Refining animal models in fracture research: seeking consensus in optimising both animal welfare and scientific validity for appropriate biomedical use.

PubMed

Auer, Jorg A; Goodship, Allen; Arnoczky, Steven; Pearce, Simon; Price, Jill; Claes, Lutz; von Rechenberg, Brigitte; Hofmann-Amtenbrinck, Margarethe; Schneider, Erich; Müller-Terpitz, R; Thiele, F; Rippe, Klaus-Peter; Grainger, David W

2007-08-01

In an attempt to establish some consensus on the proper use and design of experimental animal models in musculoskeletal research, AOVET (the veterinary specialty group of the AO Foundation) in concert with the AO Research Institute (ARI), and the European Academy for the Study of Scientific and Technological Advance, convened a group of musculoskeletal researchers, veterinarians, legal experts, and ethicists to discuss, in a frank and open forum, the use of animals in musculoskeletal research. The group narrowed the field to fracture research. The consensus opinion resulting from this workshop can be summarized as follows: Anaesthesia and pain management protocols for research animals should follow standard protocols applied in clinical work for the species involved. This will improve morbidity and mortality outcomes. A database should be established to facilitate selection of anaesthesia and pain management protocols for specific experimental surgical procedures and adopted as an International Standard (IS) according to animal species selected. A list of 10 golden rules and requirements for conduction of animal experiments in musculoskeletal research was drawn up comprising 1) Intelligent study designs to receive appropriate answers; 2) Minimal complication rates (5 to max. 10%); 3) Defined end-points for both welfare and scientific outputs analogous to quality assessment (QA) audit of protocols in GLP studies; 4) Sufficient details for materials and methods applied; 5) Potentially confounding variables (genetic background, seasonal, hormonal, size, histological, and biomechanical differences); 6) Post-operative management with emphasis on analgesia and follow-up examinations; 7) Study protocols to satisfy criteria established for a "justified animal study"; 8) Surgical expertise to conduct surgery on animals; 9) Pilot studies as a critical part of model validation and powering of the definitive study design; 10) Criteria for funding agencies to include requirements related to animal experiments as part of the overall scientific proposal review protocols. Such agencies are also encouraged to seriously consider and adopt the recommendations described here when awarding funds for specific projects. Specific new requirements and mandates related both to improving the welfare and scientific rigour of animal-based research models are urgently needed as part of international harmonization of standards.

Design and Implementation of BDS RTCM SSR Message

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Xia; Cheng, Fang; Liu, Feng; Lu, XiaoChun

2017-09-01

Based on the real-time differential positioning system of Beidou wide area, a set of Beidou high-precision differential information transmission protocol is studied and designed. After the system generates satellite precise orbit and clock difference products, it needs to be sent to the users in a certain data format through C band GEO communication satellite. The transport protocol should be designed according to the data volume and update rate of the system. At the same time, it is necessary to combine the signal system, satellite resources and the restriction and restriction of the receiver implementation technology. It refers to the relevant fields and international similar systems of technology and standards to design. This paper establishes a set of technical indicators which can measure the pros and cons of differential message organization and broadcasting strategy. Through modeling, simulation and actual test, this paper makes a comprehensive comparison of different strategies. Finally, a transmission protocol design scheme which has good performance and meets the system service requirements is presented.

Analytical Models of Cross-Layer Protocol Optimization in Real-Time Wireless Sensor Ad Hoc Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hortos, William S.

The real-time interactions among the nodes of a wireless sensor network (WSN) to cooperatively process data from multiple sensors are modeled. Quality-of-service (QoS) metrics are associated with the quality of fused information: throughput, delay, packet error rate, etc. Multivariate point process (MVPP) models of discrete random events in WSNs establish stochastic characteristics of optimal cross-layer protocols. Discrete-event, cross-layer interactions in mobile ad hoc network (MANET) protocols have been modeled using a set of concatenated design parameters and associated resource levels by the MVPPs. Characterization of the "best" cross-layer designs for a MANET is formulated by applying the general theory of martingale representations to controlled MVPPs. Performance is described in terms of concatenated protocol parameters and controlled through conditional rates of the MVPPs. Modeling limitations to determination of closed-form solutions versus explicit iterative solutions for ad hoc WSN controls are examined.

Assessment of Protocol Designed to Detect Endocine Disrupting Effects of Flutamide in Xenopus Tropicalis

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Program. The frogs were exposed to the model anti- androgenic...the study were to develop a protocol that could be used for a standard U.S. EPA testing procedure in the Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing...compounds. As a consequence of this requirement, the USEPA established an Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC

A General Small-Scale Reactor To Enable Standardization and Acceleration of Photocatalytic Reactions.

PubMed

Le, Chi Chip; Wismer, Michael K; Shi, Zhi-Cai; Zhang, Rui; Conway, Donald V; Li, Guoqing; Vachal, Petr; Davies, Ian W; MacMillan, David W C

2017-06-28

Photocatalysis for organic synthesis has experienced an exponential growth in the past 10 years. However, the variety of experimental procedures that have been reported to perform photon-based catalyst excitation has hampered the establishment of general protocols to convert visible light into chemical energy. To address this issue, we have designed an integrated photoreactor for enhanced photon capture and catalyst excitation. Moreover, the evaluation of this new reactor in eight photocatalytic transformations that are widely employed in medicinal chemistry settings has confirmed significant performance advantages of this optimized design while enabling a standardized protocol.

15 CFR 740.11 - Governments, international organizations, international inspections under the Chemical Weapons...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., including Additional Protocols, designed to ensure that special nuclear materials and other related nuclear... headquarters in Luxembourg. Euratom establishes and administers safeguards designed to ensure that special... the aggregation exceeds the APP parameter set forth in ECCN 4A003.b. (v) “600 series” items may not be...

A Web Resource for Standardized Benchmark Datasets, Metrics, and Rosetta Protocols for Macromolecular Modeling and Design.

PubMed

Ó Conchúir, Shane; Barlow, Kyle A; Pache, Roland A; Ollikainen, Noah; Kundert, Kale; O'Meara, Matthew J; Smith, Colin A; Kortemme, Tanja

2015-01-01

The development and validation of computational macromolecular modeling and design methods depend on suitable benchmark datasets and informative metrics for comparing protocols. In addition, if a method is intended to be adopted broadly in diverse biological applications, there needs to be information on appropriate parameters for each protocol, as well as metrics describing the expected accuracy compared to experimental data. In certain disciplines, there exist established benchmarks and public resources where experts in a particular methodology are encouraged to supply their most efficient implementation of each particular benchmark. We aim to provide such a resource for protocols in macromolecular modeling and design. We present a freely accessible web resource (https://kortemmelab.ucsf.edu/benchmarks) to guide the development of protocols for protein modeling and design. The site provides benchmark datasets and metrics to compare the performance of a variety of modeling protocols using different computational sampling methods and energy functions, providing a "best practice" set of parameters for each method. Each benchmark has an associated downloadable benchmark capture archive containing the input files, analysis scripts, and tutorials for running the benchmark. The captures may be run with any suitable modeling method; we supply command lines for running the benchmarks using the Rosetta software suite. We have compiled initial benchmarks for the resource spanning three key areas: prediction of energetic effects of mutations, protein design, and protein structure prediction, each with associated state-of-the-art modeling protocols. With the help of the wider macromolecular modeling community, we hope to expand the variety of benchmarks included on the website and continue to evaluate new iterations of current methods as they become available.

An Authentication Protocol for Future Sensor Networks.

PubMed

Bilal, Muhammad; Kang, Shin-Gak

2017-04-28

Authentication is one of the essential security services in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for ensuring secure data sessions. Sensor node authentication ensures the confidentiality and validity of data collected by the sensor node, whereas user authentication guarantees that only legitimate users can access the sensor data. In a mobile WSN, sensor and user nodes move across the network and exchange data with multiple nodes, thus experiencing the authentication process multiple times. The integration of WSNs with Internet of Things (IoT) brings forth a new kind of WSN architecture along with stricter security requirements; for instance, a sensor node or a user node may need to establish multiple concurrent secure data sessions. With concurrent data sessions, the frequency of the re-authentication process increases in proportion to the number of concurrent connections. Moreover, to establish multiple data sessions, it is essential that a protocol participant have the capability of running multiple instances of the protocol run, which makes the security issue even more challenging. The currently available authentication protocols were designed for the autonomous WSN and do not account for the above requirements. Hence, ensuring a lightweight and efficient authentication protocol has become more crucial. In this paper, we present a novel, lightweight and efficient key exchange and authentication protocol suite called the Secure Mobile Sensor Network (SMSN) Authentication Protocol. In the SMSN a mobile node goes through an initial authentication procedure and receives a re-authentication ticket from the base station. Later a mobile node can use this re-authentication ticket when establishing multiple data exchange sessions and/or when moving across the network. This scheme reduces the communication and computational complexity of the authentication process. We proved the strength of our protocol with rigorous security analysis (including formal analysis using the BAN-logic) and simulated the SMSN and previously proposed schemes in an automated protocol verifier tool. Finally, we compared the computational complexity and communication cost against well-known authentication protocols.

An Authentication Protocol for Future Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Bilal, Muhammad; Kang, Shin-Gak

2017-01-01

Authentication is one of the essential security services in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for ensuring secure data sessions. Sensor node authentication ensures the confidentiality and validity of data collected by the sensor node, whereas user authentication guarantees that only legitimate users can access the sensor data. In a mobile WSN, sensor and user nodes move across the network and exchange data with multiple nodes, thus experiencing the authentication process multiple times. The integration of WSNs with Internet of Things (IoT) brings forth a new kind of WSN architecture along with stricter security requirements; for instance, a sensor node or a user node may need to establish multiple concurrent secure data sessions. With concurrent data sessions, the frequency of the re-authentication process increases in proportion to the number of concurrent connections. Moreover, to establish multiple data sessions, it is essential that a protocol participant have the capability of running multiple instances of the protocol run, which makes the security issue even more challenging. The currently available authentication protocols were designed for the autonomous WSN and do not account for the above requirements. Hence, ensuring a lightweight and efficient authentication protocol has become more crucial. In this paper, we present a novel, lightweight and efficient key exchange and authentication protocol suite called the Secure Mobile Sensor Network (SMSN) Authentication Protocol. In the SMSN a mobile node goes through an initial authentication procedure and receives a re-authentication ticket from the base station. Later a mobile node can use this re-authentication ticket when establishing multiple data exchange sessions and/or when moving across the network. This scheme reduces the communication and computational complexity of the authentication process. We proved the strength of our protocol with rigorous security analysis (including formal analysis using the BAN-logic) and simulated the SMSN and previously proposed schemes in an automated protocol verifier tool. Finally, we compared the computational complexity and communication cost against well-known authentication protocols. PMID:28452937

Refining animal models in fracture research: seeking consensus in optimising both animal welfare and scientific validity for appropriate biomedical use

PubMed Central

Auer, Jorg A; Goodship, Allen; Arnoczky, Steven; Pearce, Simon; Price, Jill; Claes, Lutz; von Rechenberg, Brigitte; Hofmann-Amtenbrinck, Margarethe; Schneider, Erich; Müller-Terpitz, R; Thiele, F; Rippe, Klaus-Peter; Grainger, David W

2007-01-01

Background In an attempt to establish some consensus on the proper use and design of experimental animal models in musculoskeletal research, AOVET (the veterinary specialty group of the AO Foundation) in concert with the AO Research Institute (ARI), and the European Academy for the Study of Scientific and Technological Advance, convened a group of musculoskeletal researchers, veterinarians, legal experts, and ethicists to discuss, in a frank and open forum, the use of animals in musculoskeletal research. Methods The group narrowed the field to fracture research. The consensus opinion resulting from this workshop can be summarized as follows: Results & Conclusion Anaesthesia and pain management protocols for research animals should follow standard protocols applied in clinical work for the species involved. This will improve morbidity and mortality outcomes. A database should be established to facilitate selection of anaesthesia and pain management protocols for specific experimental surgical procedures and adopted as an International Standard (IS) according to animal species selected. A list of 10 golden rules and requirements for conduction of animal experiments in musculoskeletal research was drawn up comprising 1) Intelligent study designs to receive appropriate answers; 2) Minimal complication rates (5 to max. 10%); 3) Defined end-points for both welfare and scientific outputs analogous to quality assessment (QA) audit of protocols in GLP studies; 4) Sufficient details for materials and methods applied; 5) Potentially confounding variables (genetic background, seasonal, hormonal, size, histological, and biomechanical differences); 6) Post-operative management with emphasis on analgesia and follow-up examinations; 7) Study protocols to satisfy criteria established for a "justified animal study"; 8) Surgical expertise to conduct surgery on animals; 9) Pilot studies as a critical part of model validation and powering of the definitive study design; 10) Criteria for funding agencies to include requirements related to animal experiments as part of the overall scientific proposal review protocols. Such agencies are also encouraged to seriously consider and adopt the recommendations described here when awarding funds for specific projects. Specific new requirements and mandates related both to improving the welfare and scientific rigour of animal-based research models are urgently needed as part of international harmonization of standards. PMID:17678534

A standard protocol for describing individual-based and agent-based models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grimm, Volker; Berger, Uta; Bastiansen, Finn; Eliassen, Sigrunn; Ginot, Vincent; Giske, Jarl; Goss-Custard, John; Grand, Tamara; Heinz, Simone K.; Huse, Geir; Huth, Andreas; Jepsen, Jane U.; Jorgensen, Christian; Mooij, Wolf M.; Muller, Birgit; Pe'er, Guy; Piou, Cyril; Railsback, Steven F.; Robbins, Andrew M.; Robbins, Martha M.; Rossmanith, Eva; Ruger, Nadja; Strand, Espen; Souissi, Sami; Stillman, Richard A.; Vabo, Rune; Visser, Ute; DeAngelis, Donald L.

2006-01-01

Simulation models that describe autonomous individual organisms (individual based models, IBM) or agents (agent-based models, ABM) have become a widely used tool, not only in ecology, but also in many other disciplines dealing with complex systems made up of autonomous entities. However, there is no standard protocol for describing such simulation models, which can make them difficult to understand and to duplicate. This paper presents a proposed standard protocol, ODD, for describing IBMs and ABMs, developed and tested by 28 modellers who cover a wide range of fields within ecology. This protocol consists of three blocks (Overview, Design concepts, and Details), which are subdivided into seven elements: Purpose, State variables and scales, Process overview and scheduling, Design concepts, Initialization, Input, and Submodels. We explain which aspects of a model should be described in each element, and we present an example to illustrate the protocol in use. In addition, 19 examples are available in an Online Appendix. We consider ODD as a first step for establishing a more detailed common format of the description of IBMs and ABMs. Once initiated, the protocol will hopefully evolve as it becomes used by a sufficiently large proportion of modellers.

Designing Endocrine Disruption Out of the Next Generation of Chemicals

PubMed Central

Schug, T.T; Abagyan, R.; Blumberg, B.; Collins, T.J.; Crews, D.; DeFur, P.L.; Dickerson, S.M.; Edwards, T.M.; Gore, A.C.; Guillette, L.J.; Hayes, T.; Heindel, J.J.; Moores, A.; Patisaul, H.B.; Tal, T.L.; Thayer, K.A.; Vandenberg, L.N.; Warner, J.; Watson, C.S.; Saal, F.S. vom; Zoeller, R.T.; O’Brien, K.P.; Myers, J.P.

2013-01-01

A central goal of green chemistry is to avoid hazard in the design of new chemicals. This objective is best achieved when information about a chemical’s potential hazardous effects is obtained as early in the design process as feasible. Endocrine disruption is a type of hazard that to date has been inadequately addressed by both industrial and regulatory science. To aid chemists in avoiding this hazard, we propose an endocrine disruption testing protocol for use by chemists in the design of new chemicals. The Tiered Protocol for Endocrine Disruption (TiPED) has been created under the oversight of a scientific advisory committee composed of leading representatives from both green chemistry and the environmental health sciences. TiPED is conceived as a tool for new chemical design, thus it starts with a chemist theoretically at “the drawing board.” It consists of five testing tiers ranging from broad in silico evaluation up through specific cell- and whole organism-based assays. To be effective at detecting endocrine disruption, a testing protocol must be able to measure potential hormone-like or hormone-inhibiting effects of chemicals, as well as the many possible interactions and signaling sequellae such chemicals may have with cell-based receptors. Accordingly, we have designed this protocol to broadly interrogate the endocrine system. The proposed protocol will not detect all possible mechanisms of endocrine disruption, because scientific understanding of these phenomena is advancing rapidly. To ensure that the protocol remains current, we have established a plan for incorporating new assays into the protocol as the science advances. In this paper we present the principles that should guide the science of testing new chemicals for endocrine disruption, as well as principles by which to evaluate individual assays for applicability, and laboratories for reliability. In a ‘proof-of-principle’ test, we ran 6 endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that act via different endocrinological mechanisms through the protocol using published literature. Each was identified as endocrine active by one or more tiers. We believe that this voluntary testing protocol will be a dynamic tool to facilitate efficient and early identification of potentially problematic chemicals, while ultimately reducing the risks to public health. PMID:25110461

Designing Endocrine Disruption Out of the Next Generation of Chemicals.

PubMed

Schug, T T; Abagyan, R; Blumberg, B; Collins, T J; Crews, D; DeFur, P L; Dickerson, S M; Edwards, T M; Gore, A C; Guillette, L J; Hayes, T; Heindel, J J; Moores, A; Patisaul, H B; Tal, T L; Thayer, K A; Vandenberg, L N; Warner, J; Watson, C S; Saal, F S Vom; Zoeller, R T; O'Brien, K P; Myers, J P

2013-01-01

A central goal of green chemistry is to avoid hazard in the design of new chemicals. This objective is best achieved when information about a chemical's potential hazardous effects is obtained as early in the design process as feasible. Endocrine disruption is a type of hazard that to date has been inadequately addressed by both industrial and regulatory science. To aid chemists in avoiding this hazard, we propose an endocrine disruption testing protocol for use by chemists in the design of new chemicals. The Tiered Protocol for Endocrine Disruption (TiPED) has been created under the oversight of a scientific advisory committee composed of leading representatives from both green chemistry and the environmental health sciences. TiPED is conceived as a tool for new chemical design, thus it starts with a chemist theoretically at "the drawing board." It consists of five testing tiers ranging from broad in silico evaluation up through specific cell- and whole organism-based assays. To be effective at detecting endocrine disruption, a testing protocol must be able to measure potential hormone-like or hormone-inhibiting effects of chemicals, as well as the many possible interactions and signaling sequellae such chemicals may have with cell-based receptors. Accordingly, we have designed this protocol to broadly interrogate the endocrine system. The proposed protocol will not detect all possible mechanisms of endocrine disruption, because scientific understanding of these phenomena is advancing rapidly. To ensure that the protocol remains current, we have established a plan for incorporating new assays into the protocol as the science advances. In this paper we present the principles that should guide the science of testing new chemicals for endocrine disruption, as well as principles by which to evaluate individual assays for applicability, and laboratories for reliability. In a 'proof-of-principle' test, we ran 6 endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that act via different endocrinological mechanisms through the protocol using published literature. Each was identified as endocrine active by one or more tiers. We believe that this voluntary testing protocol will be a dynamic tool to facilitate efficient and early identification of potentially problematic chemicals, while ultimately reducing the risks to public health.

An electronic specimen collection protocol schema (eSCPS). Document architecture for specimen management and the exchange of specimen collection protocols between biobanking information systems.

PubMed

Eminaga, O; Semjonow, A; Oezguer, E; Herden, J; Akbarov, I; Tok, A; Engelmann, U; Wille, S

2014-01-01

The integrity of collection protocols in biobanking is essential for a high-quality sample preparation process. However, there is not currently a well-defined universal method for integrating collection protocols in the biobanking information system (BIMS). Therefore, an electronic schema of the collection protocol that is based on Extensible Markup Language (XML) is required to maintain the integrity and enable the exchange of collection protocols. The development and implementation of an electronic specimen collection protocol schema (eSCPS) was performed at two institutions (Muenster and Cologne) in three stages. First, we analyzed the infrastructure that was already established at both the biorepository and the hospital information systems of these institutions and determined the requirements for the sufficient preparation of specimens and documentation. Second, we designed an eSCPS according to these requirements. Finally, a prospective study was conducted to implement and evaluate the novel schema in the current BIMS. We designed an eSCPS that provides all of the relevant information about collection protocols. Ten electronic collection protocols were generated using the supplementary Protocol Editor tool, and these protocols were successfully implemented in the existing BIMS. Moreover, an electronic list of collection protocols for the current studies being performed at each institution was included, new collection protocols were added, and the existing protocols were redesigned to be modifiable. The documentation time was significantly reduced after implementing the eSCPS (5 ± 2 min vs. 7 ± 3 min; p = 0.0002). The eSCPS improves the integrity and facilitates the exchange of specimen collection protocols in the existing open-source BIMS.

First-year survival and growth of bottomland oak species following intensive establishment procedures

Treesearch

Andrew B. Self; Andrew W. Ezell; Michael R. Guttery

2006-01-01

Oak seedlings are annually planted on thousands of acres in the South. While the majority of these seedlings are planted for timber production, there is increasing interest in oak establishment for mast production. In this study, seedlings of nine oak species were grown under a protocol developed by Dr. Paul Kormanik designed to produce an “enhanced” seedling of larger...

Designing of Roaming Protocol for Bluetooth Equipped Multi Agent Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subhan, Fazli; Hasbullah, Halabi B.

Bluetooth is an established standard for low cost, low power, wireless personal area network. Currently, Bluetooth does not support any roaming protocol in which handoff occurs dynamically when a Bluetooth device is moving out of the piconet. If a device is losing its connection to the master device, no provision is made to transfer it to another master. Handoff is not possible in a piconet, as in order to stay within the network, a slave would have to keep the same master. So, by definition intra-handoff is not possible within a piconet. This research mainly focuses on Bluetooth technology and designing a roaming protocol for Bluetooth equipped multi agent systems. A mathematical model is derived for an agent. The idea behind the mathematical model is to know when to initiate the roaming process for an agent. A desired trajectory for the agent is calculated using its x and y coordinates system, and is simulated in SIMULINK. Various roaming techniques are also studied and discussed. The advantage of designing a roaming protocol is to ensure the Bluetooth enabled roaming devices can freely move inside the network coverage without losing its connection or break of service in case of changing the base stations.

Electronic protocol of respiratory physical therapy in patients with idiopathic adolescent scoliosis.

PubMed

Cano, Danila Vieira Baldini; Malafaia, Osvaldo; Alves, Vera Lúcia dos Santos; Avanzi, Osmar; Pinto, José Simão de Paula

2011-01-01

To create a clinical database of respiratory function in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis; computerize and store this clinical data through the use of a software; incorporate this electronic protocol to the SINPE© (Integrated Electronic Protocols System) and analyze a pilot project with interpretation of results. From the literature review a computerized data bank of clinical data of postural deviations was set up (master protocol). Upon completion of the master protocol a specific protocol of respiratory function in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis was designed and a pilot project was conducted to collect and analyze data from ten patients. It was possible to create the master protocol of postural deviations and the specific protocol of respiratory function in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The data collected in the pilot project was processed by the SINPE ANALYZER©, generating charts and statistics. The establishment of the clinical database of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis was possible. Computerization and storage of clinical data using the software were viable. The electronic protocol of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis could be incorporated into the SINPE© and its use in the pilot project was successful.

Validation of an Instrument and Testing Protocol for Measuring the Combinatorial Analysis Schema.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staver, John R.; Harty, Harold

1979-01-01

Designs a testing situation to examine the presence of combinatorial analysis, to establish construct validity in the use of an instrument, Combinatorial Analysis Behavior Observation Scheme (CABOS), and to investigate the presence of the schema in young adolescents. (Author/GA)

Considerations in establishing a post-mortem brain and tissue bank for the study of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a proposed protocol.

PubMed

Nacul, Luis; O'Donovan, Dominic G; Lacerda, Eliana M; Gveric, Djordje; Goldring, Kirstin; Hall, Alison; Bowman, Erinna; Pheby, Derek

2014-06-18

Our aim, having previously investigated through a qualitative study involving extensive discussions with experts and patients the issues involved in establishing and maintaining a disease specific brain and tissue bank for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), was to develop a protocol for a UK ME/CFS repository of high quality human tissue from well characterised subjects with ME/CFS and controls suitable for a broad range of research applications. This would involve a specific donor program coupled with rapid tissue collection and processing, supplemented by comprehensive prospectively collected clinical, laboratory and self-assessment data from cases and controls. We reviewed the operations of existing tissue banks from published literature and from their internal protocols and standard operating procedures (SOPs). On this basis, we developed the protocol presented here, which was designed to meet high technical and ethical standards and legal requirements and was based on recommendations of the MRC UK Brain Banks Network. The facility would be most efficient and cost-effective if incorporated into an existing tissue bank. Tissue collection would be rapid and follow robust protocols to ensure preservation sufficient for a wide range of research uses. A central tissue bank would have resources both for wide-scale donor recruitment and rapid response to donor death for prompt harvesting and processing of tissue. An ME/CFS brain and tissue bank could be established using this protocol. Success would depend on careful consideration of logistic, technical, legal and ethical issues, continuous consultation with patients and the donor population, and a sustainable model of funding ideally involving research councils, health services, and patient charities. This initiative could revolutionise the understanding of this still poorly-understood disease and enhance development of diagnostic biomarkers and treatments.

Optimization of protocol design: a path to efficient, lower cost clinical trial execution

PubMed Central

Malikova, Marina A

2016-01-01

Managing clinical trials requires strategic planning and efficient execution. In order to achieve a timely delivery of important clinical trials’ outcomes, it is useful to establish standardized trial management guidelines and develop robust scoring methodology for evaluation of study protocol complexity. This review will explore the challenges clinical teams face in developing protocols to ensure that the right patients are enrolled and the right data are collected to demonstrate that a drug is safe and efficacious, while managing study costs and study complexity based on proposed comprehensive scoring model. Key factors to consider when developing protocols and techniques to minimize complexity will be discussed. A methodology to identify processes at planning phase, approaches to increase fiscal return and mitigate fiscal compliance risk for clinical trials will be addressed. PMID:28031939

Cross-layer protocol design for QoS optimization in real-time wireless sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hortos, William S.

2010-04-01

The metrics of quality of service (QoS) for each sensor type in a wireless sensor network can be associated with metrics for multimedia that describe the quality of fused information, e.g., throughput, delay, jitter, packet error rate, information correlation, etc. These QoS metrics are typically set at the highest, or application, layer of the protocol stack to ensure that performance requirements for each type of sensor data are satisfied. Application-layer metrics, in turn, depend on the support of the lower protocol layers: session, transport, network, data link (MAC), and physical. The dependencies of the QoS metrics on the performance of the higher layers of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference model of the WSN protocol, together with that of the lower three layers, are the basis for a comprehensive approach to QoS optimization for multiple sensor types in a general WSN model. The cross-layer design accounts for the distributed power consumption along energy-constrained routes and their constituent nodes. Following the author's previous work, the cross-layer interactions in the WSN protocol are represented by a set of concatenated protocol parameters and enabling resource levels. The "best" cross-layer designs to achieve optimal QoS are established by applying the general theory of martingale representations to the parameterized multivariate point processes (MVPPs) for discrete random events occurring in the WSN. Adaptive control of network behavior through the cross-layer design is realized through the parametric factorization of the stochastic conditional rates of the MVPPs. The cross-layer protocol parameters for optimal QoS are determined in terms of solutions to stochastic dynamic programming conditions derived from models of transient flows for heterogeneous sensor data and aggregate information over a finite time horizon. Markov state processes, embedded within the complex combinatorial history of WSN events, are more computationally tractable and lead to simplifications for any simulated or analytical performance evaluations of the cross-layer designs.

J-PAKE: Authenticated Key Exchange without PKI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Feng; Ryan, Peter

Password Authenticated Key Exchange (PAKE) is one of the important topics in cryptography. It aims to address a practical security problem: how to establish secure communication between two parties solely based on a shared password without requiring a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). After more than a decade of extensive research in this field, there have been several PAKE protocols available. The EKE and SPEKE schemes are perhaps the two most notable examples. Both techniques are however patented. In this paper, we review these techniques in detail and summarize various theoretical and practical weaknesses. In addition, we present a new PAKE solution called J-PAKE. Our strategy is to depend on well-established primitives such as the Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP). So far, almost all of the past solutions have avoided using ZKP for the concern on efficiency. We demonstrate how to effectively integrate the ZKP into the protocol design and meanwhile achieve good efficiency. Our protocol has comparable computational efficiency to the EKE and SPEKE schemes with clear advantages on security.

The stem cell laboratory: design, equipment, and oversight.

PubMed

Wesselschmidt, Robin L; Schwartz, Philip H

2011-01-01

This chapter describes some of the major issues to be considered when setting up a laboratory for the culture of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). The process of establishing a hPSC laboratory can be divided into two equally important parts. One is completely administrative and includes developing protocols, seeking approval, and establishing reporting processes and documentation. The other part of establishing a hPSC laboratory involves the physical plant and includes design, equipment and personnel. Proper planning of laboratory operations and proper design of the physical layout of the stem cell laboratory so that meets the scope of planned operations is a major undertaking, but the time spent upfront will pay long-term returns in operational efficiency and effectiveness. A well-planned, organized, and properly equipped laboratory supports research activities by increasing efficiency and reducing lost time and wasted resources.

Evaluation of a discharge education protocol for pediatric patients with gastrostomy tubes.

PubMed

Schweitzer, Michelle; Aucoin, Julia; Docherty, Sharron L; Rice, Henry E; Thompson, Julie; Sullivan, Dori Taylor

2014-01-01

To evaluate the impact of a preprocedure education protocol for children who receive a gastrostomy tube (GT). A preintervention-postintervention design, using surveys and comparison between preprotocol and postprotocol cohorts, was used to evaluate the effect of implementation of a standardized GT education protocol with 26 subjects on caregiver, patient, and provider outcomes. The use of a preprocedure education protocol resulted in improved patient outcomes and increased caregiver knowledge and confidence and was considered a positive change by the providers. Often education is a forgotten part of a medical procedure, and the importance of education is typically only recognized after an adverse event occurs. Establishing a standardized evidence-based education protocol for GT care improves overall care and satisfaction. Use of a systematic and family-centered interdisciplinary approach markedly improves patient care. Copyright © 2014 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Return of Postural Control to Baseline After Anaerobic and Aerobic Exercise Protocols

PubMed Central

Fox, Zachary G; Mihalik, Jason P; Blackburn, J Troy; Battaglini, Claudio L; Guskiewicz, Kevin M

2008-01-01

Context: With regard to sideline concussion testing, the effect of fatigue associated with different types of exercise on postural control is unknown. Objective: To evaluate the effects of fatigue on postural control in healthy college-aged athletes performing anaerobic and aerobic exercise protocols and to establish an immediate recovery time course from each exercise protocol for postural control measures to return to baseline status. Design: Counterbalanced, repeated measures. Setting: Research laboratory. Patients Or Other Participants: Thirty-six collegiate athletes (18 males, 18 females; age  =  19.00 ± 1.01 years, height  =  172.44 ± 10.47 cm, mass  =  69.72 ± 12.84 kg). Intervention(s): Participants completed 2 counterbalanced sessions within 7 days. Each session consisted of 1 exercise protocol followed by postexercise measures of postural control taken at 3-, 8-, 13-, and 18-minute time intervals. Baseline measures were established during the first session, before the specified exertion protocol was performed. Main Outcome Measure(s): Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) results, sway velocity, and elliptical sway area. Results: We found a decrease in postural control after each exercise protocol for all dependent measures. An interaction was noted between exercise protocol and time for total BESS score (P  =  .002). For both exercise protocols, all measures of postural control returned to baseline within 13 minutes. Conclusions: Postural control was negatively affected after anaerobic and aerobic exercise protocols as measured by total BESS score, elliptical sway area, and sway velocity. The effect of exertion lasted up to 13 minutes after each exercise was completed. Certified athletic trainers and clinicians should be aware of these effects and their recovery time course when determining an appropriate time to administer sideline assessments of postural control after a suspected mild traumatic brain injury. PMID:18833307

SU-F-R-11: Designing Quality and Safety Informatics Through Implementation of a CT Radiation Dose Monitoring Program

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

Wilson, JM; Samei, E; Departments of Physics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering, and Medical Physics Graduate Program, Duke University, Durham, NC

2016-06-15

Purpose: Recent legislative and accreditation requirements have driven rapid development and implementation of CT radiation dose monitoring solutions. Institutions must determine how to improve quality, safety, and consistency of their clinical performance. The purpose of this work was to design a strategy and meaningful characterization of results from an in-house, clinically-deployed dose monitoring solution. Methods: A dose monitoring platform was designed by our imaging physics group that focused on extracting protocol parameters, dose metrics, and patient demographics and size. Compared to most commercial solutions, which focus on individual exam alerts and global thresholds, the program sought to characterize overall consistencymore » and targeted thresholds based on eight analytic interrogations. Those were based on explicit questions related to protocol application, national benchmarks, protocol and size-specific dose targets, operational consistency, outliers, temporal trends, intra-system variability, and consistent use of electronic protocols. Using historical data since the start of 2013, 95% and 99% intervals were used to establish yellow and amber parameterized dose alert thresholds, respectively, as a function of protocol, scanner, and size. Results: Quarterly reports have been generated for three hospitals for 3 quarters of 2015 totaling 27880, 28502, 30631 exams, respectively. Four adult and two pediatric protocols were higher than external institutional benchmarks. Four protocol dose levels were being inconsistently applied as a function of patient size. For the three hospitals, the minimum and maximum amber outlier percentages were [1.53%,2.28%], [0.76%,1.8%], [0.94%,1.17%], respectively. Compared with the electronic protocols, 10 protocols were found to be used with some inconsistency. Conclusion: Dose monitoring can satisfy requirements with global alert thresholds and patient dose records, but the real value is in optimizing patient-specific protocols, balancing image quality trade-offs that dose-reduction strategies promise, and improving the performance and consistency of a clinical operation. Data plots that capture patient demographics and scanner performance demonstrate that value.« less

Development and implementation of clinical trial protocol templates at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

PubMed

Bridge, Heather; Smolskis, Mary; Bianchine, Peter; Dixon, Dennis O; Kelly, Grace; Herpin, Betsey; Tavel, Jorge

2009-08-01

A clinical research protocol document must reflect both sound scientific rationale as well as local, national and, when applicable, international regulatory and human subject protections requirements. These requirements originate from a variety of sources, undergo frequent revision and are subject to interpretation. Tools to assist clinical investigators in the production of clinical protocols could facilitate navigating these requirements and ultimately increase the efficiency of clinical research. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) developed templates for investigators to serve as the foundation for protocol development. These protocol templates are designed as tools to support investigators in developing clinical protocols. NIAID established a series of working groups to determine how to improve its capacity to conduct clinical research more efficiently and effectively. The Protocol Template Working Group was convened to determine what protocol templates currently existed within NIAID and whether standard NIAID protocol templates should be produced. After review and assessment of existing protocol documents and requirements, the group reached consensus about required and optional content, determined the format and identified methods for distribution as well as education of investigators in the use of these templates. The templates were approved by the NIAID Executive Committee in 2006 and posted as part of the NIAID Clinical Research Toolkit [1] website for broad access. These documents require scheduled revisions to stay current with regulatory and policy changes. The structure of any clinical protocol template, whether comprehensive or specific to a particular study phase, setting or design, affects how it is used by investigators. Each structure presents its own set of advantages and disadvantages. While useful, protocol templates are not stand-alone tools for creating an optimal protocol document, but must be complemented by institutional resources and support. Education and guidance of investigators in the appropriate use of templates is necessary to ensure a complete yet concise protocol document. Due to changing regulatory requirements, clinical protocol templates cannot become static, but require frequent revisions.

The Stem Cell Laboratory: Design, Equipment, and Oversight

PubMed Central

Wesselschmidt, Robin L.; Schwartz, Philip H.

2013-01-01

This chapter describes some of the major issues to be considered when setting up a laboratory for the culture of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). The process of establishing a hPSC laboratory can be divided into two equally important parts. One is completely administrative and includes developing protocols, seeking approval, and establishing reporting processes and documentation. The other part of establishing a hPSC laboratory involves the physical plant and includes design, equipment and personnel. Proper planning of laboratory operations and proper design of the physical layout of the stem cell laboratory so that meets the scope of planned operations is a major undertaking, but the time spent upfront will pay long-term returns in operational efficiency and effectiveness. A well-planned, organized, and properly equipped laboratory supports research activities by increasing efficiency and reducing lost time and wasted resources. PMID:21822863

Communication and protocol compliance and their relation to the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR): A mixed-methods study of simulated telephone-assisted CPR.

PubMed

Nord-Ljungquist, Helena; Brännström, Margareta; Bohm, Katarina

2015-07-01

In the event of a cardiac arrest, emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs) play a critical role by providing telephone-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (T-CPR) to laypersons. The aim of our investigation was to describe compliance with the T-CPR protocol, the performance of the laypersons in a simulated T-CPR situation, and the communication between laypersons and EMDs during these actions. We conducted a retrospective observational study by analysing 20 recorded video and audio files. In a simulation, EMDs provided laypersons with instructions following T-CPR protocols. These were then analysed using a mixed method with convergent parallel design. If the EMDs complied with the T-CPR protocol, the laypersons performed the correct procedures in 71% of the actions. The single most challenging instruction of the T-CPR protocol, for both EMDs and laypersons, was airway control. Mean values for compression depth and frequency did not reach established guideline goals for CPR. Proper application of T-CPR protocols by EMDs resulted in better performance by laypersons in CPR. The most problematic task for EMDs as well for laypersons was airway management. The study results did not establish that the quality of communication between EMDs and laypersons performing CPR in a cardiac arrest situation led to statistically different outcomes, as measured by the quality and effectiveness of the CPR delivered. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Making Teacher Change Visible: Developing an Action Research Protocol for Elementary Mathematics Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Linda J.; McKeny, Timothy S.

2012-01-01

Professional development is a well-established component of teacher change, and action research can make that change visible. In this study, quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 237 elementary teachers and intervention specialists from 33 federally-designated Appalachian counties of Southeastern Ohio who participated in the…

Distributed Leader-Following Finite-Time Consensus Control for Linear Multiagent Systems under Switching Topology

PubMed Central

Xu, Xiaole; Chen, Shengyong

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the finite-time consensus problem of leader-following multiagent systems. The dynamical models for all following agents and the leader are assumed the same general form of linear system, and the interconnection topology among the agents is assumed to be switching and undirected. We mostly consider the continuous-time case. By assuming that the states of neighbouring agents are known to each agent, a sufficient condition is established for finite-time consensus via a neighbor-based state feedback protocol. While the states of neighbouring agents cannot be available and only the outputs of neighbouring agents can be accessed, the distributed observer-based consensus protocol is proposed for each following agent. A sufficient condition is provided in terms of linear matrix inequalities to design the observer-based consensus protocol, which makes the multiagent systems achieve finite-time consensus under switching topologies. Then, we discuss the counterparts for discrete-time case. Finally, we provide an illustrative example to show the effectiveness of the design approach. PMID:24883367

System approach to distributed sensor management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayott, Gregory; Miller, Gordon; Harrell, John; Hepp, Jared; Self, Mid

2010-04-01

Since 2003, the US Army's RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision Electronic Sensor Directorate (NVESD) has been developing a distributed Sensor Management System (SMS) that utilizes a framework which demonstrates application layer, net-centric sensor management. The core principles of the design support distributed and dynamic discovery of sensing devices and processes through a multi-layered implementation. This results in a sensor management layer that acts as a System with defined interfaces for which the characteristics, parameters, and behaviors can be described. Within the framework, the definition of a protocol is required to establish the rules for how distributed sensors should operate. The protocol defines the behaviors, capabilities, and message structures needed to operate within the functional design boundaries. The protocol definition addresses the requirements for a device (sensors or processes) to dynamically join or leave a sensor network, dynamically describe device control and data capabilities, and allow dynamic addressing of publish and subscribe functionality. The message structure is a multi-tiered definition that identifies standard, extended, and payload representations that are specifically designed to accommodate the need for standard representations of common functions, while supporting the need for feature-based functions that are typically vendor specific. The dynamic qualities of the protocol enable a User GUI application the flexibility of mapping widget-level controls to each device based on reported capabilities in real-time. The SMS approach is designed to accommodate scalability and flexibility within a defined architecture. The distributed sensor management framework and its application to a tactical sensor network will be described in this paper.

Considerations in establishing a post-mortem brain and tissue bank for the study of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a proposed protocol

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Our aim, having previously investigated through a qualitative study involving extensive discussions with experts and patients the issues involved in establishing and maintaining a disease specific brain and tissue bank for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), was to develop a protocol for a UK ME/CFS repository of high quality human tissue from well characterised subjects with ME/CFS and controls suitable for a broad range of research applications. This would involve a specific donor program coupled with rapid tissue collection and processing, supplemented by comprehensive prospectively collected clinical, laboratory and self-assessment data from cases and controls. Findings We reviewed the operations of existing tissue banks from published literature and from their internal protocols and standard operating procedures (SOPs). On this basis, we developed the protocol presented here, which was designed to meet high technical and ethical standards and legal requirements and was based on recommendations of the MRC UK Brain Banks Network. The facility would be most efficient and cost-effective if incorporated into an existing tissue bank. Tissue collection would be rapid and follow robust protocols to ensure preservation sufficient for a wide range of research uses. A central tissue bank would have resources both for wide-scale donor recruitment and rapid response to donor death for prompt harvesting and processing of tissue. Conclusion An ME/CFS brain and tissue bank could be established using this protocol. Success would depend on careful consideration of logistic, technical, legal and ethical issues, continuous consultation with patients and the donor population, and a sustainable model of funding ideally involving research councils, health services, and patient charities. This initiative could revolutionise the understanding of this still poorly-understood disease and enhance development of diagnostic biomarkers and treatments. PMID:24938650

A Public-Key Based Authentication and Key Establishment Protocol Coupled with a Client Puzzle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, M. C.; Fung, Chun-Kan

2003-01-01

Discusses network denial-of-service attacks which have become a security threat to the Internet community and suggests the need for reliable authentication protocols in client-server applications. Presents a public-key based authentication and key establishment protocol coupled with a client puzzle protocol and validates it through formal logic…

METHOD FOR MICRORNA ISOLATION FROM CLINICAL SERUM SAMPLES

PubMed Central

Li, Yu; Kowdley, Kris V.

2012-01-01

MicroRNAs are a group of intracellular non-coding RNA molecules that have been implicated in a variety of human diseases. Due to their high stability in blood, microRNAs released into circulation could be potentially utilized as non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis or prognosis. Current microRNA isolation protocols are specifically designed for solid tissues and are impractical for biomarker development utilizing small-volume serum samples on a large scale. Thus, a protocol for microRNA isolation from serum is needed to accommodate these conditions in biomarker development. To establish such a protocol, we developed a simplified approach to normalize sample input by using single synthetic spike-in microRNA. We evaluated three commonly used commercial microRNA isolation kits for the best performance by comparing RNA quality and yield. The manufacturer’s protocol was further modified to improve the microRNA yield from 200 μL of human serum. MicroRNAs isolated from a large set of clinical serum samples were tested on the miRCURY LNA real-time PCR panel and confirmed to be suitable for high-throughput microRNA profiling. In conclusion, we have established a proven method for microRNA isolation from clinical serum samples suitable for microRNA biomarker development. PMID:22982505

Design Protocols and Analytical Strategies that Incorporate Structural Reliability Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duffy, Stephen F.

1995-01-01

The general goal of this project is to establish design protocols that enable the engineer to analyze and predict certain types of behavior in ceramic composites. Sections of the final report addresses the following: Description of the Problem that Motivated the Technology Development, Description of the New Technology that was Developed, Unique and Novel Features of the Technology and Results/Benefits of Application (year by year accomplishments), and Utilization of New Technology in Non-Aerospace Applications. Activities for this reporting period included the development of a design analysis as part of a cooperative agreement with general Electric Aircraft Engines. The effort focused on modifying the Toughened Ceramics Analysis and Reliability Evaluation of Structures (TCARES) algorithm for use in the design of engine components fabricated from NiAl. Other activities related to the development of an ASTM standard practice for estimating Weibull parameters. The standard focuses on the evaluation and reporting of uniaxial strength data, and the estimation of probability distribution parameters for ceramics which fail in a brittle fashion.

Identifying Evidence-Based Educational Practices: Which Research Designs Provide Findings That Can Influence Social Change?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schirmer, Barbara R.; Lockman, Alison S.; Schirmer, Todd N.

2016-01-01

We conducted this conceptual study to determine if the Institute of Education Sciences/National Science Foundation pipeline of evidence guidelines could be applied as a protocol that researchers could follow in establishing evidence of effective instructional practices. To do this, we compared these guidelines, new drug development process, and…

How I Learned to Design and Conduct Semi-Structured Interviews: An Ongoing and Continuous Journey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rabionet, Silvia E.

2011-01-01

Qualitative interviewing is a flexible and powerful tool to capture the voices and the ways people make meaning of their experience Learning to conduct semi-structure interviews requires the following six stages: (a) selecting the type of interview; (b) establishing ethical guidelines, (c) crafting the interview protocol; (d) conducting and…

Protoplast isolation and plant regeneration of guava (Psidium guajava L.) using experiments in mixture-amount design

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A protocol was established for plant regeneration from leaf protoplasts of guava (Psidium guajava L.) using mixture-amount (concentration) experiments. A protoplast yield of 3.7 × 106 (viability > 90 percent) was obtained when 1 g leaf strips were digested in a solution of approximately 0.75 M osmot...

Modelling the protocol stack in NCS with deterministic and stochastic petri net

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hui, Chen; Chunjie, Zhou; Weifeng, Zhu

2011-06-01

Protocol stack is the basis of the networked control systems (NCS). Full or partial reconfiguration of protocol stack offers both optimised communication service and system performance. Nowadays, field testing is unrealistic to determine the performance of reconfigurable protocol stack; and the Petri net formal description technique offers the best combination of intuitive representation, tool support and analytical capabilities. Traditionally, separation between the different layers of the OSI model has been a common practice. Nevertheless, such a layered modelling analysis framework of protocol stack leads to the lack of global optimisation for protocol reconfiguration. In this article, we proposed a general modelling analysis framework for NCS based on the cross-layer concept, which is to establish an efficiency system scheduling model through abstracting the time constraint, the task interrelation, the processor and the bus sub-models from upper and lower layers (application, data link and physical layer). Cross-layer design can help to overcome the inadequacy of global optimisation based on information sharing between protocol layers. To illustrate the framework, we take controller area network (CAN) as a case study. The simulation results of deterministic and stochastic Petri-net (DSPN) model can help us adjust the message scheduling scheme and obtain better system performance.

Multiphysics Engineering Analysis for an Integrated Design of ITER Diagnostic First Wall and Diagnostic Shield Module Design

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

Zhai, Y.; Loesser, G.; Smith, M.

ITER diagnostic first walls (DFWs) and diagnostic shield modules (DSMs) inside the port plugs (PPs) are designed to protect diagnostic instrument and components from a harsh plasma environment and provide structural support while allowing for diagnostic access to the plasma. The design of DFWs and DSMs are driven by 1) plasma radiation and nuclear heating during normal operation 2) electromagnetic loads during plasma events and associate component structural responses. A multi-physics engineering analysis protocol for the design has been established at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and it was used for the design of ITER DFWs and DSMs. The analyses weremore » performed to address challenging design issues based on resultant stresses and deflections of the DFW-DSM-PP assembly for the main load cases. ITER Structural Design Criteria for In-Vessel Components (SDC-IC) required for design by analysis and three major issues driving the mechanical design of ITER DFWs are discussed. The general guidelines for the DSM design have been established as a result of design parametric studies.« less

Design protocols and analytical strategies that incorporate structural reliability models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duffy, Stephen F.

1995-01-01

In spite of great improvements in accuracy through the use of computers, design methods, which can be equally critical in establishing the commercial success of a material, have been treated as afterthoughts. Early investment in design and development technologies can easily reduce manufacturing costs later in the product cycle. To avoid lengthy product development times for ceramic composites, funding agencies for materials research must commit resources to support design and development technologies early in the material life cycle. These technologies need not focus on designing the material, rather, the technology must focus on designing with the material, i. e., developing methods to design components fabricated from the new material. Thus a basic tenet that motivated this research effort is that a persistent need exists for improvements in the analysis of components fabricated from CMC material systems. From an aerospace design engineer's perspective the new generation of ceramic composites offers a significant potential for raising the thrust/weight ratio and reducing NOx emissions of gas turbine engines. Continuous ceramic fiber composites exhibit an increase in work of fracture, which allows for 'graceful' rather than catastrophic failure. When loaded in the fiber direction, these composites retain substantial strength capacity beyond the initiation of transverse matrix cracking despite the fact that neither of its constituents would exhibit such behavior if tested alone. As additional load is applied beyond first matrix cracking, the matrix tends to break in a series of cracks bridged by the ceramic fibers. Thus any additional load is born increasingly by the fibers until the ultimate strength of the composite is reached. Establishing design protocols that enable the engineer to analyze and predict this type of behavior in ceramic composites was the general goal of this project.

Design protocols and analytical strategies that incorporate structural reliability models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duffy, Stephen F.

1995-08-01

In spite of great improvements in accuracy through the use of computers, design methods, which can be equally critical in establishing the commercial success of a material, have been treated as afterthoughts. Early investment in design and development technologies can easily reduce manufacturing costs later in the product cycle. To avoid lengthy product development times for ceramic composites, funding agencies for materials research must commit resources to support design and development technologies early in the material life cycle. These technologies need not focus on designing the material, rather, the technology must focus on designing with the material, i. e., developing methods to design components fabricated from the new material. Thus a basic tenet that motivated this research effort is that a persistent need exists for improvements in the analysis of components fabricated from CMC material systems. From an aerospace design engineer's perspective the new generation of ceramic composites offers a significant potential for raising the thrust/weight ratio and reducing NOx emissions of gas turbine engines. Continuous ceramic fiber composites exhibit an increase in work of fracture, which allows for 'graceful' rather than catastrophic failure. When loaded in the fiber direction, these composites retain substantial strength capacity beyond the initiation of transverse matrix cracking despite the fact that neither of its constituents would exhibit such behavior if tested alone. As additional load is applied beyond first matrix cracking, the matrix tends to break in a series of cracks bridged by the ceramic fibers. Thus any additional load is born increasingly by the fibers until the ultimate strength of the composite is reached. Establishing design protocols that enable the engineer to analyze and predict this type of behavior in ceramic composites was the general goal of this project.

The UNC/UMN Baby Connectome Project (BCP): An overview of the study design and protocol development.

PubMed

Howell, Brittany R; Styner, Martin A; Gao, Wei; Yap, Pew-Thian; Wang, Li; Baluyot, Kristine; Yacoub, Essa; Chen, Geng; Potts, Taylor; Salzwedel, Andrew; Li, Gang; Gilmore, John H; Piven, Joseph; Smith, J Keith; Shen, Dinggang; Ugurbil, Kamil; Zhu, Hongtu; Lin, Weili; Elison, Jed T

2018-03-22

The human brain undergoes extensive and dynamic growth during the first years of life. The UNC/UMN Baby Connectome Project (BCP), one of the Lifespan Connectome Projects funded by NIH, is an ongoing study jointly conducted by investigators at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Minnesota. The primary objective of the BCP is to characterize brain and behavioral development in typically developing infants across the first 5 years of life. The ultimate goals are to chart emerging patterns of structural and functional connectivity during this period, map brain-behavior associations, and establish a foundation from which to further explore trajectories of health and disease. To accomplish these goals, we are combining state of the art MRI acquisition and analysis techniques, including high-resolution structural MRI (T1-and T2-weighted images), diffusion imaging (dMRI), and resting state functional connectivity MRI (rfMRI). While the overall design of the BCP largely is built on the protocol developed by the Lifespan Human Connectome Project (HCP), given the unique age range of the BCP cohort, additional optimization of imaging parameters and consideration of an age appropriate battery of behavioral assessments were needed. Here we provide the overall study protocol, including approaches for subject recruitment, strategies for imaging typically developing children 0-5 years of age without sedation, imaging protocol and optimization, a description of the battery of behavioral assessments, and QA/QC procedures. Combining HCP inspired neuroimaging data with well-established behavioral assessments during this time period will yield an invaluable resource for the scientific community. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Alternative Approach to "Identification of Unknowns": Designing a Protocol to Verify the Identities of Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria.

PubMed

Martinez-Vaz, Betsy M; Denny, Roxanne; Young, Nevin D; Sadowsky, Michael J

2015-12-01

Microbiology courses often include a laboratory activity on the identification of unknown microbes. This activity consists of providing students with microbial cultures and running biochemical assays to identify the organisms. This approach lacks molecular techniques such as sequencing of genes encoding 16S rRNA, which is currently the method of choice for identification of unknown bacteria. A laboratory activity was developed to teach students how to identify microorganisms using 16S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and validate microbial identities using biochemical techniques. We hypothesized that designing an experimental protocol to confirm the identity of a bacterium would improve students' knowledge of microbial identification techniques and the physiological characteristics of bacterial species. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria were isolated from the root nodules of Medicago truncatula and prepared for 16S rRNA PCR analysis. Once DNA sequencing revealed the identity of the organisms, the students designed experimental protocols to verify the identity of rhizobia. An assessment was conducted by analyzing pre- and posttest scores and by grading students' verification protocols and presentations. Posttest scores were higher than pretest scores at or below p = 0.001. Normalized learning gains (G) showed an improvement of students' knowledge of microbial identification methods (LO4, G = 0.46), biochemical properties of nitrogen-fixing bacteria (LO3, G = 0.45), and the events leading to the establishment of nitrogen-fixing symbioses (LO1&2, G = 0.51, G = 0.37). An evaluation of verification protocols also showed significant improvement with a p value of less than 0.001.

Comparison of two progressive treadmill tests in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

PubMed

Riebe, D; Patterson, R B; Braun, C M

2001-11-01

In a vascular rehabilitation program, 28% of our frail elderly patients are unable to be tested with traditional progressive exercise protocols at program entry due to the high (2.0 miles/h or 3.2 km/h) initial treadmill speeds. The purpose of this investigation was to compare a new progressive treadmill protocol which has a reduced initial speed (1.0 mile/h or 1.6 km/h) to an established protocol performed at 2.0 miles/h (3.2 km/h) to determine the comparability and reproducibility of the new protocol. Eleven patients with arterial claudication performed three symptom-limited exercise tests in random order. Two tests used the new protocol while the remaining trial used the established protocol. Claudication pain was measured using a 5-point scale. Oxygen consumption, heart rate, minute ventilation, respiratory exchange ratio and blood pressure at peak exercise were similar among the three trials. There were strong intraclass correlations for peak oxygen consumption (r = 0.97), onset of claudication (r = 0.96) and maximum walking time (r = 0.98) between the two trials using the new protocol. There was also a significant correlation between the new protocol and the established protocol for peak oxygen consumption (r = 0.90) and maximum walking time (r = 0.89). The new progressive treadmill protocol represents a valid, reliable protocol for patients with arterial claudication. This protocol may be useful for testing patients with a low functional capacity so that clinically appropriate exercise prescriptions can be established and the efficacy of treatments can be determined.

Distributed Cooperative Optimal Control for Multiagent Systems on Directed Graphs: An Inverse Optimal Approach.

PubMed

Zhang, Huaguang; Feng, Tao; Yang, Guang-Hong; Liang, Hongjing

2015-07-01

In this paper, the inverse optimal approach is employed to design distributed consensus protocols that guarantee consensus and global optimality with respect to some quadratic performance indexes for identical linear systems on a directed graph. The inverse optimal theory is developed by introducing the notion of partial stability. As a result, the necessary and sufficient conditions for inverse optimality are proposed. By means of the developed inverse optimal theory, the necessary and sufficient conditions are established for globally optimal cooperative control problems on directed graphs. Basic optimal cooperative design procedures are given based on asymptotic properties of the resulting optimal distributed consensus protocols, and the multiagent systems can reach desired consensus performance (convergence rate and damping rate) asymptotically. Finally, two examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

The OAuth 2.0 Web Authorization Protocol for the Internet Addiction Bioinformatics (IABio) Database.

PubMed

Choi, Jeongseok; Kim, Jaekwon; Lee, Dong Kyun; Jang, Kwang Soo; Kim, Dai-Jin; Choi, In Young

2016-03-01

Internet addiction (IA) has become a widespread and problematic phenomenon as smart devices pervade society. Moreover, internet gaming disorder leads to increases in social expenditures for both individuals and nations alike. Although the prevention and treatment of IA are getting more important, the diagnosis of IA remains problematic. Understanding the neurobiological mechanism of behavioral addictions is essential for the development of specific and effective treatments. Although there are many databases related to other addictions, a database for IA has not been developed yet. In addition, bioinformatics databases, especially genetic databases, require a high level of security and should be designed based on medical information standards. In this respect, our study proposes the OAuth standard protocol for database access authorization. The proposed IA Bioinformatics (IABio) database system is based on internet user authentication, which is a guideline for medical information standards, and uses OAuth 2.0 for access control technology. This study designed and developed the system requirements and configuration. The OAuth 2.0 protocol is expected to establish the security of personal medical information and be applied to genomic research on IA.

Application of two segmentation protocols during the processing of virtual images in rapid prototyping: ex vivo study with human dry mandibles.

PubMed

Ferraz, Eduardo Gomes; Andrade, Lucio Costa Safira; dos Santos, Aline Rode; Torregrossa, Vinicius Rabelo; Rubira-Bullen, Izabel Regina Fischer; Sarmento, Viviane Almeida

2013-12-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of virtual three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of human dry mandibles, produced from two segmentation protocols ("outline only" and "all-boundary lines"). Twenty virtual three-dimensional (3D) images were built from computed tomography exam (CT) of 10 dry mandibles, in which linear measurements between anatomical landmarks were obtained and compared to an error probability of 5 %. The results showed no statistically significant difference among the dry mandibles and the virtual 3D reconstructions produced from segmentation protocols tested (p = 0,24). During the designing of a virtual 3D reconstruction, both "outline only" and "all-boundary lines" segmentation protocols can be used. Virtual processing of CT images is the most complex stage during the manufacture of the biomodel. Establishing a better protocol during this phase allows the construction of a biomodel with characteristics that are closer to the original anatomical structures. This is essential to ensure a correct preoperative planning and a suitable treatment.

78 FR 11640 - Information Collection Request Submitted to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-19

... Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (Protocol) and Title VI of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) established limits on total U.S. production, import, and export of class I and class II... transformed, destroyed, or exported to developing countries. The Protocol also establishes limits and...

Managing symptoms during cancer treatments: evaluating the implementation of evidence-informed remote support protocols

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Management of cancer treatment-related symptoms is an important safety issue given that symptoms can become life-threatening and often occur when patients are at home. With funding from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, a pan-Canadian steering committee was established with representation from eight provinces to develop symptom protocols using a rigorous methodology (CAN-IMPLEMENT©). Each protocol is based on a systematic review of the literature to identify relevant clinical practice guidelines. Protocols were validated by cancer nurses from across Canada. The aim of this study is to build an effective and sustainable approach for implementing evidence-informed protocols for nurses to use when providing remote symptom assessment, triage, and guidance in self-management for patients experiencing symptoms while undergoing cancer treatments. Methods A prospective mixed-methods study design will be used. Guided by the Knowledge to Action Framework, the study will involve (a) establishing an advisory knowledge user team in each of three targeted settings; (b) assessing factors influencing nurses’ use of protocols using interviews/focus groups and a standardized survey instrument; (c) adapting protocols for local use, ensuring fidelity of the content; (d) selecting intervention strategies to overcome known barriers and implementing the protocols; (e) conducting think-aloud usability testing; (f) evaluating protocol use and outcomes by conducting an audit of 100 randomly selected charts at each of the three settings; and (g) assessing satisfaction with remote support using symptom protocols and change in nurses’ barriers to use using survey instruments. The primary outcome is sustained use of the protocols, defined as use in 75% of the calls. Descriptive analysis will be conducted for the barriers, use of protocols, and chart audit outcomes. Content analysis will be conducted on interviews/focus groups and usability testing with comparisons across settings. Discussion Given the importance of patient safety, patient-centered care, and delivery of quality services, learning how to effectively implement evidence-informed symptom protocols in oncology healthcare services is essential for ensuring safe, consistent, and effective care for individuals with cancer. This study is likely to have a significant contribution to the delivery of remote oncology services, as well as influence symptom management by patients at home. PMID:23164244

Transcranial magnetic stimulation with acepromazine or dexmedetomidine in combination with levomethadone/fenpipramide in healthy Beagle dogs.

PubMed

Amendt, H-L; Siedenburg, J S; Steffensen, N; Söbbeler, F J; Schütter, A; Tünsmeyer, J; Rohn, K; Kästner, S B R; Tipold, A; Stein, V M

2016-11-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of two sedation protocols on transcranial magnetic motor evoked potentials (TMMEPs) after transcranial magnetic stimulation in medium sized dogs. Onset latencies and peak-to-peak amplitudes, elicited in the extensor carpi radialis and cranial tibial muscles, were analysed in 10 healthy Beagles that received either acepromazine or dexmedetomidine in combination with levomethadone/fenpipramide, in a crossover design. Similar TMMEP recordings could be made using both sedation protocols at 80-90% stimulation intensity; however, there were significantly shorter onset latencies with the acepromazine-levomethadone/fenpipramide protocol at 100% stimulation intensity. Reference values were established and it was concluded that both drug combinations are feasible for measuring TMMEPs in medium sized dogs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dry needling in a manual physiotherapy and therapeutic exercise protocol for patients with chronic mechanical shoulder pain of unspecific origin: a protocol for a randomized control trial.

PubMed

Tejera-Falcón, Emma; Toledo-Martel, Nuria Del Carmen; Sosa-Medina, Francisco Manuel; Santana-González, Fátima; Quintana-de la Fe, Miriam Del Pino; Gallego-Izquierdo, Tomás; Pecos-Martín, Daniel

2017-09-18

Shoulder pain of musculoskeletal origin is the main cause of upper limb pain of non-traumatic origin. Despite being one of the most common reasons for consultation, there is no established protocol for treatment due to the complexity of its etiology. However, it has been shown that the presence of myofascial trigger points on the shoulder muscles is a common condition associated with patients suffering from shoulder pain. This protocol has been created which describes the design of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the inclusion of dry needling (DN) within a protocol of manual physiotherapy and therapeutic exercise in the treatment of chronic shoulder pain of unspecific origin. Thirty-six participants aged 18-65 years will be recruited having mechanical chronic shoulder pain on unspecific origin and meeting the inclusion criteria. These will be randomized to one of two interventions, (i) DN, manual physiotherapy and therapeutic exercise or (ii) sham DN, manual physiotherapy and therapeutic exercise. The protocol will cover 6 weeks of treatment, with a 6-month follow-up. Our main outcome measure will be the Visual Analogue Scale for pain. This is the first study to combine the use of DN, manual physiotherapy and an exercise program with a 6-month follow-up, thus becoming a new contribution to the treatment of chronic shoulder pain, while new lines of research may be established to help determine the effects of DN on chronic shoulder pain and the frequency and proper dosage. International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Register: ISRCTN30604244 ( http://www.controlled-trials.com ) 29 June 2016.

Analytical approach to cross-layer protocol optimization in wireless sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hortos, William S.

2008-04-01

In the distributed operations of route discovery and maintenance, strong interaction occurs across mobile ad hoc network (MANET) protocol layers. Quality of service (QoS) requirements of multimedia service classes must be satisfied by the cross-layer protocol, along with minimization of the distributed power consumption at nodes and along routes to battery-limited energy constraints. In previous work by the author, cross-layer interactions in the MANET protocol are modeled in terms of a set of concatenated design parameters and associated resource levels by multivariate point processes (MVPPs). Determination of the "best" cross-layer design is carried out using the optimal control of martingale representations of the MVPPs. In contrast to the competitive interaction among nodes in a MANET for multimedia services using limited resources, the interaction among the nodes of a wireless sensor network (WSN) is distributed and collaborative, based on the processing of data from a variety of sensors at nodes to satisfy common mission objectives. Sensor data originates at the nodes at the periphery of the WSN, is successively transported to other nodes for aggregation based on information-theoretic measures of correlation and ultimately sent as information to one or more destination (decision) nodes. The "multimedia services" in the MANET model are replaced by multiple types of sensors, e.g., audio, seismic, imaging, thermal, etc., at the nodes; the QoS metrics associated with MANETs become those associated with the quality of fused information flow, i.e., throughput, delay, packet error rate, data correlation, etc. Significantly, the essential analytical approach to MANET cross-layer optimization, now based on the MVPPs for discrete random events occurring in the WSN, can be applied to develop the stochastic characteristics and optimality conditions for cross-layer designs of sensor network protocols. Functional dependencies of WSN performance metrics are described in terms of the concatenated protocol parameters. New source-to-destination routes are sought that optimize cross-layer interdependencies to achieve the "best available" performance in the WSN. The protocol design, modified from a known reactive protocol, adapts the achievable performance to the transient network conditions and resource levels. Control of network behavior is realized through the conditional rates of the MVPPs. Optimal cross-layer protocol parameters are determined by stochastic dynamic programming conditions derived from models of transient packetized sensor data flows. Moreover, the defining conditions for WSN configurations, grouping sensor nodes into clusters and establishing data aggregation at processing nodes within those clusters, lead to computationally tractable solutions to the stochastic differential equations that describe network dynamics. Closed-form solution characteristics provide an alternative to the "directed diffusion" methods for resource-efficient WSN protocols published previously by other researchers. Performance verification of the resulting cross-layer designs is found by embedding the optimality conditions for the protocols in actual WSN scenarios replicated in a wireless network simulation environment. Performance tradeoffs among protocol parameters remain for a sequel to the paper.

Alternative Shear Panel Configurations for Light Wood Construction. Development, Seismic Performance, and Design Guidance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilcoski, James; Fischer, Chad; Allison, Tim; Malach, Kelly Jo

2002-04-01

Shear panels are used in light wood construction to resist lateral loads resulting from earthquakes or strong winds. These panels are typically made of wooden sheathing nailed to building frame members, but this standard panel design interferes with the installation of sheet insulation. A non-insulated shear panel conducts heat between the building interior and exterior wasting considerable amounts of energy. Several alternative shear panel designs were developed to avoid this insulation-mounting problem and sample panels were tested according to standard cyclic test protocols. One of the alternative designs consisted of diagonal steel straps nailed directly to the structural framing. Several others consisted of sheathing nailed to 2 x 4 framing then set into a larger 2 x 6 structural frame in such a way that no sheathing protruded beyond the edge of the 2 x 6 members. Also samples of industry-standard shear panels were constructed and tested in order to establish a performance baseline. Analytical models were developed to size test panels and predict panel behavior. A procedure was developed for establishing design capacities based on both test data and established baseline panel design capacity. The behavior of each panel configuration is documented and recommended design capacities are presented.

An Energy-Efficient and Robust Multipath Routing Protocol for Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks.

PubMed

Singh, Kishor; Moh, Sangman

2017-09-04

Routing in cognitive radio ad hoc networks (CRAHNs) is a daunting task owing to dynamic topology, intermittent connectivity, spectrum heterogeneity, and energy constraints. Other prominent aspects such as channel stability, path reliability, and route discovery frequency should also be exploited. Several routing protocols have been proposed for CRAHNs in the literature. By stressing on one of the aspects more than any other, however, they do not satisfy all requirements of throughput, energy efficiency, and robustness. In this paper, we propose an energy-efficient and robust multipath routing (ERMR) protocol for CRAHNs by considering all prominent aspects including residual energy and channel stability in design. Even when the current routing path fails, the alternative routing path is immediately utilized. In establishing primary and alternative routing paths, both residual energy and channel stability are exploited simultaneously. Our simulation study shows that the proposed ERMR outperforms the conventional protocol in terms of network throughput, packet delivery ratio, energy consumption, and end-to-end delay.

