The development of Attitudes of People from Ethnic Minorities to Help-Seeking for Dementia (APEND): a questionnaire to measure attitudes to help-seeking for dementia in people from South Asian backgrounds in the UK.

PubMed

Hailstone, Julia; Mukadam, Naaheed; Owen, Tamsin; Cooper, Claudia; Livingston, Gill

2017-03-01

People from South Asian backgrounds present to dementia services relatively late, often responding to crises. We aimed to devise and validate a theory of planned behaviour questionnaire to measure attitudes that predict medical help-seeking for UK-based South Asian people, to assess the effectiveness of future interventions promoting earlier help-seeking. We used focus groups to establish the content validity of culturally relevant questionnaire items, then asked participants to complete the questionnaire. We analysed reliability and validity and established the concurrent validity of questionnaire attitudes through correlation with willingness to seek help from a doctor for memory problems. We also correlated the scale with knowledge of dementia. The strongest predictor of willingness to seek help was perceived social pressure from significant others around help-seeking; these attitudes were associated with beliefs about the views of family members and embarrassment around help-seeking. Willingness to seek help was also strongly associated with attitudes about the benefits of seeing a doctor for memory problems, attitudes that were related to specific beliefs about what doctors can do to help. Attitudes in the questionnaire predicted 77% of variance in willingness to seek help, but no relationship was found with dementia knowledge. We present the Attitudes of People from Ethnic Minorities to Help-Seeking for Dementia (APEND) questionnaire, a valid and reliable measure of attitudes that influence help-seeking for dementia in people from South Asian backgrounds, which could assess the impact of intervention studies. We suggest that interventions target attitudes specified here, rather than dementia knowledge. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background radiation measurements at high power research reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashenfelter, J.; Balantekin, B.; Baldenegro, C. X.; Band, H. R.; Barclay, G.; Bass, C. D.; Berish, D.; Bowden, N. S.; Bryan, C. D.; Cherwinka, J. J.; Chu, R.; Classen, T.; Davee, D.; Dean, D.; Deichert, G.; Dolinski, M. J.; Dolph, J.; Dwyer, D. A.; Fan, S.; Gaison, J. K.; Galindo-Uribarri, A.; Gilje, K.; Glenn, A.; Green, M.; Han, K.; Hans, S.; Heeger, K. M.; Heffron, B.; Jaffe, D. E.; Kettell, S.; Langford, T. J.; Littlejohn, B. R.; Martinez, D.; McKeown, R. D.; Morrell, S.; Mueller, P. E.; Mumm, H. P.; Napolitano, J.; Norcini, D.; Pushin, D.; Romero, E.; Rosero, R.; Saldana, L.; Seilhan, B. S.; Sharma, R.; Stemen, N. T.; Surukuchi, P. T.; Thompson, S. J.; Varner, R. L.; Wang, W.; Watson, S. M.; White, B.; White, C.; Wilhelmi, J.; Williams, C.; Wise, T.; Yao, H.; Yeh, M.; Yen, Y.-R.; Zhang, C.; Zhang, X.; Prospect Collaboration

2016-01-01

Research reactors host a wide range of activities that make use of the intense neutron fluxes generated at these facilities. Recent interest in performing measurements with relatively low event rates, e.g. reactor antineutrino detection, at these facilities necessitates a detailed understanding of background radiation fields. Both reactor-correlated and naturally occurring background sources are potentially important, even at levels well below those of importance for typical activities. Here we describe a comprehensive series of background assessments at three high-power research reactors, including γ-ray, neutron, and muon measurements. For each facility we describe the characteristics and identify the sources of the background fields encountered. The general understanding gained of background production mechanisms and their relationship to facility features will prove valuable for the planning of any sensitive measurement conducted therein.

NASA Langley Low Speed Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel: Background Noise and Flow Survey Results Prior to FY05 Construction of Facilities Modifications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Booth, Earl R., Jr.; Henderson, Brenda S.

