THE MILAN ARMY...Demonstration Results of Phytoremediation of Explosives-Contaminated Groundwater Using Constructed Wetlands At The Milan Army Ammunition Plant...December 1998 2. REPORT TYPE Final 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Demonstration Results of Phytoremediation of Explosives

21 CFR 225.20 - Buildings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR MEDICATED FEEDS Construction and Maintenance of Facilities and Equipment § 225.20 Buildings. (a) The location, design, construction, and physical size of the buildings and other production facilities are factors important to the manufacture of medicated feed. The features of...

21 CFR 226.30 - Equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR TYPE A MEDICATED ARTICLES Construction and Maintenance of Facilities and Equipment § 226.30 Equipment. Equipment used for the manufacture, processing, packaging, bulk... maintained in a clean and orderly manner and shall be of suitable design, size, construction, and location to...

Development of a precast bridge deck overhang system for the rock creek bridge.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-12-01

Precast, prestressed panels are commonly used at interior beams for bridges in Texas. The use of these : panels provides ease of construction, sufficient capacity, and good economy for the construction of : bridges in Texas. Current practice for the ...

The construct of food involvement in behavioral research: scale development and validation.

PubMed

Bell, Rick; Marshall, David W

2003-06-01

The construct of involvement has been found to influence brand loyalty, product information search processing, responses to advertising communications, diffusion of innovations, and ultimately, product choice decisions. Traditionally, involvement has been defined as being a characteristic of either a product or of an individual. In the present research, we make an assumption that an individual's 'food involvement' is a somewhat stable characteristic and we hypothesized that involvement with foods would vary between individuals, that individuals who are more highly involved with food would be better able to discriminate between a set of food samples than would less food involved individuals, and that this discrimination would operate both in affective and perceptive relative judgments. Using standard scale construction techniques, we developed a measure of the characteristic of food involvement, based on activities relating to food acquisition, preparation, cooking, eating and disposal. After several iterations, a final 12-item measure was found to have good test-retest reliability and internal consistency within two subscales. A behavioral validation study demonstrated that measures of food involvement were associated with discrimination and hedonic ratings for a range of foods in a laboratory setting. These findings suggest that food involvement, as measured by the Food Involvement Scale, may be an important mediator to consider when undertaking research with food and food habits.

Superhydrophobic titania nanoparticles for fabrication of paper-based analytical devices: An example of heavy metals assays.

PubMed

Xu, Wenjian; Chen, Xi; Cai, Songcai; Chen, Jin; Xu, Zhen; Jia, Hongpeng; Chen, Jing

2018-05-01

A new strategy has been introduced to successfully fabricate the hydrophobic barriers of PADs by using organofluorine-modified superhydrophobic TiO 2 NPs. Superhydrophobic TiO 2 -140 NPs with high-photoactivity can be converted to hydrophilicity by self-degradation of surface organic moieties under full spectrum light irradiation. Superhydrophobic TiO 2 -RT NPs with low-photoactivity exhibits good hydrophobic stability under light irradiation. Thus, combining these features, the PADs have been designed and constructed by photo-induced fabrication of hydrophobic barriers on the surface of the paper. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the constructed PADs, colorimetric detections have been displayed for Fe 3+ and Ni 2+ ions. The synchronous multi-component detections based on the "multi-channel" PADs and the intuitive detections based on the "chemical-symbol-style" PADs are rapid and feasible. A detection range of Fe 3+ and Ni 2+ ions based on the "circle-array" PAD is applicable and reliable in 0.2-6.0 mM and 0.4-4.0 mM, respectively. Thus, these results make it to be believed that this new strategy provides an alternative way to effectively construct the PADs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Monolithic liquid crystal waveguide Fourier transform spectrometer for gas species sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chao, Tien-Hsin; Lu, Thomas T.; Davis, Scott R.; Rommel, Scott D.; Farca, George; Luey, Ben; Martin, Alan; Anderson, Michael H.

2011-04-01

Jet Propulsion Lab and Vescent Photonics Inc. and are jointly developing an innovative ultracompact (volume < 10 cm3), ultra-low power (<10-3 Watt-hours per measurement and zero power consumption when not measuring), completely non-mechanical Liquid Crystal Waveguide Fourier Transform Spectrometer (LCWFTS) that will be suitable for a variety of remote-platform, in-situ measurements. These devices are made possible by novel electro-evanescent waveguide architecture, enabling "monolithic chip-scale" Electro Optic-FTS (EO-FTS) sensors. The potential performance of these EO-FTS sensors include: i) a spectral range throughout 0.4-5 μm (25000 - 2000 cm-1), ii) high-resolution (Δλ <= 0.1 nm), iii) high-speed (< 1 ms) measurements, and iv) rugged integrated optical construction. This performance potential enables the detection and quantification of a large number of different atmospheric gases simultaneously in the same air mass and the rugged construction will enable deployment on previously inaccessible platforms. The sensor construction is also amenable for analyzing aqueous samples on remote floating or submerged platforms. We will report a proof-of-principle prototype LCWFTS sensor that has been demonstrated in the near-IR (range of 1450-1700 nm) with a 5 nm resolution. This performance is in good agreement with theoretical models, which are being used to design and build the next generation LCWFTS devices.

Validity test and its consistency in the construction of patient loyalty model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yanuar, Ferra

2016-04-01

The main objective of this present study is to demonstrate the estimation of validity values and its consistency based on structural equation model. The method of estimation was then implemented to an empirical data in case of the construction the patient loyalty model. In the hypothesis model, service quality, patient satisfaction and patient loyalty were determined simultaneously, each factor were measured by any indicator variables. The respondents involved in this study were the patients who ever got healthcare at Puskesmas in Padang, West Sumatera. All 394 respondents who had complete information were included in the analysis. This study found that each construct; service quality, patient satisfaction and patient loyalty were valid. It means that all hypothesized indicator variables were significant to measure their corresponding latent variable. Service quality is the most measured by tangible, patient satisfaction is the most mesured by satisfied on service and patient loyalty is the most measured by good service quality. Meanwhile in structural equation, this study found that patient loyalty was affected by patient satisfaction positively and directly. Service quality affected patient loyalty indirectly with patient satisfaction as mediator variable between both latent variables. Both structural equations were also valid. This study also proved that validity values which obtained here were also consistence based on simulation study using bootstrap approach.

A Taylor Expansion-Based Adaptive Design Strategy for Global Surrogate Modeling With Applications in Groundwater Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, Shaoxing; Lu, Dan; Shi, Xiaoqing; Zhang, Guannan; Ye, Ming; Wu, Jianfeng; Wu, Jichun

2017-12-01

Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) and uncertainty quantification (UQ) for groundwater modeling are challenging because of the model complexity and significant computational requirements. To reduce the massive computational cost, a cheap-to-evaluate surrogate model is usually constructed to approximate and replace the expensive groundwater models in the GSA and UQ. Constructing an accurate surrogate requires actual model simulations on a number of parameter samples. Thus, a robust experimental design strategy is desired to locate informative samples so as to reduce the computational cost in surrogate construction and consequently to improve the efficiency in the GSA and UQ. In this study, we develop a Taylor expansion-based adaptive design (TEAD) that aims to build an accurate global surrogate model with a small training sample size. TEAD defines a novel hybrid score function to search informative samples, and a robust stopping criterion to terminate the sample search that guarantees the resulted approximation errors satisfy the desired accuracy. The good performance of TEAD in building global surrogate models is demonstrated in seven analytical functions with different dimensionality and complexity in comparison to two widely used experimental design methods. The application of the TEAD-based surrogate method in two groundwater models shows that the TEAD design can effectively improve the computational efficiency of GSA and UQ for groundwater modeling.

The Validity and Reliability Test of the Indonesian Version of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Quality of Life (GERD-QOL) Questionnaire.

PubMed

Siahaan, Laura A; Syam, Ari F; Simadibrata, Marcellus; Setiati, Siti

2017-01-01

to obtain a valid and reliable GERD-QOL questionnaire for Indonesian application. at the initial stage, the GERD-QOL questionnaire was first translated into Indonesian language and the translated questionnaire was subsequently translated back into the original language (back-to-back translation). The results were evaluated by the researcher team and therefore, an Indonesian version of GERD-QOL questionnaire was developed. Ninety-one patients who had been clinically diagnosed with GERD based on the Montreal criteria were interviewed using the Indonesian version of GERD-QOL questionnaire and the SF 36 questionnaire. The validity was evaluated using a method of construct validity and external validity, and reliability can be tested by the method of internal consistency and test retest. the Indonesian version of GERD-QOL questionnaire had a good internal consistency reliability with a Cronbach Alpha of 0.687-0.842 and a good test retest reliability with an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.756-0.936; p<0.05). The questionnaire had also been demonstrated to have a good validity with a proven high correlation to each question of SF-36 (p<0.05). the Indonesian version of GERD-QOL questionnaire has been proven valid and reliable to evaluate the quality of life of GERD patients.

Performance test of the Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) with cosmic ray

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeda, Michihiko; Akieda, Tomomi; Tomita, Shoko; Ninomiya, Aki

2014-09-01

MRPC is a gaseous ionization detector, which a good timing resolution has been used practically in the nuclear and particle physics experiment. A mixed gas of SF6 and Fleon 134a was flowed through the gaps between high resistive plates (500 μm thickness glass). A high electric field of ~2 ×106 [V/m] was applied between the plates. A charged particle passes through the MRPC and causes avalanche amplification. We constructed a relatively small MRPC with a readout pad (20 mm × 50 mm). The development is motivated by feasibility study of the MRPC as a photon tagger at the Research Center for Electron Photon Science (ELPH), Tohoku University. The photon tagger needs a good timing resolution (<100 ps), therefore we studied the small size MRPC, while a large sized MRPCs are widely used in nuclear and particle experiments. The MRPC can operate under the strong magnetic field and thus it can be a good candidate as an electron detector placed in the magnet. We tested the HV dependence of time resolution of the MRPC with cosmic rays. The MRPC will be demonstrated at the open campus of the Tohoku University as an example of nuclear experimental detectors. We will measure the zenith angle and velocity distributions of cosmic ray.

Translation and validation of a Nepalese version of the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetic Questionnaire (PIDAQ).

PubMed

Singh, Varun Pratap; Singh, Rajkumar

2014-03-01

The aim of this study was to develop a reliable and valid Nepali version of the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetic Questionnaire (PIDAQ). Cross-sectional descriptive validation study. B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal. A rigorous translation process including conceptual and semantic evaluation, translation, back translation and pre-testing was carried out. Two hundred and fifty-two undergraduates, including equal numbers of males and females with an age ranging from 18 to 29 years (mean age: 22·33±2·114 years), participated in this study. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the coefficient of correlation was used to assess correlation between items and test-retest reliability. The construct validity was tested by factorial analysis. Convergent construct validity was tested by comparison of PIDAQ scores with the aesthetic component of the index of orthodontic treatment needs (IOTN-AC) and perception of occlusion scale (POS), respectively. Discriminant construct validity was assessed by differences in score for those who demand treatment and those who did not. The response rate was 100%. One hundred and twenty-three individuals had a demand for orthodontic treatment. The Nepali PIDAQ had excellent reliability with Cronbach's alpha of 0·945, corrected item correlation between 0·525 and 0·790 and overall test-retest reliability of 0·978. The construct validity was good with formation of a new sub-domain 'Dental self-consciousness'. The scale had good correlation with IOTN-AC and POS fulfilling convergent construct validity. The discriminant construct validity was proved by significant differences in scores for subjects with demand and without demand for treatment. To conclude, Nepali version of PIDAQ has good psychometric properties and can be used effectively in this population group for further research.

Development and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Ability to Participate and Satisfaction with Social Roles and Activities item banks and short forms.

PubMed

Heinemann, Allen W; Kisala, Pamela A; Hahn, Elizabeth A; Tulsky, David S

2015-05-01

To develop a spinal cord injury (SCI)-focused version of PROMIS and Neuro-QOL social domain item banks; evaluate the psychometric properties of items developed for adults with SCI; and report information to facilitate clinical and research use. We used a mixed-methods design to develop and evaluate Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities and Satisfaction with Social Roles and Activities items. Focus groups helped define the constructs; cognitive interviews helped revise items; and confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory methods helped calibrate item banks and evaluate differential item functioning related to demographic and injury characteristics. Five SCI Model System sites and one Veterans Administration medical center. The calibration sample consisted of 641 individuals; a reliability sample consisted of 245 individuals residing in the community. A subset of 27 Ability to Participate and 35 Satisfaction items demonstrated good measurement properties and negligible differential item functioning related to demographic and injury characteristics. The SCI-specific measures correlate strongly with the PROMIS and Neuro-QOL versions. Ten item short forms correlate >0.96 with the full banks. Variable-length CATs with a minimum of 4 items, variable-length CATs with a minimum of 8 items, fixed-length CATs of 10 items, and the 10-item short forms demonstrate construct coverage and measurement error that is comparable to the full item bank. The Ability to Participate and Satisfaction with Social Roles and Activities CATs and short forms demonstrate excellent psychometric properties and are suitable for clinical and research applications.

Psychometric Properties of Korean Version of the Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (K-SVEST).

PubMed

Kim, Eun-Mi; Kim, Sun-Aee; Lee, Ju-Ry; Burlison, Jonathan D; Oh, Eui Geum

2018-02-13

"Second victims" are defined as healthcare professionals whose wellness is influenced by adverse clinical events. The Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (SVEST) was used to measure the second-victim experience and quality of support resources. Although the reliability and validity of the original SVEST have been validated, those for the Korean tool have not been validated. The aim of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the SVEST. The study included 305 clinical nurses as participants. The SVEST was translated into Korean via back translation. Content validity was assessed by seven experts, and test-retest reliability was evaluated by 30 clinicians. Internal consistency and construct validity were assessed via confirmatory factor analysis. The analyses were performed using SPSS 23.0 and STATA 13.0 software. The content validity index value demonstrated validity; item- and scale-level content validity index values were both 0.95. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency reliability were satisfactory: the intraclass consistent coefficient was 0.71, and Cronbach α values ranged from 0.59 to 0.87. The CFA showed a significantly good fit for an eight-factor structure (χ = 578.21, df = 303, comparative fit index = 0.92, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.90, root mean square error of approximation = 0.05). The K-SVEST demonstrated good psychometric properties and adequate validity and reliability. The results showed that the Korean version of SVEST demonstrated the extent of second victimhood and support resources in Korean healthcare workers and could aid in the development of support programs and evaluation of their effectiveness.

Isolation of anti-toxin single domain antibodies from a semi-synthetic spiny dogfish shark display library.

PubMed

Liu, Jinny L; Anderson, George P; Goldman, Ellen R

2007-11-19

Shark heavy chain antibody, also called new antigen receptor (NAR), consists of one single Variable domain (VH), containing only two complementarity-determining regions (CDRs). The antigen binding affinity and specificity are mainly determined by these two CDRs. The good solubility, excellent thermal stability and complex sequence variation of small single domain antibodies (sdAbs) make them attractive alternatives to conventional antibodies. In this report, we construct and characterize a diversity enhanced semi-synthetic NAR V display library based on naturally occurring NAR V sequences. A semi-synthetic shark sdAb display library with a complexity close to 1e9 was constructed. This was achieved by introducing size and sequence variations in CDR3 using randomized CDR3 primers of three different lengths. Binders against three toxins, staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), ricin, and botulinum toxin A (BoNT/A) complex toxoid, were isolated from panning the display library. Soluble sdAbs from selected binders were purified and evaluated using direct binding and thermal stability assays on the Luminex 100. In addition, sandwich assays using sdAb as the reporter element were developed to demonstrate their utility for future sensor applications. We demonstrated the utility of a newly created hyper diversified shark NAR displayed library to serve as a source of thermal stable sdAbs against a variety of toxins.

Imaging subsurface hydrothermal structure using a dense geophone array in Yellowstone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, S. M.; Lin, F. C.; Farrell, J.; Smith, R. B.

2016-12-01

The recent development of ambient noise cross-correlation and the availability of large N seismic arrays allow for the study of detailed shallow crustal structure. In this study, we apply multi-component noise cross-correlation to explore shallow hydrothermal structure near Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park using a temporary geophone array. The array was composed of 133 three-component 5-Hz geophones and was deployed for two weeks during November 2015. The average station spacing is 50 meters and the full aperture of the array is around 1 km with good azimuthal and spatial coverage. The Upper Geyser Basin, where Old Faithful is located, has the largest concentration of geysers in the world. This unique active hydrothermal environment and hence the extremely inhomogeneous noise source distribution makes the construction of empirical Green's functions difficult based on the traditional noise cross-correlation method. In this presentation, we show examples of the constructed cross-correlation functions and demonstrate their spatial and temporal relationships with known hydrothermal activity. We also demonstrate how useful seismic signals can be extracted from these cross-correlation functions and used for subsurface imaging. In particular, we will discuss the existence of a recharge cavity beneath Old Faithful revealed by the noise cross-correlations. In addition, we also investigated the temporal structure variation based on time-lapse noise cross-correlations and these preliminary results will also be discussed.

Hierarchically structured transparent hybrid membranes by in situ growth of mesostructured organosilica in host polymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallé, Karine; Belleville, Philippe; Pereira, Franck; Sanchez, Clément

2006-02-01

The elaborate performances characterizing natural materials result from functional hierarchical constructions at scales ranging from nanometres to millimetres, each construction allowing the material to fit the physical or chemical demands occurring at these different levels. Hierarchically structured materials start to demonstrate a high input in numerous promising applied domains such as sensors, catalysis, optics, fuel cells, smart biologic and cosmetic vectors. In particular, hierarchical hybrid materials permit the accommodation of a maximum of elementary functions in a small volume, thereby optimizing complementary possibilities and properties between inorganic and organic components. The reported strategies combine sol-gel chemistry, self-assembly routes using templates that tune the material's architecture and texture with the use of larger inorganic, organic or biological templates such as latex, organogelator-derived fibres, nanolithographic techniques or controlled phase separation. We propose an approach to forming transparent hierarchical hybrid functionalized membranes using in situ generation of mesostructured hybrid phases inside a non-porogenic hydrophobic polymeric host matrix. We demonstrate that the control of the multiple affinities existing between organic and inorganic components allows us to design the length-scale partitioning of hybrid nanomaterials with tuned functionalities and desirable size organization from ångström to centimetre. After functionalization of the mesoporous hybrid silica component, the resulting membranes have good ionic conductivity offering interesting perspectives for the design of solid electrolytes, fuel cells and other ion-transport microdevices.

The Internal Consistency and Validity of the Vaccination Attitudes Examination Scale: A Replication Study.

PubMed

Wood, Louise; Smith, Michael; Miller, Christopher B; O'Carroll, Ronan E

2018-06-19

Vaccinations are important preventative health behaviors. The recently developed Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) Scale aims to measure the reasons behind refusal/hesitancy regarding vaccinations. The aim of this replication study is to conduct an independent test of the newly developed VAX Scale in the UK. We tested (a) internal consistency (Cronbach's α); (b) convergent validity by assessing its relationships with beliefs about medication, medical mistrust, and perceived sensitivity to medicines; and (c) construct validity by testing how well the VAX Scale discriminated between vaccinators and nonvaccinators. A sample of 243 UK adults completed the VAX Scale, the Beliefs About Medicines Questionnaire, the Perceived Sensitivity to Medicines Scale, and the Medical Mistrust Index, in addition to demographics of age, gender, education levels, and social deprivation. Participants were asked (a) whether they received an influenza vaccination in the past year and (b) if they had a young child, whether they had vaccinated the young child against influenza in the past year. The VAX (a) demonstrated high internal consistency (α = .92); (b) was positively correlated with medical mistrust and beliefs about medicines, and less strongly correlated with perceived sensitivity to medicines; and (c) successfully differentiated parental influenza vaccinators from nonvaccinators. The VAX demonstrated good internal consistency, convergent validity, and construct validity in an independent UK sample. It appears to be a useful measure to help us understand the health beliefs that promote or deter vaccination behavior.

Reliability and Validity of the Behavioral Addiction Measure for Video Gaming.

PubMed

Sanders, James L; Williams, Robert J

2016-01-01

Most tests of video game addiction have weak construct validity and limited ability to correctly identify people in denial. The purpose of the present research was to investigate the reliability and validity of a new test of video game addiction (Behavioral Addiction Measure-Video Gaming [BAM-VG]) that was developed in part to address these deficiencies. Regular adult video gamers (n = 506) were recruited from a Canadian online panel and completed a survey containing three measures of excessive video gaming (BAM-VG; DSM-5 criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder [IGD]; and the IGD-20), as well as questions concerning extensiveness of video game involvement and self-report of problems associated with video gaming. One month later, they were reassessed for the purposes of establishing test-retest reliability. The BAM-VG demonstrated good internal consistency as well as 1 month test-retest reliability. Criterion-related validity was demonstrated by significant correlations with the following: time spent playing, self-identification of video game problems, and scores on other instruments designed to assess video game addiction (DSM-5 IGD, IGD-20). Consistent with the theory, principal component analysis identified two components underlying the BAM-VG that roughly correspond with impaired control and significant negative consequences deriving from this impaired control. Together with its excellent construct validity and other technical features, the BAM-VG represents a reliable and valid test of video game addiction.

Dynamical mean-field theory on the real-frequency axis: p -d hybridization and atomic physics in SrMnO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauernfeind, Daniel; Triebl, Robert; Zingl, Manuel; Aichhorn, Markus; Evertz, Hans Gerd

2018-03-01

We investigate the electronic structure of SrMnO3 with density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT). Within this scheme the selection of the correlated subspace and the construction of the corresponding Wannier functions is a crucial step. Due to the crystal-field splitting of the Mn-3 d orbitals and their separation from the O -2 p bands, SrMnO3 is a material where on first sight a three-band d -only model should be sufficient. However, in the present work we demonstrate that the resulting spectrum is considerably influenced by the number of correlated orbitals and the number of bands included in the Wannier function construction. For example, in a d -d p model we observe a splitting of the t2 g lower Hubbard band into a more complex spectral structure, not observable in d -only models. To illustrate these high-frequency differences we employ the recently developed fork tensor product state (FTPS) impurity solver, as it provides the necessary spectral resolution on the real-frequency axis. We find that the spectral structure of a five-band d -d p model is in good agreement with PES and XAS experiments. Our results demonstrate that the FTPS solver is capable of performing full five-band DMFT calculations directly on the real-frequency axis.

Isolation of anti-toxin single domain antibodies from a semi-synthetic spiny dogfish shark display library

PubMed Central

Liu, Jinny L; Anderson, George P; Goldman, Ellen R

2007-01-01

Background Shark heavy chain antibody, also called new antigen receptor (NAR), consists of one single Variable domain (VH), containing only two complementarity-determining regions (CDRs). The antigen binding affinity and specificity are mainly determined by these two CDRs. The good solubility, excellent thermal stability and complex sequence variation of small single domain antibodies (sdAbs) make them attractive alternatives to conventional antibodies. In this report, we construct and characterize a diversity enhanced semi-synthetic NAR V display library based on naturally occurring NAR V sequences. Results A semi-synthetic shark sdAb display library with a complexity close to 1e9 was constructed. This was achieved by introducing size and sequence variations in CDR3 using randomized CDR3 primers of three different lengths. Binders against three toxins, staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), ricin, and botulinum toxin A (BoNT/A) complex toxoid, were isolated from panning the display library. Soluble sdAbs from selected binders were purified and evaluated using direct binding and thermal stability assays on the Luminex 100. In addition, sandwich assays using sdAb as the reporter element were developed to demonstrate their utility for future sensor applications. Conclusion We demonstrated the utility of a newly created hyper diversified shark NAR displayed library to serve as a source of thermal stable sdAbs against a variety of toxins. PMID:18021450

Development and Validation of the Eating Loss of Control Scale

PubMed Central

Blomquist, Kerstin K.; Roberto, Christina A.; Barnes, Rachel D.; White, Marney A.; Masheb, Robin M.; Grilo, Carlos M.