An Energy-Efficient and Robust Multipath Routing Protocol for Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks

PubMed Central

Singh, Kishor

2017-01-01

Routing in cognitive radio ad hoc networks (CRAHNs) is a daunting task owing to dynamic topology, intermittent connectivity, spectrum heterogeneity, and energy constraints. Other prominent aspects such as channel stability, path reliability, and route discovery frequency should also be exploited. Several routing protocols have been proposed for CRAHNs in the literature. By stressing on one of the aspects more than any other, however, they do not satisfy all requirements of throughput, energy efficiency, and robustness. In this paper, we propose an energy-efficient and robust multipath routing (ERMR) protocol for CRAHNs by considering all prominent aspects including residual energy and channel stability in design. Even when the current routing path fails, the alternative routing path is immediately utilized. In establishing primary and alternative routing paths, both residual energy and channel stability are exploited simultaneously. Our simulation study shows that the proposed ERMR outperforms the conventional protocol in terms of network throughput, packet delivery ratio, energy consumption, and end-to-end delay. PMID:28869551

Analysis of Pervasive Mobile Ad Hoc Routing Protocols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qadri, Nadia N.; Liotta, Antonio

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are a fundamental element of pervasive networks and therefore, of pervasive systems that truly support pervasive computing, where user can communicate anywhere, anytime and on-the-fly. In fact, future advances in pervasive computing rely on advancements in mobile communication, which includes both infrastructure-based wireless networks and non-infrastructure-based MANETs. MANETs introduce a new communication paradigm, which does not require a fixed infrastructure - they rely on wireless terminals for routing and transport services. Due to highly dynamic topology, absence of established infrastructure for centralized administration, bandwidth constrained wireless links, and limited resources in MANETs, it is challenging to design an efficient and reliable routing protocol. This chapter reviews the key studies carried out so far on the performance of mobile ad hoc routing protocols. We discuss performance issues and metrics required for the evaluation of ad hoc routing protocols. This leads to a survey of existing work, which captures the performance of ad hoc routing algorithms and their behaviour from different perspectives and highlights avenues for future research.

An alternative method to amplify RNA without loss of signal conservation for expression analysis with a proteinase DNA microarray in the ArrayTube format.

PubMed

Schüler, Susann; Wenz, Ingrid; Wiederanders, B; Slickers, P; Ehricht, R

2006-06-12

Recent developments in DNA microarray technology led to a variety of open and closed devices and systems including high and low density microarrays for high-throughput screening applications as well as microarrays of lower density for specific diagnostic purposes. Beside predefined microarrays for specific applications manufacturers offer the production of custom-designed microarrays adapted to customers' wishes. Array based assays demand complex procedures including several steps for sample preparation (RNA extraction, amplification and sample labelling), hybridization and detection, thus leading to a high variability between several approaches and resulting in the necessity of extensive standardization and normalization procedures. In the present work a custom designed human proteinase DNA microarray of lower density in ArrayTube format was established. This highly economic open platform only requires standard laboratory equipment and allows the study of the molecular regulation of cell behaviour by proteinases. We established a procedure for sample preparation and hybridization and verified the array based gene expression profile by quantitative real-time PCR (QRT-PCR). Moreover, we compared the results with the well established Affymetrix microarray. By application of standard labelling procedures with e.g. Klenow fragment exo-, single primer amplification (SPA) or In Vitro Transcription (IVT) we noticed a loss of signal conservation for some genes. To overcome this problem we developed a protocol in accordance with the SPA protocol, in which we included target specific primers designed individually for each spotted oligomer. Here we present a complete array based assay in which only the specific transcripts of interest are amplified in parallel and in a linear manner. The array represents a proof of principle which can be adapted to other species as well. As the designed protocol for amplifying mRNA starts from as little as 100 ng total RNA, it presents an alternative method for detecting even low expressed genes by microarray experiments in a highly reproducible and sensitive manner. Preservation of signal integrity is demonstrated out by QRT-PCR measurements. The little amounts of total RNA necessary for the analyses make this method applicable for investigations with limited material as in clinical samples from, for example, organ or tumour biopsies. Those are arguments in favour of the high potential of our assay compared to established procedures for amplification within the field of diagnostic expression profiling. Nevertheless, the screening character of microarray data must be mentioned, and independent methods should verify the results.

Development and Implementation of Clinical Trial Protocol Templates at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

PubMed Central

Bridge, Heather; Smolskis, Mary; Bianchine, Peter; Dixon, Dennis O.; Kelly, Grace; Herpin, Betsey; Tavel, Jorge

2009-01-01

Background: A clinical research protocol document must reflect both sound scientific rationale as well as local, national and, when applicable, international regulatory and human subject protections requirements. These requirements originate from a variety of sources, undergo frequent revision and are subject to interpretation. Tools to assist clinical investigators in the production of clinical protocols could facilitate navigating these requirements and ultimately increase the efficiency of clinical research. Purpose: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) developed templates for investigators to serve as the foundation for protocol development. These protocol templates are designed as tools to support investigators in developing clinical protocols. Methods: NIAID established a series of working groups to determine how to improve its capacity to conduct clinical research more efficiently and effectively. The Protocol Template Working Group was convened to determine what protocol templates currently existed within NIAID and whether standard NIAID protocol templates should be produced. After review and assessment of existing protocol documents and requirements, the group reached consensus about required and optional content, determined the format and identified methods for distribution as well as education of investigators in the use of these templates. Results: The templates were approved by the NIAID Executive Committee in 2006 and posted as part of the NIAID Clinical Research Toolkit[1]website for broad access. These documents require scheduled revisions to stay current with regulatory and policy changes. Limitations: The structure of any clinical protocol template, whether comprehensive or specific to a particular study phase, setting or design, affects how it is used by investigators. Each structure presents its own set of advantages and disadvantages. While useful, protocol templates are not stand-alone tools for creating an optimal protocol document but must be complemented by institutional resources and support. Education and guidance of investigators in the appropriate use of templates is necessary to ensure a complete yet concise protocol document. Due to changing regulatory requirements, clinical protocol templates cannot become static but require frequent revisions. Conclusions: Standard protocol templates that meet applicable regulations can be important tools to assist investigators in the effective conduct of clinical research, but they require dedicated resources and ongoing input from key stakeholders. PMID:19625326

A Systematic Review on Immediate Loading of Implants Used to Support Overdentures Opposed by Conventional Prostheses: Factors That Might Influence Clinical Outcomes.

PubMed

Zygogiannis, Kostas; Wismeijer, Daniel; Aartman, Irene Ha; Osman, Reham B

2016-01-01

Different treatment protocols in terms of number, diameter, and suprastructure design have been proposed for immediately loaded implants that are used to support mandibular overdentures opposed by maxillary conventional dentures. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of these protocols on survival rates as well as clinical and prosthodontic outcomes. Several electronic databases were searched for all relevant articles published from 1966 to June 2014. Only randomized controlled trials and prospective studies with a minimum follow-up of 12 months were selected. The primary outcomes of interest were the success and survival rates of the implants. Prosthodontic complications were also evaluated. Fourteen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of the studies identified, nine were randomized controlled trials and five were prospective studies. The mean follow-up period was 3 years or less for the vast majority of the studies. The reported survival and success rates were comparable to that of conventional loading for most of the included studies. No specific immediate loading protocol seemed to perform better in terms of clinical and prosthodontic outcomes. Immediate loading protocols of mandibular overdentures seem to be a viable alternative to conventional loading. It was not possible to recommend a specific treatment protocol related to the number, diameter of the implants, and attachment system used. Long-term, well-designed studies comparing different immediate loading modalities could help to establish a protocol that delivers the most clinically predictable, efficient, and cost-effective outcome for edentulous patients in need of implant overdentures.

Non-fragile ?-? control for discrete-time stochastic nonlinear systems under event-triggered protocols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Ying; Ding, Derui; Zhang, Sunjie; Wei, Guoliang; Liu, Hongjian

2018-07-01

In this paper, the non-fragile ?-? control problem is investigated for a class of discrete-time stochastic nonlinear systems under event-triggered communication protocols, which determine whether the measurement output should be transmitted to the controller or not. The main purpose of the addressed problem is to design an event-based output feedback controller subject to gain variations guaranteeing the prescribed disturbance attenuation level described by the ?-? performance index. By utilizing the Lyapunov stability theory combined with S-procedure, a sufficient condition is established to guarantee both the exponential mean-square stability and the ?-? performance for the closed-loop system. In addition, with the help of the orthogonal decomposition, the desired controller parameter is obtained in terms of the solution to certain linear matrix inequalities. Finally, a simulation example is exploited to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed event-based controller design scheme.

A Protocol for the Use of Remotely-Supervised Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

PubMed

Kasschau, Margaret; Sherman, Kathleen; Haider, Lamia; Frontario, Ariana; Shaw, Michael; Datta, Abhishek; Bikson, Marom; Charvet, Leigh

2015-12-26

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that uses low amplitude direct currents to alter cortical excitability. With well-established safety and tolerability, tDCS has been found to have the potential to ameliorate symptoms such as depression and pain in a range of conditions as well as to enhance outcomes of cognitive and physical training. However, effects are cumulative, requiring treatments that can span weeks or months and frequent, repeated visits to the clinic. The cost in terms of time and travel is often prohibitive for many participants, and ultimately limits real-world access. Following guidelines for remote tDCS application, we propose a protocol that would allow remote (in-home) participation that uses specially-designed devices for supervised use with materials modified for patient use, and real-time monitoring through a telemedicine video conferencing platform. We have developed structured training procedures and clear, detailed instructional materials to allow for self- or proxy-administration while supervised remotely in real-time. The protocol is designed to have a series of checkpoints, addressing attendance and tolerability of the session, to be met in order to continue to the next step. The feasibility of this protocol was then piloted for clinical use in an open label study of remotely-supervised tDCS in multiple sclerosis (MS). This protocol can be widely used for clinical study of tDCS.

Management of complex implant aesthetics: ensuring restorative design continuity with a comprehensive outcome-based strategy.

PubMed

Lee, E A; Jun, S K

2001-09-01

Since implant therapy must be dictated by prosthetic requirements, a protocol for the comprehensive and continuous integration of the restorative blueprint through the entire treatment planning and clinical execution phases is mandatory. This article demonstrates a systematic approach where the establishment of a final restorative treatment objective is incorporated into the diagnosis and subsequently integrated through every phase of clinical execution. Design continuity is ensured, and multidisciplinary cohesiveness is enhanced by providing clearly defined treatment objectives to every member of the clinical team.

PubMed

Aléx, Jonas; Gyllencreutz, Lina

2018-02-05

Trauma care at an accident site is of great importance for patient survival. The purpose of the study was to observe the compliance of ambulance nurses with the Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) concept of trauma care in a simulation situation. The material consisted of video recordings in trauma simulation and an observation protocol was designed to analyze the video material. The result showed weaknesses in systematic exam and an ineffective use of time at the scene of injury. Development of observation protocols in trauma simulation can ensure the quality of ambulance nurses' compliance with established concepts. Our pilot study shows that insufficiencies in systematic care lead to an ineffective treatment for trauma patients which in turn may increase the risk of complications and mortality.

Effects on instruments of the World Health Organization--recommended protocols for decontamination after possible exposure to transmissible spongiform encephalopathy-contaminated tissue.

PubMed

Brown, Stanley A; Merritt, Katharine; Woods, Terry O; Busick, Deanna N

2005-01-15

It has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that rigorous decontamination protocols be used on surgical instruments that have been exposed to tissue possibly contaminated with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). This study was designed to examine the effects of these protocols on various types of surgical instruments. The most important conclusions are: (1) autoclaving in 1N NaOH will cause darkening of some instruments; (2) soaking in 1N NaOH at room temperature damages carbon steel but not stainless steel or titanium; (3) soaking in chlorine bleach will badly corrode gold-plated instruments and will damage some, but not all, stainless-steel instruments, especially welded and soldered joints. Damage became apparent after the first exposure and therefore long tests are not necessary to establish which instruments will be damaged. Copyright 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

High-rate measurement-device-independent quantum cryptography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pirandola, Stefano; Ottaviani, Carlo; Spedalieri, Gaetana; Weedbrook, Christian; Braunstein, Samuel L.; Lloyd, Seth; Gehring, Tobias; Jacobsen, Christian S.; Andersen, Ulrik L.

2015-06-01

Quantum cryptography achieves a formidable task—the remote distribution of secret keys by exploiting the fundamental laws of physics. Quantum cryptography is now headed towards solving the practical problem of constructing scalable and secure quantum networks. A significant step in this direction has been the introduction of measurement-device independence, where the secret key between two parties is established by the measurement of an untrusted relay. Unfortunately, although qubit-implemented protocols can reach long distances, their key rates are typically very low, unsuitable for the demands of a metropolitan network. Here we show, theoretically and experimentally, that a solution can come from the use of continuous-variable systems. We design a coherent-state network protocol able to achieve remarkably high key rates at metropolitan distances, in fact three orders of magnitude higher than those currently achieved. Our protocol could be employed to build high-rate quantum networks where devices securely connect to nearby access points or proxy servers.

Enhancer scanning to locate regulatory regions in genomic loci

PubMed Central

Buckley, Melissa; Gjyshi, Anxhela; Mendoza-Fandiño, Gustavo; Baskin, Rebekah; Carvalho, Renato S.; Carvalho, Marcelo A.; Woods, Nicholas T.; Monteiro, Alvaro N.A.

2016-01-01

The present protocol provides a rapid, streamlined and scalable strategy to systematically scan genomic regions for the presence of transcriptional regulatory regions active in a specific cell type. It creates genomic tiles spanning a region of interest that are subsequently cloned by recombination into a luciferase reporter vector containing the Simian Virus 40 promoter. Tiling clones are transfected into specific cell types to test for the presence of transcriptional regulatory regions. The protocol includes testing of different SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) alleles to determine their effect on regulatory activity. This procedure provides a systematic framework to identify candidate functional SNPs within a locus during functional analysis of genome-wide association studies. This protocol adapts and combines previous well-established molecular biology methods to provide a streamlined strategy, based on automated primer design and recombinational cloning to rapidly go from a genomic locus to a set of candidate functional SNPs in eight weeks. PMID:26658467

Design of on-board Bluetooth wireless network system based on fault-tolerant technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Zheng; Zhang, Xiangqi; Yu, Shijie; Tian, Hexiang

2007-11-01

In this paper, the Bluetooth wireless data transmission technology is applied in on-board computer system, to realize wireless data transmission between peripherals of the micro-satellite integrating electronic system, and in view of the high demand of reliability of a micro-satellite, a design of Bluetooth wireless network based on fault-tolerant technology is introduced. The reliability of two fault-tolerant systems is estimated firstly using Markov model, then the structural design of this fault-tolerant system is introduced; several protocols are established to make the system operate correctly, some related problems are listed and analyzed, with emphasis on Fault Auto-diagnosis System, Active-standby switch design and Data-Integrity process.

Preventing youth access to alcohol: outcomes from a multi-community time-series trial*.

PubMed

Wagenaar, Alexander C; Toomey, Traci L; Erickson, Darin J

2005-03-01

AIMS/INTERVENTION: The Complying with the Minimum Drinking Age project (CMDA) is a community trial designed to test effects of two interventions designed to reduce alcohol sales to minors: (1) training for management of retail alcohol establishments and (2) enforcement checks of alcohol establishments. CMDA is a multi-community time-series quasi-experimental trial with a nested cohort design. CMDA was implemented in 20 cities in four geographic areas in the US Midwest. The core outcome, propensity for alcohol sales to minors, was directly tested with research staff who attempted to purchase alcohol without showing age identification using a standardized protocol in 602 on-premise and 340 off-premise alcohol establishments. Data were collected every other week in all communities over 4 years. Mixed-model regression and Box-Jenkins time-series analyses were used to assess short- and long-term establishment-specific and general community-level effects of the two interventions. Effects of the training intervention were mixed. Specific deterrent effects were observed for enforcement checks, with an immediate 17% reduction in likelihood of sales to minors. These effects decayed entirely within 3 months in off-premise establishments and to an 8.2% reduction in on-premise establishments. Enforcement checks prevent alcohol sales to minors. At the intensity levels tested, enforcement primarily affected specific establishments checked, with limited diffusion to the whole community. Finally, most of the enforcement effect decayed within 3 months, suggesting that a regular schedule of enforcement is necessary to maintain deterrence.

Bedside diagnosis of dysphagia: a systematic review.

PubMed

O'Horo, John C; Rogus-Pulia, Nicole; Garcia-Arguello, Lisbeth; Robbins, JoAnne; Safdar, Nasia

2015-04-01

Dysphagia is associated with aspiration, pneumonia, and malnutrition, but remains challenging to identify at the bedside. A variety of exam protocols and maneuvers are commonly used, but the efficacy of these maneuvers is highly variable. We conducted a comprehensive search of 7 databases, including MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus, from each database's earliest inception through June 9, 2014. Studies reporting diagnostic performance of a bedside examination maneuver compared to a reference gold standard (videofluoroscopic swallow study or flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing with sensory testing) were included for analysis. From each study, data were abstracted based on the type of diagnostic method and reference standard study population and inclusion/exclusion characteristics, design, and prediction of aspiration. The search strategy identified 38 articles meeting inclusion criteria. Overall, most bedside examinations lacked sufficient sensitivity to be used for screening purposes across all patient populations examined. Individual studies found dysphonia assessments, abnormal pharyngeal sensation assessments, dual axis accelerometry, and 1 description of water swallow testing to be sensitive tools, but none were reported as consistently sensitive. A preponderance of identified studies was in poststroke adults, limiting the generalizability of results. No bedside screening protocol has been shown to provide adequate predictive value for presence of aspiration. Several individual exam maneuvers demonstrated reasonable sensitivity, but reproducibility and consistency of these protocols was not established. More research is needed to design an optimal protocol for dysphagia detection. © 2015 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Comparison of inter-trial recovery times for the determination of critical power and W' in cycling.

PubMed

Karsten, Bettina; Hopker, James; Jobson, Simon A; Baker, Jonathan; Petrigna, Luca; Klose, Andreas; Beedie, Christopher

2017-07-01

Critical Power (CP) and W' are often determined using multi-day testing protocols. To investigate this cumbersome testing method, the purpose of this study was to compare the differences between the conventional use of a 24-h inter-trial recovery time with those of 3 h and 30 min for the determination of CP and W'. 9 moderately trained cyclists performed an incremental test to exhaustion to establish the power output associated with the maximum oxygen uptake (p[Formula: see text] max ), and 3 protocols requiring time-to-exhaustion trials at a constant work-rate performed at 80%, 100% and 105% of p[Formula: see text] max. Design: Protocol A utilised 24-h inter-trial recovery (CP 24 /W' 24 ), protocol B utilised 3-h inter-trial recovery (CP 3 /W' 3 ), and protocol C used 30-min inter-trial recovery period (CP 0.5 /W' 0.5 ). CP and W' were calculated using the inverse time (1/t) versus power (P) relation (P = W'(1/t) + CP). 95% Limits of Agreement between protocol A and B were -9 to 15 W; -7.4 to 7.8 kJ (CP/W') and between protocol A and protocol C they were -27 to 22 W; -7.2 to 15.1 kJ (CP/W'). Compared to criterion protocol A, the average prediction error of protocol B was 2.5% (CP) and 25.6% (W'), whilst for protocol C it was 3.7% (CP) and 32.9% (W'). 3-h and 30-min inter-trial recovery time protocols provide valid methods of determining CP but not W' in cycling.

EXACT2: the semantics of biomedical protocols

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The reliability and reproducibility of experimental procedures is a cornerstone of scientific practice. There is a pressing technological need for the better representation of biomedical protocols to enable other agents (human or machine) to better reproduce results. A framework that ensures that all information required for the replication of experimental protocols is essential to achieve reproducibility. Methods We have developed the ontology EXACT2 (EXperimental ACTions) that is designed to capture the full semantics of biomedical protocols required for their reproducibility. To construct EXACT2 we manually inspected hundreds of published and commercial biomedical protocols from several areas of biomedicine. After establishing a clear pattern for extracting the required information we utilized text-mining tools to translate the protocols into a machine amenable format. We have verified the utility of EXACT2 through the successful processing of previously 'unseen' (not used for the construction of EXACT2) protocols. Results The paper reports on a fundamentally new version EXACT2 that supports the semantically-defined representation of biomedical protocols. The ability of EXACT2 to capture the semantics of biomedical procedures was verified through a text mining use case. In this EXACT2 is used as a reference model for text mining tools to identify terms pertinent to experimental actions, and their properties, in biomedical protocols expressed in natural language. An EXACT2-based framework for the translation of biomedical protocols to a machine amenable format is proposed. Conclusions The EXACT2 ontology is sufficient to record, in a machine processable form, the essential information about biomedical protocols. EXACT2 defines explicit semantics of experimental actions, and can be used by various computer applications. It can serve as a reference model for for the translation of biomedical protocols in natural language into a semantically-defined format. PMID:25472549

University of Washington/ Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center Tidal Current Technology Test Protocol, Instrumentation, Design Code, and Oceanographic Modeling Collaboration: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-11-452

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

Driscoll, Frederick R.

The University of Washington (UW) - Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (UW-NNMREC) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will collaborate to advance research and development (R&D) of Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) renewable energy technology, specifically renewable energy captured from ocean tidal currents. UW-NNMREC is endeavoring to establish infrastructure, capabilities and tools to support in-water testing of marine energy technology. NREL is leveraging its experience and capabilities in field testing of wind systems to develop protocols and instrumentation to advance field testing of MHK systems. Under this work, UW-NNMREC and NREL will work together to develop a common instrumentation systemmore » and testing methodologies, standards and protocols. UW-NNMREC is also establishing simulation capabilities for MHK turbine and turbine arrays. NREL has extensive experience in wind turbine array modeling and is developing several computer based numerical simulation capabilities for MHK systems. Under this CRADA, UW-NNMREC and NREL will work together to augment single device and array modeling codes. As part of this effort UW NNMREC will also work with NREL to run simulations on NREL's high performance computer system.« less

Establishing treatment protocols for clinical mastitis.

PubMed

Roberson, Jerry R

2003-03-01

Each farm has a unique mix of mastitis pathogens and management procedures that have evolved over time. The herd veterinarian should work with the manager/owner to systematically develop treatment protocols that meet the needs and management of the farm. To establish a mastitis treatment protocol, it is necessary to develop a system to routinely identify clinical mastitis cases, develop a herd-specific severity level assessment system, manage the clinical mastitis cases based on severity level and culture result (when available), avoid antibiotic residues, and monitor the success of the system and alter the protocol as necessary.

Effects of specified performance criterion and performance feedback on staff behavior: a component analysis.

PubMed

Hardesty, Samantha L; Hagopian, Louis P; McIvor, Melissa M; Wagner, Leaora L; Sigurdsson, Sigurdur O; Bowman, Lynn G

2014-09-01

The present study isolated the effects of frequently used staff training intervention components to increase communication between direct care staff and clinicians working on an inpatient behavioral unit. Written "protocol review" quizzes developed by clinicians were designed to assess knowledge about a patient's behavioral protocols. Direct care staff completed these at the beginning of each day and evening shift. Clinicians were required to score and discuss these protocol reviews with direct care staff for at least 75% of shifts over a 2-week period. During baseline, only 21% of clinicians met this requirement. Completing and scoring of protocol reviews did not improve following additional in-service training (M = 15%) or following an intervention aimed at decreasing response effort combined with prompting (M = 28%). After implementing an intervention involving specified performance criterion and performance feedback, 86% of clinicians reached the established goal. Results of a component analysis suggested that the presentation of both the specified performance criterion and supporting contingencies was necessary to maintain acceptable levels of performance. © The Author(s) 2014.

77 FR 36281 - Solicitation of Information and Recommendations for Revising OIG's Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-18

...] Solicitation of Information and Recommendations for Revising OIG's Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol AGENCY... Register notice informs the public that OIG: (1) Intends to update the Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol... Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol (the Protocol) to establish a process for health care providers to...

An application protocol for CAD to CAD transfer of electronic information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Azu, Charles C., Jr.

1993-01-01

The exchange of Computer Aided Design (CAD) information between dissimilar CAD systems is a problem. This is especially true for transferring electronics CAD information such as multi-chip module (MCM), hybrid microcircuit assembly (HMA), and printed circuit board (PCB) designs. Currently, there exists several neutral data formats for transferring electronics CAD information. These include IGES, EDIF, and DXF formats. All these formats have limitations for use in exchanging electronic data. In an attempt to overcome these limitations, the Navy's MicroCIM program implemented a project to transfer hybrid microcircuit design information between dissimilar CAD systems. The IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) format is used since it is well established within the CAD industry. The goal of the project is to have a complete transfer of microelectronic CAD information, using IGES, without any data loss. An Application Protocol (AP) is being developed to specify how hybrid microcircuit CAD information will be represented by IGES entity constructs. The AP defines which IGES data items are appropriate for describing HMA geometry, connectivity, and processing as well as HMA material characteristics.

A virtual experimenter to increase standardization for the investigation of placebo effects.

PubMed

Horing, Bjoern; Newsome, Nathan D; Enck, Paul; Babu, Sabarish V; Muth, Eric R

2016-07-18

Placebo effects are mediated by expectancy, which is highly influenced by psychosocial factors of a treatment context. These factors are difficult to standardize. Furthermore, dedicated placebo research often necessitates single-blind deceptive designs where biases are easily introduced. We propose a study protocol employing a virtual experimenter - a computer program designed to deliver treatment and instructions - for the purpose of standardization and reduction of biases when investigating placebo effects. To evaluate the virtual experimenter's efficacy in inducing placebo effects via expectancy manipulation, we suggest a partially blinded, deceptive design with a baseline/retest pain protocol (hand immersions in hot water bath). Between immersions, participants will receive an (actually inert) medication. Instructions pertaining to the medication will be delivered by one of three metaphors: The virtual experimenter, a human experimenter, and an audio/text presentation (predictor "Metaphor"). The second predictor includes falsely informing participants that the medication is an effective pain killer, or correctly informing them that it is, in fact, inert (predictor "Instruction"). Analysis will be performed with hierarchical linear modelling, with a sample size of N = 50. Results from two pilot studies are presented that indicate the viability of the pain protocol (N = 33), and of the virtual experimenter software and placebo manipulation (N = 48). It will be challenging to establish full comparability between all metaphors used for instruction delivery, and to account for participant differences in acceptance of their virtual interaction partner. Once established, the presence of placebo effects would suggest that the virtual experimenter exhibits sufficient cues to be perceived as a social agent. He could consequently provide a convenient platform to investigate effects of experimenter behavior, or other experimenter characteristics, e.g., sex, age, race/ethnicity or professional status. More general applications are possible, for example in psychological research such as bias research, or virtual reality research. Potential applications also exist for standardizing clinical research by documenting and communicating instructions used in clinical trials.

M/A-COM linkabit eastern operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mills, D. L.; Avramovic, Z.

1983-03-01

This first Quarterly Project Report on LINKABIT's contribution to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Internet Program covers the period from 22 December 1982 through 21 March 1983. LINKABIT's support of the Internet Program is concentrated in the areas of protocol design, implementation, testing, and evaluation. In addition, LINKABIT staff are providing integration and support services for certain computer systems to be installed at DARPA sites in Washington, D.C., and Stuttgart, West Germany. During the period covered by this report, LINKABIT organized the project activities and established staff responsibilities. Several computers and peripheral devices were made available from Government sources for use in protocol development and network testing. Considerable time was devoted to installing this equipment, integrating the software, and testing it with the Internet system.

Receiver-Based Ad Hoc On Demand Multipath Routing Protocol for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

PubMed Central

Al-Nahari, Abdulaziz; Mohamad, Mohd Murtadha

2016-01-01

Decreasing the route rediscovery time process in reactive routing protocols is challenging in mobile ad hoc networks. Links between nodes are continuously established and broken because of the characteristics of the network. Finding multiple routes to increase the reliability is also important but requires a fast update, especially in high traffic load and high mobility where paths can be broken as well. The sender node keeps re-establishing path discovery to find new paths, which makes for long time delay. In this paper we propose an improved multipath routing protocol, called Receiver-based ad hoc on demand multipath routing protocol (RB-AOMDV), which takes advantage of the reliability of the state of the art ad hoc on demand multipath distance vector (AOMDV) protocol with less re-established discovery time. The receiver node assumes the role of discovering paths when finding data packets that have not been received after a period of time. Simulation results show the delay and delivery ratio performances are improved compared with AOMDV. PMID:27258013

Receiver-Based Ad Hoc On Demand Multipath Routing Protocol for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks.

PubMed

Al-Nahari, Abdulaziz; Mohamad, Mohd Murtadha

2016-01-01

Decreasing the route rediscovery time process in reactive routing protocols is challenging in mobile ad hoc networks. Links between nodes are continuously established and broken because of the characteristics of the network. Finding multiple routes to increase the reliability is also important but requires a fast update, especially in high traffic load and high mobility where paths can be broken as well. The sender node keeps re-establishing path discovery to find new paths, which makes for long time delay. In this paper we propose an improved multipath routing protocol, called Receiver-based ad hoc on demand multipath routing protocol (RB-AOMDV), which takes advantage of the reliability of the state of the art ad hoc on demand multipath distance vector (AOMDV) protocol with less re-established discovery time. The receiver node assumes the role of discovering paths when finding data packets that have not been received after a period of time. Simulation results show the delay and delivery ratio performances are improved compared with AOMDV.

Modelling and regulating of cardio-respiratory response for the enhancement of interval training

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The interval training method has been a well known exercise protocol which helps strengthen and improve one’s cardiovascular fitness. Purpose To develop an effective training protocol to improve cardiovascular fitness based on modelling and analysis of Heart Rate (HR) and Oxygen Uptake (VO2) dynamics. Methods In order to model the cardiorespiratory response to the onset and offset exercises, the (K4b2, Cosmed) gas analyzer was used to monitor and record the heart rate and oxygen uptake for ten healthy male subjects. An interval training protocol was developed for young health users and was simulated using a proposed RC switching model which was presented to accommodate the variations of the cardiorespiratory dynamics to running exercises. A hybrid system model was presented to describe the adaptation process and a multi-loop PI control scheme was designed for the tuning of interval training regime. Results By observing the original data for each subject, we can clearly identify that all subjects have similar HR and VO2 profiles. The proposed model is capable to simulate the exercise responses during onset and offset exercises; it ensures the continuity of the outputs within the interval training protocol. Under some mild assumptions, a hybrid system model can describe the adaption process and accordingly a multi-loop PI controller can be designed for the tuning of interval training protocol. The self-adaption feature of the proposed controller gives the exerciser the opportunity to reach his desired setpoints after a certain number of training sessions. Conclusions The established interval training protocol targets a range of 70-80% of HRmax which is mainly a training zone for the purpose of cardiovascular system development and improvement. Furthermore, the proposed multi-loop feedback controller has the potential to tune the interval training protocol according to the feedback from an individual exerciser. PMID:24499131

User-Centered Design of Serious Games for Older Adults Following 3 Years of Experience With Exergames for Seniors: A Study Design

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Background Seniors need sufficient balance and strength to manage in daily life, and sufficient physical activity is required to achieve and maintain these abilities. This can be a challenge, but fun and motivational exergames can be of help. However, most commercial games are not suited for this age group for several reasons. Many usability studies and user-centered design (UCD) protocols have been developed and applied, but to the best of our knowledge none of them are focusing on seniors’ use of games for physical activity. In GameUp, a European cofunded project, some prototype Kinect exergames to enhance the mobility of seniors were developed in a user-centered approach. Objective In this paper we aim to record lessons learned in 3 years of experience with exergames for seniors, considering both the needs of older adults regarding user-centered development of exergames and participation in UCD. We also provide a UCD protocol for exergames tailored to senior needs. Methods An initial UCD protocol was formed based on literature of previous research outcomes. Senior users participated in UCD following the initial protocol. The users formed a steady group that met every second week for 3 years to play exergames and participate in the UCD during the 4 phases of the protocol. Several methods were applied in the 4 different phases of the UCD protocol; the most important methods were structured and semistructured interviews, observations, and group discussions. Results A total of 16 seniors with an average age above 80 years participated for 3 years in UCD in order to develop the GameUp exergames. As a result of the lessons learned by applying the different methodologies of the UCD protocol, we propose an adjusted UCD protocol providing explanations on how it should be applied for seniors as users. Questionnaires should be turned into semistructured and structured interviews while user consultation sessions should be repeated with the same theme to ensure that the UCD methods produce a valid outcome. By first following the initial and gradually the adjusted UCD protocol, the project resulted in exergame functionalities and interface features for seniors. Conclusions The main lessons learned during 3 years of experience with exergames for seniors applying UCD are that devoting time to seniors is a key element of success so that trust can be gained, communication can be established, and users’ opinions can be recorded. All different game elements should be taken into consideration during the design of exergames for seniors even if they seem obvious. Despite the limitations of this study, one might argue that it provides a best practice guide to the development of serious games for physical activity targeting seniors. PMID:28077348

The Tobacco Pack Surveillance System: A Protocol for Assessing Health Warning Compliance, Design Features, and Appeals of Tobacco Packs Sold in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

PubMed

Smith, Katherine; Washington, Carmen; Brown, Jennifer; Vadnais, Alison; Kroart, Laura; Ferguson, Jacqueline; Cohen, Joanna

2015-01-01

Tobacco remains the world's leading preventable cause of death, with the majority of tobacco-caused deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. The first global health treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), outlines a set of policy initiatives that have been demonstrated as effective in reducing tobacco use. Article 11 of the FCTC focuses on using the tobacco package to communicate tobacco-caused harms; it also seeks to restrict the delivery of misleading information about the product on the pack. The objective of this study was to establish a surveillance system for tobacco packs in the 14 low- and middle-income countries with the greatest number of smokers. The Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS) monitors whether required health warnings on tobacco packages are being implemented as intended, and identifies pack designs and appeals that might violate or detract from the communication of harm-related information and undermine the impact of a country's tobacco packaging laws. The protocol outlined is intended to be applicable or adaptable for surveillance efforts in other countries. Tobacco packs were collected in 14 countries during 2013. The intention was, to the extent possible, to construct a census of "unique" pack presentations available for purchase in each country. The TPackSS team partnered with in-country field staff to implement a standardized protocol for acquiring packs from 36 diverse neighborhoods across three cities in each country. At the time of purchase, data on price and place of acquisition of each pack was recorded. The field staff, according to a standardized protocol, then photographed packs before they were shipped to the United States for coding and archiving. Each pack was coded for compliance with the country-specific health warning label laws, as well as for key design features of the pack and appeals of the branding elements. The coding protocols were developed based upon prior research, expert opinion, and communication theories. Each pack was coded by two independent coders, with consistency of personnel across the project. We routinely measured intercoder reliability, and only retained variables for which a good level of reliability was achieved. Variables where reliability was too low were not included in final analyses, and any inconsistencies in coding were resolved on a daily basis. Across the 14 countries, the TPackSS team collected 3307 tobacco packs. We have established a publicly accessible, Internet archive of these packs that is intended for use by the tobacco control policy advocacy and research community.

Building the Capacity of HBCU's for Establishing Effective Globe Partnerships

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bagayoko, Diola; Ford, Robert L.

2002-01-01

The special GLOBE train-the-trainer (TTT) workshop entitled "Building the Capacity of HBCUs For Establishing Effective GLOBE Partnerships" was help for the purpose of expanding GLOBE training capacity on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and community colleges (CCs). The workshop was held March 17-22, 2002 in Washington, D.C. at Howard University. It was designed to establish research and instructional collaboration between and among U.S. universities (HBCUs and CCs) and African countries. Representatives from 13 HBCUs, and two community colleges were represented among trainees, so were representatives from eight African countries who were financially supported by other sources. A total of 38 trainees increased their knowledge of GLOBE protocols through five days of rigorous classroom instruction, field experiences, cultural events, and computer lab sessions.

Londrina Activities of Daily Living Protocol: Reproducibility, Validity, and Reference Values in Physically Independent Adults Age 50 Years and Older.

PubMed

Paes, Thaís; Belo, Letícia Fernandes; da Silva, Diego Rodrigues; Morita, Andrea Akemi; Donária, Leila; Furlanetto, Karina Couto; Sant'Anna, Thaís; Pitta, Fabio; Hernandes, Nidia Aparecida

2017-03-01

It is important to assess activities of daily living (ADL) in older adults due to impairment of independence and quality of life. However, there is no objective and standardized protocol available to assess this outcome. Thus, the aim of this study was to verify the reproducibility and validity of a new protocol for ADL assessment applied in physically independent adults age ≥50 y, the Londrina ADL protocol, and to establish an equation to predict reference values of the Londrina ADL protocol. Ninety-three physically independent adults age ≥50 y had their performance in ADL evaluated by registering the time spent to conclude the protocol. The protocol was performed twice. The 6-min walk test, which assesses functional exercise capacity, was used as a validation criterion. A multiple linear regression model was applied, including anthropometric and demographic variables that correlated with the protocol, to establish an equation to predict the protocol's reference values. In general, the protocol was reproducible (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.91). The average difference between the first and second protocol was 5.3%. The new protocol was valid to assess ADL performance in the studied subjects, presenting a moderate correlation with the 6-min walk test (r = -0.53). The time spent to perform the protocol correlated significantly with age (r = 0.45) but neither with weight (r = -0.17) nor with height (r = -0.17). A model of stepwise multiple regression including sex and age showed that age was the only determinant factor to the Londrina ADL protocol, explaining 21% ( P < .001) of its variability. The derived reference equation was: Londrina ADL protocol pred (s) = 135.618 + (3.102 × age [y]). The Londrina ADL protocol was reproducible and valid in physically independent adults age ≥50 y. A reference equation for the protocol was established including only age as an independent variable (r 2 = 0.21), allowing a better interpretation of the protocol's results in clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 by Daedalus Enterprises.

A Lightweight Continuous Authentication Protocol for the Internet of Things.

PubMed

Chuang, Yo-Hsuan; Lo, Nai-Wei; Yang, Cheng-Ying; Tang, Ssu-Wei

2018-04-05

Modern societies are moving toward an information-oriented environment. To gather and utilize information around people's modern life, tiny devices with all kinds of sensing devices and various sizes of gateways need to be deployed and connected with each other through the Internet or proxy-based wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Within this kind of Internet of Things (IoT) environment, how to authenticate each other between two communicating devices is a fundamental security issue. As a lot of IoT devices are powered by batteries and they need to transmit sensed data periodically, it is necessary for IoT devices to adopt a lightweight authentication protocol to reduce their energy consumption when a device wants to authenticate and transmit data to its targeted peer. In this paper, a lightweight continuous authentication protocol for sensing devices and gateway devices in general IoT environments is introduced. The concept of valid authentication time period is proposed to enhance robustness of authentication between IoT devices. To construct the proposed lightweight continuous authentication protocol, token technique and dynamic features of IoT devices are adopted in order to reach the design goals: the reduction of time consumption for consecutive authentications and energy saving for authenticating devices through by reducing the computation complexity during session establishment of continuous authentication. Security analysis is conducted to evaluate security strength of the proposed protocol. In addition, performance analysis has shown the proposed protocol is a strong competitor among existing protocols for device-to-device authentication in IoT environments.

Derivation of Thymic Lymphoma T-cell Lines from Atm-/- and p53-/- Mice

PubMed Central

Jinadasa, Rasika; Balmus, Gabriel; Gerwitz, Lee; Roden, Jamie; Weiss, Robert; Duhamel, Gerald

2011-01-01

Established cell lines are a critical research tool that can reduce the use of laboratory animals in research. Certain strains of genetically modified mice, such as Atm-/- and p53-/- consistently develop thymic lymphoma early in life 1,2, and thus, can serve as a reliable source for derivation of murine T-cell lines. Here we present a detailed protocol for the development of established murine thymic lymphoma T-cell lines without the need to add interleukins as described in previous protocols 1,3. Tumors were harvested from mice aged three to six months, at the earliest indication of visible tumors based on the observation of hunched posture, labored breathing, poor grooming and wasting in a susceptible strain 1,4. We have successfully established several T-cell lines using this protocol and inbred strains ofAtm-/- [FVB/N-Atmtm1Led/J] 2 and p53-/- [129/S6-Trp53tm1Tyj/J] 5 mice. We further demonstrate that more than 90% of the established T-cell population expresses CD3, CD4 and CD8. Consistent with stably established cell lines, the T-cells generated by using the present protocol have been passaged for over a year. PMID:21490582

New Application of the Comet Assay

PubMed Central

Cortés-Gutiérrez, Elva I.; Dávila-Rodríguez, Martha I.; Fernández, José Luís; López-Fernández, Carmen; Gosálbez, Altea; Gosálvez, Jaime

2011-01-01

The comet assay is a well-established, simple, versatile, visual, rapid, and sensitive tool used extensively to assess DNA damage and DNA repair quantitatively and qualitatively in single cells. The comet assay is most frequently used to analyze white blood cells or lymphocytes in human biomonitoring studies, although other cell types have been examined, including buccal, nasal, epithelial, and placental cells and even spermatozoa. This study was conducted to design a protocol that can be used to generate comets in subnuclear units, such as chromosomes. The new technique is based on the chromosome isolation protocols currently used for whole chromosome mounting in electron microscopy, coupled to the alkaline variant of the comet assay, to detect DNA damage. The results show that migrant DNA fragments can be visualized in whole nuclei and isolated chromosomes and that they exhibit patterns of DNA migration that depend on the level of DNA damage produced. This protocol has great potential for the highly reproducible study of DNA damage and repair in specific chromosomal domains. PMID:21540337

Computational Biology Methods for Characterization of Pluripotent Cells.

PubMed

Araúzo-Bravo, Marcos J

2016-01-01

Pluripotent cells are a powerful tool for regenerative medicine and drug discovery. Several techniques have been developed to induce pluripotency, or to extract pluripotent cells from different tissues and biological fluids. However, the characterization of pluripotency requires tedious, expensive, time-consuming, and not always reliable wet-lab experiments; thus, an easy, standard quality-control protocol of pluripotency assessment remains to be established. Here to help comes the use of high-throughput techniques, and in particular, the employment of gene expression microarrays, which has become a complementary technique for cellular characterization. Research has shown that the transcriptomics comparison with an Embryonic Stem Cell (ESC) of reference is a good approach to assess the pluripotency. Under the premise that the best protocol is a computer software source code, here I propose and explain line by line a software protocol coded in R-Bioconductor for pluripotency assessment based on the comparison of transcriptomics data of pluripotent cells with an ESC of reference. I provide advice for experimental design, warning about possible pitfalls, and guides for results interpretation.

Bedside Diagnosis of Dysphagia: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

O’Horo, John C.; Rogus-Pulia, Nicole; Garcia-Arguello, Lisbeth; Robbins, JoAnne; Safdar, Nasia

2015-01-01

Background Dysphagia is associated with aspiration, pneumonia and malnutrition, but remains challenging to identify at the bedside. A variety of exam protocols and maneuvers are commonly used, but the efficacy of these maneuvers is highly variable. Methods We conducted a comprehensive search of seven databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE and Scopus, from each database’s earliest inception through June 5th, 2013. Studies reporting diagnostic performance of a bedside examination maneuver compared to a reference gold standard (videofluoroscopic swallow study [VFSS] or flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing with sensory testing [FEEST]) were included for analysis. From each study, data were abstracted based on the type of diagnostic method and reference standard study population and inclusion/exclusion characteristics, design and prediction of aspiration. Results The search strategy identified 38 articles meeting inclusion criteria. Overall, most bedside examinations lacked sufficient sensitivity to be used for screening purposes across all patient populations examined. Individual studies found dysphonia assessments, abnormal pharyngeal sensation assessments, dual axis accelerometry, and one description of water swallow testing to be sensitive tools, but none were reported as consistently sensitive. A preponderance of identified studies was in post-stroke adults, limiting the generalizability of results. Conclusions No bedside screening protocol has been shown to provide adequate predictive value for presence of aspiration. Several individual exam maneuvers demonstrated reasonable sensitivity, but reproducibility and consistency of these protocols was not established. More research is needed to design an optimal protocol for dysphagia detection. PMID:25581840

Practice guidelines for music interventions with hospitalized pediatric patients.

PubMed

Stouffer, Janice W; Shirk, Beverly J; Polomano, Rosemary C

2007-12-01

Music therapy is an effective complementary approach that can achieve specific therapeutic outcomes in the clinical management of pediatric patients. Growing research on music interventions has generated scientific knowledge about how this modality benefits patients and has formed the basis for effective protocols that can be used in practice. Although it can be challenging to translate research-based protocols into routine clinical care at the bedside, it is essential that music therapy interventions be aligned with evidence-based information and that accepted standards be established by the music therapy discipline to achieve the greatest benefit. The importance of partnerships between nurses and music therapists is emphasized to enhance the success of music-based treatments. This discussion synthesizes research findings that can be used to design pediatric practice guidelines in the application of music therapy.

Cognitive behaviour therapy for older adults experiencing insomnia and depression in a community mental health setting: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Sadler, Paul; McLaren, Suzanne; Klein, Britt; Jenkins, Megan; Harvey, Jack

2015-11-27

Cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is a well-established treatment; however, the evidence is largely limited to homogenous samples. Although emerging research has indicated that CBT-I is also effective for comorbid insomnia, CBT-I has not been tested among a complex sample of older adults with comorbid insomnia and depression. Furthermore, no study has explored whether modifying CBT-I to target associated depressive symptoms could potentially enhance sleep and mood outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to report a protocol designed to test whether an advanced form of CBT for insomnia and depression (CBT-I-D) is more effective at reducing insomnia and depressive symptoms compared to a standard CBT-I and psychoeducation control group (PCG) for older adults in a community mental health setting. We aim to recruit 150 older adults with comorbid insomnia who have presented to community mental health services for depression. Eligible participants will be randomly allocated via block/cluster randomisation to one of three group therapy conditions: CBT-I, CBT-I-D, or PCG. Participants who receive CBT-I will only practice strategies designed to improve their sleep, whereas participants who receive CBT-I-D will practice additional strategies designed to also improve their mood. This trial will implement a mixed-methods design involving quantitative outcome measures and qualitative focus groups. The primary outcome measures are insomnia and depression severity, and secondary outcomes are anxiety, hopelessness, beliefs about sleep, comorbid sleep conditions, and health. Outcomes will be assessed at pre-intervention (week 0), post-intervention (week 8), and 3-month follow-up (week 20). This CBT study protocol has been designed to address comorbid insomnia and depression for older adults receiving community mental health services. The proposed trial will determine whether CBT-I is more effective for older adults with comorbid insomnia and depression compared to a PCG. It will also establish whether an advanced form of CBT-I-D generates greater reductions in insomnia and depression severity compared to standard CBT-I. The results from the proposed trial are anticipated to have important clinical implications for older adults, researchers, therapists, and community mental health services. Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN: 12615000067572 , Date Registered 12 December 2014.

Autopoiesis + extended cognition + nature = can buildings think?

PubMed Central

Dollens, Dennis

2015-01-01

To incorporate metabolic, bioremedial functions into the performance of buildings and to balance generative architecture's dominant focus on computational programming and digital fabrication, this text first discusses hybridizing Maturana and Varela's biological theory of autopoiesis with Andy Clark's hypothesis of extended cognition. Doing so establishes a procedural protocol to research biological domains from which design could source data/insight from biosemiotics, sensory plants, and biocomputation. I trace computation and botanic simulations back to Alan Turing's little-known 1950s Morphogenetic drawings, reaction-diffusion algorithms, and pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) in order to establish bioarchitecture's generative point of origin. I ask provocatively, Can buildings think? as a question echoing Turing's own, "Can machines think?" PMID:26478784

Effect of a feed/fast protocol on pH in the proximal equine stomach.

PubMed

Husted, L; Sanchez, L C; Baptiste, K E; Olsen, S N

2009-09-01

Risk factors for the development of gastric squamous ulcers include various management procedures, such as intermittent feed deprivation that can occur during weight management regimens or stall and dry lot confinement. To investigate the effect of intermittent feed deprivation relative to continuous feed intake on proximal intragastric pH, specifically in the region of the squamous mucosa of the lesser curvature. In 6 horses, pH electrodes were placed just inside of the oesophageal sphincter in the stomach for each of two 72 h protocols (A and B) in a randomised, cross-over design. Protocol A consisted of 12 h fed, 12 h fasted, 24 h fed and 24 h fasted, in sequence. Protocol B consisted of 72 h fed. During the fed periods of each protocol, horses had ad libitum access to coastal Bermuda hay and were fed sweet feed (1 kg, b.i.d.). Horses had ad libitum access to water at all times. Proximal intragastric pH was significantly lower during protocol A, than during protocol B. However, hourly mean pH was significantly different only during the day and evening hours between protocols. During protocol B, mean proximal pH decreased significantly from 03.00 to 09.00 compared to 19.00 to 23.00 h. A moderate positive correlation of hay intake vs. proximal gastric pH could be established. Intermittent feed deprivation decreased proximal gastric pH in horses relative to those horses for which feed was not restricted. However, the effect was only significant when fasting occurred during the day and evening hours, as a nocturnal decrease in pH occurred simultaneously in the fed horses. Episodes of daytime feed deprivation should be avoided if possible, as proximal gastric acid exposure rapidly increases during such events.

Key handling in wireless sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.; Newe, T.

2007-07-01

With the rapid growth of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), many advanced application areas have received significant attention. However, security will be an important factor for their full adoption. Wireless sensor nodes pose unique challenges and as such traditional security protocols, used in traditional networks cannot be applied directly. Some new protocols have been published recently with the goal of providing both privacy of data and authentication of sensor nodes for WSNs. Such protocols can employ private-key and/or public key cryptographic algorithms. Public key algorithms hold the promise of simplifying the network infrastructure required to provide security services such as: privacy, authentication and non-repudiation, while symmetric algorithms require less processing power on the lower power wireless node. In this paper a selection of key establishment/agreement protocols are reviewed and they are broadly divided into two categories: group key agreement protocols and pair-wise key establishment protocols. A summary of the capabilities and security related services provided by each protocol is provided.

An Indoor Positioning-Based Mobile Payment System Using Bluetooth Low Energy Technology

PubMed Central

Winata, Doni

2018-01-01

The development of information technology has paved the way for faster and more convenient payment process flows and new methodology for the design and implementation of next generation payment systems. The growth of smartphone usage nowadays has fostered a new and popular mobile payment environment. Most of the current generation smartphones support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to communicate with nearby BLE-enabled devices. It is plausible to construct an Over-the-Air BLE-based mobile payment system as one of the payment methods for people living in modern societies. In this paper, a secure indoor positioning-based mobile payment authentication protocol with BLE technology and the corresponding mobile payment system design are proposed. The proposed protocol consists of three phases: initialization phase, session key construction phase, and authentication phase. When a customer moves toward the POS counter area, the proposed mobile payment system will automatically detect the position of the customer to confirm whether the customer is ready for the checkout process. Once the system has identified the customer is standing within the payment-enabled area, the payment system will invoke authentication process between POS and the customer’s smartphone through BLE communication channel to generate a secure session key and establish an authenticated communication session to perform the payment transaction accordingly. A prototype is implemented to assess the performance of the proposed design for mobile payment system. In addition, security analysis is conducted to evaluate the security strength of the proposed protocol. PMID:29587399

An Indoor Positioning-Based Mobile Payment System Using Bluetooth Low Energy Technology.

PubMed

Yohan, Alexander; Lo, Nai-Wei; Winata, Doni

2018-03-25

The development of information technology has paved the way for faster and more convenient payment process flows and new methodology for the design and implementation of next generation payment systems. The growth of smartphone usage nowadays has fostered a new and popular mobile payment environment. Most of the current generation smartphones support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to communicate with nearby BLE-enabled devices. It is plausible to construct an Over-the-Air BLE-based mobile payment system as one of the payment methods for people living in modern societies. In this paper, a secure indoor positioning-based mobile payment authentication protocol with BLE technology and the corresponding mobile payment system design are proposed. The proposed protocol consists of three phases: initialization phase, session key construction phase, and authentication phase. When a customer moves toward the POS counter area, the proposed mobile payment system will automatically detect the position of the customer to confirm whether the customer is ready for the checkout process. Once the system has identified the customer is standing within the payment-enabled area, the payment system will invoke authentication process between POS and the customer's smartphone through BLE communication channel to generate a secure session key and establish an authenticated communication session to perform the payment transaction accordingly. A prototype is implemented to assess the performance of the proposed design for mobile payment system. In addition, security analysis is conducted to evaluate the security strength of the proposed protocol.

Design and rationale of a comparative effectiveness trial evaluating transcendental meditation against established therapies for PTSD.

PubMed

Rutledge, Thomas; Nidich, Sanford; Schneider, Robert H; Mills, Paul J; Salerno, John; Heppner, Pia; Gomez, Mayra A; Gaylord-King, Carolyn; Rainforth, Maxwell

2014-09-01

Although meditation therapies such as the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique are commonly used to assist with stress and stress-related diseases, there remains a lack of rigorous clinical trial research establishing the relative efficacy of these treatments overall and for populations with psychiatric illness. This study uses a comparative effectiveness design to assess the relative benefits of TM to those obtained from a gold-standard cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a Veteran population. This paper describes the rationale and design of an in progress randomized controlled trial comparing TM to an established cognitive behavioral treatment - Prolonged Exposure (PE) - and an active control condition (health education [HE]) for PTSD. This trial will recruit 210 Veterans meeting DSM-IV criteria for PTSD, with testing conducted at 0 and 3 months for PTSD symptoms, depression, mood disturbance, quality of life, behavioral factors, and physiological/biochemical and gene expression mechanisms using validated measures. The study hypothesis is that TM will be noninferior to PE and superior to HE on changes in PTSD symptoms, using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). The described study represents a methodologically rigorous protocol evaluating the benefits of TM for PTSD. The projected results will help to establish the overall efficacy of TM for PTSD among Veterans, identify bio-behavioral mechanisms through which TM and PE may improve PTSD symptoms, and will permit conclusions regarding the relative value of TM against currently established therapies for PTSD. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Establishing the first institutional animal care and use committee in Egypt.

PubMed

Fahmy, Sohair R; Gaafar, Khadiga

2016-04-09

Although animal research ethics committees (AREC) are well established in Western countries, this field is weakly developed and its concept is poorly understood in the Middle East and North Africa region. Our main objective was to introduce the concept and requirements of ethical approaches in dealing with experimental animal in research and teaching in Egypt. Due to its very recent inception, Cairo University, Faculty of Science IACUC decided to operate in accordance with Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals 8th Edition 2011 (the Guide) since Egypt has not yet compiled its own guide. Fifty protocols were reviewed in 2013-2014. Only ten protocols were reviewed in 2013, but in 2014, forty protocols were reviewed. In 2013 all protocols were approved and in 2014, number of approvals were 35, the number of deferrals were 4, and one refused protocol. Master's theses (MSc) research protocols constituted the majority of the total reviewed protocols. This is attributed to the decision of the Board of the Faculty of Science, Cairo University in September, 2013 that the approval of the IACUC is mandatory before conducting any research involving animals or theses registration. The first IACUC was established in the Cairo University, Faculty of Science, since 2012. The challenges encountered by the committee were diverse, such as the absence of laws that control the use of animal models in scientific research, lack of guidelines (protocols for experimental animals in research) and, mandatory ethical approval for any experimental animal research.

Validation of the Omron HEM-7320-LA, upper arm blood pressure monitor with Intelli Wrap Technology Cuff HEM-FL1 for self-measurement and clinic use according to the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol revision 2010 in the Mexican population.

PubMed

Grover-Páez, Fernando; Cardona-Muñoz, Ernesto G; Cardona-Müller, David; Guzmán-Saldívar, Víctor H; Rodríguez-De la Cerda, Mariana; Jiménez-Cázarez, Mayra B; Totsuka-Sutto, Sylvia E; Alanis-Sánchez, Guillermo A; Ramos-Becerra, Carlos G

2017-12-01

The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of the Omron HEM-7320-LA with Intelli Wrap technology cuff HEM-FL1 for self-measurement and clinic blood pressure (BP) measurement according to the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol revision 2010. The evaluation was performed in 39 individuals. The mean age of the participants was 47.9±14 years; systolic BP was 145.2±24.3 mmHg (range: 97-190), diastolic BP was 90.9±12.9 mmHg (range: 68-120), and arm circumference was 30.8±4 cm (range: 25-38.5). The device successfully fulfilled the established criteria of the validation protocol. The device overestimated systolic BP by 0.6±5.7 mmHg and diastolic BP by 2.2±5.1 mmHg. The specially designed cuff HEM-FL1 to cover a broad range of arm circumferences and self-placement fulfilled the requirements of the International Protocol.

Cross-layer protocols optimized for real-time multimedia services in energy-constrained mobile ad hoc networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hortos, William S.

2003-07-01

Mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) supports self-organizing, mobile infrastructures and enables an autonomous network of mobile nodes that can operate without a wired backbone. Ad hoc networks are characterized by multihop, wireless connectivity via packet radios and by the need for efficient dynamic protocols. All routers are mobile and can establish connectivity with other nodes only when they are within transmission range. Importantly, ad hoc wireless nodes are resource-constrained, having limited processing, memory, and battery capacity. Delivery of high quality-ofservice (QoS), real-time multimedia services from Internet-based applications over a MANET is a challenge not yet achieved by proposed Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) ad hoc network protocols in terms of standard performance metrics such as end-to-end throughput, packet error rate, and delay. In the distributed operations of route discovery and maintenance, strong interaction occurs across MANET protocol layers, in particular, the physical, media access control (MAC), network, and application layers. The QoS requirements are specified for the service classes by the application layer. The cross-layer design must also satisfy the battery-limited energy constraints, by minimizing the distributed power consumption at the nodes and of selected routes. Interactions across the layers are modeled in terms of the set of concatenated design parameters including associated energy costs. Functional dependencies of the QoS metrics are described in terms of the concatenated control parameters. New cross-layer designs are sought that optimize layer interdependencies to achieve the "best" QoS available in an energy-constrained, time-varying network. The protocol design, based on a reactive MANET protocol, adapts the provisioned QoS to dynamic network conditions and residual energy capacities. The cross-layer optimization is based on stochastic dynamic programming conditions derived from time-dependent models of MANET packet flows. Regulation of network behavior is modeled by the optimal control of the conditional rates of multivariate point processes (MVPPs); these rates depend on the concatenated control parameters through a change of probability measure. The MVPP models capture behavior of many service applications, e.g., voice, video and the self-similar behavior of Internet data sessions. Performance verification of the cross-layer protocols, derived from the dynamic programming conditions, can be achieved by embedding the conditions in a reactive routing protocol for MANETs, in a simulation environment, such as the wireless extension of ns-2. A canonical MANET scenario consists of a distributed collection of battery-powered laptops or hand-held terminals, capable of hosting multimedia applications. Simulation details and performance tradeoffs, not presented, remain for a sequel to the paper.

Persian Registry Of cardioVascular diseasE (PROVE): Design and methodology.

PubMed

Givi, Mahshid; Sarrafzadegan, Nizal; Garakyaraghi, Mohammad; Yadegarfar, Ghasem; Sadeghi, Masoumeh; Khosravi, Alireza; Azhari, Amir Hossein; Samienasab, Mohammad Reza; Shafie, Davood; Saadatnia, Mohammad; Roohafza, Hamidreza; Paydari, Navid; Soleimani, Azam; Hosseinzadeh, Mohsen; Ahmadi, Seyed Abdulah; Dehghani, Leila; Najafian, Jamshid; Andalib, Elham; Shahabi, Javad; Sabri, Mohammad Reza

2017-09-01

Our aim was to create and establish a database called "Persian Registry Of cardioVascular diseasE (PROVE)" in order to be used for future research and in addition, as a tool to develop national guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this paper, the design and methodology of the PROVE pilot study will be discussed, launched in Isfahan, Iran, in 2015-2016. Through establishing PROVE, patients' data were collected from hospitals and outpatient clinics prospectively or retrospectively and followed up for a maximum of three years based on the type of CVDs. The inclusion criteria were as patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), stroke, atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure (HF), congenital heart disease (CHD), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and chronic ischemic cardiovascular disease (CICD). Specific protocols, questionnaires, and glossaries were developed for each registry. In order to ensure the validation of the protocols, questionnaires, data collection, management, and analysis, a well-established quality control (QC) protocol was developed and implemented. Data confidentiality was considered. In order to register patients with ACS, STEMI, stroke, HF, PCI, and CICD, the hospital recorded data were used, whereas, in case of AF and CHD registries, the data were collected from hospitals and outpatient clinics. During the pilot phase of the study in Isfahan, from March 2015 to September 2016, 9427 patients were registered as ACS including 809 as STEMI, 1195 patients with HF, 363 with AF, 761 with stroke, 1136 with CHD, 1200 with PCI, and 9 with CICD. Data collection and management were performed under the supervision of the QC group. PROVE was developed and implemented in Isfahan as a pilot study, in order to be implemented at national level in future. It provides a valuable source of valid data that could be used for future research, re-evaluation of current CVD management and more specifically, gap analysis and as a tool for assessment of the type of CVDs, prevention, treatment, and control by health care decision makers.

A Survey on Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network Routing Protocols.

PubMed

Li, Ning; Martínez, José-Fernán; Meneses Chaus, Juan Manuel; Eckert, Martina

2016-03-22

Underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs) have become more and more important in ocean exploration applications, such as ocean monitoring, pollution detection, ocean resource management, underwater device maintenance, etc. In underwater acoustic sensor networks, since the routing protocol guarantees reliable and effective data transmission from the source node to the destination node, routing protocol design is an attractive topic for researchers. There are many routing algorithms have been proposed in recent years. To present the current state of development of UASN routing protocols, we review herein the UASN routing protocol designs reported in recent years. In this paper, all the routing protocols have been classified into different groups according to their characteristics and routing algorithms, such as the non-cross-layer design routing protocol, the traditional cross-layer design routing protocol, and the intelligent algorithm based routing protocol. This is also the first paper that introduces intelligent algorithm-based UASN routing protocols. In addition, in this paper, we investigate the development trends of UASN routing protocols, which can provide researchers with clear and direct insights for further research.

A Survey on Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network Routing Protocols

PubMed Central

Li, Ning; Martínez, José-Fernán; Meneses Chaus, Juan Manuel; Eckert, Martina

2016-01-01

Underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs) have become more and more important in ocean exploration applications, such as ocean monitoring, pollution detection, ocean resource management, underwater device maintenance, etc. In underwater acoustic sensor networks, since the routing protocol guarantees reliable and effective data transmission from the source node to the destination node, routing protocol design is an attractive topic for researchers. There are many routing algorithms have been proposed in recent years. To present the current state of development of UASN routing protocols, we review herein the UASN routing protocol designs reported in recent years. In this paper, all the routing protocols have been classified into different groups according to their characteristics and routing algorithms, such as the non-cross-layer design routing protocol, the traditional cross-layer design routing protocol, and the intelligent algorithm based routing protocol. This is also the first paper that introduces intelligent algorithm-based UASN routing protocols. In addition, in this paper, we investigate the development trends of UASN routing protocols, which can provide researchers with clear and direct insights for further research. PMID:27011193

Architectural Methodology Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dhas, Chris

2000-01-01

The establishment of conventions between two communicating entities in the end systems is essential for communications. Examples of the kind of decisions that need to be made in establishing a protocol convention include the nature of the data representation, the for-mat and the speed of the date representation over the communications path, and the sequence of control messages (if any) which are sent. One of the main functions of a protocol is to establish a standard path between the communicating entities. This is necessary to create a virtual communications medium with certain desirable characteristics. In essence, it is the function of the protocol to transform the characteristics of the physical communications environment into a more useful virtual communications model. The final function of a protocol is to establish standard data elements for communications over the path; that is, the protocol serves to create a virtual data element for exchange. Other systems may be constructed in which the transferred element is a program or a job. Finally, there are special purpose applications in which the element to be transferred may be a complex structure such as all or part of a graphic display. NASA's Glenn Research Center (GRC) defines and develops advanced technology for high priority national needs in communications technologies for application to aeronautics and space. GRC tasked Computer Networks and Software Inc. (CNS) to describe the methodologies used in developing a protocol architecture for an in-space Internet node. The node would support NASA:s four mission areas: Earth Science; Space Science; Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS); Aerospace Technology. This report presents the methodology for developing the protocol architecture. The methodology addresses the architecture for a computer communications environment. It does not address an analog voice architecture.

Predicting the behavior of microfluidic circuits made from discrete elements

PubMed Central

Bhargava, Krisna C.; Thompson, Bryant; Iqbal, Danish; Malmstadt, Noah

2015-01-01

Microfluidic devices can be used to execute a variety of continuous flow analytical and synthetic chemistry protocols with a great degree of precision. The growing availability of additive manufacturing has enabled the design of microfluidic devices with new functionality and complexity. However, these devices are prone to larger manufacturing variation than is typical of those made with micromachining or soft lithography. In this report, we demonstrate a design-for-manufacturing workflow that addresses performance variation at the microfluidic element and circuit level, in context of mass-manufacturing and additive manufacturing. Our approach relies on discrete microfluidic elements that are characterized by their terminal hydraulic resistance and associated tolerance. Network analysis is employed to construct simple analytical design rules for model microfluidic circuits. Monte Carlo analysis is employed at both the individual element and circuit level to establish expected performance metrics for several specific circuit configurations. A protocol based on osmometry is used to experimentally probe mixing behavior in circuits in order to validate these approaches. The overall workflow is applied to two application circuits with immediate use at on the bench-top: series and parallel mixing circuits that are modularly programmable, virtually predictable, highly precise, and operable by hand. PMID:26516059

Server-Controlled Identity-Based Authenticated Key Exchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Hua; Mu, Yi; Zhang, Xiyong; Li, Zhoujun

We present a threshold identity-based authenticated key exchange protocol that can be applied to an authenticated server-controlled gateway-user key exchange. The objective is to allow a user and a gateway to establish a shared session key with the permission of the back-end servers, while the back-end servers cannot obtain any information about the established session key. Our protocol has potential applications in strong access control of confidential resources. In particular, our protocol possesses the semantic security and demonstrates several highly-desirable security properties such as key privacy and transparency. We prove the security of the protocol based on the Bilinear Diffie-Hellman assumption in the random oracle model.

40 CFR Appendix A - Protocol for Using an Electrochemical Analyzer to Determine Oxygen and Carbon Monoxide...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., and Process Heaters Using Portable Analyzers”, EMC Conditional Test Protocol 30 (CTM-30), Gas Research... cell design(s) conforming to this protocol will determine the analytical range for each gas component..., selective gas scrubbers, etc.) to meet the design specifications of this protocol. Do not make changes to...

40 CFR Appendix A - Protocol for Using an Electrochemical Analyzer to Determine Oxygen and Carbon Monoxide...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., and Process Heaters Using Portable Analyzers”, EMC Conditional Test Protocol 30 (CTM-30), Gas Research... cell design(s) conforming to this protocol will determine the analytical range for each gas component..., selective gas scrubbers, etc.) to meet the design specifications of this protocol. Do not make changes to...

An optimized immunohistochemistry protocol for detecting the guidance cue Netrin-1 in neural tissue.

PubMed

Salameh, Samer; Nouel, Dominique; Flores, Cecilia; Hoops, Daniel

2018-01-01

Netrin-1, an axon guidance protein, is difficult to detect using immunohistochemistry. We performed a multi-step, blinded, and controlled protocol optimization procedure to establish an efficient and effective fluorescent immunohistochemistry protocol for characterizing Netrin-1 expression. Coronal mouse brain sections were used to test numerous antigen retrieval methods and combinations thereof in order to optimize the stain quality of a commercially available Netrin-1 antibody. Stain quality was evaluated by experienced neuroanatomists for two criteria: signal intensity and signal-to-noise ratio. After five rounds of testing protocol variants, we established a modified immunohistochemistry protocol that produced a Netrin-1 signal with good signal intensity and a high signal-to-noise ratio. The key protocol modifications are as follows: •Use phosphate buffer (PB) as the blocking solution solvent.•Use 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) treatment for antigen retrieval. The original protocol was optimized for use with the Netrin-1 antibody produced by Novus Biologicals. However, we subsequently further modified the protocol to work with the antibody produced by Abcam. The Abcam protocol uses PBS as the blocking solution solvent and adds a citrate buffer antigen retrieval step.

Design and Implementation of a Telephone Triage/Advice Service: An Instrument of Demand Management at USA Medical Department Activity-Heidelberg.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-06-01

situations. The USAMH population includes 32,793 family members, many who are young spouses with small children . A recent study of USAMH emergency room...software is based on the work of Shiela Q. Wheeler, considered a pioneer in triage nursing and author of Telephone Triage: Theory . Practice and Protocol...personnel at USAMH established personnel levels at the Table of Distribution and Allowances ( TDA ) level with no overhires authorized. The working group

User-Centered Design of Serious Games for Older Adults Following 3 Years of Experience With Exergames for Seniors: A Study Design.