2005-01-01

The NASA Langley Research Center Low Speed Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel is a premier facility for model-scale testing of jet noise reduction concepts at realistic flow conditions. However, flow inside the open jet test section is less than optimum. A Construction of Facilities project, scheduled for FY 05, will replace the flow collector with a new design intended to reduce recirculation in the open jet test section. The reduction of recirculation will reduce background noise levels measured by a microphone array impinged by the recirculation flow and will improve flow characteristics in the open jet tunnel flow. In order to assess the degree to which this modification is successful, background noise levels and tunnel flow are documented, in order to establish a baseline, in this report.

Facility Search Criteria Help | ECHO | US EPA

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

ECHO, Enforcement and Compliance History Online, provides powerful search capabilities offering more than 100 search criteria to target your results. Use the ECHO to search compliance and enforcement information for approximately 800,000 EPA-regulated facilities nationwide.

Conceptual design for the space station Freedom modular combustion facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

A definition study and conceptual design for a combustion science facility that will be located in the Space Station Freedom's baseline U.S. Laboratory module is being performed. This modular, user-friendly facility, called the Modular Combustion Facility, will be available for use by industry, academic, and government research communities in the mid-1990's. The Facility will support research experiments dealing with the study of combustion and its byproducts. Because of the lack of gravity-induced convection, research into the mechanisms of combustion in the absence of gravity will help to provide a better understanding of the fundamentals of the combustion process. The background, current status, and future activities of the effort are covered.

Background radiation measurements at high power research reactors

DOE PAGES

Ashenfelter, J.; Yeh, M.; Balantekin, B.; ...

2015-10-23

Research reactors host a wide range of activities that make use of the intense neutron fluxes generated at these facilities. Recent interest in performing measurements with relatively low event rates, e.g. reactor antineutrino detection, at these facilities necessitates a detailed understanding of background radiation fields. Both reactor-correlated and naturally occurring background sources are potentially important, even at levels well below those of importance for typical activities. Here we describe a comprehensive series of background assessments at three high-power research reactors, including γ-ray, neutron, and muon measurements. For each facility we describe the characteristics and identify the sources of the backgroundmore » fields encountered. Furthermore, the general understanding gained of background production mechanisms and their relationship to facility features will prove valuable for the planning of any sensitive measurement conducted therein.« less

Direction of rational use of water at livestock facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potseluev, A. A.; Nazarov, I. V.

2017-05-01

The article notes the world water shortage problem. Against this background, Russia’s agricultural production is considered, in particular the livestock sector as the main consumer of water resources. The structure of the main technological processes at livestock facilities is given and possible technological damage is indicated in case of the lack of technological processes for servicing animals and poultry with water. The direction of rational use of water based on the introduction of new technical and technological solutions of water supply systems and means is substantiated. Constructive solutions of systems and facilities that help to reduce water consumption are presented, and as well a possible positive effect.

NASA Wallops Flight Facility Air-Sea Interaction Research Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, Steven R.

1992-01-01

This publication serves as an introduction to the Air-Sea Interaction Research Facility at NASA/GSFC/Wallops Flight Facility. The purpose of this publication is to provide background information on the research facility itself, including capabilities, available instrumentation, the types of experiments already done, ongoing experiments, and future plans.

FACILITY 846, SOUTHEAST END ON LEFT, WITH FACILITY 845 ON ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

FACILITY 846, SOUTHEAST END ON LEFT, WITH FACILITY 845 ON RIGHT AND FACILITY 847 IN CENTER BACKGROUND, QUADRANGLE J, VIEW FACING NORTH. - Schofield Barracks Military Reservation, Quadrangles I & J Barracks Type, Between Wright-Smith & Capron Avenues near Williston Avenue, Wahiawa, Honolulu County, HI

Astronaut Curtis L. Brown, Jr., pilot, gets helped with the final touches of suit donning during

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

STS-77 TRAINING VIEW --- Astronaut Curtis L. Brown, Jr., pilot, gets helped with the final touches of suit donning during emergency bailout training for crew members in the Johnson Space Centers (JSC) Weightless Environment Training Facility (WET-F). Astronaut John H. Casper (in background), mission commander, awaits the actual training to begin. Brown and Casper will join four other astronauts for nine days aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour next month.

Bioaerosol releases from compost facilities: Evaluating passive and active source terms at a green waste facility for improved risk assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taha, M. P. M.; Drew, G. H.; Longhurst, P. J.; Smith, R.; Pollard, S. J. T.