2014-01-01

Recurrent objective bulimic episodes (OBE) are a defining diagnostic characteristic of binge eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa (BN). OBEs are characterized by experiencing loss of control (LOC) while eating an unusually large quantity of food. Despite nosological importance and complex heterogeneity across patients, measurement of LOC has been assessed dichotomously (present/absent). This study describes the development and initial validation of the Eating Loss of Control Scale (ELOCS), a self-report questionnaire that examines the complexity of the LOC construct. Participants were 168 obese treatment-seeking individuals with BED who completed the Eating Disorder Examination interview and self-report measures. Participants rated their LOC-related feelings or behaviors on continuous Likert-type scales and reported the number of LOC episodes in the past 28 days. Principal component analysis identified a single-factor, 18-item scale, which demonstrated good internal reliability (α=0.90). Frequency of LOC episodes was significantly correlated with frequency of OBEs and subjective bulimic episodes. The ELOCS demonstrated good convergent validity and was significantly correlated with greater eating pathology, greater emotion dysregulation, greater depression, and lower self-control, but not with BMI. The findings suggest that the ELOCS is a valid self-report questionnaire that may provide important clinical information regarding experiences of LOC in obese persons with BED. Future research should examine the ELOCS in other eating disorders and non-clinical samples. PMID:24219700

Developing and validating the Youth Conduct Problems Scale-Rwanda: a mixed methods approach.

PubMed

Ng, Lauren C; Kanyanganzi, Frederick; Munyanah, Morris; Mushashi, Christine; Betancourt, Theresa S

2014-01-01

This study developed and validated the Youth Conduct Problems Scale-Rwanda (YCPS-R). Qualitative free listing (n = 74) and key informant interviews (n = 47) identified local conduct problems, which were compared to existing standardized conduct problem scales and used to develop the YCPS-R. The YCPS-R was cognitive tested by 12 youth and caregiver participants, and assessed for test-retest and inter-rater reliability in a sample of 64 youth. Finally, a purposive sample of 389 youth and their caregivers were enrolled in a validity study. Validity was assessed by comparing YCPS-R scores to conduct disorder, which was diagnosed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children, and functional impairment scores on the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule Child Version. ROC analyses assessed the YCPS-R's ability to discriminate between youth with and without conduct disorder. Qualitative data identified a local presentation of youth conduct problems that did not match previously standardized measures. Therefore, the YCPS-R was developed solely from local conduct problems. Cognitive testing indicated that the YCPS-R was understandable and required little modification. The YCPS-R demonstrated good reliability, construct, criterion, and discriminant validity, and fair classification accuracy. The YCPS-R is a locally-derived measure of Rwandan youth conduct problems that demonstrated good psychometric properties and could be used for further research.

Ecologically relevant outcome measure for post-inpatient rehabilitation.

PubMed

Marquez de la Plata, Carlos; Qualls, Devin; Plenger, Patrick; Malec, James F; Hayden, Mary Ellen

2017-01-01

Transfer of skills learned within the clinic environment to patients' home or community is important in post-inpatient brain injury rehabilitation (PBIR). Outcome measures used in PBIR assess level of independence during functional tasks; however, available functional instruments do not quantitate the environment in which the behaviors occur. To examine the reliability and validity of an instrument used to assess patients' functional abilities while quantifying the amount of structure and distractions in the environment. 2501 patients who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and participated in a multidisciplinary PBIR program between 2006 and 2014 were identified retrospectively for this study. The PERPOS and MPAI-4 were used to assess functional abilities at admission and at discharge. Construct validity was assessed using a bivariate Spearman rho analysis A subsample of 56 consecutive admissions during 2014 were examined to determine inter-rater reliability. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and Kappa coefficients assessed inter-rater agreement of the total PERPOS and PERPOS subscales respectively. The PERPOS and MPAI-4 demonstrated a strong negative association among both TBI and CVA patients. Kappa scores for the three PERPOS scales each demonstrated good to excellent inter-rater agreement. The ICC for overall PERPOS scores fell in the good agreement range. The PERPOS can be used reliably in PBIR to quantify patients' functional abilities within the context of environmental demands.

Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) Codes Constructed from Protographs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thorpe, J.

2003-08-01

We introduce a new class of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes constructed from a template called a protograph. The protograph serves as a blueprint for constructing LDPC codes of arbitrary size whose performance can be predicted by analyzing the protograph. We apply standard density evolution techniques to predict the performance of large protograph codes. Finally, we use a randomized search algorithm to find good protographs.

The Short International Physical Activity Questionnaire: cross-cultural adaptation, validation and reliability of the Hausa language version in Nigeria.

PubMed

Oyeyemi, Adewale L; Oyeyemi, Adetoyeje Y; Adegoke, Babatunde O; Oyetoke, Fatima O; Aliyu, Habeeb N; Aliyu, Salamatu U; Rufai, Adamu A

2011-11-22

Accurate assessment of physical activity is important in determining the risk for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer and obesity. The absence of culturally relevant measures in indigenous languages could pose challenges to epidemiological studies on physical activity in developing countries. The purpose of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Short International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF) to the Hausa language, and to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Hausa version of IPAQ-SF in Nigeria. The English IPAQ-SF was translated into the Hausa language, synthesized, back translated, and subsequently subjected to expert committee review and pre-testing. The final product (Hausa IPAQ-SF) was tested in a cross-sectional study for concurrent (correlation with the English version) and construct validity, and test-retest reliability in a sample of 102 apparently healthy adults. The Hausa IPAQ-SF has good concurrent validity with Spearman correlation coefficients (ρ) ranging from 0.78 for vigorous activity (Min Week-1) to 0.92 for total physical activity (Metabolic Equivalent of Task [MET]-Min Week-1), but poor construct validity, with cardiorespiratory fitness (ρ = 0.21, p = 0.01) and body mass index (ρ = 0.22, p = 0.04) significantly correlated with only moderate activity and sitting time (Min Week-1), respectively. Reliability was good for vigorous (ICC = 0.73, 95% C.I = 0.55-0.84) and total physical activity (ICC = 0.61, 95% C.I = 0.47-0.72), but fair for moderate activity (ICC = 0.33, 95% C.I = 0.12-0.51), and few meaningful differences were found in the gender and socioeconomic status specific analyses. The Hausa IPAQ-SF has acceptable concurrent validity and test-retest reliability for vigorous-intensity activity, walking, sitting and total physical activity, but demonstrated only fair construct validity for moderate and sitting activities. The Hausa IPAQ-SF can be used for physical activity measurements in Nigeria, but further construct validity testing with objective measures such as an accelerometer is needed.

21 CFR 211.65 - Equipment construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Equipment construction. 211.65 Section 211.65 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR FINISHED PHARMACEUTICALS Equipment § 211.65 Equipment...

17 CFR 250.81 - Exempted transactions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... orders of the Commission pertaining to the performance of services or construction or the sale of goods shall not be applicable to the sale of water, telephone service, transportation, or a similar commodity... RULES AND REGULATIONS, PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1935 Service, Sales and Construction...

17 CFR 250.81 - Exempted transactions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... orders of the Commission pertaining to the performance of services or construction or the sale of goods shall not be applicable to the sale of water, telephone service, transportation, or a similar commodity... RULES AND REGULATIONS, PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1935 Service, Sales and Construction...

Agent Technologies Designed to Facilitate Interactive Knowledge Construction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graesser, Arthur C.; Jeon, Moongee; Dufty, David

2008-01-01

During the last decade, interdisciplinary researchers have developed technologies with animated pedagogical agents that interact with the student in language and other communication channels (such as facial expressions and gestures). These pedagogical agents model good learning strategies and coach the students in actively constructing knowledge…

Sustainable wall construction and exterior insulation retrofit technology process and structure

DOEpatents

Vohra, Arun

2000-01-01

A low-cost process for exterior wall insulation retrofit, or new wall construction by stacking layers of fabric tube filled with insulating material against a wall and covering them with mesh and stucco provides a durable structure with good insulating value.

Relatedness predicts multiple measures of investment in cooperative nest construction in sociable weavers

PubMed Central

Leighton, Gavin M.; Echeverri, Sebastian; Heinrich, Dirk; Kolberg, Holger

2015-01-01

Although communal goods are often critical to society, they are simultaneously susceptible to exploitation and are evolutionarily stable only if mechanisms exist to curtail exploitation. Mechanisms such as punishment and kin selection have been offered as general explanations for how communal resources can be maintained. Evidence for these mechanisms comes largely from humans and social insects, leaving their generality in question. To assess how communal resources are maintained, we observed cooperative nest construction in sociable weavers (Philetairus socius). The communal nest of sociable weavers provides thermal benefits for all individuals but requires continual maintenance. We observed cooperative nest construction and also recorded basic morphological characteristics. We also collected blood samples, performed next-generation sequencing, and isolated 2358 variable single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to estimate relatedness. We find that relatedness predicts investment in cooperative nest construction, while no other morphological characters significantly explain cooperative output. We argue that indirect benefits are a critical fitness component for maintaining the cooperative behavior that maintains the communal good. PMID:26726282

Constructions and experiences of motherhood in the context of an early intervention for Aboriginal mothers and their children: mother and healthcare worker perspectives.

PubMed

Ussher, Jane M; Charter, Rosie; Parton, Chloe; Perz, Janette

2016-07-22

The colonisation of Australia has been associated with traumatic consequences for Aboriginal health and wellbeing, including the breakdown of the traditional family unit and negative consequences for the mother/child relationship. Early-intervention programs have been developed to assist families to overcome disadvantage and strengthen mother/child attachment. However, there is no research examining Aboriginal women's subjective experiences and constructions of motherhood in the context of such programs, and no research on the perceived impact of such programs, from the perspective of Aboriginal mothers and healthcare workers (HCWs), with previous research focusing on child outcomes. Researchers conducted participant observation of an early intervention program for Aboriginal mothers and young children over a 6 month period, one-to-one interviews and a focus group with 10 mothers, and interviews with nine HCWs, in order to examine their perspectives on motherhood and the intervention program. Thematic analysis identified 2 major themes under which subthemes were clustered. Constructions of motherhood: 'The resilient mother: Coping with life trauma and social stress' and 'The good mother: Transformation of self through motherhood'; Perspectives on the intervention: '"Mothers come to life": Transformation through therapy'; and '"I know I'm a good mum": The need for connections, skills and time for self'. The mothers constructed themselves as being resilient 'good mothers', whilst also acknowledging their own traumatic life experiences, predominantly valuing the peer support and time-out aspects of the program. HCWs positioned the mothers as 'traumatised', yet also strong, and expressed the view that in order to improve mother/child attachment a therapeutic transformation is required. These results suggest that early interventions for Aboriginal mothers should acknowledge and strengthen constructions of the good and resilient mother. The differing perspectives of mothers and HCWs on the role and impact of the early intervention program reinforces the need for Aboriginal mothers to be involved in the design and implementation of services aimed at assisting their families.

Construct Validity of the Societal Outreach Scale (SOS).

PubMed

Fike, David S; Denton, Jason; Walk, Matt; Kish, Jennifer; Gorman, Ira

2018-04-01

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has been working toward a vision of increasing professional focus on societal-level health. However, performance of social responsibility and related behaviors by physical therapists remain relatively poorly integrated into practice. Promoting a focus on societal outreach is necessary for all health care professionals to impact the health of their communities. The objective was to document the validity of the 14-item Societal Outreach Scale (SOS) for use with practicing physical therapists. This study used a cross-sectional survey. The SOS was transmitted via email to all therapists who were licensed and practicing in 10 states in the United States that were purposefully selected to assure a broad representation. A sample of 2612 usable responses was received. Factor analysis was applied to assess construct validity of the instrument. Of alternate models, a 3-factor model best demonstrated goodness of fit with the sample data according to conventional indices (standardized root mean squared residual = .03, comparative fit index .96, root mean square error of approximation = .06). The 3 factors measured by the SOS were labeled Societal-Level Health Advocacy, Community Engagement/Social Integration, and Political Engagement. Internal consistency reliability was 0.7 for all factors. The 3-factor SOS demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. Though the sample included a broad representation of physical therapists, this was a single cross-sectional study. Additional confirmatory factor analysis, reliability testing, and word refinement of the tool are warranted. Given the construct validity and reliability of the 3-factor SOS, it is recommended for use as a validated instrument to measure physical therapists' performance of social responsibility and related behaviors.

Translation and validation of the Dutch new Knee Society Scoring System ©.

PubMed

Van Der Straeten, Catherine; Witvrouw, Erik; Willems, Tine; Bellemans, Johan; Victor, Jan

2013-11-01

A new version of The Knee Society Knee Scoring System(©) (KSS) has recently been developed. Before this scale can be used in non-English-speaking populations, it has to be translated and validated for a particular population. We evaluated the construct and content validity, the test-retest reliability, and the internal consistency of the Dutch version of the New Knee Society KSS. A Dutch translation was performed using a forward-backward translation protocol. We tested the construct validity of the Dutch New KSS by comparing it with the Dutch versions of the WOMAC, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), and SF-12 scores in 137 patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Content validity was assessed by comparing pre- and postoperative scores and by checking floor and ceiling effects. To evaluate test-retest reliability and consistency, 47 patients completed the questionnaire a second time with a mean of 8 days interval (range, 2-20 days) between tests. Construct validity was demonstrated because the Dutch New KSS correlated well with the Dutch WOMAC (r = -0.751; p < 0.001), Dutch KOOS (r = -0.723; p < 0.001), and Dutch SF-12 (r = 0.569; p < 0.001). There was a significant difference between pre- and postoperative scores (p < 0.001) in line with the other scores. Test-retest reliability proved excellent with an intraclass correlation coefficient between 0.73 and 0.92 depending on the domain tested. Consistency as indicated by Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.84 to 0.96 was good to excellent. As demonstrated by the validation procedure, the Dutch New KSS is an excellent instrument to evaluate TKA outcome in Dutch-speaking patients.

Robust estimators of palaeosecular variation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suttie, Neil; Biggin, Andrew; Holme, Richard

2015-02-01

The Fisher distribution is central to palaeomagnetism but presents several problems when used to characterize geomagnetic field directions as observed in sequences of volcanic rocks. First, it introduces a shallowing effect when used to define the mean of any group of directional unit vectors. This is problematic because it can suggest the presence of persistent non-axial dipole components when none are present. More importantly, it fails to capture the observed `long tail' in distributions of both directions and associated virtual geomagnetic poles in terms of angular distance from a central direction. To achieve a good fit to data, it therefore requires the introduction of a second distribution (and therefore the estimation of additional parameters) or the arbitrary removal of data. Here we present a new distribution to describe palaeomagnetic directions and demonstrate that it overcomes both of these problems, generating robust indicators of both the central direction (or pole position) and the spread of palaeomagnetic data as defined by unit vectors. Starting from the assumption that poles (or directions) have an expected colatitude, rather than a mean location, we derive the spherical exponential distribution. We demonstrate that this new distribution provides a good fit to palaeomagnetic data sets from seven large igneous provinces between 15 and 65 Ma and also those produced by numerical dynamo models. We also use it to derive a new shape parameter which may be used as a diagnostic tool for testing goodness of fit of models to data and use this to argue for a shift in geomagnetic behaviour between 5 and 15 Ma. Furthermore, we point out that this new statistic can be used to determine the most appropriate distribution to be used when constructing confidence limits for poles.

Antiferromagnetic spinor condensates in a bichromatic superlattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Tao; Zhao, Lichao; Chen, Zihe; Liu, Yingmei

2017-04-01

A spinor Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical supelattice has been considered as a good quantum simulator for understanding mesoscopic magnetism. We report an experimental study on an antiferromagnetic spinor condensate in a bichromatic superlattice constructed by a cubic red-detuned optical lattice and a one-dimensional blue-detuned optical lattice. Our data demonstrate a few advantages of this bichromatic superlattice over a monochromatic lattice. One distinct advantage is that the bichromatic superlattice enables realizing the first-order superfluid to Mott-insulator phase transitions within a much wider range of magnetic fields. In addition, we discuss an apparent discrepancy between our data and the mean-field theory. We thank the National Science Foundation and the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology for financial support.

The Brief Peer Conflict Scale: Psychometric Properties Among a Sample of Incarcerated Male Juvenile Offenders.

PubMed

Pechorro, Pedro; Russell, Justin D; Ayala-Nunes, Lara; Gonçalves, Rui Abrunhosa; Nunes, Cristina

2018-06-01

Aggression can be considered a multidimensional construct that influences various forms of antisocial behavior, including juvenile delinquency and conduct problems. The aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Brief Peer Conflict Scale-20 item version (PCS-20) among a Portuguese forensic sample (N = 192) of incarcerated male juvenile offenders ( M = 16.62 years; SD = 1.52 years; age range = 13-18 years). The PCS-20 demonstrated good psychometric properties in terms of its four-factor structure, internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity that generally justify its use among incarcerated male youth. The findings provide additional support for the extension of the PCS-20 across different cultures, ethnic groups, and samples.

Failure monitoring of E-glass/vinylester composites using fiber grating acoustic sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azmi, A. I.; Raju; Peng, G. D.

2013-06-01

This paper reports an application of an optical fiber sensor in a continuous and in situ failure testing of an E-glass/vinylester top hat stiffener (THS). The sensor head was constructed from a compact phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (PS-FBG). The narrow transmission channel of the PS-FBG is highly sensitive to small perturbation, hence suitable to be used in acoustic emission (AE) assessment technique. The progressive failure of THS was tested under transverse loading to experimentally simulate the actual loading in practice. Our experimental tests have demonstrated, in good agreement with the commercial piezoelectric sensors, that the important failures information of the THS was successfully recorded by the simple intensity-type PS-FBG sensor.

Infrared thermographic evaluation of marine composite structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Thomas S.

1995-06-01

Glass fiber composite materials have been used for many years in the construction of pleasure, cruising, and racing marine vessels. These vessels have demonstrated excellent performance characteristics and have been reliable in service. Even so, as with all material systems, they are subject to damage from accident, neglect, and abuse. Traditional nondestructive inspection approaches are not always fully effective for examining composite marine structures. Infrared imaging offers a particularly attractive approach for the inspection of composite material structures. Glass fiber composites frequently possess a combination of thermal properties that make them good candidates for infrared thermographic evaluation while other nondestructive evaluation approaches provide limited success. Infrared thermography combines the advantages of being nondestructive with the capability of rapidly inspecting wide surface areas.

Development and fabrication of an advanced liquid cooling garment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hixon, C. W.

1978-01-01

A tube/fin concept liquid cooling garment head cooler was developed, fabricated and delivered to NASA-ARC. The head cooler was fabricated from polyurethane film which sandwiches the transport fluid tubing and a thermally conductive fin material. The head cooler garment is sewn to form a skull cap and covered with a comfort liner. In addition, two Neonate heating garments were fabricated and supplied to NASA for further finishing and use in medical tests. The resulting garment is flexible, elastic and conforms to the head comfortably. Tests on a tube/fin element of identical construction as the head cooler demonstrated good thermal effectiveness. Use of commercially available materials and development of relatively simple fabrication techniques give the potential for a low garment cost.

Construct Validity of the Emotional Eating Scale Adapted for Children and Adolescents

PubMed Central

Vannucci, Anna; Tanofsky-Kraff, Marian; Shomaker, Lauren B.; Ranzenhofer, Lisa M.; Matheson, Brittany E.; Cassidy, Omni L.; Zocca, Jaclyn M.; Kozlosky, Merel; Yanovski, Susan Z.; Yanovski, Jack A.

2012-01-01

Background Emotional eating, defined as eating in response to a range of negative emotions, is common in youth. Yet, there are few easily administered and well-validated methods to assess emotional eating in pediatric populations. Objective The current study tested the construct validity of the Emotional Eating Scale Adapted for Children and Adolescents (EES-C) by examining its relationship to observed emotional eating at laboratory test meals. Method One hundred fifty-one youth (8-18 years) participated in two multi-item lunch buffet meals on separate days. They ate ad libitum after being instructed to “eat as much as you would at a normal meal” or to “let yourself go and eat as much as you want.” State negative affect was assessed immediately prior to each meal. The EES-C was completed three months, on average, prior to the first test meal. Results Among youth with high EES-C total scores, but not low EES-C scores, higher pre-meal state negative affect was related to greater total energy intake at both meals, with and without the inclusion of age, race, sex, and BMI-z as covariates (ps < 0.03). Discussion The EES-C demonstrates good construct validity for children and adolescents’ observed energy intake across laboratory test meals designed to capture both normal and disinhibited eating. Future research is required to evaluate the construct validity of the EES-C in the natural environment and the predictive validity of the EES-C longitudinally. PMID:22124451

Pedigree construction and disease confirmation: a pilot study in Wales exploring the role of nonclinical personnel.

PubMed

Tempest, Vanessa; Iredale, Rachel; Gray, Jonathon; France, Liz; Anstey, Sally; Steward, John

2005-09-01

Pedigree construction and disease confirmation are the means by which reported family histories are translated into a verified clinical tool informing risk assessment and management decisions by clinical genetics staff. In this study, we hypothesised that pedigree generation data processes do not generally require the clinical expertise of genetic counsellors and that they could be successfully transferred to nonclinical data administrators. We made a pragmatic comparison of two processes of pedigree generation by different personnel from 14 consecutive family history questionnaires containing 88 living and decease affected individuals. The pedigrees generated by the genetic counsellor and the data administrator were compared; discrepancies were quantified and their source determined. The information gathered by the data administrator mirrored that of the genetic counsellors in 89% of cases. Time was saved by permitting direct access to cancer registry and local oncology centre databases. Constructing a pedigree is not always a case of transferring clear-cut data. Decisions need to be made about which cancers to confirm. Notable differences emerged in the number of pieces of information not transferred. Ambiguous information was often interpreted differently, suggesting the need for clinical staff to review pedigrees after their initial plotting by the data administrator. This study demonstrates a good degree of concordance between pedigrees constructed by a nonclinical data administrator and those of experienced genetic counsellors. However, the redirection of all pedigree activity to nonclinical personnel up to the point of risk review is not possible at present.

Construction and DNA condensation of cyclodextrin-coated gold nanoparticles with anthryl grafts.

PubMed

Zhao, Di; Chen, Yong; Liu, Yu

2014-07-01

The condensation of DNA in a controlled manner is one of the key steps in gene delivery and gene therapy. For this purpose, a water-soluble supramolecular nanostructure is constructed by coating 14 β-cyclodextrins onto the surface of a gold nanoparticle, followed by the noncovalent association of different amounts of anthryl-modified adamantanes with coated β-cyclodextrins. The strong binding of β-cyclodextrins with anthryl adamantanes (K(S) =8.61×10(4)  M(-1)) efficiently stabilizes the supramolecular nanostructure. Spectrophotometric fluorescence spectra and microscopic studies demonstrated that, with many anthryl grafts that can intercalate in the outer space of the DNA double helix, this supramolecular nanostructure showed good condensation abilities to calf thymus DNA. Significantly, the condensation efficiency of supramolecular nanostructure towards DNA could be conveniently controlled by adjusting the ratio between gold nanoparticles and anthryl adamantane grafts, leading to the formation of DNA condensates of a size that are suitable for the endocytosis of hepatoma cells, which will make it potentially applicable in many fields of medicinal science and biotechnology. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Characterizing Aggressive Behavior with the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale among Adolescents with Conduct Disorder

PubMed Central

Mathias, Charles W.; Stanford, Matthew S.; Marsh, Dawn M.; Frick, Paul J.; Moeller, F. Gerard; Swann, Alan C.; Dougherty, Donald M.