PubMed

Brox, Ellen; Konstantinidis, Stathis Th; Evertsen, Gunn

2017-01-11

Seniors need sufficient balance and strength to manage in daily life, and sufficient physical activity is required to achieve and maintain these abilities. This can be a challenge, but fun and motivational exergames can be of help. However, most commercial games are not suited for this age group for several reasons. Many usability studies and user-centered design (UCD) protocols have been developed and applied, but to the best of our knowledge none of them are focusing on seniors' use of games for physical activity. In GameUp, a European cofunded project, some prototype Kinect exergames to enhance the mobility of seniors were developed in a user-centered approach. In this paper we aim to record lessons learned in 3 years of experience with exergames for seniors, considering both the needs of older adults regarding user-centered development of exergames and participation in UCD. We also provide a UCD protocol for exergames tailored to senior needs. An initial UCD protocol was formed based on literature of previous research outcomes. Senior users participated in UCD following the initial protocol. The users formed a steady group that met every second week for 3 years to play exergames and participate in the UCD during the 4 phases of the protocol. Several methods were applied in the 4 different phases of the UCD protocol; the most important methods were structured and semistructured interviews, observations, and group discussions. A total of 16 seniors with an average age above 80 years participated for 3 years in UCD in order to develop the GameUp exergames. As a result of the lessons learned by applying the different methodologies of the UCD protocol, we propose an adjusted UCD protocol providing explanations on how it should be applied for seniors as users. Questionnaires should be turned into semistructured and structured interviews while user consultation sessions should be repeated with the same theme to ensure that the UCD methods produce a valid outcome. By first following the initial and gradually the adjusted UCD protocol, the project resulted in exergame functionalities and interface features for seniors. The main lessons learned during 3 years of experience with exergames for seniors applying UCD are that devoting time to seniors is a key element of success so that trust can be gained, communication can be established, and users' opinions can be recorded. All different game elements should be taken into consideration during the design of exergames for seniors even if they seem obvious. Despite the limitations of this study, one might argue that it provides a best practice guide to the development of serious games for physical activity targeting seniors. ©Ellen Brox, Stathis Th Konstantinidis, Gunn Evertsen. Originally published in JMIR Serious Games (http://games.jmir.org), 11.01.2017.

MO-E-18A-01: Imaging: Best Practices In Pediatric Imaging

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

Willis, C; Strauss, K; MacDougall, R

This imaging educational program will focus on solutions to common pediatric imaging challenges. The speakers will present collective knowledge on best practices in pediatric imaging from their experience at dedicated children's hospitals. Areas of focus will include general radiography, the use of manual and automatic dose management in computed tomography, and enterprise-wide radiation dose management in the pediatric practice. The educational program will begin with a discussion of the complexities of exposure factor control in pediatric projection radiography. Following this introduction will be two lectures addressing the challenges of computed tomography (CT) protocol optimization in the pediatric population. The firstmore » will address manual CT protocol design in order to establish a managed radiation dose for any pediatric exam on any CT scanner. The second CT lecture will focus on the intricacies of automatic dose modulation in pediatric imaging with an emphasis on getting reliable results in algorithmbased technique selection. The fourth and final lecture will address the key elements needed to developing a comprehensive radiation dose management program for the pediatric environment with particular attention paid to new regulations and obligations of practicing medical physicists. Learning Objectives: To understand how general radiographic techniques can be optimized using exposure indices in order to improve pediatric radiography. To learn how to establish diagnostic dose reference levels for pediatric patients as a function of the type of examination, patient size, and individual design characteristics of the CT scanner. To learn how to predict the patient's radiation dose prior to the exam and manually adjust technique factors if necessary to match the patient's dose to the department's established dose reference levels. To learn how to utilize manufacturer-provided automatic dose modulation technology to consistently achieve patient doses within the department's established size-based diagnostic reference range. To understand the key components of an enterprise-wide pediatric dose management program that integrates the expanding responsibilities of medial physicists in the new era of dose monitoring.« less

[Climatic change and public health: scenarios after the coming into force of the Kyoto Protocol].

PubMed

Ballester, Ferran; Díaz, Julio; Moreno, José Manuel

2006-03-01

According to the reports of the intergovernmental panel for climatic change (IPCC) human beings of the present and near future are going to experiment, in fact we are already experimenting, important changes in the world climate. Conscious of the magnitude of the problem, international organizations have taken a series of initiatives headed to stop the climatic change and to reduce its impact. This willingness has been shaped into the agreements established in the Kyoto protocol, where countries commit to reduce greenhouse-effect gas emissions. Kyoto protocol has come into force on February 16th 2005 with the support of 141 signing countries. Among the major worries are the effects which climatic change may have upon health, such as: 1) changes in the morbidity- mortality related to temperature; 2) Effects on health related with extreme meteorological events (tornados, storms, hurricanes and extreme raining); 3) Air pollution and increase of associated health effects; d) Diseases transmitted by food and water and 4) Infectious diseases transmitted by vectors and by rodents. Even if all the countries in the world committed to the Kyoto Protocol, some consequences of the climatic change will be inevitable; among them some will have a negative impact on health. It would be necessary to adapt a key response strategy to minimize the impacts of climatic change and to reduce, at minimum cost, its adverse effects on health. From the Public Health position, a relevant role can and must be played concerning the understanding of the risks for health of such climatic changes, the design of surveillance systems to evaluate possible impacts, and the establishment of systems to prevent or reduce damages as well as the identification and development of investigation needs.

Graduate Periodontics Programs' Integration of Implant Provisionalization in Core Curricula: Implementation of CODA Standard 4-10.2.d.

PubMed

Barwacz, Christopher A; Pantzlaff, Ed; Allareddy, Veerasathpurush; Avila-Ortiz, Gustavo

2017-06-01

The aim of this descriptive study was to provide an overview of the status of implementation of Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) Standard 4-10.2.d (Provisionalization of Dental Implants) by U.S. graduate periodontics programs since its introduction in 2013. Surveys were sent in May 2015 to 56 accredited postdoctoral periodontics program directors to ascertain program director characteristics; status of planning, implementation, and curriculum resulting from adoption of Standard 4-10.2.d; preferred clinical protocols for implant provisionalization; interdisciplinary educational collaborators; and competency assessment mechanisms. The survey response rate was 52% (N=29); the majority were male, aged 55 or older, and had held their position for less than ten years. Among the responding programs, 93% had formal educational curricula established in implant provisionalization. Graduate periodontics (96%) and prosthodontics (63%) faculty members were predominantly involved with curriculum planning. Of these programs, 96% used immediate implant provisionalization, with direct (chairside) provisionalization protocols (86%) being preferred over indirect protocols (14%) and polyethylethylketone provisional abutments (75%) being preferred to titanium (25%) provisional abutments. Straight and concave transmucosal emergence profile designs (46% each) were preferred in teaching, with only 8% of programs favoring convex transmucosal profiles. A majority of responding programs (67%) lacked protocols for communicating to the restorative referral a mechanism to duplicate the mature peri-implant mucosal architecture. Regional location did not play a significant role in any educational component related to implant provisionalization for these graduate periodontal programs. Overall, this study found that a clear majority of graduate periodontics programs had established formal curricula related to implant provisionalization, with substantial clinical and philosophical consensus within the specialty.

A Lightweight Continuous Authentication Protocol for the Internet of Things

PubMed Central

Chuang, Yo-Hsuan; Yang, Cheng-Ying; Tang, Ssu-Wei

2018-01-01

Modern societies are moving toward an information-oriented environment. To gather and utilize information around people’s modern life, tiny devices with all kinds of sensing devices and various sizes of gateways need to be deployed and connected with each other through the Internet or proxy-based wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Within this kind of Internet of Things (IoT) environment, how to authenticate each other between two communicating devices is a fundamental security issue. As a lot of IoT devices are powered by batteries and they need to transmit sensed data periodically, it is necessary for IoT devices to adopt a lightweight authentication protocol to reduce their energy consumption when a device wants to authenticate and transmit data to its targeted peer. In this paper, a lightweight continuous authentication protocol for sensing devices and gateway devices in general IoT environments is introduced. The concept of valid authentication time period is proposed to enhance robustness of authentication between IoT devices. To construct the proposed lightweight continuous authentication protocol, token technique and dynamic features of IoT devices are adopted in order to reach the design goals: the reduction of time consumption for consecutive authentications and energy saving for authenticating devices through by reducing the computation complexity during session establishment of continuous authentication. Security analysis is conducted to evaluate security strength of the proposed protocol. In addition, performance analysis has shown the proposed protocol is a strong competitor among existing protocols for device-to-device authentication in IoT environments. PMID:29621168

Development of a waste management protocol based on assessment of knowledge and practice of healthcare personnel in surgical departments.

PubMed

Mostafa, Gehan M A; Shazly, Mona M; Sherief, Wafaa I

2009-01-01

Good healthcare waste management in a hospital depends on a dedicated waste management team, good administration, careful planning, sound organization, underpinning legislation, adequate financing, and full participation by trained staff. Hence, waste management protocols must be convenient and sensible. To assess the knowledge and practice related to waste management among doctors, nurses, and housekeepers in the surgical departments at Al-Mansoura University Hospital, and to design and validate a waste management protocol for the health team in these settings. This cross-sectional study was carried out in the eight surgical departments at Al-Mansoura University Hospital. All health care personnel and their assistants were included: 38 doctors, 106 nurses, and 56 housekeepers. Two groups of jury were included for experts' opinions validation of the developed protocol, one from academia (30 members) and the other from service providers (30 members). Data were collected using a self-administered knowledge questionnaire for nurses and doctors, and an interview questionnaire for housekeepers. Observation checklists were used for assessment of performance. The researchers developed the first draft of the waste management protocol according to the results of the analysis of the data collected in the assessment phase. Then, the protocol was presented to the jury group for validation, and then was implemented. Only 27.4% of the nurses, 32.1% of the housekeepers, and 36.8% of the doctors had satisfactory knowledge. Concerning practice, 18.9% of the nurses, 7.1% of the housekeepers, and none of the doctors had adequate practice. Nurses' knowledge score had a statistically significant weak positive correlation with the attendance of training courses (r=0.23, p<0.05). Validation of the developed protocol was done, and the percent of agreement ranged between 60.0% and 96.7% for the service group, and 60.0% and 90.0% for the academia group. The majority of the doctors, nurses, and housekeepers have unsatisfactory knowledge and inadequate practice related to health care waste management. The knowledge among nurses is positively affected by attendance of training programs. Based on the findings, a protocol for healthcare waste management was developed and validated. It is recommended to implement the developed waste management protocol for the surgical departments in the designed hospital, with establishment of waste management audits.

The Utility of a Benign Biliary Stricture Protocol in Preventing Symptomatic Recurrence and Surgical Revision.

PubMed

Kirkpatrick, Daniel L; Hasham, Hasnain; Collins, Zachary; Johnson, Philip; Lemons, Steven; Shahzada, Hassan; Hunt, Suzanne L; Walter, Carissa; Hill, Jacqueline; Fahrbach, Thomas

2018-05-01

To determine whether treating benign biliary strictures via a stricture protocol reduced the probability of developing symptomatic recurrence and requiring surgical revision compared to nonprotocol treatment. A stricture protocol was designed to include serial upsizing of internal/external biliary drainage catheters to a target maximum dilation of 18-French, optional cholangioplasty at each upsizing, and maintenance of the largest catheter for at least 6 months. Patients were included in this retrospective analysis if they underwent biliary ductal dilation at a single institution from 2005 to 2016. Forty-two patients were included, 25 women and 17 men, with an average age of 51.9 years (standard deviation ± 14.6). Logistic regression models were used to determine the probability of symptomatic recurrence and surgical revision by stricture treatment type. Twenty-two patients received nonprotocol treatment, while 20 received treatment on a stricture protocol. After treatment, 7 (32%) patients in the nonprotocol group experienced clinical or laboratory recurrence of a benign stricture, whereas only 1 patient in the stricture protocol group experienced symptom recurrence. Patients in the protocol group were 8.9 times (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.4-175.3) more likely to remain symptom free than patients in the nonprotocol group. Moreover, patients in the protocol group had an estimated 89% reduction in the probability of undergoing surgical revision compared to patients receiving nonprotocol treatment (odds ratio = .11, 95% CI = .01-.73). Establishing a stricture protocol may decrease the risk of stricture recurrence and the need for surgical revision when compared to a nonprotocol treatment approach. Copyright © 2017 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rosetta:MSF: a modular framework for multi-state computational protein design.

PubMed

Löffler, Patrick; Schmitz, Samuel; Hupfeld, Enrico; Sterner, Reinhard; Merkl, Rainer

2017-06-01

Computational protein design (CPD) is a powerful technique to engineer existing proteins or to design novel ones that display desired properties. Rosetta is a software suite including algorithms for computational modeling and analysis of protein structures and offers many elaborate protocols created to solve highly specific tasks of protein engineering. Most of Rosetta's protocols optimize sequences based on a single conformation (i. e. design state). However, challenging CPD objectives like multi-specificity design or the concurrent consideration of positive and negative design goals demand the simultaneous assessment of multiple states. This is why we have developed the multi-state framework MSF that facilitates the implementation of Rosetta's single-state protocols in a multi-state environment and made available two frequently used protocols. Utilizing MSF, we demonstrated for one of these protocols that multi-state design yields a 15% higher performance than single-state design on a ligand-binding benchmark consisting of structural conformations. With this protocol, we designed de novo nine retro-aldolases on a conformational ensemble deduced from a (βα)8-barrel protein. All variants displayed measurable catalytic activity, testifying to a high success rate for this concept of multi-state enzyme design.

Rosetta:MSF: a modular framework for multi-state computational protein design

PubMed Central

Hupfeld, Enrico; Sterner, Reinhard

2017-01-01

Computational protein design (CPD) is a powerful technique to engineer existing proteins or to design novel ones that display desired properties. Rosetta is a software suite including algorithms for computational modeling and analysis of protein structures and offers many elaborate protocols created to solve highly specific tasks of protein engineering. Most of Rosetta’s protocols optimize sequences based on a single conformation (i. e. design state). However, challenging CPD objectives like multi-specificity design or the concurrent consideration of positive and negative design goals demand the simultaneous assessment of multiple states. This is why we have developed the multi-state framework MSF that facilitates the implementation of Rosetta’s single-state protocols in a multi-state environment and made available two frequently used protocols. Utilizing MSF, we demonstrated for one of these protocols that multi-state design yields a 15% higher performance than single-state design on a ligand-binding benchmark consisting of structural conformations. With this protocol, we designed de novo nine retro-aldolases on a conformational ensemble deduced from a (βα)8-barrel protein. All variants displayed measurable catalytic activity, testifying to a high success rate for this concept of multi-state enzyme design. PMID:28604768

Fixation and Commitment while Designing and Its Measurement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gero, John S.

2011-01-01

This paper introduces the notion that fixation and commitment while designing can be measured by studying the protocol of the design session. It is hypothesized that the dynamic entropy of the linkograph of the protocol provides the basis for such a measurement. The hypothesis is empirically tested using a design protocol and the results…

Design and Verification of a Distributed Communication Protocol

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munoz, Cesar A.; Goodloe, Alwyn E.

2009-01-01

The safety of remotely operated vehicles depends on the correctness of the distributed protocol that facilitates the communication between the vehicle and the operator. A failure in this communication can result in catastrophic loss of the vehicle. To complicate matters, the communication system may be required to satisfy several, possibly conflicting, requirements. The design of protocols is typically an informal process based on successive iterations of a prototype implementation. Yet distributed protocols are notoriously difficult to get correct using such informal techniques. We present a formal specification of the design of a distributed protocol intended for use in a remotely operated vehicle, which is built from the composition of several simpler protocols. We demonstrate proof strategies that allow us to prove properties of each component protocol individually while ensuring that the property is preserved in the composition forming the entire system. Given that designs are likely to evolve as additional requirements emerge, we show how we have automated most of the repetitive proof steps to enable verification of rapidly changing designs.

Efficient generation of monoclonal antibodies from single rhesus macaque antibody secreting cells.

PubMed

Meng, Weixu; Li, Leike; Xiong, Wei; Fan, Xuejun; Deng, Hui; Bett, Andrew J; Chen, Zhifeng; Tang, Aimin; Cox, Kara S; Joyce, Joseph G; Freed, Daniel C; Thoryk, Elizabeth; Fu, Tong-Ming; Casimiro, Danilo R; Zhang, Ningyan; A Vora, Kalpit; An, Zhiqiang

2015-01-01

Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are used as a preclinical model for vaccine development, and the antibody profiles to experimental vaccines in NHPs can provide critical information for both vaccine design and translation to clinical efficacy. However, an efficient protocol for generating monoclonal antibodies from single antibody secreting cells of NHPs is currently lacking. In this study we established a robust protocol for cloning immunoglobulin (IG) variable domain genes from single rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) antibody secreting cells. A sorting strategy was developed using a panel of molecular markers (CD3, CD19, CD20, surface IgG, intracellular IgG, CD27, Ki67 and CD38) to identify the kinetics of B cell response after vaccination. Specific primers for the rhesus macaque IG genes were designed and validated using cDNA isolated from macaque peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Cloning efficiency was averaged at 90% for variable heavy (VH) and light (VL) domains, and 78.5% of the clones (n = 335) were matched VH and VL pairs. Sequence analysis revealed that diverse IGHV subgroups (for VH) and IGKV and IGLV subgroups (for VL) were represented in the cloned antibodies. The protocol was tested in a study using an experimental dengue vaccine candidate. About 26.6% of the monoclonal antibodies cloned from the vaccinated rhesus macaques react with the dengue vaccine antigens. These results validate the protocol for cloning monoclonal antibodies in response to vaccination from single macaque antibody secreting cells, which have general applicability for determining monoclonal antibody profiles in response to other immunogens or vaccine studies of interest in NHPs.

The Tobacco Pack Surveillance System: A Protocol for Assessing Health Warning Compliance, Design Features, and Appeals of Tobacco Packs Sold in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

PubMed Central

Washington, Carmen; Brown, Jennifer; Vadnais, Alison; Kroart, Laura; Ferguson, Jacqueline; Cohen, Joanna

2015-01-01

Background Tobacco remains the world’s leading preventable cause of death, with the majority of tobacco-caused deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. The first global health treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), outlines a set of policy initiatives that have been demonstrated as effective in reducing tobacco use. Article 11 of the FCTC focuses on using the tobacco package to communicate tobacco-caused harms; it also seeks to restrict the delivery of misleading information about the product on the pack. Objective The objective of this study was to establish a surveillance system for tobacco packs in the 14 low- and middle-income countries with the greatest number of smokers. The Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS) monitors whether required health warnings on tobacco packages are being implemented as intended, and identifies pack designs and appeals that might violate or detract from the communication of harm-related information and undermine the impact of a country’s tobacco packaging laws. The protocol outlined is intended to be applicable or adaptable for surveillance efforts in other countries. Methods Tobacco packs were collected in 14 countries during 2013. The intention was, to the extent possible, to construct a census of “unique” pack presentations available for purchase in each country. The TPackSS team partnered with in-country field staff to implement a standardized protocol for acquiring packs from 36 diverse neighborhoods across three cities in each country. At the time of purchase, data on price and place of acquisition of each pack was recorded. The field staff, according to a standardized protocol, then photographed packs before they were shipped to the United States for coding and archiving. Results Each pack was coded for compliance with the country-specific health warning label laws, as well as for key design features of the pack and appeals of the branding elements. The coding protocols were developed based upon prior research, expert opinion, and communication theories. Each pack was coded by two independent coders, with consistency of personnel across the project. We routinely measured intercoder reliability, and only retained variables for which a good level of reliability was achieved. Variables where reliability was too low were not included in final analyses, and any inconsistencies in coding were resolved on a daily basis. Conclusions Across the 14 countries, the TPackSS team collected 3307 tobacco packs. We have established a publicly accessible, Internet archive of these packs that is intended for use by the tobacco control policy advocacy and research community. PMID:27227142

Protocols for treating patients with end-stage renal disease: a survey of undergraduate dental programs.

PubMed

Sturgill, Jeremiah; Howell, Scott; Perry, Maureen Munnelly; Kothari, Hemali

2016-11-01

Approximately 14% of Americans are living with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the result of progressing CKD continues to rise by 21,000 per year. There are no updated, evidence-based antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines for patients with renal disease undergoing dental treatment. The most recent was a scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2003. Presented in three parts, the goal of the first part of this study is to determine the current protocol being used to treat renal patients at U.S. dental schools. A 21 multiple-choice question survey was e-mailed to 58 clinic deans of accredited dental schools in the United States regarding renal treatment protocol details including antibiotic prophylaxis. Fifty-two percent of programs report having no established renal patient treatment protocol. For programs with a protocol, when using prophylactic antibiotics, 54% followed AHA protocol, whereas 62% used a modified protocol. There is a lack of consistent, established protocols among undergraduate dental programs. It is suggested that evidence-based guidelines for the safe treatment of patients be developed. © 2016 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

What Will We Actually Do On the Moon?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sherwood, Brent

2007-01-01

Descriptions are provided for eleven specific, representative lunar activity scenarios selected from among hundreds that arose in 2006 from the NASA-sponsored development of a "global lunar strategy." The scenarios are: pave for dust control; establish a colony of continuously active robots; kitchen science; designer biology; tend the machinery; search for pieces of ancient Earth; build simple observatories that open new wavelength regimes; establish a virtual real-time network to enable public engagement; institute a public-private lunar development corporation; rehearse planetary protection protocols for Mars; and expand life and intelligence beyond Earth through settlement of the Moon. Evocative scenarios such as these are proposed as a communications tool to help win public understanding and support of the Vision for Space Exploration.

Research and realization of key technology in HILS interactive system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Che; Lu, Huiming; Wang, Fankai

2018-03-01

This paper designed HILS (Hardware In the Loop Simulation) interactive system based on xPC platform . Through the interface between C++ and MATLAB engine, establish the seamless data connection between Simulink and interactive system, complete data interaction between system and Simulink, realize the function development of model configuration, parameter modification and off line simulation. We establish the data communication between host and target machine through TCP/IP protocol to realize the model download and real-time simulation. Use database to store simulation data, implement real-time simulation monitoring and simulation data management. Realize system function integration by Qt graphic interface library and dynamic link library. At last, take the typical control system as an example to verify the feasibility of HILS interactive system.

A detailed description of the implementation of inpatient insulin orders with a commercial electronic health record system.

PubMed

Neinstein, Aaron; MacMaster, Heidemarie Windham; Sullivan, Mary M; Rushakoff, Robert

2014-07-01

In the setting of Meaningful Use laws and professional society guidelines, hospitals are rapidly implementing electronic glycemic management order sets. There are a number of best practices established in the literature for glycemic management protocols and programs. We believe that this is the first published account of the detailed steps to be taken to design, implement, and optimize glycemic management protocols in a commercial computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system. Prior to CPOE implementation, our hospital already had a mature glycemic management program. To transition to CPOE, we underwent the following 4 steps: (1) preparation and requirements gathering, (2) design and build, (3) implementation and dissemination, and (4) optimization. These steps required more than 2 years of coordinated work between physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and programmers. With the move to CPOE, our complex glycemic management order sets were successfully implemented without any significant interruptions in care. With feedback from users, we have continued to refine the order sets, and this remains an ongoing process. Successful implementation of glycemic management protocols in CPOE is dependent on broad stakeholder input and buy-in. When using a commercial CPOE system, there may be limitations of the system, necessitating workarounds. There should be an upfront plan to apply resources for continuous process improvement and optimization after implementation. © 2014 Diabetes Technology Society.

System Software Framework for System of Systems Avionics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferguson, Roscoe C.; Peterson, Benjamin L; Thompson, Hiram C.

2005-01-01

Project Constellation implements NASA's vision for space exploration to expand human presence in our solar system. The engineering focus of this project is developing a system of systems architecture. This architecture allows for the incremental development of the overall program. Systems can be built and connected in a "Lego style" manner to generate configurations supporting various mission objectives. The development of the avionics or control systems of such a massive project will result in concurrent engineering. Also, each system will have software and the need to communicate with other (possibly heterogeneous) systems. Fortunately, this design problem has already been solved during the creation and evolution of systems such as the Internet and the Department of Defense's successful effort to standardize distributed simulation (now IEEE 1516). The solution relies on the use of a standard layered software framework and a communication protocol. A standard framework and communication protocol is suggested for the development and maintenance of Project Constellation systems. The ARINC 653 standard is a great start for such a common software framework. This paper proposes a common system software framework that uses the Real Time Publish/Subscribe protocol for framework-to-framework communication to extend ARINC 653. It is highly recommended that such a framework be established before development. This is important for the success of concurrent engineering. The framework provides an infrastructure for general system services and is designed for flexibility to support a spiral development effort.

Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) glove evaluation test protocol

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinman-Sweeney, E. M.

1994-01-01

One of the most critical components of a space suit is the gloves, yet gloves have traditionally presented significant design challenges. With continued efforts at glove development, a method for evaluating glove performance is needed. This paper presents a pressure-glove evaluation protocol. A description of this evaluation protocol, and its development is provided. The protocol allows comparison of one glove design to another, or any one design to bare-handed performance. Gloves for higher pressure suits may be evaluated at current and future design pressures to drive out differences in performance due to pressure effects. Using this protocol, gloves may be evaluated during design to drive out design problems and determine areas for improvement, or fully mature designs may be evaluated with respect to mission requirements. Several different test configurations are presented to handle these cases. This protocol was run on a prototype glove. The prototype was evaluated at two operating pressures and in the unpressurized state, with results compared to bare-handed performance. Results and analysis from this test series are provided, as is a description of the configuration used for this test.

Protocol to Isolate a Large Amount of Functional Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells from the Cerebral Cortex of Adult Mice and Humans

PubMed Central

Medina-Rodríguez, Eva María; Arenzana, Francisco Javier; Bribián, Ana; de Castro, Fernando

2013-01-01

During development, oligodendrocytes are generated from oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), a cell type that is a significant proportion of the total cells (3-8%) in the adult central nervous system (CNS) of both rodents and humans. Adult OPCs are responsible for the spontaneous remyelination that occurs in demyelinating diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and they constitute an interesting source of cells for regenerative therapy in such conditions. However, there is little data regarding the neurobiology of adult OPCs isolated from mice since an efficient method to isolate them has yet to be established. We have designed a protocol to obtain viable adult OPCs from the cerebral cortex of different mouse strains and we have compared its efficiency with other well-known methods. In addition, we show that this protocol is also useful to isolate functional OPCs from human brain biopsies. Using this method we can isolate primary cortical OPCs in sufficient quantities so as to be able to study their survival, maturation and function, and to facilitate an evaluation of their utility in myelin repair. PMID:24303061

Protocol to isolate a large amount of functional oligodendrocyte precursor cells from the cerebral cortex of adult mice and humans.

PubMed

Medina-Rodríguez, Eva María; Arenzana, Francisco Javier; Bribián, Ana; de Castro, Fernando

2013-01-01

During development, oligodendrocytes are generated from oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), a cell type that is a significant proportion of the total cells (3-8%) in the adult central nervous system (CNS) of both rodents and humans. Adult OPCs are responsible for the spontaneous remyelination that occurs in demyelinating diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and they constitute an interesting source of cells for regenerative therapy in such conditions. However, there is little data regarding the neurobiology of adult OPCs isolated from mice since an efficient method to isolate them has yet to be established. We have designed a protocol to obtain viable adult OPCs from the cerebral cortex of different mouse strains and we have compared its efficiency with other well-known methods. In addition, we show that this protocol is also useful to isolate functional OPCs from human brain biopsies. Using this method we can isolate primary cortical OPCs in sufficient quantities so as to be able to study their survival, maturation and function, and to facilitate an evaluation of their utility in myelin repair.

[Experts consensus of dental esthetic photography].

PubMed

2017-05-09

Clinical photography in esthetic dentistry is an essential skill in clinical practice. It is widely applied clinically in multiple fields related to esthetic dentistry. Society of Esthetic Dentistry of Chinese Stomatological Association established a consensus for clinical photography and standards for images in esthetic dentistry in order to standardize domestic dental practitioners' procedure, and meet the demands of diagnosis and design in modern esthetic dentistry. It was also developed to facilitate domestic and international academic communication. Sixteen commonly used images in practice, which are of apparent importance in guiding esthetic analysis, design and implementation, are proposed in the standards. This consensus states the clinical significance of these images and the standard protocol of acquiring them.

Design and implementation considerations of a MSAT packet data network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karam, Fouad G.; Hearn, Terry; Rohr, Doug; Guibord, Arthur F.

1993-01-01

The Mobile Data System, which is intended to provide for packet switched data services is currently under development. The system is based on a star network topology consisting of a centralized Data Hub (DH) serving a large number of mobile terminals. Through the Data Hub, end-to-end connections can be established between terrestrial users on public or private data networks and mobile users. The MDS network will be capable of offering a variety of services some of which are based on the standard X.25 network interface protocol, and others optimized for short messages and broadcast messages. A description of these services and the trade-offs in the DH design are presented.

The engine design engine. A clustered computer platform for the aerodynamic inverse design and analysis of a full engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanz, J.; Pischel, K.; Hubler, D.

1992-01-01

An application for parallel computation on a combined cluster of powerful workstations and supercomputers was developed. A Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) is used as message passage language on a macro-tasking parallelization of the Aerodynamic Inverse Design and Analysis for a Full Engine computer code. The heterogeneous nature of the cluster is perfectly handled by the controlling host machine. Communication is established via Ethernet with the TCP/IP protocol over an open network. A reasonable overhead is imposed for internode communication, rendering an efficient utilization of the engaged processors. Perhaps one of the most interesting features of the system is its versatile nature, that permits the usage of the computational resources available that are experiencing less use at a given point in time.

Rater Drift and Time Trends in Classroom Observations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casabianca, Jodi M.; Lockwood, J. R.

2013-01-01

Classroom observation protocols, in which observers rate multiple dimensions of teaching according to established protocols (either live in the classroom, or post-hoc from lesson videos), are increasingly being used in both research and policy contexts. However, scores generated from these protocols have many sources of error. Day to day variation…

Prevention of Osmotic Injury to Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells for Biopreservation: A First Step Toward Biobanking of Endothelial Cells for Vascular Tissue Engineering.

PubMed

Niu, Dan; Zhao, Gang; Liu, Xiaoli; Zhou, Ping; Cao, Yunxia

2016-03-01

High-survival-rate cryopreservation of endothelial cells plays a critical role in vascular tissue engineering, while optimization of osmotic injuries is the first step toward successful cryopreservation. We designed a low-cost, easy-to-use, microfluidics-based microperfusion chamber to investigate the osmotic responses of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) at different temperatures, and then optimized the protocols for using cryoprotective agents (CPAs) to minimize osmotic injuries and improve processes before freezing and after thawing. The fundamental cryobiological parameters were measured using the microperfusion chamber, and then, the optimized protocols using these parameters were confirmed by survival evaluation and cell proliferation experiments. It was revealed for the first time that HUVECs have an unusually small permeability coefficient for Me2SO. Even at the concentrations well established for slow freezing of cells (1.5 M), one-step removal of CPAs for HUVECs might result in inevitable osmotic injuries, indicating that multiple-step removal is essential. Further experiments revealed that multistep removal of 1.5 M Me2SO at 25°C was the best protocol investigated, in good agreement with theory. These results should prove invaluable for optimization of cryopreservation protocols of HUVECs.

A Cross-Layer Duty Cycle MAC Protocol Supporting a Pipeline Feature for Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Tong, Fei; Xie, Rong; Shu, Lei; Kim, Young-Chon

2011-01-01

Although the conventional duty cycle MAC protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) such as RMAC perform well in terms of saving energy and reducing end-to-end delivery latency, they were designed independently and require an extra routing protocol in the network layer to provide path information for the MAC layer. In this paper, we propose a new cross-layer duty cycle MAC protocol with data forwarding supporting a pipeline feature (P-MAC) for WSNs. P-MAC first divides the whole network into many grades around the sink. Each node identifies its grade according to its logical hop distance to the sink and simultaneously establishes a sleep/wakeup schedule using the grade information. Those nodes in the same grade keep the same schedule, which is staggered with the schedule of the nodes in the adjacent grade. Then a variation of the RTS/CTS handshake mechanism is used to forward data continuously in a pipeline fashion from the higher grade to the lower grade nodes and finally to the sink. No extra routing overhead is needed, thus increasing the network scalability while maintaining the superiority of duty-cycling. The simulation results in OPNET show that P-MAC has better performance than S-MAC and RMAC in terms of packet delivery latency and energy efficiency. PMID:22163895

Modeling Negotiation by a Paticipatory Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torii, Daisuke; Ishida, Toru; Bousquet, François

In a participatory approach by social scientists, role playing games (RPG) are effectively used to understand real thinking and behavior of stakeholders, but RPG is not sufficient to handle a dynamic process like negotiation. In this study, a participatory simulation where user-controlled avatars and autonomous agents coexist is introduced to the participatory approach for modeling negotiation. To establish a modeling methodology of negotiation, we have tackled the following two issues. First, for enabling domain experts to concentrate interaction design for participatory simulation, we have adopted the architecture in which an interaction layer controls agents and have defined three types of interaction descriptions (interaction protocol, interaction scenario and avatar control scenario) to be described. Second, for enabling domain experts and stakeholders to capitalize on participatory simulation, we have established a four-step process for acquiring negotiation model: 1) surveys and interviews to stakeholders, 2) RPG, 3) interaction design, and 4) participatory simulation. Finally, we discussed our methodology through a case study of agricultural economics in the northeast Thailand.

Tolerance - One Transplant for Life

PubMed Central

Kawai, Tatsuo; Leventhal, Joseph; Madsen, Joren C.; Strober, Samuel; Turka, Laurence A.; Wood, Kathryn J.

2014-01-01

A recent TTS workshop was convened to address the question: “What do we need to have in place to make tolerance induction protocols a “standard of care” for organ transplant recipients over the next decade?” In a productive two day meeting there was wide-ranging discussion on a broad series of topics resulting in five consensus recommendations: (1) Establish a registry of results for patients enrolled in tolerance trials; (2) Establish standardized protocols for sample collection and storage; (3) Establish standardized biomarkers and assays; (4) Include children aged 12 and older in protocols that have been validated in adults; (5) a task force to engage third party payers in discussions of how to fund tolerance trials. Future planned workshops will focus on progress in implementing these recommendations and identifying other steps that the community needs to take. PMID:24926829

Designing of routing algorithms in autonomous distributed data transmission system for mobile computing devices with ‘WiFi-Direct’ technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikitin, I. A.; Sherstnev, V. S.; Sherstneva, A. I.; Botygin, I. A.

2017-02-01

The results of the research of existent routing protocols in wireless networks and their main features are discussed in the paper. Basing on the protocol data, the routing protocols in wireless networks, including search routing algorithms and phone directory exchange algorithms, are designed with the ‘WiFi-Direct’ technology. Algorithms without IP-protocol were designed, and that enabled one to increase the efficiency of the algorithms while working only with the MAC-addresses of the devices. The developed algorithms are expected to be used in the mobile software engineering with the Android platform taken as base. Easier algorithms and formats of the well-known route protocols, rejection of the IP-protocols enables to use the developed protocols on more primitive mobile devices. Implementation of the protocols to the engineering industry enables to create data transmission networks among working places and mobile robots without any access points.

Long-Term Functional Side-Effects of Stimulants and Sedatives in Drosophila melanogaster

PubMed Central

Matsagas, Kennedy; Lim, David B.; Horwitz, Marc; Rizza, Cristina L.; Mueller, Laurence D.; Villeponteau, Bryant; Rose, Michael R.

2009-01-01

Background Small invertebrate animals, such as nematodes and fruit flies, are increasingly being used to test candidate drugs both for specific therapeutic purposes and for long-term health effects. Some of the protocols used in these experiments feature such experimental design features as lifelong virginity and very low densities. By contrast, the ability of both fruit flies and nematodes to resist stress is frequently correlated with their longevity and other functional measures, suggesting that low-stress assays are not necessarily the only useful protocol for testing the long-term effects of drugs. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we report an alternative protocol for fruit fly drug-testing that maximizes reproductive opportunities and other types of interaction, with moderately high population densities. We validate this protocol using two types of experimental tests: 1. We show that this protocol detects previously well-established genetic differences between outbred fruit fly populations. 2. We show that this protocol is able to distinguish among the long-term effects of similar types of drugs within two broad categories, stimulants and tranquilizers. Conclusions Large-scale fly drug testing can be conducted using mixed-sex high-density cage assays. We find that the commonly-used stimulants caffeine and theobromine differ dramatically in their chronic functional effects, theobromine being more benign. Likewise, we find that two generic pharmaceutical tranquilizers, lithium carbonate and valproic acid, differ dramatically in their chronic effects, lithium being more benign. However, these findings do not necessarily apply to human subjects, and we thus do not recommend the use of any one substance over any other. PMID:19668379

Quantum cryptography as a retrodiction problem.

PubMed

Werner, A H; Franz, T; Werner, R F

2009-11-27

We propose a quantum key distribution protocol based on a quantum retrodiction protocol, known as the Mean King problem. The protocol uses a two way quantum channel. We show security against coherent attacks in a transmission-error free scenario, even if Eve is allowed to attack both transmissions. This establishes a connection between retrodiction and key distribution.

Asynchronous reference frame agreement in a quantum network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Islam, Tanvirul; Wehner, Stephanie

2016-03-01

An efficient implementation of many multiparty protocols for quantum networks requires that all the nodes in the network share a common reference frame. Establishing such a reference frame from scratch is especially challenging in an asynchronous network where network links might have arbitrary delays and the nodes do not share synchronised clocks. In this work, we study the problem of establishing a common reference frame in an asynchronous network of n nodes of which at most t are affected by arbitrary unknown error, and the identities of the faulty nodes are not known. We present a protocol that allows all the correctly functioning nodes to agree on a common reference frame as long as the network graph is complete and not more than t\\lt n/4 nodes are faulty. As the protocol is asynchronous, it can be used with some assumptions to synchronise clocks over a network. Also, the protocol has the appealing property that it allows any existing two-node asynchronous protocol for reference frame agreement to be lifted to a robust protocol for an asynchronous quantum network.

BitPredator: A Discovery Algorithm for BitTorrent Initial Seeders and Peers

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

Borges, Raymond; Patton, Robert M; Kettani, Houssain

2011-01-01

There is a large amount of illegal content being replicated through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks where BitTorrent is dominant; therefore, a framework to profile and police it is needed. The goal of this work is to explore the behavior of initial seeds and highly active peers to develop techniques to correctly identify them. We intend to establish a new methodology and software framework for profiling BitTorrent peers. This involves three steps: crawling torrent indexers for keywords in recently added torrents using Really Simple Syndication protocol (RSS), querying torrent trackers for peer list data and verifying Internet Protocol (IP) addresses from peermore » lists. We verify IPs using active monitoring methods. Peer behavior is evaluated and modeled using bitfield message responses. We also design a tool to profile worldwide file distribution by mapping IP-to-geolocation and linking to WHOIS server information in Google Earth.« less

A novel dynamic mechanical testing technique for reverse shoulder replacements.

PubMed

Dabirrahmani, Danè; Bokor, Desmond; Appleyard, Richard

2014-04-01

In vitro mechanical testing of orthopedic implants provides information regarding their mechanical performance under simulated biomechanical conditions. Current in vitro component stability testing methods for reverse shoulder implants are based on anatomical shoulder designs, which do not capture the dynamic nature of these loads. With glenoid component loosening as one of the most prevalent modes of failure in reverse shoulder replacements, it is important to establish a testing protocol with a more realistic loading regime. This paper introduces a novel method of mechanically testing reverse shoulder implants, using more realistic load magnitudes and vectors, than is currently practiced. Using a custom made jig setup within an Instron mechanical testing system, it is possible to simulate the change in magnitude and direction of the joint load during arm abduction. This method is a step towards a more realistic testing protocol for measuring reverse shoulder implant stability.

Drug-induced conditioned place preference and aversion in mice.

PubMed

Cunningham, Christopher L; Gremel, Christina M; Groblewski, Peter A

2006-01-01

This protocol describes the equipment and methods used to establish conditioned place preference (CPP) or aversion (CPA). Place conditioning is a form of Pavlovian conditioning routinely used to measure the rewarding or aversive motivational effects of objects or experiences (e.g., abused drugs). Here, we present a place conditioning procedure that has been used extensively to study the motivational effects of ethanol and other abused drugs in mice. This protocol involves three phases: (i) habituation (or a pretest), (ii) conditioning of an association between the drug and a tactile or visual stimulus and (iii) a test that offers a choice between the drug-associated cue and a neutral cue. If the drug has motivational significance, mice will spend significantly more time (CPP) or less time (CPA) in proximity to the drug-associated cue. Potential problems in the design and interpretation of place conditioning studies are discussed. A typical experiment lasts 2 weeks.

The use of high-fidelity human patient simulation as an evaluative tool in the development of clinical research protocols and procedures.

PubMed

Wright, Melanie C; Taekman, Jeffrey M; Barber, Linda; Hobbs, Gene; Newman, Mark F; Stafford-Smith, Mark

2005-12-01

Errors in clinical research can be costly, in terms of patient safety, data integrity, and data collection. Data inaccuracy in early subjects of a clinical study may be associated with problems in the design of the protocol, procedures, and data collection tools. High-fidelity patient simulation centers provide an ideal environment to apply human-centered design to clinical trial development. A draft of a complex clinical protocol was designed, evaluated and modified using a high-fidelity human patient simulator in the Duke University Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center. The process included walk-throughs, detailed modifications of the protocol and development of procedural aids. Training of monitors and coordinators provided an opportunity for observation of performance that was used to identify further improvements to the protocol. Evaluative steps were used to design the research protocol and procedures. Iterative modifications were made to the protocol and data collection tools. The success in use of human simulation in the preparation of a complex clinical drug trial suggests the benefits of human patient simulation extend beyond training and medical equipment evaluation. Human patient simulation can provide a context for informal expert evaluation of clinical protocol design and for formal "rehearsal" to evaluate the efficacy of procedures and support tools.

SPAR: a security- and power-aware routing protocol for wireless ad hoc and sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oberoi, Vikram; Chigan, Chunxiao

2005-05-01

Wireless Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (WAHSNs) are vulnerable to extensive attacks as well as severe resource constraints. To fulfill the security needs, many security enhancements have been proposed. Like wise, from resource constraint perspective, many power aware schemes have been proposed to save the battery power. However, we observe that for the severely resource limited and extremely vulnerable WAHSNs, taking security or power (or any other resource) alone into consideration for protocol design is rather inadequate toward the truly "secure-and-useful" WAHSNs. For example, from resource constraint perspective, we identify one of the potential problems, the Security-Capable-Congestion (SCC) behavior, for the WAHSNs routing protocols where only the security are concerned. On the other hand, the design approach where only scarce resource is concerned, such as many power-aware WAHSNs protocols, leaves security unconsidered and is undesirable to many WAHSNs application scenarios. Motivated by these observations, we propose a co-design approach, where both the high security and effective resource consumption are targeted for WAHSNs protocol design. Specifically, we propose a novel routing protocol, Security- and Power- Aware Routing (SPAR) protocol based on this co-design approach. In SPAR, the routing decisions are made based on both security and power as routing criteria. The idea of the SPAR mechanism is routing protocol independent and therefore can be broadly integrated into any of the existing WAHSNs routing protocols. The simulation results show that SPAR outperforms the WAHSNs routing protocols where security or power alone is considered, significantly. This research finding demonstrates the proposed security- and resource- aware co-design approach is promising towards the truly "secure-and-useful" WAHSNs.

Development of a digital clinical pathway for emergency medicine: Lessons from usability testing and implementation failure.

PubMed

Gutenstein, Marc; Pickering, John W; Than, Martin

2018-06-01

Clinical pathways are used to support the management of patients in emergency departments. An existing document-based clinical pathway was used as the foundation on which to design and build a digital clinical pathway for acute chest pain, with the aim of improving clinical calculations, clinician decision-making, documentation, and data collection. Established principles of decision support system design were used to build an application within the existing electronic health record, before testing with a multidisciplinary team of doctors using a think-aloud protocol. Technical authoring was successful, however, usability testing revealed that the user experience and the flexibility of workflow within the application were critical barriers to implementation. Emergency medicine and acute care decision support systems face particular challenges to existing models of linear workflow that should be deliberately addressed in digital pathway design. We make key recommendations regarding digital pathway design in emergency medicine.

A Novel Combination Therapy for Patients With Dry Eye Disease: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Smith, Will; McMahon, David; Nymark, Maria

2018-05-01

Context • Approximately 25% of the US population suffers from dry eyes or some abnormality of the exposed ocular surface. Investigation of effective modalities for their management is needed. Objective • The study intended to examine the efficacy of a proprietary, daily, Dry Eye Protocol consisting of daily use of a moist, heated, ocular compress and intake of an omega-3 dietary supplement in treatment of ocular surface disease. Design • The research team designed a 4-wk, clinically based, open-label, multicenter cohort study. Setting • The study took place at 6 private eye care practices throughout the United States: Beverly Hills, CA, USA; San Diego, CA, USA; Sunnyvale, CA, USA; Park City, UT, USA; Tarpon Spring, FL, USA; and Kennewick, WA, USA. Participants • Participants were adults between 18 and 75 y of age who had established ocular surface disease based on clinical findings and the results of testing using the ocular surface disease index (OSDI). Intervention • For period of 30 d, participants used a combined daily protocol that included (1) application of a moist, heated, eye compress and (2) a nutritional therapy via an omega-3 supplement in an oral triglyceride form. Outcome Measures • Measures included the OSDI and a test of tear break-up time (TBUT). Results • Of the original 35 participants, 33 completed the 4-wk protocol. The participants using the proprietary Dry Eye Protocol showed significant improvements from baseline, demonstrated by a 49% decrease in OSDI scores (P = .0015); and 46% of participants reported becoming asymptomatic of dry eye symptoms. A significant improvement was also observed in TBUT, increasing from 3.0 to 5.4 s. Conclusions • Daily use of the proprietary Dry Eye Protocol that included a high dosage of triglyceride omega-3 and use of a moist, heated, compress daily showed significant improvement for participants in OSDI and TBUT and should be considered to be a first-line therapy for patients with dry eye disease.

Routing protocol for wireless quantum multi-hop mesh backbone network based on partially entangled GHZ state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Pei-Ying; Yu, Xu-Tao; Zhang, Zai-Chen; Zhan, Hai-Tao; Hua, Jing-Yu

2017-08-01

Quantum multi-hop teleportation is important in the field of quantum communication. In this study, we propose a quantum multi-hop communication model and a quantum routing protocol with multihop teleportation for wireless mesh backbone networks. Based on an analysis of quantum multi-hop protocols, a partially entangled Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state is selected as the quantum channel for the proposed protocol. Both quantum and classical wireless channels exist between two neighboring nodes along the route. With the proposed routing protocol, quantum information can be transmitted hop by hop from the source node to the destination node. Based on multi-hop teleportation based on the partially entangled GHZ state, a quantum route established with the minimum number of hops. The difference between our routing protocol and the classical one is that in the former, the processes used to find a quantum route and establish quantum channel entanglement occur simultaneously. The Bell state measurement results of each hop are piggybacked to quantum route finding information. This method reduces the total number of packets and the magnitude of air interface delay. The deduction of the establishment of a quantum channel between source and destination is also presented here. The final success probability of quantum multi-hop teleportation in wireless mesh backbone networks was simulated and analyzed. Our research shows that quantum multi-hop teleportation in wireless mesh backbone networks through a partially entangled GHZ state is feasible.

Standardization of infrared breast thermogram acquisition protocols and abnormality analysis of breast thermograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhowmik, Mrinal Kanti; Gogoi, Usha Rani; Das, Kakali; Ghosh, Anjan Kumar; Bhattacharjee, Debotosh; Majumdar, Gautam

2016-05-01

The non-invasive, painless, radiation-free and cost-effective infrared breast thermography (IBT) makes a significant contribution to improving the survival rate of breast cancer patients by early detecting the disease. This paper presents a set of standard breast thermogram acquisition protocols to improve the potentiality and accuracy of infrared breast thermograms in early breast cancer detection. By maintaining all these protocols, an infrared breast thermogram acquisition setup has been established at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) of Government Medical College (AGMC), Tripura, India. The acquisition of breast thermogram is followed by the breast thermogram interpretation, for identifying the presence of any abnormality. However, due to the presence of complex vascular patterns, accurate interpretation of breast thermogram is a very challenging task. The bilateral symmetry of the thermal patterns in each breast thermogram is quantitatively computed by statistical feature analysis. A series of statistical features are extracted from a set of 20 thermograms of both healthy and unhealthy subjects. Finally, the extracted features are analyzed for breast abnormality detection. The key contributions made by this paper can be highlighted as -- a) the designing of a standard protocol suite for accurate acquisition of breast thermograms, b) creation of a new breast thermogram dataset by maintaining the protocol suite, and c) statistical analysis of the thermograms for abnormality detection. By doing so, this proposed work can minimize the rate of false findings in breast thermograms and thus, it will increase the utilization potentiality of breast thermograms in early breast cancer detection.

Design exploration and verification platform, based on high-level modeling and FPGA prototyping, for fast and flexible digital communication in physics experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magazzù, G.; Borgese, G.; Costantino, N.; Fanucci, L.; Incandela, J.; Saponara, S.

2013-02-01

In many research fields as high energy physics (HEP), astrophysics, nuclear medicine or space engineering with harsh operating conditions, the use of fast and flexible digital communication protocols is becoming more and more important. The possibility to have a smart and tested top-down design flow for the design of a new protocol for control/readout of front-end electronics is very useful. To this aim, and to reduce development time, costs and risks, this paper describes an innovative design/verification flow applied as example case study to a new communication protocol called FF-LYNX. After the description of the main FF-LYNX features, the paper presents: the definition of a parametric SystemC-based Integrated Simulation Environment (ISE) for high-level protocol definition and validation; the set up of figure of merits to drive the design space exploration; the use of ISE for early analysis of the achievable performances when adopting the new communication protocol and its interfaces for a new (or upgraded) physics experiment; the design of VHDL IP cores for the TX and RX protocol interfaces; their implementation on a FPGA-based emulator for functional verification and finally the modification of the FPGA-based emulator for testing the ASIC chipset which implements the rad-tolerant protocol interfaces. For every step, significant results will be shown to underline the usefulness of this design and verification approach that can be applied to any new digital protocol development for smart detectors in physics experiments.

Research on low-latency MAC protocols for wireless sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Chenguang; Sha, Xuejun; Lee, Chankil

2007-11-01

Energy-efficient should not be the only design goal in MAC protocols for wireless sensor networks, which involve the use of battery-operated computing and sensing devices. Low-latency operation becomes the same important as energy-efficient in the case that the traffic load is very heavy or the real-time constrain is used in applications like tracking or locating. This paper introduces some causes of traditional time delays which are inherent in a multi-hops network using existing WSN MAC protocols, illuminates the importance of low-latency MAC design for wireless sensor networks, and presents three MACs as examples of low-latency protocols designed specially for sleep delay, wait delay and wakeup delay in wireless sensor networks, respectively. The paper also discusses design trade-offs with emphasis on low-latency and points out their advantages and disadvantages, together with some design considerations and suggestions for MAC protocols for future applications and researches.

Establishment of Protocols for Global Metabolomics by LC-MS for Biomarker Discovery.

PubMed

Saigusa, Daisuke; Okamura, Yasunobu; Motoike, Ikuko N; Katoh, Yasutake; Kurosawa, Yasuhiro; Saijyo, Reina; Koshiba, Seizo; Yasuda, Jun; Motohashi, Hozumi; Sugawara, Junichi; Tanabe, Osamu; Kinoshita, Kengo; Yamamoto, Masayuki

2016-01-01

Metabolomics is a promising avenue for biomarker discovery. Although the quality of metabolomic analyses, especially global metabolomics (G-Met) using mass spectrometry (MS), largely depends on the instrumentation, potential bottlenecks still exist at several basic levels in the metabolomics workflow. Therefore, we established a precise protocol initially for the G-Met analyses of human blood plasma to overcome some these difficulties. In our protocol, samples are deproteinized in a 96-well plate using an automated liquid-handling system, and conducted either using a UHPLC-QTOF/MS system equipped with a reverse phase column or a LC-FTMS system equipped with a normal phase column. A normalization protocol of G-Met data was also developed to compensate for intra- and inter-batch differences, and the variations were significantly reduced along with our normalization, especially for the UHPLC-QTOF/MS data with a C18 reverse-phase column for positive ions. Secondly, we examined the changes in metabolomic profiles caused by the storage of EDTA-blood specimens to identify quality markers for the evaluation of the specimens' pre-analytical conditions. Forty quality markers, including lysophospholipids, dipeptides, fatty acids, succinic acid, amino acids, glucose, and uric acid were identified by G-Met for the evaluation of plasma sample quality and established the equation of calculating the quality score. We applied our quality markers to a small-scale study to evaluate the quality of clinical samples. The G-Met protocols and quality markers established here should prove useful for the discovery and development of biomarkers for a wider range of diseases.

SPP: A data base processor data communications protocol

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishwick, P. A.

1983-01-01

The design and implementation of a data communications protocol for the Intel Data Base Processor (DBP) is defined. The protocol is termed SPP (Service Port Protocol) since it enables data transfer between the host computer and the DBP service port. The protocol implementation is extensible in that it is explicitly layered and the protocol functionality is hierarchically organized. Extensive trace and performance capabilities have been supplied with the protocol software to permit optional efficient monitoring of the data transfer between the host and the Intel data base processor. Machine independence was considered to be an important attribute during the design and implementation of SPP. The protocol source is fully commented and is included in Appendix A of this report.

Establishing core outcome sets for phenylketonuria (PKU) and medium-chain Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency in children: study protocol for systematic reviews and Delphi surveys.

PubMed

Potter, Beth K; Hutton, Brian; Clifford, Tammy J; Pallone, Nicole; Smith, Maureen; Stockler, Sylvia; Chakraborty, Pranesh; Barbeau, Pauline; Garritty, Chantelle M; Pugliese, Michael; Rahman, Alvi; Skidmore, Becky; Tessier, Laure; Tingley, Kylie; Coyle, Doug; Greenberg, Cheryl R; Korngut, Lawrence; MacKenzie, Alex; Mitchell, John J; Nicholls, Stuart; Offringa, Martin; Schulze, Andreas; Taljaard, Monica

2017-12-19

Inherited metabolic diseases (IMD) are a large group of rare single-gene disorders that are typically diagnosed early in life. There are important evidence gaps related to the comparative effectiveness of therapies for IMD, which are in part due to challenges in conducting randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for rare diseases. Registry-based RCTs present a unique opportunity to address these challenges provided the registries implement standardized collection of outcomes that are important to patients and their caregivers and to clinical providers and healthcare systems. Currently there is no core outcome set (COS) for studies evaluating interventions for paediatric IMD. This protocol outlines a study that will establish COS for each of two relatively common IMD in children, phenylketonuria (PKU) and medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency. This two-part study is registered with the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) initiative. Part 1 includes a rapid review and development of an evidence map to identify a comprehensive listing of outcomes reported in past studies of PKU and MCAD deficiency. The review follows established methods for knowledge synthesis, including a comprehensive search strategy, two stages of screening citations against inclusion/exclusion criteria by two reviewers working independently, and extraction of important data elements from eligible studies, including details of the outcomes collected and outcome measurement instruments. The review findings will inform part 2 of our study, a set of Delphi surveys to establish consensus on the highest priority outcomes for each condition. Healthcare providers, families of children with PKU or MCAD deficiency, and health system decision-makers will be invited to participate in two to three rounds of Delphi surveys. The design of the surveys will involve parents of children with IMD who are part of a family advisory forum. This protocol is a crucial step in developing the capacity to launch RCTs with meaningful outcomes that address comparative effectiveness questions in the field of paediatric IMD. Such trials will contribute high-quality evidence to inform decision-making by patients and their family members, clinicians, and policy-makers.

Suicide Risk Protocols: Addressing the Needs of High Risk Youths Identified through Suicide Prevention Efforts and in Clinical Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heilbron, Nicole; Goldston, David; Walrath, Christine; Rodi, Michael; McKeon, Richard

2013-01-01

Several agencies have emphasized the importance of establishing clear protocols or procedures to address the needs of youths who are identified as suicidal through suicide prevention programs or in emergency department settings. What constitutes optimal guidelines for developing and implementing such protocols, however, is unclear. At the request…

Successful pregnancies from vitrified embryos in the dromedary camel: Avoidance of a possible toxic effect of sucrose on embryos.

PubMed

Herrid, M; Billah, M; Skidmore, J A

2017-12-01

Successful embryo cryopreservation facilitates the wider application of assisted reproduction technologies and also provides a useful method for gene banking of valuable genetics. Unfortunately attempts to establish an effective cryopreservation protocol for camelid embryos have been unsuccessful. In the current study, a modified vitrification protocol with three steps was investigated, whereby embryos were exposed to solutions containing increasing amounts of glycerol and ethylene glycol for fixed time periods. Embryos were then loaded into an Open Pull Straw (OPS) and plunged directly into liquid nitrogen for storage. Three experiments were designed to investigate the effect of 1) artificial shrinkage (AS) of embryos, 2) the addition of sucrose to the vitrification solutions, and 3) the replacement of sucrose by galactose in the warming solution, on the outcome of vitrification. The results showed that neither AS of hatched embryos prior to vitrification, nor the addition of sucrose into vitrification solutions improves the outcome of vitrification, while replacement of sucrose with galactose in warming solution increases the survival and developmental rates of vitrified embryos in culture. Transfer of vitrified embryos that were warmed in galactose resulted in a pregnancy rate of 42.8% per embryo or 46.1% per recipient. Collectively, these results suggest a possible species-specific toxic effect of sucrose on camel embryos, and that avoiding its use either in vitrification or warming solution is critical for establishing an effective protocol. This study may also be applicable to the vitrification of embryos of other camelid species including alpaca and llamas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

From design to implementation--the Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) program: a descriptive report of an electronic web-based diabetes management program.

PubMed

Ko, Gary T; So, Wing-Yee; Tong, Peter C; Le Coguiec, Francois; Kerr, Debborah; Lyubomirsky, Greg; Tamesis, Beaver; Wolthers, Troels; Nan, Jennifer; Chan, Juliana

2010-05-13

The Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) Program is a web-based program incorporating a comprehensive risk engine, care protocols, and clinical decision support to improve ambulatory diabetes care. The JADE Program uses information technology to facilitate healthcare professionals to create a diabetes registry and to deliver an evidence-based care and education protocol tailored to patients' risk profiles. With written informed consent from participating patients and care providers, all data are anonymized and stored in a databank to establish an Asian Diabetes Database for research and publication purpose. The JADE electronic portal (e-portal: http://www.jade-adf.org) is implemented as a Java application using the Apache web server, the mySQL database and the Cocoon framework. The JADE e-portal comprises a risk engine which predicts 5-year probability of major clinical events based on parameters collected during an annual comprehensive assessment. Based on this risk stratification, the JADE e-portal recommends a care protocol tailored to these risk levels with decision support triggered by various risk factors. Apart from establishing a registry for quality assurance and data tracking, the JADE e-portal also displays trends of risk factor control at each visit to promote doctor-patient dialogues and to empower both parties to make informed decisions. The JADE Program is a prototype using information technology to facilitate implementation of a comprehensive care model, as recommended by the International Diabetes Federation. It also enables health care teams to record, manage, track and analyze the clinical course and outcomes of people with diabetes.

Independent but coordinated trials: insights from the practice-based Opportunities for Weight Reduction Trials Collaborative Research Group.

PubMed

Yeh, Hsin-Chieh; Clark, Jeanne M; Emmons, Karen E; Moore, Reneé H; Bennett, Gary G; Warner, Erica T; Sarwer, David B; Jerome, Gerald J; Miller, Edgar R; Volger, Sheri; Louis, Thomas A; Wells, Barbara; Wadden, Thomas A; Colditz, Graham A; Appel, Lawrence J

2010-08-01

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) funded three institutions to conduct effectiveness trials of weight loss interventions in primary care settings. Unlike traditional multi-center clinical trials, each study was established as an independent trial with a distinct protocol. Still, efforts were made to coordinate and standardize several aspects of the trials. The three trials formed a collaborative group, the 'Practice-based Opportunities for Weight Reduction (POWER) Trials Collaborative Research Group.' We describe the common and distinct features of the three trials, the key characteristics of the collaborative group, and the lessons learned from this novel organizational approach. The Collaborative Research Group consists of three individual studies: 'Be Fit, Be Well' (Washington University in St. Louis/Harvard University), 'POWER Hopkins' (Johns Hopkins), and 'POWER-UP' (University of Pennsylvania). There are a total of 15 participating clinics with ~1100 participants. The common primary outcome is change in weight at 24 months of follow-up, but each protocol has trial-specific elements including different interventions and different secondary outcomes. A Resource Coordinating Unit at Johns Hopkins provides administrative support. The Collaborative Research Group established common components to facilitate potential cross-site comparisons. The main advantage of this approach is to develop and evaluate several interventions, when there is insufficient evidence to test one or two approaches, as would be done in a traditional multi-center trial. The challenges of the organizational design include the complex decision-making process, the extent of potential data pooling, time intensive efforts to standardize reports, and the additional responsibilities of the DSMB to monitor three distinct protocols.

Postmortem sperm procurement: a legal perspective.

PubMed

Kahan, S E; Seftel, A D; Resnick, M I

1999-06-01

Postmortem sperm procurement with subsequent artificial insemination has become a technically feasible method for posthumous conception. A variety of legal questions exist involving the rights and relationships of the deceased, his family and his issue. We addressed these questions and designed a workable protocol for postmortem sperm procurement. MEDLINE, WESTLAW and LEXIS medical literature, and case law searches were conducted. United States and international case law, United States (federal and state) statutes, Uniform Law Commissions Acts, and law review commentaries and articles were reviewed. While postmortem sperm procurement is being requested throughout the United States, no standard protocol or procedural guidelines have been established by federal or state statute. Furthermore, the courts have not yet addressed this specific scenario in reported case law. Statutes and case law do address related factual scenarios and issues, including property rights in human bodies, rules governing transplantation of human organs/body parts, rights of parties in in vivo sperm bank donations and responsibilities of parents to the conceptus of artificial insemination. A workable protocol can be established by analyzing case law and statutes addressing factually similar scenarios. Urologists must focus on the express intent of the decedent and limit any postmortem sperm retrieval to the specific requests made by the decedent. Decedent requests should be documented in writing. The decedent must be competent and of majority age. In the absence of decedent expressed affirmative directive calling for sperm retrieval, no other relative or guardian may authorize this retrieval. Issues regarding the legitimacy and inheritance rights of the conceptus will most consistently be addressed when explicitly provided for in the will of the decedent.

EPA Protocol Gas Verification Program

EPA Science Inventory

Accurate compressed gas calibration standards are needed to calibrate continuous emission monitors (CEMs) and ambient air quality monitors that are being used for regulatory purposes. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established its traceability protocol to ensure that co...

Research on tactical information display technology for interactive virtual cockpit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zhongyun; Tian, Tao; Su, Feng

2018-04-01

Based on a fact that traditional tactical information display technology suffers from disadvantages of a large number of data to be transferred and low plotting efficiency in an interactive virtual cockpit, a GID protocol-based simulation has been designed. This method dissolves complex tactical information screens into basic plotting units. The indication of plotting units is controlled via the plotting commands, which solves the incompatibility between the tactical information display in traditional simulation and the desktop-based virtual simulation training system. Having been used in desktop systems for helicopters, fighters, and transporters, this method proves to be scientific and reasonable in design and simple and efficient in usage, which exerts a significant value in establishing aviation equipment technology support training products.

Design, development and method validation of a novel multi-resonance microwave sensor for moisture measurement.

PubMed

Peters, Johanna; Taute, Wolfgang; Bartscher, Kathrin; Döscher, Claas; Höft, Michael; Knöchel, Reinhard; Breitkreutz, Jörg

2017-04-08

Microwave sensor systems using resonance technology at a single resonance in the range of 2-3 GHz have been shown to be a rapid and reliable tool for moisture determination in solid materials including pharmaceutical granules. So far, their application is limited to lower moisture ranges or limitations above certain moisture contents had to be accepted. Aim of the present study was to develop a novel multi-resonance sensor system in order to expand the measurement range. Therefore, a novel sensor using additional resonances over a wide frequency band was designed and used to investigate inherent limitations of first generation sensor systems and material-related limits. Using granule samples with different moisture contents, an experimental protocol for calibration and validation of the method was established. Pursuant to this protocol, a multiple linear regression (MLR) prediction model built by correlating microwave moisture values to the moisture determined by Karl Fischer titration was chosen and rated using conventional criteria such as coefficient of determination (R 2 ) and root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC). Using different operators, different analysis dates and different ambient conditions the method was fully validated following the guidance of ICH Q2(R1). The study clearly showed explanations for measurement uncertainties of first generation sensor systems which confirmed the approach to overcome these by using additional resonances. The established prediction model could be validated in the range of 7.6-19.6%, demonstrating its fit for its future purpose, the moisture content determination during wet granulations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measuring skin necrosis in a randomised controlled feasibility trial of heat preconditioning on wound healing after reconstructive breast surgery: study protocol and statistical analysis plan for the PREHEAT trial.

PubMed

Cro, Suzie; Mehta, Saahil; Farhadi, Jian; Coomber, Billie; Cornelius, Victoria

2018-01-01

Essential strategies are needed to help reduce the number of post-operative complications and associated costs for breast cancer patients undergoing reconstructive breast surgery. Evidence suggests that local heat preconditioning could help improve the provision of this procedure by reducing skin necrosis. Before testing the effectiveness of heat preconditioning in a definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT), we must first establish the best way to measure skin necrosis and estimate the event rate using this definition. PREHEAT is a single-blind randomised controlled feasibility trial comparing local heat preconditioning, using a hot water bottle, against standard care on skin necrosis among breast cancer patients undergoing reconstructive breast surgery. The primary objective of this study is to determine the best way to measure skin necrosis and to estimate the event rate using this definition in each trial arm. Secondary feasibility objectives include estimating recruitment and 30 day follow-up retention rates, levels of compliance with the heating protocol, length of stay in hospital and the rates of surgical versus conservative management of skin necrosis. The information from these objectives will inform the design of a larger definitive effectiveness and cost-effectiveness RCT. This article describes the PREHEAT trial protocol and detailed statistical analysis plan, which includes the pre-specified criteria and process for establishing the best way to measure necrosis. This study will provide the evidence needed to establish the best way to measure skin necrosis, to use as the primary outcome in a future RCT to definitively test the effectiveness of local heat preconditioning. The pre-specified statistical analysis plan, developed prior to unblinded data extraction, sets out the analysis strategy and a comparative framework to support a committee evaluation of skin necrosis measurements. It will increase the transparency of the data analysis for the PREHEAT trial. ISRCTN ISRCTN15744669. Registered 25 February 2015.

Variability in Criteria for Emergency Medical Services Routing of Acute Stroke Patients to Designated Stroke Center Hospitals.

PubMed

Dimitrov, Nikolay; Koenig, William; Bosson, Nichole; Song, Sarah; Saver, Jeffrey L; Mack, William J; Sanossian, Nerses

2015-09-01

Comprehensive stroke systems of care include routing to the nearest designated stroke center hospital, bypassing non-designated hospitals. Routing protocols are implemented at the state or county level and vary in qualification criteria and determination of destination hospital. We surveyed all counties in the state of California for presence and characteristics of their prehospital stroke routing protocols. Each county's local emergency medical services agency (LEMSA) was queried for the presence of a stroke routing protocol. We reviewed these protocols for method of stroke identification and criteria for patient transport to a stroke center. Thirty-three LEMSAs serve 58 counties in California with populations ranging from 1,175 to nearly 10 million. Fifteen LEMSAs (45%) had stroke routing protocols, covering 23 counties (40%) and 68% of the state population. Counties with protocols had higher population density (1,500 vs. 140 persons per square mile). In the six counties without designated stroke centers, patients meeting criteria were transported out of county. Stroke identification in the field was achieved using the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Screen in 72%, Los Angeles Prehospital Stroke Screen in 7% and a county-specific protocol in 22%. California EMS prehospital acute stroke routing protocols cover 68% of the state population and vary in characteristics including activation by symptom onset time and destination facility features, reflecting matching of system design to local geographic resources.

Time-dependent Increase in the Network Response to the Stimulation of Neuronal Cell Cultures on Micro-electrode Arrays.

PubMed

Gertz, Monica L; Baker, Zachary; Jose, Sharon; Peixoto, Nathalia

2017-05-29

Micro-electrode arrays (MEAs) can be used to investigate drug toxicity, design paradigms for next-generation personalized medicine, and study network dynamics in neuronal cultures. In contrast with more traditional methods, such as patch-clamping, which can only record activity from a single cell, MEAs can record simultaneously from multiple sites in a network, without requiring the arduous task of placing each electrode individually. Moreover, numerous control and stimulation configurations can be easily applied within the same experimental setup, allowing for a broad range of dynamics to be explored. One of the key dynamics of interest in these in vitro studies has been the extent to which cultured networks display properties indicative of learning. Mouse neuronal cells cultured on MEAs display an increase in response following training induced by electrical stimulation. This protocol demonstrates how to culture neuronal cells on MEAs; successfully record from over 95% of the plated dishes; establish a protocol to train the networks to respond to patterns of stimulation; and sort, plot, and interpret the results from such experiments. The use of a proprietary system for stimulating and recording neuronal cultures is demonstrated. Software packages are also used to sort neuronal units. A custom-designed graphical user interface is used to visualize post-stimulus time histograms, inter-burst intervals, and burst duration, as well as to compare the cellular response to stimulation before and after a training protocol. Finally, representative results and future directions of this research effort are discussed.

Design of the multicenter standardized supervised exercise training intervention for the claudication: exercise vs endoluminal revascularization (CLEVER) study.

PubMed

Bronas, Ulf G; Hirsch, Alan T; Murphy, Timothy; Badenhop, Dalynn; Collins, Tracie C; Ehrman, Jonathan K; Ershow, Abby G; Lewis, Beth; Treat-Jacobson, Diane J; Walsh, M Eileen; Oldenburg, Niki; Regensteiner, Judith G

2009-11-01

The CLaudication: Exercise Vs Endoluminal Revascularization (CLEVER) study is the first randomized, controlled, clinical, multicenter trial that is evaluating a supervised exercise program compared with revascularization procedures to treat claudication. In this report, the methods and dissemination techniques of the supervised exercise training intervention are described. A total of 217 participants are being recruited and randomized to one of three arms: (1) optimal medical care; (2) aortoiliac revascularization with stent; or (3) supervised exercise training. Of the enrolled patients, 84 will receive supervised exercise therapy. Supervised exercise will be administered according to a protocol designed by a central CLEVER exercise training committee based on validated methods previously used in single center randomized control trials. The protocol will be implemented at each site by an exercise committee member using training methods developed and standardized by the exercise training committee. The exercise training committee reviews progress and compliance with the protocol of each participant weekly. In conclusion, a multicenter approach to disseminate the supervised exercise training technique and to evaluate its efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness for patients with claudication due to peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is being evaluated for the first time in CLEVER. The CLEVER study will further establish the role of supervised exercise training in the treatment of claudication resulting from PAD and provide standardized methods for use of supervised exercise training in future PAD clinical trials as well as in clinical practice.

Fast Entanglement Establishment via Local Dynamics for Quantum Repeater Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyongyosi, Laszlo; Imre, Sandor

Quantum entanglement is a necessity for future quantum communication networks, quantum internet, and long-distance quantum key distribution. The current approaches of entanglement distribution require high-delay entanglement transmission, entanglement swapping to extend the range of entanglement, high-cost entanglement purification, and long-lived quantum memories. We introduce a fundamental protocol for establishing entanglement in quantum communication networks. The proposed scheme does not require entanglement transmission between the nodes, high-cost entanglement swapping, entanglement purification, or long-lived quantum memories. The protocol reliably establishes a maximally entangled system between the remote nodes via dynamics generated by local Hamiltonians. The method eliminates the main drawbacks of current schemes allowing fast entanglement establishment with a minimized delay. Our solution provides a fundamental method for future long-distance quantum key distribution, quantum repeater networks, quantum internet, and quantum-networking protocols. This work was partially supported by the GOP-1.1.1-11-2012-0092 project sponsored by the EU and European Structural Fund, by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund - OTKA K-112125, and by the COST Action MP1006.

Representing the work of medical protocols for organizational simulation.

PubMed Central

Fridsma, D. B.

1998-01-01

Developing and implementing patient care protocols within a specific organizational setting requires knowledge of the protocol, the organization, and the way in which the organization does its work. Computer-based simulation tools have been used in many industries to provide managers with prospective insight into problems of work process and organization design mismatch. Many of these simulation tools are designed for well-understood routine work processes in which there are few contingent tasks. In this paper, we describe theoretic that make it possible to simulate medical protocols using an information-processing theory framework. These simulations will allow medical administrators to test different protocol and organizational designs before actually using them within a particular clinical setting. PMID:9929231

Flight related tuberculosis contact investigations in the United States: comparative risk and economic analysis of alternate protocols.

PubMed

Marienau, Karen J; Cramer, Elaine H; Coleman, Margaret S; Marano, Nina; Cetron, Martin S

2014-01-01

In-flight transmission risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is not well defined, although studies suggest it is low. The impact of flight-related tuberculosis (TB) contact investigations (TBCIs) on TB prevention and control is not well established, and they compete for resources with activities with established benefits. We sought to determine the risks and cost-benefits of using more restrictive criteria in comparison to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2008 protocol for TBCIs. The risk-benefits of a modified CDC protocol were analyzed in comparison to the 2008 CDC protocol using data from flight-related TBCIs conducted in the United States from 2007 through 2009. We predicted the numbers and characteristics of case-travelers that would be identified using each protocol's criteria, and results of the associated passenger-contacts' TB screening tests. The economic analysis compared the costs of TBCIs to avoided costs of TB treatment and mortality using a Return on Investment model. The estimated in-flight transmission risk using a modified CDC protocol was 1.4%-19% versus 1.1%-24% for the 2008 protocol. Numbers of TBCIs and immediate costs to health departments were reduced by half. Long-term cost-benefits were comparable. CDC's modified protocol appears to be a feasible alternative that will conserve public health resources without jeopardizing the public's health. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Protocols for treating patients with end-stage renal disease: a survey of nephrology fellowships.

PubMed

Perry, Maureen Munnelly; Howell, Scott; Patel, Nipa

2017-03-01

Approximately 14% of Americans are living with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the result of progressing CKD continues to rise by 21,000 per year. Currently, the only antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines for patients with ESRD undergoing dental treatment were published by the AHA in 2003. Presented in three parts, the first and second parts of this study found no consistent protocols amongst U.S. dental schools and U.S. GPRs and AEGDs, respectively. The goal of the third part of the project was to determine the current protocol being used to treat ESRD patients at U.S. nephrology fellowship programs. An 18 multiple-choice question survey was e-mailed to 130 directors of nephrology fellowships within the U.S. regarding renal treatment protocol details and antibiotic prophylaxis for patients with renal disease. Note that, 34.6% of respondents reported having an established renal treatment protocol. For programs with a protocol, 69% of programs reported following AHA guidelines. There is a lack of consistent, established protocols amongst U.S. nephrology fellowships. It is suggested that updated and evidence based guidelines for the safe treatment of patients be developed. © 2016 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Revisiting control establishments for emerging energy hubs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasirian, Vahidreza

Emerging small-scale energy systems, i.e., microgrids and smartgrids, rely on centralized controllers for voltage regulation, load sharing, and economic dispatch. However, the central controller is a single-point-of-failure in such a design as either the controller or attached communication links failure can render the entire system inoperable. This work seeks for alternative distributed control structures to improve system reliability and help to the scalability of the system. A cooperative distributed controller is proposed that uses a noise-resilient voltage estimator and handles global voltage regulation and load sharing across a DC microgrid. Distributed adaptive droop control is also investigated as an alternative solution. A droop-free distributed control is offered to handle voltage/frequency regulation and load sharing in AC systems. This solution does not require frequency measurement and, thus, features a fast frequency regulation. Distributed economic dispatch is also studied, where a distributed protocol is designed that controls generation units to merge their incremental costs into a consensus and, thus, push the entire system to generate with the minimum cost. Experimental verifications and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulations are used to study efficacy of the proposed control protocols.

Construction of a multimedia application on public network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jang; Wang, Chwan-Huei; Tseng, Ming-Yu; Hsiao, Sun-Lang; Luo, Wen-Hen; Tseng, Yung-Mean; Hung, Feng-Yue

1994-04-01

This paper describes our perception of current developments in networking, telecommunication and technology of multimedia. As such, we have taken a constructive view. From this standpoint, we devised a client server architecture that veils servers from their customers. It adheres to our conviction that network and location independence for serve access is a future trend. We have constructed an on-line KARAOKE on an existing CVS (Chinese Videotex System) to test the workability of this architecture and it works well. We are working on a prototype multimedia service network which is a miniature client server structure of our proposal. A specially designed protocol is described. Through this protocol, an one-to-many connection can be set up and to provide for multimedia applications, new connections can be established within a basic connection. So continuous media may have their own connections without being interrupted by other media, at least from the view of an application. We have advanced a constructive view which is not a framework itself. But it is tantamount to a framework, in building systems as assembly of methods, technics, designs, and ideas. This is what a framework does with more flexibility and availability.

Design and creation of an experimental program of advanced training in reconstructive microsurgery.

PubMed

Lorenzo, Andrés R; Alvarez, Angel; Garcia-Barreiro, Juan; Centeno, Alberto; Lopez, Eduardo; Martelo, Francisco

2006-01-01

In this study, we design an experimental protocol for the purpose of enhancing performance in training in microsurgery. It is based on five free tissue transfer exercises in rat (epigastric cutaneous flap, saphenous fasciocutaneous flap, epigastric neurovascular flap, saphenous muscular flap, and hindlimb replantation), which simulate the principal clinical procedures of reconstructive microsurgery. The first part of the study consists of an anatomical review of the flaps of 5 rats and in the second part we have carried out the free transfer of flaps on 25 rats divided into 5 groups. To differentiate between them, we have created a mathematical function, referred to as difficulty in a microsurgical exercise, which has enabled us to establish a scale of progression for training, ranging form the easiest to the most difficult. As a conclusion, we believe that this protocol is a useful instrument as it allows for a more precise assessment of microsurgical capacity due to enhanced accuracy in the reproduction of global procedures and the fact that the quantification of progress in training is based on clinical monitoring after 7 days. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2006.

Mn/ROAD testing protocols : vol. 1

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-12-01

This report presents a series of testing protocols used at the Minnesota Road Research Project (Mn/ROAD), the Minnesota Department of Transportation's (Mn/DOT) pavement testing facility. This report helps establish a history of the tests conducted an...

National Airspace System (NAS) open system architecture and protocols

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-08-14

This standard establishes the open systems data communications architecture and authorized protocol standards for the National Airspace System (NAS). The NAS will consist of various types of processors and communications networks procured from a vari...

Development of a systematic observation protocol of physical exposure of the back: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Tousignant, M; Tougas, G; Rossignol, M; Goulet, L

2002-04-01

At present there is no systematic observation protocol for the assessment of the multi-factorial aspects of physical exposure related to the back used within the constraints of occupational epidemiological research. In this context, a new preliminary systematic observation protocol is proposed to assess exposure to physical loading of the back using nine categories of physical risk factors: the SOPE back protocol. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the new protocol can correctly identify the level of exposure related to measured physical loading of the back. The subjects of this closed cohort study were 451 manual workers at a natural gas distribution company. The assessment of exposure was made with the protocol using groups with different job titles. The workers were followed for a 2 yr period to establish the risk of a new occurrence of complete disability related to the back (NOCD back injury) in each job grouping. Based on the median of the total scores derived from the protocol, two levels of exposure were identified (high and low). Taking into account the limitations of this study, the protocol in development may be a good tool to establish two levels of exposure to physical loading of the back in large epidemiological studies of occupational low back pain. Further research is needed to replicate these results with larger samples and to test the reliability and predictive validity of the protocol.

Alloreactive Regulatory T Cells Allow the Generation of Mixed Chimerism and Transplant Tolerance.

PubMed

Ruiz, Paulina; Maldonado, Paula; Hidalgo, Yessia; Sauma, Daniela; Rosemblatt, Mario; Bono, Maria Rosa

2015-01-01

The induction of donor-specific transplant tolerance is one of the main goals of modern immunology. Establishment of a mixed chimerism state in the transplant recipient has proven to be a suitable strategy for the induction of long-term allograft tolerance; however, current experimental recipient preconditioning protocols have many side effects, and are not feasible for use in future therapies. In order to improve the current mixed chimerism induction protocols, we developed a non-myeloablative bone-marrow transplant (NM-BMT) protocol using retinoic acid (RA)-induced alloantigen-specific Tregs, clinically available immunosuppressive drugs, and lower doses of irradiation. We demonstrate that RA-induced alloantigen-specific Tregs in addition to a NM-BMT protocol generates stable mixed chimerism and induces tolerance to allogeneic secondary skin allografts in mice. Therefore, the establishment of mixed chimerism through the use of donor-specific Tregs rather than non-specific immunosuppression could have a potential use in organ transplantation.

Cognitive Protocol Stack Design

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-30

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: In the ARO “ Cognitive Protocol Stack Design" project we proposed cognitive networking solutions published in international...areas related to cognitive networking, opening also new lines of research that was not possible to forecast at the beginning of the project. In a...Distribution Unlimited Final Report: Cognitive Protocol Stack Design The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(s

j5 DNA assembly design automation.

PubMed

Hillson, Nathan J

2014-01-01

Modern standardized methodologies, described in detail in the previous chapters of this book, have enabled the software-automated design of optimized DNA construction protocols. This chapter describes how to design (combinatorial) scar-less DNA assembly protocols using the web-based software j5. j5 assists biomedical and biotechnological researchers construct DNA by automating the design of optimized protocols for flanking homology sequence as well as type IIS endonuclease-mediated DNA assembly methodologies. Unlike any other software tool available today, j5 designs scar-less combinatorial DNA assembly protocols, performs a cost-benefit analysis to identify which portions of an assembly process would be less expensive to outsource to a DNA synthesis service provider, and designs hierarchical DNA assembly strategies to mitigate anticipated poor assembly junction sequence performance. Software integrated with j5 add significant value to the j5 design process through graphical user-interface enhancement and downstream liquid-handling robotic laboratory automation.

Development and evaluation of a study design typology for human research.

PubMed

Carini, Simona; Pollock, Brad H; Lehmann, Harold P; Bakken, Suzanne; Barbour, Edward M; Gabriel, Davera; Hagler, Herbert K; Harper, Caryn R; Mollah, Shamim A; Nahm, Meredith; Nguyen, Hien H; Scheuermann, Richard H; Sim, Ida

2009-11-14

A systematic classification of study designs would be useful for researchers, systematic reviewers, readers, and research administrators, among others. As part of the Human Studies Database Project, we developed the Study Design Typology to standardize the classification of study designs in human research. We then performed a multiple observer masked evaluation of active research protocols in four institutions according to a standardized protocol. Thirty-five protocols were classified by three reviewers each into one of nine high-level study designs for interventional and observational research (e.g., N-of-1, Parallel Group, Case Crossover). Rater classification agreement was moderately high for the 35 protocols (Fleiss' kappa = 0.442) and higher still for the 23 quantitative studies (Fleiss' kappa = 0.463). We conclude that our typology shows initial promise for reliably distinguishing study design types for quantitative human research.

Quantum-key-distribution protocol with pseudorandom bases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trushechkin, A. S.; Tregubov, P. A.; Kiktenko, E. O.; Kurochkin, Y. V.; Fedorov, A. K.

2018-01-01

Quantum key distribution (QKD) offers a way for establishing information-theoretical secure communications. An important part of QKD technology is a high-quality random number generator for the quantum-state preparation and for post-processing procedures. In this work, we consider a class of prepare-and-measure QKD protocols, utilizing additional pseudorandomness in the preparation of quantum states. We study one of such protocols and analyze its security against the intercept-resend attack. We demonstrate that, for single-photon sources, the considered protocol gives better secret key rates than the BB84 and the asymmetric BB84 protocols. However, the protocol strongly requires single-photon sources.

Development of a Protocol for Epidemiologal Studies of Whole-Body Vibration and Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Lower Back

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magnusson, M. L.; Pope, M. H.; Hulshof, C. T. J.; Bovenzi, M.

1998-08-01

It seems evident from a large number of studies that there is a positive relationship between exposure to whole body vibration (WBV) and the occurrence of low back pain. There are existing standards for evaluating the human exposure to WBV, which are based on other factors than the effect of musculoskeletal disorders. Several national and international standards also exist for evaluating human exposure to WBV. The exposure limit values or health guidance caution zones included in some of these standards are not or only to a limited extent based on systematic epidemiological investigations. It has not yet been possible to establish a clear exposure-response relationship. There are many confounding or contributing factors which influence the hazards to workers caused by exposure to WBV. Reliable methods for the detection and prevention of injury due to vibration exposure at work, alone or in combination with other risk factors, need to be implemented. The aim of this paper was to design a protocol and a questionnaire for conducting collaborative studies of WBV and musculoskeletal back disorders. The protocol will be tested in a pilot study before it will be used in multi-center studies.

Accelerated treatment protocols: full arch treatment with interim and definitive prostheses.

PubMed

Drago, Carl

2012-01-01

With the advent of titanium, root form implants and osseointegration, dental treatment has undergone a metamorphosis in recent years. These new techniques enable dentists to provide anchorage for various kinds of prostheses that improve masticatory function, esthetics, and comfort for patients. Implant treatment protocols have been improved relative to implant macro- and micro-geometries, surgical and prosthetic components, and treatment times. Over the past 20 years, immediate occlusal function (also known as loading) has been established as a predictable treatment modality, provided certain specific criteria are met. In many cases, edentulous patients, crippled by the loss of their teeth, can undergo outpatient surgical and prosthetic procedures and return to a masticatory function that is near normal--sometimes after only one day of surgical and prosthetic treatment. This treatment option is also available for patients with advanced, generalized periodontal disease. Computer-assisted design/Computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) has transformed how dental prostheses are made, offering improved accuracy, longevity, and biocompatibility; along with reduced labor costs and fewer complications than casting technologies. This article reviews the principles associated with immediate occlusal loading and illustrates one specific accelerated prosthodontic treatment protocol used to treat edentulous and partially edentulous patients with interim and definitive prostheses.

The AgMIP Coordinated Global and Regional Assessments (CGRA) of Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Food Security

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruane, Alex; Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Elliott, Joshua; Antle, John

2015-01-01

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) has been working since 2010 to construct a protocol-based framework enabling regional assessments (led by regional experts and modelers) that can provide consistent inputs to global economic and integrated assessment models. These global models can then relay important global-level information that drive regional decision-making and outcomes throughout an interconnected agricultural system. AgMIPs community of nearly 800 climate, crop, livestock, economics, and IT experts has improved the state-of-the-art through model intercomparisons, validation exercises, regional integrated assessments, and the launch of AgMIP programs on all six arable continents. AgMIP is now launching Coordinated Global and Regional Assessments (CGRA) of climate change impacts on agriculture and food security to link global and regional crop and economic models using a protocol-based framework. The CGRA protocols are being developed to utilize historical observations, climate projections, and RCPsSSPs from CMIP5 (and potentially CMIP6), and will examine stakeholder-driven agricultural development and adaptation scenarios to provide cutting-edge assessments of climate changes impact on agriculture and food security. These protocols will build on the foundation of established protocols from AgMIPs 30+ activities, and will emphasize the use of multiple models, scenarios, and scales to enable an accurate assessment of related uncertainties. The CGRA is also designed to provide the outputs necessary to feed into integrated assessment models (IAMs), nutrition and food security assessments, nitrogen and carbon cycle models, and additional impact-sector assessments (e.g., water resources, land-use, biomes, urban areas). This presentation will describe the current status of CGRA planning and initial prototype experiments to demonstrate key aspects of the protocols before wider implementation ahead of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.

The AgMIP Coordinated Global and Regional Assessments (CGRA) of Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture and Food Security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruane, A. C.; Rosenzweig, C.; Antle, J. M.; Elliott, J. W.

2015-12-01

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) has been working since 2010 to construct a protocol-based framework enabling regional assessments (led by regional experts and modelers) that can provide consistent inputs to global economic and integrated assessment models. These global models can then relay important global-level information that drive regional decision-making and outcomes throughout an interconnected agricultural system. AgMIP's community of nearly 800 climate, crop, livestock, economics, and IT experts has improved the state-of-the-art through model intercomparisons, validation exercises, regional integrated assessments, and the launch of AgMIP programs on all six arable continents. AgMIP is now launching Coordinated Global and Regional Assessments (CGRA) of climate change impacts on agriculture and food security to link global and regional crop and economic models using a protocol-based framework. The CGRA protocols are being developed to utilize historical observations, climate projections, and RCPs/SSPs from CMIP5 (and potentially CMIP6), and will examine stakeholder-driven agricultural development and adaptation scenarios to provide cutting-edge assessments of climate change's impact on agriculture and food security. These protocols will build on the foundation of established protocols from AgMIP's 30+ activities, and will emphasize the use of multiple models, scenarios, and scales to enable an accurate assessment of related uncertainties. The CGRA is also designed to provide the outputs necessary to feed into integrated assessment models (IAMs), nutrition and food security assessments, nitrogen and carbon cycle models, and additional impact-sector assessments (e.g., water resources, land-use, biomes, urban areas). This presentation will describe the current status of CGRA planning and initial prototype experiments to demonstrate key aspects of the protocols before wider implementation ahead of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.

Authentication and Key Establishment in Dynamic Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Qiu, Ying; Zhou, Jianying; Baek, Joonsang; Lopez, Javier

2010-01-01

When a sensor node roams within a very large and distributed wireless sensor network, which consists of numerous sensor nodes, its routing path and neighborhood keep changing. In order to provide a high level of security in this environment, the moving sensor node needs to be authenticated to new neighboring nodes and a key established for secure communication. The paper proposes an efficient and scalable protocol to establish and update the authentication key in a dynamic wireless sensor network environment. The protocol guarantees that two sensor nodes share at least one key with probability 1 (100%) with less memory and energy cost, while not causing considerable communication overhead. PMID:22319321

Interview protocols and ergonomics checklist for analysing overexertion back accidents among nursing personnel.

PubMed

Engkvist, I L; Hagberg, M; Wigaeus-Hjelm, E; Menckel, E; Ekenvall, L

1995-06-01

No documented strategy, including preventive strategies, for systematic investigation of overexertion back accidents among nursing personnel has yet been published. One aim of the present study was to develop standardized instruments for the systematic investigation of back accidents among nursing personnel in order to develop preventive strategies. Another aim was to produce a screening tool that could easily be used for identifying potential overexertion back accident hazards. Two structured interview protocols were developed, one for the injured person and one for the supervisor. An ergonomics checklist was designed for the most important spaces according to accident statistics: patient's room, corridor, toilet, and also one for 'other space', eg X-ray and treatment rooms. The instruments were developed by frequent discussions and adjustments in a task force of researchers and occupational health personnel. The protocols were tested in two steps before a final version was established. The construct validity and interobserver reliability of the checklist were tested by ten ergonomists, who checked a patient's room, a toilet and a corridor with some known hazards. The constructed validity agreement was 90% in 19 of 26 items in the checklist. The interobserver reliability had the same figures as the validity for all items in the checklist. The interview protocols and checklist appear to be suitable for systematic investigation of overexertion back accidents.

Mapping Anterior Temporal Lobe Language Areas with FMRI: A Multi-Center Normative Study

PubMed Central

Binder, Jeffrey R.; Gross, William L.; Allendorfer, Jane B.; Bonilha, Leonardo; Chapin, Jessica; Edwards, Jonathan C.; Grabowski, Thomas J.; Langfitt, John T.; Loring, David W.; Lowe, Mark J.; Koenig, Katherine; Morgan, Paul S.; Ojemann, Jeffrey G.; Rorden, Christopher; Szaflarski, Jerzy P.; Tivarus, Madalina E.; Weaver, Kurt E.

2010-01-01

Removal of the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) is an effective surgical treatment for intractable temporal lobe epilepsy but carries a risk of language and verbal memory deficits. Preoperative localization of functional zones in the ATL might help reduce these risks, yet fMRI protocols in current widespread use produce very little activation in this region. Based on recent evidence suggesting a role for the ATL in semantic integration, we designed an fMRI protocol comparing comprehension of brief narratives (Story task) with a semantically shallow control task involving serial arithmetic (Math task). The Story > Math contrast elicited strong activation throughout the ATL, lateral temporal lobe, and medial temporal lobe bilaterally in an initial cohort of 18 healthy participants. The task protocol was then implemented at 6 other imaging centers using identical methods. Data from a second cohort of participants scanned at these centers closely replicated the results from the initial cohort. The Story-Math protocol provides a reliable method for activation of surgical regions of interest in the ATL. The bilateral activation supports previous claims that conceptual processing involves both temporal lobes. Used in combination with language lateralization measures, reliable ATL activation maps may be useful for predicting cognitive outcome in ATL surgery, though the validity of this approach needs to be established in a prospective surgical series. PMID:20884358

Computational Design of DNA-Binding Proteins.

PubMed

Thyme, Summer; Song, Yifan

2016-01-01

Predicting the outcome of engineered and naturally occurring sequence perturbations to protein-DNA interfaces requires accurate computational modeling technologies. It has been well established that computational design to accommodate small numbers of DNA target site substitutions is possible. This chapter details the basic method of design used in the Rosetta macromolecular modeling program that has been successfully used to modulate the specificity of DNA-binding proteins. More recently, combining computational design and directed evolution has become a common approach for increasing the success rate of protein engineering projects. The power of such high-throughput screening depends on computational methods producing multiple potential solutions. Therefore, this chapter describes several protocols for increasing the diversity of designed output. Lastly, we describe an approach for building comparative models of protein-DNA complexes in order to utilize information from homologous sequences. These models can be used to explore how nature modulates specificity of protein-DNA interfaces and potentially can even be used as starting templates for further engineering.

Current Status of EPA Protocol Gas Verification Program

EPA Science Inventory

Accurate compressed gas reference standards are needed to calibrate and audit continuous emission monitors (CEMs) and ambient air quality monitors that are being used for regulatory purposes. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established its traceability protocol to ensur...

The mesenchymal stem cells in multiple sclerosis (MSCIMS) trial protocol and baseline cohort characteristics: an open-label pre-test: post-test study with blinded outcome assessments

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background No treatments are currently available that slow, stop, or reverse disease progression in established multiple sclerosis (MS). The Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Multiple Sclerosis (MSCIMS) trial tests the safety and feasibility of treatment with a candidate cell-based therapy, and will inform the wider challenge of designing early phase clinical trials to evaluate putative neuroprotective therapies in progressive MS. Illustrated by the MSCIMS trial protocol, we describe a novel methodology based on detailed assessment of the anterior visual pathway as a model of wider disease processes - the "sentinel lesion approach". Methods/design MSCIMS is a phase IIA study of autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in secondary progressive MS. A pre-test : post-test design is used with healthy controls providing normative data for inter-session variability. Complementary eligibility criteria and outcomes are used to select participants with disease affecting the anterior visual pathway. Results Ten participants with MS and eight healthy controls were recruited between October 2008 and March 2009. Mesenchymal stem cells were successfully isolated, expanded and characterised in vitro for all participants in the treatment arm. Conclusions In addition to determining the safety and feasibility of the intervention and informing design of future studies to address efficacy, MSCIMS adopts a novel strategy for testing neuroprotective agents in MS - the sentinel lesion approach - serving as proof of principle for its future wider applicability. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00395200). PMID:21366911

On Robust Key Agreement Based on Public Key Authentication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Feng

We describe two new attacks on the HMQV protocol. The first attack raises a serious question on the basic definition of "authentication" in HMQV, while the second attack is generally applicable to many other protocols. In addition, we present a new authenticated key agreement protocol called YAK. Our approach is to depend on well-established techniques such as Schnorr's signature. Among all the related protocols, YAK appears to be the simplest so far. We believe simplicity is an important engineering principle.

Expanding Role of Data Science and Bioinformatics in Drug Discovery and Development.

PubMed

Fingert, Howard J

2018-01-01

Numerous barriers have been identified which detract from successful applications of clinical trial data and platforms. Despite the challenges, opportunities are growing to advance compliance, quality, and practical applications through top-down establishment of guiding principles, coupled with bottom-up approaches to promote data science competencies among data producers. Recent examples of successful applications include modern treatments for hematologic malignancies, developed with support from public-private partnerships, guiding principles for data-sharing, standards for protocol designs and data management, digital technologies, and quality analytics. © 2017 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

A secure RFID authentication protocol adopting error correction code.

PubMed

Chen, Chien-Ming; Chen, Shuai-Min; Zheng, Xinying; Chen, Pei-Yu; Sun, Hung-Min

2014-01-01

RFID technology has become popular in many applications; however, most of the RFID products lack security related functionality due to the hardware limitation of the low-cost RFID tags. In this paper, we propose a lightweight mutual authentication protocol adopting error correction code for RFID. Besides, we also propose an advanced version of our protocol to provide key updating. Based on the secrecy of shared keys, the reader and the tag can establish a mutual authenticity relationship. Further analysis of the protocol showed that it also satisfies integrity, forward secrecy, anonymity, and untraceability. Compared with other lightweight protocols, the proposed protocol provides stronger resistance to tracing attacks, compromising attacks and replay attacks. We also compare our protocol with previous works in terms of performance.

A Secure RFID Authentication Protocol Adopting Error Correction Code

PubMed Central

Zheng, Xinying; Chen, Pei-Yu

2014-01-01

RFID technology has become popular in many applications; however, most of the RFID products lack security related functionality due to the hardware limitation of the low-cost RFID tags. In this paper, we propose a lightweight mutual authentication protocol adopting error correction code for RFID. Besides, we also propose an advanced version of our protocol to provide key updating. Based on the secrecy of shared keys, the reader and the tag can establish a mutual authenticity relationship. Further analysis of the protocol showed that it also satisfies integrity, forward secrecy, anonymity, and untraceability. Compared with other lightweight protocols, the proposed protocol provides stronger resistance to tracing attacks, compromising attacks and replay attacks. We also compare our protocol with previous works in terms of performance. PMID:24959619

Packet based serial link realized in FPGA dedicated for high resolution infrared image transmission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bieszczad, Grzegorz

2015-05-01

In article the external digital interface specially designed for thermographic camera built in Military University of Technology is described. The aim of article is to illustrate challenges encountered during design process of thermal vision camera especially related to infrared data processing and transmission. Article explains main requirements for interface to transfer Infra-Red or Video digital data and describes the solution which we elaborated based on Low Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) physical layer and signaling scheme. Elaborated link for image transmission is built using FPGA integrated circuit with built-in high speed serial transceivers achieving up to 2500Gbps throughput. Image transmission is realized using proprietary packet protocol. Transmission protocol engine was described in VHDL language and tested in FPGA hardware. The link is able to transmit 1280x1024@60Hz 24bit video data using one signal pair. Link was tested to transmit thermal-vision camera picture to remote monitor. Construction of dedicated video link allows to reduce power consumption compared to solutions with ASIC based encoders and decoders realizing video links like DVI or packed based Display Port, with simultaneous reduction of wires needed to establish link to one pair. Article describes functions of modules integrated in FPGA design realizing several functions like: synchronization to video source, video stream packeting, interfacing transceiver module and dynamic clock generation for video standard conversion.

CURRENT STATUS OF THE EPA PROTOCOL GAS PROGRAM

EPA Science Inventory

Accurate compressed gas calibration standards are needed to calibrate continuous emission monitors (CEMs) and ambient air quality monitors that are being used for regulatory purposes. EPA has published a protocol to establish the traceability of these standards to national refer...

Current Status of EPA Verification Program for EPA Protocol Gases

EPA Science Inventory

Accurate compressed gas calibration standards are needed to calibrate continuous emission monitors (CEMs) and ambient air quality monitors that are being used for regulatory purposes. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established its traceability protocol to ensure that c...

EPA Protocol Gas Verification Program - Presented at NIST Gas Panel Meeting

EPA Science Inventory

Accurate compressed gas calibration standards are needed to calibrate continuous emission monitors (CEMs) and ambient air quality monitors that are being used for regulatory purposes. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established its traceability protocol to ensure that c...

Translational Neuromodulation: Approximating Human Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Protocols In Rats

PubMed Central

Vahabzadeh-Hagh, Andrew M.; Muller, Paul A.; Gersner, Roman; Zangen, Abraham; Rotenberg, Alexander

2015-01-01

Objective Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a well-established clinical protocol with numerous potential therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Yet, much work remains in the elucidation of TMS mechanisms, optimization of protocols, and in development of novel therapeutic applications. As with many technologies, the key to these issues lies in the proper experimentation and translation of TMS methods to animal models, among which rat models have proven popular. A significant increase in the number of rat TMS publications has necessitated analysis of their relevance to human work. We therefore review the essential principles necessary for the approximation of human TMS protocols in rats as well as specific methods that addressed these issues in published studies. Materials and Methods We performed an English language literature search combined with our own experience and data. We address issues that we see as important in the translation of human TMS methods to rat models and provide a summary of key accomplishments in these areas. Results An extensive literature review illustrated the growth of rodent TMS studies in recent years. Current advances in the translation of single, paired-pulse, and repetitive stimulation paradigms to rodent models are presented. The importance of TMS in the generation of data for preclinical trials is also highlighted. Conclusions Rat TMS has several limitations when considering parallels between animal and human stimulation. However, it has proven to be a useful tool in the field of translational brain stimulation and will likely continue to aid in the design and implementation of stimulation protocols for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. PMID:22780329

Computer-Aided Drug Design Methods.

PubMed

Yu, Wenbo; MacKerell, Alexander D

2017-01-01

Computational approaches are useful tools to interpret and guide experiments to expedite the antibiotic drug design process. Structure-based drug design (SBDD) and ligand-based drug design (LBDD) are the two general types of computer-aided drug design (CADD) approaches in existence. SBDD methods analyze macromolecular target 3-dimensional structural information, typically of proteins or RNA, to identify key sites and interactions that are important for their respective biological functions. Such information can then be utilized to design antibiotic drugs that can compete with essential interactions involving the target and thus interrupt the biological pathways essential for survival of the microorganism(s). LBDD methods focus on known antibiotic ligands for a target to establish a relationship between their physiochemical properties and antibiotic activities, referred to as a structure-activity relationship (SAR), information that can be used for optimization of known drugs or guide the design of new drugs with improved activity. In this chapter, standard CADD protocols for both SBDD and LBDD will be presented with a special focus on methodologies and targets routinely studied in our laboratory for antibiotic drug discoveries.

Recommendations for Improving Identification and Quantification in Non-Targeted, GC-MS-Based Metabolomic Profiling of Human Plasma

PubMed Central

Wang, Hanghang; Muehlbauer, Michael J.; O’Neal, Sara K.; Newgard, Christopher B.; Hauser, Elizabeth R.; Shah, Svati H.

2017-01-01

The field of metabolomics as applied to human disease and health is rapidly expanding. In recent efforts of metabolomics research, greater emphasis has been placed on quality control and method validation. In this study, we report an experience with quality control and a practical application of method validation. Specifically, we sought to identify and modify steps in gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based, non-targeted metabolomic profiling of human plasma that could influence metabolite identification and quantification. Our experimental design included two studies: (1) a limiting-dilution study, which investigated the effects of dilution on analyte identification and quantification; and (2) a concentration-specific study, which compared the optimal plasma extract volume established in the first study with the volume used in the current institutional protocol. We confirmed that contaminants, concentration, repeatability and intermediate precision are major factors influencing metabolite identification and quantification. In addition, we established methods for improved metabolite identification and quantification, which were summarized to provide recommendations for experimental design of GC-MS-based non-targeted profiling of human plasma. PMID:28841195

Full-Scale Wind-Tunnel Investigation of Wing-Cooling Ducts Effects of Propeller Slipstream, Special Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nickle, F. R.; Freeman, Arthur B.

1939-01-01

The safety of remotely operated vehicles depends on the correctness of the distributed protocol that facilitates the communication between the vehicle and the operator. A failure in this communication can result in catastrophic loss of the vehicle. To complicate matters, the communication system may be required to satisfy several, possibly conflicting, requirements. The design of protocols is typically an informal process based on successive iterations of a prototype implementation. Yet distributed protocols are notoriously difficult to get correct using such informal techniques. We present a formal specification of the design of a distributed protocol intended for use in a remotely operated vehicle, which is built from the composition of several simpler protocols. We demonstrate proof strategies that allow us to prove properties of each component protocol individually while ensuring that the property is preserved in the composition forming the entire system. Given that designs are likely to evolve as additional requirements emerge, we show how we have automated most of the repetitive proof steps to enable verification of rapidly changing designs.

Integrating psychological theory into the design of an online intervention for sexual health: the sexunzipped website.

PubMed

Carswell, Kenneth; McCarthy, Ona; Murray, Elizabeth; Bailey, Julia V

2012-11-19

The Internet can provide a confidential and convenient medium for sexual health promotion for young people. This paper describes the development of an interactive, theory-based website (Sexunzipped) aimed at increasing safe sexual behavior of young people, as well as an outline of the evaluation protocol. The website focuses on safer sex, relationships, and sexual pleasure. An overview of the site is provided, including a description of the theoretical constructs which form the basis of the site development. An integrated behavioral model was chosen as the guiding theory for the Sexunzipped intervention. A randomized trial design will be used to evaluate the site quantitatively. The content of the site is described in detail with examples of the main content types: information pages, quizzes, and decision-making activities. We describe the protocol for quantitative evaluation of the website using a randomized trial design and discuss the principal challenges involved in developing the site, including the challenge of balancing the requirements of theory with young people's views on website content and design. Considerations for future interventions are discussed. Developing an online behavior-change intervention is costly and time consuming. Given the large public health potential, the cost involved in developing online interventions, and the need for attractive design, future interventions may benefit from collaborating with established sites that already have a user base, a brand, and a strong Internet presence. It is vital to involve users in decisions about intervention content, design, and features, paying attention to aspects that will attract and retain users' interest. A central challenge in developing effective Internet-based interventions for young people is to find effective ways to operationalize theory in ways that address the views and perspectives of young people.

Integrating Psychological Theory Into the Design of an Online Intervention for Sexual Health: The Sexunzipped Website

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The Internet can provide a confidential and convenient medium for sexual health promotion for young people. Objective This paper describes the development of an interactive, theory-based website (Sexunzipped) aimed at increasing safe sexual behavior of young people, as well as an outline of the evaluation protocol. Methods The website focuses on safer sex, relationships, and sexual pleasure. An overview of the site is provided, including a description of the theoretical constructs which form the basis of the site development. An integrated behavioral model was chosen as the guiding theory for the Sexunzipped intervention. A randomized trial design will be used to evaluate the site quantitatively. Results The content of the site is described in detail with examples of the main content types: information pages, quizzes, and decision-making activities. We describe the protocol for quantitative evaluation of the website using a randomized trial design and discuss the principal challenges involved in developing the site, including the challenge of balancing the requirements of theory with young people’s views on website content and design. Conclusions Considerations for future interventions are discussed. Developing an online behavior-change intervention is costly and time consuming. Given the large public health potential, the cost involved in developing online interventions, and the need for attractive design, future interventions may benefit from collaborating with established sites that already have a user base, a brand, and a strong Internet presence. It is vital to involve users in decisions about intervention content, design, and features, paying attention to aspects that will attract and retain users’ interest. A central challenge in developing effective Internet-based interventions for young people is to find effective ways to operationalize theory in ways that address the views and perspectives of young people. PMID:23612122

A verified design of a fault-tolerant clock synchronization circuit: Preliminary investigations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miner, Paul S.

1992-01-01

Schneider demonstrates that many fault tolerant clock synchronization algorithms can be represented as refinements of a single proven correct paradigm. Shankar provides mechanical proof that Schneider's schema achieves Byzantine fault tolerant clock synchronization provided that 11 constraints are satisfied. Some of the constraints are assumptions about physical properties of the system and cannot be established formally. Proofs are given that the fault tolerant midpoint convergence function satisfies three of the constraints. A hardware design is presented, implementing the fault tolerant midpoint function, which is shown to satisfy the remaining constraints. The synchronization circuit will recover completely from transient faults provided the maximum fault assumption is not violated. The initialization protocol for the circuit also provides a recovery mechanism from total system failure caused by correlated transient faults.

Design and Evaluation of Complex Moving HIFU Treatment Protocols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kargl, Steven G.; Andrew, Marilee A.; Kaczkowski, Peter J.; Brayman, Andrew A.; Crum, Lawrence A.

2005-03-01

The use of moving high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment protocols is of interest in achieving efficient formation of large-volume thermal lesions in tissue. Judicious protocol design is critical in order to avoid collateral damage to healthy tissues outside the treatment zone. A KZK-BHTE model, extended to simulate multiple, moving scans in tissue, is used to investigate protocol design considerations. Prediction and experimental observations are presented which 1) validate the model, 2) illustrate how to assess the effects of acoustic nonlinearity, and 3) demonstrate how to assess and control collateral damage such as prefocal lesion formation and lesion formation resulting from thermal conduction without direct HIFU exposure. Experimental data consist of linear and circular scan protocols delivered over a range of exposure regimes in ex vivo bovine liver.

17 CFR 49.10 - Acceptance of data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... technological protocols established by a swap data repository shall provide for the receipt of swap creation data, swap continuation data, real-time public reporting data, and all other data and information... swap data repository shall adopt policies and procedures, including technological protocols, which...

Optimising text messaging to improve adherence to web-based smoking cessation treatment: a randomised control trial protocol

PubMed Central

Graham, Amanda L; Jacobs, Megan A; Cohn, Amy M; Cha, Sarah; Abroms, Lorien C; Papandonatos, George D; Whittaker, Robyn

2016-01-01

Introduction Millions of smokers use the Internet for smoking cessation assistance each year; however, most smokers engage minimally with even the best designed websites. The ubiquity of mobile devices and their effectiveness in promoting adherence in other areas of health behaviour change make them a promising tool to address adherence in Internet smoking cessation interventions. Text messaging is used by most adults, and messages can proactively encourage use of a web-based intervention. Text messaging can also be integrated with an Internet intervention to facilitate the use of core Internet intervention components. Methods and analysis We identified four aspects of a text message intervention that may enhance its effectiveness in promoting adherence to a web-based smoking cessation programme: personalisation, integration, dynamic tailoring and message intensity. Phase I will use a two-level full factorial design to test the impact of these four experimental features on adherence to a web-based intervention. The primary outcome is a composite metric of adherence that incorporates general utilisation metrics (eg, logins, page views) and specific feature utilisation shown to predict abstinence. Participants will be N=860 adult smokers who register on an established Internet cessation programme and enrol in its text message programme. Phase II will be a two-arm randomised trial to compare the efficacy of the web-based cessation programme alone and in conjunction with the optimised text messaging intervention on 30-day point prevalence abstinence at 9 months. Phase II participants will be N=600 adult smokers who register to use an established Internet cessation programme and enrol in text messaging. Secondary analyses will explore whether adherence mediates the effect of treatment condition on outcome. Ethics and dissemination This protocol was approved by Chesapeake IRB. We will disseminate study results through peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference presentations related to the methods and design, outcomes and exploratory analyses. Trial registration number NCT02585206. PMID:27029775

From design to implementation - The Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) program: A descriptive report of an electronic web-based diabetes management program

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) Program is a web-based program incorporating a comprehensive risk engine, care protocols, and clinical decision support to improve ambulatory diabetes care. Methods The JADE Program uses information technology to facilitate healthcare professionals to create a diabetes registry and to deliver an evidence-based care and education protocol tailored to patients' risk profiles. With written informed consent from participating patients and care providers, all data are anonymized and stored in a databank to establish an Asian Diabetes Database for research and publication purpose. Results The JADE electronic portal (e-portal: http://www.jade-adf.org) is implemented as a Java application using the Apache web server, the mySQL database and the Cocoon framework. The JADE e-portal comprises a risk engine which predicts 5-year probability of major clinical events based on parameters collected during an annual comprehensive assessment. Based on this risk stratification, the JADE e-portal recommends a care protocol tailored to these risk levels with decision support triggered by various risk factors. Apart from establishing a registry for quality assurance and data tracking, the JADE e-portal also displays trends of risk factor control at each visit to promote doctor-patient dialogues and to empower both parties to make informed decisions. Conclusions The JADE Program is a prototype using information technology to facilitate implementation of a comprehensive care model, as recommended by the International Diabetes Federation. It also enables health care teams to record, manage, track and analyze the clinical course and outcomes of people with diabetes. PMID:20465815

An example problem illustrating the application of the national lime association mixture design and testing protocol (MDTP) to ascertain engineering properties of lime-treated subgrades for mechanistic pavement design/analysis.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-09-01

This document presents an example of mechanistic design and analysis using a mix design and : testing protocol. More specifically, it addresses the structural properties of lime-treated subgrade, : subbase, and base layers through mechanistic design ...

Native grass hydroseed development : establishment protocols for three native Hawaiian plants on roadside areas.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-08-01

The biggest mistake with using native plants on Hawaiis roadways is to assume that native plants do not require : nutrient enhancement or supplemental water to establish on these sites. The establishment of native plants will : require a detailed ...

Therapist-Designed Adaptive Riding in Children With Cerebral Palsy: Results of a Feasibility Study.

PubMed

Angsupaisal, Mattana; Visser, Baudina; Alkema, Anne; Meinsma-van der Tuin, Marja; Maathuis, Carel G B; Reinders-Messelink, Heleen; Hadders-Algra, Mijna

2015-08-01

It is debatable whether adaptive riding (AR) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) improves postural control and gross motor development. The study aim was to explore the feasibility of an extensive assessment protocol for a randomized controlled trial of therapist-designed adaptive riding (TDAR) in children with CP, with the goals of assessing the effect on child outcomes and evaluating working mechanisms of sitting postural control. A pretest-posttest group design with 2 baseline measurements was used. Six children (1 girl, 5 boys; age range=6-12 years, median age=8 years 9 months) with bilateral spastic CP (Gross Motor Function Classification System level III) participated. Outcomes were evaluated 3 times (T0, T1, and T2) at 6-week intervals. T0 and T1 were baseline measurements; between T1 and T2, a TDAR intervention including an integrated program of postural challenge exercises (2 times per week for 1 hour) was applied. The complex protocol included the 88-item Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-88) and electromyographic (EMG) recording of postural muscle activity during reaching while sitting (EMG recording at T1 and T2 only). The protocol was feasible. Median GMFM-88 scores changed from 64.4 at T0 to 66.7 at T1 and from 66.7 at T1 to 73.2 at T2. The change scores for all children exceeded the minimal clinically important difference of the GMFM-88. Five of 6 children showed a decrease in stereotyped top-down recruitment between T1 and T2. Study limitations included the lack of a control group, small sample size, and potential assessor bias for all but the EMG parameters. The feasibility of the complex protocol was established. The data suggested that a 6-week TDAR intervention may improve gross motor function and may reduce stereotyped postural adjustments in children with CP. The limited results warrant replication in a well-powered randomized controlled trial. © 2015 American Physical Therapy Association.

Special Plans and Operations: Assessment of Allegations Concerning Traumatic Brain Injury Research Integrity in Iraq

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-31

protocols conducted in Iraq. His office had been designated by the 1 A research protocol is a formal document detailing the study methodology and the...Human Research Protections Program plan requires scientific peer review to ensure that research is scientifically sound in its design and methods, and...ofthe approved research protocol and IRB minutes, revealed that there was no mention of "active rehabilitation and exercise" under the design

The Xpress Transfer Protocol (XTP): A tutorial (expanded version)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanders, Robert M.; Weaver, Alfred C.

1990-01-01

The Xpress Transfer Protocol (XTP) is a reliable, real-time, light weight transfer layer protocol. Current transport layer protocols such as DoD's Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and ISO's Transport Protocol (TP) were not designed for the next generation of high speed, interconnected reliable networks such as fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) and the gigabit/second wide area networks. Unlike all previous transport layer protocols, XTP is being designed to be implemented in hardware as a VLSI chip set. By streamlining the protocol, combining the transport and network layers and utilizing the increased speed and parallelization possible with a VLSI implementation, XTP will be able to provide the end-to-end data transmission rates demanded in high speed networks without compromising reliability and functionality. This paper describes the operation of the XTP protocol and in particular, its error, flow and rate control; inter-networking addressing mechanisms; and multicast support features, as defined in the XTP Protocol Definition Revision 3.4.

Multi-party quantum key agreement protocol secure against collusion attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ping; Sun, Zhiwei; Sun, Xiaoqiang

2017-07-01

The fairness of a secure multi-party quantum key agreement (MQKA) protocol requires that all involved parties are entirely peer entities and can equally influence the outcome of the protocol to establish a shared key wherein no one can decide the shared key alone. However, it is found that parts of the existing MQKA protocols are sensitive to collusion attacks, i.e., some of the dishonest participants can collaborate to predetermine the final key without being detected. In this paper, a multi-party QKA protocol resisting collusion attacks is proposed. Different from previous QKA protocol resisting N-1 coconspirators or resisting 1 coconspirators, we investigate the general circle-type MQKA protocol which can be secure against t dishonest participants' cooperation. Here, t < N. We hope the results of the presented paper will be helpful for further research on fair MQKA protocols.

The [Un]Spoken Challenges of Administrator Collaboration: An Exploration of One District Leadership Team's Use of Protocols to Promote Reflection and Shared Theories of Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szczesiul, Stacy Agee

2014-01-01

This article explores the use of protocol-structured dialogue in promoting reflective practices and shared theories of action within a district leadership team. Protocols have been used to make individuals' theories of action visible and subject to evaluation. This is important for leaders trying to establish coherence across a system; in…

A Protocol-Based Decision for Choosing a Proper Surgical Treatment Option for Carotid Artery Stenosis.

PubMed

Jang, E-Wook; Chung, Joonho; Seo, Kwon-Duk; Suh, Sang Hyun; Kim, Yong Bae; Lee, Kyung-Yul

2015-06-01

There are two established surgical treatment options for carotid artery stenosis. Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) has been accepted as a gold standard for surgical treatment while carotid artery stenting (CAS) has recently become an alternative option. Each treatment option has advantages and disadvantages for the treatment outcomes. We propose a protocol for selection of a proper surgical treatment option for carotid artery stenosis. A total of 192 published articles on management of carotid artery stenosis were reviewed. Preoperatively considerable factors which had been repeatedly noted in those articles for the risk/benefits of CEA or CAS were selected. According to those factors, a protocol with four categories was established. CEA or CAS is indicated when the patient has a symptomatic stenosis ≥ 50%, or when the patient has an asymptomatic stenosis ≥ 80%. Each treatment option has absolute indications and favorable indications. Each absolute indication is scored with three points, and each favorable indication, one point. Based on the highest scores, a proper treatment option (CEA or CAS) is selected. We have been treating patients according to this protocol and evaluating the outcomes of our protocol-based decision because this protocol might be helpful in assessment of risk/benefit for selection of a proper surgical treatment option in patients with carotid artery stenosis.

The ANTOP study: focal psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, and treatment-as-usual in outpatients with anorexia nervosa - a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

Wild, Beate; Friederich, Hans-Christoph; Gross, Gaby; Teufel, Martin; Herzog, Wolfgang; Giel, Katrin E; de Zwaan, Martina; Schauenburg, Henning; Schade-Brittinger, Carmen; Schäfer, Helmut; Zipfel, Stephan

2009-01-01

Background Anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder leading to high morbidity and mortality as a result of both malnutrition and suicide. The seriousness of the disorder requires extensive knowledge of effective treatment options. However, evidence for treatment efficacy in this area is remarkably weak. A recent Cochrane review states that there is an urgent need for large, well-designed treatment studies for patients with anorexia nervosa. The aim of this particular multi-centre study is to evaluate the efficacy of two standardized outpatient treatments for patients with anorexia nervosa: focal psychodynamic (FPT) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Each therapeutic approach is compared to a "treatment-as-usual" control group. Methods/Design 237 patients meeting eligibility criteria are randomly and evenly assigned to the three groups – two intervention groups (CBT and FPT) and one control group. The treatment period for each intervention group is 10 months, consisting of 40 sessions respectively. Body weight, eating disorder related symptoms, and variables of therapeutic alliance are measured during the course of treatment. Psychotherapy sessions are audiotaped for adherence monitoring. The treatment in the control group, both the dosage and type of therapy, is not regulated in the study protocol, but rather reflects the current practice of established outpatient care. The primary outcome measure is the body mass index (BMI) at the end of the treatment (10 months after randomization). Discussion The study design surmounts the disadvantages of previous studies in that it provides a randomized controlled design, a large sample size, adequate inclusion criteria, an adequate treatment protocol, and a clear separation of the treatment conditions in order to avoid contamination. Nevertheless, the study has to deal with difficulties specific to the psychopathology of anorexia nervosa. The treatment protocol allows for dealing with the typically occurring medical complications without dropping patients from the protocol. However, because patients are difficult to recruit and often ambivalent about treatment, a drop-out rate of 30% is assumed for sample size calculation. Due to the ethical problem of denying active treatment to patients with anorexia nervosa, the control group is defined as "treatment-as-usual". Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN72809357 PMID:19389245

All-in-One CRISPR-Cas9/FokI-dCas9 Vector-Mediated Multiplex Genome Engineering in Cultured Cells.

PubMed

Sakuma, Tetsushi; Sakamoto, Takuya; Yamamoto, Takashi

2017-01-01

CRISPR-Cas9 enables highly convenient multiplex genome engineering in cultured cells, because it utilizes generic Cas9 nuclease and an easily customizable single-guide RNA (sgRNA) for site-specific DNA double-strand break induction. We previously established a multiplex CRISPR-Cas9 assembly system for constructing an all-in-one vector simultaneously expressing multiple sgRNAs and Cas9 nuclease or other Cas9 variants including FokI-dCas9, which supersedes the wild-type Cas9 with regard to high specificity. In this chapter, we describe a streamlined protocol to design and construct multiplex CRISPR-Cas9 or FokI-dCas9 vectors, to introduce them into cultured cells by lipofection or electroporation, to enrich the genomically edited cells with a transient puromycin selection, to validate the mutation efficiency by Surveyor nuclease assay, and to perform off-target analyses. We show that our protocol enables highly efficient multiplex genome engineering even in hard-to-transfect HepG2 cells.

Development of EPA Protocol Information Enquiry Service System Based on Embedded ARM Linux

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Daogang; Zhang, Hao; Weng, Jiannian; Li, Hui; Xia, Fei

Industrial Ethernet is a new technology for industrial network communications developed in recent years. In the field of industrial automation in China, EPA is the first standard accepted and published by ISO, and has been included in the fourth edition IEC61158 Fieldbus of NO.14 type. According to EPA standard, Field devices such as industrial field controller, actuator and other instruments are all able to realize communication based on the Ethernet standard. The Atmel AT91RM9200 embedded development board and open source embedded Linux are used to develop an information inquiry service system of EPA protocol based on embedded ARM Linux in this paper. The system is capable of designing an EPA Server program for EPA data acquisition procedures, the EPA information inquiry service is available for programs in local or remote host through Socket interface. The EPA client can access data and information of other EPA equipments on the EPA network when it establishes connection with the monitoring port of the server.

Modeling Techniques for High Dependability Protocols and Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaValley, Brian; Ellis, Peter; Walter, Chris J.

2012-01-01

This report documents an investigation into modeling high dependability protocols and some specific challenges that were identified as a result of the experiments. The need for an approach was established and foundational concepts proposed for modeling different layers of a complex protocol and capturing the compositional properties that provide high dependability services for a system architecture. The approach centers around the definition of an architecture layer, its interfaces for composability with other layers and its bindings to a platform specific architecture model that implements the protocols required for the layer.

A Protocol for Evaluating Contextual Design Principles

PubMed Central

Stamps, Arthur

2014-01-01

This paper explains how scientific data can be incorporated into urban design decisions, such as evaluating contextual design principles. The recommended protocols are based on the Cochrane Reviews that have been widely used in medical research. The major concepts of a Cochrane Review are explained, as well as the underlying mathematics. The underlying math is meta-analysis. Data are reported for three applications and seven contextual design policies. It is suggested that use of the Cochrane protocols will be of great assistance to planners by providing scientific data that can be used to evaluate the efficacies of contextual design policies prior to implementing those policies. PMID:25431448

A toxicity cost function approach to optimal CPA equilibration in tissues.

PubMed

Benson, James D; Higgins, Adam Z; Desai, Kunjan; Eroglu, Ali

2018-02-01

There is growing need for cryopreserved tissue samples that can be used in transplantation and regenerative medicine. While a number of specific tissue types have been successfully cryopreserved, this success is not general, and there is not a uniform approach to cryopreservation of arbitrary tissues. Additionally, while there are a number of long-established approaches towards optimizing cryoprotocols in single cell suspensions, and even plated cell monolayers, computational approaches in tissue cryopreservation have classically been limited to explanatory models. Here we develop a numerical approach to adapt cell-based CPA equilibration damage models for use in a classical tissue mass transport model. To implement this with real-world parameters, we measured CPA diffusivity in three human-sourced tissue types, skin, fibroid and myometrium, yielding propylene glycol diffusivities of 0.6 × 10 -6  cm 2 /s, 1.2 × 10 -6  cm 2 /s and 1.3 × 10 -6  cm 2 /s, respectively. Based on these results, we numerically predict and compare optimal multistep equilibration protocols that minimize the cell-based cumulative toxicity cost function and the damage due to excessive osmotic gradients at the tissue boundary. Our numerical results show that there are fundamental differences between protocols designed to minimize total CPA exposure time in tissues and protocols designed to minimize accumulated CPA toxicity, and that "one size fits all" stepwise approaches are predicted to be more toxic and take considerably longer than needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fabricating a UV-Vis and Raman Spectroscopy Immunoassay Platform.

PubMed

Hanson, Cynthia; Israelsen, Nathan D; Sieverts, Michael; Vargis, Elizabeth

2016-11-10

Immunoassays are used to detect proteins based on the presence of associated antibodies. Because of their extensive use in research and clinical settings, a large infrastructure of immunoassay instruments and materials can be found. For example, 96- and 384-well polystyrene plates are available commercially and have a standard design to accommodate ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy machines from various manufacturers. In addition, a wide variety of immunoglobulins, detection tags, and blocking agents for customized immunoassay designs such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are available. Despite the existing infrastructure, standard ELISA kits do not meet all research needs, requiring individualized immunoassay development, which can be expensive and time-consuming. For example, ELISA kits have low multiplexing (detection of more than one analyte at a time) capabilities as they usually depend on fluorescence or colorimetric methods for detection. Colorimetric and fluorescent-based analyses have limited multiplexing capabilities due to broad spectral peaks. In contrast, Raman spectroscopy-based methods have a much greater capability for multiplexing due to narrow emission peaks. Another advantage of Raman spectroscopy is that Raman reporters experience significantly less photobleaching than fluorescent tags 1 . Despite the advantages that Raman reporters have over fluorescent and colorimetric tags, protocols to fabricate Raman-based immunoassays are limited. The purpose of this paper is to provide a protocol to prepare functionalized probes to use in conjunction with polystyrene plates for direct detection of analytes by UV-Vis analysis and Raman spectroscopy. This protocol will allow researchers to take a do-it-yourself approach for future multi-analyte detection while capitalizing on pre-established infrastructure.

Assessing the welfare of laboratory mice in their home environment using animal-based measures--a benchmarking tool.

PubMed

Spangenberg, Elin M F; Keeling, Linda J

2016-02-01

Welfare problems in laboratory mice can be a consequence of an ongoing experiment, or a characteristic of a particular genetic line, but in some cases, such as breeding animals, they are most likely to be a result of the design and management of the home cage. Assessment of the home cage environment is commonly performed using resource-based measures, like access to nesting material. However, animal-based measures (related to the health status and behaviour of the animals) can be used to assess the current welfare of animals regardless of the inputs applied (i.e. the resources or management). The aim of this study was to design a protocol for assessing the welfare of laboratory mice using only animal-based measures. The protocol, to be used as a benchmarking tool, assesses mouse welfare in the home cage and does not contain parameters related to experimental situations. It is based on parameters corresponding to the 12 welfare criteria established by the Welfare Quality® project. Selection of animal-based measures was performed by scanning existing published, web-based and informal protocols, and by choosing parameters that matched these criteria, were feasible in practice and, if possible, were already validated indicators of mouse welfare. The parameters should identify possible animal welfare problems and enable assessment directly in an animal room during cage cleaning procedures, without the need for extra equipment. Thermal comfort behaviours and positive emotional states are areas where more research is needed to find valid, reliable and feasible animal-based measures. © The Author(s) 2015.

17 CFR 49.10 - Acceptance of data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... protocols established by a swap data repository shall provide for the receipt of swap creation data, swap continuation data, real-time public reporting data, and all other data and information required to be reported... repository shall adopt policies and procedures, including technological protocols, which provide for...

17 CFR 49.10 - Acceptance of data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... protocols established by a swap data repository shall provide for the receipt of swap creation data, swap continuation data, real-time public reporting data, and all other data and information required to be reported... repository shall adopt policies and procedures, including technological protocols, which provide for...

Real-Time QoS Routing Protocols in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks: Study and Analysis.

PubMed

Alanazi, Adwan; Elleithy, Khaled

2015-09-02

Many routing protocols have been proposed for wireless sensor networks. These routing protocols are almost always based on energy efficiency. However, recent advances in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) cameras and small microphones have led to the development of Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSN) as a class of wireless sensor networks which pose additional challenges. The transmission of imaging and video data needs routing protocols with both energy efficiency and Quality of Service (QoS) characteristics in order to guarantee the efficient use of the sensor nodes and effective access to the collected data. Also, with integration of real time applications in Wireless Senor Networks (WSNs), the use of QoS routing protocols is not only becoming a significant topic, but is also gaining the attention of researchers. In designing an efficient QoS routing protocol, the reliability and guarantee of end-to-end delay are critical events while conserving energy. Thus, considerable research has been focused on designing energy efficient and robust QoS routing protocols. In this paper, we present a state of the art research work based on real-time QoS routing protocols for WMSNs that have already been proposed. This paper categorizes the real-time QoS routing protocols into probabilistic and deterministic protocols. In addition, both categories are classified into soft and hard real time protocols by highlighting the QoS issues including the limitations and features of each protocol. Furthermore, we have compared the performance of mobility-aware query based real-time QoS routing protocols from each category using Network Simulator-2 (NS2). This paper also focuses on the design challenges and future research directions as well as highlights the characteristics of each QoS routing protocol.

Real-Time QoS Routing Protocols in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks: Study and Analysis

PubMed Central

Alanazi, Adwan; Elleithy, Khaled

2015-01-01

Many routing protocols have been proposed for wireless sensor networks. These routing protocols are almost always based on energy efficiency. However, recent advances in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) cameras and small microphones have led to the development of Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSN) as a class of wireless sensor networks which pose additional challenges. The transmission of imaging and video data needs routing protocols with both energy efficiency and Quality of Service (QoS) characteristics in order to guarantee the efficient use of the sensor nodes and effective access to the collected data. Also, with integration of real time applications in Wireless Senor Networks (WSNs), the use of QoS routing protocols is not only becoming a significant topic, but is also gaining the attention of researchers. In designing an efficient QoS routing protocol, the reliability and guarantee of end-to-end delay are critical events while conserving energy. Thus, considerable research has been focused on designing energy efficient and robust QoS routing protocols. In this paper, we present a state of the art research work based on real-time QoS routing protocols for WMSNs that have already been proposed. This paper categorizes the real-time QoS routing protocols into probabilistic and deterministic protocols. In addition, both categories are classified into soft and hard real time protocols by highlighting the QoS issues including the limitations and features of each protocol. Furthermore, we have compared the performance of mobility-aware query based real-time QoS routing protocols from each category using Network Simulator-2 (NS2). This paper also focuses on the design challenges and future research directions as well as highlights the characteristics of each QoS routing protocol. PMID:26364639

Entanglement-based Free Space Quantum Cryptography in Daylight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerhardt, Ilja; Peloso, Matthew P.; Ho, Caleb; Lamas-Linares, Antia; Kurtsiefer, Christian

2009-05-01

In quantum key distribution (QKD) two families of protocols are established: One, based on preparing and sending approximations of single photons, the other based on measurements on entangled photon pairs, which allow to establish a secret key using less assumptions on the size of a Hilbert space. The larger optical bandwidth of photon pairs in comparison with light used for the first family makes establishing a free space link challenging. We present a complete entanglement based QKD system following the BBM92 protocol, which generates a secure key continuously 24 hours a day between distant parties. Spectral, spatial and temporal filtering schemes were introduced to a previous setup, suppressing more than 30,B of background. We are able to establish the link during daytime, and have developed an algorithm to start and maintain time synchronization with simple crystal oscillators.

Implementation of evidence on the nurse-patient relationship in psychiatric wards through a mixed method design: study protocol.

PubMed

Moreno-Poyato, Antonio R; Delgado-Hito, Pilar; Suárez-Pérez, Raquel; Leyva-Moral, Juan M; Aceña-Domínguez, Rosa; Carreras-Salvador, Regina; Roldán-Merino, Juan F; Lluch-Canut, Teresa; Montesó-Curto, Pilar

2017-01-01

Psychiatric nurses are aware of the importance of the therapeutic relationship in psychiatric units. Nevertheless, a review of the scientific evidence indicates that theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient to establish an adequate therapeutic alliance. Therefore, strategies are required to promote changes to enhance the establishment of the working relationship. The aims of the study are to generate changes in how nurses establish the therapeutic relationship in acute psychiatric units, based on participative action research and to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of evidence through this method. The study will use a mixed method design. Qualitative methodology, through participative action research, will be employed to implement scientific evidence on the therapeutic relationship. A quasi-experimental, one-group, pre-test/post-test design will also be used to quantitatively measure the effectiveness of the implementation of the evidence. Participants will consist of nurses and patients from two psychiatric units in Barcelona. Nurses will be selected by theoretical sampling, and patients assigned to each nurses will be selected by consecutive sampling. Qualitative data will be gathered through discussion groups and field diaries. Quantitative data will be collected through the Working Alliance Inventory and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Qualitative data will be analysed through the technique of content analysis and quantitative data through descriptive and inferential statistics. This study will help to understand the process of change in a nursing team working in an inpatient psychiatric ward and will allow nurses to generate knowledge, identify difficulties, and establish strategies to implement change, as well as to assess whether the quality of the care they provide shows a qualitative improvement.

Device USB interface and software development for electric parameter measuring instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Deshi; Chen, Jian; Wu, Yadong

2003-09-01

Aimed at general devices development, this paper discussed the development of USB interface and software development. With an example, using PDIUSBD12 which support parallel interface, the paper analyzed its technical characteristics. Designed different interface circuit with 80C52 singlechip microcomputer and TMS320C54 series digital signal processor, analyzed the address allocation, register access. According to USB1.1 standard protocol, designed the device software and application layer protocol. The paper designed the data exchange protocol, and carried out system functions.

Design and Development of Layered Security: Future Enhancements and Directions in Transmission

PubMed Central

Shahzad, Aamir; Lee, Malrey; Kim, Suntae; Kim, Kangmin; Choi, Jae-Young; Cho, Younghwa; Lee, Keun-Kwang

2016-01-01

Today, security is a prominent issue when any type of communication is being undertaken. Like traditional networks, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems suffer from a number of vulnerabilities. Numerous end-to-end security mechanisms have been proposed for the resolution of SCADA-system security issues, but due to insecure real-time protocol use and the reliance upon open protocols during Internet-based communication, these SCADA systems can still be compromised by security challenges. This study reviews the security challenges and issues that are commonly raised during SCADA/protocol transmissions and proposes a secure distributed-network protocol version 3 (DNP3) design, and the implementation of the security solution using a cryptography mechanism. Due to the insecurities found within SCADA protocols, the new development consists of a DNP3 protocol that has been designed as a part of the SCADA system, and the cryptographically derived security is deployed within the application layer as a part of the DNP3 stack. PMID:26751443

Design and Development of Layered Security: Future Enhancements and Directions in Transmission.

PubMed

Shahzad, Aamir; Lee, Malrey; Kim, Suntae; Kim, Kangmin; Choi, Jae-Young; Cho, Younghwa; Lee, Keun-Kwang

2016-01-06

Today, security is a prominent issue when any type of communication is being undertaken. Like traditional networks, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems suffer from a number of vulnerabilities. Numerous end-to-end security mechanisms have been proposed for the resolution of SCADA-system security issues, but due to insecure real-time protocol use and the reliance upon open protocols during Internet-based communication, these SCADA systems can still be compromised by security challenges. This study reviews the security challenges and issues that are commonly raised during SCADA/protocol transmissions and proposes a secure distributed-network protocol version 3 (DNP3) design, and the implementation of the security solution using a cryptography mechanism. Due to the insecurities found within SCADA protocols, the new development consists of a DNP3 protocol that has been designed as a part of the SCADA system, and the cryptographically derived security is deployed within the application layer as a part of the DNP3 stack.

Return of postural control to baseline after anaerobic and aerobic exercise protocols.

PubMed

Fox, Zachary G; Mihalik, Jason P; Blackburn, J Troy; Battaglini, Claudio L; Guskiewicz, Kevin M

2008-01-01

With regard to sideline concussion testing, the effect of fatigue associated with different types of exercise on postural control is unknown. To evaluate the effects of fatigue on postural control in healthy college-aged athletes performing anaerobic and aerobic exercise protocols and to establish an immediate recovery time course from each exercise protocol for postural control measures to return to baseline status. Counterbalanced, repeated measures. Research laboratory. Thirty-six collegiate athletes (18 males, 18 females; age = 19.00 +/- 1.01 years, height = 172.44 +/- 10.47 cm, mass = 69.72 +/- 12.84 kg). Participants completed 2 counterbalanced sessions within 7 days. Each session consisted of 1 exercise protocol followed by postexercise measures of postural control taken at 3-, 8-, 13-, and 18-minute time intervals. Baseline measures were established during the first session, before the specified exertion protocol was performed. Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) results, sway velocity, and elliptical sway area. We found a decrease in postural control after each exercise protocol for all dependent measures. An interaction was noted between exercise protocol and time for total BESS score (P = .002). For both exercise protocols, all measures of postural control returned to baseline within 13 minutes. Postural control was negatively affected after anaerobic and aerobic exercise protocols as measured by total BESS score, elliptical sway area, and sway velocity. The effect of exertion lasted up to 13 minutes after each exercise was completed. Certified athletic trainers and clinicians should be aware of these effects and their recovery time course when determining an appropriate time to administer sideline assessments of postural control after a suspected mild traumatic brain injury.