2007-01-01

This study extends the use of the Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale for subtyping aggressive behavior among adolescents with Conduct Disorder. Of the Conduct Disorder symptoms, aggression has the strongest prognostic and treatment implications. While aggression is a complex construct, convergent evidence supports a dichotomy of impulsive and premeditated aggressive subtypes that are qualitatively different from one another in terms of phenomenology and neurobiology. Previous attempts at measuring subtypes of aggression in children and adults are not clearly generalizable to adolescents. Sixty-six adolescents completed a questionnaire for characterizing aggression (Impulsive/Premeditated Aggression Scale), along with standard measures of personality and general functioning. Principal components analysis demonstrated two stable factors of aggression with good internal consistency and construct validity. Compared to the premeditated aggression factor, the impulsive aggression factor was associated with a broader range of personality, thought, emotional, and social problems. As in the adult and child literature, characterization of aggressive behavior into two subtypes appears to be relevant to understanding individual differences among adolescents with Conduct Disorder. PMID:17383014

Hierarchically structured Co₃O₄@Pt@MnO₂ nanowire arrays for high-performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Xia, Hui; Zhu, Dongdong; Luo, Zhentao; Yu, Yue; Shi, Xiaoqin; Yuan, Guoliang; Xie, Jianping

2013-10-17

Here we proposed a novel architectural design of a ternary MnO2-based electrode - a hierarchical Co3O4@Pt@MnO2 core-shell-shell structure, where the complemental features of the three key components (a well-defined Co3O4 nanowire array on the conductive Ti substrate, an ultrathin layer of small Pt nanoparticles, and a thin layer of MnO2 nanoflakes) are strategically combined into a single entity to synergize and construct a high-performance electrode for supercapacitors. Owing to the high conductivity of the well-defined Co3O4 nanowire arrays, in which the conductivity was further enhanced by a thin metal (Pt) coating layer, in combination with the large surface area provided by the small MnO2 nanoflakes, the as-fabricated Co3O4@Pt@MnO2 nanowire arrays have exhibited high specific capacitances, good rate capability, and excellent cycling stability. The architectural design demonstrated in this study provides a new approach to fabricate high-performance MnO2-based nanowire arrays for constructing next-generation supercapacitors.

Hierarchically Structured Co3O4@Pt@MnO2 Nanowire Arrays for High-Performance Supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Hui; Zhu, Dongdong; Luo, Zhentao; Yu, Yue; Shi, Xiaoqin; Yuan, Guoliang; Xie, Jianping

2013-10-01

Here we proposed a novel architectural design of a ternary MnO2-based electrode - a hierarchical Co3O4@Pt@MnO2 core-shell-shell structure, where the complemental features of the three key components (a well-defined Co3O4 nanowire array on the conductive Ti substrate, an ultrathin layer of small Pt nanoparticles, and a thin layer of MnO2 nanoflakes) are strategically combined into a single entity to synergize and construct a high-performance electrode for supercapacitors. Owing to the high conductivity of the well-defined Co3O4 nanowire arrays, in which the conductivity was further enhanced by a thin metal (Pt) coating layer, in combination with the large surface area provided by the small MnO2 nanoflakes, the as-fabricated Co3O4@Pt@MnO2 nanowire arrays have exhibited high specific capacitances, good rate capability, and excellent cycling stability. The architectural design demonstrated in this study provides a new approach to fabricate high-performance MnO2-based nanowire arrays for constructing next-generation supercapacitors.

Development and Validation of the Pregnancy and Infant Orientation Questionnaire

PubMed Central

Meyer-Bahlburg, Heino F. L.; Dolezal, Curtis; Johnson, Laurel L.; Kessler, Suzanne J.; Schober, Justine M.; Zucker, Kenneth J.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this current study was the construction, scaling, and scale validation of a self-report questionnaire assessing biographical information and motivation for pregnancy and infant care in men and women with disorders of sex development or other gender variations of potential clinical relevance. The overall design of the questionnaire and the initial item pool were derived from related clinical and research experience. Collection of pilot data and, where appropriate, scale construction (via principal components analyses) were based on Canadian convenience samples of heterosexual (HET) and non-HET men and women (N=414). A sample of gender-dysphoric (GDYS) men and women (n=45) was added for validity analysis. Validation of the resulting scales was based on the demonstration of expected scale differences between HET men and women, as well as between HET, non-HET, and GDYS men and between HET, non-HET, and GDYS women, and was successful with one exception. This study concludes that this new questionnaire, in addition to its descriptive sections, provides several distinct scales related to desires for child bearing and child rearing and has good psychometric properties. PMID:19998066

Factors affecting healing after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair

PubMed Central

Abtahi, Amir M; Granger, Erin K; Tashjian, Robert Z

2015-01-01

Rotator cuff repair has been shown to have good long-term results. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of repairs still fail to heal. Many factors, both patient and surgeon related, can influence healing after repair. Older age, larger tear size, worse muscle quality, greater muscle-tendon unit retraction, smoking, osteoporosis, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia have all shown to negatively influence tendon healing. Surgeon related factors that can influence healing include repair construct-single vs double row, rehabilitation, and biologics including platelet rich plasma and mesenchymal stem cells. Double-row repairs are biomechanically stronger and have better healing rates compared with single-row repairs although clinical outcomes are equivalent between both constructs. Slower, less aggressive rehabilitation programs have demonstrated improved healing with no negative effect on final range of motion and are therefore recommended after repair of most full thickness tears. Additionally no definitive evidence supports the use of platelet rich plasma or mesenchymal stem cells regarding improvement of healing rates and clinical outcomes. Further research is needed to identify effective biologically directed augmentations that will improve healing rates and clinical outcomes after rotator cuff repair. PMID:25793161

Measuring Hope Among Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Cross-Cultural Construct Validity of the Children’s Hope Scale

PubMed Central

Haroz, Emily E.; Jordans, Mark; de Jong, Joop; Gross, Alden; Bass, Judith; Tol, Wietse

2018-01-01

We investigated the cross-cultural construct validity of hope, a factor associated with mental health protection and promotion, using the Children’s Hope Scale (CHS). The sample (n = 1,057; 48% girls) included baseline data from three cluster-randomized controlled trials with children affected by armed conflict (n = 329 Burundi; n = 403 Indonesia; n = 325 Nepal). The confirmatory factor analysis in each country indicated good fit for the hypothesized two-factor model. Analysis by gender indicated that configural invariance was supported and that scalar invariance was demonstrated in Indonesia. However, metric and scalar invariance were not supported in Burundi and Nepal. In country comparisons, configural and metric invariance were met, but scalar invariance was not supported. Evidence from this study supports the use of the CHS within various sociocultural settings and across genders, but direct comparisons of CHS scores across groups should be done with caution. Rigorous evaluations of the measurement properties of mental health protective and promotive factors are necessary to inform both research and practice. PMID:26508802

ZnO/Cu nanocomposite: a platform for direct electrochemistry of enzymes and biosensing applications.

PubMed

Yang, Chi; Xu, Chunxiang; Wang, Xuemei

2012-03-06

Unique structured nanomaterials can facilitate the direct electron transfer between redox proteins and the electrodes. Here, in situ directed growth on an electrode of a ZnO/Cu nanocomposite was prepared by a simple corrosion approach, which enables robust mechanical adhesion and electrical contact between the nanostructured ZnO and the electrodes. This is great help to realize the direct electron transfer between the electrode surface and the redox protein. SEM images demonstrate that the morphology of the ZnO/Cu nanocomposite has a large specific surface area, which is favorable to immobilize the biomolecules and construct biosensors. Using glucose oxidase (GOx) as a model, this ZnO/Cu nanocomposite is employed for immobilization of GOx and the construction of the glucose biosensor. Direct electron transfer of GOx is achieved at ZnO/Cu nanocomposite with a high heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant of 0.67 ± 0.06 s(-1). Such ZnO/Cu nanocomposite provides a good matrix for direct electrochemistry of enzymes and mediator-free enzymatic biosensors.

Engineering muscle cell alignment through 3D bioprinting.

PubMed

Mozetic, Pamela; Giannitelli, Sara Maria; Gori, Manuele; Trombetta, Marcella; Rainer, Alberto

2017-09-01

Processing of hydrogels represents a main challenge for the prospective application of additive manufacturing (AM) to soft tissue engineering. Furthermore, direct manufacturing of tissue precursors with a cell density similar to native tissues has the potential to overcome the extensive in vitro culture required for conventional cell-seeded scaffolds seeking to fabricate constructs with tailored structural and functional properties. In this work, we present a simple AM methodology that exploits the thermoresponsive behavior of a block copolymer (Pluronic ® ) as a means to obtain good shape retention at physiological conditions and to induce cellular alignment. Pluronic/alginate blends have been investigated as a model system for the processing of C2C12 murine myoblast cell line. Interestingly, C2C12 cell model demonstrated cell alignment along the deposition direction, potentially representing a new avenue to tailor the resulting cell histoarchitecture during AM process. Furthermore, the fabricated constructs exhibited high cell viability, as well as a significantly improved expression of myogenic genes vs. conventional 2D cultures. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 2582-2588, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

One-dimensional coaxial Sb and carbon fibers with enhanced electrochemical performance for sodium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Mengnan; Kong, Xiangzhong; Yang, Hulin; Zhu, Ting; Liang, Shuquan; Pan, Anqiang

2018-01-01

Antimony (Sb) has been intensively investigated as a promising anode material for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) in recent years. However, bulk Sb particles usually suffer from excessive volume expansion thus leading to dramatic capacity decay after cycling. To address this issue, Sb has been uniformly decorated on Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) derived carbon nanofibers (PCFs) via a simple chemical deposition strategy to form a one-dimensional (1D) core-shell nanostructure of Sb@PCFs. PCFs were first derived from electrospun PAN fibers and treated with subsequent calcination. The PCFs constructed an interwoven carbon network were later employed for Sb deposition, which can effectively alleviate aggregation or further cracking of Sb nanoparticles occurred in electrochemical kinetic process. The as-obtained Sb@PCFs nanocomposites demonstrated excellent cycling stability with good rate performances. This carefully designed core-shell nanostructure of antimony nanoparticles wrapped PCFs are responsible for good electrochemical Na-ion storage. Moreover, the 1D nanostructure manage to pave pathways for fast ions transfer during charge-discharge, which could extra contribute to the enhanced SIBs performances.

A new audience segmentation tool for African Americans: the black identity classification scale.

PubMed

Davis, Rachel E; Alexander, Gwen; Calvi, Josephine; Wiese, Cheryl; Greene, Sarah; Nowak, Mike; Cross, William E; Resnicow, Ken

2010-07-01

Many health communications target African Americans in an attempt to remediate race-based health disparities. Such materials often assume that African Americans are culturally homogeneous; however, research indicates that African Americans are heterogeneous in their attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs. The Black Identity Classification Scale (BICS) was designed as a telephone-administered tool to segment African American audiences into 16 ethnic identity types. The BICS was pretested using focus groups, telephone pretests, and a pilot study (n = 306). The final scale then was administered to 625 Black adults participating in a dietary intervention study, where it generally demonstrated good internal consistency reliability. The construct validity of the BICS also was explored by comparing participants' responses to culturally associated survey items. The distribution of the 16 BICS identity types in the intervention study is presented, as well as select characteristics for participants with core identity components. Although additional research is warranted, these findings suggest that the BICS has good psychometric properties and may be an effective tool for identifying African American audience segments.

Development and Validation of a Nausea Severity Scale for Assessment of Nausea in Children with Abdominal Pain-Related Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.

PubMed

Russell, Alexandra C; Stone, Amanda L; Wang, Andi; Walker, Lynn S

2018-06-01

The objective of this study was to develop a pediatric measure of chronic nausea severity, the Nausea Severity Scale (NSS), and evaluate its reliability and validity in youth with abdominal pain-related functional gastrointestinal disorders (AP-FGID). Pediatric patients (aged 11⁻17 years-old, n = 236) presenting to an outpatient clinic for evaluation of abdominal pain completed the NSS, Children's Somatization Inventory (CSI), Functional Disability Inventory (FDI), Abdominal Pain Index (API), Patient-Report Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), Anxiety and Depression Scales and the Pediatric Rome III Questionnaire for FGIDs. The NSS demonstrated good concurrent, discriminant, and construct validity, as well as good internal consistency. One-third (34%) of AP-FGID patients reported experiencing nausea "most" or "every day" in the previous two weeks. The severity of nausea was higher in females than males and correlated significantly with the severity of somatic symptoms, functional disability, anxiety, and depression. The NSS is a valid and reliable measure of nausea in children with AP-FGID.

The micro-fascism of Plato's good citizen: producing (dis)order through the construction of risk.

PubMed

O'Byrne, Patrick; Holmes, Dave

2007-04-01

The human body has come to be seen as forever susceptible to both external and internal hazards, which in many circumstances require immediate, heroic, and expensive intervention. In response to this, there has been a shift from a treatment-based healthcare model to one of prevention wherein nurses play an integral role by identifying and assessing risks for individuals, communities, and populations. This paper uses Deborah Lupton's outline of the spectrum of risk and applies the theoretical works of Foucault and Plato to demonstrate the means by which nurses maintain social order by identifying and counselling risk takers. It also utilizes the work of Deleuze and Guattari to illustrate how Plato's framework for creating social order through the creation of the good citizen can be viewed as a micro-fascist system, which has been adopted wholeheartedly by preventative health professionals. The goal of this paper is to present an alternate understanding of risk to provide nurses and other healthcare professionals with a non-traditional appreciation of certain aspects of their practice as researchers and clinicians.

Validation of the Abdominal Pain Index Using a Revised Scoring Method

PubMed Central

Sherman, Amanda L.; Smith, Craig A.; Walker, Lynn S.

2015-01-01

Objective Evaluate the psychometric properties of child- and parent-report versions of the four-item Abdominal Pain Index (API) in children with functional abdominal pain (FAP) and healthy controls, using a revised scoring method that facilitates comparisons of scores across samples and time. Methods Pediatric patients aged 8–18 years with FAP and controls completed the API at baseline (N = 1,967); a subset of their parents (N = 290) completed the API regarding the child’s pain. Subsets of patients completed follow-up assessments at 2 weeks (N = 231), 3 months (N = 330), and 6 months (N = 107). Subsets of both patients (N = 389) and healthy controls (N = 172) completed a long-term follow-up assessment (mean age at follow-up = 20.21 years, SD = 3.75). Results The API demonstrated good concurrent, discriminant, and construct validity, as well as good internal consistency. Conclusion We conclude that the API, using the revised scoring method, is a useful, reliable, and valid measure of abdominal pain severity. PMID:25617048

A New Audience Segmentation Tool for African Americans: The Black Identity Classification Scale

PubMed Central

DAVIS, RACHEL E.; ALEXANDER, GWEN; CALVI, JOSEPHINE; WIESE, CHERYL; GREENE, SARAH; NOWAK, MIKE; CROSS, WILLIAM E.; RESNICOW, KEN

2011-01-01

Many health communications target African Americans in an attempt to remediate race-based health disparities. Such materials often assume that African Americans are culturally homogeneous; however, research indicates that African Americans are heterogeneous in their attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs. The Black Identity Classification Scale (BICS) was designed as a telephone-administered tool to segment African American audiences into 16 ethnic identity types. The BICS was pretested using focus groups, telephone pretests, and a pilot study (n=306). The final scale was then administered to 625 Black adults participating in a dietary intervention study, where it generally demonstrated good internal consistency reliability. The construct validity of the BICS was also explored by comparing participants’ responses to culturally associated survey items. The distribution of the 16 BICS identity types in the intervention study is presented, as well as select characteristics for participants with core identity components. Although additional research is warranted, these findings suggest that the BICS has good psychometric properties and may be an effective tool for identifying African American audience segments. PMID:20677057

Construction of Consumption Possibility Frontiers in Principles Textbooks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, Terry L.

1997-01-01

Explores the consequences of textbook authors' failure to recognize that producers can acquire the good in which they lack a comparative advantage through either trade or internal production. Examines variations in the construction and graphical depiction of consumption possibility frontiers in principles of economics textbooks. (MJP)

Poster Presentations: Conceptualizing, Constructing and Critiquing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newbrey, Michael G.; Baltezore, Joan M.

2006-01-01

Posters are commonly used as tools for disseminating information at scientific meetings, but many students lack an understanding of "good" poster characteristics. We present a set of characteristics for use in constructing posters for scientific meetings and classroom presentations along with tips on critiquing posters to enhance their…

21 CFR 211.42 - Design and construction features.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Design and construction features. 211.42 Section 211.42 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR FINISHED PHARMACEUTICALS Buildings and Facilities...

46 CFR 160.040-3 - Materials, construction, workmanship, and performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Appliance, Impulse-Projected Rocket Type (and Equipment) § 160.040-3 Materials, construction, workmanship...-projected rocket type line-throwing appliances and equipment shall be of good quality suitable for the... operation aboard vessels at sea. (c) Workmanship. Impulse-projected rocket type line-throwing appliances...

46 CFR 160.040-3 - Materials, construction, workmanship, and performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Appliance, Impulse-Projected Rocket Type (and Equipment) § 160.040-3 Materials, construction, workmanship...-projected rocket type line-throwing appliances and equipment shall be of good quality suitable for the... operation aboard vessels at sea. (c) Workmanship. Impulse-projected rocket type line-throwing appliances...

46 CFR 160.040-3 - Materials, construction, workmanship, and performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Appliance, Impulse-Projected Rocket Type (and Equipment) § 160.040-3 Materials, construction, workmanship...-projected rocket type line-throwing appliances and equipment shall be of good quality suitable for the... operation aboard vessels at sea. (c) Workmanship. Impulse-projected rocket type line-throwing appliances...

46 CFR 160.040-3 - Materials, construction, workmanship, and performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Appliance, Impulse-Projected Rocket Type (and Equipment) § 160.040-3 Materials, construction, workmanship...-projected rocket type line-throwing appliances and equipment shall be of good quality suitable for the... operation aboard vessels at sea. (c) Workmanship. Impulse-projected rocket type line-throwing appliances...

46 CFR 160.040-3 - Materials, construction, workmanship, and performance requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Appliance, Impulse-Projected Rocket Type (and Equipment) § 160.040-3 Materials, construction, workmanship...-projected rocket type line-throwing appliances and equipment shall be of good quality suitable for the... operation aboard vessels at sea. (c) Workmanship. Impulse-projected rocket type line-throwing appliances...

Educational Psychology: Learning, Instruction, Assessment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCormick, Christine B.; Pressley, Michael

This textbook for undergraduates reflects advances in the understanding of effective teaching and learning and is organized around the theme of promoting good information processing. The first part of the book describes the foundations of good thinking, and the second part introduces different theoretical perspectives on the construction of…

[Diagnostics of work motivation (DIAMO): optimization and construct validity].

PubMed

Ranft, Andreas; Fiedler, Rolf; Greitemann, Bernhard; Heuft, Gereon

2009-01-01

Faced with increasing cost pressure of the social insurance system the carriers of rehabilitation programs focus on the efficacy of their measures. The diagnostic instrument for work motivation (DIAMO) has been developed to assess the influence of job-related motivation on the rehabilitation outcome. The inner structure of the instrument was validated and optimized in a cohort of medical rehabilitation patients (n = 422). Construct validity was further tested by using established instruments. Ten scales related to self-image, intention of action and goodness of fit show good psychometric qualities (Cronbachs alpha: 0.72 - 0.86). The constructs correlate moderately-to-strongly with personality-oriented scales while correlation with disease-related contents is low. The DIAMO is a generic and not disease oriented instrument. It would be expected to facilitate the development of vocational interventions to increase the rehabilitation outcome.

FALCON nuclear-reactor-pumped laser program and wireless power transmission

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

Lipinski, R.J.; Pickard, P.S.

1992-12-31

FALCON is a high-power, reactor-pumped laser concept. The major strengths of a reactor-pumped laser are (1) simple, modular construction, (2) long-duration, closed-cycle capability, (3) self-contained power, (4) compact size, and (5) a variety of wavelengths (from visible to infrared). Reactor-pumped lasing has been demonstrated experimentally in various mixtures of xenon, argon, neon, and helium at wavelengths of 585, 703, 725, 1271, 1733, 1792, 2032, 2630, 2650, and 3370 nm with intrinsic efficiency as high as 2.5%. Powers up to 300 W for 2 ms have been demonstrated. Projected beam quality for FALCON is good enough that frequency doubling at reasonablemore » efficiencies could be expected to yield wavelengths at 353, 363, 636, 867, 896, 1016, 1315, 1325, and 1685 nm. Appropriate missions for FALCON are described and include power beaming to satellites, the moon, and unmanned surveillance planes; lunar mapping; space debris removal; and laser propulsion.« less

FALCON nuclear-reactor-pumped laser program and wireless power transmission

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

Lipinski, R.J.; Pickard, P.S.

1992-01-01

FALCON is a high-power, reactor-pumped laser concept. The major strengths of a reactor-pumped laser are (1) simple, modular construction, (2) long-duration, closed-cycle capability, (3) self-contained power, (4) compact size, and (5) a variety of wavelengths (from visible to infrared). Reactor-pumped lasing has been demonstrated experimentally in various mixtures of xenon, argon, neon, and helium at wavelengths of 585, 703, 725, 1271, 1733, 1792, 2032, 2630, 2650, and 3370 nm with intrinsic efficiency as high as 2.5%. Powers up to 300 W for 2 ms have been demonstrated. Projected beam quality for FALCON is good enough that frequency doubling at reasonablemore » efficiencies could be expected to yield wavelengths at 353, 363, 636, 867, 896, 1016, 1315, 1325, and 1685 nm. Appropriate missions for FALCON are described and include power beaming to satellites, the moon, and unmanned surveillance planes; lunar mapping; space debris removal; and laser propulsion.« less

Curcumin-carrying nanoparticles prevent ischemia-reperfusion injury in human renal cells.

PubMed

Xu, Yong; Hu, Ning; Jiang, Wei; Yuan, Hong-Fang; Zheng, Dong-Hui

2016-12-27

Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major complication in clinical practice. However, despite its frequency, effective preventive/treatment strategies for this condition are scarce. Curcumin possesses antioxidant properties and is a promising potential protective agent against renal IRI, but its poor water solubility restricts its application. In this study, we constructed curcumin-carrying distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine-polyethylene glycol nanoparticles (Cur-NPs), and their effect on HK-2 cells exposed to IRI was examined in vitro. Curcumin encapsulated in NPs demonstrated improved water solubility and slowed release. Compared with the IRI and Curcumin groups, Cur-NP groups displayed significantly improved cell viability, downregulated protein expression levels of caspase-3 and Bax, upregulated expression of Bcl-2 protein, increased antioxidant superoxide dismutase level, and reduced apoptotic rate, reactive oxygen species level, and malondialdehyde content. Results clearly showed that Cur-NPs demonstrated good water solubility and slow release, as well as exerted protective effects against oxidative stress in cultured HK-2 cells exposed to IRI.

Assessment of capabilities in persons with advanced stage of dementia: Validation of The Montessori Assessment System (MAS).

PubMed

Erkes, Jérôme; Camp, Cameron J; Raffard, Stéphane; Gély-Nargeot And, Marie-Christine; Bayard, Sophie

2017-01-01

This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Montessori Assessment System. The Montessori Assessment System assesses preserved abilities in persons with moderate to severe dementia. In this respect, this instrument provides crucial information for the development of effective person-centered care plans. A total of 196 persons with a diagnosis of dementia in the moderate to severe stages of dementia were recruited in 10 long-term care facilities in France. All participants completed the Montessori Assessment System, the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale and/or the Mini Mental State Examination and the Severe Impairment Battery-short form. The internal consistency and temporal stability of the Montessori Assessment System were high. Additionally, good construct and divergent validity were demonstrated. Factor analysis showed a one-factor structure. The Montessori Assessment System demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties while being a useful instrument to assess capabilities in persons with advanced stages of dementia and hence to develop person-centered plans of care.

Characterizing and controlling the inflammatory network during influenza A virus infection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Suoqin; Li, Yuanyuan; Pan, Ruangang; Zou, Xiufen

2014-01-01

To gain insights into the pathogenesis of influenza A virus (IAV) infections, this study focused on characterizing the inflammatory network and identifying key proteins by combining high-throughput data and computational techniques. We constructed the cell-specific normal and inflammatory networks for H5N1 and H1N1 infections through integrating high-throughput data. We demonstrated that better discrimination between normal and inflammatory networks by network entropy than by other topological metrics. Moreover, we identified different dynamical interactions among TLR2, IL-1β, IL10 and NFκB between normal and inflammatory networks using optimization algorithm. In particular, good robustness and multistability of inflammatory sub-networks were discovered. Furthermore, we identified a complex, TNFSF10/HDAC4/HDAC5, which may play important roles in controlling inflammation, and demonstrated that changes in network entropy of this complex negatively correlated to those of three proteins: TNFα, NFκB and COX-2. These findings provide significant hypotheses for further exploring the molecular mechanisms of infectious diseases and developing control strategies.

Is Going Beyond Rasch Analysis Necessary to Assess the Construct Validity of a Motor Function Scale?