Security of a single-state semi-quantum key distribution protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wei; Qiu, Daowen; Mateus, Paulo

2018-06-01

Semi-quantum key distribution protocols are allowed to set up a secure secret key between two users. Compared with their full quantum counterparts, one of the two users is restricted to perform some "classical" or "semi-quantum" operations, which potentially makes them easily realizable by using less quantum resource. However, the semi-quantum key distribution protocols mainly rely on a two-way quantum channel. The eavesdropper has two opportunities to intercept the quantum states transmitted in the quantum communication stage. It may allow the eavesdropper to get more information and make the security analysis more complicated. In the past ten years, many semi-quantum key distribution protocols have been proposed and proved to be robust. However, there are few works concerning their unconditional security. It is doubted that how secure the semi-quantum ones are and how much noise they can tolerate to establish a secure secret key. In this paper, we prove the unconditional security of a single-state semi-quantum key distribution protocol proposed by Zou et al. (Phys Rev A 79:052312, 2009). We present a complete proof from information theory aspect by deriving a lower bound of the protocol's key rate in the asymptotic scenario. Using this bound, we figure out an error threshold value such that for all error rates that are less than this threshold value, the secure secret key can be established between the legitimate users definitely. Otherwise, the users should abort the protocol. We make an illustration of the protocol under the circumstance that the reverse quantum channel is a depolarizing one with parameter q. Additionally, we compare the error threshold value with some full quantum protocols and several existing semi-quantum ones whose unconditional security proofs have been provided recently.

Portable ultrasonography in mass casualty incidents: The CAVEAT examination.

PubMed

Stawicki, Stanislaw Peter; Howard, James M; Pryor, John P; Bahner, David P; Whitmill, Melissa L; Dean, Anthony J

2010-11-18

Ultrasonography used by practicing clinicians has been shown to be of utility in the evaluation of time-sensitive and critical illnesses in a range of environments, including pre-hospital triage, emergency department, and critical care settings. The increasing availability of light-weight, robust, user-friendly, and low-cost portable ultrasound equipment is particularly suited for use in the physically and temporally challenging environment of a multiple casualty incident (MCI). Currently established ultrasound applications used to identify potentially lethal thoracic or abdominal conditions offer a base upon which rapid, focused protocols using hand-carried emergency ultrasonography could be developed. Following a detailed review of the current use of portable ultrasonography in military and civilian MCI settings, we propose a protocol for sonographic evaluation of the chest, abdomen, vena cava, and extremities for acute triage. The protocol is two-tiered, based on the urgency and technical difficulty of the sonographic examination. In addition to utilization of well-established bedside abdominal and thoracic sonography applications, this protocol incorporates extremity assessment for long-bone fractures. Studies of the proposed protocol will need to be conducted to determine its utility in simulated and actual MCI settings.

Current management of hyperglycemia in acute coronary syndromes: a national Dutch survey.

PubMed

de Mulder, Maarten; Oemrawsingh, Rohit M; Stam, Frank; Boersma, Eric; Umans, Victor A W M

2009-06-01

Hyperglycemia is common among patients admitted with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and is associated with less favorable clinical outcomes. Guidelines for the treatment of hyperglycemia in myocardial infarction are confusing, partly because of lack of sufficient evidence. Neither do we know what the everyday practice on hyperglycemia in ACS is. Therefore the aim of our study is to describe current glucose management in ACS patients in The Netherlands. We designed a multiple-choice questionnaire that was emailed to all 94 independent cardiology departments of each of the 114 hospitals within The Netherlands. We interviewed cardiologists about their specific hospital setting, the presence, content, and actual use of a dedicated hyperglycemia protocol in the setting of ACS. Ninety-four questionnaires were returned (response rate 100%). Only 32% of the respondents reported to have a routinely applied, dedicated hyperglycemia protocol in the setting of ACS. An admission glucose of 13.0 mmol/L is considered a stress value by 60% of respondents. Treatment of hyperglycemia is postponed until after the acute phase (ie, after >6 hours) in 41% of the cardiology departments and in 76% HbA1c is not routinely measured before discharge. Only a minority of Dutch cardiology departments have a routinely applied, dedicated hyperglycemia protocol for patients admitted with ACS. Different views exist on the interpretation of admission hyperglycemia in patients without previously diagnosed diabetes. Dedicated protocols with well-established treatment goals allow early treatment and are mandatory to improve timely metabolic regulation.

A protocol for coordinating post-tsunami field reconnaissance efforts in the USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, Rick I.; Wood, Nathan J.; Kong, Laura; Shulters, Michael V.; Richards, Kevin D.; Dunbar, Paula; Tamura, Gen; Young, Edward J.

2015-01-01

In the aftermath of a catastrophic tsunami, much is to be learned about tsunami generation and propagation, landscape and ecological changes, and the response and recovery of those affected by the disaster. Knowledge of the impacted area directly helps response and relief personnel in their efforts to reach and care for survivors and for re-establishing community services. First-hand accounts of tsunami-related impacts and consequences also help researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in other parts of the world that lack recent events to better understand and manage their own societal risks posed by tsunami threats. Conducting post-tsunami surveys and disseminating useful results to decision makers in an effective, efficient, and timely manner is difficult given the logistical issues and competing demands in a post-disaster environment. To facilitate better coordination of field-data collection and dissemination of results, a protocol for coordinating post-tsunami science surveys was developed by a multi-disciplinary group of representatives from state and federal agencies in the USA. This protocol is being incorporated into local, state, and federal post-tsunami response planning through the efforts of the Pacific Risk Management ‘Ohana, the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, and the U.S. National Plan for Disaster Impact Assessments. Although the protocol was designed to support a coordinated US post-tsunami response, we believe it could help inform post-disaster science surveys conducted elsewhere and further the discussion on how hazard researchers can most effectively operate in disaster environments.

23 CFR 1340.5 - Selection of observation sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... STATE OBSERVATIONAL SURVEYS OF SEAT BELT USE Survey Design Requirements § 1340.5 Selection of... observation sites. The survey design shall include at a minimum the following protocols: (1) Protocol when...

23 CFR 1340.5 - Selection of observation sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... STATE OBSERVATIONAL SURVEYS OF SEAT BELT USE Survey Design Requirements § 1340.5 Selection of... observation sites. The survey design shall include at a minimum the following protocols: (1) Protocol when...

23 CFR 1340.5 - Selection of observation sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... STATE OBSERVATIONAL SURVEYS OF SEAT BELT USE Survey Design Requirements § 1340.5 Selection of... observation sites. The survey design shall include at a minimum the following protocols: (1) Protocol when...

Methods for Evaluating the Content, Usability, and Efficacy of Commercial Mobile Health Apps

PubMed Central

Silfee, Valerie J; Waring, Molly E; Boudreaux, Edwin D; Sadasivam, Rajani S; Mullen, Sean P; Carey, Jennifer L; Hayes, Rashelle B; Ding, Eric Y; Bennett, Gary G; Pagoto, Sherry L

2017-01-01

Commercial mobile apps for health behavior change are flourishing in the marketplace, but little evidence exists to support their use. This paper summarizes methods for evaluating the content, usability, and efficacy of commercially available health apps. Content analyses can be used to compare app features with clinical guidelines, evidence-based protocols, and behavior change techniques. Usability testing can establish how well an app functions and serves its intended purpose for a target population. Observational studies can explore the association between use and clinical and behavioral outcomes. Finally, efficacy testing can establish whether a commercial app impacts an outcome of interest via a variety of study designs, including randomized trials, multiphase optimization studies, and N-of-1 studies. Evidence in all these forms would increase adoption of commercial apps in clinical practice, inform the development of the next generation of apps, and ultimately increase the impact of commercial apps. PMID:29254914

Sterilization validation for medical devices at IRASM microbiological laboratory—Practical approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trandafir, Laura; Alexandru, Mioara; Constantin, Mihai; Ioniţă, Anca; Zorilă, Florina; Moise, Valentin

2012-09-01

EN ISO 11137 established regulations for setting or substantiating the dose for achieving the desired sterility assurance level. The validation studies can be designed in particular for different types of products. Each product needs distinct protocols for bioburden determination and sterility testing. The Microbiological Laboratory from Irradiation Processing Center (IRASM) deals with different types of products, mainly for the VDmax25 method. When it comes to microbiological evaluation the most challenging was cotton gauze. A special situation for establishing the sterilization validation method appears in cases of cotton packed in large quantities. The VDmax25 method cannot be applied for items with average bioburden more than 1000 CFU/pack, irrespective of the weight of the package. This is a method limitation and implies increased costs for the manufacturer when choosing other methods. For microbiological tests, culture condition should be selected in both cases of the bioburden and sterility testing. Details about choosing criteria are given.

Marine Vehicle Sensor Network Architecture and Protocol Designs for Ocean Observation

PubMed Central

Zhang, Shaowei; Yu, Jiancheng; Zhang, Aiqun; Yang, Lei; Shu, Yeqiang

2012-01-01

The micro-scale and meso-scale ocean dynamic processes which are nonlinear and have large variability, have a significant impact on the fisheries, natural resources, and marine climatology. A rapid, refined and sophisticated observation system is therefore needed in marine scientific research. The maneuverability and controllability of mobile sensor platforms make them a preferred choice to establish ocean observing networks, compared to the static sensor observing platform. In this study, marine vehicles are utilized as the nodes of mobile sensor networks for coverage sampling of a regional ocean area and ocean feature tracking. A synoptic analysis about marine vehicle dynamic control, multi vehicles mission assignment and path planning methods, and ocean feature tracking and observing techniques is given. Combined with the observation plan in the South China Sea, we provide an overview of the mobile sensor networks established with marine vehicles, and the corresponding simulation results. PMID:22368475

Short Review on Quantum Key Distribution Protocols.

PubMed

Giampouris, Dimitris

2017-01-01

Cryptographic protocols and mechanisms are widely investigated under the notion of quantum computing. Quantum cryptography offers particular advantages over classical ones, whereas in some cases established protocols have to be revisited in order to maintain their functionality. The purpose of this paper is to provide the basic definitions and review the most important theoretical advancements concerning the BB84 and E91 protocols. It also aims to offer a summary on some key developments on the field of quantum key distribution, closely related with the two aforementioned protocols. The main goal of this study is to provide the necessary background information along with a thorough review on the theoretical aspects of QKD, concentrating on specific protocols. The BB84 and E91 protocols have been chosen because most other protocols are similar to these, a fact that makes them important for the general understanding of how the QKD mechanism functions.

Continuous-variable protocol for oblivious transfer in the noisy-storage model.

PubMed

Furrer, Fabian; Gehring, Tobias; Schaffner, Christian; Pacher, Christoph; Schnabel, Roman; Wehner, Stephanie

2018-04-13

Cryptographic protocols are the backbone of our information society. This includes two-party protocols which offer protection against distrustful players. Such protocols can be built from a basic primitive called oblivious transfer. We present and experimentally demonstrate here a quantum protocol for oblivious transfer for optical continuous-variable systems, and prove its security in the noisy-storage model. This model allows us to establish security by sending more quantum signals than an attacker can reliably store during the protocol. The security proof is based on uncertainty relations which we derive for continuous-variable systems, that differ from the ones used in quantum key distribution. We experimentally demonstrate in a proof-of-principle experiment the proposed oblivious transfer protocol for various channel losses by using entangled two-mode squeezed states measured with balanced homodyne detection. Our work enables the implementation of arbitrary two-party quantum cryptographic protocols with continuous-variable communication systems.

Modeling Misbehavior in Cooperative Diversity: A Dynamic Game Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehnie, Sintayehu; Memon, Nasir

2009-12-01

Cooperative diversity protocols are designed with the assumption that terminals always help each other in a socially efficient manner. This assumption may not be valid in commercial wireless networks where terminals may misbehave for selfish or malicious intentions. The presence of misbehaving terminals creates a social-dilemma where terminals exhibit uncertainty about the cooperative behavior of other terminals in the network. Cooperation in social-dilemma is characterized by a suboptimal Nash equilibrium where wireless terminals opt out of cooperation. Hence, without establishing a mechanism to detect and mitigate effects of misbehavior, it is difficult to maintain a socially optimal cooperation. In this paper, we first examine effects of misbehavior assuming static game model and show that cooperation under existing cooperative protocols is characterized by a noncooperative Nash equilibrium. Using evolutionary game dynamics we show that a small number of mutants can successfully invade a population of cooperators, which indicates that misbehavior is an evolutionary stable strategy (ESS). Our main goal is to design a mechanism that would enable wireless terminals to select reliable partners in the presence of uncertainty. To this end, we formulate cooperative diversity as a dynamic game with incomplete information. We show that the proposed dynamic game formulation satisfied the conditions for the existence of perfect Bayesian equilibrium.

Combined Shuttle-Box Training with Electrophysiological Cortex Recording and Stimulation as a Tool to Study Perception and Learning.

PubMed

Happel, Max F K; Deliano, Matthias; Ohl, Frank W

2015-10-22

Shuttle-box avoidance learning is a well-established method in behavioral neuroscience and experimental setups were traditionally custom-made; the necessary equipment is now available by several commercial companies. This protocol provides a detailed description of a two-way shuttle-box avoidance learning paradigm in rodents (here Mongolian gerbils; Meriones unguiculatus) in combination with site-specific electrical intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) and simultaneous chronical electrophysiological in vivo recordings. The detailed protocol is applicable to study multiple aspects of learning behavior and perception in different rodent species. Site-specific ICMS of auditory cortical circuits as conditioned stimuli here is used as a tool to test the perceptual relevance of specific afferent, efferent and intracortical connections. Distinct activation patterns can be evoked by using different stimulation electrode arrays for local, layer-dependent ICMS or distant ICMS sites. Utilizing behavioral signal detection analysis it can be determined which stimulation strategy is most effective for eliciting a behaviorally detectable and salient signal. Further, parallel multichannel-recordings using different electrode designs (surface electrodes, depth electrodes, etc.) allow for investigating neuronal observables over the time course of such learning processes. It will be discussed how changes of the behavioral design can increase the cognitive complexity (e.g. detection, discrimination, reversal learning).

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation in Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy: A Protocol and Risk Mitigation Guide

PubMed Central

Gillick, Bernadette T.; Gordon, Andrew M.; Feyma, Tim; Krach, Linda E.; Carmel, Jason; Rich, Tonya L.; Bleyenheuft, Yannick; Friel, Kathleen

2018-01-01

Non-invasive brain stimulation has been increasingly investigated, mainly in adults, with the aims of influencing motor recovery after stroke. However, a consensus on safety and optimal study design has not been established in pediatrics. The low incidence of reported major adverse events in adults with and without clinical conditions has expedited the exploration of NIBS in children with paralleled purposes to influence motor skill development after neurological injury. Considering developmental variability in children, with or without a neurologic diagnosis, adult dosing and protocols may not be appropriate. The purpose of this paper is to present recommendations and tools for the prevention and mitigation of adverse events (AEs) during NIBS in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP). Our recommendations provide a framework for pediatric NIBS study design. The key components of this report on NIBS AEs are (a) a summary of related literature to provide the background evidence and (b) tools for anticipating and managing AEs from four international pediatric laboratories. These recommendations provide a preliminary guide for the assessment of safety and risk mitigation of NIBS in children with UCP. Consistent reporting of safety, feasibility, and tolerability will refine NIBS practice guidelines contributing to future clinical translations of NIBS. PMID:29616203

Development of Analytical Protocols For Organics and Isotopes Analysis on the 2009 MARS Science Laboratory.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahaffy, P. R.

2006-01-01

The Mars Science Laboratory, under development for launch in 2009, is designed explore and quantitatively asses a local region on Mars as a potential habitat for present or past life. Its ambitious goals are to (1) assess the past or present biological potential of the target environment, (2) to characterize the geology and geochemistry at the MSL landing site, and (3) to investigate planetary processes that influence habitability. The planned capabilities of the rover payload will enable a comprehensive search for organic molecules, a determination of definitive mineralogy of sampled rocks and fines, chemical and isotopic analysis of both atmospheric and solid samples, and precision isotope measurements of several volatile elements. A range of contact and remote surface and subsurface survey tools will establish context for these measurements and will facilitate sample identification and selection. The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite of MSL addresses several of the mission's core measurement goals. It includes a gas chromatograph, a mass spectrometer, and a tunable laser spectrometer. These instruments will be designed to analyze either atmospheric samples or gases extracted from solid phase samples such as rocks and fines. We will describe the range of measurement protocols under development and study by the SAM engineering and science teams for use on the surface of Mars.

Combined Shuttle-Box Training with Electrophysiological Cortex Recording and Stimulation as a Tool to Study Perception and Learning

PubMed Central

Happel, Max F.K.

2015-01-01

Shuttle-box avoidance learning is a well-established method in behavioral neuroscience and experimental setups were traditionally custom-made; the necessary equipment is now available by several commercial companies. This protocol provides a detailed description of a two-way shuttle-box avoidance learning paradigm in rodents (here Mongolian gerbils; Meriones unguiculatus) in combination with site-specific electrical intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) and simultaneous chronical electrophysiological in vivo recordings. The detailed protocol is applicable to study multiple aspects of learning behavior and perception in different rodent species. Site-specific ICMS of auditory cortical circuits as conditioned stimuli here is used as a tool to test the perceptual relevance of specific afferent, efferent and intracortical connections. Distinct activation patterns can be evoked by using different stimulation electrode arrays for local, layer-dependent ICMS or distant ICMS sites. Utilizing behavioral signal detection analysis it can be determined which stimulation strategy is most effective for eliciting a behaviorally detectable and salient signal. Further, parallel multichannel-recordings using different electrode designs (surface electrodes, depth electrodes, etc.) allow for investigating neuronal observables over the time course of such learning processes. It will be discussed how changes of the behavioral design can increase the cognitive complexity (e.g. detection, discrimination, reversal learning). PMID:26556300

Safe bunker designing for the 18 MV Varian 2100 Clinac: a comparison between Monte Carlo simulation based upon data and new protocol recommendations.

PubMed

Beigi, Manije; Afarande, Fatemeh; Ghiasi, Hosein

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare two bunkers designed by only protocols recommendations and Monte Carlo (MC) based upon data derived for an 18 MV Varian 2100Clinac accelerator. High energy radiation therapy is associated with fast and thermal photoneutrons. Adequate shielding against the contaminant neutron has been recommended by IAEA and NCRP new protocols. The latest protocols released by the IAEA (safety report No. 47) and NCRP report No. 151 were used for the bunker designing calculations. MC method based upon data was also derived. Two bunkers using protocols and MC upon data were designed and discussed. From designed door's thickness, the door designed by the MC simulation and Wu-McGinley analytical method was closer in both BPE and lead thickness. In the case of the primary and secondary barriers, MC simulation resulted in 440.11 mm for the ordinary concrete, total concrete thickness of 1709 mm was required. Calculating the same parameters value with the recommended analytical methods resulted in 1762 mm for the required thickness using 445 mm as recommended by TVL for the concrete. Additionally, for the secondary barrier the thickness of 752.05 mm was obtained. Our results showed MC simulation and the followed protocols recommendations in dose calculation are in good agreement in the radiation contamination dose calculation. Difference between the two analytical and MC simulation methods revealed that the application of only one method for the bunker design may lead to underestimation or overestimation in dose and shielding calculations.

Automation of a Nile red staining assay enables high throughput quantification of microalgal lipid production.

PubMed

Morschett, Holger; Wiechert, Wolfgang; Oldiges, Marco

2016-02-09

Within the context of microalgal lipid production for biofuels and bulk chemical applications, specialized higher throughput devices for small scale parallelized cultivation are expected to boost the time efficiency of phototrophic bioprocess development. However, the increasing number of possible experiments is directly coupled to the demand for lipid quantification protocols that enable reliably measuring large sets of samples within short time and that can deal with the reduced sample volume typically generated at screening scale. To meet these demands, a dye based assay was established using a liquid handling robot to provide reproducible high throughput quantification of lipids with minimized hands-on-time. Lipid production was monitored using the fluorescent dye Nile red with dimethyl sulfoxide as solvent facilitating dye permeation. The staining kinetics of cells at different concentrations and physiological states were investigated to successfully down-scale the assay to 96 well microtiter plates. Gravimetric calibration against a well-established extractive protocol enabled absolute quantification of intracellular lipids improving precision from ±8 to ±2 % on average. Implementation into an automated liquid handling platform allows for measuring up to 48 samples within 6.5 h, reducing hands-on-time to a third compared to manual operation. Moreover, it was shown that automation enhances accuracy and precision compared to manual preparation. It was revealed that established protocols relying on optical density or cell number for biomass adjustion prior to staining may suffer from errors due to significant changes of the cells' optical and physiological properties during cultivation. Alternatively, the biovolume was used as a measure for biomass concentration so that errors from morphological changes can be excluded. The newly established assay proved to be applicable for absolute quantification of algal lipids avoiding limitations of currently established protocols, namely biomass adjustment and limited throughput. Automation was shown to improve data reliability, as well as experimental throughput simultaneously minimizing the needed hands-on-time to a third. Thereby, the presented protocol meets the demands for the analysis of samples generated by the upcoming generation of devices for higher throughput phototrophic cultivation and thereby contributes to boosting the time efficiency for setting up algae lipid production processes.

Toward establishing model organisms for marine protists: Successful transfection protocols for Parabodo caudatus (Kinetoplastida: Excavata).

PubMed

Gomaa, Fatma; Garcia, Paulo A; Delaney, Jennifer; Girguis, Peter R; Buie, Cullen R; Edgcomb, Virginia P

2017-09-01

We developed protocols for, and demonstrated successful transfection of, the free-living kinetoplastid flagellate Parabodo caudatus with three plasmids carrying a fluorescence reporter gene (pEF-GFP with the EF1 alpha promoter, pUB-GFP with Ubiquitin C promoter, and pEYFP-Mitotrap with CMV promoter). We evaluated three electroporation approaches: (1) a square-wave electroporator designed for eukaryotes, (2) a novel microfluidic transfection system employing hydrodynamically-controlled electric field waveforms, and (3) a traditional exponential decay electroporator. We found the microfluidic device provides a simple and efficient platform to quickly test a wide range of electric field parameters to find the optimal set of conditions for electroporation of target species. It also allows for processing large sample volumes (>10 ml) within minutes, increasing throughput 100 times over cuvettes. Fluorescence signal from the reporter gene was detected a few hours after transfection and persisted for 3 days in cells transfected by pEF-GFP and pUB-GFP plasmids and for at least 5 days post-transfection for cells transfected with pEYFP-Mitotrap. Expression of the reporter genes (GFP and YFP) was also confirmed using reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). This work opens the door for further efforts with this taxon and close relatives toward establishing model systems for genome editing. © 2017 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Surface disinfection procedure and in vitro regeneration of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) axillary buds.

PubMed

Lazo-Javalera, M F; Troncoso-Rojas, R; Tiznado-Hernández, M E; Martínez-Tellez, M A; Vargas-Arispuro, I; Islas-Osuna, M A; Rivera-Domínguez, M

2016-01-01

Establishment of an efficient explants surface disinfection protocol is essential for in vitro cell and tissue culture as well as germplasm conservation, such as the case of Grapevine (Vitis spp.) culture. In this research, different procedures for disinfection and regeneration of field-grown grapevine cv. 'Flame seedless' axillary buds were evaluated. The buds were disinfected using either NaOCl or allyl, benzyl, phenyl and 2-phenylethyl isothiocyanates. Two different media for shooting and four media for rooting were tested. Shoot and root development per buds were registered. The best disinfection procedure with 90 % of tissue survival involved shaking for 60 min in a solution containing 20 % Clorox with 50 drops/L Triton(®) X-100. These tissues showed the potential to regenerate a complete plant. Plant regeneration was conducted using full strength Murashigue and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 8 µM benzyl aminopurine for shoot induction and multiplication, whereas rooting was obtained on half strength MS supplemented with 2 mg L(-1) of indole-3-butyric acid and 200 mg L(-1) of activated charcoal. In this work, it was designed the protocols for obtaining sterile field-grown grapevine buds and in vitro plant development. This methodology showed potential to produce vigorous and healthy plants in 5 weeks for clonal grapevine propagation. Regenerated plants were successfully established in soil.

A Discussion of the Issue of Football Helmet Removal in Suspected Cervical Spine Injuries

PubMed Central

Segan, Ross D.; Cassidy, Christine; Bentkowski, Jamie

1993-01-01

In some areas, it is a commonly accepted emergency medical technician protocol to remove a helmet during the initial management of suspected cervical spine injures. After a comprehensive survey of relevant literature, four primary reasons why Emergency Medical Services professionals would desire to remove a helmet emerge. Sources suggest that the presence of a helmet might: 1) interfere with immobilization of the athlete; 2) interfere with the ability to visualize injuries; 3) cause hyperflexion of the cervical spine; and 4) prevent proper airway management during a cardiorespiratory emergency. Many available protocols are designed for the removal of closed chamber motorcycle helmets that do not have removable face masks. There are a great number of differing viewpoints regarding this issue. The varying viewpoints are results of the failure of many emergency medical technician management protocols to address the unique situation presented by a football helmet. We: 1) demonstrate that football helmet removal is potentially dangerous and unnecessary, 2) suggest that cardiorespiratory emergencies can be effectively managed without removing the helmet, and 3) provide sports medicine professional with information that may be used to establish a joint Emergency Medical Services/Sports Medicine emergency action plan. ImagesFig. 1.Fig 2.Fig 3.Fig 4.Fig 5.Fig 6. PMID:16558244

Quantitative metabolomics of the thermophilic methylotroph Bacillus methanolicus.

PubMed

Carnicer, Marc; Vieira, Gilles; Brautaset, Trygve; Portais, Jean-Charles; Heux, Stephanie

2016-06-01

The gram-positive bacterium Bacillus methanolicus MGA3 is a promising candidate for methanol-based biotechnologies. Accurate determination of intracellular metabolites is crucial for engineering this bacteria into an efficient microbial cell factory. Due to the diversity of chemical and cell properties, an experimental protocol validated on B. methanolicus is needed. Here a systematic evaluation of different techniques for establishing a reliable basis for metabolome investigations is presented. Metabolome analysis was focused on metabolites closely linked with B. methanolicus central methanol metabolism. As an alternative to cold solvent based procedures, a solvent-free quenching strategy using stainless steel beads cooled to -20 °C was assessed. The precision, the consistency of the measurements, and the extent of metabolite leakage from quenched cells were evaluated in procedures with and without cell separation. The most accurate and reliable performance was provided by the method without cell separation, as significant metabolite leakage occurred in the procedures based on fast filtration. As a biological test case, the best protocol was used to assess the metabolome of B. methanolicus grown in chemostat on methanol at two different growth rates and its validity was demonstrated. The presented protocol is a first and helpful step towards developing reliable metabolomics data for thermophilic methylotroph B. methanolicus. This will definitely help for designing an efficient methylotrophic cell factory.

Secure quantum communication using classical correlated channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa, D.; de Almeida, N. G.; Villas-Boas, C. J.

2016-10-01

We propose a secure protocol to send quantum information from one part to another without a quantum channel. In our protocol, which resembles quantum teleportation, a sender (Alice) and a receiver (Bob) share classical correlated states instead of EPR ones, with Alice performing measurements in two different bases and then communicating her results to Bob through a classical channel. Our secure quantum communication protocol requires the same amount of classical bits as the standard quantum teleportation protocol. In our scheme, as in the usual quantum teleportation protocol, once the classical channel is established in a secure way, a spy (Eve) will never be able to recover the information of the unknown quantum state, even if she is aware of Alice's measurement results. Security, advantages, and limitations of our protocol are discussed and compared with the standard quantum teleportation protocol.

76 FR 24862 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Protocol for Access to Tissue Specimen Samples...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-03

... Collection; Comment Request; Protocol for Access to Tissue Specimen Samples From the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice... National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank (NMMTB) was established by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS...

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of two Serbian potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Dragacevka and cv. Jelica)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An efficient protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Serbian potato cultivars Dragacevka and Jelica, enabling the introduction of oryzacystatin genes OCI and OCII, was established. Starting with leaf explants a two-stage transformation protocol combining procedures of Webb and Wenzler...

Clinical Effectiveness of Incentive Spirometry for the Prevention of Postoperative Pulmonary Complications.

PubMed

Eltorai, Adam E M; Szabo, Ashley L; Antoci, Valentin; Ventetuolo, Corey E; Elias, Jack A; Daniels, Alan H; Hess, Dean R

2018-03-01

Incentive spirometry (IS) is commonly prescribed to reduce pulmonary complications, despite limited evidence to support its benefits and a lack of consensus on optimal protocols for its use. Although numerous studies and meta-analyses have examined the effects of IS on patient outcomes, there is no clear evidence establishing its benefit to prevent postoperative pulmonary complications. Clinical practice guidelines advise against the routine use of IS in postoperative care. Until evidence of benefit from well-designed clinical trials becomes available, the routine use of IS in postoperative care is not supported by high levels of evidence. Copyright © 2018 by Daedalus Enterprises.

Organic Contamination Baseline Study on NASA JSC Astromaterial Curation Gloveboxes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calaway, Michael J.; Allton, J. H.; Allen, C. C.; Burkett, P. J.

2013-01-01

Future planned sample return missions to carbon-rich asteroids and Mars in the next two decades will require strict handling and curation protocols as well as new procedures for reducing organic contamination. After the Apollo program, astromaterial collections have mainly been concerned with inorganic contamination [1-4]. However, future isolation containment systems for astromaterials, possibly nitrogen enriched gloveboxes, must be able to reduce organic and inorganic cross-contamination. In 2012, a baseline study was orchestrated to establish the current state of organic cleanliness in gloveboxes used by NASA JSC astromaterials curation labs that could be used as a benchmark for future mission designs.

Design of Interrogation Protocols for Radiation Dose Measurements Using Optically-Stimulated Luminescent Dosimeters.

PubMed

Abraham, Sara A; Kearfott, Kimberlee J; Jawad, Ali H; Boria, Andrew J; Buth, Tobias J; Dawson, Alexander S; Eng, Sheldon C; Frank, Samuel J; Green, Crystal A; Jacobs, Mitchell L; Liu, Kevin; Miklos, Joseph A; Nguyen, Hien; Rafique, Muhammad; Rucinski, Blake D; Smith, Travis; Tan, Yanliang

2017-03-01

Optically-stimulated luminescent dosimeters are capable of being interrogated multiple times post-irradiation. Each interrogation removes a fraction of the signal stored within the optically-stimulated luminescent dosimeter. This signal loss must be corrected to avoid systematic errors in estimating the average signal of a series of optically-stimulated luminescent dosimeter interrogations and requires a minimum number of consecutive readings to determine an average signal that is within a desired accuracy of the true signal with a desired statistical confidence. This paper establishes a technical basis for determining the required number of readings for a particular application of these dosimeters when using certain OSL dosimetry systems.

Fixed-time stabilization of impulsive Cohen-Grossberg BAM neural networks.

PubMed

Li, Hongfei; Li, Chuandong; Huang, Tingwen; Zhang, Wanli

2018-02-01

This article is concerned with the fixed-time stabilization for impulsive Cohen-Grossberg BAM neural networks via two different controllers. By using a novel constructive approach based on some comparison techniques for differential inequalities, an improvement theorem of fixed-time stability for impulsive dynamical systems is established. In addition, based on the fixed-time stability theorem of impulsive dynamical systems, two different control protocols are designed to ensure the fixed-time stabilization of impulsive Cohen-Grossberg BAM neural networks, which include and extend the earlier works. Finally, two simulations examples are provided to illustrate the validity of the proposed theoretical results. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robowell: An automated process for monitoring ground water quality using established sampling protocols

USGS Publications Warehouse

Granato, G.E.; Smith, K.P.

1999-01-01

Robowell is an automated process for monitoring selected ground water quality properties and constituents by pumping a well or multilevel sampler. Robowell was developed and tested to provide a cost-effective monitoring system that meets protocols expected for manual sampling. The process uses commercially available electronics, instrumentation, and hardware, so it can be configured to monitor ground water quality using the equipment, purge protocol, and monitoring well design most appropriate for the monitoring site and the contaminants of interest. A Robowell prototype was installed on a sewage treatment plant infiltration bed that overlies a well-studied unconfined sand and gravel aquifer at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, during a time when two distinct plumes of constituents were released. The prototype was operated from May 10 to November 13, 1996, and quality-assurance/quality-control measurements demonstrated that the data obtained by the automated method was equivalent to data obtained by manual sampling methods using the same sampling protocols. Water level, specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved ammonium were monitored by the prototype as the wells were purged according to U.S Geological Survey (USGS) ground water sampling protocols. Remote access to the data record, via phone modem communications, indicated the arrival of each plume over a few days and the subsequent geochemical reactions over the following weeks. Real-time availability of the monitoring record provided the information needed to initiate manual sampling efforts in response to changes in measured ground water quality, which proved the method and characterized the screened portion of the plume in detail through time. The methods and the case study described are presented to document the process for future use.

Standardized Protocol for Virtual Surgical Plan and 3-Dimensional Surgical Template-Assisted Single-Stage Mandible Contour Surgery.

PubMed

Fu, Xi; Qiao, Jia; Girod, Sabine; Niu, Feng; Liu, Jian Feng; Lee, Gordon K; Gui, Lai

2017-09-01

Mandible contour surgery, including reduction gonioplasty and genioplasty, has become increasingly popular in East Asia. However, it is technically challenging and, hence, leads to a long learning curve and high complication rates and often needs secondary revisions. The increasing use of 3-dimensional (3D) technology makes accurate single-stage mandible contour surgery with minimum complication rates possible with a virtual surgical plan (VSP) and 3-D surgical templates. This study is to establish a standardized protocol for VSP and 3-D surgical templates-assisted mandible contour surgery and evaluate the accuracy of the protocol. In this study, we enrolled 20 patients for mandible contour surgery. Our protocol is to perform VSP based on 3-D computed tomography data. Then, design and 3-D print surgical templates based on preoperative VSP. The accuracy of the method was analyzed by 3-D comparison of VSP and postoperative results using detailed computer analysis. All patients had symmetric, natural osteotomy lines and satisfactory facial ratios in a single-stage operation. The average relative error of VSP and postoperative result on the entire skull was 0.41 ± 0.13 mm. The average new left gonial error was 0.43 ± 0.77 mm. The average new right gonial error was 0.45 ± 0.69 mm. The average pognion error was 0.79 ± 1.21 mm. Patients were very satisfied with the aesthetic results. Surgeons were very satisfied with the performance of surgical templates to facilitate the operation. Our standardized protocol of VSP and 3-D printed surgical templates-assisted single-stage mandible contour surgery results in accurate, safe, and predictable outcome in a single stage.

Update of Ireland's national average indoor radon concentration - Application of a new survey protocol.

PubMed

Dowdall, A; Murphy, P; Pollard, D; Fenton, D

2017-04-01

In 2002, a National Radon Survey (NRS) in Ireland established that the geographically weighted national average indoor radon concentration was 89 Bq m -3 . Since then a number of developments have taken place which are likely to have impacted on the national average radon level. Key among these was the introduction of amending Building Regulations in 1998 requiring radon preventive measures in new buildings in High Radon Areas (HRAs). In 2014, the Irish Government adopted the National Radon Control Strategy (NRCS) for Ireland. A knowledge gap identified in the NRCS was to update the national average for Ireland given the developments since 2002. The updated national average would also be used as a baseline metric to assess the effectiveness of the NRCS over time. A new national survey protocol was required that would measure radon in a sample of homes representative of radon risk and geographical location. The design of the survey protocol took into account that it is not feasible to repeat the 11,319 measurements carried out for the 2002 NRS due to time and resource constraints. However, the existence of that comprehensive survey allowed for a new protocol to be developed, involving measurements carried out in unbiased randomly selected volunteer homes. This paper sets out the development and application of that survey protocol. The results of the 2015 survey showed that the current national average indoor radon concentration for homes in Ireland is 77 Bq m -3 , a decrease from the 89 Bq m -3 reported in the 2002 NRS. Analysis of the results by build date demonstrate that the introduction of the amending Building Regulations in 1998 have led to a reduction in the average indoor radon level in Ireland. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PANATIKI: A Network Access Control Implementation Based on PANA for IoT Devices

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Pedro Moreno; Lopez, Rafa Marin; Gomez Skarmeta, Antonio F.

2013-01-01

Internet of Things (IoT) networks are the pillar of recent novel scenarios, such as smart cities or e-healthcare applications. Among other challenges, these networks cover the deployment and interaction of small devices with constrained capabilities and Internet protocol (IP)-based networking connectivity. These constrained devices usually require connection to the Internet to exchange information (e.g., management or sensing data) or access network services. However, only authenticated and authorized devices can, in general, establish this connection. The so-called authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) services are in charge of performing these tasks on the Internet. Thus, it is necessary to deploy protocols that allow constrained devices to verify their credentials against AAA infrastructures. The Protocol for Carrying Authentication for Network Access (PANA) has been standardized by the Internet engineering task force (IETF) to carry the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), which provides flexible authentication upon the presence of AAA. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first deep study of the feasibility of EAP/PANA for network access control in constrained devices. We provide light-weight versions and implementations of these protocols to fit them into constrained devices. These versions have been designed to reduce the impact in standard specifications. The goal of this work is two-fold: (1) to demonstrate the feasibility of EAP/PANA in IoT devices; (2) to provide the scientific community with the first light-weight interoperable implementation of EAP/PANA for constrained devices in the Contiki operating system (Contiki OS), called PANATIKI. The paper also shows a testbed, simulations and experimental results obtained from real and simulated constrained devices. PMID:24189332

PANATIKI: a network access control implementation based on PANA for IoT devices.

PubMed

Moreno Sanchez, Pedro; Marin Lopez, Rafa; Gomez Skarmeta, Antonio F

2013-11-01

Internet of Things (IoT) networks are the pillar of recent novel scenarios, such as smart cities or e-healthcare applications. Among other challenges, these networks cover the deployment and interaction of small devices with constrained capabilities and Internet protocol (IP)-based networking connectivity. These constrained devices usually require connection to the Internet to exchange information (e.g., management or sensing data) or access network services. However, only authenticated and authorized devices can, in general, establish this connection. The so-called authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) services are in charge of performing these tasks on the Internet. Thus, it is necessary to deploy protocols that allow constrained devices to verify their credentials against AAA infrastructures. The Protocol for Carrying Authentication for Network Access (PANA) has been standardized by the Internet engineering task force (IETF) to carry the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), which provides flexible authentication upon the presence of AAA. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first deep study of the feasibility of EAP/PANA for network access control in constrained devices. We provide light-weight versions and implementations of these protocols to fit them into constrained devices. These versions have been designed to reduce the impact in standard specifications. The goal of this work is two-fold: (1) to demonstrate the feasibility of EAP/PANA in IoT devices; (2) to provide the scientific community with the first light-weight interoperable implementation of EAP/PANA for constrained devices in the Contiki operating system (Contiki OS), called PANATIKI. The paper also shows a testbed, simulations and experimental results obtained from real and simulated constrained devices.

Investigating nurse practitioners in the private sector: a theoretically informed research protocol.

PubMed

Adams, Margaret; Gardner, Glenn; Yates, Patsy

2017-06-01

To report a study protocol and the theoretical framework normalisation process theory that informs this protocol for a case study investigation of private sector nurse practitioners. Most research evaluating nurse practitioner service is focused on public, mainly acute care environments where nurse practitioner service is well established with strong structures for governance and sustainability. Conversely, there is lack of clarity in governance for emerging models in the private sector. In a climate of healthcare reform, nurse practitioner service is extending beyond the familiar public health sector. Further research is required to inform knowledge of the practice, operational framework and governance of new nurse practitioner models. The proposed research will use a multiple exploratory case study design to examine private sector nurse practitioner service. Data collection includes interviews, surveys and audits. A sequential mixed method approach to analysis of each case will be conducted. Findings from within-case analysis will lead to a meta-synthesis across all four cases to gain a holistic understanding of the cases under study, private sector nurse practitioner service. Normalisation process theory will be used to guide the research process, specifically coding and analysis of data using theory constructs and the relevant components associated with those constructs. This article provides a blueprint for the research and describes a theoretical framework, normalisation process theory in terms of its flexibility as an analytical framework. Consistent with the goals of best research practice, this study protocol will inform the research community in the field of primary health care about emerging research in this field. Publishing a study protocol ensures researcher fidelity to the analysis plan and supports research collaboration across teams. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Internetting tactical security sensor systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gage, Douglas W.; Bryan, W. D.; Nguyen, Hoa G.

1998-08-01

The Multipurpose Surveillance and Security Mission Platform (MSSMP) is a distributed network of remote sensing packages and control stations, designed to provide a rapidly deployable, extended-range surveillance capability for a wide variety of military security operations and other tactical missions. The baseline MSSMP sensor suite consists of a pan/tilt unit with video and FLIR cameras and laser rangefinder. With an additional radio transceiver, MSSMP can also function as a gateway between existing security/surveillance sensor systems such as TASS, TRSS, and IREMBASS, and IP-based networks, to support the timely distribution of both threat detection and threat assessment information. The MSSMP system makes maximum use of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components for sensing, processing, and communications, and of both established and emerging standard communications networking protocols and system integration techniques. Its use of IP-based protocols allows it to freely interoperate with the Internet -- providing geographic transparency, facilitating development, and allowing fully distributed demonstration capability -- and prepares it for integration with the IP-based tactical radio networks that will evolve in the next decade. Unfortunately, the Internet's standard Transport layer protocol, TCP, is poorly matched to the requirements of security sensors and other quasi- autonomous systems in being oriented to conveying a continuous data stream, rather than discrete messages. Also, its canonical 'socket' interface both conceals short losses of communications connectivity and simply gives up and forces the Application layer software to deal with longer losses. For MSSMP, a software applique is being developed that will run on top of User Datagram Protocol (UDP) to provide a reliable message-based Transport service. In addition, a Session layer protocol is being developed to support the effective transfer of control of multiple platforms among multiple control stations.

Study and Simulation of Enhancements for TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) Performance Over Noisy, High-Latency Links

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepard, Timothy J.; Partridge, Craig; Coulter, Robert

1997-01-01

The designers of the TCP/IP protocol suite explicitly included support of satellites in their design goals. The goal of the Internet Project was to design a protocol which could be layered over different networking technologies to allow them to be concatenated into an internet. The results of this project included two protocols, IP and TCP. IP is the protocol used by all elements in the network and it defines the standard packet format for IP datagrams. TCP is the end-to-end transport protocol commonly used between end systems on the Internet to derive a reliable bi-directional byte-pipe service from the underlying unreliable IP datagram service. Satellite links are explicitly mentioned in Vint Cerf's 2-page article which appeared in 1980 in CCR [2] to introduce the specifications for IP and TCP. In the past fifteen years, TCP has been demonstrated to work over many differing networking technologies, including over paths including satellites links. So if satellite links were in the minds of the designers from the beginning, what is the problem? The problem is that the performance of TCP has in some cases been disappointing. A goal of the authors of the original specification of TCP was to specify only enough behavior to ensure interoperability. The specification left a number of important decisions, in particular how much data is to be sent when, to the implementor. This was deliberately' done. By leaving performance-related decisions to the implementor, this would allow the protocol TCP to be tuned and adapted to different networks and situations in the future without the need to revise the specification of the protocol, or break interoperability. Interoperability would continue while future implementations would be allowed flexibility to adapt to needs which could not be anticipated at the time of the original protocol design.

In-Space Networking on NASA's SCAN Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brooks, David E.; Eddy, Wesley M.; Clark, Gilbert J.; Johnson, Sandra K.

2016-01-01

The NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed, an external payload onboard the International Space Station, is equipped with three software defined radios and a flight computer for supporting in-space communication research. New technologies being studied using the SCaN Testbed include advanced networking, coding, and modulation protocols designed to support the transition of NASAs mission systems from primarily point to point data links and preplanned routes towards adaptive, autonomous internetworked operations needed to meet future mission objectives. Networking protocols implemented on the SCaN Testbed include the Advanced Orbiting Systems (AOS) link-layer protocol, Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Encapsulation Packets, Internet Protocol (IP), Space Link Extension (SLE), CCSDS File Delivery Protocol (CFDP), and Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN) protocols including the Bundle Protocol (BP) and Licklider Transmission Protocol (LTP). The SCaN Testbed end-to-end system provides three S-band data links and one Ka-band data link to exchange space and ground data through NASAs Tracking Data Relay Satellite System or a direct-to-ground link to ground stations. The multiple data links and nodes provide several upgradable elements on both the space and ground systems. This paper will provide a general description of the testbeds system design and capabilities, discuss in detail the design and lessons learned in the implementation of the network protocols, and describe future plans for continuing research to meet the communication needs for evolving global space systems.

Review of the Medical Research Ethics Committee (MREC), National Research Center of Egypt, 2003-2011.

PubMed

Abdel-Aal, Wafaa; Ghaffar, Esmat Abdel; El Shabrawy, Osama

2013-10-01

Globally, ethical issues in research are becoming of major importance, being well established in developed countries with little information about research ethics committees (RECs) in Africa to assess whether these committees are actually improving the protection of human research participants. To describe the establishment, structure, function, operations and outcome of the Medical Research Ethics Committee (MREC) of the National Research Center (NRC) of Egypt from 2003 to 2011. The committee established its regulatory rules for human and animal research ethics based on the Declaration of Helsinki 2000-2008 and WHO regulations 2000-2011. There were 974 protocols revised in the 7 years (2005-2011). The outcome of the committee discussions was to clear 262 of the protocols without conditions. A full 556 were cleared conditionally upon completion of modifications. Another 118 were deferred pending action and further consideration at a subsequent meeting. And 16 researchers did not reply, while 22 protocols were rejected. Since 2005, the MREC in NRC Egypt has built up considerable experience of evaluating the ethical issues arising within the field of medical research.

Rethinking the NTCIP Design and Protocols - Analyzing the Issues

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-03-03

This working paper discusses the issues involved in changing the current draft NTCIP standard from an X.25-based protocol stack to an Internet-based protocol stack. It contains a methodology which could be used to change NTCIP's base protocols. This ...

Planning and setting objectives in field studies: Chapter 2

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fisher, Robert N.; Dodd, C. Kenneth

2016-01-01

This chapter enumerates the steps required in designing and planning field studies on the ecology and conservation of reptiles, as these involve a high level of uncertainty and risk. To this end, the chapter differentiates between goals (descriptions of what one intends to accomplish) and objectives (the measurable steps required to achieve the established goals). Thus, meeting a specific goal may require many objectives. It may not be possible to define some of them until certain experiments have been conducted; often evaluations of sampling protocols are needed to increase certainty in the biological results. And if sampling locations are fixed and sampling events are repeated over time, then both study-specific covariates and sampling-specific covariates should exist. Additionally, other critical design considerations for field study include obtaining permits, as well as researching ethics and biosecurity issues.

Research standardization tools: pregnancy measures in the PhenX Toolkit.

PubMed

Malinowski, Ann Kinga; Ananth, Cande V; Catalano, Patrick; Hines, Erin P; Kirby, Russell S; Klebanoff, Mark A; Mulvihill, John J; Simhan, Hyagriv; Hamilton, Carol M; Hendershot, Tabitha P; Phillips, Michael J; Kilpatrick, Lisa A; Maiese, Deborah R; Ramos, Erin M; Wright, Rosalind J; Dolan, Siobhan M

2017-09-01

Only through concerted and well-executed research endeavors can we gain the requisite knowledge to advance pregnancy care and have a positive impact on maternal and newborn health. Yet the heterogeneity inherent in individual studies limits our ability to compare and synthesize study results, thus impeding the capacity to draw meaningful conclusions that can be trusted to inform clinical care. The PhenX Toolkit (http://www.phenxtoolkit.org), supported since 2007 by the National Institutes of Health, is a web-based catalog of standardized protocols for measuring phenotypes and exposures relevant for clinical research. In 2016, a working group of pregnancy experts recommended 15 measures for the PhenX Toolkit that are highly relevant to pregnancy research. The working group followed the established PhenX consensus process to recommend protocols that are broadly validated, well established, nonproprietary, and have a relatively low burden for investigators and participants. The working group considered input from the pregnancy experts and the broader research community and included measures addressing the mode of conception, gestational age, fetal growth assessment, prenatal care, the mode of delivery, gestational diabetes, behavioral and mental health, and environmental exposure biomarkers. These pregnancy measures complement the existing measures for other established domains in the PhenX Toolkit, including reproductive health, anthropometrics, demographic characteristics, and alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. The preceding domains influence a woman's health during pregnancy. For each measure, the PhenX Toolkit includes data dictionaries and data collection worksheets that facilitate incorporation of the protocol into new or existing studies. The measures within the pregnancy domain offer a valuable resource to investigators and clinicians and are well poised to facilitate collaborative pregnancy research with the goal to improve patient care. To achieve this aim, investigators whose work includes the perinatal population are encouraged to utilize the PhenX Toolkit in the design and implementation of their studies, thus potentially reducing heterogeneity in data measures across studies. Such an effort will enhance the overall impact of individual studies, increasing the ability to draw more meaningful conclusions that can then be translated into clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Computational Enzyme Design: Advances, hurdles and possible ways forward

PubMed Central

Linder, Mats

2012-01-01

This mini review addresses recent developments in computational enzyme design. Successful protocols as well as known issues and limitations are discussed from an energetic perspective. It will be argued that improved results can be obtained by including a dynamic treatment in the design protocol. Finally, a molecular dynamics-based approach for evaluating and refining computational designs is presented. PMID:24688650

The mesenchymal stem cells in multiple sclerosis (MSCIMS) trial protocol and baseline cohort characteristics: an open-label pre-test: post-test study with blinded outcome assessments.

PubMed

Connick, Peter; Kolappan, Madhan; Patani, Rickie; Scott, Michael A; Crawley, Charles; He, Xiao-Ling; Richardson, Karen; Barber, Kelly; Webber, Daniel J; Wheeler-Kingshott, Claudia A M; Tozer, Daniel J; Samson, Rebecca S; Thomas, David L; Du, Ming-Qing; Luan, Shi L; Michell, Andrew W; Altmann, Daniel R; Thompson, Alan J; Miller, David H; Compston, Alastair; Chandran, Siddharthan

2011-03-02

No treatments are currently available that slow, stop, or reverse disease progression in established multiple sclerosis (MS). The Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Multiple Sclerosis (MSCIMS) trial tests the safety and feasibility of treatment with a candidate cell-based therapy, and will inform the wider challenge of designing early phase clinical trials to evaluate putative neuroprotective therapies in progressive MS. Illustrated by the MSCIMS trial protocol, we describe a novel methodology based on detailed assessment of the anterior visual pathway as a model of wider disease processes--the "sentinel lesion approach". MSCIMS is a phase IIA study of autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in secondary progressive MS. A pre-test : post-test design is used with healthy controls providing normative data for inter-session variability. Complementary eligibility criteria and outcomes are used to select participants with disease affecting the anterior visual pathway. Ten participants with MS and eight healthy controls were recruited between October 2008 and March 2009. Mesenchymal stem cells were successfully isolated, expanded and characterised in vitro for all participants in the treatment arm. In addition to determining the safety and feasibility of the intervention and informing design of future studies to address efficacy, MSCIMS adopts a novel strategy for testing neuroprotective agents in MS--the sentinel lesion approach--serving as proof of principle for its future wider applicability. ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00395200).

PNA-COMBO-FISH: From combinatorial probe design in silico to vitality compatible, specific labelling of gene targets in cell nuclei

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

Müller, Patrick; Rößler, Jens; Schwarz-Finsterle, Jutta

Recently, advantages concerning targeting specificity of PCR constructed oligonucleotide FISH probes in contrast to established FISH probes, e.g. BAC clones, have been demonstrated. These techniques, however, are still using labelling protocols with DNA denaturing steps applying harsh heat treatment with or without further denaturing chemical agents. COMBO-FISH (COMBinatorial Oligonucleotide FISH) allows the design of specific oligonucleotide probe combinations in silico. Thus, being independent from primer libraries or PCR laboratory conditions, the probe sequences extracted by computer sequence data base search can also be synthesized as single stranded PNA-probes (Peptide Nucleic Acid probes). Gene targets can be specifically labelled with atmore » least about 20 PNA-probes obtaining visibly background free specimens. By using appropriately designed triplex forming oligonucleotides, the denaturing procedures can completely be omitted. These results reveal a significant step towards oligonucleotide-FISH maintaining the 3D-nanostructure and even the viability of the cell target. The method is demonstrated with the detection of Her2/neu and GRB7 genes, which are indicators in breast cancer diagnosis and therapy. - Highlights: • Denaturation free protocols preserve 3D architecture of chromosomes and nuclei. • Labelling sets are determined in silico for duplex and triplex binding. • Probes are produced chemically with freely chosen backbones and base variants. • Peptide nucleic acid backbones reduce hindering charge interactions. • Intercalating side chains stabilize binding of short oligonucleotides.« less

Authenticated Quantum Key Distribution with Collective Detection using Single Photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Wei; Xu, Bing-Jie; Duan, Ji-Tong; Liu, Bin; Su, Qi; He, Yuan-Hang; Jia, Heng-Yue

2016-10-01

We present two authenticated quantum key distribution (AQKD) protocols by utilizing the idea of collective (eavesdropping) detection. One is a two-party AQKD protocol, the other is a multiparty AQKD protocol with star network topology. In these protocols, the classical channels need not be assumed to be authenticated and the single photons are used as the quantum information carriers. To achieve mutual identity authentication and establish a random key in each of the proposed protocols, only one participant should be capable of preparing and measuring single photons, and the main quantum ability that the rest of the participants should have is just performing certain unitary operations. Security analysis shows that these protocols are free from various kinds of attacks, especially the impersonation attack and the man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack.

Why You Should Establish a Connection to the Internet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Judy A.; Misic, Mark M.

1996-01-01

Provides the rationale for establishing a connection to the Internet. Describes Internet services, including e-mail, telnet, file transfer protocol (FTP), USENET, gopher, Archie, and World Wide Web. Identifies reasons why the Internet is a valuable tool. Outlines steps for establishing a connection and discusses the future of the Internet. A…

A technology training protocol for meeting QSEN goals: Focusing on meaningful learning.

PubMed

Luo, Shuhong; Kalman, Melanie

2018-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss how we designed and developed a 12-step technology training protocol. The protocol is meant to improve meaningful learning in technology education so that nursing students are able to meet the informatics requirements of Quality and Safety Education in Nursing competencies. When designing and developing the training protocol, we used a simplified experiential learning model that addressed the core features of meaningful learning: to connect new knowledge with students' prior knowledge and real-world workflow. Before training, we identified students' prior knowledge and workflow tasks. During training, students learned by doing, reflected on their prior computer skills and workflow, designed individualized procedures for integration into their workflow, and practiced the self-designed procedures in real-world settings. The trainer was a facilitator who provided a meaningful learning environment, asked the right questions to guide reflective conversation, and offered scaffoldings at critical moments. This training protocol could significantly improve nurses' competencies in using technologies and increase their desire to adopt new technologies. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Novel Cross-Layer Routing Protocol Based on Network Coding for Underwater Sensor Networks.

PubMed

Wang, Hao; Wang, Shilian; Bu, Renfei; Zhang, Eryang

2017-08-08

Underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) have attracted increasing attention in recent years because of their numerous applications in ocean monitoring, resource discovery and tactical surveillance. However, the design of reliable and efficient transmission and routing protocols is a challenge due to the low acoustic propagation speed and complex channel environment in UWSNs. In this paper, we propose a novel cross-layer routing protocol based on network coding (NCRP) for UWSNs, which utilizes network coding and cross-layer design to greedily forward data packets to sink nodes efficiently. The proposed NCRP takes full advantages of multicast transmission and decode packets jointly with encoded packets received from multiple potential nodes in the entire network. The transmission power is optimized in our design to extend the life cycle of the network. Moreover, we design a real-time routing maintenance protocol to update the route when detecting inefficient relay nodes. Substantial simulations in underwater environment by Network Simulator 3 (NS-3) show that NCRP significantly improves the network performance in terms of energy consumption, end-to-end delay and packet delivery ratio compared with other routing protocols for UWSNs.

Biobanking of patient and patient-derived xenograft ovarian tumour tissue: efficient preservation with low and high fetal calf serum based methods.

PubMed

Alkema, Nicolette G; Tomar, Tushar; Duiker, Evelien W; Jan Meersma, Gert; Klip, Harry; van der Zee, Ate G J; Wisman, G Bea A; de Jong, Steven

2015-10-06

Using patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) for preclinical cancer research demands proper storage of tumour material to facilitate logistics and to reduce the number of animals needed. We successfully established 45 subcutaneous ovarian cancer PDXs, reflecting all histological subtypes, with an overall take rate of 68%. Corresponding cells from mouse replaced human tumour stromal and endothelial cells in second generation PDXs as demonstrated with mouse-specific vimentin and CD31 immunohistochemical staining. For biobanking purposes two cryopreservation methods, a fetal calf serum (FCS)-based (95%v/v) "FCS/DMSO" protocol and a low serum-based (10%v/v) "vitrification" protocol were tested. After primary cryopreservation, tumour take rates were 38% and 67% using either the vitrification or FCS/DMSO-based cryopreservation protocol, respectively. Cryopreserved tumour tissue of established PDXs achieved take rates of 67% and 94%, respectively compared to 91% using fresh PDX tumour tissue. Genotyping analysis showed that no changes in copy number alterations were introduced by any of the biobanking methods. Our results indicate that both protocols can be used for biobanking of ovarian tumour and PDX tissues. However, FCS/DMSO-based cryopreservation is more successful. Moreover, primary engraftment of fresh patient-derived tumours in mice followed by freezing tissue of successfully established PDXs is the preferred way of efficient ovarian cancer PDX biobanking.

Entanglement percolation on a quantum internet with scale-free and clustering characters

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

Wu Liang; Zhu Shiqun

The applicability of entanglement percolation protocol to real Internet structure is investigated. If the current Internet can be used directly in the quantum regime, the protocol can provide a way to establish long-distance entanglement when the links are pure nonmaximally entangled states. This applicability is primarily due to the combination of scale-free degree distribution and a high level of clustering, both of which are widely observed in many natural and artificial networks including the current Internet. It suggests that the topology of real Internet may play an important role in entanglement establishment.

Entanglement percolation on a quantum internet with scale-free and clustering characters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Liang; Zhu, Shiqun

2011-11-01

The applicability of entanglement percolation protocol to real Internet structure is investigated. If the current Internet can be used directly in the quantum regime, the protocol can provide a way to establish long-distance entanglement when the links are pure nonmaximally entangled states. This applicability is primarily due to the combination of scale-free degree distribution and a high level of clustering, both of which are widely observed in many natural and artificial networks including the current Internet. It suggests that the topology of real Internet may play an important role in entanglement establishment.

An Approach for Performance Based Glove Mobility Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aitchison, Lindsay; Benson, Elizabeth; England, Scott

2016-01-01

The Space Suit Assembly (SSA) Development Team at NASA Johnson Space Center has invested heavily in the advancement of rear-entry planetary exploration suit design but largely deferred development of extravehicular activity (EVA) glove designs, and accepted the risk of using the current flight gloves, Phase VI, for exploration missions. However, as design reference missions mature, the risks of using heritage hardware have highlighted the need for developing robust new glove technologies. To address the technology gap, the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate's Game-Changing Development Program provided start-up funding for the High Performance EVA Glove (HPEG) Element as part of the Next Generation Life Support (NGLS) Project in the fall of 2013. The overarching goal of the HPEG Element is to develop a robust glove design that increases human performance during EVA and creates pathway for implementation of emergent technologies, with specific aims of increasing pressurized mobility to 60% of barehanded capability, increasing the durability in on-pristine environments, and decreasing the potential of gloves to cause injury during use. The HPEG Element focused initial efforts on developing quantifiable and repeatable methodologies for assessing glove performance with respect to mobility, injury potential, thermal conductivity, and abrasion resistance. The team used these methodologies to establish requirements against which emerging technologies and glove designs can be assessed at both the component and assembly levels. The mobility performance testing methodology was an early focus for the HPEG team as it stems from collaborations between the SSA Development team and the JSC Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility (ABF) that began investigating new methods for suited mobility and fit early in the Constellation Program. The combined HPEG and ABF team used lessons learned from the previous efforts as well as additional reviews of methodologies in physical and occupational therapy arenas to develop a protocol that assesses gloved range of motion, strength, dexterity, tactility, and fit in comparative quantitative terms and also provides qualitative insight to direct hardware design iterations. The protocol was evaluated using five experienced test subjects wearing the EMU pressurized to 4.3psid with three different glove configurations. The results of the testing are presented to illustrate where the protocol is and is not valid for benchmark comparisons. The process for requirements development based upon the results is also presented along with suggested performance values for the High Performance EVA Gloves currently in development.

An Approach for Performance Based Glove Mobility Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aitchison, Lindsay; Benson, Elizabeth; England, Scott

2015-01-01

The Space Suit Assembly (SSA) Development Team at NASA Johnson Space Center has invested heavily in the advancement of rear-entry planetary exploration suit design but largely deferred development of extravehicular activity (EVA) glove designs, and accepted the risk of using the current flight gloves, Phase VI, for exploration missions. However, as design reference missions mature, the risks of using heritage hardware have highlighted the need for developing robust new glove technologies. To address the technology gap, the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate's Game-Changing Development Program provided start-up funding for the High Performance EVA Glove (HPEG) Element as part of the Next Generation Life Support (NGLS) Project in the fall of 2013. The overarching goal of the HPEG Element is to develop a robust glove design that increases human performance during EVA and creates pathway for implementation of emergent technologies, with specific aims of increasing pressurized mobility to 60% of barehanded capability, increasing the durability in on-pristine environments, and decreasing the potential of gloves to cause injury during use. The HPEG Element focused initial efforts on developing quantifiable and repeatable methodologies for assessing glove performance with respect to mobility, injury potential, thermal conductivity, and abrasion resistance. The team used these methodologies to establish requirements against which emerging technologies and glove designs can be assessed at both the component and assembly levels. The mobility performance testing methodology was an early focus for the HPEG team as it stems from collaborations between the SSA Development team and the JSC Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility (ABF) that began investigating new methods for suited mobility and fit early in the Constellation Program. The combined HPEG and ABF team used lessons learned from the previous efforts as well as additional reviews of methodologies in physical and occupational therapy arenas to develop a protocol that assesses gloved range of motion, strength, dexterity, tactility, and fit in comparative quantitative terms and also provides qualitative insight to direct hardware design iterations. The protocol was evaluated using five experienced test subjects wearing the EMU pressurized to 4.3psid with three different glove configurations. The results of the testing are presented to illustrate where the protocol is and is not valid for benchmark comparisons. The process for requirements development based upon the results is also presented along with suggested performance values for the High Performance EVA Gloves to be procured in fiscal year 2015.

Implementation of a 5-Minute Magnetic Resonance Imaging Screening Protocol for Prostate Cancer in Men With Elevated Prostate-Specific Antigen Before Biopsy.

PubMed

Weiss, Jakob; Martirosian, Petros; Notohamiprodjo, Mike; Kaufmann, Sascha; Othman, Ahmed E; Grosse, Ulrich; Nikolaou, Konstantin; Gatidis, Sergios

2018-03-01

The aims of this study were to establish a 5-minute magnetic resonance (MR) screening protocol for prostate cancer in men before biopsy and to evaluate effects on Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) V2 scoring in comparison to a conventional, fully diagnostic multiparametric MR imaging (mpMRI) approach. Fifty-two patients with elevated prostate-specific antigen levels and without prior biopsy were prospectively included in this institutional review board-approved study. In all patients, an mpMRI protocol according to the PI-RADS recommendations was acquired on a 3 T MRI system. In addition, an accelerated diffusion-weighted imaging sequence was acquired using simultaneous multislice technique (DW-EPISMS). Two readers independently evaluated the images for the presence/absence of prostate cancer according to the PI-RADS criteria and for additional findings. In a first reading session, only the screening protocol consisting of axial T2-weighted and DW-EPISMS images was made available. In a subsequent reading session, the mpMRI protocol was assessed blinded to the results of the first reading, serving as reference standard. Both readers successfully established a final diagnosis according to the PI-RADS criteria in the screening and mpMRI protocol. Mean lesion size was 1.2 cm in the screening and 1.4 cm in the mpMRI protocol (P = 0.4) with 35% (18/52) of PI-RADS IV/V lesions. Diagnostic performance of the screening protocol was excellent with a sensitivity and specificity of 100% for both readers with no significant differences in comparison to the mpMRI standard (P = 1.0). In 3 patients, suspicious lymph nodes were reported as additional finding, which were equally detectable in the screening and mpMRI protocol. A 5-minute MR screening protocol for prostate cancer in men with elevated prostate-specific antigen levels before biopsy is applicable for clinical routine with similar diagnostic performance as the full diagnostic mpMRI approach.

77 FR 47707 - Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS): Physical Condition Scoring Notice and Revised Dictionary...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-09

... Standards (UPCS) inspection protocol was designed to be a uniform inspection process and standard for HUD's... frequency of inspections based on the results the UPCS inspection. UPCS was designed to assess the condition... physical assessment score. HUD Response: The UPCS inspection protocol as designed assesses the physical...

Safe bunker designing for the 18 MV Varian 2100 Clinac: a comparison between Monte Carlo simulation based upon data and new protocol recommendations

PubMed Central

Beigi, Manije; Afarande, Fatemeh; Ghiasi, Hosein

2016-01-01

Aim The aim of this study was to compare two bunkers designed by only protocols recommendations and Monte Carlo (MC) based upon data derived for an 18 MV Varian 2100Clinac accelerator. Background High energy radiation therapy is associated with fast and thermal photoneutrons. Adequate shielding against the contaminant neutron has been recommended by IAEA and NCRP new protocols. Materials and methods The latest protocols released by the IAEA (safety report No. 47) and NCRP report No. 151 were used for the bunker designing calculations. MC method based upon data was also derived. Two bunkers using protocols and MC upon data were designed and discussed. Results From designed door's thickness, the door designed by the MC simulation and Wu–McGinley analytical method was closer in both BPE and lead thickness. In the case of the primary and secondary barriers, MC simulation resulted in 440.11 mm for the ordinary concrete, total concrete thickness of 1709 mm was required. Calculating the same parameters value with the recommended analytical methods resulted in 1762 mm for the required thickness using 445 mm as recommended by TVL for the concrete. Additionally, for the secondary barrier the thickness of 752.05 mm was obtained. Conclusion Our results showed MC simulation and the followed protocols recommendations in dose calculation are in good agreement in the radiation contamination dose calculation. Difference between the two analytical and MC simulation methods revealed that the application of only one method for the bunker design may lead to underestimation or overestimation in dose and shielding calculations. PMID:26900357

Rendezvous Protocols and Dynamic Frequency Hopping Interference Design for Anti-Jamming Satellite Communication

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-11-25

previously considered this proactive approach to combat unintentional, persistent (non- reactive) interference . In this project, we plan on extending our...channel” (or code ) by chance, through public knowledge of the underlying protocol semantics , or by compromising one of the network devices. An alternative...AFRL-RV-PS- AFRL-RV-PS- TR-2013-0142 TR-2013-0142 RENDEZVOUS PROTOCOLS AND DYNAMIC FREQUENCY HOPPING INTERFERENCE DESIGN FOR ANTI-JAMMING

Patient and professional user experiences of simple telehealth for hypertension, medication reminders and smoking cessation: a service evaluation

PubMed Central

Cottrell, Elizabeth; Cox, Tracey; O'Connell, Phil; Chambers, Ruth

2015-01-01

Objectives To establish patient and professional user satisfaction with the Advice & Interactive Messaging (AIM) for Health programme delivered using a mobile phone-based, simple telehealth intervention, ‘Florence’. Design A service evaluation using data extracted from Florence and from a professional user electronic survey. Setting 425 primary care practices across 31 Clinical Commissioning Groups in England. Participants 3381 patients registered on 1 of 10 AIM protocols between March 2013 and January 2014 and 77 professional users. Intervention The AIM programme offered 10 clinical protocols, in three broad groups: (1) hypertension diagnosis/monitoring, (2) medication reminders and (3) smoking cessation. Florence sent patients prompts to submit clinical information, educational messages and user satisfaction questions. Patient responses were reviewed by their primary healthcare providers. Primary outcome measures Patients and professional user experiences of using AIM, and within this, Florence. Results Patient activity using Florence was generally good at month 1 for the hypertension protocols (71–80%), but reduced over 2–3 months (31–60%). For the other protocols, patient activity was 0–39% at 3 months. Minimum target days of texting were met for half the hypertension protocols. 1707/2304 (74%) patients sent evaluative texts responded at least once. Among responders, agreement with the adapted friends and family statement generally exceeded preproject aspirations. Professional responders were generally positive or equivocal about the programme. Conclusions Satisfaction with AIM appeared optimal when patients were carefully selected for the protocol; professional users were familiar with the system, the programme addressed a problem with the previous service delivery that was identified by users and users took an active approach to achieve clinical goals. However, there was a significant decrease in patients’ use of Florence over time. Future applications may be optimised by identifying and addressing reasons for the waning use of the service and enhancing support during implementation of the service. PMID:25795698

Effects of strongman training on salivary testosterone levels in a sample of trained men.