PubMed

Guillot, Tiffanie; Roche, Sylvain; Rippert, Pascal; Hamroun, Dalil; Iwaz, Jean; Ecochard, René; Vuillerot, Carole

2018-04-03

To examine whether a Rasch analysis is sufficient to establish the construct validity of the Motor Function Measure (MFM) and discuss whether weighting the MFM item scores would improve the MFM construct validity. Observational cross-sectional multicenter study. Twenty-three physical medicine departments, neurology departments, or reference centers for neuromuscular diseases. Patients (N=911) aged 6 to 60 years with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD), or myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). None. Comparison of the goodness-of-fit of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model vs that of a modified multidimensional Rasch model on MFM item scores in each considered disease. The CFA model showed good fit to the data and significantly better goodness of fit than the modified multidimensional Rasch model regardless of the disease (P<.001). Statistically significant differences in item standardized factor loadings were found between DM1, CMT, and FSHD in only 6 of 32 items (items 6, 27, 2, 7, 9 and 17). For multidimensional scales designed to measure patient abilities in various diseases, a Rasch analysis might not be the most convenient, whereas a CFA is able to establish the scale construct validity and provide weights to adapt the item scores to a specific disease. Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing the construct validity and reliability of the Parental Perception on Antibiotics (PAPA) scales.

PubMed

Alumran, Arwa; Hou, Xiang-Yu; Sun, Jiandong; Yousef, Abdullah A; Hurst, Cameron

2014-01-23

The overuse of antibiotics is becoming an increasing concern. Antibiotic resistance, which increases both the burden of disease, and the cost of health services, is perhaps the most profound impact of antibiotics overuse. Attempts have been made to develop instruments to measure the psychosocial constructs underlying antibiotics use, however, none of these instruments have undergone thorough psychometric validation. This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Parental Perceptions on Antibiotics (PAPA) scales. The PAPA scales attempt to measure the factors influencing parental use of antibiotics in children. 1111 parents of children younger than 12 years old were recruited from primary schools' parental meetings in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia from September 2012 to January 2013. The structure of the PAPA instrument was validated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with measurement model fit evaluated using the raw and scaled χ2, Goodness of Fit Index, and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation. A five-factor model was confirmed with the model showing good fit. Constructs in the model include: Knowledge and Beliefs, Behaviors, Sources of information, Adherence, and Awareness about antibiotics resistance. The instrument was shown to have good internal consistency, and good discriminant and convergent validity. The availability of an instrument able to measure the psychosocial factors underlying antibiotics usage allows the risk factors underlying antibiotic use and overuse to now be investigated.

Construction and validation of a web-based epidemiological database for inflammatory bowel diseases in Europe An EpiCom study.

PubMed

Burisch, Johan; Cukovic-Cavka, Silvija; Kaimakliotis, Ioannis; Shonová, Olga; Andersen, Vibeke; Dahlerup, Jens F; Elkjaer, Margarita; Langholz, Ebbe; Pedersen, Natalia; Salupere, Riina; Kolho, Kaija-Leena; Manninen, Pia; Lakatos, Peter Laszlo; Shuhaibar, Mary; Odes, Selwyn; Martinato, Matteo; Mihu, Ion; Magro, Fernando; Belousova, Elena; Fernandez, Alberto; Almer, Sven; Halfvarson, Jonas; Hart, Ailsa; Munkholm, Pia

2011-08-01

The EpiCom-study investigates a possible East-West-gradient in Europe in the incidence of IBD and the association with environmental factors. A secured web-based database is used to facilitate and centralize data registration. To construct and validate a web-based inception cohort database available in both English and Russian language. The EpiCom database has been constructed in collaboration with all 34 participating centers. The database was translated into Russian using forward translation, patient questionnaires were translated by simplified forward-backward translation. Data insertion implies fulfillment of international diagnostic criteria, disease activity, medical therapy, quality of life, work productivity and activity impairment, outcome of pregnancy, surgery, cancer and death. Data is secured by the WinLog3 System, developed in cooperation with the Danish Data Protection Agency. Validation of the database has been performed in two consecutive rounds, each followed by corrections in accordance with comments. The EpiCom database fulfills the requirements of the participating countries' local data security agencies by being stored at a single location. The database was found overall to be "good" or "very good" by 81% of the participants after the second validation round and the general applicability of the database was evaluated as "good" or "very good" by 77%. In the inclusion period January 1st -December 31st 2010 1336 IBD patients have been included in the database. A user-friendly, tailor-made and secure web-based inception cohort database has been successfully constructed, facilitating remote data input. The incidence of IBD in 23 European countries can be found at www.epicom-ecco.eu. Copyright © 2011 European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation. All rights reserved.

Construction of a Radiometer for the Measurement of the Microwave Radiation of Stationary Plasmas; CONSTRUCTION D'UN RADIOMETRE POUR LA MESURE DU RAYONNEMENT DE MICRO-ONDES DE PLASMAS STATIONNAIRES

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

Klan, F.

1961-01-01

A radiometer for 3-cm waves with mechanical signal modulation was constructed for measurements on lowtemperature, stationary plasmas. The sensitivity limit of the device was also calculated in good agreement with experiment. The theory used for the calculation is presented, and the radiometer is described. (D.C.W.)

RADON REDUCTION AND RADON-RESISTANT CONSTRUCTION DEMONSTRATIONS IN NEW YORK - VOLUME 1: TECHNICAL REPORT

EPA Science Inventory

The report gives results of radon reduction and radon-resistant construction demonstrations in New York. The existing house evaluation demonstrated radon mitigation techniques where indoor radon concentrations exceeded 4 pCi/L. Results demonstrated that sealing all accessible fou...

Validation study of a Chinese version of Partners in Health in Hong Kong (C-PIH HK).

PubMed

Chiu, Teresa Mei Lee; Tam, Katharine Tai Wo; Siu, Choi Fong; Chau, Phyllis Wai Ping; Battersby, Malcolm

2017-01-01

The Partners in Health (PIH) scale is a measure designed to assess the generic knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and impacts of self-management. A cross-cultural adaptation of the PIH for use in Hong Kong was evaluated in this study. This paper reports the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of PIH (C-PIH[HK]). A 12-item PIH was translated using forward-backward translation technique and reviewed by individuals with chronic diseases and health professionals. A total of 209 individuals with chronic diseases completed the scale. The construct validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were evaluated in two waves. The findings in Wave 1 (n = 73) provided acceptable psychometric properties of the C-PIH(HK) but supported the adaptation of question 5 to improve the cultural relevance, validity, and reliability of the scale. An adapted version of C-PIH(HK) was evaluated in Wave 2. The findings in Wave 2 (n = 136) demonstrated good construct validity and internal consistency of C-PIH(HK). A principal component analysis with Oblimin rotation yielded a 3-factor solution, and the Cronbach's alphas of the subscales ranged from 0.773 to 0.845. Participants were asked whether they perceived the self-management workshops they attended and education provided by health professionals as useful or not. The results showed that the C-PIH(HK) was able to discriminate those who agreed and those who disagreed related to the usefulness of individual health education (p < 0.0001 in all subscales) and workshops (p < 0.001 in the knowledge subscale) as hypothesized. The test-retest reliability was high (ICC = 0.818). A culturally adapted version of PIH for use in Hong Kong was evaluated. The study supported good construct validity, discriminate validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the C-PIH(HK).

Construct validity and reliability of the Finnish version of the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score.

PubMed

Multanen, Juhani; Honkanen, Mikko; Häkkinen, Arja; Kiviranta, Ilkka

2018-05-22

The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) is a commonly used knee assessment and outcome tool in both clinical work and research. However, it has not been formally translated and validated in Finnish. The purpose of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the KOOS questionnaire into Finnish and to determine its validity and reliability among Finnish middle-aged patients with knee injuries. KOOS was translated and culturally adapted from English into Finnish. Subsequently, 59 patients with knee injuries completed the Finnish version of KOOS, Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) and Numeric Pain Rating Scale (Pain-NRS). The same KOOS questionnaire was re-administered 2 weeks later. Psychometric assessment of the Finnish KOOS was performed by testing its construct validity and reliability by using internal consistency, test-retest reliability and measurement error. The floor and ceiling effects were also examined. The cross-cultural adaptation revealed only minor cultural differences and was well received by the patients. For construct validity, high to moderate Spearman's Correlation Coefficients were found between the KOOS subscales and the WOMAC, SF-36, and Pain-NRS subscales. The Cronbach's alpha was from 0.79 to 0.96 for all subscales indicating acceptable internal consistency. The test-retest reliability was good to excellent, with Intraclass Correlation Coefficients ranging from 0.73 to 0.86 for all KOOS subscales. The minimal detectable change ranged from 17 to 34 on an individual level and from 2 to 4 on a group level. No floor or ceiling effects were observed. This study yielded an appropriately translated and culturally adapted Finnish version of KOOS which demonstrated good validity and reliability. Our data indicate that the Finnish version of KOOS is suitable for assessment of the knee status of Finnish patients with different knee complaints. Further studies are needed to evaluate the predictive ability of KOOS in the Finnish population.

Psychometric Validation of the Traditional Chinese Version of the Early Onset Scoliosis-24 Item Questionnaire (EOSQ-24).

PubMed

Cheung, Jason Pui Yin; Cheung, Prudence Wing Hang; Wong, Carlos King Ho; Samartzis, Dino; Luk, Keith Dip-Kei; Lam, Cindy Lo Kuen; Cheung, Kenneth Man Chee

2016-12-15

Questionnaire translation and validation. The aim of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Early Onset Scoliosis-24 item Questionnaire (EOSQ-24) into traditional Chinese, and to assess its validity, reliability, and sensitivity in Southern-Chinese patients diagnosed with early onset scoliosis (EOS). Relying on radiographs alone for assessing treatment outcomes in EOS patients is inadequate. To properly gauge health-related quality of life, a disease-specific instrument that assesses patient quality of life and the burden of primary caregivers is necessary. The EOSQ-24 was created for this purpose, but it has not been adapted to the Chinese language. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the original English EOSQ-24 were performed using the method of double forward and single backward translations, followed by a panel review. EOS patients of Southern-Chinese descent were recruited, via convenience sampling from a scoliosis specialty clinic. These patients' parents/caretakers were then administered the traditional Chinese EOSQ-24, Likert Scale regarding the understanding of completed EOSQ-24, and the Child Health Questionnaire Parent Form 50 (CHQ-PF50) (Traditional Chinese). Reliability was analyzed using Cronbach alpha. Construct validity of domains and subdomains was assessed using Spearman correlation test against CHQ-PF50 domains with similar constructs. Sensitivity of the EOSQ-24 scores was determined by performing known group comparisons. A total of 100 EOS patients were recruited. A very good reliability was demonstrated (Cronbach α: 0.896) and internal consistency of all domains was excellent (Cronbach α: 0.829-0.919). Subdomain scores of EOSQ-24 and CHQ-PF50 had significant correlations (P < 0.001), indicating a good construct validity. This is the first psychometric study to translate and adapt the EOSQ-24 questionnaire for Chinese EOS patients and it has been found to have satisfactory validity, reliability, and sensitivity. It is a useful disease-specific instrument for assessing patients' quality of life and the burden of caregivers. 2.

Preoperative Prediction of Node-Negative Disease After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients Presenting with Node-Negative or Node-Positive Breast Cancer.

PubMed

Murphy, Brittany L; L Hoskin, Tanya; Heins, Courtney Day N; Habermann, Elizabeth B; Boughey, Judy C

2017-09-01

Axillary node status after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) influences the axillary surgical staging procedure as well as recommendations regarding reconstruction and radiation. Our aim was to construct a clinical preoperative prediction model to identify the likelihood of patients being node negative after NAC. Using the National Cancer Database (NCDB) from January 2010 to December 2012, we identified cT1-T4c, N0-N3 breast cancer patients treated with NAC. The effects of patient and tumor factors on pathologic node status were assessed by multivariable logistic regression separately for clinically node negative (cN0) and clinically node positive (cN+) disease, and two models were constructed. Model performance was validated in a cohort of NAC patients treated at our institution (January 2013-July 2016), and model discrimination was assessed by estimating the area under the curve (AUC). Of 16,153 NCDB patients, 6659 (41%) were cN0 and 9494 (59%) were cN+. Factors associated with pathologic nodal status and included in the models were patient age, tumor grade, biologic subtype, histology, clinical tumor category, and, in cN+ patients only, clinical nodal category. The validation dataset included 194 cN0 and 180 cN+ patients. The cN0 model demonstrated good discrimination, with an AUC of 0.73 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.72-0.74) in the NCDB and 0.77 (95% CI 0.68-0.85) in the external validation, while the cN+ patient model AUC was 0.71 (95% CI 0.70-0.72) in the NCDB and 0.74 (95% CI 0.67-0.82) in the external validation. We constructed two models that showed good discrimination for predicting ypN0 status following NAC in cN0 and cN+ patients. These clinically useful models can guide surgical planning after NAC.

Reliability and validity of Arabic translation of Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) and Beliefs about Medication Questionnaire (BMQ)–specific for use in children and their parents

PubMed Central

Alsous, Mervat; Alhalaiqa, Fadwa; Abu Farha, Rana; Abdel Jalil, Mariam; McElnay, James; Horne, Robert

2017-01-01

Objectives to evaluate the reliability and discriminant validity of Arabic translation of the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) and the Beliefs about Medication Questionnaire-specific (BMQ-specific). Methods Having developed Arabic translations of the study instruments, a cross-sectional study was carried out between March and October 2015 in two multidisciplinary governmental hospitals in Jordan. An expert panel monitored the forward and backward translation of the MARS and BMQ. Standard Arabic was used (with no specific dialect inclusion) to allow greater generalisability across Arabic speaking countries. Once the Arabic translations of the questionnaires were developed they were tested for consistency, validity and reliability on a group of children with chronic diseases and their parents. Results A total of 258 parents and 208 children were included in the study. The median age of participated children and parents was 15 years and 42 years respectively. Principle component analysis of all questionnaires indicated that all had good construct validity as they clearly measured one construct. The questionnaires were deemed reliable based on the results of Cronbach alpha coefficient. Furthermore, reliability of the questionnaires was demonstrated by test-retest intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) which ranged from good to excellent for all scales (ICC>0.706). The Pearson correlation coefficient ranged from 0.546–0.805 for the entire sample which indicated a significant moderate to strong positive correlation between MARS and BMQ items at time 1 and 2. Reported adherence was greater than 59% using MARS-children and MARS-parents scales, and was correlated with beliefs in necessity and independent of the concerns regarding medications. Conclusion The Arabic translations of both BMQ and MARS for use in children and their parents have good internal consistency and proved to be valid and reliable tools that can be used by researchers in clinical practice to measure adherence and beliefs about medications in Arabic speaking patient populations. PMID:28192467

Reliability and validity of Arabic translation of Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) and Beliefs about Medication Questionnaire (BMQ)-specific for use in children and their parents.

PubMed

Alsous, Mervat; Alhalaiqa, Fadwa; Abu Farha, Rana; Abdel Jalil, Mariam; McElnay, James; Horne, Robert

2017-01-01

to evaluate the reliability and discriminant validity of Arabic translation of the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) and the Beliefs about Medication Questionnaire-specific (BMQ-specific). Having developed Arabic translations of the study instruments, a cross-sectional study was carried out between March and October 2015 in two multidisciplinary governmental hospitals in Jordan. An expert panel monitored the forward and backward translation of the MARS and BMQ. Standard Arabic was used (with no specific dialect inclusion) to allow greater generalisability across Arabic speaking countries. Once the Arabic translations of the questionnaires were developed they were tested for consistency, validity and reliability on a group of children with chronic diseases and their parents. A total of 258 parents and 208 children were included in the study. The median age of participated children and parents was 15 years and 42 years respectively. Principle component analysis of all questionnaires indicated that all had good construct validity as they clearly measured one construct. The questionnaires were deemed reliable based on the results of Cronbach alpha coefficient. Furthermore, reliability of the questionnaires was demonstrated by test-retest intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) which ranged from good to excellent for all scales (ICC>0.706). The Pearson correlation coefficient ranged from 0.546-0.805 for the entire sample which indicated a significant moderate to strong positive correlation between MARS and BMQ items at time 1 and 2. Reported adherence was greater than 59% using MARS-children and MARS-parents scales, and was correlated with beliefs in necessity and independent of the concerns regarding medications. The Arabic translations of both BMQ and MARS for use in children and their parents have good internal consistency and proved to be valid and reliable tools that can be used by researchers in clinical practice to measure adherence and beliefs about medications in Arabic speaking patient populations.

The FACIT-Sp spiritual well-being scale: an investigation of the dimensionality, reliability and construct validity in a cognitively intact nursing home population.

PubMed

Haugan, Gørill

2015-03-01

Spiritual well-being has been found to be a strong individual predictor of overall nursing home satisfaction and a fundamental dimension of global as well as health-related quality-in-life among nursing home patients. Therefore, access to a valid and reliable measure of spiritual well-being among nursing home patients is highly warranted. The aim of this study was to investigate the dimensionality, reliability and construct validity of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Spiritual Wellbeing scale in a cognitively intact nursing home population. A cross-sectional design was applied, selecting two counties in central Norway from which 20 municipalities representing 44 different nursing homes took part in this study. Long-term care was defined as 24-hour care with duration of 6 months or longer. Participants were 202 cognitively intact long-term nursing home patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Approval by all regulatory institutions dealing with research issues in Norway and the Management Unit at the 44 nursing homes was obtained. Explorative and confirmative factor analyses as well as correlation with selected construct were used. Though three items loaded very low (λ = 0.22, 0.26, 0.32) indicating low reliability, the three-factor model for the FACIT-Sp spiritual well-being scale provided an acceptable fit (χ(2) = 101.15 (df = 50), p-value <0.001, RMSEA = 0.075 p = 0.030, NFI = 0.90, GFI = 0.91, AGFI = 0.85) for older nursing home patients, demonstrating acceptable measurement reliability. Construct validity was supported by significant correlations in the hypothesised direction with the selected constructs. The three-factor model is an improvement over the original two-factor construct, based on these nursing home data. The measure yielded significantly factor loadings, good composite reliability and construct validity. © 2014 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Simultaneous construction of PCR-DGGE-based predictive models of Listeria monocytogenes and Vibrio parahaemolyticus on cooked shrimps.

PubMed

Liao, C; Peng, Z Y; Li, J B; Cui, X W; Zhang, Z H; Malakar, P K; Zhang, W J; Pan, Y J; Zhao, Y

2015-03-01

The aim of this study was to simultaneously construct PCR-DGGE-based predictive models of Listeria monocytogenes and Vibrio parahaemolyticus on cooked shrimps at 4 and 10°C. Calibration curves were established to correlate peak density of DGGE bands with microbial counts. Microbial counts derived from PCR-DGGE and plate methods were fitted by Baranyi model to obtain molecular and traditional predictive models. For L. monocytogenes, growing at 4 and 10°C, molecular predictive models were constructed. It showed good evaluations of correlation coefficients (R(2) > 0.92), bias factors (Bf ) and accuracy factors (Af ) (1.0 ≤ Bf ≤ Af ≤ 1.1). Moreover, no significant difference was found between molecular and traditional predictive models when analysed on lag phase (λ), maximum growth rate (μmax ) and growth data (P > 0.05). But for V. parahaemolyticus, inactivated at 4 and 10°C, molecular models show significant difference when compared with traditional models. Taken together, these results suggest that PCR-DGGE based on DNA can be used to construct growth models, but it is inappropriate for inactivation models yet. This is the first report of developing PCR-DGGE to simultaneously construct multiple molecular models. It has been known for a long time that microbial predictive models based on traditional plate methods are time-consuming and labour-intensive. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) has been widely used as a semiquantitative method to describe complex microbial community. In our study, we developed DGGE to quantify bacterial counts and simultaneously established two molecular predictive models to describe the growth and survival of two bacteria (Listeria monocytogenes and Vibrio parahaemolyticus) at 4 and 10°C. We demonstrated that PCR-DGGE could be used to construct growth models. This work provides a new approach to construct molecular predictive models and thereby facilitates predictive microbiology and QMRA (Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment). © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

"Our Common World" Belongs to "Us": Constructions of Otherness in Education for Sustainable Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ideland, Malin; Malmberg, Claes

2014-01-01

The aim of this article is to analyse how good intentions in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) discursively construct and maintain differences between "Us" and "Them". The empirical material consists of textbooks about sustainable development used in Swedish schools. An analysis of how "Us" and…

The Relationship of Perceived Teacher Caring with Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teven, Jason J.; McCroskey, James C.

A study examined the construct of "perceived caring" in the instructional context which is believed to be related to the classical construct of "good will" in Aristotelian rhetorical theory as well as more contemporary social scientific views of "intent toward receiver" in conceptualizations of source credibility. The…

What Causes Adverbial Infinitives to Spread? Evidence from Romance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schulte, K.

2007-01-01

It is cross-linguistically common for languages to undergo a diachronic increase in the range of adverbial notions that can be expressed by means of infinitival constructions, and the Romance languages are a good example of this process. Examining the development of adverbial "prepositional infinitive" constructions in Spanish, Portuguese and…

Quantifying capital goods for waste incineration.

PubMed

Brogaard, L K; Riber, C; Christensen, T H

2013-06-01

Materials and energy used for the construction of modern waste incineration plants were quantified. The data was collected from five incineration plants (72,000-240,000 tonnes per year) built in Scandinavia (Norway, Finland and Denmark) between 2006 and 2012. Concrete for the buildings was the main material used amounting to 19,000-26,000 tonnes per plant. The quantification further included six main materials, electronic systems, cables and all transportation. The energy used for the actual on-site construction of the incinerators was in the range 4000-5000 MW h. In terms of the environmental burden of producing the materials used in the construction, steel for the building and the machinery contributed the most. The material and energy used for the construction corresponded to the emission of 7-14 kg CO2 per tonne of waste combusted throughout the lifetime of the incineration plant. The assessment showed that, compared to data reported in the literature on direct emissions from the operation of incinerators, the environmental impacts caused by the construction of buildings and machinery (capital goods) could amount to 2-3% with respect to kg CO2 per tonne of waste combusted. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spectrum-based method to generate good decoy libraries for spectral library searching in peptide identifications.

PubMed

Cheng, Chia-Ying; Tsai, Chia-Feng; Chen, Yu-Ju; Sung, Ting-Yi; Hsu, Wen-Lian

2013-05-03

As spectral library searching has received increasing attention for peptide identification, constructing good decoy spectra from the target spectra is the key to correctly estimating the false discovery rate in searching against the concatenated target-decoy spectral library. Several methods have been proposed to construct decoy spectral libraries. Most of them construct decoy peptide sequences and then generate theoretical spectra accordingly. In this paper, we propose a method, called precursor-swap, which directly constructs decoy spectral libraries directly at the "spectrum level" without generating decoy peptide sequences by swapping the precursors of two spectra selected according to a very simple rule. Our spectrum-based method does not require additional efforts to deal with ion types (e.g., a, b or c ions), fragment mechanism (e.g., CID, or ETD), or unannotated peaks, but preserves many spectral properties. The precursor-swap method is evaluated on different spectral libraries and the results of obtained decoy ratios show that it is comparable to other methods. Notably, it is efficient in time and memory usage for constructing decoy libraries. A software tool called Precursor-Swap-Decoy-Generation (PSDG) is publicly available for download at http://ms.iis.sinica.edu.tw/PSDG/.

Constructing and detecting a cDNA library for mites.

PubMed

Hu, Li; Zhao, YaE; Cheng, Juan; Yang, YuanJun; Li, Chen; Lu, ZhaoHui

2015-10-01

RNA extraction and construction of complementary DNA (cDNA) library for mites have been quite challenging due to difficulties in acquiring tiny living mites and breaking their hard chitin. The present study is to explore a better method to construct cDNA library for mites that will lay the foundation on transcriptome and molecular pathogenesis research. We selected Psoroptes cuniculi as an experimental subject and took the following steps to construct and verify cDNA library. First, we combined liquid nitrogen grinding with TRIzol for total RNA extraction. Then, switching mechanism at 5' end of the RNA transcript (SMART) technique was used to construct full-length cDNA library. To evaluate the quality of cDNA library, the library titer and recombination rate were calculated. The reliability of cDNA library was detected by sequencing and analyzing positive clones and genes amplified by specific primers. The results showed that the RNA concentration was 836 ng/μl and the absorbance ratio at 260/280 nm was 1.82. The library titer was 5.31 × 10(5) plaque-forming unit (PFU)/ml and the recombination rate was 98.21%, indicating that the library was of good quality. In the 33 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of P. cuniculi, two clones of 1656 and 1658 bp were almost identical with only three variable sites detected, which had an identity of 99.63% with that of Psoroptes ovis, indicating that the cDNA library was reliable. Further detection by specific primers demonstrated that the 553-bp Pso c II gene sequences of P. cuniculi had an identity of 98.56% with those of P. ovis, confirming that the cDNA library was not only reliable but also feasible.