PubMed

Ghigiarelli, Jamie J; Sell, Katie M; Raddock, Jessica M; Taveras, Kurt

2013-03-01

Strongman exercises consist of multi-joint movements that incorporate large muscle mass groups and impose a substantial amount of neuromuscular stress. The purpose of this study was to examine salivary testosterone responses from 2 novel strongman training (ST) protocols in comparison with an established hypertrophic (H) protocol reported to acutely elevate testosterone levels. Sixteen men (24 ± 4.4 years, 181.2 ± 6.8 cm, and 95.3 ± 20.3 kg) volunteered to participate in this study. Subjects completed 3 protocols designed to ensure equal total volume (sets and repetitions), rest period, and intensity between the groups. Exercise sets were performed to failure. Exercise selection and intensity (3 sets × 10 repetitions at 75% 1 repetition maximum) were chosen as they reflected commonly prescribed resistance exercise protocols recognized to elicit a large acute hormonal response. In each of the protocols, subjects were required to perform 3 sets to muscle failure of 5 different exercises (tire flip, chain drag, farmers walk, keg carry, and atlas stone lift) with a 2-minute rest interval between sets and a 3-minute rest interval between exercises. Saliva samples were collected pre-exercise (PRE), immediate postexercise (PST), and 30 minutes postexercise (30PST). Delta scores indicated a significant difference between PRE and PST testosterone level within each group (p ≤ 0.05), with no significant difference between the groups. Testosterone levels spiked 136% (225.23 ± 148.01 pg·ml(-1)) for the H group, 74% (132.04 ± 98.09 pg·ml(-1)) for the ST group, and 54% (122.10 ± 140.67 pg·ml) for the mixed strongman/hypertrophy (XST) group. A significant difference for testosterone level occurred over time (PST to 30PST) for the H group p ≤ 0.05. In conclusion, ST elicits an acute endocrine response similar to a recognized H protocol when equated for duration and exercise intensity.

Guided Internet-based versus face-to-face clinical care in the management of tinnitus: study protocol for a multi-centre randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Beukes, Eldré W; Baguley, David M; Allen, Peter M; Manchaiah, Vinaya; Andersson, Gerhard

2017-04-21

Innovative strategies are required to improve access to evidence-based tinnitus interventions. A guided Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) intervention for tinnitus was therefore developed for a U.K. Initial clinical trials indicated efficacy of iCBT at reducing tinnitus severity and associated comorbidities such as insomnia and depression. The aim of this phase III randomised controlled trial is to compare this new iCBT intervention with an established intervention, namely face-to-face clinical care for tinnitus. This will be a multi-centre study undertaken across three hospitals in the East of England. The design is a randomised, two-arm, parallel-group, non-inferiority trial with a 2-month follow-up. The experimental group will receive the guided iCBT intervention, whereas the active control group will receive the usual face-to-face clinical care. An independent researcher will randomly assign participants, using a computer-generated randomisation schedule, after stratification for tinnitus severity. There will be 46 participants in each group. The primary assessment measure will be the Tinnitus Functional Index. Data analysis will establish whether non-inferiority is achieved using a pre-defined non-inferiority margin. This protocol outlines phase III of a clinical trial comparing a new iCBT with established face-to-face care for tinnitus. If guided iCBT for tinnitus proves to be as effective as the usual tinnitus care, it may be a viable additional management route for individuals with tinnitus. This could increase access to evidence-based effective tinnitus care and reduce the pressures on existing health care systems. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02665975 . Registered on 22 January 2016.

Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol: Volume II: Supplementary methods, statistics, and data collection

Treesearch

Deborah S. Page-Dumroese; Ann M. Abbott; Thomas M. Rice

2009-01-01

Volume I and volume II of the Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol (FSDMP) provide information for a wide range of users, including technicians, field crew leaders, private landowners, land managers, forest professionals, and researchers. Volume I: Rapid Assessment includes the basic methods for establishing forest soil monitoring transects and consistently...

A Key Establishment Protocol for RFID User in IPTV Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Yoon-Su; Kim, Yong-Tae; Sohn, Jae-Min; Park, Gil-Cheol; Lee, Sang-Ho

In recent years, the usage of IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) has been increased. The reason is a technological convergence of broadcasting and telecommunication delivering interactive applications and multimedia content through high speed Internet connections. The main critical point of IPTV security requirements is subscriber authentication. That is, IPTV service should have the capability to identify the subscribers to prohibit illegal access. Currently, IPTV service does not provide a sound authentication mechanism to verify the identity of its wireless users (or devices). This paper focuses on a lightweight authentication and key establishment protocol based on the use of hash functions. The proposed approach provides effective authentication for a mobile user with a RFID tag whose authentication information is communicated back and forth with the IPTV authentication server via IPTV set-top box (STB). That is, the proposed protocol generates user's authentication information that is a bundle of two public keys derived from hashing user's private keys and RFID tag's session identifier, and adds 1bit to this bundled information for subscriber's information confidentiality before passing it to the authentication server.

Establishing rational networking using the DL04 quantum secure direct communication protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Huawang; Tang, Wallace K. S.; Tso, Raylin

2018-06-01

The first rational quantum secure direct communication scheme is proposed, in which we use the game theory with incomplete information to model the rational behavior of the participant, and give the strategy space and utility function. The rational participant can get his maximal utility when he performs the protocol faithfully, and then the Nash equilibrium of the protocol can be achieved. Compared to the traditional schemes, our scheme will be more practical in the presence of rational participant.

Expansion of U.S. emergency medical service routing for stroke care: 2000-2010.

PubMed

Hanks, Natalie; Wen, Ge; He, Shuhan; Song, Sarah; Saver, Jeffrey L; Cen, Steven; Kim-Tenser, May; Mack, William; Sanossian, Nerses

2014-07-01

Organized stroke systems of care include preferential emergency medical services (EMS) routing to deliver suspected stroke patients to designated hospitals. To characterize the growth and implementation of EMS routing of stroke nationwide, we describe the proportion of stroke hospitalizations in the United States (U.S.) occurring within regions having adopted these protocols. We collected data on ischemic stroke using International Classification of Diseases-9 (ICD-9) coding from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from the years 2000-2010. The NIS contains all discharge data from 1,051 hospitals located in 45 states, approximating a 20% stratified sample. We obtained data on EMS systems of care from a review of archives, reports, and interviews with state emergency medical services (EMS) officials. A county or state was considered to be in transition if the protocol was adopted in the calendar year, with establishment in the year following transition. Nationwide, stroke hospitalizations remained constant over the course of the study period: 583,000 in 2000 and 573,000 in 2010. From 2000-2003 there were no states or counties participating in the NIS with EMS systems of care. The proportion of U.S. stroke hospitalizations occurring in jurisdictions with established EMS regional systems of acute stroke care increased steadily from 2004 to 2010 (1%, 13%, 28%, 30%, 30%, 34%, 49%). In 2010, 278,538 stroke hospitalizations, 49% of all U.S. stroke hospitalizations, occurred in areas with established EMS routing, with an additional 18,979 (3%) patients in regions undergoing a transition to EMS routing. In 2010, a majority of stroke patients in the U.S. were hospitalized in states with established or transitioning to organized stroke systems of care. This milestone coverage of half the U.S. population is a major advance in systematic stroke care and emphasizes the need for novel approaches to further extend access to stroke center care to all patients.

Sleeping Well Trial: Increasing the effectiveness of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure using a weight management program in overweight adults with obstructive sleep apnoea-A stepped wedge randomised trial protocol.

PubMed

Truby, Helen; Edwards, Bradley A; O'Driscoll, Denise M; Young, Alan; Ghazi, Ladan; Bristow, Claire; Roem, Kerryn; Bonham, Maxine P; Murgia, Chiara; Day, Kaitlin; Haines, Terry P; Hamilton, Garun S

2018-05-24

The majority of adults diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) are overweight or obese. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most common effective therapy for OSA. However, adherence declines over time with only 50% of patients prescribed CPAP continuing to use it long term. Furthermore, a recent prospective analysis indicated that those more adherent with CPAP therapy have enhanced weight gain trajectories which in turn may negatively impact their OSA. The Sleeping Well Trial aims to establish whether the timing of starting a lifestyle weight loss intervention impacts on weight trajectory in those with moderate-severe OSA treated at home with CPAP, while testing the potential for smart phone technology to improve adherence with lifestyle interventions. A stepped wedge design with randomisation of individuals from 1 to 6 months post-enrolment, with 5 months of additional prospective follow up after completion of the stepped wedge. This design will investigate the effect of the 6-month lifestyle intervention on people undergoing CPAP on body weight, body composition and health-related quality of life. This trial tests whether the timing of supporting the patient through a weight loss intervention is important in obtaining the maximum benefit of a lifestyle change and CPAP usage, and identify how best to support patients through this critical period. The protocol (v1) is registered prospectively with the International Clinical Trials Registry (CTR) ACTRN12616000203459 (public access). Any amendments to protocol will be documented via the CTR. Recruitment commenced in March 2016 with data collection scheduled to finish by May 2018. © 2018 Dietitians Association of Australia.

The Design of Finite State Machine for Asynchronous Replication Protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yanlong; Li, Zhanhuai; Lin, Wei; Hei, Minglei; Hao, Jianhua

Data replication is a key way to design a disaster tolerance system and to achieve reliability and availability. It is difficult for a replication protocol to deal with the diverse and complex environment. This means that data is less well replicated than it ought to be. To reduce data loss and to optimize replication protocols, we (1) present a finite state machine, (2) run it to manage an asynchronous replication protocol and (3) report a simple evaluation of the asynchronous replication protocol based on our state machine. It's proved that our state machine is applicable to guarantee the asynchronous replication protocol running in the proper state to the largest extent in the event of various possible events. It also can helpful to build up replication-based disaster tolerance systems to ensure the business continuity.

Cost effectiveness of a protocol using palivizumab in preterm infants.

PubMed

Hernández-Gago, Yolanda; Lombardero-Pin, Marina; Ortega de la Cruz, Casilda; Maciuniak, Pablo A; Díez Del Pino, Alicia

2017-03-01

The main objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of protocol use of palivizumab in premature established by consensus in our Hospital comparing it based on the recommendations of various Scientific Societies. As a secondary objective risk factors and severity of hospitalized patients attending the established protocol in our Hospital were analyzed. The study period was 4 seasons with the expanded protocol (retrospective data) versus 2 with restricted or agreed protocol (prospective data). The perspective of the study was the Health System, including the costs of hospitalization and palivizumab our center. The calculation of the effectiveness was determined with the admission rate of premature patients stratified by weeks of gestational age <29, <32; and <35. For the analysis of risk factors and severity in patients admitted seasons with the new protocol are collected prospectively clinical data and environmental and social factors. In the range of gestational age <29 years old and <32 greater effectiveness of the extended protocol was not demonstrated against the consensus. Only more effective for EG <35 in the accumulated data and comparing seasons 12/13 and 08/09 to 13/14 for individual data was observed. This range has an associated incremental cost effectiveness ratio of € 53 250,07 (range: € 14 793,39 to € 90 446,47 for singles data and € 50 525,53 (€ 28 688.22 to € 211 575,65) for accumulated. The establishment of this protocol in our center meant an average saving per season € 169 911,51. A cost-effectiveness of the extended protocol appropriate relationship is found if the cost of palivizumab per patient was less than € 1 206,67 (calculated for maximum use of the vial) and a higher rate of hospitalization of 9.21%. Children entering the season with the new protocol (season 12/13 and 13/14) are 63.4% in children under 3 months and 90% are term infants who do not belong to any population at risk, while many of them have associated risk factors you vary as have school-age siblings, rural residence, parental smoking, poor educational background of parents, lack of artificial feeding and family history of allergy. The consensus protocol has not been a significant increase in hospitalization rates in preterm infants <32 weeks gestational age patients. In those <35 has been observed a higher rate of hospitalization, with a very unfavorable cost-effectiveness for all clinical scenarios valued relationship. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Internet-Protocol-Based Satellite Bus Architecture Designed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slywczak, Richard A.

2004-01-01

NASA is designing future complex satellite missions ranging from single satellites and constellations to space networks and sensor webs. These missions require more interoperability, autonomy, and coordination than previous missions; in addition, a desire exists to have scientists retrieve data directly from the satellite rather than a central distribution source. To meet these goals, NASA has been studying the possibility of extending the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite for spacebased applications.

Integration of Molecular Dynamics Based Predictions into the Optimization of De Novo Protein Designs: Limitations and Benefits.

PubMed

Carvalho, Henrique F; Barbosa, Arménio J M; Roque, Ana C A; Iranzo, Olga; Branco, Ricardo J F

2017-01-01

Recent advances in de novo protein design have gained considerable insight from the intrinsic dynamics of proteins, based on the integration of molecular dynamics simulations protocols on the state-of-the-art de novo protein design protocols used nowadays. With this protocol we illustrate how to set up and run a molecular dynamics simulation followed by a functional protein dynamics analysis. New users will be introduced to some useful open-source computational tools, including the GROMACS molecular dynamics simulation software package and ProDy for protein structural dynamics analysis.

Experimental high-speed network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNeill, Kevin M.; Klein, William P.; Vercillo, Richard; Alsafadi, Yasser H.; Parra, Miguel V.; Dallas, William J.

1993-09-01

Many existing local area networking protocols currently applied in medical imaging were originally designed for relatively low-speed, low-volume networking. These protocols utilize small packet sizes appropriate for text based communication. Local area networks of this type typically provide raw bandwidth under 125 MHz. These older network technologies are not optimized for the low delay, high data traffic environment of a totally digital radiology department. Some current implementations use point-to-point links when greater bandwidth is required. However, the use of point-to-point communications for a total digital radiology department network presents many disadvantages. This paper describes work on an experimental multi-access local area network called XFT. The work includes the protocol specification, and the design and implementation of network interface hardware and software. The protocol specifies the Physical and Data Link layers (OSI layers 1 & 2) for a fiber-optic based token ring providing a raw bandwidth of 500 MHz. The protocol design and implementation of the XFT interface hardware includes many features to optimize image transfer and provide flexibility for additional future enhancements which include: a modular hardware design supporting easy portability to a variety of host system buses, a versatile message buffer design providing 16 MB of memory, and the capability to extend the raw bandwidth of the network to 3.0 GHz.

Finite-key security analyses on passive decoy-state QKD protocols with different unstable sources.

PubMed

Song, Ting-Ting; Qin, Su-Juan; Wen, Qiao-Yan; Wang, Yu-Kun; Jia, Heng-Yue

2015-10-16

In quantum communication, passive decoy-state QKD protocols can eliminate many side channels, but the protocols without any finite-key analyses are not suitable for in practice. The finite-key securities of passive decoy-state (PDS) QKD protocols with two different unstable sources, type-II parametric down-convention (PDC) and phase randomized weak coherent pulses (WCPs), are analyzed in our paper. According to the PDS QKD protocols, we establish an optimizing programming respectively and obtain the lower bounds of finite-key rates. Under some reasonable values of quantum setup parameters, the lower bounds of finite-key rates are simulated. The simulation results show that at different transmission distances, the affections of different fluctuations on key rates are different. Moreover, the PDS QKD protocol with an unstable PDC source can resist more intensity fluctuations and more statistical fluctuation.

Cryptography in the Bounded-Quantum-Storage Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaffner, Christian

2007-09-01

This thesis initiates the study of cryptographic protocols in the bounded-quantum-storage model. On the practical side, simple protocols for Rabin Oblivious Transfer, 1-2 Oblivious Transfer and Bit Commitment are presented. No quantum memory is required for honest players, whereas the protocols can only be broken by an adversary controlling a large amount of quantum memory. The protocols are efficient, non-interactive and can be implemented with today's technology. On the theoretical side, new entropic uncertainty relations involving min-entropy are established and used to prove the security of protocols according to new strong security definitions. For instance, in the realistic setting of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) against quantum-memory-bounded eavesdroppers, the uncertainty relation allows to prove the security of QKD protocols while tolerating considerably higher error rates compared to the standard model with unbounded adversaries.

Establishing a Mathematical Equations and Improving the Production of L-tert-Leucine by Uniform Design and Regression Analysis.

PubMed

Jiang, Wei; Xu, Chao-Zhen; Jiang, Si-Zhi; Zhang, Tang-Duo; Wang, Shi-Zhen; Fang, Bai-Shan

2017-04-01

L-tert-Leucine (L-Tle) and its derivatives are extensively used as crucial building blocks for chiral auxiliaries, pharmaceutically active ingredients, and ligands. Combining with formate dehydrogenase (FDH) for regenerating the expensive coenzyme NADH, leucine dehydrogenase (LeuDH) is continually used for synthesizing L-Tle from α-keto acid. A multilevel factorial experimental design was executed for research of this system. In this work, an efficient optimization method for improving the productivity of L-Tle was developed. And the mathematical model between different fermentation conditions and L-Tle yield was also determined in the form of the equation by using uniform design and regression analysis. The multivariate regression equation was conveniently implemented in water, with a space time yield of 505.9 g L -1  day -1 and an enantiomeric excess value of >99 %. These results demonstrated that this method might become an ideal protocol for industrial production of chiral compounds and unnatural amino acids such as chiral drug intermediates.

Natural prevalence of resistance-associated variants in hepatitis C virus NS5A in genotype 3a-infected people who inject drugs in Germany.

PubMed

Walker, Andreas; Siemann, Holger; Groten, Svenja; Ross, R Stefan; Scherbaum, Norbert; Timm, Jörg

2015-09-01

People who inject drugs (PWID) are the most important risk group for incident Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In PWID in Europe HCV genotype 3a is highly prevalent. Unfortunately, many of the recently developed directly acting antiviral drugs against HCV (DAAs) are suboptimal for treatment of this genotype. Detection of resistance-associated variants (RAV) in genotype 3a may help to optimize treatment decisions, however, robust protocols for amplification and sequencing of HCV NS5A as an important target for treatment of genotype 3a are currently lacking. The aim of this study was to establish a protocol for sequencing of HCV NS5A in genotype 3a and to determine the frequency of RAVs in treatment-naïve PWID living in Germany. The full NS5A region was amplified and sequenced from 110 HCV genotype 3a infected PWID using an in-house PCR protocol. With the established protocol the complete NS5A region was successfully amplified and sequenced from 110 out of 112 (98.2%) genotype 3a infected PWID. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences from PWID together with unrelated genotype 3a sequences from a public database showed a scattered distribution without geographic clustering. Viral polymorphisms A30K and Y93H known to confer resistance in a GT3a replication model were present in 8 subjects (7.2%). A protocol for amplification of nearly all GT3a samples was successfully established. Substitutions conferring resistance to NS5A inhibitors were detected in a few treatment-naive PWID. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Designing typefaces for maps. A protocol of tests.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biniek, Sébastien; Touya, Guillaume; Rouffineau, Gilles; Huot-Marchand, Thomas

2018-05-01

The text management in map design is a topic generally linked to placement and composition issues. Whereas the type design issue is rarely addressed or at least only partially. Moreover the typefaces especially designed for maps are rare. This paper presents a protocol of tests to evaluate characters for digital topographic maps and fonts that were designed for the screen through the use of geographical information systems using this protocol. It was launched by the Atelier National de Recherche Typographique Research (ANRT, located in Nancy, France) and took place over his `post-master' course in 2013. The purpose is to isolate different issues inherent to text in a topographic map: map background, nonlinear text placement and toponymic hierarchies. Further research is necessary to improve this kind of approach.

Participatory design of a collaborative clinical trial protocol writing system.

PubMed

Weng, Chunhua; McDonald, David W; Sparks, Dana; McCoy, Jason; Gennari, John H

2007-06-01

To explore concrete approaches to socio-technical design of collaborative healthcare information systems and to design a groupware technology for collaborative clinical trial protocol writing. We conducted "quick and dirty ethnography" through semi-structured interviews, observational studies, and work artifacts analysis to understand the group work for protocol development. We used participatory design through evolutionary prototyping to explore the feature space of a collaborative writing system. Our design strategies include role-based user advocacy, formative evaluation, and change management. Quick and dirty ethnography helped us efficiently understand relevant work practice, and participatory design helped us engage users into design and bring out their tacit work knowledge. Our approach that intertwined both techniques helped achieve a "work-informed and user-oriented" design. This research leads to a collaborative writing system that supports in situ communication, group awareness, and effective work progress tracking. The usability evaluation results have been satisfactory. The system design is being transferred to an organizational tool for daily use.

A protocol for monitoring soft tissue motion under compression garments during drop landings.

PubMed

Mills, Chris; Scurr, Joanna; Wood, Louise

2011-06-03

This study used a single-subject design to establish a valid and reliable protocol for monitoring soft tissue motion under compression garments during drop landings. One male participant performed six 40 cm drop landings onto a force platform, in three compression conditions (none, medium high). Five reflective markers placed on the thigh under the compression garment and five over the garment were filmed using two cameras (1000 Hz). Following manual digitisation, marker coordinates were reconstructed and their resultant displacements and maximum change in separation distance between skin and garment markers were calculated. To determine reliability of marker application, 35 markers were attached to the thigh over the high compression garment and filmed. Markers were then removed and re-applied on three occasions; marker separation and distance to thigh centre of gravity were calculated. Results showed similar ground reaction forces during landing trials. Significant reductions in the maximum change in separation distance between markers from no compression to high compression landings were reported. Typical errors in marker movement under and over the garment were 0.1mm in medium and high compression landings. Re-application of markers showed mean typical errors of 1mm in marker separation and <3mm relative to thigh centre of gravity. This paper presents a novel protocol that demonstrates sufficient sensitivity to detect reductions in soft tissue motion during landings in high compression garments compared to no compression. Additionally, markers placed under or over the garment demonstrate low variance in movement, and the protocol reports good reliability in marker re-application. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DEVELOPMENT OF A RATIONALLY BASED DESIGN PROTOCOL FOR THE ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT DISINFECTION PROCESS

EPA Science Inventory

A protocol is demonstrated for the design and evaluation of ultraviolet (UV) disinfection systems based on a mathematical model. The disinfection model incorporates the system's physical dimensions, the residence time distribution of the reactor and dispersion characteristics, th...

Tracheal decannulation protocol in patients affected by traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Zanata, Isabel de Lima; Santos, Rosane Sampaio; Hirata, Gisela Carmona

2014-04-01

Introduction The frequency of tracheostomy in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) contrasts with the lack of objective criteria for its management. The study arose from the need for a protocol in the decision to remove the tracheal tube. Objective To evaluate the applicability of a protocol for tracheal decannulation. Methods A prospective study with 20 patients, ranging between 21 and 85 years of age (average 33.55), 4 of whom were women (20%) and 16 were men (80%). All patients had been diagnosed by a neurologist as having TBI, and the anatomical region of the lesion was known. Patients were evaluated following criteria for tracheal decannulation through a clinical evaluation protocol developed by the authors. Results Decannulation was performed in 12 (60%) patients. Fourteen (70%) had a score greater than 8 on the Glasgow Coma Scale and only 2 (14%) of these were not able to undergo decannulation. Twelve (60%) patients maintained the breathing pattern with occlusion of the tube and were successfully decannulated. Of the 20 patients evaluated, 11 (55%) showed no signs suggestive of tracheal aspiration, and of these, 9 (82%) began training on occlusion of the cannula. The protocol was relevant to establish the beginning of the decannulation process. The clinical assessment should focus on the patient's condition to achieve early tracheal decannulation. Conclusion This study allowed, with the protocol, to establish six criteria for tracheal decannulation: level of consciousness, respiration, tracheal secretion, phonation, swallowing, and coughing.

Tracheal Decannulation Protocol in Patients Affected by Traumatic Brain Injury

PubMed Central

Zanata, Isabel de Lima; Santos, Rosane Sampaio; Hirata, Gisela Carmona

2014-01-01

Introduction The frequency of tracheostomy in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) contrasts with the lack of objective criteria for its management. The study arose from the need for a protocol in the decision to remove the tracheal tube. Objective To evaluate the applicability of a protocol for tracheal decannulation. Methods A prospective study with 20 patients, ranging between 21 and 85 years of age (average 33.55), 4 of whom were women (20%) and 16 were men (80%). All patients had been diagnosed by a neurologist as having TBI, and the anatomical region of the lesion was known. Patients were evaluated following criteria for tracheal decannulation through a clinical evaluation protocol developed by the authors. Results Decannulation was performed in 12 (60%) patients. Fourteen (70%) had a score greater than 8 on the Glasgow Coma Scale and only 2 (14%) of these were not able to undergo decannulation. Twelve (60%) patients maintained the breathing pattern with occlusion of the tube and were successfully decannulated. Of the 20 patients evaluated, 11 (55%) showed no signs suggestive of tracheal aspiration, and of these, 9 (82%) began training on occlusion of the cannula. The protocol was relevant to establish the beginning of the decannulation process. The clinical assessment should focus on the patient's condition to achieve early tracheal decannulation. Conclusion This study allowed, with the protocol, to establish six criteria for tracheal decannulation: level of consciousness, respiration, tracheal secretion, phonation, swallowing, and coughing. PMID:25992074

REVIEW OF THE NEGOTIATION OF THE MODEL PROTOCOL ADDITIONAL TO THE AGREEMENT(S) BETWEEN STATE(S) AND THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY FOR THE APPLICATION OF SAFEGUARDS, INFCIRC/540 (Corrected) VOLUME II/III IAEA COMMITTEE 24, Major Issues Underlying the Model Additional Protocol (1996-1997).

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

Rosenthal, M.D.; Saum-Manning, L.; Houck, F.

Volume I of this Review traces the origins of the Model Additional Protocol. It covers the period from 1991, when events in Iraq triggered an intensive review of the safeguards system, until 1996, when the IAEA Board of Governors established Committee 24 to negotiate a new protocol to safeguards agreement. The period from 1991-1996 set the stage for this negotiation and shaped its outcome in important ways. During this 5-year period, many proposals for strengthening safeguards were suggested and reviewed. Some proposals were dropped, for example, the suggestion by the IAEA Secretariat to verify certain imports, and others were refined.more » A rough consensus was established about the directions in which the international community wanted to go, and this was reflected in the draft of an additional protocol that was submitted to the IAEA Board of Governors on May 6, 1996 in document GOV/2863, Strengthening the Effectiveness and Improving the Efficiency of the Safeguards System - Proposals For Implementation Under Complementary Legal Authority, A Report by the Director General. This document ended with a recommendation that, 'the Board, through an appropriate mechanism, finalize the required legal instrument taking as a basis the draft protocol proposed by the Secretariat and the explanation of the measures contained in this document.'« less

On fixed-area plot sampling for downed coarse woody debris

Treesearch

Jeffrey H. Gove; Paul C. Van Deusen

2011-01-01

The use of fixed-area plots for sampling down coarse woody debris is reviewed. A set of clearly defined protocols for two previously described methods is established and a new method, which we call the 'sausage' method, is developed. All methods (protocols) are shown to be unbiased for volume estimation, but not necessarily for estimation of population...

Instructor Handbook for the Protocol Modules on Classroom Management. Utah Protocol Materials Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langer, Philip; Borg, Walter R.

This handbook is designed to acquaint the teacher educator with the training materials in classroom management prepared by the Utah State University Protocol Training Project. It deals with the protocol materials generally and with each module specifically, and includes the following sections: (a) an introduction to and rationale for protocol…

A Novel Cross-Layer Routing Protocol Based on Network Coding for Underwater Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Wang, Hao; Wang, Shilian; Bu, Renfei; Zhang, Eryang

2017-01-01

Underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) have attracted increasing attention in recent years because of their numerous applications in ocean monitoring, resource discovery and tactical surveillance. However, the design of reliable and efficient transmission and routing protocols is a challenge due to the low acoustic propagation speed and complex channel environment in UWSNs. In this paper, we propose a novel cross-layer routing protocol based on network coding (NCRP) for UWSNs, which utilizes network coding and cross-layer design to greedily forward data packets to sink nodes efficiently. The proposed NCRP takes full advantages of multicast transmission and decode packets jointly with encoded packets received from multiple potential nodes in the entire network. The transmission power is optimized in our design to extend the life cycle of the network. Moreover, we design a real-time routing maintenance protocol to update the route when detecting inefficient relay nodes. Substantial simulations in underwater environment by Network Simulator 3 (NS-3) show that NCRP significantly improves the network performance in terms of energy consumption, end-to-end delay and packet delivery ratio compared with other routing protocols for UWSNs. PMID:28786915

Does intensive management improve remission rates in patients with intermediate rheumatoid arthritis? (the TITRATE trial): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Martin, Naomi H; Ibrahim, Fowzia; Tom, Brian; Galloway, James; Wailoo, Allan; Tosh, Jonathan; Lempp, Heidi; Prothero, Louise; Georgopoulou, Sofia; Sturt, Jackie; Scott, David L

2017-12-08

Uncontrolled active rheumatoid arthritis can lead to increasing disability and reduced quality of life over time. 'Treating to target' has been shown to be effective in active established disease and also in early disease. However, there is a lack of nationally agreed treatment protocols for patients with established rheumatoid arthritis who have intermediate disease activity. This trial is designed to investigate whether intensive management of disease leads to a greater number of remissions at 12 months. Levels of disability and quality of life, and acceptability and cost-effectiveness of the intervention will also be examined. The trial is a 12-month, pragmatic, randomised, open-label, two-arm, parallel-group, multicentre trial undertaken at specialist rheumatology centres across England. Three hundred and ninety-eight patients with established rheumatoid arthritis will be recruited. They will currently have intermediate disease activity (disease activity score for 28 joints assessed using an erythrocyte sedimentation rate of 3.2 to 5.1 with at least three active joints) and will be taking at least one disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug. Participants will be randomly selected to receive intensive management or standard care. Intensive management will involve monthly clinical reviews with a specialist health practitioner, where drug treatment will be optimised and an individualised treatment support programme delivered based on several principles of motivational interviewing to address identified problem areas, such as pain, fatigue and adherence. Standard care will follow standard local pathways and will be in line with current English guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Patients will be assessed initially and at 6 and 12 months through self-completed questionnaires and clinical evaluation. The trial will establish whether the known benefits of intensive treatment strategies in active rheumatoid arthritis are also seen in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis who have moderately active disease. It will evaluate both the clinical and cost-effectiveness of intensive treatment. Current Controlled Trials, ID: ISRCTN70160382 . Registered on 16 January 2014.

Running key mapping in a quantum stream cipher by the Yuen 2000 protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimizu, Tetsuya; Hirota, Osamu; Nagasako, Yuki

2008-03-01

A quantum stream cipher by Yuen 2000 protocol (so-called Y00 protocol or αη scheme) consisting of linear feedback shift register of short key is very attractive in implementing secure 40 Gbits/s optical data transmission, which is expected as a next-generation network. However, a basic model of the Y00 protocol with a very short key needs a careful design against fast correlation attacks as pointed out by Donnet This Brief Report clarifies an effectiveness of irregular mapping between running key and physical signals in the driver for selection of M -ary basis in the transmitter, and gives a design method. Consequently, quantum stream cipher by the Y00 protocol with our mapping has immunity against the proposed fast correlation attacks on a basic model of the Y00 protocol even if the key is very short.

Accelerating a MPEG-4 video decoder through custom software/hardware co-design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Díaz, Jorge L.; Barreto, Dacil; García, Luz; Marrero, Gustavo; Carballo, Pedro P.; Núñez, Antonio

2007-05-01

In this paper we present a novel methodology to accelerate an MPEG-4 video decoder using software/hardware co-design for wireless DAB/DMB networks. Software support includes the services provided by the embedded kernel μC/OS-II, and the application tasks mapped to software. Hardware support includes several custom co-processors and a communication architecture with bridges to the main system bus and with a dual port SRAM. Synchronization among tasks is achieved at two levels, by a hardware protocol and by kernel level scheduling services. Our reference application is an MPEG-4 video decoder composed of several software functions and written using a special C++ library named CASSE. Profiling and space exploration techniques were used previously over the Advanced Simple Profile (ASP) MPEG-4 decoder to determinate the best HW/SW partition developed here. This research is part of the ARTEMI project and its main goal is the establishment of methodologies for the design of real-time complex digital systems using Programmable Logic Devices with embedded microprocessors as target technology and the design of multimedia systems for broadcasting networks as reference application.

Design and implementation of new control room system in Damavand tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasouli, H.; Zamanian, H.; Gheidi, M.; Kheiri-Fard, M.; Kouhi, A.

2017-07-01

The aim of this paper is design and implementation of an up-to-date control room. The previous control room had a lot of constraints and it was not apposite to the sophisticated diagnostic systems as well as to the modern control and multivariable systems. Although it provided the best output for the considered experiments and implementing offline algorithms among all similar plants, it needed to be developed to provide more capability for complex algorithm mechanisms and this work introduces our efforts in this area. Accordingly, four leading systems were designed and implemented, including real-time control system, online Data Acquisition System (DAS), offline DAS, monitoring and data transmission system. In the control system, three real-time control modules were established based on Digital Signal Processor (DSP). Thanks to them, implementation of the classic and linear and nonlinear intelligent controllers was possible to control the plasma position and its elongation. Also, online DAS was constructed in two modules. Using them, voltages and currents of charge for the capacitor banks and pressure of different parts in vacuum vessel were measured and monitored. Likewise, by real-time processing of the online data, the safety protocol of plant performance was accomplished. In addition, the offline DAS was organized in 13 modules based on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). This system can be used for gathering all diagnostic, control, and performance data in 156 channels. Data transmission system and storing mechanism in the server was provided by data transmitting network and MDSplus standard protocol. Moreover, monitoring software was designed so that it could display the required plots for physical analyses. Taking everything into account, this new platform can improve the quality and quantity of research activities in plasma physics for Damavand tokamak.

Stem cell-derived kidney cells and organoids: Recent breakthroughs and emerging applications.

PubMed

Chuah, Jacqueline Kai Chin; Zink, Daniele

The global rise in the numbers of kidney patients and the shortage in transplantable organs have led to an increasing interest in kidney-specific regenerative therapies, renal disease modelling and bioartificial kidneys. Sources for large quantities of high-quality renal cells and tissues would be required, also for applications in in vitro platforms for compound safety and efficacy screening. Stem cell-based approaches for the generation of renal-like cells and tissues would be most attractive, but such methods were not available until recently. This situation has drastically changed since 2013, and various protocols for the generation of renal-like cells and precursors from pluripotent stem cells (PSC) have been established. The most recent breakthroughs were related to the establishment of various protocols for the generation of PSC-derived kidney organoids. In combination with recent advances in genome editing, bioprinting and the establishment of predictive renal screening platforms this results in exciting new possibilities. This review will give a comprehensive overview over current PSC-based protocols for the generation of renal-like cells, precursors and organoids, and their current and potential applications in regenerative medicine, compound screening, disease modelling and bioartificial organs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Magnetic-Activated Cell Sorting for the Fast and Efficient Separation of Human and Rodent Schwann Cells from Mixed Cell Populations.

PubMed

Ravelo, Kristine M; Andersen, Natalia D; Monje, Paula V

2018-01-01

To date, magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) remains a powerful method to isolate distinct cell populations based on differential cell surface labeling. Optimized direct and indirect MACS protocols for cell immunolabeling are presented here as methods to divest Schwann cell (SC) cultures of contaminating cells (specifically, fibroblast cells) and isolate SC populations at different stages of differentiation. This chapter describes (1) the preparation of single-cell suspensions from established human and rat SC cultures, (2) the design and application of cell selection strategies using SC-specific (p75 NGFR , O4, and O1) and fibroblast-specific (Thy-1) markers, and (3) the characterization of both the pre- and post-sorting cell populations. A simple protocol for the growth of hybridoma cell cultures as a source of monoclonal antibodies for cell surface immunolabeling of SCs and fibroblasts is provided as a cost-effective alternative for commercially available products. These steps allow for the timely and efficient recovery of purified SC populations without compromising the viability and biological activity of the cells.

Optimisation of recovery protocols for double-base smokeless powder residues analysed by total vaporisation (TV) SPME/GC-MS.

PubMed

Sauzier, Georgina; Bors, Dana; Ash, Jordan; Goodpaster, John V; Lewis, Simon W

2016-09-01

The investigation of explosive events requires appropriate evidential protocols to recover and preserve residues from the scene. In this study, a central composite design was used to determine statistically validated optimum recovery parameters for double-base smokeless powder residues on steel, analysed using total vaporisation (TV) SPME/GC-MS. It was found that maximum recovery was obtained using isopropanol-wetted swabs stored under refrigerated conditions, then extracted for 15min into acetone on the same day as sample collection. These parameters were applied to the recovery of post-blast residues deposited on steel witness surfaces following a PVC pipe bomb detonation, resulting in detection of all target components across the majority of samples. Higher overall recoveries were obtained from plates facing the sides of the device, consistent with the point of first failure occurring in the pipe body as observed in previous studies. The methodology employed here may be readily applied to a variety of other explosive compounds, and thus assist in establishing 'best practice' procedures for explosive investigations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design and performance testing of a real-time PCR assay for sensitive and reliable direct quantification of Brettanomyces in wine.

PubMed

Tessonnière, H; Vidal, S; Barnavon, L; Alexandre, H; Remize, F

2009-02-28

Because the yeast Brettanomyces produces volatile phenols and acetic acid, it is responsible for wine spoilage. The uncontrolled accumulation of these molecules in wine leads to sensorial defects that compromise wine quality. The need for a rapid, specific, sensitive and reliable method to detect this spoilage yeast has increased over the last decade. All these requirements are met by real-time PCR. We here propose improvements of existing methods to enhance the robustness of the assay. Six different protocols to isolate DNA from a wine and three PCR mix compositions were tested, and the best method was selected. Insoluble PVPP addition during DNA extraction by a classical phenol:chloroform protocol succeeded in the relief of PCR inhibitors from wine. We developed an internal control which was efficient to avoid false negative results due to decreases in the efficiency of DNA isolation and/or amplification. The method was evaluated by an intra-laboratory study for its specificity, linearity, repeatability and reproducibility. A standard curve was established from 14 different wines artificially inoculated. The quantification limit was 31 cfu/mL.

Validation of quantitative and qualitative methods for detecting allergenic ingredients in processed foods in Japan.

PubMed

Sakai, Shinobu; Adachi, Reiko; Akiyama, Hiroshi; Teshima, Reiko

2013-06-19

A labeling system for food allergenic ingredients was established in Japan in April 2002. To monitor the labeling, the Japanese government announced official methods for detecting allergens in processed foods in November 2002. The official methods consist of quantitative screening tests using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and qualitative confirmation tests using Western blotting or polymerase chain reactions (PCR). In addition, the Japanese government designated 10 μg protein/g food (the corresponding allergenic ingredient soluble protein weight/food weight), determined by ELISA, as the labeling threshold. To standardize the official methods, the criteria for the validation protocol were described in the official guidelines. This paper, which was presented at the Advances in Food Allergen Detection Symposium, ACS National Meeting and Expo, San Diego, CA, Spring 2012, describes the validation protocol outlined in the official Japanese guidelines, the results of interlaboratory studies for the quantitative detection method (ELISA for crustacean proteins) and the qualitative detection method (PCR for shrimp and crab DNAs), and the reliability of the detection methods.

An oral health intervention for people with serious mental illness (Three Shires Early Intervention Dental Trial): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Jones, Hannah F; Adams, Clive E; Clifton, Andrew; Simpson, Jayne; Tosh, Graeme; Liddle, Peter F; Callaghan, Patrick; Yang, Min; Guo, Boliang; Furtado, Vivek

2013-05-29

Oral health is an important part of general physical health and is essential for self-esteem, self-confidence and overall quality of life. There is a well-established link between mental illness and poor oral health. Oral health problems are not generally well recognized by mental health professionals and many patients experience barriers to treatment. This is the protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomised trial that has been designed to fit within standard care. Dental awareness training for care co-ordinators plus a dental checklist for service users in addition to standard care will be compared with standard care alone for people with mental illness. The checklist consists of questions about service users' current oral health routine and condition. Ten Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) teams in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire will be cluster randomised (five to intervention and five to standard care) in blocks accounting for location and size of caseload. The oral health of the service users will be monitored for one year after randomisation. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN63382258.

Design Science Research toward Designing/Prototyping a Repeatable Model for Testing Location Management (LM) Algorithms for Wireless Networking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peacock, Christopher

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research effort was to develop a model that provides repeatable Location Management (LM) testing using a network simulation tool, QualNet version 5.1 (2011). The model will provide current and future protocol developers a framework to simulate stable protocol environments for development. This study used the Design Science…

22 CFR 2.4 - Designation of official guests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Designation of official guests. 2.4 Section 2.4... Protocol. The designation of a person as an official guest is final. Pursuant to section 2658 of title 22... official guests is hereby delegated to the Chief of Protocol. (22 U.S.C. 2658) [45 FR 55716, Aug. 21, 1980] ...

Design of a microfluidic sensor for high-sensitivity Copper (II) sensing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibson, Ceri; Byrne, Patrick; Gray, David; MacCraith, Brian D.; Paull, Brett; Tyrrell, Eadaoin

2003-03-01

An all-plastic micro-sensor system for remote measurement of copper (II) ions in the aqueous environment has been developed. The sensing structure was designed for ease of milling and fabricated in poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) using a hot-embossing technique. Issues of sealing the structure were studied extensively and an efficient protocol has been established. The detection system comprises a compact photo-multiplier tube and integrated photon counting system. This method has advantages of low sample volume, (creating a minimal volume of waste), low exposure to contaminants due to the closed system, no moving parts and employs a robust polymer material which is resistant to the environment of intended use. The sensor operates on the principle of flow injection analysis and has been tested using a chemiluminescence (FIA-CL) reaction arising from the complexation of copper with 1,10-phenanthroline and subsequent oxidation by hydrogen peroxide.

Semiautomated Device for Batch Extraction of Metabolites from Tissue Samples

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Metabolomics has become a mainstream analytical strategy for investigating metabolism. The quality of data derived from these studies is proportional to the consistency of the sample preparation. Although considerable research has been devoted to finding optimal extraction protocols, most of the established methods require extensive sample handling. Manual sample preparation can be highly effective in the hands of skilled technicians, but an automated tool for purifying metabolites from complex biological tissues would be of obvious utility to the field. Here, we introduce the semiautomated metabolite batch extraction device (SAMBED), a new tool designed to simplify metabolomics sample preparation. We discuss SAMBED’s design and show that SAMBED-based extractions are of comparable quality to extracts produced through traditional methods (13% mean coefficient of variation from SAMBED versus 16% from manual extractions). Moreover, we show that aqueous SAMBED-based methods can be completed in less than a quarter of the time required for manual extractions. PMID:22292466

Estimating Health-State Utility for Economic Models in Clinical Studies: An ISPOR Good Research Practices Task Force Report.

PubMed

Wolowacz, Sorrel E; Briggs, Andrew; Belozeroff, Vasily; Clarke, Philip; Doward, Lynda; Goeree, Ron; Lloyd, Andrew; Norman, Richard

Cost-utility models are increasingly used in many countries to establish whether the cost of a new intervention can be justified in terms of health benefits. Health-state utility (HSU) estimates (the preference for a given state of health on a cardinal scale where 0 represents dead and 1 represents full health) are typically among the most important and uncertain data inputs in cost-utility models. Clinical trials represent an important opportunity for the collection of health-utility data. However, trials designed primarily to evaluate efficacy and safety often present challenges to the optimal collection of HSU estimates for economic models. Careful planning is needed to determine which of the HSU estimates may be measured in planned trials; to establish the optimal methodology; and to plan any additional studies needed. This report aimed to provide a framework for researchers to plan the collection of health-utility data in clinical studies to provide high-quality HSU estimates for economic modeling. Recommendations are made for early planning of health-utility data collection within a research and development program; design of health-utility data collection during protocol development for a planned clinical trial; design of prospective and cross-sectional observational studies and alternative study types; and statistical analyses and reporting. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Defining the RNA Internal Loops Preferred by Benzimidazole Derivatives via Two-Dimensional Combinatorial Screening and Computational Analysis

PubMed Central

Velagapudi, Sai Pradeep; Seedhouse, Steven J.; French, Jonathan

2011-01-01

RNA is an important therapeutic target, however, RNA targets are generally underexploited due to a lack of understanding of the small molecules that bind RNA and the RNA motifs that bind small molecules. Herein, we describe the identification of the RNA internal loops derived from a 4096-member 3×3 nucleotide loop library that are the most specific and highest affinity binders to a series of four designer, drug-like benzimidazoles. These studies establish a potentially general protocol to define the highest affinity and most specific RNA motif targets for heterocyclic small molecules. Such information could be used to target functionally important RNAs in genomic sequence. PMID:21604752

IPHE Regulations Codes and Standards Working Group - Type IV COPV Round Robin Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maes, M.; Starritt, L.; Zheng, J. Y.; Ou, K.; Keller, J.

2017-01-01

This manuscript presents the results of a multi-lateral international activity intended to understand how to execute a cycle stress test as specified in a chosen standard (GTR, SAE, ISO, EIHP...). The purpose of this work was to establish a harmonized test method protocol to ensure that the same results would be achieved regardless of the testing facility. It was found that accurate temperature measurement of the working fluid is necessary to ensure the test conditions remain within the tolerances specified. Continuous operation is possible with adequate cooling of the working fluid but this becomes more demanding if the cycle frequency increases. Recommendations for future test system design and operation are presented.

34 CFR Appendix to Part 5 - Unknown Title

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the Department. Research protocol, design, processing, and other technical information to the extent... report submitted for comment prior to acceptance. Research protocol, design, processing, and other...-10) Pt. 5, App. Appendix to Part 5 [The following are some examples of specific records (or specific...

The use of participant-observation protocol in an industrial engineering research.

PubMed

Silveira e Silva, Renato da; Sznelwar, Laerte Idal; D'Afonseca e Silva, Victor

2012-01-01

Based on literature, this article aims to present the "participant-observation' research protocol, and its practical application in the industrial engineering field, more specifically within the area of design development, and in the case shown by this article, of interiors' design. The main target is to identify the concept of the method, i.e., from its characteristics to structure a general sense about the subject, so that the protocol can be used in different areas of knowledge, especially those ones which are committed with the scientific research involving the expertise from researchers, and subjective feelings and opinions of the users of an engineering product, and how this knowledge can be benefic for product design, contributing since the earliest stage of design.

Development of Test Protocols for International Space Station Particulate Filters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, Robert D.; Vijayakumar, R.; Agui, Juan H.

2014-01-01

Air quality control on the International Space Station (ISS) is a vital requirement for maintaining a clean environment for the crew and the hardware. This becomes a serious challenge in pressurized space compartments since no outside air ventilation is possible, and a larger particulate load is imposed on the filtration system due to lack of gravitational settling. The ISS Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) uses a filtration system that has been in use for over 14 years and has proven to meet this challenge. The heart of this system is a traditional High- Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter configured to interface with the rest of the life support elements and provide effective cabin filtration. Over the years, the service life of these filters has been re-evaluated based on limited post-flight tests of returned filters and risk factors. On earth, a well designed and installed HEPA filter will last for several years, e.g. in industrial and research clean room applications. Test methods for evaluating these filters are being developed on the basis of established test protocols used by the industry and the military. This paper will discuss the test methods adopted and test results on prototypes of the ISS filters. The results will assist in establishing whether the service life can be extended for these filters. Results from unused filters that have been in storage will also be presented to ascertain the shelf life and performance deterioration, if any and determine if the shelf life may be extended.

Covalent docking of selected boron-based serine beta-lactamase inhibitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sgrignani, Jacopo; Novati, Beatrice; Colombo, Giorgio; Grazioso, Giovanni

2015-05-01

AmpC β-lactamase is a hydrolytic enzyme conferring resistance to β-lactam antibiotics in multiple Gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, identification of non-β-lactam compounds able to inhibit the enzyme is crucial for the development of novel antibacterial therapies. In general, AmpC inhibitors have to engage the highly solvent-exposed catalytic site of the enzyme. Therefore, understanding the implications of ligand-protein induced-fit and water-mediated interactions behind the inhibitor-enzyme recognition process is fundamental for undertaking structure-based drug design process. Here, we focus on boronic acids, a promising class of beta-lactamase covalent inhibitors. First, we optimized a docking protocol able to reproduce the experimentally determined binding mode of AmpC inhibitors bearing a boronic group. This goal was pursued (1) performing rigid and flexible docking calculations aiming to establish the role of the side chain conformations; and (2) investigating the role of specific water molecules in shaping the enzyme active site and mediating ligand protein interactions. Our calculations showed that some water molecules, conserved in the majority of the considered X-ray structures, are needed to correctly predict the binding pose of known covalent AmpC inhibitors. On this basis, we formalized our findings in a docking and scoring protocol that could be useful for the structure-based design of new boronic acid AmpC inhibitors.

The efficacy of dexamethasone on reduction in the reoperation rate of chronic subdural hematoma – the DRESH study: straightforward study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH) is a common neurosurgical disease. It is often considered to be a rather benign entity. In spite of well established surgical procedures cSDH is complicated by a recurrence rate up to 30%. Since glucocorticoids have been used for treatment of cSDH in 1962 their role is still discussed controversially in lack of evident data. On the basis of the ascertained inflammation cycle in cSDH dexamethasone will be an ideal substance for a short lasting, concomitant treatment protocol. Objective: to test the efficacy of dexamethasone on reduction inthe reoperation rate of cSDH. Methods/Design The study is designed as a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial 820 patients who are operated for cSDH and from the age of 25 years are included after obtaining informed consent. They are randomized for administration of dexamethasone (16-16-12-12-8-4 mg/d) or placebo (maltodextrin) during the first 48 hours after surgery. The type I error is 5% and the type II error is 20%. The primary endpoint is the reoperation within 12 weeks postoperative. Discussion This study tests whether dexamethasone administered over 6 days is a safe and potent agent in relapse prevention for evacuated cSDH. Trial registration EudraCT 201100354442 PMID:24393328

Fractional, biodegradable and spectral characteristics of extracted and fractionated sludge extracellular polymeric substances.

PubMed

Wei, Liang-Liang; Wang, Kun; Zhao, Qing-Liang; Jiang, Jun-Qiu; Kong, Xiang-Juan; Lee, Duu-Jong

2012-09-15

Correlation between fractional, biodegradable and spectral characteristics of sludge extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) by different protocols has not been well established. This work extracted sludge EPS using alkaline extractants (NH₄OH and formaldehyde + NaOH) and physical protocols (ultrasonication, heating at 80 °C or cation exchange resin (CER)) and then fractionated the extracts using XAD-8/XAD-4 resins. The alkaline extractants yielded more sludge EPS than the physical protocols. However, the physical protocols extracted principally the hydrophilic components which were readily biodegradable by microorganisms. The alkaline extractants dissolved additional humic-like substances from sludge solids which were refractory in nature. Different extraction protocols preferably extracted EPS with distinct fractional, biodegradable and spectral characteristics which could be applied in specific usages. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Establishing fungal entomopathogens as endophytes: towards endophytic biological control

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Beauveria basssiana is a fungal entomopathogen with the ability to colonize plants endophytically. As an endophyte, B. bassiana may play a role in protecting plants from herbivory and disease. This protocol demonstrates two inoculation methods to establish B. bassiana endophytically in the common be...

Reconfigurable routing protocol for free space optical sensor networks.

PubMed

Xie, Rong; Yang, Won-Hyuk; Kim, Young-Chon

2012-01-01

Recently, free space optical sensor networks (FSOSNs), which are based on free space optics (FSO) instead of radio frequency (RF), have gained increasing visibility over traditional wireless sensor networks (WSNs) due to their advantages such as larger capacity, higher security, and lower cost. However, the performance of FSOSNs is restricted to the requirement of a direct line-of-sight (LOS) path between a sender and a receiver pair. Once a node dies of energy depletion, the network would probably suffer from a dramatic decrease of connectivity, resulting in a huge loss of data packets. Thus, this paper proposes a reconfigurable routing protocol (RRP) to overcome this problem by dynamically reconfiguring the network virtual topology. The RRP works in three phases: (1) virtual topology construction, (2) routing establishment, and (3) reconfigurable routing. When data transmission begins, the data packets are first routed through the shortest hop paths. Then a reconfiguration is initiated by the node whose residual energy falls below a threshold. Nodes affected by this dying node are classified into two types, namely maintenance nodes and adjustment nodes, and they are reconfigured according to the types. An energy model is designed to evaluate the performance of RRP through OPNET simulation. Our simulation results indicate that the RRP achieves better performance compared with the simple-link protocol and a direct reconfiguration scheme in terms of connectivity, network lifetime, packet delivery ratio and the number of living nodes.

Position paper: Rationale for the treatment of Wilms tumour in the UMBRELLA SIOP-RTSG 2016 protocol.

PubMed

van den Heuvel-Eibrink, Marry M; Hol, Janna A; Pritchard-Jones, Kathy; van Tinteren, Harm; Furtwängler, Rhoikos; Verschuur, Arnauld C; Vujanic, Gordan M; Leuschner, Ivo; Brok, Jesper; Rübe, Christian; Smets, Anne M; Janssens, Geert O; Godzinski, Jan; Ramírez-Villar, Gema L; de Camargo, Beatriz; Segers, Heidi; Collini, Paola; Gessler, Manfred; Bergeron, Christophe; Spreafico, Filippo; Graf, Norbert

2017-12-01

The Renal Tumour Study Group of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP-RTSG) has developed a new protocol for the diagnosis and treatment of childhood renal tumours, the UMBRELLA SIOP-RTSG 2016 (the UMBRELLA protocol), to continue international collaboration in the treatment of childhood renal tumours. This protocol will support integrated biomarker and imaging research, focussing on assessing the independent prognostic value of genomic changes within the tumour and the volume of the blastemal component that survives preoperative chemotherapy. Treatment guidelines for Wilms tumours in the UMBRELLA protocol include recommendations for localized, metastatic, and bilateral disease, for all age groups, and for relapsed disease. These recommendations have been established by a multidisciplinary panel of leading experts on renal tumours within the SIOP-RTSG. The UMBRELLA protocol should promote international collaboration and research and serve as the SIOP-RTSG best available treatment standard.

Finite-key security analyses on passive decoy-state QKD protocols with different unstable sources

PubMed Central

Song, Ting-Ting; Qin, Su-Juan; Wen, Qiao-Yan; Wang, Yu-Kun; Jia, Heng-Yue

2015-01-01

In quantum communication, passive decoy-state QKD protocols can eliminate many side channels, but the protocols without any finite-key analyses are not suitable for in practice. The finite-key securities of passive decoy-state (PDS) QKD protocols with two different unstable sources, type-II parametric down-convention (PDC) and phase randomized weak coherent pulses (WCPs), are analyzed in our paper. According to the PDS QKD protocols, we establish an optimizing programming respectively and obtain the lower bounds of finite-key rates. Under some reasonable values of quantum setup parameters, the lower bounds of finite-key rates are simulated. The simulation results show that at different transmission distances, the affections of different fluctuations on key rates are different. Moreover, the PDS QKD protocol with an unstable PDC source can resist more intensity fluctuations and more statistical fluctuation. PMID:26471947

Optimisation of pharmacy content in clinical cancer research protocols: Experience of the United Kingdom Chemotherapy and Pharmacy Advisory Service.

PubMed

Debruyne, Philip R; Johnson, Philip J; Pottel, Lies; Daniels, Susanna; Greer, Rachel; Hodgkinson, Elizabeth; Kelly, Stephen; Lycke, Michelle; Samol, Jens; Mason, Julie; Kimber, Donna; Loucaides, Eileen; Parmar, Mahesh Kb; Harvey, Sally

2015-06-01

Clarity and accuracy of the pharmacy aspects of cancer clinical trial protocols is essential. Inconsistencies and ambiguities in such protocols have the potential to delay research and jeopardise both patient safety and collection of credible data. The Chemotherapy and Pharmacy Advisory Service was established by the UK National Cancer Research Network, currently known as National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network, to improve the quality of pharmacy-related content in cancer clinical research protocols. This article reports the scope of Chemotherapy and Pharmacy Advisory Service, its methodology of mandated protocol review and pharmacy-related guidance initiatives and its current impact. Over a 6-year period (2008-2013) since the inception of Chemotherapy and Pharmacy Advisory Service, cancer clinical trial protocols were reviewed by the service, prior to implementation at clinical trial sites. A customised Review Checklist was developed and used by a panel of experts to standardise the review process and report back queries and inconsistencies to chief investigators. Based on common queries, a Standard Protocol Template comprising specific guidance on drug-related content and a Pharmacy Manual Template were developed. In addition, a guidance framework was established to address 'ad hoc' pharmacy-related queries. The most common remarks made at protocol review have been summarised and categorised through retrospective analysis. In order to evaluate the impact of the service, chief investigators were asked to respond to queries made at protocol review and make appropriate changes to their protocols. Responses from chief investigators have been collated and acceptance rates determined. A total of 176 protocols were reviewed. The median number of remarks per protocol was 26, of which 20 were deemed clinically relevant and mainly concerned the drug regimen, support medication, frequency and type of monitoring and drug supply aspects. Further analysis revealed that 62% of chief investigators responded to the review. All responses were positive with an overall acceptance rate of 89% of the proposed protocol changes. Review of pharmacy content of cancer clinical trial protocols is feasible and exposes many undetected clinically relevant issues that could hinder efficient trial conduct. Our service audit revealed that the majority of suggestions were effectively incorporated in the final protocols. The refinement of existing and development of new pharmacy-related guidance documents by Chemotherapy and Pharmacy Advisory Service might aid in better and safer clinical research. © The Author(s) 2015.

Optimising text messaging to improve adherence to web-based smoking cessation treatment: a randomised control trial protocol.

PubMed

Graham, Amanda L; Jacobs, Megan A; Cohn, Amy M; Cha, Sarah; Abroms, Lorien C; Papandonatos, George D; Whittaker, Robyn

2016-03-30

Millions of smokers use the Internet for smoking cessation assistance each year; however, most smokers engage minimally with even the best designed websites. The ubiquity of mobile devices and their effectiveness in promoting adherence in other areas of health behaviour change make them a promising tool to address adherence in Internet smoking cessation interventions. Text messaging is used by most adults, and messages can proactively encourage use of a web-based intervention. Text messaging can also be integrated with an Internet intervention to facilitate the use of core Internet intervention components. We identified four aspects of a text message intervention that may enhance its effectiveness in promoting adherence to a web-based smoking cessation programme: personalisation, integration, dynamic tailoring and message intensity. Phase I will use a two-level full factorial design to test the impact of these four experimental features on adherence to a web-based intervention. The primary outcome is a composite metric of adherence that incorporates general utilisation metrics (eg, logins, page views) and specific feature utilisation shown to predict abstinence. Participants will be N=860 adult smokers who register on an established Internet cessation programme and enrol in its text message programme. Phase II will be a two-arm randomised trial to compare the efficacy of the web-based cessation programme alone and in conjunction with the optimised text messaging intervention on 30-day point prevalence abstinence at 9 months. Phase II participants will be N=600 adult smokers who register to use an established Internet cessation programme and enrol in text messaging. Secondary analyses will explore whether adherence mediates the effect of treatment condition on outcome. This protocol was approved by Chesapeake IRB. We will disseminate study results through peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference presentations related to the methods and design, outcomes and exploratory analyses. NCT02585206. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Novel Multi-Party Quantum Key Agreement Protocol with G-Like States and Bell States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Shi-Qi; Chen, Hua-Ying; Gong, Li-Hua

2018-03-01

A significant aspect of quantum cryptography is quantum key agreement (QKA), which ensures the security of key agreement protocols by quantum information theory. The fairness of an absolute security multi-party quantum key agreement (MQKA) protocol demands that all participants can affect the protocol result equally so as to establish a shared key and that nobody can determine the shared key by himself/herself. We found that it is difficult for the existing multi-party quantum key agreement protocol to withstand the collusion attacks. Put differently, it is possible for several cooperated and untruthful participants to determine the final key without being detected. To address this issue, based on the entanglement swapping between G-like state and Bell states, a new multi-party quantum key agreement protocol is put forward. The proposed protocol makes full use of EPR pairs as quantum resources, and adopts Bell measurement and unitary operation to share a secret key. Besides, the proposed protocol is fair, secure and efficient without involving a third party quantum center. It demonstrates that the protocol is capable of protecting users' privacy and meeting the requirement of fairness. Moreover, it is feasible to carry out the protocol with existing technologies.

Novel Multi-Party Quantum Key Agreement Protocol with G-Like States and Bell States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Shi-Qi; Chen, Hua-Ying; Gong, Li-Hua

2018-06-01

A significant aspect of quantum cryptography is quantum key agreement (QKA), which ensures the security of key agreement protocols by quantum information theory. The fairness of an absolute security multi-party quantum key agreement (MQKA) protocol demands that all participants can affect the protocol result equally so as to establish a shared key and that nobody can determine the shared key by himself/herself. We found that it is difficult for the existing multi-party quantum key agreement protocol to withstand the collusion attacks. Put differently, it is possible for several cooperated and untruthful participants to determine the final key without being detected. To address this issue, based on the entanglement swapping between G-like state and Bell states, a new multi-party quantum key agreement protocol is put forward. The proposed protocol makes full use of EPR pairs as quantum resources, and adopts Bell measurement and unitary operation to share a secret key. Besides, the proposed protocol is fair, secure and efficient without involving a third party quantum center. It demonstrates that the protocol is capable of protecting users' privacy and meeting the requirement of fairness. Moreover, it is feasible to carry out the protocol with existing technologies.

The feasibility of a randomized controlled trial of esophagectomy for esophageal cancer - the ROMIO (Randomized Oesophagectomy: Minimally Invasive or Open) study: protocol for a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background There is a need for evidence of the clinical effectiveness of minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of esophageal cancer, but randomized controlled trials in surgery are often difficult to conduct. The ROMIO (Randomized Open or Minimally Invasive Oesophagectomy) study will establish the feasibility of a main trial which will examine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of minimally invasive and open surgical procedures for the treatment of esophageal cancer. Methods/Design A pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT), in two centers (University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust) will examine numbers of incident and eligible patients who consent to participate in the ROMIO study. Interventions will include esophagectomy by: (1) open gastric mobilization and right thoracotomy, (2) laparoscopic gastric mobilization and right thoracotomy, and (3) totally minimally invasive surgery (in the Bristol center only). The primary outcomes of the feasibility study will be measures of recruitment, successful development of methods to monitor quality of surgery and fidelity to a surgical protocol, and development of a core outcome set to evaluate esophageal cancer surgery. The study will test patient-reported outcomes measures to assess recovery, methods to blind participants, assessments of surgical morbidity, and methods to capture cost and resource use. ROMIO will integrate methods to monitor and improve recruitment using audio recordings of consultations between recruiting surgeons, nurses, and patients to provide feedback for recruiting staff. Discussion The ROMIO study aims to establish efficient methods to undertake a main trial of minimally invasive surgery versus open surgery for esophageal cancer. Trial registration The pilot trial has Current Controlled Trials registration number ISRCTN59036820(25/02/2013) at http://www.controlled-trials.com; the ROMIO trial record at that site gives a link to the original version of the study protocol. PMID:24888266

Establishment of Airborne Nanoparticle Exposure Chamber System to Assess Nano TiO2 Induced Mice Lung Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chia-Hua; Li, Jui-Ping; Huang, Nai-Chun; Yang, Chung-Shi; Chen, Jen-Kun

2011-12-01

A great many governments have schemed their top priority to support the research and development of emerging nanotechnology, which lead to increasing products containing nanomaterials. However, platforms and protocols to evaluate the safety of nanomaterials are not yet established. We therefore design and fabricate a nanoparticle exposure chamber system (NECS) and try to standardize protocols to assess potential health risk of inhalable nanoparticles. This platform comprises: (1) nano-aerosol generators to produce homogeneous airborne nanoparticles, (2) double isolated container to prevent from unexpected exposure to humans, (3) gas supply system for housing animals or incubating cultured cells, and (4) system for automatic control and airborne nanoparticle analysis. The NECS providing multiple functions includes: (1) a secure environment to handle nanomaterials, (2) real-time measurement for the size and distribution of airborne nanoparticles, (3) SOP of safety evaluation for nanomaterials, and (4) key technology for the development of inhalable pharmaceuticals. We used NECS to mimic occupational environment for exploring potential adverse effects of TiO2 nanoparticles. The adult male ICR mice were exposed to 25nm, well-characterized TiO2 particles for 1 and 4 weeks. More than 90% of the inhaled TiO2 nanoparticles deposit in lung tissue, which tends to be captured by alveolar macrophages. Pulmonary function test does not show significant physiological changes between one and 4 weeks exposure. For plasma biochemistry analysis, there are no obvious inflammation responses after exposure for one and 4 weeks; however, disruption of alveolar septa and increased thickness of alveolar epithelial cells were observed. According to our results, the NECS together with our protocols show comprehensive integration and ideally fit the standard of OECD guildelines-TG403, TG412, TG413; it can be further customized to fulfill diverse demands of industry, government, and third party contract research organization (CRO).

Optimal experimental design for parameter estimation of a cell signaling model.

PubMed

Bandara, Samuel; Schlöder, Johannes P; Eils, Roland; Bock, Hans Georg; Meyer, Tobias

2009-11-01

Differential equation models that describe the dynamic changes of biochemical signaling states are important tools to understand cellular behavior. An essential task in building such representations is to infer the affinities, rate constants, and other parameters of a model from actual measurement data. However, intuitive measurement protocols often fail to generate data that restrict the range of possible parameter values. Here we utilized a numerical method to iteratively design optimal live-cell fluorescence microscopy experiments in order to reveal pharmacological and kinetic parameters of a phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP(3)) second messenger signaling process that is deregulated in many tumors. The experimental approach included the activation of endogenous phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) by chemically induced recruitment of a regulatory peptide, reversible inhibition of PI3K using a kinase inhibitor, and monitoring of the PI3K-mediated production of PIP(3) lipids using the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of Akt. We found that an intuitively planned and established experimental protocol did not yield data from which relevant parameters could be inferred. Starting from a set of poorly defined model parameters derived from the intuitively planned experiment, we calculated concentration-time profiles for both the inducing and the inhibitory compound that would minimize the predicted uncertainty of parameter estimates. Two cycles of optimization and experimentation were sufficient to narrowly confine the model parameters, with the mean variance of estimates dropping more than sixty-fold. Thus, optimal experimental design proved to be a powerful strategy to minimize the number of experiments needed to infer biological parameters from a cell signaling assay.

The Aging of lignin rich papers upon exposure to light : its quantification and prediction

Treesearch

James S. Bond; Rajai H. Atalla; Agarwal Umesh P.; Chris G. Hunt

1999-01-01

A program was undertaken at the Forest Products Laboratory in conjunction with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) to develop guidelines for a credible accelerated photoaging protocol for printing and writing papers. In support of this, indepth studies of photodegredation were undertaken in sufficient detail to establish the validity of the protocol....

Building a Multi-Discipline Digital Library Through Extending the Dienst Protocol

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, Michael L.; Maly, Kurt; Shen, Stewart N. T.

1997-01-01

The purpose of this project is to establish multi-discipline capability for a unified, canonical digital library service for scientific and technical information (STI). This is accomplished by extending the Dienst Protocol to be aware of subject classification of a servers holdings. We propose a hierarchical, general, and extendible subject classification that can encapsulate existing classification systems.

Dual sensory loss: development of a dual sensory loss protocol and design of a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Dual sensory loss (DSL) has a negative impact on health and wellbeing and its prevalence is expected to increase due to demographic aging. However, specialized care or rehabilitation programs for DSL are scarce. Until now, low vision rehabilitation does not sufficiently target concurrent impairments in vision and hearing. This study aims to 1) develop a DSL protocol (for occupational therapists working in low vision rehabilitation) which focuses on optimal use of the senses and teaches DSL patients and their communication partners to use effective communication strategies, and 2) describe the multicenter parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the DSL protocol. Methods/design To develop a DSL protocol, literature was reviewed and content was discussed with professionals in eye/ear care (interviews/focus groups) and DSL patients (interviews). A pilot study was conducted to test and confirm the DSL protocol. In addition, a two-armed international multi-center RCT will evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the DSL protocol compared to waiting list controls, in 124 patients in low vision rehabilitation centers in the Netherlands and Belgium. Discussion This study provides a treatment protocol for rehabilitation of DSL within low vision rehabilitation, which aims to be a valuable addition to the general low vision rehabilitation care. Trial registration Netherlands Trial Register (NTR) identifier: NTR2843 PMID:23941667

Using a Delphi consensus process to develop an acupuncture treatment protocol by consensus for women undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) treatment

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are increasingly utilised for resolving difficulties conceiving. These technologies are expensive to both the public purse and the individual consumers. Acupuncture is widely used as an adjunct to ART with indications that it may assist reducing the time to conception and increasing live birth rates. Heterogeneity is high between treatment protocols. The aim of this study was to examine what fertility acupuncturists consider key components of best practice acupuncture during an ART cycle, and to establish an acupuncture protocol by consensus. Methods Fifteen international acupuncturists with extensive experience treating women during ART interventions participated in 3 rounds of Delphi questionnaires. The first round focused on identifying the parameters of acupuncture treatment as adjunct to ART, the second round evaluated statements derived from the earlier round, and the third evaluated specific parameters for a proposed trial protocol. Consensus was defined as greater than 80% agreement. Results Significant agreement was achieved on the parameters of best practice acupuncture, including an acupuncture protocol suitable for future research. Study participants confirmed the importance of needling aspects relating to the dose of acupuncture, the therapeutic relationship, tailoring treatment to the individual, and the role of co-interventions. From two rounds of the Delphi a consensus was achieved on seven treatment parameters for the design of the acupuncture treatment to be used in a clinical trial of acupuncture as an adjunct to ART. The treatment protocol includes the use of the traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture, use of manual acupuncture, a first treatment administered between day 6–8 of the stimulated ART cycle which is individualised to the participant, two treatments will be administered on the day of embryo transfer, and will include points SP8, SP10, LR3, ST29, CV4, and post transfer include: GV20, KD3, ST36, SP6, and PC6. Auricular points Shenmen and Zigong will be used. Practitioner intent or yi will be addressed in the treatment protocol. Conclusions Despite a lack of homogeneity in the research and clinical literature on ART and acupuncture, a consensus amongst experts on key components of a best practice treatment protocol was possible. Such consensus offers guidance for further research. PMID:22769059

Environmental Compliance Assessment Protocol-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ECAP-CDC)

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-10-01

propellers, or appliances. 2. Military weapons or equipment designed for combat use. 3. Rockets or equipment designed for research, or experimental or...should be reproduced and used during the assessment to take notes. It is designed to be inserted between each page of the protocols, allowing the...procedures are designed as an aid and should not be considered exhaus- tive. Use of the guide requires the evaluator’s judgement to play a role in

Economical impact associated with a biological therapy prioritization protocol in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the Hospital of Sagunto.

PubMed

Borrás-Blasco, Joaquín; Casterá, M Dolores-Elvira; Cortes, Xavier; Rosique-Robles, J Dolores; Abad, F Javier

2014-11-01

Until 2010 the cost of biological treatments in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) was increasing annually by 15% in our hospital. In 1st January 2011, a Hospital Commission of Biological Therapies involving rheumatology and pharmacy services was created to improve the management of biological drugs and a biological therapy prioritization protocol in RA patients was also established to improve the efficient usage of biological drugs in RA. To evaluate the economic impact associated with a biological therapy prioritization protocol for RA patients in the Hospital of Sagunto. Observational, ambispective study comparing the associated cost of RA patients treated with biological drugs in the pre-protocol (2009 - 2010) versus post-protocol periods (2011 - 2012). RA patients treated with Abatacept (ABA), Adalimumab (ADA), Etanercept (ETN) or Infliximab (IFX) for at least 6 months during the study period (2009 - 2012) were included. In 2012, Tocilizumab (TCZ) was also included in the prioritization protocol. Prioritization protocol was established based on both clinical and economical aspects and supervised case by case by our Commission. Cost savings and economic impact were calculated using Spanish official prices. In the pre-protocol period (2009 - 2010), total expenses were increasing by €110,000, up to €1,761,000 in 2010 (€11,362 pat/year). After protocol implementation, total expenses decreased by 53,676€ on the 2010 - 2011 period, and 149,200€ on the 2011 - 2012 period. On the 2010 - 2011 period the cost of biological therapy per patient-year decreased 355€ (11,007€ pat/year) and additional 653€ (up to 10,354€ pat/year) by 2012, with a cumulative effect of the protocol implementation of 1,008€ per patient-year. In the pre-protocol period (2009), the annual cost/patient was 10.812€ with ETN, 10.942€ with IFX, 12.961€ with ADA and 12.739€ with ABA. By 1st January 2013, the annual cost per patient was 9,469€ with ETN, 10,579€ with IFX, 11,117€ with ADA, 13,540€ with ABA and 14,932€ with TCZ. The creation of our Commission of Biological Therapies is key to rational management of RA patients and optimization of resources, allowing us to save 200,000€ after 2-year efficiency protocol implementation.

Dynamic Hierarchical Energy-Efficient Method Based on Combinatorial Optimization for Wireless Sensor Networks.

PubMed

Chang, Yuchao; Tang, Hongying; Cheng, Yongbo; Zhao, Qin; Yuan, Baoqing Li andXiaobing

2017-07-19

Routing protocols based on topology control are significantly important for improving network longevity in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Traditionally, some WSN routing protocols distribute uneven network traffic load to sensor nodes, which is not optimal for improving network longevity. Differently to conventional WSN routing protocols, we propose a dynamic hierarchical protocol based on combinatorial optimization (DHCO) to balance energy consumption of sensor nodes and to improve WSN longevity. For each sensor node, the DHCO algorithm obtains the optimal route by establishing a feasible routing set instead of selecting the cluster head or the next hop node. The process of obtaining the optimal route can be formulated as a combinatorial optimization problem. Specifically, the DHCO algorithm is carried out by the following procedures. It employs a hierarchy-based connection mechanism to construct a hierarchical network structure in which each sensor node is assigned to a special hierarchical subset; it utilizes the combinatorial optimization theory to establish the feasible routing set for each sensor node, and takes advantage of the maximum-minimum criterion to obtain their optimal routes to the base station. Various results of simulation experiments show effectiveness and superiority of the DHCO algorithm in comparison with state-of-the-art WSN routing algorithms, including low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH), hybrid energy-efficient distributed clustering (HEED), genetic protocol-based self-organizing network clustering (GASONeC), and double cost function-based routing (DCFR) algorithms.

Comparison of the Liaison® Calprotectin kit with a well established point of care test (Quantum Blue - Bühlmann-Alere®) in terms of analytical performances and ability to detect relapses amongst a Crohn population in follow-up.

PubMed

Delefortrie, Quentin; Schatt, Patricia; Grimmelprez, Alexandre; Gohy, Patrick; Deltour, Didier; Collard, Geneviève; Vankerkhoven, Patrick

2016-02-01

Although colonoscopy associated with histopathological sampling remains the gold standard in the diagnostic and follow-up of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), calprotectin is becoming an essential biomarker in gastroenterology. The aim of this work is to compare a newly developed kit (Liaison® Calprotectin - Diasorin®) and its two distinct extraction protocols (weighing and extraction device protocol) with a well established point of care test (Quantum Blue® - Bühlmann-Alere®) in terms of analytical performances and ability to detect relapses amongst a Crohn's population in follow-up. Stool specimens were collected over a six month period and were composed of control and Crohn's patients. Amongst the Crohn's population disease activity (active vs quiescent) was evaluated by gastroenterologists. A significant difference was found between all three procedures in terms of calprotectin measurements (weighing protocol=30.3μg/g (median); stool extraction device protocol=36.9μg/g (median); Quantum Blue® (median)=63; Friedman test, P value=0.05). However, a good correlation was found between both extraction methods coupled with the Liaison® analyzer and between the Quantum Blue® (weighing protocol/extraction device protocol Rs=0.844, P=0.01; Quantum Blue®/extraction device protocol Rs=0.708, P=0.01; Quantum Blue®/weighing protocol, Rs=0.808, P=0.01). Finally, optimal cut-offs (and associated negative predictive values - NPV) for detecting relapses were in accordance with above results (Quantum Blue® 183.5μg/g and NPV of 100%>extraction device protocol+Liaison® analyzer 124.5μg/g and NPV of 93.5%>weighing protocol+Liaison® analyzer 106.5μg/g and NPV of 95%). Although all three methods correlated well and had relatively good NPV in terms of detecting relapses amongst a Crohn's population in follow-up, the lack of any international standard is the origin of different optimal cut-offs between the three procedures. Copyright © 2015 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Wireless access to a pharmaceutical database: a demonstrator for data driven Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) applications in medical information processing.

PubMed

Schacht Hansen, M; Dørup, J

2001-01-01

The Wireless Application Protocol technology implemented in newer mobile phones has built-in facilities for handling much of the information processing needed in clinical work. To test a practical approach we ported a relational database of the Danish pharmaceutical catalogue to Wireless Application Protocol using open source freeware at all steps. We used Apache 1.3 web software on a Linux server. Data containing the Danish pharmaceutical catalogue were imported from an ASCII file into a MySQL 3.22.32 database using a Practical Extraction and Report Language script for easy update of the database. Data were distributed in 35 interrelated tables. Each pharmaceutical brand name was given its own card with links to general information about the drug, active substances, contraindications etc. Access was available through 1) browsing therapeutic groups and 2) searching for a brand name. The database interface was programmed in the server-side scripting language PHP3. A free, open source Wireless Application Protocol gateway to a pharmaceutical catalogue was established to allow dial-in access independent of commercial Wireless Application Protocol service providers. The application was tested on the Nokia 7110 and Ericsson R320s cellular phones. We have demonstrated that Wireless Application Protocol-based access to a dynamic clinical database can be established using open source freeware. The project opens perspectives for a further integration of Wireless Application Protocol phone functions in clinical information processing: Global System for Mobile communication telephony for bilateral communication, asynchronous unilateral communication via e-mail and Short Message Service, built-in calculator, calendar, personal organizer, phone number catalogue and Dictaphone function via answering machine technology. An independent Wireless Application Protocol gateway may be placed within hospital firewalls, which may be an advantage with respect to security. However, if Wireless Application Protocol phones are to become effective tools for physicians, special attention must be paid to the limitations of the devices. Input tools of Wireless Application Protocol phones should be improved, for instance by increased use of speech control.

Wireless access to a pharmaceutical database: A demonstrator for data driven Wireless Application Protocol applications in medical information processing

PubMed Central

Hansen, Michael Schacht

2001-01-01

Background The Wireless Application Protocol technology implemented in newer mobile phones has built-in facilities for handling much of the information processing needed in clinical work. Objectives To test a practical approach we ported a relational database of the Danish pharmaceutical catalogue to Wireless Application Protocol using open source freeware at all steps. Methods We used Apache 1.3 web software on a Linux server. Data containing the Danish pharmaceutical catalogue were imported from an ASCII file into a MySQL 3.22.32 database using a Practical Extraction and Report Language script for easy update of the database. Data were distributed in 35 interrelated tables. Each pharmaceutical brand name was given its own card with links to general information about the drug, active substances, contraindications etc. Access was available through 1) browsing therapeutic groups and 2) searching for a brand name. The database interface was programmed in the server-side scripting language PHP3. Results A free, open source Wireless Application Protocol gateway to a pharmaceutical catalogue was established to allow dial-in access independent of commercial Wireless Application Protocol service providers. The application was tested on the Nokia 7110 and Ericsson R320s cellular phones. Conclusions We have demonstrated that Wireless Application Protocol-based access to a dynamic clinical database can be established using open source freeware. The project opens perspectives for a further integration of Wireless Application Protocol phone functions in clinical information processing: Global System for Mobile communication telephony for bilateral communication, asynchronous unilateral communication via e-mail and Short Message Service, built-in calculator, calendar, personal organizer, phone number catalogue and Dictaphone function via answering machine technology. An independent Wireless Application Protocol gateway may be placed within hospital firewalls, which may be an advantage with respect to security. However, if Wireless Application Protocol phones are to become effective tools for physicians, special attention must be paid to the limitations of the devices. Input tools of Wireless Application Protocol phones should be improved, for instance by increased use of speech control. PMID:11720946

SU-E-I-32: Benchmarking Head CT Doses: A Pooled Vs. Protocol Specific Analysis of Radiation Doses in Adult Head CT Examinations

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

Fujii, K; UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA; Bostani, M

Purpose: The aim of this study was to collect CT dose index data from adult head exams to establish benchmarks based on either: (a) values pooled from all head exams or (b) values for specific protocols. One part of this was to investigate differences in scan frequency and CT dose index data for inpatients versus outpatients. Methods: We collected CT dose index data (CTDIvol) from adult head CT examinations performed at our medical facilities from Jan 1st to Dec 31th, 2014. Four of these scanners were used for inpatients, the other five were used for outpatients. All scanners used Tubemore » Current Modulation. We used X-ray dose management software to mine dose index data and evaluate CTDIvol for 15807 inpatients and 4263 outpatients undergoing Routine Brain, Sinus, Facial/Mandible, Temporal Bone, CTA Brain and CTA Brain-Neck protocols, and combined across all protocols. Results: For inpatients, Routine Brain series represented 84% of total scans performed. For outpatients, Sinus scans represented the largest fraction (36%). The CTDIvol (mean ± SD) across all head protocols was 39 ± 30 mGy (min-max: 3.3–540 mGy). The CTDIvol for Routine Brain was 51 ± 6.2 mGy (min-max: 36–84 mGy). The values for Sinus were 24 ± 3.2 mGy (min-max: 13–44 mGy) and for Facial/Mandible were 22 ± 4.3 mGy (min-max: 14–46 mGy). The mean CTDIvol for inpatients and outpatients was similar across protocols with one exception (CTA Brain-Neck). Conclusion: There is substantial dose variation when results from all protocols are pooled together; this is primarily a function of the differences in technical factors of the protocols themselves. When protocols are analyzed separately, there is much less variability. While analyzing pooled data affords some utility, reviewing protocols segregated by clinical indication provides greater opportunity for optimization and establishing useful benchmarks.« less

An intelligent case-adjustment algorithm for the automated design of population-based quality auditing protocols.

PubMed

Advani, Aneel; Jones, Neil; Shahar, Yuval; Goldstein, Mary K; Musen, Mark A

2004-01-01

We develop a method and algorithm for deciding the optimal approach to creating quality-auditing protocols for guideline-based clinical performance measures. An important element of the audit protocol design problem is deciding which guide-line elements to audit. Specifically, the problem is how and when to aggregate individual patient case-specific guideline elements into population-based quality measures. The key statistical issue involved is the trade-off between increased reliability with more general population-based quality measures versus increased validity from individually case-adjusted but more restricted measures done at a greater audit cost. Our intelligent algorithm for auditing protocol design is based on hierarchically modeling incrementally case-adjusted quality constraints. We select quality constraints to measure using an optimization criterion based on statistical generalizability coefficients. We present results of the approach from a deployed decision support system for a hypertension guideline.

Part II: The Effects of Aromatherapy and Guided Imagery for the Symptom Management of Anxiety, Pain, and Insomnia in Critically Ill Patients: An Integrative Review of Current Literature.

PubMed

Meghani, Naheed; Tracy, Mary Fran; Hadidi, Niloufar Niakosari; Lindquist, Ruth

This review is part II of a 2-part series that presents evidence on the effectiveness of aromatherapy and guided imagery for the symptom management of anxiety, pain, and insomnia in adult critically ill patients. Evidence from this review supports the use of aromatherapy for management of pain, insomnia, and anxiety in critically ill patients. Evidence also supports the use of guided imagery for managing these symptoms in critical care; however, the evidence is sparse, mixed, and weak. More studies with larger samples and stronger designs are needed to further establish efficacy of guided imagery for the management of anxiety, pain, and insomnia of critically ill patients; to accomplish this, standardized evidence-based intervention protocols to ensure comparability and to establish optimal effectiveness are needed. Discussion and recommendations related to the use of these therapies in practice and needs for future research in these areas were generated.

Network protocols for real-time applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Marjory J.

1987-01-01

The Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) and the SAE AE-9B High Speed Ring Bus (HSRB) are emerging standards for high-performance token ring local area networks. FDDI was designed to be a general-purpose high-performance network. HSRB was designed specifically for military real-time applications. A workshop was conducted at NASA Ames Research Center in January, 1987 to compare and contrast these protocols with respect to their ability to support real-time applications. This report summarizes workshop presentations and includes an independent comparison of the two protocols. A conclusion reached at the workshop was that current protocols for the upper layers of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) network model are inadequate for real-time applications.

Bringing memory fMRI to the clinic: comparison of seven memory fMRI protocols in temporal lobe epilepsy.

PubMed

Towgood, Karren; Barker, Gareth J; Caceres, Alejandro; Crum, William R; Elwes, Robert D C; Costafreda, Sergi G; Mehta, Mitul A; Morris, Robin G; von Oertzen, Tim J; Richardson, Mark P

2015-04-01

fMRI is increasingly implemented in the clinic to assess memory function. There are multiple approaches to memory fMRI, but limited data on advantages and reliability of different methods. Here, we compared effect size, activation lateralisation, and between-sessions reliability of seven memory fMRI protocols: Hometown Walking (block design), Scene encoding (block design and event-related design), Picture encoding (block and event-related), and Word encoding (block and event-related). All protocols were performed on three occasions in 16 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Group T-maps showed activity bilaterally in medial temporal lobe for all protocols. Using ANOVA, there was an interaction between hemisphere and seizure-onset lateralisation (P = 0.009) and between hemisphere, protocol and seizure-onset lateralisation (P = 0.002), showing that the distribution of memory-related activity between left and right temporal lobes differed between protocols and between patients with left-onset and right-onset seizures. Using voxelwise intraclass Correlation Coefficient, between-sessions reliability was best for Hometown and Scenes (block and event). The between-sessions spatial overlap of activated voxels was also greatest for Hometown and Scenes. Lateralisation of activity between hemispheres was most reliable for Scenes (block and event) and Words (event). Using receiver operating characteristic analysis to explore the ability of each fMRI protocol to classify patients as left-onset or right-onset TLE, only the Words (event) protocol achieved a significantly above-chance classification of patients at all three sessions. We conclude that Words (event) protocol shows the best combination of between-sessions reliability of the distribution of activity between hemispheres and reliable ability to distinguish between left-onset and right-onset patients. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Potential of Wake-Up Radio-Based MAC Protocols for Implantable Body Sensor Networks (IBSN)—A Survey

PubMed Central

Karuppiah Ramachandran, Vignesh Raja; Ayele, Eyuel D.; Meratnia, Nirvana; Havinga, Paul J. M.

2016-01-01

With the advent of nano-technology, medical sensors and devices are becoming highly miniaturized. Consequently, the number of sensors and medical devices being implanted to accurately monitor and diagnose a disease is increasing. By measuring the symptoms and controlling a medical device as close as possible to the source, these implantable devices are able to save lives. A wireless link between medical sensors and implantable medical devices is essential in the case of closed-loop medical devices, in which symptoms of the diseases are monitored by sensors that are not placed in close proximity of the therapeutic device. Medium Access Control (MAC) is crucial to make it possible for several medical devices to communicate using a shared wireless medium in such a way that minimum delay, maximum throughput, and increased network life-time are guaranteed. To guarantee this Quality of Service (QoS), the MAC protocols control the main sources of limited resource wastage, namely the idle-listening, packet collisions, over-hearing, and packet loss. Traditional MAC protocols designed for body sensor networks are not directly applicable to Implantable Body Sensor Networks (IBSN) because of the dynamic nature of the radio channel within the human body and the strict QoS requirements of IBSN applications. Although numerous MAC protocols are available in the literature, the majority of them are designed for Body Sensor Network (BSN) and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). To the best of our knowledge, there is so far no research paper that explores the impact of these MAC protocols specifically for IBSN. MAC protocols designed for implantable devices are still in their infancy and one of their most challenging objectives is to be ultra-low-power. One of the technological solutions to achieve this objective so is to integrate the concept of Wake-up radio (WuR) into the MAC design. In this survey, we present a taxonomy of MAC protocols based on their use of WuR technology and identify their bottlenecks to be used in IBSN applications. Furthermore, we present a number of open research challenges and requirements for designing an energy-efficient and reliable wireless communication protocol for IBSN. PMID:27916822

Potential of Wake-Up Radio-Based MAC Protocols for Implantable Body Sensor Networks (IBSN)-A Survey.

PubMed

Karuppiah Ramachandran, Vignesh Raja; Ayele, Eyuel D; Meratnia, Nirvana; Havinga, Paul J M

2016-11-29

With the advent of nano-technology, medical sensors and devices are becoming highly miniaturized. Consequently, the number of sensors and medical devices being implanted to accurately monitor and diagnose a disease is increasing. By measuring the symptoms and controlling a medical device as close as possible to the source, these implantable devices are able to save lives. A wireless link between medical sensors and implantable medical devices is essential in the case of closed-loop medical devices, in which symptoms of the diseases are monitored by sensors that are not placed in close proximity of the therapeutic device. Medium Access Control (MAC) is crucial to make it possible for several medical devices to communicate using a shared wireless medium in such a way that minimum delay, maximum throughput, and increased network life-time are guaranteed. To guarantee this Quality of Service (QoS), the MAC protocols control the main sources of limited resource wastage, namely the idle-listening, packet collisions, over-hearing, and packet loss. Traditional MAC protocols designed for body sensor networks are not directly applicable to Implantable Body Sensor Networks (IBSN) because of the dynamic nature of the radio channel within the human body and the strict QoS requirements of IBSN applications. Although numerous MAC protocols are available in the literature, the majority of them are designed for Body Sensor Network (BSN) and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). To the best of our knowledge, there is so far no research paper that explores the impact of these MAC protocols specifically for IBSN. MAC protocols designed for implantable devices are still in their infancy and one of their most challenging objectives is to be ultra-low-power. One of the technological solutions to achieve this objective so is to integrate the concept of Wake-up radio (WuR) into the MAC design. In this survey, we present a taxonomy of MAC protocols based on their use of WuR technology and identify their bottlenecks to be used in IBSN applications. Furthermore, we present a number of open research challenges and requirements for designing an energy-efficient and reliable wireless communication protocol for IBSN.

Performance assessment of two lysis methods for direct identification of yeasts from clinical blood cultures using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Jeddi, Fakhri; Yapo-Kouadio, Gisèle Cha; Normand, Anne-Cécile; Cassagne, Carole; Marty, Pierre; Piarroux, Renaud

2017-02-01

In cases of fungal infection of the bloodstream, rapid species identification is crucial to provide adapted therapy and thereby ameliorate patient outcome. Currently, the commercial Sepsityper kit and the sodium-dodecyl sulfate (SDS) method coupled with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry are the most commonly reported lysis protocols for direct identification of fungi from positive blood culture vials. However, the performance of these two protocols has never been compared on clinical samples. Accordingly, we performed a two-step survey on two distinct panels of clinical positive blood culture vials to identify the most efficient protocol, establish an appropriate log score (LS) cut-off, and validate the best method. We first compared the performance of the Sepsityper and the SDS protocols on 71 clinical samples. For 69 monomicrobial samples, mass spectrometry LS values were significantly higher with the SDS protocol than with the Sepsityper method (P < .0001), especially when the best score of four deposited spots was considered. Next, we established the LS cut-off for accurate identification at 1.7, based on specimen DNA sequence data. Using this LS cut-off, 66 (95.6%) and 46 (66.6%) isolates were correctly identified at the species level with the SDS and the Sepsityper protocols, respectively. In the second arm of the survey, we validated the SDS protocol on an additional panel of 94 clinical samples. Ninety-two (98.9%) of 93 monomicrobial samples were correctly identified at the species level (median LS = 2.061). Overall, our data suggest that the SDS method yields more accurate species identification of yeasts, than the Sepsityper protocol. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Organoid culture systems for prostate epithelial tissue and prostate cancer tissue

PubMed Central

Drost, Jarno; Karthaus, Wouter R.; Gao, Dong; Driehuis, Else; Sawyers, Charles L.; Chen, Yu; Clevers, Hans

2016-01-01

Summary This protocol describes a recently developed strategy to generate 3D prostate organoid cultures from healthy mouse and human prostate (either bulk or FAC-sorted single luminal and basal cells), metastatic prostate cancer lesions and circulating tumour cells. Organoids derived from healthy material contain the differentiated luminal and basal cell types, whereas organoids derived from prostate cancer tissue mimic the histology of the tumour. The stepwise establishment of these cultures and the fully defined serum-free conditioned medium that is required to sustain organoid growth are outlined. Organoids established using this protocol can be used to study many different aspects of prostate biology, including homeostasis, tumorigenesis and drug discovery. PMID:26797458

Predicting Silk Fiber Mechanical Properties through Multiscale Simulation and Protein Design.

PubMed

Rim, Nae-Gyune; Roberts, Erin G; Ebrahimi, Davoud; Dinjaski, Nina; Jacobsen, Matthew M; Martín-Moldes, Zaira; Buehler, Markus J; Kaplan, David L; Wong, Joyce Y

2017-08-14

Silk is a promising material for biomedical applications, and much research is focused on how application-specific, mechanical properties of silk can be designed synthetically through proper amino acid sequences and processing parameters. This protocol describes an iterative process between research disciplines that combines simulation, genetic synthesis, and fiber analysis to better design silk fibers with specific mechanical properties. Computational methods are used to assess the protein polymer structure as it forms an interconnected fiber network through shearing and how this process affects fiber mechanical properties. Model outcomes are validated experimentally with the genetic design of protein polymers that match the simulation structures, fiber fabrication from these polymers, and mechanical testing of these fibers. Through iterative feedback between computation, genetic synthesis, and fiber mechanical testing, this protocol will enable a priori prediction capability of recombinant material mechanical properties via insights from the resulting molecular architecture of the fiber network based entirely on the initial protein monomer composition. This style of protocol may be applied to other fields where a research team seeks to design a biomaterial with biomedical application-specific properties. This protocol highlights when and how the three research groups (simulation, synthesis, and engineering) should be interacting to arrive at the most effective method for predictive design of their material.

Whole Building Cost and Performance Measurement: Data Collection Protocol Revision 2

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

Fowler, Kimberly M.; Spees, Kathleen L.; Kora, Angela R.

2009-03-27

This protocol was written for the Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) to be used by the public as a tool for assessing building cost and performance measurement. The primary audiences are sustainable design professionals, asset owners, building managers, and research professionals within the Federal sector. The protocol was developed based on the need for measured performance and cost data on sustainable design projects. Historically there has not been a significant driver in the public or private sector to quantify whole building performance in comparable terms. The deployment of sustainable design into the building sector has initiated manymore » questions on the performance and operational cost of these buildings.« less

A protocol of rope skipping exercise for primary school children: A pilot test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radzi, A. N. M.; Rambely, A. S.; Chellapan, K.

2014-06-01

This paper aims to investigate the methods and sample used in rope skipping as an exercise approach. A systematic literature review was approached in identifying skipping performance in the related researches. The methods were compared to determine the best methodological approach for the targeted skipping based research measure. A pilot test was performed among seven students below 12 years old. As the outcome of the review, a skipping protocol design has been proposed for 10 years old primary school students. The proposed protocol design is to be submitted to PPUKM Ethical Committee for approval prior to its implementation in investigation memory enhancement in relation to designed skipping activities.

Effects of a Short Drilling Implant Protocol on Osteotomy Site Temperature and Drill Torque.

PubMed

Mihali, Sorin G; Canjau, Silvana; Cernescu, Anghel; Bortun, Cristina M; Wang, Hom-Lay; Bratu, Emanuel

2018-02-01

To establish a protocol for reducing the drilling sequence during implant site preparation based on temperature and insertion torque. The traditional conventional drilling sequence (used several drills with 0.6-mm increment each time) was compared with the proposed short drilling protocol (only used 2 drills: initial and final drill). One hundred drilling osteotomies were performed in bovine and porcine bones. Sets of 2 osteotomy sites were created in 5 bone densities using 2 types of drilling protocols. Thermographic pictures were captured throughout all drilling procedures and analyzed using ThermaCAM Researcher Professional 2.10. Torque values were determined during drilling by measuring electrical input and drill speed. There were statistically significant differences in bone temperature between the conventional and short drilling protocols during implant site preparation (analysis of variance P = 0.0008). However, there were no significant differences between the 2 types of drilling protocols for both implant diameters. Implant site preparation time was significantly reduced when using the short drilling protocol compared with the conventional drilling protocol (P < 0.001). Within the limitations of the study, the short drilling protocol proposed herein may represent a safe approach for implant site preparation.

A robust ECC based mutual authentication protocol with anonymity for session initiation protocol.

PubMed

Mehmood, Zahid; Chen, Gongliang; Li, Jianhua; Li, Linsen; Alzahrani, Bander

2017-01-01

Over the past few years, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is found as a substantial application-layer protocol for the multimedia services. It is extensively used for managing, altering, terminating and distributing the multimedia sessions. Authentication plays a pivotal role in SIP environment. Currently, Lu et al. presented an authentication protocol for SIP and profess that newly proposed protocol is protected against all the familiar attacks. However, the detailed analysis describes that the Lu et al.'s protocol is exposed against server masquerading attack and user's masquerading attack. Moreover, it also fails to protect the user's identity as well as it possesses incorrect login and authentication phase. In order to establish a suitable and efficient protocol, having ability to overcome all these discrepancies, a robust ECC-based novel mutual authentication mechanism with anonymity for SIP is presented in this manuscript. The improved protocol contains an explicit parameter for user to cope the issues of security and correctness and is found to be more secure and relatively effective to protect the user's privacy, user's masquerading and server masquerading as it is verified through the comprehensive formal and informal security analysis.

Security of six-state quantum key distribution protocol with threshold detectors

PubMed Central

Kato, Go; Tamaki, Kiyoshi

2016-01-01

The security of quantum key distribution (QKD) is established by a security proof, and the security proof puts some assumptions on the devices consisting of a QKD system. Among such assumptions, security proofs of the six-state protocol assume the use of photon number resolving (PNR) detector, and as a result the bit error rate threshold for secure key generation for the six-state protocol is higher than that for the BB84 protocol. Unfortunately, however, this type of detector is demanding in terms of technological level compared to the standard threshold detector, and removing the necessity of such a detector enhances the feasibility of the implementation of the six-state protocol. Here, we develop the security proof for the six-state protocol and show that we can use the threshold detector for the six-state protocol. Importantly, the bit error rate threshold for the key generation for the six-state protocol (12.611%) remains almost the same as the one (12.619%) that is derived from the existing security proofs assuming the use of PNR detectors. This clearly demonstrates feasibility of the six-state protocol with practical devices. PMID:27443610

Zebrafish embryology and cartilage staining protocols for high school students.

PubMed

Emran, Farida; Brooks, Jacqueline M; Zimmerman, Steven R; Johnson, Susan L; Lue, Robert A

2009-06-01

The Life Sciences-Howard Hughes Medical Institute Outreach Program at Harvard University supports high school science education by offering an on-campus program for students and their teachers to participate in investigative, hands-on laboratory sessions. The outreach program has recently designed and launched a successful zebrafish embryology protocol that we present here. The main objectives of this protocol are to introduce students to zebrafish as a model research organism and to provide students with direct experience with current techniques used in embryological research. The content of the lab is designed to generate discussions on embryology, genetics, fertilization, natural selection, and animal adaptation. The protocol produces reliable results in a time-efficient manner using a minimum of reagents. The protocol presented here consists of three sections: observations of live zebrafish larvae at different developmental stages, cartilage staining of zebrafish larvae, and a mutant hunt involving identification of two zebrafish mutants (nacre and chokh). Here, we describe the protocol, show the results obtained for each section, and suggest possible alternatives for different lab settings.

DWTP: a basis for networked VR on the Internet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broll, Wolfgang; Schick, Daniel

1998-04-01

Shared virtual worlds are one of today's major research topics. While limited to particular application areas and high speed networks in the past, they become more and more available to a large number of users. One reason for this development was the introduction of VRML (the Virtual Reality Modeling Language), which has been established as a standard of the exchange of 3D worlds on the Internet. Although a number of prototype systems have been developed to realize shared multi-user worlds based on VRML, no suitable network protocol to support the demands of such environments has yet been established. In this paper we will introduce our approach of a network protocol for shared virtual environments: DWTP--the Distributed Worlds Transfer and communication Protocol. We will show how DWTP meets the demands of shared virtual environments on the Internet. We will further present SmallView, our prototype of a distributed multi-user VR system, to show how DWTP can be used to realize shared worlds.

Institutional review board-based recommendations for medical institutions pursuing protocol approval for facial transplantation.

PubMed

Siemionow, Maria Z; Gordon, Chad R

2010-10-01

Preliminary outcomes from the previous nine face transplants performed since 2005 have been encouraging and have therefore led to a rise in the number of medical centers interested in establishing face transplant programs worldwide. However, until now, very little literature has been published providing surgeons the necessary insight on how to (1) prepare a protocol for institutional review board approval and (2) establish a face transplant program. The authors' face transplant team's experience with the institutional review board at the Cleveland Clinic, beginning in 2002, was critically reviewed in a detailed, retrospective manner. The purpose was to identify and define certain criteria necessary for both the institutional review board approval process and face transplant program establishment. In 2002, unprecedented efforts from within the authors' plastic surgery department led to the world's first institutional review board approval for face transplantation, in 2004. As a result, 4 years later, the authors' face transplant team performed the nation's first successful near-total face and maxilla transplant. Every surgical department hoping to establish a face transplant program must realize that this endeavor requires both tremendous financial and long-term commitments by its medical institution. These transplants should be performed only within university-based medical centers capable of orchestrating a specialized, talented, multidisciplinary team. More importantly, facial composite tissue allotransplantation possesses an unmatched level of complexity and therefore requires most centers to prepare a carefully detailed protocol using these institutional review board-based guidelines.

Peri-procedural protocols for interventional pain management techniques: a survey of US pain centers.

PubMed

Ahmed, Shihab U; Tonidandel, William; Trella, Jason; Martin, Nicole M; Chang, Yuchiao

2005-04-01

Interventional techniques are now an integral part of chronic pain management. As new procedures are arising at a rapid pace, decisions regarding patient safety and comfort are becoming more challenging. No peri-procedural consensus protocol currently addresses issues such as 1. nulla per os (NPO) status, 2. sedation, 3. monitoring, or 4. recovery. In establishing safety guidelines for interventional pain procedures, the knowledge of current peri-procedural protocols is required. To survey interventional pain practices and to obtain current peri-procedural protocols. We faxed a one-page questionnaire to 105 United States pain practices identified using the directory of the American Pain Society. Fifty-seven academic and private pain practices (54%) responded and were included in the analysis. Monitoring devices such as electrocardiogram (EKG), blood pressure, and pulse oximetry are not universally employed for cervical or lumbar spinal procedures. Even procedures that are often performed by anesthesiologists in operating rooms, such as Bier blocks, are not monitored in a uniform manner when performed in pain clinics. Establishment of intravenous access for procedures also varies among practitioners. Most (72%) practices had treated patients with vasovagal reactions over the past 12 months, but only 42% had simulated cardiac arrests to prepare for these situations. While various trends in peri-procedural care are observable, standards of care are not well established. In order to minimize complications associated with interventional pain management techniques, the pain management community should agree on safety guidelines for all procedures, much as these advocated by the American Society of Anesthesiology for surgical anesthetic care.

T2AR: trust-aware ad-hoc routing protocol for MANET.

PubMed

Dhananjayan, Gayathri; Subbiah, Janakiraman

2016-01-01

Secure data transfer against the malicious attacks is an important issue in an infrastructure-less independent network called mobile ad-hoc network (MANET). Trust assurance between MANET nodes is the key parameter in the high-security provision under dynamic topology variations and open wireless constraints. But, the malicious behavior of nodes reduces the trust level of the nodes that leads to an insecure data delivery. The increase in malicious attacks causes the excessive energy consumption that leads to a reduction of network lifetime. The lack of positional information update of the nodes in ad-hoc on-demand vector (AODV) protocol during the connection establishment offers less trust level between the nodes. Hence, the trust rate computation using energy and mobility models and its update are the essential tasks for secure data delivery. This paper proposes a trust-aware ad-hoc routing (T2AR) protocol to improve the trust level between the nodes in MANET. The proposed method modifies the traditional AODV routing protocol with the constraints of trust rate, energy, mobility based malicious behavior prediction. The packet sequence ID matching from the log reports of neighbor nodes determine the trust rate that avoids the malicious report generation. Besides, the direct and indirect trust observation schemes utilization increases the trust level. Besides, the received signal strength indicator utilization determines the trusted node is within the communication range or not. The comparative analysis between the proposed T2AR with the existing methods such as TRUNCMAN, RBT, GR, FBR and DICOTIDS regarding the average end-to-end delay, throughput, false positives, packet delivery ratio shows the effectiveness of T2AR in the secure MANET environment design.

Medical management of early pregnancy failure (EPF): a retrospective analysis of a combined protocol of mifepristone and misoprostol used in clinical practice.

PubMed

Colleselli, Valeria; Schreiber, Courtney A; D'Costa, Elisabeth; Mangesius, Stephanie; Wildt, Ludwig; Seeber, Beata E

2014-06-01

To evaluate the efficacy of a combined protocol of mifepristone and misoprostol in the management of early pregnancy failure (EPF) and the average time to expulsion of tissue and rate of side effects. Retrospective chart review of all consecutive women treated with primary medical management for EPF at our institution from 2006 to 2012. 168 patients were included in the present study. The overall success rate, defined as the absence of the need for surgical intervention, was 61 % and did not differ by calendar year. There was no difference in success rate grouped by diagnosis [intrauterine embryonic/fetal demise (IUED/IUFD) vs. anembryonic gestation; p = 0.30] or gestational age (<9 or ≥9 weeks; p = 0.48). The success rate varied significantly according to the required dose of misoprostol, ≤800 or >800 μg (68 vs. 50 %, p = 0.029). Of the possible predictive factors of success, only the dose of misoprostol required was a significant independent negative predictor. Mean and median time to tissue expulsion after the first dose of misoprostol were 8.4 and 5.5 h, respectively. The incidence of side effects was low with no blood transfusions required. The success rate in this study is markedly below published data. This can possibly be attributed to retrospective study design, allowing for physician subjectivity and patients' wishes in the absence of strict study requirements. The protocol was well tolerated with a paucity of side effects. We make suggestions for enhancing success rates in the clinical setting by optimizing medication protocols, establishing precise treatment guidelines and training physicians in the accurate interpretation of treatment outcomes.

Hypersensitivity and desensitization to antineoplastic agents: outcomes of 189 procedures with a new short protocol and novel diagnostic tools assessment.

PubMed

Madrigal-Burgaleta, R; Berges-Gimeno, M P; Angel-Pereira, D; Ferreiro-Monteagudo, R; Guillen-Ponce, C; Pueyo, C; Gomez de Salazar, E; Alvarez-Cuesta, E

2013-07-01

Desensitization to antineoplastic agents is becoming a standard of care. Efforts to establish and improve these techniques are being made at many institutions. Our aims are to evaluate a new rapid desensitization protocol designed to be shorter (approximately 4 h) and safer (reducing hazardous drugs exposure risks) and to assess the oxaliplatin-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) as a novel diagnostic tool. Prospective, observational, longitudinal study with patients who, for a 1-year period, suffered reactions to antineoplastic agents and were referred to the Desensitization Program at Ramon y Cajal University Hospital (RCUH). Patients were included or excluded as desensitization candidates after anamnesis, skin testing, risk assessment, and graded challenge. Specific IgE was determined in oxaliplatin-reactive patients. Candidate patients were desensitized using the new RCUH rapid desensitization protocol. Of 189 intravenous rapid desensitizations, 188 were successfully accomplished in the 23 patients who met inclusion criteria for desensitization (of 58 referred patients). No breakthrough reactions occurred in 94% of desensitizations, and most breakthrough reactions were mild. In 10 oxaliplatin-reactive patients, 38 desensitizations were successfully accomplished. Sensitivity for oxaliplatin-specific IgE was 38% (0.35UI/l cutoff point) and 54% (0.10UI/l cutoff point); specificity was 100% for both cutoff points. In the hands of a Desensitization Program, managed by drug desensitization experts, this new protocol has proven an effective therapeutic tool for hypersensitivity to several antineoplastic agents (oxaliplatin, carboplatin, paclitaxel, docetaxel, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab); moreover, it improves safety handling of hazardous drugs. We report the first large series of oxaliplatin desensitizations. Oxaliplatin-specific IgE determination could be helpful. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Interorganizational exchanges as performance markers in a community cancer network.

PubMed Central

McKinney, M M; Morrissey, J P; Kaluzny, A D

1993-01-01

OBJECTIVE. This study examines how "strategic partnerships" between community-based consortia of oncologists and hospitals (CCOPs) and clinical cooperative groups emerge, develop, and influence patient accruals (i.e., the number of patients enrolled in clinical trials) over time. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING. Study analyses are based on 65 pairwise relationships that 38 CCOPs established with eight clinical cooperative groups in September 1983 and maintained through February 1989. Data are drawn from grantee applications and progress reports. STUDY DESIGN. The study examines how different types of CCOP-cooperative group exchange relate to one another and to CCOP patient accruals over six time points. Key independent variables include resource dependence, information exchange (i.e., meeting attendance and committee membership), and protocol exchange (i.e., the number of different protocols used). DATA COLLECTION METHODS. Data extracted from secondary sources were entered in a data base. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. The number of CCOP physicians and support staff who attend cooperative group meetings during the first two years of a clinical research partnership has a significant influence on meeting attendance and protocol use in later years. Two-thirds or more of the variance in patient accruals at each time point can be explained by the number of different protocols used and the number of CCOP representatives serving on cooperative group committees (or attending cooperative group meetings). CONCLUSIONS. The findings highlight the importance of historical relationships and anticipated resource dependence in shaping initial exchange patterns. They also suggest that strategic partnerships need to emphasize structures and processes that encourage early involvement in collaborative activities and that reward participants for maintaining high levels of interaction. PMID:8407338

Application of Metagenomic Sequencing to Food Safety: Detection of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli on Fresh Bagged Spinach

PubMed Central

Leonard, Susan R.; Mammel, Mark K.; Lacher, David W.

2015-01-01

Culture-independent diagnostics reduce the reliance on traditional (and slower) culture-based methodologies. Here we capitalize on advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) to apply this approach to food pathogen detection utilizing NGS as an analytical tool. In this study, spiking spinach with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) following an established FDA culture-based protocol was used in conjunction with shotgun metagenomic sequencing to determine the limits of detection, sensitivity, and specificity levels and to obtain information on the microbiology of the protocol. We show that an expected level of contamination (∼10 CFU/100 g) could be adequately detected (including key virulence determinants and strain-level specificity) within 8 h of enrichment at a sequencing depth of 10,000,000 reads. We also rationalize the relative benefit of static versus shaking culture conditions and the addition of selected antimicrobial agents, thereby validating the long-standing culture-based parameters behind such protocols. Moreover, the shotgun metagenomic approach was informative regarding the dynamics of microbial communities during the enrichment process, including initial surveys of the microbial loads associated with bagged spinach; the microbes found included key genera such as Pseudomonas, Pantoea, and Exiguobacterium. Collectively, our metagenomic study highlights and considers various parameters required for transitioning to such sequencing-based diagnostics for food safety and the potential to develop better enrichment processes in a high-throughput manner not previously possible. Future studies will investigate new species-specific DNA signature target regimens, rational design of medium components in concert with judicious use of additives, such as antibiotics, and alterations in the sample processing protocol to enhance detection. PMID:26386062

Measuring Tissue Perfusion During Pressure Relief Maneuvers: Insights Into Preventing Pressure Ulcers

PubMed Central

Makhsous, Mohsen; Priebe, Michael; Bankard, James; Rowles, Diana; Zeigler, Mary; Chen, David; Lin, Fang

2007-01-01

Background/Objective: To study the effect on tissue perfusion of relieving interface pressure using standard wheelchair pushups compared with a mechanical automated dynamic pressure relief system. Design: Repeated measures in 2 protocols on 3 groups of subjects. Participants: Twenty individuals with motor-complete paraplegia below T4, 20 with motor-complete tetraplegia, and 20 able-bodied subjects. Methods: Two 1-hour sitting protocols: dynamic protocol, sitting configuration alternated every 10 minutes between a normal sitting configuration and an off-loading configuration; wheelchair pushup protocol, normal sitting configuration with standard wheelchair pushup once every 20 minutes. Main Outcome Measures: Transcutaneous partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide measured from buttock overlying the ischial tuberosity and interface pressure measured at the seat back and buttocks. Perfusion deterioration and recovery times were calculated during changes in interface pressures. Results: In the off-loading configuration, concentrated interface pressure during the normal sitting configuration was significantly diminished, and tissue perfusion was significantly improved. Wheelchair pushups showed complete relief of interface pressure but incomplete recovery of tissue perfusion. Conclusions: Interface pressure analysis does not provide complete information about the effectiveness of pressure relief maneuvers. Measures of tissue perfusion may help establish more effective strategies. Relief achieved by standard wheelchair pushups may not be sufficient to recover tissue perfusion compromised during sitting; alternate maneuvers may be necessary. The dynamic seating system provided effective pressure relief with sustained reduction in interface pressure adequate for complete recovery of tissue perfusion. Differences in perfusion recovery times between subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI) and controls raise questions about the importance of changes in vascular responses to pressure after SCI. PMID:18092567

Facilitated versus self-guided training of non-ophthalmologists for grading pre-plus and plus disease using fundus images for retinopathy of prematurity screening

PubMed Central

Raufi, Nikolas N.; Morris, Caleb K.; Freedman, Sharon F.; Wallace, David K.; Prakalapakorn, S. Grace

2016-01-01

Purpose Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an important cause of preventable blindness; barriers to screening necessitate novel approaches. While trained non-ophthalmologists can accurately grade retinal images for ROP, effective training protocols are not established. This study compares the effectiveness of facilitated versus self-guided training of non-ophthalmologists for grading retinal images for pre-plus or plus disease in ROP. Methods Forty-eight undergraduate and graduate students were trained to grade retinal images for the presence of pre-plus or plus disease. Students were randomly assigned to one of two training protocols. Both utilized identical electronic slideshows; one guided by an in-person facilitator, and the other was self-guided. After completing their respective training, students proficient in grading pre-plus and plus disease graded images in a telemedicine screening scenario. Accuracy of grading was compared to the reference standard of clinical examination. Results 83% (40/48) of trained students (91% in the facilitated vs. 77% in the self-guided group, p=0.26) were proficient and qualified to grade the ROP telemedicine screening scenario. Median accuracy for grading normal, pre-plus or plus disease was 69% (70% in the facilitated vs. 68% in the self-guided group, p=0.91). When considering the designation of pre-plus or plus disease by graders as a screening test for detecting plus disease (confirmed on clinical exam), the median sensitivity and specificity of all students was 95% and 64%, respectively. Conclusions Both facilitated- and self-guided teaching protocols yielded similar performance in ROP image grading for pre-plus or plus disease. Self-guided training protocols may be adequate to train non-ophthalmologists to grade retinal images for pre-plus and plus disease with high sensitivity. PMID:27224953

OSI-compatible protocols for mobile-satellite communications: The AMSS experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moher, Michael

1990-01-01

The protocol structure of the international aeronautical mobile satellite service (AMSS) is reviewed with emphasis on those aspects of protocol performance, validation, and conformance which are peculiar to mobile services. This is in part an analysis of what can be learned from the AMSS experience with protocols which is relevant to the design of other mobile satellite data networks, e.g., land mobile.

An Efficient Plant Regeneration and Transformation System of Ma Bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro) Started from Young Shoot as Explant

PubMed Central

Ye, Shanwen; Cai, Changyang; Ren, Huibo; Wang, Wenjia; Xiang, Mengqi; Tang, Xiaoshan; Zhu, Caiping; Yin, Tengfei; Zhang, Li; Zhu, Qiang

2017-01-01

Genetic engineering technology has been successfully used in many plant species, but is limited in woody plants, especially in bamboos. Ma bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro) is one of the most important bamboo species in Asia, and its genetic improvement was largely restricted by the lack of an efficient regeneration and transformation method. Here we reported a plantlet regeneration and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol by using Ma bamboo young shoots as explants. Under our optimized conditions, embryogenic calluses were successfully induced from the excised young shoots on callus induction medium and rapidly grew on callus multiplication medium. Shoots and roots were regenerated on shoot induction medium and root induction medium, respectively, with high efficiency. An Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation protocol of Ma bamboo was established, verified by PCR and GUS staining. Furthermore, the maize Lc gene under the control of the ubiquitin promoter was successfully introduced into Ma bamboo genome and generated an anthocyanin over-accumulation phenotype. Our methods established here will facilitate the basic research as well as genetic breeding of this important bamboo species. Key achievements: A stable and high efficiency regeneration and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation protocol for Ma bamboo from vegetative organ is established. PMID:28798758

Image registration for a UV-Visible dual-band imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Tao; Yuan, Shuang; Li, Jianping; Xing, Sheng; Zhang, Honglong; Dong, Yuming; Chen, Liangpei; Liu, Peng; Jiao, Guohua

2018-06-01

The detection of corona discharge is an effective way for early fault diagnosis of power equipment. UV-Visible dual-band imaging can detect and locate corona discharge spot at all-weather condition. In this study, we introduce an image registration protocol for this dual-band imaging system. The protocol consists of UV image denoising and affine transformation model establishment. We report the algorithm details of UV image preprocessing, affine transformation model establishment and relevant experiments for verification of their feasibility. The denoising algorithm was based on a correlation operation between raw UV images, a continuous mask and the transformation model was established by using corner feature and a statistical method. Finally, an image fusion test was carried out to verify the accuracy of affine transformation model. It has proved the average position displacement error between corona discharge and equipment fault at different distances in a 2.5m-20 m range are 1.34 mm and 1.92 mm in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, which are precise enough for most industrial applications. The resultant protocol is not only expected to improve the efficiency and accuracy of such imaging system for locating corona discharge spot, but also supposed to provide a more generalized reference for the calibration of various dual-band imaging systems in practice.

Effects of a manualized short-term treatment of internet and computer game addiction (STICA): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background In the last few years, excessive internet use and computer gaming have increased dramatically. Salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict, and relapse have been defined as diagnostic criteria for internet addiction (IA) and computer addiction (CA) in the scientific community. Despite a growing number of individuals seeking help, there are no specific treatments of established efficacy. Methods/design This clinical trial aims to determine the effect of the disorder-specific manualized short-term treatment of IA/CA (STICA). The cognitive behavioural treatment combines individual and group interventions with a total duration of 4 months. Patients will be randomly assigned to STICA treatment or to a wait list control group. Reliable and valid measures of IA/CA and co-morbid mental symptoms (for example social anxiety, depression) will be assessed prior to the beginning, in the middle, at the end, and 6 months after completion of treatment. Discussion A treatment of IA/CA will establish efficacy and is desperately needed. As this is the first trial to determine efficacy of a disorder specific treatment, a wait list control group will be implemented. Pros and cons of the design were discussed. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials (NCT01434589) PMID:22540330

Compact Modbus TCP/IP protocol for data acquisition systems based on limited hardware resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Q.; Jin, B.; Wang, D.; Wang, Y.; Liu, X.

2018-04-01

The Modbus TCP/IP has been a standard industry communication protocol and widely utilized for establishing sensor-cloud platforms on the Internet. However, numerous existing data acquisition systems built on traditional single-chip microcontrollers without sufficient resources cannot support it, because the complete Modbus TCP/IP protocol always works dependent on a full operating system which occupies abundant hardware resources. Hence, a compact Modbus TCP/IP protocol is proposed in this work to make it run efficiently and stably even on a resource-limited hardware platform. Firstly, the Modbus TCP/IP protocol stack is analyzed and the refined protocol suite is rebuilt by streamlining the typical TCP/IP suite. Then, specific implementation of every hierarchical layer is respectively presented in detail according to the protocol structure. Besides, the compact protocol is implemented in a traditional microprocessor to validate the feasibility of the scheme. Finally, the performance of the proposed scenario is assessed. The experimental results demonstrate that message packets match the frame format of Modbus TCP/IP protocol and the average bandwidth reaches to 1.15 Mbps. The compact protocol operates stably even based on a traditional microcontroller with only 4-kB RAM and 12-MHz system clock, and no communication congestion or frequent packet loss occurs.

Deterministic and efficient quantum cryptography based on Bell's theorem

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

Chen Zengbing; Pan Jianwei; Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 12, 69120 Heidelberg

2006-05-15

We propose a double-entanglement-based quantum cryptography protocol that is both efficient and deterministic. The proposal uses photon pairs with entanglement both in polarization and in time degrees of freedom; each measurement in which both of the two communicating parties register a photon can establish one and only one perfect correlation, and thus deterministically create a key bit. Eavesdropping can be detected by violation of local realism. A variation of the protocol shows a higher security, similar to the six-state protocol, under individual attacks. Our scheme allows a robust implementation under the current technology.

Patient-centred screening for primary immunodeficiency, a multi-stage diagnostic protocol designed for non-immunologists: 2011 update

PubMed Central

de Vries, E

2012-01-01

Members of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) and other colleagues have updated the multi-stage expert-opinion-based diagnostic protocol for non-immunologists incorporating newly defined primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs). The protocol presented here aims to increase the awareness of PIDs among doctors working in different fields. Prompt identification of PID is important for prognosis, but this may not be an easy task. The protocol therefore starts from the clinical presentation of the patient. Because PIDs may present at all ages, this protocol is aimed at both adult and paediatric physicians. The multi-stage design allows cost-effective screening for PID of the large number of potential cases in the early phases, with more expensive tests reserved for definitive classification in collaboration with a specialist in the field of immunodeficiency at a later stage. PMID:22132890

A survey on temperature-aware routing protocols in wireless body sensor networks.

PubMed

Oey, Christian Henry Wijaya; Moh, Sangman

2013-08-02

The rapid growth of the elderly population in the world and the rising cost of healthcare impose big issues for healthcare and medical monitoring. A Wireless Body Sensor Network (WBSN) is comprised of small sensor nodes attached inside, on or around a human body, the main purpose of which is to monitor the functions and surroundings of the human body. However, the heat generated by the node's circuitry and antenna could cause damage to the human tissue. Therefore, in designing a routing protocol for WBSNs, it is important to reduce the heat by incorporating temperature into the routing metric. The main contribution of this paper is to survey existing temperature-aware routing protocols that have been proposed for WBSNs. In this paper, we present a brief overview of WBSNs, review the existing routing protocols comparatively and discuss challenging open issues in the design of routing protocols.

A Survey on Temperature-Aware Routing Protocols in Wireless Body Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Oey, Christian Henry Wijaya; Moh, Sangman

2013-01-01

The rapid growth of the elderly population in the world and the rising cost of healthcare impose big issues for healthcare and medical monitoring. A Wireless Body Sensor Network (WBSN) is comprised of small sensor nodes attached inside, on or around a human body, the main purpose of which is to monitor the functions and surroundings of the human body. However, the heat generated by the node's circuitry and antenna could cause damage to the human tissue. Therefore, in designing a routing protocol for WBSNs, it is important to reduce the heat by incorporating temperature into the routing metric. The main contribution of this paper is to survey existing temperature-aware routing protocols that have been proposed for WBSNs. In this paper, we present a brief overview of WBSNs, review the existing routing protocols comparatively and discuss challenging open issues in the design of routing protocols. PMID:23917259

Quarantine and protocol

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The purpose of the Orbiting Quarantine Facility is to provide maximum protection of the terrestrial biosphere by ensuring that the returned Martian samples are safe to bring to Earth. The protocol designed to detect the presence of biologically active agents in the Martian soil is described. The protocol determines one of two things about the sample: (1) that it is free from nonterrestrial life forms and can be sent to a terrestrial containment facility where extensive chemical, biochemical, geological, and physical investigations can be conducted; or (2) that it exhibits "biological effects" of the type that dictate second order testing. The quarantine protocol is designed to be conducted on a small portion of the returned sample, leaving the bulk of the sample undisturbed for study on Earth.

Application of Game Theory Approaches in Routing Protocols for Wireless Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javidi, Mohammad M.; Aliahmadipour, Laya

2011-09-01

An important and essential issue for wireless networks is routing protocol design that is a major technical challenge due to the function of the network. Game theory is a powerful mathematical tool that analyzes the strategic interactions among multiple decision makers and the results of researches show that applied game theory in routing protocol lead to improvement the network performance through reduce overhead and motivates selfish nodes to collaborate in the network. This paper presents a review and comparison for typical representatives of routing protocols designed that applied game theory approaches for various wireless networks such as ad hoc networks, mobile ad hoc networks and sensor networks that all of them lead to improve the network performance.

Evaluating the Process of Generating a Clinical Trial Protocol

PubMed Central

Franciosi, Lui G.; Butterfield, Noam N.; MacLeod, Bernard A.

2002-01-01

The research protocol is the principal document in the conduct of a clinical trial. Its generation requires knowledge about the research problem, the potential experimental confounders, and the relevant Good Clinical Practices for conducting the trial. However, such information is not always available to authors during the writing process. A checklist of over 80 items has been developed to better understand the considerations made by authors in generating a protocol. It is based on the most cited requirements for designing and implementing the randomised controlled trial. Items are categorised according to the trial's research question, experimental design, statistics, ethics, and standard operating procedures. This quality assessment tool evaluates the extent that a generated protocol deviates from the best-planned clinical trial.

PM2.5 monitoring system based on ZigBee wireless sensor network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Lukai; Li, Xiangshun; Gu, Weiying

2017-06-01

In the view of the haze problem, aiming at improving the deficiency of the traditional PM2.5 monitoring methods, such as the insufficient real-time monitoring, limited transmission distance, high cost and the difficulty to maintain, the atmosphere PM2.5 monitoring system based on ZigBee technology is designed. The system combines the advantages of ZigBee’s low cost, low power consumption, high reliability and GPRS/Internet’s capability of remote transmission of data. Furthermore, it adopts TI’s Z-Stack protocol stack, and selects CC2530 chip and TI’s MSP430 microcontroller as the core, which establishes the air pollution monitoring network that is helpful for the early prediction of major air pollution disasters.

Probability Distributions over Cryptographic Protocols

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

Artificial Immune Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3 Design Decisions 11 3.1 Common Ground...creation algorithm for unbounded distribution . . . . . . . 24 4.2 Message creation algorithm for unbounded naive distribution . . . . 24 4.3 Protocol...creation algorithm for intended-run distributions . . . . . . 26 4.4 Protocol and message creation algorithm for realistic distribution . . 32 ix THIS

Evaluation of Interoperability Protocols in Repositories of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hakimjavadi, Hesamedin; Masrek, Mohamad Noorman

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the status of eight interoperability protocols within repositories of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) as an introduction to further studies on feasibility of deploying these protocols in upcoming areas of interoperability. Design/methodology/approach: Three surveys of 266 ETD…

[Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and improving chess performance in promising young chess-players].

PubMed

Ruiz, Francisco J; Luciano, Carmen

2009-08-01

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is shown to be effective in relatively distant fields from the so-called psychological disorders. One of these areas is sport performance improvement. The aim of the current study is to expand the application of brief ACT protocols to improve chess-players' performance. In a previous study, a brief protocol was applied to international-level adult chess-players that was effective. The current study aims to apply an equivalent brief ACT protocol, but in this case, applied in a group format to promising young chess-players. In addition, this brief protocol is compared to a non-intervention control condition. Results show that the ACT brief protocol improved the performance in 5 out of 7 participants, and that none of the chess-players in the control condition reached the established change criterion. The differences between the conditions in chess performance were statistically significant. The results are discussed, emphasizing the replicated impact of a brief ACT protocol on the improvement of chess-players' performance.

Semi-quantum communication: protocols for key agreement, controlled secure direct communication and dialogue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukla, Chitra; Thapliyal, Kishore; Pathak, Anirban

2017-12-01

Semi-quantum protocols that allow some of the users to remain classical are proposed for a large class of problems associated with secure communication and secure multiparty computation. Specifically, first-time semi-quantum protocols are proposed for key agreement, controlled deterministic secure communication and dialogue, and it is shown that the semi-quantum protocols for controlled deterministic secure communication and dialogue can be reduced to semi-quantum protocols for e-commerce and private comparison (socialist millionaire problem), respectively. Complementing with the earlier proposed semi-quantum schemes for key distribution, secret sharing and deterministic secure communication, set of schemes proposed here and subsequent discussions have established that almost every secure communication and computation tasks that can be performed using fully quantum protocols can also be performed in semi-quantum manner. Some of the proposed schemes are completely orthogonal-state-based, and thus, fundamentally different from the existing semi-quantum schemes that are conjugate coding-based. Security, efficiency and applicability of the proposed schemes have been discussed with appropriate importance.

Assessing the feasibility of yttria-stabilized zirconia in novel designs as mandibular anterior fixed lingual retention following orthodontic treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stout, Matthew

The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of yttria-stabilized zirconia (Y-TZP) in fixed lingual retention as an alternative to stainless steel. Exploratory Y-TZP specimens were milled to establish design parameters. Next, specimens were milled according to ASTM standard C1161-13 and subjected to four-point flexural test to determine materials properties. Finite Element (FE) Analysis was employed to evaluate nine novel cross-sectional designs and compared to stainless steel wire. Each design was analyzed under the loading conditions to determine von Mises and bond stress. The most promising design was fabricated to assess accuracy and precision of current CAD/CAM milling technology. The superior design had a 1.0 x 0.5 mm semi-elliptical cross section and was shown to be fabricated reliably. Overall, the milling indicated a maximum percent standard deviation of 9.3 and maximum percent error of 13.5 with a cost of $30 per specimen. Y-TZP can be reliably milled to dimensions comparable to currently available metallic retainer wires. Further research is necessary to determine the success of bonding protocol and clinical longevity of Y-TZP fixed retainers. Advanced technology is necessary to connect the intraoral scan to an aesthetic and patient-specific Y-TZP fixed retainer.

A cluster randomised feasibility trial evaluating six-month nutritional interventions in the treatment of malnutrition in care home-dwelling adults: recruitment, data collection and protocol.

PubMed

Stow, Ruth; Rushton, Alison; Ives, Natalie; Smith, Christina; Rick, Caroline

2015-01-01

Protein energy malnutrition predisposes individuals to disease, delays recovery from illness and reduces quality of life. Care home residents are especially vulnerable, with an estimated 30%-42% at risk. There is no internationally agreed protocol for the nutritional treatment of malnutrition in the care home setting. Widely used techniques include food-based intervention and/or the use of prescribed oral nutritional supplements, but a trial comparing the efficacy of interventions is necessary. In order to define outcomes and optimise the design for an adequately powered, low risk of bias cluster randomised controlled trial, a feasibility trial with 6-month intervention is being run, to assess protocol procedures, recruitment and retention rates, consent processes and resident and staff acceptability. Trial recruitment began in September 2013 and concluded in December 2013. Six privately run care homes in Solihull, England, were selected to establish feasibility within different care home types. Residents with or at risk of malnutrition with no existing dietetic intervention in place were considered for receipt of the allocated intervention. Randomisation took place at the care home level, using a computer-generated random number list to allocate each home to either a dietetic intervention arm (food-based or prescribed supplements) or the standard care arm, continued for 6 months. Dietetic intervention aimed to increase daily calorie intake by 600 kcal and protein by 20-25 g. The primary outcomes will be trial feasibility and acceptability of trial design and allocated interventions. A range of outcome assessments and data collection tools will be evaluated for feasibility, including change in nutrient intake, anthropometric parameters and patient-centric measures, such as quality of life and self-perceived appetite. The complexities inherent in care home research has resulted in the under representation of this population in research trials. The results of this feasibility trial will be used to inform the development and design of a future cluster randomised controlled trial to compare food-based intervention with prescribed oral nutritional supplements (ONS) in the treatment of malnutrition within the care home population. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN38047922.

PCA-based polling strategy in machine learning framework for coronary artery disease risk assessment in intravascular ultrasound: A link between carotid and coronary grayscale plaque morphology.

PubMed

Araki, Tadashi; Ikeda, Nobutaka; Shukla, Devarshi; Jain, Pankaj K; Londhe, Narendra D; Shrivastava, Vimal K; Banchhor, Sumit K; Saba, Luca; Nicolaides, Andrew; Shafique, Shoaib; Laird, John R; Suri, Jasjit S

2016-05-01

Percutaneous coronary interventional procedures need advance planning prior to stenting or an endarterectomy. Cardiologists use intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) for screening, risk assessment and stratification of coronary artery disease (CAD). We hypothesize that plaque components are vulnerable to rupture due to plaque progression. Currently, there are no standard grayscale IVUS tools for risk assessment of plaque rupture. This paper presents a novel strategy for risk stratification based on plaque morphology embedded with principal component analysis (PCA) for plaque feature dimensionality reduction and dominant feature selection technique. The risk assessment utilizes 56 grayscale coronary features in a machine learning framework while linking information from carotid and coronary plaque burdens due to their common genetic makeup. This system consists of a machine learning paradigm which uses a support vector machine (SVM) combined with PCA for optimal and dominant coronary artery morphological feature extraction. Carotid artery proven intima-media thickness (cIMT) biomarker is adapted as a gold standard during the training phase of the machine learning system. For the performance evaluation, K-fold cross validation protocol is adapted with 20 trials per fold. For choosing the dominant features out of the 56 grayscale features, a polling strategy of PCA is adapted where the original value of the features is unaltered. Different protocols are designed for establishing the stability and reliability criteria of the coronary risk assessment system (cRAS). Using the PCA-based machine learning paradigm and cross-validation protocol, a classification accuracy of 98.43% (AUC 0.98) with K=10 folds using an SVM radial basis function (RBF) kernel was achieved. A reliability index of 97.32% and machine learning stability criteria of 5% were met for the cRAS. This is the first Computer aided design (CADx) system of its kind that is able to demonstrate the ability of coronary risk assessment and stratification while demonstrating a successful design of the machine learning system based on our assumptions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of a Stimulus Equivalence Protocol and Traditional Lecture for Teaching Single-Subject Designs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovett, Sadie; Rehfeldt, Ruth Anne; Garcia, Yors; Dunning, Johnna

2011-01-01

This study compared the effects of a computer-based stimulus equivalence protocol to a traditional lecture format in teaching single-subject experimental design concepts to undergraduate students. Participants were assigned to either an equivalence or a lecture group, and performance on a paper-and-pencil test that targeted relations among the…

Dynamic Hierarchical Energy-Efficient Method Based on Combinatorial Optimization for Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Tang, Hongying; Cheng, Yongbo; Zhao, Qin; Li, Baoqing; Yuan, Xiaobing

2017-01-01

Routing protocols based on topology control are significantly important for improving network longevity in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Traditionally, some WSN routing protocols distribute uneven network traffic load to sensor nodes, which is not optimal for improving network longevity. Differently to conventional WSN routing protocols, we propose a dynamic hierarchical protocol based on combinatorial optimization (DHCO) to balance energy consumption of sensor nodes and to improve WSN longevity. For each sensor node, the DHCO algorithm obtains the optimal route by establishing a feasible routing set instead of selecting the cluster head or the next hop node. The process of obtaining the optimal route can be formulated as a combinatorial optimization problem. Specifically, the DHCO algorithm is carried out by the following procedures. It employs a hierarchy-based connection mechanism to construct a hierarchical network structure in which each sensor node is assigned to a special hierarchical subset; it utilizes the combinatorial optimization theory to establish the feasible routing set for each sensor node, and takes advantage of the maximum–minimum criterion to obtain their optimal routes to the base station. Various results of simulation experiments show effectiveness and superiority of the DHCO algorithm in comparison with state-of-the-art WSN routing algorithms, including low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH), hybrid energy-efficient distributed clustering (HEED), genetic protocol-based self-organizing network clustering (GASONeC), and double cost function-based routing (DCFR) algorithms. PMID:28753962

Cryopreservation: a cold look at technology for fertility preservation.