[Cloning of VH and VL Gene of Human anti-IL1RAP McAb and Construction of Recombinant Chimeric Receptor].

PubMed

Yin, Ling-Ling; Ruan, Su-Hong; Tian, Yu; Zhao, Kai; Xu, Kai Lin

2015-10-01

To clone the variable region genes of human anti-IL1RAP (IL-1 receptor accessory protein) monoclonal antibodies (McAb) and to construct IL1RAP chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). The VH and VL DNA of IL1RAP single chain antibodies were amplified by RACE and overlap extension PCR from total RNA extracted from 3H6E10 and 10D8A7 hybridoma and ligated into specific IL1RAP single-chain variable fragments (scFv). CD8α transmembrane domain, CD137 intracellular domain, TCR ζ chain, human CD8α signal peptide and scFv-anti-IL1RAP were cloned into plasmid LV-lac. Recombinant lentiviruses were generated by co-transfection of recombinant plasmid LV-lac, pMD2. G, and psPAX2 helper vectors into 293FT packing cells. The VH and VL genes of 2 human anti-IL1RAP McAb were acquired. The 3H6E10 VH and VL genes consisted of 402 bp and 393 bp encoding 134 and 131 aminoacid residues, respectively; 10D8A7 VH and VL genes consisted of 423 bp and 381 bp encoding 141 and 127 amine acid residues, respectively. Recombinant expression vertors LV-3H6E10 scFv-ICD and LV-10D8A7 scFv-ICD (ICD: CD8α transmembrane domain-CD137 intracellular domain-TCR ζ chain) were constructed. The target fragments were demonstrated by sequencing analysis. Recombinant plasmids were transfected into 293FT cells and lentiviral particles were acquired. Human anti-IL1RAP recombinant receptors are constructed successfully and lay a good foundation for the construction of IL1RAP-CAR killer T cell vaccine.

Factor Structure and Stability of Smoking-Related Health Beliefs in the National Lung Screening Trial

PubMed Central

Koblitz, Amber R.; Persoskie, Alexander; Ferrer, Rebecca A.; Klein, William M. P.; Dwyer, Laura A.; Park, Elyse R.

2016-01-01

Introduction: Absolute and comparative risk perceptions, worry, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and self-efficacy are important theoretical determinants of tobacco use, but no measures have been validated to ensure the discriminant validity as well as test-retest reliability of these measures in the tobacco context. The purpose of the current study is to examine the reliability and factor structure of a measure assessing smoking-related health cognitions and emotions in a national sample of current and former heavy smokers in the National Lung Screening Trial. Methods: A sub-study of the National Lung Screening Trial assessed current and former smokers’ (age 55–74; N = 4379) self-reported health cognitions and emotions at trial enrollment and at 12-month follow-up. Items were derived from the Health Belief Model and Self-Regulation Model. Results: An exploratory factor analysis of baseline responses revealed a five-factor structure for former smokers (risk perceptions, worry, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and self-efficacy) and a six-factor structure for current smokers, such that absolute risk and comparative risk perceptions emerged as separate factors. A confirmatory factor analysis of 12-month follow-up responses revealed a good fit for the five latent constructs for former smokers and six latent constructs for current smokers. Longitudinal stability of these constructs was also demonstrated. Conclusions: This is the first study to examine tobacco-related health cognition and emotional constructs over time in current and former heavy smokers undergoing lung screening. This study found that the theoretical constructs were stable across time and that the factor structure differed based on smoking status (current vs. former). PMID:25964503

Introducing the Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise (P-MEX) in Japan: results from a multicenter, cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Tsugawa, Yusuke; Ohbu, Sadayoshi; Cruess, Richard; Cruess, Sylvia; Okubo, Tomoya; Takahashi, Osamu; Tokuda, Yasuharu; Heist, Brian S; Bito, Seiji; Itoh, Toshiyuki; Aoki, Akiko; Chiba, Tsutomu; Fukui, Tsuguya

2011-08-01

Despite the growing importance of and interest in medical professionalism, there is no standardized tool for its measurement. The authors sought to verify the validity, reliability, and generalizability of the Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise (P-MEX), a previously developed and tested tool, in the context of Japanese hospitals. A multicenter, cross-sectional evaluation study was performed to investigate the validity, reliability, and generalizability of the P-MEX in seven Japanese hospitals. In 2009-2010, 378 evaluators (attending physicians, nurses, peers, and junior residents) completed 360-degree assessments of 165 residents and fellows using the P-MEX. The content validity and criterion-related validity were examined, and the construct validity of the P-MEX was investigated by performing confirmatory factor analysis through a structural equation model. The reliability was tested using generalizability analysis. The contents of the P-MEX achieved good acceptance in a preliminary working group, and the poststudy survey revealed that 302 (79.9%) evaluators rated the P-MEX items as appropriate, indicating good content validity. The correlation coefficient between P-MEX scores and external criteria was 0.78 (P < .001), demonstrating good criterion-related validity. Confirmatory factor analysis verified high path coefficient (0.60-0.99) and adequate goodness of fit of the model. The generalizability analysis yielded a high dependability coefficient, suggesting good reliability, except when evaluators were peers or junior residents. Findings show evidence of adequate validity, reliability, and generalizability of the P-MEX in Japanese hospital settings. The P-MEX is the only evaluation tool for medical professionalism verified in both a Western and East Asian cultural context.

from the Adolescents’ Perspective in Malaysia

PubMed

Mohd Zin, Faridah; Hillaluddin, Azlin Hilma; Mustaffa, Jamaludin

2017-05-01

Objective: This study aims to develop, validate and determine the reliability of an interactive multimedia strategy to prevent tobacco use among the young (TUPY-S) from an adolescents’ perspective. Methods: A descriptive study design was utilized. A modular instruction guideline by Russel (1974) was followed in the entire process, comprising a feasibility study, a review of existing modules, specification of the objectives, identification of the construct criterion items, learner analysis and entry behavior specification, establishment of the sequence instruction and media selection, a tryout with students and a field test. Result: Feasibility was agreed among the researchers and the school authorities. Culturally suitable rigorously developed tobacco use preventive strategies delivered using information technology (IT) are lacking in the literature. The objective of TUPY-S is to prevent tobacco use among adolescents living in Malaysia. Identified construct criterion items include knowledge, attitude, intention to use, self-efficacy, and refusal skill. The target population was early adolescents belonging to generation-Z. Content was developed from the adolescents’ perspective and delivered using IT in Malay language. Content validity, assessed by six experts in the field and module development, was good at 86%. The students’ tryout showed satisfactory face validity subjectively and objectively (85.5%) and high alpha Cronbach reliability (0.91). Conclusion: TUPY-S was confirmed to suit early adolescents of the current generation living in Malaysia. It demonstrated good content validity among the experts, satisfactory face validity and reliability among the target population. TUPY-S is ready to be evaluated for its effectiveness among early adolescents. Creative Commons Attribution License

Tobacco Use Prevention for the Young (TUPY-S): Development, Validity and Reliability of an Interactive Multimedia Strategy from the Adolescents’ Perspective in Malaysia

PubMed Central

Zin, Faridah Mohd; Hillaluddin, Azlin Hilma; Mustaffa, Jamaludin

2017-01-01

Objective: This study aims to develop, validate and determine the reliability of an interactive multimedia strategy to prevent tobacco use among the young (TUPY-S) from an adolescents’ perspective. Methods: A descriptive study design was utilized. A modular instruction guideline by Russel (1974) was followed in the entire process, comprising a feasibility study, a review of existing modules, specification of the objectives, identification of the construct criterion items, learner analysis and entry behavior specification, establishment of the sequence instruction and media selection, a tryout with students and a field test. Result: Feasibility was agreed among the researchers and the school authorities. Culturally suitable rigorously developed tobacco use preventive strategies delivered using information technology (IT) are lacking in the literature. The objective of TUPY-S is to prevent tobacco use among adolescents living in Malaysia. Identified construct criterion items include knowledge, attitude, intention to use, self-efficacy, and refusal skill. The target population was early adolescents belonging to generation-Z. Content was developed from the adolescents’ perspective and delivered using IT in Malay language. Content validity, assessed by six experts in the field and module development, was good at 86%. The students’ tryout showed satisfactory face validity subjectively and objectively (85.5%) and high alpha Cronbach reliability (0.91). Conclusion: TUPY-S was confirmed to suit early adolescents of the current generation living in Malaysia. It demonstrated good content validity among the experts, satisfactory face validity and reliability among the target population. TUPY-S is ready to be evaluated for its effectiveness among early adolescents. PMID:28612599

The impact of political decisions on sustainable urban development (case study of Siberian cities during the Russo-Japanese war)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ageev, Ilya A.; Ageeva, Vera V.; Bleikher, Oksana V.; Larionova, Alyona V.

2017-01-01

The paper examines the impact of public-political factors on the regional sustainable development in the light of the historical experience of the Siberian cities during the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905). Based on the analysis of archival materials and publications in the Siberian printed press at the beginning of the 20th century, the authors have identified the reasons why the sustainable development of the largest Siberian cities was hindered at that period. The construction of the railway eliminated the problem of transport links with Siberian cities; however it made them dependent on external supply of goods. Local Siberian production declined with the advent of cheap imported goods; warehouse infrastructure reduced due to the uselessness; the alternative modes of transport could not compete with the railroad and left the main traffic directions. The Russo-Japanese war began in 1904 and left Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk without transport service for nearly eighteen months, since cargo railway transportation which was not related to the supply of the army, was discontinued. Siberian cities were in catastrophic conditions: food prices increased several times, hospitals worked without pharmaceuticals, urban construction was stopped. Historical examples of unsatisfactory supply of cities under the influence of intense public and political factors demonstrate that sustainable urban development is impossible without the diversification of the sources and means of subsistence. Diversification is proved to be necessary, it can guarantee the use of the transport and economic infrastructure in the interests of the city in unexpected situations.

Reactive Attachment Disorder and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder in School-Aged Foster Children--A Confirmatory Approach to Dimensional Measures.

PubMed

Lehmann, Stine; Breivik, Kyrre; Heiervang, Einar R; Havik, Toril; Havik, Odd E

2016-04-01

This study aimed to investigate the factor structure and external correlates of the constructs Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED) from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The following were addressed: First, do our data support the DSM-5 conceptualization of RAD/DSED as two separate constructs? Second, are RAD and DSED distinct from other well-established dimensions of child psychopathology? Third, what are the external correlates of RAD/DSED in this sample? The study sample included 122 foster children aged 6-10 years. Foster parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the RAD/DSED-scale from the Developmental and Well-Being Assessment. Child protection caseworkers completed a questionnaire regarding exposure to maltreatment and placement history. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the RAD/DSED items identified a good fit for a model with a two-factor structure, which is congruent with the DSM-5 definition of RAD and DSED. A new CFA model, which included the RAD and DSED factors together with the four problem factors of the SDQ (emotional, conduct, hyperactivity-inattention, and peer problems), also demonstrated a good fit with our data. RAD and DSED were associated with the SDQ Impact scale and help seeking behavior. This was partly explained by the SDQ externalizing and peer problem subscales. Our findings lend support for the DSM-5 conceptualization of RAD and DSED as separate dimensions of child psychopathology. Thus, the assessment of RAD and DSED provides information beyond other mental health problems.

Growian rotor blades: Production development, construction and test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thiele, H. M.

1984-01-01

Development and construction of three 50 m rotor blades for a 3 MW wind turbine are described. A hybrid concept was chosen, i.e., a load carrying inflexible steel spar and a glass fiber reinforced plastic skin. A test blade was constructed and static loading tests, dynamic vibration tests and fatigue tests on critical welds as well as at the connection between spar and blade skin were performed. All test results show good accordance with calculated values, and were taken into consideration during the construction of two rotor blades.

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Nepali versions of numerical pain rating scale and global rating of change.

PubMed

Sharma, Saurab; Palanchoke, Joshna; Reed, Darren; Haxby Abbott, J

2017-12-04

Pain intensity and patients' impression of global improvement are widely used patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in clinical practice and research. They are commonly assessed using the Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and Global Rating of Change (GROC) questionnaires. The GROC is essential as an anchor for evaluating the psychometric properties of PROMs. Both of these PROMs are translated to many languages and have shown excellent psychometric properties. Their availability in Nepali would facilitate pain research and cross-cultural comparison of research findings. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to translate and cross-culturally adapt the NPRS and GROC into Nepali and to assess the psychometric properties of the Nepali version of the NPRS (NPRS-NP). After translating and cross-culturally adapting the NPRS and GROC into Nepali using recommended guidelines, NPRS-NP was administered to 104 individuals with musculoskeletal pain twice. The Nepali version of the GROC (GROC-NP) was administered at the follow-up for anchor-based assessment. (1) Test-retest reliability and minimum detectable change (MDC) among the stable group, (2) construct validity (by single sample t-test within the improved group and independent sample t-test between groups), and (3) concurrent validity were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to determine the responsiveness of the NPRS-NP using the area under the curve (AUC), and minimum important changes (MIC) for small, medium and large improvements. Significant cultural adaptations were required to obtain relevant Nepali versions of both the NPRS and GROC. The NPRS-NP showed excellent test-retest reliability and a MDC of 1.13 points. NPRS-NP demonstrated a good construct validity by significant within-group difference in mean of NPRS score- t(63)= 7.57, P < 0.001 and statistically significant difference of mean score- t(98)= -4.24, P < .001 between the stable and improved groups. It demonstrated moderate concurrent correlation with the GROC-NP; r = 0.43, P < 0.01. Responsiveness of the NPRS-NP was shown at three levels with AUC = 0.68-0.82, and MIC = 1.17-1.33. The NPRS and GROC were successfully translated and culturally adapted into Nepali. The NPRS-NP demonstrated good reliability, validity and responsiveness in assessing musculoskeletal pain intensity in a Nepali population.

Fabrication of Porous Ceramic-Geopolymer Based Material to Improve Water Absorption and Retention in Construction Materials: A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamil, N. H.; Ibrahim, W. M. A. W.; Abdullah, M. M. A. B.; Sandu, A. V.; Tahir, M. F. M.

2017-06-01

Porous ceramic nowadays has been investigated for a variety of its application such as filters, lightweight structural component and others due to their specific properties such as high surface area, stability and permeability. Besides, it has the properties of low thermal conductivity. Various formation techniques making these porous ceramic properties can be tailored or further fine-tuned to obtain the optimum characteristic. Porous materials also one of the good candidate for absorption properties. Conventional construction materials are not design to have good water absorption and retention that lead to the poor performance on these criteria. Temperature is a major driving force for moisture movement and influences sorption characteristics of many constructions materials. The effect of elevated temperatures on the water absorption coefficient and retention remain as critical issue that need to be investigated. Therefore, this paper will review the process parameters in fabricating porous ceramic for absorption properties.

Low Density Parity Check Codes Based on Finite Geometries: A Rediscovery and More

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kou, Yu; Lin, Shu; Fossorier, Marc

1999-01-01

Low density parity check (LDPC) codes with iterative decoding based on belief propagation achieve astonishing error performance close to Shannon limit. No algebraic or geometric method for constructing these codes has been reported and they are largely generated by computer search. As a result, encoding of long LDPC codes is in general very complex. This paper presents two classes of high rate LDPC codes whose constructions are based on finite Euclidean and projective geometries, respectively. These classes of codes a.re cyclic and have good constraint parameters and minimum distances. Cyclic structure adows the use of linear feedback shift registers for encoding. These finite geometry LDPC codes achieve very good error performance with either soft-decision iterative decoding based on belief propagation or Gallager's hard-decision bit flipping algorithm. These codes can be punctured or extended to obtain other good LDPC codes. A generalization of these codes is also presented.

Design and construction of an experimental pervious paved parking area to harvest reusable rainwater.

PubMed

Gomez-Ullate, E; Novo, A V; Bayon, J R; Hernandez, Jorge R; Castro-Fresno, Daniel

2011-01-01

Pervious pavements are sustainable urban drainage systems already known as rainwater infiltration techniques which reduce runoff formation and diffuse pollution in cities. The present research is focused on the design and construction of an experimental parking area, composed of 45 pervious pavement parking bays. Every pervious pavement was experimentally designed to store rainwater and measure the levels of the stored water and its quality over time. Six different pervious surfaces are combined with four different geotextiles in order to test which materials respond better to the good quality of rainwater storage over time and under the specific weather conditions of the north of Spain. The aim of this research was to obtain a good performance of pervious pavements that offered simultaneously a positive urban service and helped to harvest rainwater with a good quality to be used for non potable demands.

Kernels, Degrees of Freedom, and Power Properties of Quadratic Distance Goodness-of-Fit Tests

PubMed Central

Lindsay, Bruce G.; Markatou, Marianthi; Ray, Surajit

2014-01-01

In this article, we study the power properties of quadratic-distance-based goodness-of-fit tests. First, we introduce the concept of a root kernel and discuss the considerations that enter the selection of this kernel. We derive an easy to use normal approximation to the power of quadratic distance goodness-of-fit tests and base the construction of a noncentrality index, an analogue of the traditional noncentrality parameter, on it. This leads to a method akin to the Neyman-Pearson lemma for constructing optimal kernels for specific alternatives. We then introduce a midpower analysis as a device for choosing optimal degrees of freedom for a family of alternatives of interest. Finally, we introduce a new diffusion kernel, called the Pearson-normal kernel, and study the extent to which the normal approximation to the power of tests based on this kernel is valid. Supplementary materials for this article are available online. PMID:24764609

77 FR 51023 - Application for Final Commitment for a Long-Term Loan or Financial Guarantee in Excess of $100...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-23

... export of goods and services for the design and construction of an aquarium. Brief non-proprietary... industry. Parties: Principal Supplier: International Concept Management. Obligor: State of Cear[aacute... Planning, Budget and Management. Description of Items Being Exported: Design, engineering and construction...

Lasting Impression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Mike

2006-01-01

Many schools and universities thought they were getting a good deal when they were building education facilities in the 1950s and 1960s. However, the K-12 and higher-education spaces constructed to accommodate the millions of baby-boomer students no longer look like the quick-fix bargain they did years ago. Low-quality materials and construction,…

Psychometric and Edumetric Validity of Dimensions of Geomorphological Knowledge Which Are Tapped by Concept Mapping.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoz, Ron; Bowman, Dan; Chacham, Tova

1997-01-01

Students (N=14) in a geomorphology course took an objective geomorphology test, the tree construction task, and the Standardized Concept Structuring Analysis Technique (SConSAT) version of concept mapping. Results suggest that the SConSAT knowledge structure dimensions have moderate to good construct validity. Contains 82 references. (DDR)

Construction and Validation of a Questionnaire to Study Future Teachers' Beliefs about Cultural Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

López López, M. Carmen; Hinojosa Pareja, Eva F.

2016-01-01

The article presents the construction and validation process of a questionnaire designed to study student teachers' beliefs about cultural diversity. The study, beyond highlighting the complexity involved in the study of beliefs, emphasises their relevance in implementing inclusive educational processes that guarantee the right to a good education…

17 CFR 256.01-4 - Construction or service contracts, and centralized procurement accounting.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... expenses directly attributable to construction work shall be excluded from the accounting system of the... companies. Cost of goods procured shall be excluded from the accounting system of the service company and... contracts, and centralized procurement accounting. 256.01-4 Section 256.01-4 Commodity and Securities...

Pre-Service Teachers Designing and Constructing "Good Digital Games"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Artym, Corbett; Carbonaro, Mike; Boechler, Patricia

2016-01-01

There is a growing interest in the application of digital games to enhance learning across many educational levels. This paper investigates pre-service teachers' ability to operationalize the learning principles that are considered part of a good digital game (Gee, 2007) by designing digital games in Scratch. Forty pre-service teachers, enrolled…

MADD About Good Books.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Marilyn K.

The MADD (music, art, dance, and drama) About Good Books program is a summer Arts Impact program for students in grades 3-6 offered by the Columbus, Ohio Public Schools. Conducted by two literature teachers, the 1975 summer program got under way as the children set the stage by constructing a large tree, for reading and chatting under, and…

On the Making of Hard Times and Good Times: The Social Construction of Resource Stress.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neumann, Anna

1995-01-01

A study of two colleges examined how the president's communicative behavior affects organizational life, viewed from a social constructivist perspective. It is concluded that the president can inadvertently create hard times even in good financial circumstances and abate them during serious financial decline. (Author/MSE)

48 CFR 52.222-27 - Affirmative Action Compliance Requirements for Construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., or a designee. Employer identification number, as used in this clause, means the Federal Social... to comply with its obligations under the Equal Opportunity clause, and to make a good faith effort to achieve each goal under the plan in each trade in which it has employees. The overall good-faith...

48 CFR 52.222-27 - Affirmative Action Compliance Requirements for Construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., or a designee. Employer identification number, as used in this clause, means the Federal Social... to comply with its obligations under the Equal Opportunity clause, and to make a good faith effort to achieve each goal under the plan in each trade in which it has employees. The overall good-faith...

48 CFR 52.222-27 - Affirmative Action Compliance Requirements for Construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., or a designee. Employer identification number, as used in this clause, means the Federal Social... to comply with its obligations under the Equal Opportunity clause, and to make a good faith effort to achieve each goal under the plan in each trade in which it has employees. The overall good-faith...

"How to Be Good": Media Representations of Parenting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Assarsson, Liselott; Aarsand, Pal

2011-01-01

Expectations of parenting are highly prescribed and the media is an important channel for adults learning what this role entails. The pedagogical role of the media involves making judgements on what counts as valid and desirable parenting practices and suggest goals to be(come) the "good parent"--a construct which appears to take no…

48 CFR 52.222-27 - Affirmative Action Compliance Requirements for Construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., or a designee. Employer identification number, as used in this clause, means the Federal Social... to comply with its obligations under the Equal Opportunity clause, and to make a good faith effort to achieve each goal under the plan in each trade in which it has employees. The overall good-faith...

48 CFR 52.222-27 - Affirmative Action Compliance Requirements for Construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., or a designee. Employer identification number, as used in this clause, means the Federal Social... to comply with its obligations under the Equal Opportunity clause, and to make a good faith effort to achieve each goal under the plan in each trade in which it has employees. The overall good-faith...

The Hollywood Curriculum: Who Is the "Good" Teacher?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dalton, Mary M.

1995-01-01

Study analyzed 60 years of motion pictures to construct a theory of curriculum in the movies. Hollywood's ideal teachers were those who shared character traits found consistently in the films, traits that cut across traditional film genres and persisted over time. Good teachers in the movies used a distinctive curricular approach. (SM)

An Effective Construction Method of Modular Manipulator 3D Virtual Simulation Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xianhua; Lv, Lei; Sheng, Rui; Sun, Qing; Zhang, Leigang

2018-06-01

This work discusses about a fast and efficient method of constructing an open 3D manipulator virtual simulation platform which make it easier for teachers and students to learn about positive and inverse kinematics of a robot manipulator. The method was carried out using MATLAB. In which, the Robotics Toolbox, MATLAB GUI and 3D animation with the help of modelling using SolidWorks, were fully applied to produce a good visualization of the system. The advantages of using quickly build is its powerful function of the input and output and its ability to simulate a 3D manipulator realistically. In this article, a Schunk six DOF modular manipulator was constructed by the author's research group to be used as example. The implementation steps of this method was detailed described, and thereafter, a high-level open and realistic visualization manipulator 3D virtual simulation platform was achieved. With the graphs obtained from simulation, the test results show that the manipulator 3D virtual simulation platform can be constructed quickly with good usability and high maneuverability, and it can meet the needs of scientific research and teaching.

Analysis of Test-Retest Reliability, Construct Validity, and Internal Consistency of the Brazilian Version of the Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire.

PubMed

Simões, Luan; Teixeira-Salmela, Luci Fuscaldi; Magalhães, Lívia; Stuge, Britt; Laurentino, Glória; Wanderley, Elaine; Barros, Raphaela; Lemos, Andrea

2018-04-24

The purpose of this study was to evaluate test-retest reliability, construct validity, and internal consistency of the Brazilian version of the Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire (PGQ-Brazil). Analysis of the measurement properties was carried out in 4 steps. Step 1 was the pilot study, on which basis 4 hypotheses were formulated. These hypotheses were tested during the next step (construct validity, step 2) by completion of the questionnaire by the 2 groups (in pain [n = 105] and not in pain [n = 52]). For implementation of the PGQ-Brazil in the group with pain, we calculated the internal consistency (step 3) and, 7 days later, test-retest reliability (step 4) by re-application of the instrument in this group. First, the PGQ-Brazil was able to discriminate between these groups (construct validity). Second, test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients for Activities subscale [0.97 with 95% confidence interval of 0.95-0.98] and Symptoms subscale [0.98 with 95% confidence interval of 0.97-0.98] and κ coefficient between 0.50 and 0.89 for the items) was found to be good; the Bland-Altman test indicated satisfactory agreement. The Rasch analysis indicated good internal consistency, and the instrument's ability to divide the participants into at least 3 levels of skills was confirmed. In contrast, a ceiling effect was observed, as 24% of pregnant women exhibited skills superior to what the PGQ-Brazil could evaluate. The PGQ-Brazil had good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity in assessment of limitations in activities and symptoms of pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Evaluation of a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) titanium composite interbody spacer in an ovine lumbar interbody fusion model: biomechanical, microcomputed tomographic, and histologic analyses.

PubMed

McGilvray, Kirk C; Waldorff, Erik I; Easley, Jeremiah; Seim, Howard B; Zhang, Nianli; Linovitz, Raymond J; Ryaby, James T; Puttlitz, Christian M

2017-12-01

The most commonly used materials used for interbody cages are titanium metal and polymer polyetheretherketone (PEEK). Both of these materials have demonstrated good biocompatibility. A major disadvantage associated with solid titanium cages is their radiopacity, limiting the postoperative monitoring of spinal fusion via standard imaging modalities. However, PEEK is radiolucent, allowing for a temporal assessment of the fusion mass by clinicians. On the other hand, PEEK is hydrophobic, which can limit bony ingrowth. Although both PEEK and titanium have demonstrated clinical success in obtaining a solid spinal fusion, innovations are being developed to improve fusion rates and to create stronger constructs using hybrid additive manufacturing approaches by incorporating both materials into a single interbody device. The purpose of this study was to examine the interbody fusion characteristic of a PEEK Titanium Composite (PTC) cage for use in lumbar fusion. Thirty-four mature female sheep underwent two-level (L 2 -L 3 and L 4 -L 5 ) interbody fusion using either a PEEK or a PTC cage (one of each per animal). Animals were sacrificed at 0, 8, 12, and 18 weeks post surgery. Post sacrifice, each surgically treated functional spinal unit underwent non-destructive kinematic testing, microcomputed tomography scanning, and histomorphometric analyses. Relative to the standard PEEK cages, the PTC constructs demonstrated significant reductions in ranges of motion and a significant increase in stiffness. These biomechanical findings were reinforced by the presence of significantly more bone at the fusion site as well as ingrowth into the porous end plates. Overall, the results indicate that PTC interbody devices could potentially lead to a more robust intervertebral fusion relative to a standard PEEK device in a clinical setting. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Control of brushing variables for the in vitro assessment of toothpaste abrasivity using a novel laboratory model.

PubMed

Parry, Jason; Harrington, Edward; Rees, Gareth D; McNab, Rod; Smith, Anthony J

2008-02-01

Design and construct a tooth-brushing simulator incorporating control of brushing variables including brushing force, speed and temperature, thereby facilitating greater understanding of their importance in toothpaste abrasion testing methodologies. A thermostable orbital shaker was selected as a base unit and 16- and 24-specimen brushing rigs were constructed to fit inside, consisting of: a square bath partitioned horizontally to provide brushing channels, specimen holders for 25 mm diameter mounted specimens to fit the brushing channels and individually weighted brushing arms, able to support four toothbrush holders suspended over the brushing channels. Brush head holders consisted of individually weighted blocks of Delrin, or PTFE onto which toothbrush heads were fixed. Investigating effects of key design criteria involved measuring abrasion depths of polished human enamel and dentine. The brushing simulator demonstrated good reproducibility of abrasion on enamel and dentine across consecutive brushing procedures. Varying brushing parameters had a significant impact on wear results: increased brushing force demonstrated a trend towards increased wear, with increased reproducibility for greater abrasion levels, highlighting the importance of achieving sufficient wear to optimise accuracy; increasing brushing temperature demonstrated increased enamel abrasion for silica and calcium carbonate systems, which may be related to slurry viscosities and particle suspension; varying brushing speed showed a small effect on abrasion of enamel at lower brushing speed, which may indicate the importance of maintenance of the abrasive in suspension. Adjusting key brushing variables significantly affected wear behaviour. The brushing simulator design provides a valuable model system for in vitro assessment of toothpaste abrasivity and the influence of variables in a controlled manner. Control of these variables will allow more reproducible study of in vitro tooth wear processes.

A low-cost polarimeter for an undergraduate laboratory to study the polarization pattern of skylight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abayaratne, Chula P.; Bandara, Vibodha

2017-03-01

A simple, low-cost, fully automated polarimeter, which demonstrates fundamental properties of skylight scattering and polarization for undergraduate physics students, is described. The polarimeter includes a microprocessor-based control unit, a Sun tracker, an elevation-azimuth mount with two degrees of freedom, and a polarization sensor unit equipped with a light-dependent resistor for measuring light intensity. Results obtained in the principal plane of the Sun using the polarimeter on a relatively clear day, together with the theoretically expected results for a molecular atmosphere, are presented. A root-mean-square error comparison indicates fairly good agreement between theory and experiment. Construction and experimentation with the polarimeter will provide students with insight into important physical concepts involved in skylight scattering and polarization as well as improve their instrumentation capabilities.

Application of Raman Spectroscopy for the Detection of Acetone Dissolved in Transformer Oil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Z.; Chen, W.; Du, L.; Shi, H.; Wan, F.

2018-05-01

The CLRS detection characteristics of acetone dissolved in transformer oil were analyzed. Raman spectral peak at 780 cm-1 was used as the characteristic spectral peak for qualitative and quantitative analyses. The effect of the detection depth and the temperature was investigated in order to obtain good Raman signals. The optimal detection depth and temperature were set as 3 mm and room temperature. A quantitative model relation between concentration and the Raman peak intensity ratio I 780/I 893 was constructed via the least-squares method. The results demonstrated that CLRS can quantitatively detect the concentration of acetone in transformer oil and CLRS has potential as a useful alternative for accelerating the in-situ analysis of the concentration of acetone in transformer oil.

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Self-Administered Questionnaire to Assess Parental Attitudes Toward Firearms and Related Parenting Decisions.

PubMed

Davis, Amy B; White, Marney A

2016-01-01

The study sought to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Parental Attitudes Toward Firearms Survey (PATFS), a self-report measure of parental attitudes about firearms and parenting behavior. The initial item pool was generated based on a literature review and discussion with experts in violence reduction, psychometrics, and public health. Data were collected online from 362 volunteers and subjected to exploratory factor analysis which revealed a 13-item, 3-factor solution accounting for 59.7% of the variance. The 3 conceptual factors (subscales) were interpreted as Firearms Exposure, Parental Control, and Violent Play. The PATFS demonstrated good internal consistency and content and construct validity. The PATFS can be used to investigate parenting attitudes and behaviors specific to firearms and violent play.

The Simulator Development for RDE Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subekti, Muhammad; Bakhri, Syaiful; Sunaryo, Geni Rina

2018-02-01

BATAN is proposing the construction of experimental power reactor (RDE reactor) for increasing the public acceptance on NPP development plan, proofing the safety level of the most advanced reactor by performing safety demonstration on the accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima, and owning the generation fourth (G4) reactor technology. For owning the reactor technology, the one of research activities is RDE’s simulator development that employing standard equation. The development utilizes standard point kinetic and thermal equation. The examination of the simulator carried out comparison in which the simulation’s calculation result has good agreement with assumed parameters and ChemCAD calculation results. The transient simulation describes the characteristic of the simulator to respond the variation of power increase of 1.5%/min, 2.5%/min, and 3.5%/min.

Measuring health-promoting behaviors: cross-cultural validation of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II.

PubMed

Sousa, Pedro; Gaspar, Pedro; Vaz, Daniela C; Gonzaga, Sílvia; Dixe, M Anjos

2015-04-01

Individual lifestyles have emerged as valuable health constructs. This study aims to psychometrically test the Portuguese (European) version of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II. After an adequate linguistic and cultural adaptation of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II scale, their psychometric properties were assessed (N = 889) by Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis. Results showed an adequate fit to a 52-item, six-factor structure. A global alpha of .925 was obtained. The Portuguese version demonstrated good validity and reliability in a wide adult sample, and can thus be applied to the Portuguese population. This instrument is useful as an evaluation tool for health-promoting lifestyles and as an instrument for testing the effectiveness of health-promoting programs. © 2014 NANDA International, Inc.

Application of Raman Spectroscopy for the Detection of Acetone Dissolved in Transformer Oil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Z.; Chen, W.; Du, L.; Shi, H.; Wan, F.

2018-05-01

The CLRS detection characteristics of acetone dissolved in transformer oil were analyzed. Raman spectral peak at 780 cm-1 was used as the characteristic spectral peak for qualitative and quantitative analyses. The effect of the detection depth and the temperature was investigated in order to obtain good Raman signals. The optimal detection depth and temperature were set as 3 mm and room temperature. A quantitative model relation between concentration and the Raman peak intensity ratio I 780/ I 893 was constructed via the least-squares method. The results demonstrated that CLRS can quantitatively detect the concentration of acetone in transformer oil and CLRS has potential as a useful alternative for accelerating the in-situ analysis of the concentration of acetone in transformer oil.

Discrimination of shot-noise-driven Poisson processes by external dead time - Application of radioluminescence from glass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saleh, B. E. A.; Tavolacci, J. T.; Teich, M. C.

1981-01-01

Ways in which dead time can be used to constructively enhance or diminish the effects of point processes that display bunching in the shot-noise-driven doubly stochastic Poisson point process (SNDP) are discussed. Interrelations between photocount bunching arising in the SNDP and the antibunching character arising from dead-time effects are investigated. It is demonstrated that the dead-time-modified count mean and variance for an arbitrary doubly stochastic Poisson point process can be obtained from the Laplace transform of the single-fold and joint-moment-generating functions for the driving rate process. The theory is in good agreement with experimental values for radioluminescence radiation in fused silica, quartz, and glass, and the process has many applications in pulse, particle, and photon detection.

A Taylor Expansion-Based Adaptive Design Strategy for Global Surrogate Modeling With Applications in Groundwater Modeling

DOE PAGES

Mo, Shaoxing; Lu, Dan; Shi, Xiaoqing; ...

2017-12-27

Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) and uncertainty quantification (UQ) for groundwater modeling are challenging because of the model complexity and significant computational requirements. To reduce the massive computational cost, a cheap-to-evaluate surrogate model is usually constructed to approximate and replace the expensive groundwater models in the GSA and UQ. Constructing an accurate surrogate requires actual model simulations on a number of parameter samples. Thus, a robust experimental design strategy is desired to locate informative samples so as to reduce the computational cost in surrogate construction and consequently to improve the efficiency in the GSA and UQ. In this study, we developmore » a Taylor expansion-based adaptive design (TEAD) that aims to build an accurate global surrogate model with a small training sample size. TEAD defines a novel hybrid score function to search informative samples, and a robust stopping criterion to terminate the sample search that guarantees the resulted approximation errors satisfy the desired accuracy. The good performance of TEAD in building global surrogate models is demonstrated in seven analytical functions with different dimensionality and complexity in comparison to two widely used experimental design methods. The application of the TEAD-based surrogate method in two groundwater models shows that the TEAD design can effectively improve the computational efficiency of GSA and UQ for groundwater modeling.« less

Relational values resonate broadly and differently than intrinsic or instrumental values, or the New Ecological Paradigm.

PubMed

Klain, Sarah C; Olmsted, Paige; Chan, Kai M A; Satterfield, Terre

2017-01-01

Value orientations used to explain or justify conservation have been rooted in arguments about how much and in what context to emphasize the intrinsic versus instrumental value of nature. Equally prominent are characterizations of beliefs known as the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP), often used to help explain pro-environmental behaviour. A recent alternative to these positions has been identified as 'relational value'-broadly, values linking people and ecosystems via tangible and intangible relationships to nature as well as the principles, virtues and notions of a good life that may accompany these. This paper examines whether relational values are distinct from other value orientation and have potential to alleviate the intrinsic-instrumental debate. To test this possibility, we sought to operationalize the construct-relational values-by developing six relational statements. We ask: 1) Do the individual statements used to characterize relational values demonstrate internal coherence as either a single or multi-dimensional construct? 2) Do relational value statements (including those strongly stated) resonate with diverse populations? 3) Do people respond to relational value statements in a consistently different way than NEP scale statements? Data for this work is drawn from an online panel of residents of northeastern US (n = 400), as well as a sample of Costa Rican farmers (n = 253) and tourists in Costa Rica (n = 260). Results indicate relational values are distinct as a construct when compared to the NEP.

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Death Depression Scale-Revised in Iranian Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

PubMed

Sharif Nia, Hamid; Pahlevan Sharif, Saeed; Lehto, Rebecca H; Allen, Kelly A; Goudarzian, Amir Hossein; Yaghoobzadeh, Ameneh; Soleimani, Mohammad Ali

2017-07-01

Objective: Limited research has examined the psychometric properties of death depression scales in Persian populations with cardiac disease despite the need for valid assessment tools for evaluating depressive symptoms in patients with life-limiting chronic conditions. The present study aimed at evaluating the reliability and validity of the Persian Version of Death Depression Scale - Revised (DDS-R) in Iranian patients who had recent acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Method: This psychometric study was conducted with a convenience sample of 407 patients with AMI diagnosis who completed the Persian version of the DDS-R. The face, content, and construct validity of the scale were ascertained. Internal consistency, test-retest, and construct reliability (CR) were used to assess reliability of the Persian Version of DDS-R. Results: Based on maximum likelihood exploratory factor analysis and consideration of conceptual meaning, a 4-factor solution was identified, explaining 75.89% of the total variance. Goodness-of-fit indices (GFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Normed Fit Index (NFI), Incremental Fit Index (IFI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) in the final DDS-R structure demonstrated the adequacy of the 4-domain structure. The internal consistency, construct reliability, and Intra-class Correlation Coefficients (ICC) were greater than .70. Conclusion: The DDS-R was found to be a valid and reliable assessment tool for evaluating death depression symptoms in Iranian patients with AMI.

Conditions that influence the accuracy of anthropometric parameter estimation for human body segments using shape-from-silhouette

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mundermann, Lars; Mundermann, Annegret; Chaudhari, Ajit M.; Andriacchi, Thomas P.

2005-01-01

Anthropometric parameters are fundamental for a wide variety of applications in biomechanics, anthropology, medicine and sports. Recent technological advancements provide methods for constructing 3D surfaces directly. Of these new technologies, visual hull construction may be the most cost-effective yet sufficiently accurate method. However, the conditions influencing the accuracy of anthropometric measurements based on visual hull reconstruction are unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the conditions that influence the accuracy of 3D shape-from-silhouette reconstruction of body segments dependent on number of cameras, camera resolution and object contours. The results demonstrate that the visual hulls lacked accuracy in concave regions and narrow spaces, but setups with a high number of cameras reconstructed a human form with an average accuracy of 1.0 mm. In general, setups with less than 8 cameras yielded largely inaccurate visual hull constructions, while setups with 16 and more cameras provided good volume estimations. Body segment volumes were obtained with an average error of 10% at a 640x480 resolution using 8 cameras. Changes in resolution did not significantly affect the average error. However, substantial decreases in error were observed with increasing number of cameras (33.3% using 4 cameras; 10.5% using 8 cameras; 4.1% using 16 cameras; 1.2% using 64 cameras).

A Taylor Expansion-Based Adaptive Design Strategy for Global Surrogate Modeling With Applications in Groundwater Modeling

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

Mo, Shaoxing; Lu, Dan; Shi, Xiaoqing

Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) and uncertainty quantification (UQ) for groundwater modeling are challenging because of the model complexity and significant computational requirements. To reduce the massive computational cost, a cheap-to-evaluate surrogate model is usually constructed to approximate and replace the expensive groundwater models in the GSA and UQ. Constructing an accurate surrogate requires actual model simulations on a number of parameter samples. Thus, a robust experimental design strategy is desired to locate informative samples so as to reduce the computational cost in surrogate construction and consequently to improve the efficiency in the GSA and UQ. In this study, we developmore » a Taylor expansion-based adaptive design (TEAD) that aims to build an accurate global surrogate model with a small training sample size. TEAD defines a novel hybrid score function to search informative samples, and a robust stopping criterion to terminate the sample search that guarantees the resulted approximation errors satisfy the desired accuracy. The good performance of TEAD in building global surrogate models is demonstrated in seven analytical functions with different dimensionality and complexity in comparison to two widely used experimental design methods. The application of the TEAD-based surrogate method in two groundwater models shows that the TEAD design can effectively improve the computational efficiency of GSA and UQ for groundwater modeling.« less

Translation and Validation of the Korean Version of the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form

PubMed Central

Kim, Jin Goo; Lee, Joong Yub; Seo, Seung Suk; Choi, Choong Hyeok; Lee, Myung Chul

2013-01-01

Purpose To perform a cross-cultural adaptation and to test the measurement properties of the Korean version of International Knee Documentation Committee (K-IKDC) Subjective Knee Form. Materials and Methods According to the guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation, translation and backward translation of the English version of the IKDC Subjective Knee Form were performed. After translation into the Korean version, 150 patients who had knee-related problems were asked to complete the K-IKDC, Lysholm score, and Short Form-36 (SF-36). Of these patients, 126 were retested 2 weeks later to evaluate test-retest reliability, and 104 were recruited 3 months later to evaluate responsiveness. Construct validity was analyzed by investigating the correlation with Lysholm score and SF-36; content validity was also evaluated. Standardized mean response was calculated for evaluating responsiveness. Results The test-retest reliability proved excellent with a high value for the intraclass correlation coefficient (r=0.94). The internal consistency was strong (Cronbach's α=0.91). Good content validity with absence of floor not ceiling effects and good convergent and divergent validity were observed. Moderate responsiveness was shown (standardized mean response=0.689). Conclusions The K-IKDC demonstrated good measurement properties. We suggest that this instrument is an excellent evaluation instrument that can be used for Korean patients with knee-related injuries. PMID:24032098

Validity of the Thai EQ-5D in an occupational population in Thailand.

PubMed

Kimman, Merel; Vathesatogkit, Prin; Woodward, Mark; Tai, E-Shyong; Thumboo, Julian; Yamwong, Sukit; Ratanachaiwong, Wipa; Wee, Hwee-Lin; Sritara, Piyamitr

2013-08-01

To assess the construct validity of the Thai EuroQoL (EQ-5D) among an occupational population in Thailand. Data were derived from a large cohort study among employees of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand. In 2008 and 2009, 4,850 participants completed the Thai EQ-5D and Short-Form 36 version 2 (SF-36v2). Thai preferences weights were used to convert EQ-5D health states into EQ-5D index scores. Construct validity of the Thai EQ-5D was examined by specifying and testing hypotheses about the relationships between the EQ-5D, SF-36v2, and participants' demographic and medical characteristics. Construct validity of the Thai EQ-5D was supported by expected relationships with SF-36v2 scale and summary scores. For example, SF-36v2 scores on the mental health scale were much lower for participants who reported having problems on the EQ-5D anxiety/depression dimension compared to those reporting no problems (mean norm-based SF-36v2 scores: 52.9 vs. 41.8, p < 0.001). Additionally, reporting a problem in a given EQ-5D dimension was generally associated with lower SF-36v2 summary scores. The EQ-5D index score distinguished between groups of participants in the expected manner, on the basis of sex, age, education and self-reported health, thus providing evidence of known-groups validity. The study demonstrated good construct validity of the Thai EQ-5D in a large occupational population in Thailand.

Convergent and divergent validity of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning in young children with and without autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Swineford, Lauren B; Guthrie, Whitney; Thurm, Audrey

2015-12-01

The purpose of this study was to report on the construct, convergent, and divergent validity of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL), a widely used test of development for young children. The sample consisted of 399 children with a mean age of 3.38 years (SD = 1.14) divided into a group of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a group of children not on the autism spectrum, with and without developmental delays. The study used the MSEL and several other measures assessing constructs relevant to the age range--including developmental skills, autism symptoms, and psychopathology symptoms--across multiple methods of assessment. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses revealed good overall fit and equal form of the MSEL 1-factor model across the ASD and nonspectrum groups, supporting the construct validity of the MSEL. However, neither full nor partial invariance of factor loadings was established because of the lower loadings in the ASD group compared with the nonspectrum group. Exploratory structural equation modeling revealed that other measures of developmental skills loaded together with the MSEL domain scores on a Developmental Functioning factor, supporting convergent validity of the MSEL. Divergent validity was supported by the lack of loading of MSEL domain scores on Autism Symptoms or Emotion/Behavior Problems factors. Although factor structure and loadings varied across groups, convergent and divergent validity findings were similar in the ASD and nonspectrum samples. Together, these results demonstrate evidence for the construct, convergent, and divergent validity of the MSEL using powerful data-analytic techniques. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Language and reading instruction in early years' classrooms: the knowledge and self-rated ability of Australian teachers.

PubMed

Stark, Hannah L; Snow, Pamela C; Eadie, Patricia A; Goldfeld, Sharon R

2016-04-01

This study sought to investigate the level of knowledge of language constructs in a cohort of Australian teachers and to examine their self-rated ability and confidence in that knowledge. Seventy-eight teachers from schools across the Australian state of Victoria completed a questionnaire which included items from existing measures, as well as newly developed items. Consistent with a number of earlier Australian and international studies, teachers' explicit and implicit knowledge of basic linguistic constructs was limited and highly variable. A statistically significant correlation was found between (1) total self-rated ability and (2) years since qualification and experience teaching the early years of primary school; however, no relationship was found between self-rated ability and overall performance on knowledge items. Self-rated ability to teach phonemic awareness and phonics had no relationship with demonstrated knowledge in these areas. Teachers were most likely to rate their ability to teach skills including spelling, phonics, comprehension or vocabulary as either moderate or very good. This was despite most respondents demonstrating limited knowledge and stating that they did not feel confident answering questions about their knowledge in these areas. The findings from this study confirm that in the field of language and literacy instruction, there is a gap between the knowledge that is theoretically requisite, and therefore expected, and the actual knowledge of many teachers. This finding challenges current pre-service teacher education and in-service professional learning.

Thermal infrared reference sources fabricated from low-cost components and materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hovland, Harald; Skauli, Torbjørn

2018-04-01

Mass markets, including mobile phones and automotive sensors, drive rapid developments of imaging technologies toward high performance, low cost sensors, even for the thermal infrared. Good infrared calibration blackbody sources have remained relatively costly, however. Here we demonstrate how to make low-cost reference sources, making quantitative infrared radiometry more accessible to a wider community. Our approach uses ordinary construction materials combined with low cost microcontrollers, digital temperature sensors and foil heater elements from massmarket 3D printers. Blackbodies are constructed from a foil heater of some chosen size and shape, attached to the back of a similarly shaped aluminum plate coated with commercial black paint, which normally exhibits high emissivity. The emissivity can be readily checked by using a thermal imager to view the reflection of a hot object. A digital temperature sensor is attached to the back of the plate. Thermal isolation of the backside minimizes temperature gradients through the plate, ensuring correct readings of the front temperature. The isolation also serves to minimize convection gradients and keeps power consumption low, which is useful for battery powered operation in the field. We demonstrate surface blackbodies (200x200 mm2) with surface homogeneities as low as 0.1°C at 100°C. Homogeneous heating and low thermal mass provides for fast settling time and setup/pack-down time. The approach is scalable to larger sizes by tiling, enabling portable and foldable square-meter-size or larger devices.