PubMed

Gosden, Roger

2011-08-01

To outline the history of cryopreservation technology and its contributions to reproductive medicine, including fertility preservation. A search of the relevant literature using Medline and other online tools. Research and laboratory protocol development. The biology of preserving cells at low temperatures is complex and still being unraveled. Principles were first established more than half a century ago, with progress being driven empirically and often by trial and error. The protocols vary widely, and practice is still heavily dependent on operator skill, accounting for wide differences in the success rates between centers. No single protocol fits all specimen types, and differential vulnerability to cryoinjury remains a major obstacle. Nevertheless, semen cryopreservation has long been established, embryo banking is now highly effective, and vitrification appears to overcome problems with oocytes. Protocols in the future, although specific to the cell type and tissue, are likely to evolve toward generally acknowledged standards. But heterogeneity between patients and even within samples implies that each cell may have its own peculiar optimum for minimizing cryoinjury; because protocols are therefore compromises, "perfect" preservation may be unattainable. Cryopreservation has become a mainstay in the assisted reproduction laboratory and underpins fertility preservation for patients with cancer and other conditions. The practice is currently evolving from slow freezing methods toward more vitrification, and future technology is likely to reduce dependence on operator skill, which should raise success rates to higher, more uniform levels. Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Direct identification of bacteria from charcoal-containing blood culture bottles using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Wüppenhorst, N; Consoir, C; Lörch, D; Schneider, C

2012-10-01

Several protocols for direct matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) from positive blood cultures are currently used to speed up the diagnostic process of bacteraemia. Identification rates are high and results are accurate for the BACTEC™ system and for charcoal-free bottles. Only a few studies have evaluated protocols for charcoal-containing BacT/ALERT bottles reaching substantially lower identification rates. We established a new protocol for sample preparation from aerobic and anaerobic positive charcoal-containing BacT/ALERT blood culture bottles and measured the protein profiles (n = 167). Then, we integrated this protocol in the routine workflow of our laboratory (n = 212). During the establishment of our protocol, 74.3 % of bacteria were correctly identified to the species level, in 23.4 %, no result and in 2.4 %, a false identification were obtained. Reliable criteria for correct species identification were a score value ≥1.400 and a best match on rank 1-3 of the same species. Identification rates during routine workflow were 77.8 % for correct identification, 20.8 % for not identified samples and 1.4 % for discordant identification. In conclusion, our results indicate that MALDI-TOF MS is possible, even from charcoal-containing blood cultures. Reliable criteria for correct species identification are a score value ≥1.400 and a best match on rank 1-3 of a single species.

Adaptive Probabilistic Protocols for Advanced Networks/Assuring the Integrity of Highly Decentralized Communications Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-01

to obtain a protocol customized to the needs of a specific setting, under control of an automated theorem proving system that can guarantee...new “compositional” method for protocol design and implementation, in which small microprotocols are combined to obtain a protocol customized to the...and Network Centric Enterprise (NCES) visions. This final report documents a wide range of contributions and technology transitions, including: A

Quantum Tomography Protocols with Positivity are Compressed Sensing Protocols (Open Access)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-08

ARTICLE OPEN Quantum tomography protocols with positivity are compressed sensing protocols Amir Kalev1, Robert L Kosut2 and Ivan H Deutsch1...Characterising complex quantum systems is a vital task in quantum information science. Quantum tomography, the standard tool used for this purpose, uses a well...designed measurement record to reconstruct quantum states and processes. It is, however, notoriously inefficient. Recently, the classical signal

Secure authentication protocol for Internet applications over CATV network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chin, Le-Pond

1998-02-01

An authentication protocol is proposed in this paper to implement secure functions which include two way authentication and key management between end users and head-end. The protocol can protect transmission from frauds, attacks such as reply and wiretap. Location privacy is also achieved. A rest protocol is designed to restore the system once when systems fail. The security is verified by taking several security and privacy requirements into consideration.

Contextual information management: An example of independent-checking in the review of laboratory-based bloodstain pattern analysis.

PubMed

Osborne, Nikola K P; Taylor, Michael C

2018-05-01

This article describes a New Zealand forensic agency's contextual information management protocol for bloodstain pattern evidence examined in the laboratory. In an effort to create a protocol that would have minimal impact on current work-flow, while still effectively removing task-irrelevant contextual information, the protocol was designed following an in-depth consultation with management and forensic staff. The resulting design was for a protocol of independent-checking (i.e. blind peer-review) where the checker's interpretation of the evidence is conducted in the absence of case information and the original examiner's notes or interpretation(s). At the conclusion of a ten-case trial period, there was widespread agreement that the protocol had minimal impact on the number of people required, the cost, or the time to complete an item examination. The agency is now looking to adopt the protocol into standard operating procedures and in some cases the protocol has been extended to cover other laboratory-based examinations (e.g. fabric damage, shoeprint examination, and physical fits). The protocol developed during this trial provides a useful example for agencies seeking to adopt contextual information management into their workflow. Copyright © 2018 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Promoting Robust Design of Diode Lasers for Space: A National Initiative

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tratt, David M.; Amzajerdian, Farzin; Kashem, Nasir B.; Shapiro, Andrew A.; Mense, Allan T.

2007-01-01

The Diode-laser Array Working Group (DAWG) is a national-level consumer/provider forum for discussion of engineering and manufacturing issues which influence the reliability and survivability of high-power broad-area laser diode devices in space, with an emphasis on laser diode arrays (LDAs) for optical pumping of solid-state laser media. The goals of the group are to formulate and validate standardized test and qualification protocols, operational control recommendations, and consensus manufacturing and certification standards. The group is using reliability and lifetime data collected by laser diode manufacturers and the user community to develop a set of standardized guidelines for specifying and qualifying laser diodes for long-duration operation in space, the ultimate goal being to promote an informed U.S. Government investment and procurement strategy for assuring the availability and durability of space-qualified LDAs. The group is also working to establish effective implementation of statistical design techniques at the supplier design, development, and manufacturing levels to help reduce product performance variability and improve product reliability for diodes employed in space applications

Enterprise tools to promote interoperability: MonitoringResources.org supports design and documentation of large-scale, long-term monitoringprograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weltzin, J. F.; Scully, R. A.; Bayer, J.

2016-12-01

Individual natural resource monitoring programs have evolved in response to different organizational mandates, jurisdictional needs, issues and questions. We are establishing a collaborative forum for large-scale, long-term monitoring programs to identify opportunities where collaboration could yield efficiency in monitoring design, implementation, analyses, and data sharing. We anticipate these monitoring programs will have similar requirements - e.g. survey design, standardization of protocols and methods, information management and delivery - that could be met by enterprise tools to promote sustainability, efficiency and interoperability of information across geopolitical boundaries or organizational cultures. MonitoringResources.org, a project of the Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership, provides an on-line suite of enterprise tools focused on aquatic systems in the Pacific Northwest Region of the United States. We will leverage on and expand this existing capacity to support continental-scale monitoring of both aquatic and terrestrial systems. The current stakeholder group is focused on programs led by bureaus with the Department of Interior, but the tools will be readily and freely available to a broad variety of other stakeholders. Here, we report the results of two initial stakeholder workshops focused on (1) establishing a collaborative forum of large scale monitoring programs, (2) identifying and prioritizing shared needs, (3) evaluating existing enterprise resources, (4) defining priorities for development of enhanced capacity for MonitoringResources.org, and (5) identifying a small number of pilot projects that can be used to define and test development requirements for specific monitoring programs.

Simulation Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Space Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jennings, Esther H.; Segui, John

2006-01-01

In space exploration missions, the coordinated use of spacecraft as communication relays increases the efficiency of the endeavors. To conduct trade-off studies of the performance and resource usage of different communication protocols and network designs, JPL designed a comprehensive extendable tool, the Multi-mission Advanced Communications Hybrid Environment for Test and Evaluation (MACHETE). The design and development of MACHETE began in 2000 and is constantly evolving. Currently, MACHETE contains Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) protocol standards such as Proximity-1, Advanced Orbiting Systems (AOS), Packet Telemetry/Telecommand, Space Communications Protocol Specification (SCPS), and the CCSDS File Delivery Protocol (CFDP). MACHETE uses the Aerospace Corporation s Satellite Orbital Analysis Program (SOAP) to generate the orbital geometry information and contact opportunities. Matlab scripts provide the link characteristics. At the core of MACHETE is a discrete event simulator, QualNet. Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) is an end-to-end architecture providing communication in and/or through highly stressed networking environments. Stressed networking environments include those with intermittent connectivity, large and/or variable delays, and high bit error rates. To provide its services, the DTN protocols reside at the application layer of the constituent internets, forming a store-and-forward overlay network. The key capabilities of the bundling protocols include custody-based reliability, ability to cope with intermittent connectivity, ability to take advantage of scheduled and opportunistic connectivity, and late binding of names to addresses. In this presentation, we report on the addition of MACHETE models needed to support DTN, namely: the Bundle Protocol (BP) model. To illustrate the use of MACHETE with the additional DTN model, we provide an example simulation to benchmark its performance. We demonstrate the use of the DTN protocol and discuss statistics gathered concerning the total time needed to simulate numerous bundle transmissions

Session Initiation Protocol Network Encryption Device Plain Text Domain Discovery Service

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-12-07

MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: a...such as the TACLANE, have developed unique discovery methods to establish Plain Text Domain (PTD) Security Associations (SA). All of these techniques...can include network and host Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, Information System Security Office (ISSO) point of contact information and PTD status

Extending IPsec for Efficient Remote Attestation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadeghi, Ahmad-Reza; Schulz, Steffen

When establishing a VPN to connect different sites of a network, the integrity of the involved VPN endpoints is often a major security concern. Based on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), available in many computing platforms today, remote attestation mechanisms can be used to evaluate the internal state of remote endpoints automatically. However, existing protocols and extensions are either unsuited for use with IPsec or impose considerable additional implementation complexity and protocol overhead.

Interoperative fundus image and report sharing in compliance with integrating the healthcare enterprise conformance and web access to digital imaging and communication in medicine persistent object protocol.

PubMed

Wu, Hui-Qun; Lv, Zheng-Min; Geng, Xing-Yun; Jiang, Kui; Tang, Le-Min; Zhou, Guo-Min; Dong, Jian-Cheng

2013-01-01

To address issues in interoperability between different fundus image systems, we proposed a web eye-picture archiving and communication system (PACS) framework in conformance with digital imaging and communication in medicine (DICOM) and health level 7 (HL7) protocol to realize fundus images and reports sharing and communication through internet. Firstly, a telemedicine-based eye care work flow was established based on integrating the healthcare enterprise (IHE) Eye Care technical framework. Then, a browser/server architecture eye-PACS system was established in conformance with the web access to DICOM persistent object (WADO) protocol, which contains three tiers. In any client system installed with web browser, clinicians could log in the eye-PACS to observe fundus images and reports. Multipurpose internet mail extensions (MIME) type of a structured report is saved as pdf/html with reference link to relevant fundus image using the WADO syntax could provide enough information for clinicians. Some functions provided by open-source Oviyam could be used to query, zoom, move, measure, view DICOM fundus images. Such web eye-PACS in compliance to WADO protocol could be used to store and communicate fundus images and reports, therefore is of great significance for teleophthalmology.

Older drivers: On-road and off-road test results.

PubMed

Selander, Helena; Lee, Hoe C; Johansson, Kurt; Falkmer, Torbjörn

2011-07-01

Eighty-five volunteer drivers, 65-85 years old, without cognitive impairments impacting on their driving were examined, in order to investigate driving errors characteristic for older drivers. In addition, any relationships between cognitive off-road and on-road tests results, the latter being the gold standard, were identified. Performance measurements included Trail Making Test (TMT), Nordic Stroke Driver Screening Assessment (NorSDSA), Useful Field of View (UFOV), self-rating driving performance and the two on-road protocols P-Drive and ROA. Some of the older drivers displayed questionable driving behaviour. In total, 21% of the participants failed the on-road assessment. Some of the specific errors were more serious than others. The most common driving errors embraced speed; exceeding the speed limit or not controlling the speed. Correlations with the P-Drive protocol were established for NorSDSA total score (weak), UFOV subtest 2 (weak), and UFOV subtest 3 (moderate). Correlations with the ROA protocol were established for UFOV subtest 2 (weak) and UFOV subtest 3 (weak). P-Drive and self ratings correlated weakly, whereas no correlation between self ratings and the ROA protocol was found. The results suggest that specific problems or errors seen in an older person's driving can actually be "normal driving behaviours". Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brazilian version of the Protocole Montréal d'Evaluation de la Communication (Protocole MEC): normative and reliability data.

PubMed

Fonseca, Rochele Paz; Joanette, Yves; Côté, Hélène; Ska, Bernadette; Giroux, Francine; Fachel, Jandyra Maria Guimarães; Damasceno Ferreira, Gabriela; Parente, Maria Alice de Mattos Pimenta

2008-11-01

The lack of standardized instruments to evaluate communication disorders related to the right hemisphere was verified. A new evaluation tool was developed: Protocole Montréal d'Evaluation de la Communication--Protocole MEC, adapted to Brazilian Portuguese--Bateria Montreal de Avaliação da Comunicação--Bateria MAC (Montreal Evaluation of Communication Battery). The purpose was to present stratified normative data by age and educational level, and to verify the reliability parameters of the MEC Battery. 300 individuals, between the ages of 19 and 75 years, and levels of formal education between 2 and 35 years, participated in this study. They were divided equally into six normative groups, according to three age categories (young adults, intermediary age, and seniors) and two educational levels (low and high). Two procedures were used to check reliability: Cronbach alpha and reliability between evaluators, Results were established at the 10th percentile, and an alert point per task for each normative group. Cronbach's alpha was, in general, between .70 and .90 and the average rate of agreement between evaluators varied from .62 to .94. Standards of age and education were established. The reliability of this instrument was verified. The psychometric legitimization of the MEC Battery will contribute to the diagnostic process for communicative disorders.

Thermodynamic equilibrium solubility measurements in simulated fluids by 96-well plate method in early drug discovery.

PubMed

Bharate, Sonali S; Vishwakarma, Ram A

2015-04-01

An early prediction of solubility in physiological media (PBS, SGF and SIF) is useful to predict qualitatively bioavailability and absorption of lead candidates. Despite of the availability of multiple solubility estimation methods, none of the reported method involves simplified fixed protocol for diverse set of compounds. Therefore, a simple and medium-throughput solubility estimation protocol is highly desirable during lead optimization stage. The present work introduces a rapid method for assessment of thermodynamic equilibrium solubility of compounds in aqueous media using 96-well microplate. The developed protocol is straightforward to set up and takes advantage of the sensitivity of UV spectroscopy. The compound, in stock solution in methanol, is introduced in microgram quantities into microplate wells followed by drying at an ambient temperature. Microplates were shaken upon addition of test media and the supernatant was analyzed by UV method. A plot of absorbance versus concentration of a sample provides saturation point, which is thermodynamic equilibrium solubility of a sample. The established protocol was validated using a large panel of commercially available drugs and with conventional miniaturized shake flask method (r(2)>0.84). Additionally, the statistically significant QSPR models were established using experimental solubility values of 52 compounds. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patient-centred screening for primary immunodeficiency: a multi-stage diagnostic protocol designed for non-immunologists

PubMed Central

de Vries, E

2006-01-01

Efficient early identification of primary immunodeficiency disease (PID) is important for prognosis, but is not an easy task for non-immunologists. The Clinical Working Party of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) has composed a multi-stage diagnostic protocol that is based on expert opinion, in order to increase the awareness of PID among doctors working in different fields. The protocol starts from the clinical presentation of the patient; immunological skills are not needed for its use. The multi-stage design allows cost-effective screening for PID within the large pool of potential cases in all hospitals in the early phases, while more expensive tests are reserved for definitive classification in collaboration with an immunologist at a later stage. Although many PIDs present in childhood, others may present at any age. The protocols presented here are therefore aimed at both adult physicians and paediatricians. While designed for use throughout Europe, there will be national differences which may make modification of this generic algorithm necessary. PMID:16879238

Mercury Assessment and Monitoring Protocol for the Bear Creek Watershed, Colusa County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Suchanek, Thomas H.; Hothem, Roger L.; Rytuba, James J.; Yee, Julie L.

2010-01-01

This report summarizes the known information on the occurrence and distribution of mercury (Hg) in physical/chemical and biological matrices within the Bear Creek watershed. Based on these data, a matrix-specific monitoring protocol for the evaluation of the effectiveness of activities designed to remediate Hg contamination in the Bear Creek watershed is presented. The monitoring protocol documents procedures for collecting and processing water, sediment, and biota for estimation of total Hg (TotHg) and monomethyl mercury (MMeHg) in the Bear Creek watershed. The concurrent sampling of TotHg and MMeHg in biota as well as water and sediment from 10 monitoring sites is designed to assess the relative bioavailability of Hg released from Hg sources in the watershed and identify environments conducive to Hg methylation. These protocols are designed to assist landowners, land managers, water quality regulators, and scientists in determining whether specific restoration/mitigation actions lead to significant progress toward achieving water quality goals to reduce Hg in Bear and Sulphur Creeks.

Technical Note: Independent component analysis for quality assurance in functional MRI.

PubMed

Astrakas, Loukas G; Kallistis, Nikolaos S; Kalef-Ezra, John A

2016-02-01

Independent component analysis (ICA) is an established method of analyzing human functional MRI (fMRI) data. Here, an ICA-based fMRI quality control (QC) tool was developed and used. ICA-based fMRI QC tool to be used with a commercial phantom was developed. In an attempt to assess the performance of the tool relative to preexisting alternative tools, it was used seven weeks before and eight weeks after repair of a faulty gradient amplifier of a non-state-of-the-art MRI unit. More specifically, its performance was compared with the AAPM 100 acceptance testing and quality assurance protocol and two fMRI QC protocols, proposed by Freidman et al. ["Report on a multicenter fMRI quality assurance protocol," J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 23, 827-839 (2006)] and Stocker et al. ["Automated quality assurance routines for fMRI data applied to a multicenter study," Hum. Brain Mapp. 25, 237-246 (2005)], respectively. The easily developed and applied ICA-based QC protocol provided fMRI QC indices and maps equally sensitive to fMRI instabilities with the indices and maps of other established protocols. The ICA fMRI QC indices were highly correlated with indices of other fMRI QC protocols and in some cases theoretically related to them. Three or four independent components with slow varying time series are detected under normal conditions. ICA applied on phantom measurements is an easy and efficient tool for fMRI QC. Additionally, it can protect against misinterpretations of artifact components as human brain activations. Evaluating fMRI QC indices in the central region of a phantom is not always the optimal choice.

Induction of complex immune responses and strong protection against retrovirus challenge by adenovirus-based immunization depends on the order of vaccine delivery.

PubMed

Kaulfuß, Meike; Wensing, Ina; Windmann, Sonja; Hrycak, Camilla Patrizia; Bayer, Wibke

2017-02-06

In the Friend retrovirus mouse model we developed potent adenovirus-based vaccines that were designed to induce either strong Friend virus GagL 85-93 -specific CD8 + T cell or antibody responses, respectively. To optimize the immunization outcome we evaluated vaccination strategies using combinations of these vaccines. While the vaccines on their own confer strong protection from a subsequent Friend virus challenge, the simple combination of the vaccines for the establishment of an optimized immunization protocol did not result in a further improvement of vaccine effectivity. We demonstrate that the co-immunization with GagL 85-93 /leader-gag encoding vectors together with envelope-encoding vectors abrogates the induction of GagL 85-93 -specific CD8 + T cells, and in successive immunization protocols the immunization with the GagL 85-93 /leader-gag encoding vector had to precede the immunization with an envelope encoding vector for the efficient induction of GagL 85-93 -specific CD8 + T cells. Importantly, the antibody response to envelope was in fact enhanced when the mice were adenovirus-experienced from a prior immunization, highlighting the expedience of this approach. To circumvent the immunosuppressive effect of envelope on immune responses to simultaneously or subsequently administered immunogens, we developed a two immunizations-based vaccination protocol that induces strong immune responses and confers robust protection of highly Friend virus-susceptible mice from a lethal Friend virus challenge.

The impacts of electricity dispatch protocols on the emission reductions due to wind power and carbon tax.

PubMed

Yu, Yang; Rajagopal, Ram

2015-02-17

Two dispatch protocols have been adopted by electricity markets to deal with the uncertainty of wind power but the effects of the selection between the dispatch protocols have not been comprehensively analyzed. We establish a framework to compare the impacts of adopting different dispatch protocols on the efficacy of using wind power and implementing a carbon tax to reduce emissions. We suggest that a market has high potential to achieve greater emission reduction by adopting the stochastic dispatch protocol instead of the static protocol when the wind energy in the market is highly uncertain or the market has enough adjustable generators, such as gas-fired combustion generators. Furthermore, the carbon-tax policy is more cost-efficient for reducing CO2 emission when the market operates according to the stochastic protocol rather than the static protocol. An empirical study, which is calibrated according to the data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market, confirms that using wind energy in the Texas market results in a 12% CO2 emission reduction when the market uses the stochastic dispatch protocol instead of the 8% emission reduction associated with the static protocol. In addition, if a 6$/ton carbon tax is implemented in the Texas market operated according to the stochastic protocol, the CO2 emission is similar to the emission level from the same market with a 16$/ton carbon tax operated according to the static protocol. Correspondingly, the 16$/ton carbon tax associated with the static protocol costs 42.6% more than the 6$/ton carbon tax associated with the stochastic protocol.

A status review of photovoltaic power conversion equipment reliability, safety, and quality assurance protocols

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

Hacke, Peter; Lokanath, Sumanth; Williams, Paul

Data indicate that the inverter is the element of the photovoltaic plant that has the highest number of service calls and the greatest operation and maintenance cost burden. This paper describes the projects and relevant background needed in developing design qualification standards that would serve to establish a minimum level of reliability, along with a review of photovoltaic inverter quality and safety standards, most of which are in their infancy. We compare stresses and levels for accelerated testing of inverters proposed in the standard drafts, and those proposed by manufacturers and purchasers of inverters. We also review bases for themore » methods, stress types, and stress levels for durability testing of key inverter components. Many of the test protocols appear to need more comprehensive inclusion of stress factors existing in the natural environment such as wind driven rain, dust, and grid disturbances. Further understanding of how temperature, humidity ingress, and voltage bias affect the inverters and their components is also required. We provide data indicating inconsistent quality of the inverters and the durability of components leading to greater cost for the photovoltaic plant operator. Accordingly, the recommendation for data collection within quality standards for obtaining cost of ownership metrics is made. Design validation testing using realistic operation, environmental, and connection conditions, including under end-use field conditions with feedback for continuous improvement is recommended for inclusion within a quality standard.« less

A status review of photovoltaic power conversion equipment reliability, safety, and quality assurance protocols

DOE PAGES

Hacke, Peter; Lokanath, Sumanth; Williams, Paul; ...

2017-10-10

Data indicate that the inverter is the element of the photovoltaic plant that has the highest number of service calls and the greatest operation and maintenance cost burden. This paper describes the projects and relevant background needed in developing design qualification standards that would serve to establish a minimum level of reliability, along with a review of photovoltaic inverter quality and safety standards, most of which are in their infancy. We compare stresses and levels for accelerated testing of inverters proposed in the standard drafts, and those proposed by manufacturers and purchasers of inverters. We also review bases for themore » methods, stress types, and stress levels for durability testing of key inverter components. Many of the test protocols appear to need more comprehensive inclusion of stress factors existing in the natural environment such as wind driven rain, dust, and grid disturbances. Further understanding of how temperature, humidity ingress, and voltage bias affect the inverters and their components is also required. We provide data indicating inconsistent quality of the inverters and the durability of components leading to greater cost for the photovoltaic plant operator. Accordingly, the recommendation for data collection within quality standards for obtaining cost of ownership metrics is made. Design validation testing using realistic operation, environmental, and connection conditions, including under end-use field conditions with feedback for continuous improvement is recommended for inclusion within a quality standard.« less

Problematic protocols: An overview of medical research protocols not approved by the LUMC medical ethics review committee.

PubMed

Tersmette, Derek Gideon; Engberts, Dirk Peter

2017-01-01

The Committee for Medical Ethics (CME) of Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) was established as the first medical ethics reviewing committee (MREC) in the Netherlands. In the period 2000-2010 the CME received 2,162 protocols for review. Some of these protocols were never approved. Until now, there has existed neither an overview of these failed protocols nor an overview of the reasons for their failure. This report draws on data from the digital database, the physical archives, and the minutes of the meetings of the CME. Additional information has been obtained from the Central Committee on Research involving Human Subjects (CCRH) and survey-based research. Protocols were itemized based on characteristic features and their reviewing procedures were analyzed. In total, 1,952 out of 2,162 research protocols submitted during 2000-2010 (90.3%) were approved by the CME; 210 of 2,162 protocols (9.7%) were not approved. Of these 210 protocols, 177 failed due to reasons not related to CME reviewing. In 15 cases CME reviewing led to protocol failure, while another 10 protocols were rejected outright. Eight of the 210 submitted protocols without approval had been conducted prior to submission. In the aforementioned period, little protocol failure occurred. For the most part, protocol failure was caused by problems that are not CME related. This type of failure has several identifiable factors, none of which have anything to do with the ethical reviewing procedure by the CME. A mere 1.2% of protocols failed due to ethical review. Unacceptable burden and risks to the subject and an inadequate methodology are the most common reasons for this CME-related protocol failure.

A secure RFID mutual authentication protocol for healthcare environments using elliptic curve cryptography.

PubMed

Jin, Chunhua; Xu, Chunxiang; Zhang, Xiaojun; Zhao, Jining

2015-03-01

Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) is an automatic identification technology, which can be widely used in healthcare environments to locate and track staff, equipment and patients. However, potential security and privacy problems in RFID system remain a challenge. In this paper, we design a mutual authentication protocol for RFID based on elliptic curve cryptography(ECC). We use pre-computing method within tag's communication, so that our protocol can get better efficiency. In terms of security, our protocol can achieve confidentiality, unforgeability, mutual authentication, tag's anonymity, availability and forward security. Our protocol also can overcome the weakness in the existing protocols. Therefore, our protocol is suitable for healthcare environments.

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

Duan, Sisi; Nicely, Lucas D; Zhang, Haibin

Modern large-scale networks require the ability to withstand arbitrary failures (i.e., Byzantine failures). Byzantine reliable broadcast algorithms can be used to reliably disseminate information in the presence of Byzantine failures. We design a novel Byzantine reliable broadcast protocol for loosely connected and synchronous networks. While previous such protocols all assume correct senders, our protocol is the first to handle Byzantine senders. To achieve this goal, we have developed new techniques for fault detection and fault tolerance. Our protocol is efficient, and under normal circumstances, no expensive public-key cryptographic operations are used. We implement and evaluate our protocol, demonstrating that ourmore » protocol has high throughput and is superior to the existing protocols in uncivil executions.« less

Provably-Secure (Chinese Government) SM2 and Simplified SM2 Key Exchange Protocols

PubMed Central

Nam, Junghyun; Kim, Moonseong

2014-01-01

We revisit the SM2 protocol, which is widely used in Chinese commercial applications and by Chinese government agencies. Although it is by now standard practice for protocol designers to provide security proofs in widely accepted security models in order to assure protocol implementers of their security properties, the SM2 protocol does not have a proof of security. In this paper, we prove the security of the SM2 protocol in the widely accepted indistinguishability-based Bellare-Rogaway model under the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem (ECDLP) assumption. We also present a simplified and more efficient version of the SM2 protocol with an accompanying security proof. PMID:25276863

A protocol for developing an evaluation framework for an academic and private-sector partnership to assess the impact of major food and beverage companies' investments in community health in the United States.

PubMed

Huang, Terry T-K; Ferris, Emily; Crossley, Rachel; Guillermin, Michelle; Costa, Sergio; Cawley, John

2015-01-01

Public health leaders increasingly recognize the importance of multi-sector partnerships and systems approaches to address obesity. Public-private partnerships (PPP), which are joint ventures between government agencies and private sector entities, may help facilitate this process, but need to be delivered through comprehensive, transparent frameworks to maximize potential benefits and minimize potential risks for all partners. The City University of New York (CUNY) School of Public Health and the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) propose to engage in a unique academic-private-sector research partnership to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the food and beverage industry's investment in obesity and hunger prevention and reduction through community-level healthful eating and active living programs. The CUNY-HWCF academic-private partnership protocol described here incorporates best practices from the literature on PPP into the partnership's design. The CUNY-HWCF partnership design demonstrates how established guidelines for partnership components will actively incorporate and promote the principles of successful PPPs identified in various research papers. These identified principles of successful PPP, including mutuality (a reciprocal relationship between entities), and equality among partners, recognition of partners' unique strengths and roles, alignment of resources and expertise toward a common cause, and coordination and delegation of responsibilities, will be embedded throughout the design of governance, management, funding, intellectual property and accountability structures. The CUNY-HWCF partnership responds to the call for increased multi-sector work in obesity prevention and control. This framework aims to promote transparency and the shared benefits of complementary expertise while minimizing shared risks and conflicts of interest. This framework serves as a template for future academic-private research partnerships.

Semi-Structured Interview Protocol for Constructing Logic Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gugiu, P. Cristian; Rodriguez-Campos, Liliana

2007-01-01

This paper details a semi-structured interview protocol that evaluators can use to develop a logic model of a program's services and outcomes. The protocol presents a series of questions, which evaluators can ask of specific program informants, that are designed to: (1) identify key informants basic background and contextual information, (2)…

Understanding protocol performance: impact of test performance.

PubMed

Turner, Robert G

2013-01-01

This is the second of two articles that examine the factors that determine protocol performance. The objective of these articles is to provide a general understanding of protocol performance that can be used to estimate performance, establish limits on performance, decide if a protocol is justified, and ultimately select a protocol. The first article was concerned with protocol criterion and test correlation. It demonstrated the advantages and disadvantages of different criterion when all tests had the same performance. It also examined the impact of increasing test correlation on protocol performance and the characteristics of the different criteria. To examine the impact on protocol performance when individual tests in a protocol have different performance. This is evaluated for different criteria and test correlations. The results of the two articles are combined and summarized. A mathematical model is used to calculate protocol performance for different protocol criteria and test correlations when there are small to large variations in the performance of individual tests in the protocol. The performance of the individual tests that make up a protocol has a significant impact on the performance of the protocol. As expected, the better the performance of the individual tests, the better the performance of the protocol. Many of the characteristics of the different criteria are relatively independent of the variation in the performance of the individual tests. However, increasing test variation degrades some criteria advantages and causes a new disadvantage to appear. This negative impact increases as test variation increases and as more tests are added to the protocol. Best protocol performance is obtained when individual tests are uncorrelated and have the same performance. In general, the greater the variation in the performance of tests in the protocol, the more detrimental this variation is to protocol performance. Since this negative impact is increased as more tests are added to the protocol, greater test variation indicates using fewer tests in the protocol. American Academy of Audiology.

Pregnancy Research on Osteopathic Manipulation Optimizing Treatment Effects: The PROMOTE Study Protocol.

PubMed

Hensel, Kendi L; Carnes, Michael S; Stoll, Scott T

2016-11-01

The structural and physiologic changes in a woman's body during pregnancy can predispose pregnant women to low back pain and its associated disability, as well as to complications of pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Anecdotal and empirical evidence has indicated that osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) may be efficacious in improving pain and functionality in women who are pregnant. Based on that premise, the Pregnancy Research on Osteopathic Manipulation Optimizing Treatment Effects (PROMOTE) study was designed as a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, and blinded clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of an OMT protocol for pain during third-trimester pregnancy. The OMT protocol developed for the PROMOTE study was based on physiologic theory and the concept of the interrelationship of structure and function. The 12 well-defined, standardized OMT techniques used in the protocol are commonly taught at osteopathic medical schools in the United States. These techniques can be easily replicated as a 20-minute protocol applied in conjunction with usual prenatal care, thus making it feasible to implement into clinical practice. This article presents an overview of the study design and treatment protocols used in the PROMOTE study.

ISOS-3 Inter-Laboratory Collaboration Focused on the Stability of a Variety of Organic Photovoltaic Devices

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

Tanenbaum, D. M.; Hermenau, M.; Voroshazi, E.

2012-02-07

Seven distinct sets (n {>=} 12) of state of the art organic photovoltaic devices were prepared by leading research laboratories in a collaboration planned at the Third International Summit on Organic Photovoltaic Stability (ISOS-3). All devices were shipped to RISO DTU and characterized simultaneously up to 1830 h in accordance with established ISOS-3 protocols under three distinct illumination conditions: accelerated full sun simulation; low level indoor fluorescent lighting; and dark storage with daily measurement under full sun simulation. Three nominally identical devices were used in each experiment both to provide an assessment of the homogeneity of the samples and tomore » distribute samples for a variety of post soaking analytical measurements at six distinct laboratories enabling comparison at various stages in the degradation of the devices. Over 100 devices with more than 300 cells were used in the study. We present here design and fabrication details for the seven device sets, benefits and challenges associated with the unprecedented size of the collaboration, characterization protocols, and results both on individual device stability and uniformity of device sets, in the three illumination conditions.« less

Social media use and cybercivility guidelines in U.S. nursing schools: A review of websites.

PubMed

De Gagne, Jennie C; Yamane, Sandra S; Conklin, Jamie L; Chang, Jianhong; Kang, Hee Sun

This research analyzes to what extent U.S. nursing schools use social media, their policies or guidelines on cybercivility in social media, online classrooms, and email correspondence, and whether these protocols are readily available to students. This website-based study employs a descriptive, cross-sectional, non-experimental search design. Data were collected in nursing schools offering master's programs (n=197) and online graduate programs in master's degree (n=110) listed in the 2017 edition of U.S. News and World Report. School ranking was positively correlated with the total number of social networking sites being used in the schools, but not with the presence of cybercivility guidelines. About a third of the nursing schools in the sample had policies/guidelines concerning social media, while fewer than 10% had policies/guidelines about online classroom conduct (n=14) or email use (n=16). Key features of these protocols were professionalism, expected behaviors, and consequences. Establishing and implementing policies and guidelines regarding cybercivility is a vital step to promote a culture of civility online. It is especially important to do so in nursing schools where standards should reflect the values of the profession. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimizing the design of a reproduction toxicity test with the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis.

PubMed

Charles, Sandrine; Ducrot, Virginie; Azam, Didier; Benstead, Rachel; Brettschneider, Denise; De Schamphelaere, Karel; Filipe Goncalves, Sandra; Green, John W; Holbech, Henrik; Hutchinson, Thomas H; Faber, Daniel; Laranjeiro, Filipe; Matthiessen, Peter; Norrgren, Leif; Oehlmann, Jörg; Reategui-Zirena, Evelyn; Seeland-Fremer, Anne; Teigeler, Matthias; Thome, Jean-Pierre; Tobor Kaplon, Marysia; Weltje, Lennart; Lagadic, Laurent

2016-11-01

This paper presents the results from two ring-tests addressing the feasibility, robustness and reproducibility of a reproduction toxicity test with the freshwater gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis (RENILYS strain). Sixteen laboratories (from inexperienced to expert laboratories in mollusc testing) from nine countries participated in these ring-tests. Survival and reproduction were evaluated in L. stagnalis exposed to cadmium, tributyltin, prochloraz and trenbolone according to an OECD draft Test Guideline. In total, 49 datasets were analysed to assess the practicability of the proposed experimental protocol, and to estimate the between-laboratory reproducibility of toxicity endpoint values. The statistical analysis of count data (number of clutches or eggs per individual-day) leading to ECx estimation was specifically developed and automated through a free web-interface. Based on a complementary statistical analysis, the optimal test duration was established and the most sensitive and cost-effective reproduction toxicity endpoint was identified, to be used as the core endpoint. This validation process and the resulting optimized protocol were used to consolidate the OECD Test Guideline for the evaluation of reproductive effects of chemicals in L. stagnalis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design of Secure and Lightweight Authentication Protocol for Wearable Devices Environment.

PubMed

Das, Ashok Kumar; Wazid, Mohammad; Kumar, Neeraj; Khan, Muhammad Khurram; Choo, Kim-Kwang Raymond; Park, YoungHo

2017-09-18

Wearable devices are used in various applications to collect information including step information, sleeping cycles, workout statistics, and health related information. Due to the nature and richness of the data collected by such devices, it is important to ensure the security of the collected data. This paper presents a new lightweight authentication scheme suitable for wearable device deployment. The scheme allows a user to mutually authenticate his/her wearable device(s) and the mobile terminal (e.g., Android and iOS device) and establish a session key among these devices (worn and carried by the same user) for secure communication between the wearable device and the mobile terminal. The security of the proposed scheme is then demonstrated through the broadly-accepted Real-Or-Random model, as well as using the popular formal security verification tool, known as the Automated Validation of Internet Security Protocols and Applications (AVISPA). Finally, we present a comparative summary of the proposed scheme in terms of the overheads such as computation and communication costs, security and functionality features of the proposed scheme and related schemes, and also the evaluation findings from the NS2 simulation.

Light-induced retinal damage using different light sources, protocols and rat strains reveals LED phototoxicity.

PubMed

Krigel, A; Berdugo, M; Picard, E; Levy-Boukris, R; Jaadane, I; Jonet, L; Dernigoghossian, M; Andrieu-Soler, C; Torriglia, A; Behar-Cohen, F

2016-12-17

To save energy, the European directives from the Eco-design of Energy Using Products (2005/32/CE) have recommended the replacement of incandescent lamps by more economic devices such as Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). However, the emission spectrum of these devices is enriched in blue radiations, known to be potentially dangerous to the retina. Recent studies showed that light exposure contributes to the onset of early stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Here, we investigate, in albinos and pigmented rats, the effects of different exposure protocols. Twenty-four hours exposure at high luminance was compared to a cyclic (dark/light) exposure at domestic levels for 1week and 1month, using different LEDs (Cold-white, blue and green), as well as fluorocompact bulbs and fluorescent tubes. The data suggest that the blue component of the white-LED may cause retinal toxicity at occupational domestic illuminance and not only in extreme experimental conditions, as previously reported. It is important to note that the current regulations and standards have been established on the basis of acute light exposure and do not take into account the effects of repeated exposure. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Metropolitan all-pass and inter-city quantum communication network.

PubMed

Chen, Teng-Yun; Wang, Jian; Liang, Hao; Liu, Wei-Yue; Liu, Yang; Jiang, Xiao; Wang, Yuan; Wan, Xu; Cai, Wei-Qi; Ju, Lei; Chen, Luo-Kan; Wang, Liu-Jun; Gao, Yuan; Chen, Kai; Peng, Cheng-Zhi; Chen, Zeng-Bing; Pan, Jian-Wei

2010-12-20

We have demonstrated a metropolitan all-pass quantum communication network in field fiber for four nodes. Any two nodes of them can be connected in the network to perform quantum key distribution (QKD). An optical switching module is presented that enables arbitrary 2-connectivity among output ports. Integrated QKD terminals are worked out, which can operate either as a transmitter, a receiver, or even both at the same time. Furthermore, an additional link in another city of 60 km fiber (up to 130 km) is seamless integrated into this network based on a trusted relay architecture. On all the links, we have implemented protocol of decoy state scheme. All of necessary electrical hardware, synchronization, feedback control, network software, execution of QKD protocols are made by tailored designing, which allow a completely automatical and stable running. Our system has been put into operation in Hefei in August 2009, and publicly demonstrated during an evaluation conference on quantum network organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on August 29, 2009. Real-time voice telephone with one-time pad encoding between any two of the five nodes (four all-pass nodes plus one additional node through relay) is successfully established in the network within 60 km.

From Chaos to Content: An Integrated Approach to Government Web Sites

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

Demuth, Nora H.; Knudson, Christa K.

2005-01-03

The web development team of the Environmental Technology Directorate (ETD) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) redesigned the ETD website as a database-driven system, powered by the newly designed ETD Common Information System (ETD-CIS). The ETD website was redesigned in response to an analysis that showed the previous ETD websites were inefficient, costly, and lacking in a consistent focus. Redesigned and newly created websites based on a new ETD template provide a consistent image, meet or exceed accessibility standards, and are linked through a common database. The protocols used in developing the ETD website supportmore » integration of further organizational sites and facilitate internal use by staff and training on ETD website development and maintenance. Other PNNL organizations have approached the ETD web development team with an interest in applying the methods established by the ETD system. The ETD system protocol could potentially be used by other DOE laboratories to improve their website efficiency and content focus. “The tools by which we share science information must be as extraordinary as the information itself.[ ]” – DOE Science Director Raymond Orbach« less

Establishment of integrated protocols for automated high throughput kinetic chlorophyll fluorescence analyses.

PubMed

Tschiersch, Henning; Junker, Astrid; Meyer, Rhonda C; Altmann, Thomas

2017-01-01

Automated plant phenotyping has been established as a powerful new tool in studying plant growth, development and response to various types of biotic or abiotic stressors. Respective facilities mainly apply non-invasive imaging based methods, which enable the continuous quantification of the dynamics of plant growth and physiology during developmental progression. However, especially for plants of larger size, integrative, automated and high throughput measurements of complex physiological parameters such as photosystem II efficiency determined through kinetic chlorophyll fluorescence analysis remain a challenge. We present the technical installations and the establishment of experimental procedures that allow the integrated high throughput imaging of all commonly determined PSII parameters for small and large plants using kinetic chlorophyll fluorescence imaging systems (FluorCam, PSI) integrated into automated phenotyping facilities (Scanalyzer, LemnaTec). Besides determination of the maximum PSII efficiency, we focused on implementation of high throughput amenable protocols recording PSII operating efficiency (Φ PSII ). Using the presented setup, this parameter is shown to be reproducibly measured in differently sized plants despite the corresponding variation in distance between plants and light source that caused small differences in incident light intensity. Values of Φ PSII obtained with the automated chlorophyll fluorescence imaging setup correlated very well with conventionally determined data using a spot-measuring chlorophyll fluorometer. The established high throughput operating protocols enable the screening of up to 1080 small and 184 large plants per hour, respectively. The application of the implemented high throughput protocols is demonstrated in screening experiments performed with large Arabidopsis and maize populations assessing natural variation in PSII efficiency. The incorporation of imaging systems suitable for kinetic chlorophyll fluorescence analysis leads to a substantial extension of the feature spectrum to be assessed in the presented high throughput automated plant phenotyping platforms, thus enabling the simultaneous assessment of plant architectural and biomass-related traits and their relations to physiological features such as PSII operating efficiency. The implemented high throughput protocols are applicable to a broad spectrum of model and crop plants of different sizes (up to 1.80 m height) and architectures. The deeper understanding of the relation of plant architecture, biomass formation and photosynthetic efficiency has a great potential with respect to crop and yield improvement strategies.

Lessons learned on the design and the conduct of Post-Authorization Safety Studies: review of 3 years of PRAC oversight.

PubMed

Engel, Pierre; Almas, Mariana Ferreira; De Bruin, Marieke Louise; Starzyk, Kathryn; Blackburn, Stella; Dreyer, Nancy Ann

2017-04-01

To describe and characterize the first cohort of Post-Authorization Safety Study (PASS) protocols reviewed under the recent European pharmacovigilance legislation. A systematic approach was used to compile all publicly available information on PASS protocols and assessments submitted from July 2012 to July 2015 from Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) minutes, European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Network of Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacoepidemiology (ENCePP) webpages. During the study period, 189 different PASS protocols were submitted to the PRAC, half of which were entered in the ENCePP electronic register of post-authorization studies (EU-PAS) by July 2015. Those protocols were assessed during 353 PRAC reviews. The EMA published only 31% of the PRAC feedback, of which the main concerns were study design (37%) and feasibility (30%). Among the 189 PASS, slightly more involved primary data capture (58%). PASS assessing drug utilization mainly leveraged secondary data sources (58%). The majority of the PASS did not include a comparator (65%) and 35% of PASS also evaluated clinical effectiveness endpoints. To the best of our knowledge this is the first comprehensive review of three years of PASS protocols submitted under the new pharmacovigilance legislation. Our results show that both EMA and PASS sponsors could respectively increase the availability of protocol assessments and documents in the EU-PAS. Protocol content review and the high number of PRAC comments related to methodological issues and feasibility concerns should raise awareness among PASS stakeholders to design more thoughtful studies according to pharmacoepidemiological principles and existing guidelines. © 2016 The British Pharmacological Society.

The Growing Awareness Inventory: Building Capacity for Culturally Responsive Science and Mathematics with a Structured Observation Protocol

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Julie C.; Crippen, Kent J.

2016-01-01

This study represents a first iteration in the design process of the Growing Awareness Inventory (GAIn), a structured observation protocol for building the awareness of preservice teachers (PSTs) for resources in mathematics and science classrooms that can be used for culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP). The GAIn is designed to develop awareness…

Design of a Channel Error Simulator using Virtual Instrument Techniques for the Initial Testing of TCP/IP and SCPS Protocols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horan, Stephen; Wang, Ru-Hai

1999-01-01

There exists a need for designers and developers to have a method to conveniently test a variety of communications parameters for an overall system design. This is no different when testing network protocols as when testing modulation formats. In this report, we discuss a means of providing a networking test device specifically designed to be used for space communications. This test device is a PC-based Virtual Instrument (VI) programmed using the LabVIEW(TM) version 5 software suite developed by National Instruments(TM)TM. This instrument was designed to be portable and usable by others without special, additional equipment. The programming was designed to replicate a VME-based hardware module developed earlier at New Mexico State University (NMSU) and to provide expanded capabilities exceeding the baseline configuration existing in that module. This report describes the design goals for the VI module in the next section and follows that with a description of the design of the VI instrument. This is followed with a description of the validation tests run on the VI. An application of the error-generating VI to networking protocols is then given.

A kind of universal quantum secret sharing protocol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiu-Bo; Dou, Zhao; Xu, Gang; He, Xiao-Yu; Yang, Yi-Xian

2017-01-01

Universality is an important feature, but less researched in quantum communication protocols. In this paper, a kind of universal quantum secret sharing protocol is investigated. Firstly, we design a quantum secret sharing protocol based on the Borras-Plastino-Batle (BPB) state. Departing from previous research, our protocol has a salient feature in that participants in our protocol only need projective measurement instead of any unitary operations. It makes our protocol more flexible. Secondly, universality of quantum communication protocols is studied for the first time. More specifically, module division of quantum communication protocols and coupling between different modules are discussed. Our aforementioned protocol is analyzed as an example. On one hand, plenty of quantum states (the BPB-class states and the BPB-like-class states, which are proposed in this paper) could be used as carrier to perform our protocol. On the other hand, our protocol also could be regarded as a quantum private comparison protocol with a little revision. These features are rare for quantum communication protocols, and make our protocol more robust. Thirdly, entanglements of the BPB-class states are calculated in the Appendix.

A kind of universal quantum secret sharing protocol.

PubMed

Chen, Xiu-Bo; Dou, Zhao; Xu, Gang; He, Xiao-Yu; Yang, Yi-Xian

2017-01-12

Universality is an important feature, but less researched in quantum communication protocols. In this paper, a kind of universal quantum secret sharing protocol is investigated. Firstly, we design a quantum secret sharing protocol based on the Borras-Plastino-Batle (BPB) state. Departing from previous research, our protocol has a salient feature in that participants in our protocol only need projective measurement instead of any unitary operations. It makes our protocol more flexible. Secondly, universality of quantum communication protocols is studied for the first time. More specifically, module division of quantum communication protocols and coupling between different modules are discussed. Our aforementioned protocol is analyzed as an example. On one hand, plenty of quantum states (the BPB-class states and the BPB-like-class states, which are proposed in this paper) could be used as carrier to perform our protocol. On the other hand, our protocol also could be regarded as a quantum private comparison protocol with a little revision. These features are rare for quantum communication protocols, and make our protocol more robust. Thirdly, entanglements of the BPB-class states are calculated in the Appendix.

A kind of universal quantum secret sharing protocol

PubMed Central

Chen, Xiu-Bo; Dou, Zhao; Xu, Gang; He, Xiao-Yu; Yang, Yi-Xian

2017-01-01

Universality is an important feature, but less researched in quantum communication protocols. In this paper, a kind of universal quantum secret sharing protocol is investigated. Firstly, we design a quantum secret sharing protocol based on the Borras-Plastino-Batle (BPB) state. Departing from previous research, our protocol has a salient feature in that participants in our protocol only need projective measurement instead of any unitary operations. It makes our protocol more flexible. Secondly, universality of quantum communication protocols is studied for the first time. More specifically, module division of quantum communication protocols and coupling between different modules are discussed. Our aforementioned protocol is analyzed as an example. On one hand, plenty of quantum states (the BPB-class states and the BPB-like-class states, which are proposed in this paper) could be used as carrier to perform our protocol. On the other hand, our protocol also could be regarded as a quantum private comparison protocol with a little revision. These features are rare for quantum communication protocols, and make our protocol more robust. Thirdly, entanglements of the BPB-class states are calculated in the Appendix. PMID:28079109

DNA tetrominoes: the construction of DNA nanostructures using self-organised heterogeneous deoxyribonucleic acids shapes.

PubMed

Ong, Hui San; Rahim, Mohd Syafiq; Firdaus-Raih, Mohd; Ramlan, Effirul Ikhwan

2015-01-01

The unique programmability of nucleic acids offers alternative in constructing excitable and functional nanostructures. This work introduces an autonomous protocol to construct DNA Tetris shapes (L-Shape, B-Shape, T-Shape and I-Shape) using modular DNA blocks. The protocol exploits the rich number of sequence combinations available from the nucleic acid alphabets, thus allowing for diversity to be applied in designing various DNA nanostructures. Instead of a deterministic set of sequences corresponding to a particular design, the protocol promotes a large pool of DNA shapes that can assemble to conform to any desired structures. By utilising evolutionary programming in the design stage, DNA blocks are subjected to processes such as sequence insertion, deletion and base shifting in order to enrich the diversity of the resulting shapes based on a set of cascading filters. The optimisation algorithm allows mutation to be exerted indefinitely on the candidate sequences until these sequences complied with all the four fitness criteria. Generated candidates from the protocol are in agreement with the filter cascades and thermodynamic simulation. Further validation using gel electrophoresis indicated the formation of the designed shapes. Thus, supporting the plausibility of constructing DNA nanostructures in a more hierarchical, modular, and interchangeable manner.

Protocols for the Design of Kinase-focused Compound Libraries.

PubMed

Jacoby, Edgar; Wroblowski, Berthold; Buyck, Christophe; Neefs, Jean-Marc; Meyer, Christophe; Cummings, Maxwell D; van Vlijmen, Herman

2018-05-01

Protocols for the design of kinase-focused compound libraries are presented. Kinase-focused compound libraries can be differentiated based on the design goal. Depending on whether the library should be a discovery library specific for one particular kinase, a general discovery library for multiple distinct kinase projects, or even phenotypic screening, there exists today a variety of in silico methods to design candidate compound libraries. We address the following scenarios: 1) Datamining of SAR databases and kinase focused vendor catalogues; 2) Predictions and virtual screening; 3) Structure-based design of combinatorial kinase inhibitors; 4) Design of covalent kinase inhibitors; 5) Design of macrocyclic kinase inhibitors; and 6) Design of allosteric kinase inhibitors and activators. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Establishment of a protocol for the gene expression analysis of laser microdissected rat kidney samples with affymetrix genechips

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

Stemmer, Kerstin; Ellinger-Ziegelbauer, Heidrun; Lotz, Kerstin

2006-11-15

Laser microdissection in conjunction with microarray technology allows selective isolation and analysis of specific cell populations, e.g., preneoplastic renal lesions. To date, only limited information is available on sample preparation and preservation techniques that result in both optimal histomorphological preservation of sections and high-quality RNA for microarray analysis. Furthermore, amplification of minute amounts of RNA from microdissected renal samples allowing analysis with genechips has only scantily been addressed to date. The objective of this study was therefore to establish a reliable and reproducible protocol for laser microdissection in conjunction with microarray technology using kidney tissue from Eker rats p.o. treatedmore » for 7 days and 6 months with 10 and 1 mg Aristolochic acid/kg bw, respectively. Kidney tissues were preserved in RNAlater or snap frozen. Cryosections were cut and stained with either H and E or cresyl violet for subsequent morphological and RNA quality assessment and laser microdissection. RNA quality was comparable in snap frozen and RNAlater-preserved samples, however, the histomorphological preservation of renal sections was much better following cryopreservation. Moreover, the different staining techniques in combination with sample processing time at room temperature can have an influence on RNA quality. Different RNA amplification protocols were shown to have an impact on gene expression profiles as demonstrated with Affymetrix Rat Genome 230{sub 2}.0 arrays. Considering all the parameters analyzed in this study, a protocol for RNA isolation from laser microdissected samples with subsequent Affymetrix chip hybridization was established that was also successfully applied to preneoplastic lesions laser microdissected from Aristolochic acid-treated rats.« less

Rapid Sampling of Hydrogen Bond Networks for Computational Protein Design.

PubMed

Maguire, Jack B; Boyken, Scott E; Baker, David; Kuhlman, Brian

2018-05-08

Hydrogen bond networks play a critical role in determining the stability and specificity of biomolecular complexes, and the ability to design such networks is important for engineering novel structures, interactions, and enzymes. One key feature of hydrogen bond networks that makes them difficult to rationally engineer is that they are highly cooperative and are not energetically favorable until the hydrogen bonding potential has been satisfied for all buried polar groups in the network. Existing computational methods for protein design are ill-equipped for creating these highly cooperative networks because they rely on energy functions and sampling strategies that are focused on pairwise interactions. To enable the design of complex hydrogen bond networks, we have developed a new sampling protocol in the molecular modeling program Rosetta that explicitly searches for sets of amino acid mutations that can form self-contained hydrogen bond networks. For a given set of designable residues, the protocol often identifies many alternative sets of mutations/networks, and we show that it can readily be applied to large sets of residues at protein-protein interfaces or in the interior of proteins. The protocol builds on a recently developed method in Rosetta for designing hydrogen bond networks that has been experimentally validated for small symmetric systems but was not extensible to many larger protein structures and complexes. The sampling protocol we describe here not only recapitulates previously validated designs with performance improvements but also yields viable hydrogen bond networks for cases where the previous method fails, such as the design of large, asymmetric interfaces relevant to engineering protein-based therapeutics.

High fidelity wireless network evaluation for heterogeneous cognitive radio networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Lei; Sagduyu, Yalin; Yackoski, Justin; Azimi-Sadjadi, Babak; Li, Jason; Levy, Renato; Melodia, Tammaso

2012-06-01

We present a high fidelity cognitive radio (CR) network emulation platform for wireless system tests, measure- ments, and validation. This versatile platform provides the configurable functionalities to control and repeat realistic physical channel effects in integrated space, air, and ground networks. We combine the advantages of scalable simulation environment with reliable hardware performance for high fidelity and repeatable evaluation of heterogeneous CR networks. This approach extends CR design only at device (software-defined-radio) or lower-level protocol (dynamic spectrum access) level to end-to-end cognitive networking, and facilitates low-cost deployment, development, and experimentation of new wireless network protocols and applications on frequency- agile programmable radios. Going beyond the channel emulator paradigm for point-to-point communications, we can support simultaneous transmissions by network-level emulation that allows realistic physical-layer inter- actions between diverse user classes, including secondary users, primary users, and adversarial jammers in CR networks. In particular, we can replay field tests in a lab environment with real radios perceiving and learning the dynamic environment thereby adapting for end-to-end goals over distributed spectrum coordination channels that replace the common control channel as a single point of failure. CR networks offer several dimensions of tunable actions including channel, power, rate, and route selection. The proposed network evaluation platform is fully programmable and can reliably evaluate the necessary cross-layer design solutions with configurable op- timization space by leveraging the hardware experiments to represent the realistic effects of physical channel, topology, mobility, and jamming on spectrum agility, situational awareness, and network resiliency. We also provide the flexibility to scale up the test environment by introducing virtual radios and establishing seamless signal-level interactions with real radios. This holistic wireless evaluation approach supports a large-scale, het- erogeneous, and dynamic CR network architecture and allows developing cross-layer network protocols under high fidelity, repeatable, and scalable wireless test scenarios suitable for heterogeneous space, air, and ground networks.

Opportunistic detection of atrial fibrillation in subjects aged 65 years or older in primare care: a randomised clinical trial of efficacy. DOFA-AP study protocol

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend using peripheral blood pulse measuring as a screening test for Atrial Fibrillation. However, there is no adequate evidence supporting the efficacy of such procedure in primary care clinical practice. This paper describes a study protocol designed to verify whether early opportunistic screening for Atrial Fibrillation by measuring blood pulse is more effective than regular practice in subjects aged 65 years attending primary care centers. Methods/design An cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in Primary Care Centers of the Spanish National Health Service. A total of 269 physicians and nurses will be allocated to one of the two arms of the trial by stratified randomization with a 3:2 ratio (three practitioners will be assigned to the Control Group for every two practitioners assigned to the Experimental Group). As many as 12 870 patients aged 65 years or older and meeting eligibility criteria will be recruited (8 580 will be allocated to the Experimental Group and 4 290 to the Control Group). Randomization and allocation to trial groups will be carried out by a central computer system. The Experimental Group practitioners will conduct an opportunistic case finding for patients with Atrial Fibrillation, while the Control Group practitioners will follow the regular guidelines. The first step will be finding new Atrial Fibrillation cases. A descriptive inferential analysis will be performed (bivariate and multivariate by multilevel logistic regression analysis). Discussion If our hypothesis is confirmed, we expect Primary Care professionals to take a more proactive approach and adopt a new protocol when a patient meeting the established screening criteria is identified. Finally, we expect this measure to be incorporated into Clinical Practice Guidelines. Trial registration The study is registered as NCT01291953 (ClinicalTrials.gob) PMID:23130754

Treatment algorithms and protocolized care.

PubMed

Morris, Alan H

2003-06-01

Excess information in complex ICU environments exceeds human decision-making limits and likely contributes to unnecessary variation in clinical care, increasing the likelihood of clinical errors. I reviewed recent critical care clinical trials searching for information about the impact of protocol use on clinically pertinent outcomes. Several recently published clinical trials illustrate the importance of distinguishing efficacy and effectiveness trials. One of these trials illustrates the danger of conducting effectiveness trials before the efficacy of an intervention is established. The trials also illustrate the importance of distinguishing guidelines and inadequately explicit protocols from adequately explicit protocols. Only adequately explicit protocols contain enough detail to lead different clinicians to the same decision when faced with the same clinical scenario. Differences between guidelines and protocols are important. Guidelines lack detail and provide general guidance that requires clinicians to fill in many gaps. Computerized or paper-based protocols are detailed and, when used for complex clinical ICU problems, can generate patient-specific, evidence-based therapy instructions that can be carried out by different clinicians with almost no interclinician variability. Individualization of patient therapy can be preserved by these protocols when they are driven by individual patient data. Explicit decision-support tools (eg, guidelines and protocols) have favorable effects on clinician and patient outcomes and can reduce the variation in clinical practice. Guidelines and protocols that aid ICU decision makers should be more widely distributed.

A novel protocol for antibiotic prophylaxis based on preoperative kidney function in patients undergoing open heart surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass.

PubMed

Odaka, Mizuho; Minakata, Kenji; Toyokuni, Hideaki; Yamazaki, Kazuhiro; Yonezawa, Atsushi; Sakata, Ryuzo; Matsubara, Kazuo

2015-08-01

This study aimed to develop and assess the effectiveness of a protocol for antibiotic prophylaxis based on preoperative kidney function in patients undergoing open heart surgery. We established a protocol for antibiotic prophylaxis based on preoperative kidney function in patients undergoing open heart surgery. This novel protocol was assessed by comparing patients undergoing open heart surgery before (control group; n = 30) and after its implementation (protocol group; n = 31) at Kyoto University Hospital between July 2012 and January 2013. Surgical site infections (SSIs) were observed in 4 control group patients (13.3 %), whereas no SSIs were observed in the protocol group patients (P < 0.05). The total duration of antibiotic use decreased significantly from 80.7 ± 17.6 h (mean ± SD) in the control group to 55.5 ± 14.9 h in the protocol group (P < 0.05). Similarly, introduction of the protocol significantly decreased the total antibiotic dose used in the perioperative period (P < 0.05). Furthermore, antibiotic regimens were changed under suspicion of infection in 5 of 30 control group patients, whereas none of the protocol group patients required this additional change in the antibiotic regimen (P < 0.05). Our novel antibiotic prophylaxis protocol based on preoperative kidney function effectively prevents SSIs in patients undergoing open heart surgery.

Residual energy level based clustering routing protocol for wireless sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Xu; Zhong, Fangming; Chen, Zhikui; Yang, Deli

2015-12-01

The wireless sensor networks, which nodes prone to premature death, with unbalanced energy consumption and a short life time, influenced the promotion and application of this technology in internet of things in agriculture. This paper proposes a clustering routing protocol based on the residual energy level (RELCP). RELCP includes three stages: the selection of cluster head, establishment of cluster and data transmission. RELCP considers the remaining energy level and distance to base station, while election of cluster head nodes and data transmitting. Simulation results demonstrate that the protocol can efficiently balance the energy dissipation of all nodes, and prolong the network lifetime.

Chapter 4- Fertility preservation in women with breast cancer

PubMed Central

Rodriguez-Wallberg, Kenny A.; Oktay, Kutluk

2010-01-01

Fertility preservation is an important issue for young women diagnosed with breast cancer. The most well-established options for fertility preservation in cancer patients, embryo and oocyte cryopreservation, have not been traditionally offered to breast cancer patients as estradiol rise during standard stimulation protocols may not be safe for those patients. Potentially safer stimulation protocols using tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors induce lower levels of estradiol while similar results in terms of number of oocyte and embryo obtained to standard protocols. Cryopreservation of immature oocytes and ovarian cortical tissue, both still experimental methods, are also fertility preservation options for breast cancer patients. PMID:21048442

Design of primers and probes for quantitative real-time PCR methods.

PubMed

Rodríguez, Alicia; Rodríguez, Mar; Córdoba, Juan J; Andrade, María J

2015-01-01

Design of primers and probes is one of the most crucial factors affecting the success and quality of quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analyses, since an accurate and reliable quantification depends on using efficient primers and probes. Design of primers and probes should meet several criteria to find potential primers and probes for specific qPCR assays. The formation of primer-dimers and other non-specific products should be avoided or reduced. This factor is especially important when designing primers for SYBR(®) Green protocols but also in designing probes to ensure specificity of the developed qPCR protocol. To design primers and probes for qPCR, multiple software programs and websites are available being numerous of them free. These tools often consider the default requirements for primers and probes, although new research advances in primer and probe design should be progressively added to different algorithm programs. After a proper design, a precise validation of the primers and probes is necessary. Specific consideration should be taken into account when designing primers and probes for multiplex qPCR and reverse transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR). This chapter provides guidelines for the design of suitable primers and probes and their subsequent validation through the development of singlex qPCR, multiplex qPCR, and RT-qPCR protocols.

A survey of system architecture requirements for health care-based wireless sensor networks.

PubMed

Egbogah, Emeka E; Fapojuwo, Abraham O

2011-01-01

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have emerged as a viable technology for a vast number of applications, including health care applications. To best support these health care applications, WSN technology can be adopted for the design of practical Health Care WSNs (HCWSNs) that support the key system architecture requirements of reliable communication, node mobility support, multicast technology, energy efficiency, and the timely delivery of data. Work in the literature mostly focuses on the physical design of the HCWSNs (e.g., wearable sensors, in vivo embedded sensors, et cetera). However, work towards enhancing the communication layers (i.e., routing, medium access control, et cetera) to improve HCWSN performance is largely lacking. In this paper, the information gleaned from an extensive literature survey is shared in an effort to fortify the knowledge base for the communication aspect of HCWSNs. We highlight the major currently existing prototype HCWSNs and also provide the details of their routing protocol characteristics. We also explore the current state of the art in medium access control (MAC) protocols for WSNs, for the purpose of seeking an energy efficient solution that is robust to mobility and delivers data in a timely fashion. Furthermore, we review a number of reliable transport layer protocols, including a network coding based protocol from the literature, that are potentially suitable for delivering end-to-end reliability of data transmitted in HCWSNs. We identify the advantages and disadvantages of the reviewed MAC, routing, and transport layer protocols as they pertain to the design and implementation of a HCWSN. The findings from this literature survey will serve as a useful foundation for designing a reliable HCWSN and also contribute to the development and evaluation of protocols for improving the performance of future HCWSNs. Open issues that required further investigations are highlighted.

RXIO: Design and implementation of high performance RDMA-capable GridFTP

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

Tian, Yuan; Yu, Weikuan; Vetter, Jeffrey S.

2011-12-21

For its low-latency, high bandwidth, and low CPU utilization, Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) has established itself as an effective data movement technology in many networking environments. However, the transport protocols of grid run-time systems, such as GridFTP in Globus, are not yet capable of utilizing RDMA. In this study, we examine the architecture of GridFTP for the feasibility of enabling RDMA. An RDMA-capable XIO (RXIO) framework is designed and implemented to extend its XIO system and match the characteristics of RDMA. Our experimental results demonstrate that RDMA can significantly improve the performance of GridFTP, reducing the latency by 32%more » and increasing the bandwidth by more than three times. In achieving such performance improvements, RDMA dramatically cuts down CPU utilization of GridFTP clients and servers. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that RXIO can effectively exploit the benefits of RDMA for GridFTP. It offers a good prototype to further leverage GridFTP on wide-area RDMA networks.« less

Protocols and characterization data for 2D, 3D, and slice-based tumor models from the PREDECT project.

PubMed

de Hoogt, Ronald; Estrada, Marta F; Vidic, Suzana; Davies, Emma J; Osswald, Annika; Barbier, Michael; Santo, Vítor E; Gjerde, Kjersti; van Zoggel, Hanneke J A A; Blom, Sami; Dong, Meng; Närhi, Katja; Boghaert, Erwin; Brito, Catarina; Chong, Yolanda; Sommergruber, Wolfgang; van der Kuip, Heiko; van Weerden, Wytske M; Verschuren, Emmy W; Hickman, John; Graeser, Ralph

2017-11-21

Two-dimensional (2D) culture of cancer cells in vitro does not recapitulate the three-dimensional (3D) architecture, heterogeneity and complexity of human tumors. More representative models are required that better reflect key aspects of tumor biology. These are essential studies of cancer biology and immunology as well as for target validation and drug discovery. The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) consortium PREDECT (www.predect.eu) characterized in vitro models of three solid tumor types with the goal to capture elements of tumor complexity and heterogeneity. 2D culture and 3D mono- and stromal co-cultures of increasing complexity, and precision-cut tumor slice models were established. Robust protocols for the generation of these platforms are described. Tissue microarrays were prepared from all the models, permitting immunohistochemical analysis of individual cells, capturing heterogeneity. 3D cultures were also characterized using image analysis. Detailed step-by-step protocols, exemplary datasets from the 2D, 3D, and slice models, and refined analytical methods were established and are presented.

Protocols and characterization data for 2D, 3D, and slice-based tumor models from the PREDECT project

PubMed Central

de Hoogt, Ronald; Estrada, Marta F.; Vidic, Suzana; Davies, Emma J.; Osswald, Annika; Barbier, Michael; Santo, Vítor E.; Gjerde, Kjersti; van Zoggel, Hanneke J. A. A.; Blom, Sami; Dong, Meng; Närhi, Katja; Boghaert, Erwin; Brito, Catarina; Chong, Yolanda; Sommergruber, Wolfgang; van der Kuip, Heiko; van Weerden, Wytske M.; Verschuren, Emmy W.; Hickman, John; Graeser, Ralph

2017-01-01

Two-dimensional (2D) culture of cancer cells in vitro does not recapitulate the three-dimensional (3D) architecture, heterogeneity and complexity of human tumors. More representative models are required that better reflect key aspects of tumor biology. These are essential studies of cancer biology and immunology as well as for target validation and drug discovery. The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) consortium PREDECT (www.predect.eu) characterized in vitro models of three solid tumor types with the goal to capture elements of tumor complexity and heterogeneity. 2D culture and 3D mono- and stromal co-cultures of increasing complexity, and precision-cut tumor slice models were established. Robust protocols for the generation of these platforms are described. Tissue microarrays were prepared from all the models, permitting immunohistochemical analysis of individual cells, capturing heterogeneity. 3D cultures were also characterized using image analysis. Detailed step-by-step protocols, exemplary datasets from the 2D, 3D, and slice models, and refined analytical methods were established and are presented. PMID:29160867

Consensus for second-order multi-agent systems with position sampled data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Rusheng; Gao, Lixin; Chen, Wenhai; Dai, Dameng

2016-10-01

In this paper, the consensus problem with position sampled data for second-order multi-agent systems is investigated. The interaction topology among the agents is depicted by a directed graph. The full-order and reduced-order observers with position sampled data are proposed, by which two kinds of sampled data-based consensus protocols are constructed. With the provided sampled protocols, the consensus convergence analysis of a continuous-time multi-agent system is equivalently transformed into that of a discrete-time system. Then, by using matrix theory and a sampled control analysis method, some sufficient and necessary consensus conditions based on the coupling parameters, spectrum of the Laplacian matrix and sampling period are obtained. While the sampling period tends to zero, our established necessary and sufficient conditions are degenerated to the continuous-time protocol case, which are consistent with the existing result for the continuous-time case. Finally, the effectiveness of our established results is illustrated by a simple simulation example. Project supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, China (Grant No. LY13F030005) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61501331).