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Pediatric Parenting Stress Inventory (PPSI).

PubMed

Devine, Katie A; Heckler, Charles E; Katz, Ernest R; Fairclough, Diane L; Phipps, Sean; Sherman-Bien, Sandra; Dolgin, Michael J; Noll, Robert B; Askins, Martha A; Butler, Robert W; Sahler, Olle Jane Z

2014-02-01

This work evaluated the psychometric properties of the Pediatric Parenting Stress Inventory (PPSI), a new measure of problems and distress experienced by parents of children with chronic illnesses. This secondary data analysis used baseline data from 1 sample of English-, Spanish-, and Hebrew-speaking mothers of children recently diagnosed with cancer (n = 449) and 1 sample of English- and Spanish-speaking mothers of children recently diagnosed with cancer (n = 399) who participated in 2 problem-solving skills training interventions. The PPSI was administered at baseline with other measures of maternal distress. Factor structure was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on the first sample and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on both samples. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was assessed via Spearman correlations with measures of maternal distress. EFA resulted in a stable four-factor solution with 35 items. CFA indicated that the four-factor solution demonstrated reasonable fit in both samples. Internal consistency of the subscales and full scale was adequate to excellent. Construct validity was supported by moderate to strong correlations with measures of maternal distress, depression, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The PPSI demonstrated good psychometric properties in assessing current problems and distress experienced by mothers of children newly diagnosed with cancer. This tool may be used to identify individualized targets for intervention in families of children with cancer. Future studies could evaluate the utility and psychometrics of the PPSI with other pediatric populations. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Facile construction of macroporous hybrid monoliths via thiol-methacrylate Michael addition click reaction for capillary liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Lin, Hui; Ou, Junjie; Liu, Zhongshan; Wang, Hongwei; Dong, Jing; Zou, Hanfa

2015-01-30

A facile approach based on thiol-methacrylate Michael addition click reaction was developed for construction of porous hybrid monolithic materials. Three hybrid monoliths were prepared via thiol-methacrylate click polymerization by using methacrylate-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) (cage mixture, n=8, 10, 12, POSS-MA) and three multi-thiol crosslinkers, 1,6-hexanedithiol (HDT), trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate) (TPTM) and pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate) (PTM), respectively, in the presence of porogenic solvents (n-propanol and PEG 200) and a catalyst (dimethylphenylphosphine, DMPP). The obtained monoliths possessed high thermal and chemical stabilities. Besides, they all exhibited high column efficiencies and excellent separation abilities in capillary liquid chromatography (cLC). The highest column efficiency could reach ca. 195,000N/m for butylbenzene on the monolith prepared with POSS-MA and TPTM (monolith POSS-TPTM) in reversed-phase (RP) mode at 0.64mm/s. Good chromatographic performance were all achieved in the separations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenols, anilines, EPA 610 as well as bovine serum albumin (BSA) digest. The high column efficiencies in the range of 51,400-117,000N/m (achieved on the monolith POSS-PTM in RP mode) convincingly demonstrated the high separation abilities of these thiol-methacrylate based hybrid monoliths. All the results demonstrated the feasibility of the phosphines catalyzed thiol-methacrylate Michael addition click reaction in fabrication of monolithic columns with high efficiency for cLC applications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Bayesian CUSUM plot: Diagnosing quality of treatment.

PubMed

Rosthøj, Steen; Jacobsen, Rikke-Line

2017-12-01

To present a CUSUM plot based on Bayesian diagnostic reasoning displaying evidence in favour of "healthy" rather than "sick" quality of treatment (QOT), and to demonstrate a technique using Kaplan-Meier survival curves permitting application to case series with ongoing follow-up. For a case series with known final outcomes: Consider each case a diagnostic test of good versus poor QOT (expected vs. increased failure rates), determine the likelihood ratio (LR) of the observed outcome, convert LR to weight taking log to base 2, and add up weights sequentially in a plot showing how many times odds in favour of good QOT have been doubled. For a series with observed survival times and an expected survival curve: Divide the curve into time intervals, determine "healthy" and specify "sick" risks of failure in each interval, construct a "sick" survival curve, determine the LR of survival or failure at the given observation times, convert to weights, and add up. The Bayesian plot was applied retrospectively to 39 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with completed follow-up, using Nordic collaborative results as reference, showing equal odds between good and poor QOT. In the ongoing treatment trial, with 22 of 37 children still at risk for event, QOT has been monitored with average survival curves as reference, odds so far favoring good QOT 2:1. QOT in small patient series can be assessed with a Bayesian CUSUM plot, retrospectively when all treatment outcomes are known, but also in ongoing series with unfinished follow-up. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The career success scale in nursing: psychometric evidence to support the Chinese version.

PubMed

Li, Ze-kai; You, Li-ming; Lin, Han-sheng; Chan, Sally Wai-chi

2014-05-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the 11-item Chinese version of the Career Success Scale. Nurses play an important role in the healthcare system. Opportunities to achieve success and satisfaction from one's career affect the retention and stability of the nursing workforce. The Career Success Scale was originally developed in English and has been translated into Chinese. Psychometric testing of the Chinese Career Success Scale for measuring career success in nurses has not been performed. A cross-sectional survey was conducted. A convenience sample of 1148 clinical nurses were recruited from 10 level-3 hospitals in Guangdong Province, mainland China, from December 2010-December 2011. Results indicated that the Chinese Career Success Scale demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Principal component analysis supported the three-factor structure of the original instrument: Career Satisfaction, Perceived within Organization Competitiveness and Perceived External Organization Competitiveness. There were significant correlations among the three factors, which demonstrated the good construct validity of the Chinese version of this scale. The Chinese Career Success Scale appears to be a reliable and valid instrument. It has the potential to be used to measure nurses' career success in mainland China. The findings will be useful for nurse leaders and policymakers in the evaluation of nurses' self-perceived career success and to develop strategies to promote nurse retention and career development. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Fast particle confinement with optimized coil currents in the W7-X stellarator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drevlak, M.; Geiger, J.; Helander, P.; Turkin, Y.

2014-07-01

One of the principal goals of the W7-X stellarator is to demonstrate good confinement of energetic ions at finite β. This confinement, however, is sensitive to the magnetic field configuration and is thus vulnerable to design modifications of the coil geometry. The collisionless drift orbit losses for 60 keV protons in W7-X are studied using the ANTS code. Particles in this energy range will be produced by the neutral beam injection (NBI) system being constructed for W7-X, and are particularly important because protons at this energy accurately mimick the behaviour of 3.5 MeV α-particles in a HELIAS reactor. To investigate the possibility of improved fast particle confinement, several approaches to adjust the coil currents (5 main field coil currents +2 auxiliary coil currents) were explored. These strategies include simple rules of thumb as well as computational optimization of various properties of the magnetic field. It is shown that significant improvement of collisionless fast particle confinement can be achieved in W7-X for particle populations similar to α particles produced in fusion reactions. Nevertheless, the experimental goal of demonstrating confinement improvement with rising plasma pressure using an NBI-generated population appears to be difficult based on optimization of the coil currents only. The principal reason for this difficulty is that the NBI deposition profile is broader than the region of good fast-ion confinement around the magnetic axis.

Hierarchical Control and Trajectory Planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, Clyde F.; Horn, P. W.

1994-01-01

Most of the time on this project was spent on the trajectory planning problem. The construction is equivalent to the classical spline construction in the case that the system matrix is nilpotent. If the dimension of the system is n then the spline of degree 2n-1 is constructed. This gives a new approach to the construction of splines that is more efficient than the usual construction and at the same time allows the construction of a much larger class of splines. All known classes of splines are reconstructed using the approach of linear control theory. As a numerical analysis tool control theory gives a very good tool for constructing splines. However, for the purposes of trajectory planning it is quite another story. Enclosed in this document are four reports done under this grant.

Recognition method of construction conflict based on driver's eye movement.

PubMed

Xu, Yi; Li, Shiwu; Gao, Song; Tan, Derong; Guo, Dong; Wang, Yuqiong

2018-04-01

Drivers eye movement data in simulated construction conflicts at different speeds were collected and analyzed to find the relationship between the drivers' eye movement and the construction conflict. On the basis of the relationship between the drivers' eye movement and the construction conflict, the peak point of wavelet processed pupil diameter, the first point on the left side of the peak point and the first blink point after the peak point are selected as key points for locating construction conflict periods. On the basis of the key points and the GSA, a construction conflict recognition method so called the CCFRM is proposed. And the construction conflict recognition speed and location accuracy of the CCFRM are verified. The good performance of the CCFRM verified the feasibility of proposed key points in construction conflict recognition. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How to make a good animation: A grounded cognition model of how visual representation design affects the construction of abstract physics knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhongzhou; Gladding, Gary

2014-06-01

Visual representations play a critical role in teaching physics. However, since we do not have a satisfactory understanding of how visual perception impacts the construction of abstract knowledge, most visual representations used in instructions are either created based on existing conventions or designed according to the instructor's intuition, which leads to a significant variance in their effectiveness. In this paper we propose a cognitive mechanism based on grounded cognition, suggesting that visual perception affects understanding by activating "perceptual symbols": the basic cognitive unit used by the brain to construct a concept. A good visual representation activates perceptual symbols that are essential for the construction of the represented concept, whereas a bad representation does the opposite. As a proof of concept, we conducted a clinical experiment in which participants received three different versions of a multimedia tutorial teaching the integral expression of electric potential. The three versions were only different by the details of the visual representation design, only one of which contained perceptual features that activate perceptual symbols essential for constructing the idea of "accumulation." On a following post-test, participants receiving this version of tutorial significantly outperformed those who received the other two versions of tutorials designed to mimic conventional visual representations used in classrooms.

Making death 'good': instructional tales for dying in newspaper accounts of Jade Goody's death.

PubMed

Frith, Hannah; Raisborough, Jayne; Klein, Orly

2013-03-01

Facilitating a 'good' death is a central goal for hospices and palliative care organisations. The key features of such a death include an acceptance of death, an open awareness of and communication about death, the settling of practical and interpersonal business, the reduction of suffering and pain, and the enhancement of autonomy, choice and control. Yet deaths are inherently neither good nor bad; they require cultural labour to be 'made over' as good. Drawing on media accounts of the controversial death of UK reality television star Jade Goody, and building on existing analyses of her death, we examine how cultural discourses actively work to construct deaths as good or bad and to position the dying and those witnessing their death as morally accountable. By constructing Goody as bravely breaking social taboos by openly acknowledging death, by contextualising her dying as occurring at the end of a life well lived and by emphasising biographical continuity and agency, newspaper accounts serve to position themselves as educative rather than exploitative, and readers as information-seekers rather than ghoulishly voyeuristic. We argue that popular culture offers moral instruction in dying well which resonates with the messages from palliative care. © 2012 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2012 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

7 CFR 1901.205 - Nondiscrimination in construction financed with FmHA or its successor agency under Public Law 103...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... attached Equal Employment Opportunity Poster. Posters in Spanish will be provided when appropriate, (B...) Compliance during construction. The County Supervisor will: (1) Check to see that: (i) Required posters are... later than 180 days after the alleged act unless the State Director extends the time, for good cause...

Functionalized coronenes: synthesis, solid structure, and properties.

PubMed

Wu, Di; Zhang, Hua; Liang, Jinhua; Ge, Haojie; Chi, Chunyan; Wu, Jishan; Liu, Sheng Hua; Yin, Jun

2012-12-21

The construction of coronenes using simple building blocks is a challenging task. In this work, triphenylene was used as a building block to construct functionalized coronenes, and their solid structures and optoelectronic properties were investigated. The single crystal structures showed that coronenes have different packing motifs. Their good solubility and photostability make them potential solution-processable candidates for organic devices.

21 CFR 111.20 - What design and construction requirements apply to your physical plant?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What design and construction requirements apply to your physical plant? 111.20 Section 111.20 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE IN...

Good Guys and "Bad" Girls: Gendered Identity Construction in a Writing Workshop.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orellana, Marjorie Faulstich

As part of a larger ethnographic project addressing the construction of gender through literacy, this study focused on understanding how the children in one writing process classroom expressed their social selves in their written compositions, as well as how those compositions were engineered within the social dynamics of the classroom. The study…

Is It Good to Be Gifted? The Social Construction of the Gifted Child

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Jane

2012-01-01

There is growing evidence that children labelled as academically gifted are subjected to negative attitudes from others and that this impacts on their self-esteem and motivation to succeed. Through an analysis of British newspaper stories about gifted children, this article explores the socially constructed nature of the concept of the "gifted…

"It's Good for Their Self-Esteem": The Substance beneath the Label

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leather, Mark

2013-01-01

This paper provides an informed and critical understanding of the concept of self-esteem. It explores this psychological construct in relation to its use in adventure education and outdoor learning. Enhancing a participant's self-esteem is perceived to be fundamentally a good thing and is culturally linked to the Hahnian notion that implies…

Negative Emotions and Alcohol Use Initiation in High-Risk Boys: The Moderating Effect of Good Inhibitory Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pardini, Dustin; Lochman, John; Wells, Karen

2004-01-01

Studies on the relation between negative affect and later alcohol use have provided mixed results. Because definitions of negative affect often include diverse emotions, researchers have begun to dismantle this higher-order construct in an attempt to explain these inconsistent findings. More recent evidence also indicates that good inhibitory…

Design, Construction, Demonstration and Delivery of an Automated Narrow Gap Welding System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-03-31

evaluated on the Narrow Gap welding system. By using the combinational qas shielding assembly, it is now possible to reduce the gas flow rates to a value...AD-A145 496 DESIGN CONSTRUCTION DEMONSTRATION AND DE IVER OF AN AUTOMATED NARROW GAP WELDING SYSTEM(U) CRC AUTOMATIC WELDING CO HODSTON SX 31 MAR 83...STANDARDS-963 - A CRC REPORT NO. NAV A/W 7 0PHASE 3 REPORT ON SDESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, DEMONSTRATION AND DELIVERY OF AN AUTOMATED NARROW GAP WELDING

Design, Construction, Demonstration and Delivery of an Automated Narrow Gap Welding System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-06-29

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, DEMONSTRATION AND DELIVERY OF WE DA4I &NARROW GAP CONTRACT NO. NOOGOO-81-C-E923 TO DAVID TAYLOR NAVAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT...the automated * Narrow Gap welding process, is the narrow (3/8 - inch), square-butt joint *design. This narrow joint greatly reduces the volume of weld...AD-i45 495 DESIGN CONSTRUCTION DEMONSTRATION AiND DELIVERY OF RN 1/j AUrOMATED NARROW GAP WELDING SYSTEMI() CRC AUTOMATIC WELDING CO HOUSTON TX 29

Chinese version of Impact of Weight on Quality of Life for Kids: psychometric properties in a large school-based sample.

PubMed

He, Jinbo; Zhu, Hong; Luo, Xingwei; Cai, Taisheng; Wu, Siyao; Lu, Yao

2016-06-01

The Impact of Weight on Quality of Life for Kids (IWQOL-Kids) is the first self-report questionnaire for assessing weight-related quality of life for youth. However, there is no Chinese version of IWQOL-Kids. Thus, the objective of this research was to translate IWQOL-Kids into Mandarin and evaluate its psychometric properties in a large school-based sample. The total sample included 2282 participants aged 11-18 years old, including 1703 non-overweight, 386 overweight and 193 obese students. IWQOL-Kids was translated and culturally adapted by following the international guidelines for instrument linguistic validation procedures. The psychometric evaluation included internal consistency, test-retest reliability, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), convergent validity and discriminant validity. Cronbach's α for the Chinese version of IWQOL-Kids (IWQOL-Kids-C) was 0.956 and ranged from 0.891 to 0.927 for subscales. IWQOL-Kids-C showed a test-retest coefficient of 0.937 after 2 weeks and ranged from 0.847 to 0.903 for subscales. The original four-factor model was reproduced by EFA after seven iterations, accounting for 69.28% of the total variance. CFA demonstrated that the four-factor model had good fit indices with comparative fit index = 0.92, normed fit index = 0.91, goodness of fit index = 0.86, root mean square error of approximation = 0.07 and root mean square residual = 0.03. Convergent validity and discriminant validity were demonstrated with higher correlations between similar constructs and lower correlations between dissimilar constructs of IWQOL-Kids-C and PedsQL™ 4.0. The significant differences were found across the body mass index groups, and IWQOL-Kids-C had higher effect sizes than PedsQL™4.0 when comparing non-overweight and obese groups, supporting the sensitivity of IWQOL-Kids-C. IWQOL-Kids-C is a satisfactory, valid and reliable instrument to assess weight-related quality of life for Chinese children and adolescents aged 11-18 years old. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

PedsQLTM 4.0 Generic Core Scales for adolescents in the Yoruba language: translation and general psychometric properties.

PubMed

Atilola, Olayinka; Stevanović, Dejan

2014-04-01

Quality of life (QOL) is a universally accepted concept for measuring the impact of different aspects of life on general well-being. Adaptation of existing QOL instruments to local cultures has been identified as a better strategy than development of new ones. To translate and adapt the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ Version 4.0 Generic Core Scales (PedsQL™) to the Yoruba language and culture and to test the psychometric properties of the adapted instrument among adolescents. Psychometric properties including internal consistency reliability, construct and factorial validity of the Yoruba version of PedsQL™ were evaluated using standard procedures. The self report and proxy scales of the Yoruba PedsQL™ were developed with good cultural relevance and semantic/conceptual equivalence. Results from 527 adolescents revealed a Cronbach's coefficient which exceeded 0.7 for internal consistency reliability for all scores. The healthy subjects reported higher PedsQL™ scores than those with mental health and physical problems, which confirmed construct validity. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good model fit for the Psychosocial Health score, but not for the other measures. The Yoruba PedsQL™ is culturally appropriate and with good internal consistency, reliability and construct validity. More work is needed regarding its factorial validity.

Making Work: Demonstrating Thermodynamic Concepts with Solar-Powered Wax and Rubber Heat Engines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Appleyard, S. J.

2007-01-01

Construction details are provided for simple heat engines that use candle wax and elastomers as working substances. The engines are constructed using common household materials and can be easily constructed in a school classroom or at home. They work reliably and are useful tools for demonstrating the conversion of heat to mechanical work. They…

Research on the application of BIM technology in the whole life cycle of construction projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang-liu, CHEN; Wei-wei, KOU; Shuai-hua, YE

2018-05-01

BIM technology can realize information sharing, and good BIM application will reduce the whole life cycle cost of construction projects. The popularization of BIM technology challenges the application of BIM technology at all stages of the whole life cycle of the construction project. It will give full play to the value of BIM, if developing a reasonable BIM project execution plan, defining BIM requirements, specifying Level of Development, determining the BIM quality control plan and clearing BIM application content of each stage, and will provide a unified method for project stakeholders, realize the whole life cycle of construction projects, and achieve the desired information sharing in construction project.

Construction method of pre assembled unit of bolt sphere grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, L. W.; Guo, F. L.; Wang, J. L.; Bu, F. M.

2018-03-01

The traditional construction of bolt sphere grid has many disadvantages, such as high cost, large amount of work at high altitude and long construction period, in order to make up for these shortcomings, in this paper, a new and applicable construction method is explored: setting up local scaffolding, installing the bolt sphere grid starting frame on the local scaffolding, then the pre assembled unit of bolt sphere grid is assembled on the ground, using small hoisting equipment to lift pre assembled unit to high altitude and install. Compared with the traditional installation method, the construction method has strong practicability and high economic efficiency, and has achieved good social and economic benefits.

Toppling Trains.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parry, Malcolm

1998-01-01

Explains a novel way of approaching centripetal force: theory is used to predict an orbital period at which a toy train will topple from a circular track. The demonstration has elements of prediction (a criterion for a good model) and suspense (a criterion for a good demonstration). The demonstration proved useful in undergraduate physics and…

Integrating 360° behavior-orientated feedback in communication skills training for medical undergraduates: concept, acceptance and students' self-ratings of communication competence.

PubMed

Engerer, Cosima; Berberat, Pascal O; Dinkel, Andreas; Rudolph, Baerbel; Sattel, Heribert; Wuensch, Alexander

2016-10-18

Feedback is considered a key didactic element in medical education, especially for teaching of communication skills. This study investigates the impact of a best evidence-based practice feedback concept within the context of communication skills training (CST). We evaluate this concept for acceptance and changes in students self-ratings of communication competence. Our CST integrating feedback process comprises a short theoretical introduction presenting standards for good communication and a constructive 360° feedback from three perspectives: feedback from peers, from standardized patients (SPs), and from a trainer. Feed-forward process was facilitated for documenting suggestions for improvements based on observable behaviors to maximize learning benefits. Our CST was applied to four groups of eight or nine students. We assessed the data on students' acceptance using a 6-point scale ranging from very good (1) to poor (6), applied a forced choice question to rank didactic items, and assessed changes in student' self-ratings of their communication competence on a 10-cm visual analogue scale (VAS). Thirty-four medical undergraduates (82 % female, 18 % male) in their first clinical year, with an average age of 21.4 years (SD = 1.0), participated in the new training. The concept achieved high acceptance from good to very good: overall impression (M = 1.56), sufficient interaction for discussion (M = 1.15), and constructive learning atmosphere (M = 1.18). Specific elements, such as practical training with SPs (M = 1.18) and feedback by SPs (M = 1.12), showed highest acceptance. The forced choice ranking placed all feedback elements at the top of the list (feedback (FB) by SPs, rank 2; FB by trainer, rank 3; FB by colleagues, rank 4), whereas theoretical elements were at the bottom (theoretical introduction, rank 7; memory card, rank 9). Overall, student self-ratings of communication competence significantly improved in nine of the ten communication items assessed by VAS and showed a pre-post effect size of ES = 0.74 on a global rating. This study demonstrates that the training concept based on 360° behavioral feedback was well accepted and generated significant changes in student self-ratings of their communication competence. Further research is needed to determine the effects on objective communication performance.

An innovative stand-alone bioreactor for the highly reproducible transfer of cyclic mechanical stretch to stem cells cultured in a 3D scaffold.

PubMed

Govoni, Marco; Lotti, Fabrizio; Biagiotti, Luigi; Lannocca, Maurizio; Pasquinelli, Gianandrea; Valente, Sabrina; Muscari, Claudio; Bonafè, Francesca; Caldarera, Claudio M; Guarnieri, Carlo; Cavalcanti, Silvio; Giordano, Emanuele

2014-10-01

Much evidence in the literature demonstrates the effect of cyclic mechanical stretch in maintaining, or addressing, a muscle phenotype. Such results were obtained using several technical approaches, useful for the experimental collection of proofs of principle but probably unsuitable for application in clinical regenerative medicine. Here we aimed to design a reliable innovative bioreactor, acting as a stand-alone cell culture incubator, easy to operate and effective in addressing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) seeded onto a 3D bioreabsorbable scaffold, towards a muscle phenotype via the transfer of a controlled and highly-reproducible cyclic deformation. Electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry and biochemical analysis of the obtained pseudotissue constructs showed that cells 'trained' over 1 week: (a) displayed multilayer organization and invaded the 3D mesh of the scaffold; and (b) expressed typical markers of muscle cells. This effect was due only to physical stimulation of the cells, without the need of any other chemical or genetic manipulation. This device is thus proposed as a prototypal instrument to obtain pseudotissue constructs to test in cardiovascular regenerative medicine, using good manufacturing procedures. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Spirituality as a Scientific Construct: Testing Its Universality across Cultures and Languages

PubMed Central

MacDonald, Douglas A.; Friedman, Harris L.; Brewczynski, Jacek; Holland, Daniel; Salagame, Kiran Kumar K.; Mohan, K. Krishna; Gubrij, Zuzana Ondriasova; Cheong, Hye Wook

2015-01-01

Using data obtained from 4004 participants across eight countries (Canada, India, Japan, Korea, Poland, Slovakia, Uganda, and the U.S.), the factorial reliability, validity and structural/measurement invariance of a 30-item version of Expressions of Spirituality Inventory (ESI-R) was evaluated. The ESI-R measures a five factor model of spirituality developed through the conjoint factor analysis of several extant measures of spiritual constructs. Exploratory factor analyses of pooled data provided evidence that the five ESI-R factors are reliable. Confirmatory analyses comparing four and five factor models revealed that the five dimensional model demonstrates superior goodness-of-fit with all cultural samples and suggest that the ESI-R may be viewed as structurally invariant. Measurement invariance, however, was not supported as manifested in significant differences in item and dimension scores and in significantly poorer fit when factor loadings were constrained to equality across all samples. Exploratory analyses with a second adjective measure of spirituality using American, Indian, and Ugandan samples identified three replicable factors which correlated with ESI-R dimensions in a manner supportive of convergent validity. The paper concludes with a discussion of the meaning of the findings and directions needed for future research. PMID:25734921

Effect of packing method on the randomness of disc packings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Z. P.; Yu, A. B.; Oakeshott, R. B. S.

1996-06-01

The randomness of disc packings, generated by random sequential adsorption (RSA), random packing under gravity (RPG) and Mason packing (MP) which gives a packing density close to that of the RSA packing, has been analysed, based on the Delaunay tessellation, and is evaluated at two levels, i.e. the randomness at individual subunit level which relates to the construction of a triangle from a given edge length distribution and the randomness at network level which relates to the connection between triangles from a given triangle frequency distribution. The Delaunay tessellation itself is also analysed and its almost perfect randomness at the two levels is demonstrated, which verifies the proposed approach and provides a random reference system for the present analysis. It is found that (i) the construction of a triangle subunit is not random for the RSA, MP and RPG packings, with the degree of randomness decreasing from the RSA to MP and then to RPG packing; (ii) the connection of triangular subunits in the network is almost perfectly random for the RSA packing, acceptable for the MP packing and not good for the RPG packing. Packing method is an important factor governing the randomness of disc packings.

Hierarchically Structured Co3O4@Pt@MnO2 Nanowire Arrays for High-Performance Supercapacitors

PubMed Central

Xia, Hui; Zhu, Dongdong; Luo, Zhentao; Yu, Yue; Shi, Xiaoqin; Yuan, Guoliang; Xie, Jianping

2013-01-01

Here we proposed a novel architectural design of a ternary MnO2-based electrode – a hierarchical Co3O4@Pt@MnO2 core-shell-shell structure, where the complemental features of the three key components (a well-defined Co3O4 nanowire array on the conductive Ti substrate, an ultrathin layer of small Pt nanoparticles, and a thin layer of MnO2 nanoflakes) are strategically combined into a single entity to synergize and construct a high-performance electrode for supercapacitors. Owing to the high conductivity of the well-defined Co3O4 nanowire arrays, in which the conductivity was further enhanced by a thin metal (Pt) coating layer, in combination with the large surface area provided by the small MnO2 nanoflakes, the as-fabricated Co3O4@Pt@MnO2 nanowire arrays have exhibited high specific capacitances, good rate capability, and excellent cycling stability. The architectural design demonstrated in this study provides a new approach to fabricate high-performance MnO2–based nanowire arrays for constructing next-generation supercapacitors. PMID:24132040

A combined source of electron bunches and microwave power

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, J. L.; Wang, F. Y.; Yang, X. P.; Shen, B.; Gu, W.; Zhang, L. W.

2003-12-01

In this article, the possibility of using a high power klystron amplifier simultaneously as a microwave power source as usual and an electron bunches source by extracting the spent beam with a magnet and also as an oscillator by feedback is investigated. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a very compact electron linear accelerator or for other applications of electron bunches. The feasibility of the idea was first examined by computer simulation of the electron motion in a 5 MW klystron and the characteristics of the klystron spent beam. Experimental study was then carried out by installing a radio frequency cavity and a Faraday cage in sequence at the exit end of a bending magnet located at the top of the klystron collector. The energy and current of the chopped spent electron beam can then be measured. By properly choosing the feedback circuit elements, the frequency stability of the klystron in oscillator mode was proved to be good enough for linac operation. According to the results presented in this article, it is evident that an extremely compact linac for research and education with better affordability can be constructed to promote the applications of linacs.

Scaffolds for peripheral nerve repair and reconstruction.

PubMed

Yi, Sheng; Xu, Lai; Gu, Xiaosong

2018-06-02

Trauma-associated peripheral nerve defect is a widespread clinical problem. Autologous nerve grafting, the current gold standard technique for the treatment of peripheral nerve injury, has many internal disadvantages. Emerging studies showed that tissue engineered nerve graft is an effective substitute to autologous nerves. Tissue engineered nerve graft is generally composed of neural scaffolds and incorporating cells and molecules. A variety of biomaterials have been used to construct neural scaffolds, the main component of tissue engineered nerve graft. Synthetic polymers (e.g. silicone, polyglycolic acid, and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)) and natural materials (e.g. chitosan, silk fibroin, and extracellular matrix components) are commonly used along or together to build neural scaffolds. Many other materials, including the extracellular matrix, glass fabrics, ceramics, and metallic materials, have also been used to construct neural scaffolds. These biomaterials are fabricated to create specific structures and surface features. Seeding supporting cells and/or incorporating neurotrophic factors to neural scaffolds further improve restoration effects. Preliminary studies demonstrate that clinical applications of these neural scaffolds achieve satisfactory functional recovery. Therefore, tissue engineered nerve graft provides a good alternative to autologous nerve graft and represents a promising frontier in neural tissue engineering. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Testing the psychometric properties of the Environmental Attitudes Inventory on undergraduate students in the Arab context: A test-retest approach.

PubMed

AlMenhali, Entesar Ali; Khalid, Khalizani; Iyanna, Shilpa

2018-01-01

The Environmental Attitudes Inventory (EAI) was developed to evaluate the multidimensional nature of environmental attitudes; however, it is based on a dataset from outside the Arab context. This study reinvestigated the construct validity of the EAI with a new dataset and confirmed the feasibility of applying it in the Arab context. One hundred and forty-eight subjects in Study 1 and 130 in Study 2 provided valid responses. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to extract a new factor structure in Study 1, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed in Study 2. Both studies generated a seven-factor model, and the model fit was discussed for both the studies. Study 2 exhibited satisfactory model fit indices compared to Study 1. Factor loading values of a few items in Study 1 affected the reliability values and average variance extracted values, which demonstrated low discriminant validity. Based on the results of the EFA and CFA, this study showed sufficient model fit and suggested the feasibility of applying the EAI in the Arab context with a good construct validity and internal consistency.

Farsi version of social skills rating system-secondary student form: cultural adaptation, reliability and construct validity.

PubMed

Eslami, Ahmad Ali; Amidi Mazaheri, Maryam; Mostafavi, Firoozeh; Abbasi, Mohamad Hadi; Noroozi, Ensieh

2014-01-01

Assessment of social skills is a necessary requirement to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive and behavioral interventions. This paper reports the cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Farsi version of the social skills rating system-secondary students form (SSRS-SS) questionnaire (Gresham and Elliot, 1990), in a normative sample of secondary school students. A two-phase design was used that phase 1 consisted of the linguistic adaptation and in phase 2, using cross-sectional sample survey data, the construct validity and reliability of the Farsi version of the SSRS-SS were examined in a sample of 724 adolescents aged from 13 to 19 years. Content validity index was excellent, and the floor/ceiling effects were low. After deleting five of the original SSRS-SS items, the findings gave support for the item convergent and divergent validity. Factor analysis revealed four subscales. RESULTS showed good internal consistency (0.89) and temporal stability (0.91) for the total scale score. Findings demonstrated support for the use of the 27-item Farsi version in the school setting. Directions for future research regarding the applicability of the scale in other settings and populations of adolescents are discussed.

Testing the psychometric properties of the Environmental Attitudes Inventory on undergraduate students in the Arab context: A test-retest approach

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

The Environmental Attitudes Inventory (EAI) was developed to evaluate the multidimensional nature of environmental attitudes; however, it is based on a dataset from outside the Arab context. This study reinvestigated the construct validity of the EAI with a new dataset and confirmed the feasibility of applying it in the Arab context. One hundred and forty-eight subjects in Study 1 and 130 in Study 2 provided valid responses. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to extract a new factor structure in Study 1, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed in Study 2. Both studies generated a seven-factor model, and the model fit was discussed for both the studies. Study 2 exhibited satisfactory model fit indices compared to Study 1. Factor loading values of a few items in Study 1 affected the reliability values and average variance extracted values, which demonstrated low discriminant validity. Based on the results of the EFA and CFA, this study showed sufficient model fit and suggested the feasibility of applying the EAI in the Arab context with a good construct validity and internal consistency. PMID:29758021

Validation of the Abdominal Pain Index using a revised scoring method.

PubMed

Laird, Kelsey T; Sherman, Amanda L; Smith, Craig A; Walker, Lynn S

2015-06-01

Evaluate the psychometric properties of child- and parent-report versions of the four-item Abdominal Pain Index (API) in children with functional abdominal pain (FAP) and healthy controls, using a revised scoring method that facilitates comparisons of scores across samples and time. Pediatric patients aged 8-18 years with FAP and controls completed the API at baseline (N = 1,967); a subset of their parents (N = 290) completed the API regarding the child's pain. Subsets of patients completed follow-up assessments at 2 weeks (N = 231), 3 months (N = 330), and 6 months (N = 107). Subsets of both patients (N = 389) and healthy controls (N = 172) completed a long-term follow-up assessment (mean age at follow-up = 20.21 years, SD = 3.75). The API demonstrated good concurrent, discriminant, and construct validity, as well as good internal consistency. We conclude that the API, using the revised scoring method, is a useful, reliable, and valid measure of abdominal pain severity. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Fiber-Optic Current Sensor Validation with Triggered Lightning Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Truong X.; Ely, Jay J.; Szatkowski, George N.; Mata, Carlos T.; Mata, Angel G.; Snyder, Gary P.

2013-01-01

A fiber optic current sensor based on the Faraday Effect is developed that is highly suitable for aircraft installation and can measure total current enclosed in a fiber loop down to DC. Other attributes include being small, light-weight, non-conducting, safe from electromagnetic interference, and free of hysteresis and saturation. The Faraday Effect causes light polarization to rotate when exposed to a magnetic field in the direction of light propagation. Measuring the induced light polarization rotation in fiber loops yields the total current enclosed. Two sensor systems were constructed and installed at Camp Blanding, Florida, measuring rocket-triggered lightning. The systems were similar in design but with different laser wavelengths, sensitivities and ranges. Results are compared to a shunt resistor as reference. The 850nm wavelength system tested in summer 2011 showed good result comparison early. However, later results showed gradual amplitude increase with time, attributed to corroded connections affecting the 50-ohm output termination. The 1550nm system also yielded good results in the summer 2012. The successful measurements demonstrate the fiber optic sensor's accuracies in capturing real lightning currents, and represent an important step toward future aircraft installation.

Test-retest reliability of the irrational performance beliefs inventory.

PubMed

Turner, M J; Slater, M J; Dixon, J; Miller, A

2018-02-01

The irrational performance beliefs inventory (iPBI) was developed to measure irrational beliefs within performance domains such as sport, academia, business, and the military. Past research indicates that the iPBI has good construct, concurrent, and predictive validity, but the test-retest reliability of the iPBI has not yet been examined. Therefore, in the present study the iPBI was administered to university sport and exercise students (n = 160) and academy soccer athletes (n = 75) at three-time points. Time point two occurred 7 days after time point one, and time point three occurred 21 days after time point two. In addition, social desirability was also measured. Repeated-measures MANCOVAs, intra-class coefficients, and Pearson's (r) correlations demonstrate that the iPBI has good test-retest reliability, with iPBI scores remaining stable across the three-time points. Pearson's correlation coefficients revealed no relationships between the iPBI and social desirability, indicating that the iPBI is not highly susceptible to response bias. The results are discussed with reference to the continued usage and development of the iPBI, and future research recommendations relating to the investigation of irrational performance beliefs are proposed.

Fluctuation-dissipation theory of input-output interindustrial relations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iyetomi, Hiroshi; Nakayama, Yasuhiro; Aoyama, Hideaki; Fujiwara, Yoshi; Ikeda, Yuichi; Souma, Wataru

2011-01-01

In this study, the fluctuation-dissipation theory is invoked to shed light on input-output interindustrial relations at a macroscopic level by its application to indices of industrial production (IIP) data for Japan. Statistical noise arising from finiteness of the time series data is carefully removed by making use of the random matrix theory in an eigenvalue analysis of the correlation matrix; as a result, two dominant eigenmodes are detected. Our previous study successfully used these two modes to demonstrate the existence of intrinsic business cycles. Here a correlation matrix constructed from the two modes describes genuine interindustrial correlations in a statistically meaningful way. Furthermore, it enables us to quantitatively discuss the relationship between shipments of final demand goods and production of intermediate goods in a linear response framework. We also investigate distinctive external stimuli for the Japanese economy exerted by the current global economic crisis. These stimuli are derived from residuals of moving-average fluctuations of the IIP remaining after subtracting the long-period components arising from inherent business cycles. The observation reveals that the fluctuation-dissipation theory is applicable to an economic system that is supposed to be far from physical equilibrium.

Applying wavelet transforms to analyse aircraft-measured turbulence and turbulent fluxes in the atmospheric boundary layer over eastern Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strunin, M. A.; Hiyama, T.

2004-11-01

The wavelet spectral method was applied to aircraft-based measurements of atmospheric turbulence obtained during joint Russian-Japanese research on the atmospheric boundary layer near Yakutsk (eastern Siberia) in April-June 2000. Practical ways to apply Fourier and wavelet methods for aircraft-based turbulence data are described. Comparisons between Fourier and wavelet transform results are shown and they demonstrate, in conjunction with theoretical and experimental restrictions, that the Fourier transform method is not useful for studying non-homogeneous turbulence. The wavelet method is free from many disadvantages of Fourier analysis and can yield more informative results. Comparison of Fourier and Morlet wavelet spectra showed good agreement at high frequencies (small scales). The quality of the wavelet transform and corresponding software was estimated by comparing the original data with restored data constructed with an inverse wavelet transform. A Haar wavelet basis was inappropriate for the turbulence data; the mother wavelet function recommended in this study is the Morlet wavelet. Good agreement was also shown between variances and covariances estimated with different mathematical techniques, i.e. through non-orthogonal wavelet spectra and through eddy correlation methods.

The structure of social exchange in self-help support groups: development of a measure.

PubMed

Brown, Louis D; Tang, Xiaohui; Hollman, Ruth L

2014-03-01

Self-help support groups are indigenous community resources designed to help people manage a variety of personal challenges, from alcohol abuse to xeroderma pigmentosum. The social exchanges that occur during group meetings are central to understanding how people benefit from participation. This paper examines the different types of social exchange behaviors that occur during meetings, using two studies to develop empirically distinct scales that reliably measure theoretically important types of exchange. Resource theory informed the initial measurement development efforts. Exploratory factor analyses from the first study led to revisions in the factor structure of the social exchange scales. The revised measure captured the exchange of emotional support, experiential information, humor, unwanted behaviors, and exchanges outside meetings. Confirmatory factor analyses from a follow-up study with a different sample of self-help support groups provided good model fit, suggesting the revised structure accurately represented the data. Further, the scales demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity with related constructs. Future research can use the scales to identify aspects of social exchange that are most important in improving health outcomes among self-help support group participants. Groups can use the scales in practice to celebrate strengths and address weaknesses in their social exchange dynamics.

Geomagnetism-Aided Indoor Wi-Fi Radio-Map Construction via Smartphone Crowdsourcing.

PubMed

Li, Wen; Wei, Dongyan; Lai, Qifeng; Li, Xianghong; Yuan, Hong

2018-05-08

Wi-Fi radio-map construction is an important phase in indoor fingerprint localization systems. Traditional methods for Wi-Fi radio-map construction have the problems of being time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this paper, an indoor Wi-Fi radio-map construction method is proposed which utilizes crowdsourcing data contributed by smartphone users. We draw indoor pathway map and construct Wi-Fi radio-map without requiring manual site survey, exact floor layout and extra infrastructure support. The key novelty is that it recognizes road segments from crowdsourcing traces by a cluster based on magnetism sequence similarity and constructs an indoor pathway map with Wi-Fi signal strengths annotated on. Through experiments in real world indoor areas, the method is proved to have good performance on magnetism similarity calculation, road segment clustering and pathway map construction. The Wi-Fi radio maps constructed by crowdsourcing data are validated to provide competitive indoor localization accuracy.

Geomagnetism-Aided Indoor Wi-Fi Radio-Map Construction via Smartphone Crowdsourcing

PubMed Central

Li, Wen; Wei, Dongyan; Lai, Qifeng; Li, Xianghong; Yuan, Hong

2018-01-01

Wi-Fi radio-map construction is an important phase in indoor fingerprint localization systems. Traditional methods for Wi-Fi radio-map construction have the problems of being time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this paper, an indoor Wi-Fi radio-map construction method is proposed which utilizes crowdsourcing data contributed by smartphone users. We draw indoor pathway map and construct Wi-Fi radio-map without requiring manual site survey, exact floor layout and extra infrastructure support. The key novelty is that it recognizes road segments from crowdsourcing traces by a cluster based on magnetism sequence similarity and constructs an indoor pathway map with Wi-Fi signal strengths annotated on. Through experiments in real world indoor areas, the method is proved to have good performance on magnetism similarity calculation, road segment clustering and pathway map construction. The Wi-Fi radio maps constructed by crowdsourcing data are validated to provide competitive indoor localization accuracy. PMID:29738454

Analytical study on the suitability of using bentonite coated gravel as a landfill liner material

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

Roberts, Anel A.; Shimaoka, Takayuki

2008-12-15

This study investigates the feasibility of using bentonite coated gravel (BCG) as a liner material for waste landfills. BCG has proven to be a very effective capping material/method for the remediation of contaminated sediments in aquatic environments. The concept of BCG is similar to that of peanuts/almonds covered with chocolate; each aggregate particle has been covered with the clayey material. Laboratory tests were aimed at evaluating regulated and non-regulated factors for liner materials, i.e., permeability and strength. Tests included X-ray diffraction, methylene blue absorption, compaction, free swelling, permeability, 1D consolidation, triaxial compression and cone penetration. The compactive efforts used formore » this study were the reduced Proctor, standard Proctor, intermediate Proctor, modified Proctor and super modified Proctor. The compactive energy corresponding to each effort, respectively, is as follows: 355.5, 592.3, 1196.3, 2693.3, and 5386.4 kJ/m{sup 3}. Results revealed that even though aggregate content represents 70% of the weight of the material, hydraulic conductivities as low as 6 x 10{sup -10} cm/s can be achieved when proper compactive efforts are used. Compressibility is very low for this material even at low (or no) compactive efforts. Results also demonstrated how higher compactive efforts can lower the permeability of BCG; however, over-compaction creates fractures in the aggregate core of BCG that could increase permeability. Moreover, higher compactive efforts create higher swelling pressures that could compromise the performance of a barrier constructed using BCG. As a result of this study, moderate compactive efforts, i.e., intermediate Proctor or modified Proctor, are recommended for constructing a BCG barrier. Using moderate compactive efforts, very low hydraulic conductivities, good workability and good trafficability are easily attainable.« less

The Motivational Value Systems Questionnaire (MVSQ): Psychometric Analysis Using a Forced Choice Thurstonian IRT Model

PubMed Central

Merk, Josef; Schlotz, Wolff; Falter, Thomas

2017-01-01

This study presents a new measure of value systems, the Motivational Value Systems Questionnaire (MVSQ), which is based on a theory of value systems by psychologist Clare W. Graves. The purpose of the instrument is to help people identify their personal hierarchies of value systems and thus become more aware of what motivates and demotivates them in work-related contexts. The MVSQ is a forced-choice (FC) measure, making it quicker to complete and more difficult to intentionally distort, but also more difficult to assess its psychometric properties due to ipsativity of FC data compared to rating scales. To overcome limitations of ipsative data, a Thurstonian IRT (TIRT) model was fitted to the questionnaire data, based on a broad sample of N = 1,217 professionals and students. Comparison of normative (IRT) scale scores and ipsative scores suggested that MVSQ IRT scores are largely freed from restrictions due to ipsativity and thus allow interindividual comparison of scale scores. Empirical reliability was estimated using a sample-based simulation approach which showed acceptable and good estimates and, on average, slightly higher test-retest reliabilities. Further, validation studies provided evidence on both construct validity and criterion-related validity. Scale score correlations and associations of scores with both age and gender were largely in line with theoretically- and empirically-based expectations, and results of a multitrait-multimethod analysis supports convergent and discriminant construct validity. Criterion validity was assessed by examining the relation of value system preferences to departmental affiliation which revealed significant relations in line with prior hypothesizing. These findings demonstrate the good psychometric properties of the MVSQ and support its application in the assessment of value systems in work-related contexts. PMID:28979228

The Motivational Value Systems Questionnaire (MVSQ): Psychometric Analysis Using a Forced Choice Thurstonian IRT Model.

PubMed

Merk, Josef; Schlotz, Wolff; Falter, Thomas

2017-01-01

This study presents a new measure of value systems, the Motivational Value Systems Questionnaire (MVSQ), which is based on a theory of value systems by psychologist Clare W. Graves. The purpose of the instrument is to help people identify their personal hierarchies of value systems and thus become more aware of what motivates and demotivates them in work-related contexts. The MVSQ is a forced-choice (FC) measure, making it quicker to complete and more difficult to intentionally distort, but also more difficult to assess its psychometric properties due to ipsativity of FC data compared to rating scales. To overcome limitations of ipsative data, a Thurstonian IRT (TIRT) model was fitted to the questionnaire data, based on a broad sample of N = 1,217 professionals and students. Comparison of normative (IRT) scale scores and ipsative scores suggested that MVSQ IRT scores are largely freed from restrictions due to ipsativity and thus allow interindividual comparison of scale scores. Empirical reliability was estimated using a sample-based simulation approach which showed acceptable and good estimates and, on average, slightly higher test-retest reliabilities. Further, validation studies provided evidence on both construct validity and criterion-related validity. Scale score correlations and associations of scores with both age and gender were largely in line with theoretically- and empirically-based expectations, and results of a multitrait-multimethod analysis supports convergent and discriminant construct validity. Criterion validity was assessed by examining the relation of value system preferences to departmental affiliation which revealed significant relations in line with prior hypothesizing. These findings demonstrate the good psychometric properties of the MVSQ and support its application in the assessment of value systems in work-related contexts.

Measuring the impact and distress of osteoarthritis from the patients' perspective

PubMed Central

Pallant, Julie F; Keenan, Anne-Maree; Misajon, Roseanne; Conaghan, Philip G; Tennant, Alan

2009-01-01

Background To assess the internal construct validity of the Perceived Impact of Problem Profile (PIPP), a patient based outcome measure based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), which assesses impact and distress, in an osteoarthritis (OA) cohort. Methods A questionnaire comprising the 23-item PIPP, which assesses five domains (mobility, participation, self care, psychological well being and relationships), the Western Ontario McMasters University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), the General Well-Being Index (GWBI), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was posted to people with clinician diagnosed OA. Assessment of the internal construct validity of the PIPP was undertaken using Rasch analysis performed with RUMM2020 software and concurrent validity through comparator measures. Results Two hundred and fifty-nine participants with OA responded. Analysis of the five individual domains of the PIPP indicated that there was good fit to the Rasch model, with high person separation reliability. One item required removal from the Mobility subscale and the Participation subscale. There were strong correlations between the PIPP Mobility scores and the WOMAC disability and pain subscales (rho = .73 and rho = .68), and between the PIPP Psychological well-being and HADS Depression (rho = .71) and GWBI (rho = -.69). High inter-correlations between the impact and distress subscales for each domain (range rho = .85 to .96), suggested redundancy of the latter. Conclusion This study demonstrates that the PIPP has good psychometric properties in an OA population. The PIPP, using just the impact subscales, provides a brief, reliable and valid means of assessing the impact of OA from the individual's perspective and operationalizing the bio-psychosocial model by the application of a single multi-domain questionnaire. PMID:19400966