The passive and active release of bioaerosols during green waste composting, measured at source is reported for a commercial composting facility in South East (SE) England as part of a research programme focused on improving risk assessments at composting facilities. Aspergillus fumigatus and actinomycetes concentrations of 9.8-36.8×10 6 and 18.9-36.0×10 6 cfu m -3, respectively, measured during the active turning of green waste compost, were typically 3-log higher than previously reported concentrations from static compost windrows. Source depletion curves constructed for A. fumigatus during compost turning and modelled using SCREEN3 suggest that bioaerosol concentrations could reduce to background concentrations of 10 3 cfu m -3 within 100 m of this site. Authentic source term data produced from this study will help to refine the risk assessment methodologies that support improved permitting of compost facilities.

Helping Principals Make Better Use of Existing Facilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fredrickson, John H.

The findings of two studies establish some deleterious effects of unsatisfactory physical environment on school children. However, modern technology enables the exercise of total environmental control in new and existing facilities. Between the realities of today and the exceptations of tomorrow we have a transitional model--the open plan concept.…

Indoor Athletic Facilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleming, E. Scott

2000-01-01

Examines the concept of shared-use facilities to help financially support and meet the demand for athletic facilities. Shared-use considerations are explored including cost sharing of ongoing operations, aesthetics, locker rooms, support facilities, parking and site access, and building access and security. (GR)

32 CFR 770.54 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... ACCESS TO PARTICULAR INSTALLATIONS Entry Regulations for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire § 770.54 Background. (a) Portsmouth Naval Shipyard maintains and operates facilities “to provide...

32 CFR 770.54 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... ACCESS TO PARTICULAR INSTALLATIONS Entry Regulations for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire § 770.54 Background. (a) Portsmouth Naval Shipyard maintains and operates facilities “to provide...

32 CFR 770.54 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... ACCESS TO PARTICULAR INSTALLATIONS Entry Regulations for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire § 770.54 Background. (a) Portsmouth Naval Shipyard maintains and operates facilities “to provide...

32 CFR 770.54 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... ACCESS TO PARTICULAR INSTALLATIONS Entry Regulations for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire § 770.54 Background. (a) Portsmouth Naval Shipyard maintains and operates facilities “to provide...

The emergence of care facilities in Thailand for older German-speaking people: structural backgrounds and facility operators as transnational actors.

PubMed

Bender, Désirée; Hollstein, Tina; Schweppe, Cornelia

2017-12-01

This paper presents findings from an ethnographic study of old age care facilities for German-speaking people in Thailand. It analyses the conditions and processes behind the development and specific designs of such facilities. It first looks at the intertwinement, at the socio-structural level, of different transborder developments in which the facilities' emergence is embedded. Second, it analyses the processes that accompany the emergence, development and organisation of these facilities at the local level. In this regard, it points out the central role of the facility operators as transnational actors who mediate between different frames of reference and groups of actors involved in these facilities. It concludes that the processes of mediation and intertwining are an important and distinctive feature of the emergence of these facilities, necessitated by the fact that, although the facilities are located in Thailand, their 'markets' are in the German-speaking countries of their target groups.

Low-background Gamma Spectroscopy at Sanford Underground Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiller, Christopher; Alanson, Angela; Mei, Dongming

2014-03-01

Rare-event physics experiments require the use of material with unprecedented radio-purity. Low background counting assay capabilities and detectors are critical for determining the sensitivity of the planned ultra-low background experiments. A low-background counting, LBC, facility has been built at the 4850-Level Davis Campus of the Sanford Underground Research Facility to perform screening of material and detector parts. Like many rare event physics experiments, our LBC uses lead shielding to mitigate background radiation. Corrosion of lead brick shielding in subterranean installations creates radon plate-out potential as well as human risks of ingestible or respirable lead compounds. Our LBC facilities employ an exposed lead shield requiring clean smooth surfaces. A cleaning process of low-activity silica sand blasting and borated paraffin hot coating preservation was employed to guard against corrosion due to chemical and biological exposures. The resulting lead shield maintains low background contribution integrity while fully encapsulating the lead surface. We report the performance of the current LBC and a plan to develop a large germanium well detector for PMT screening. Support provided by Sd governors research center-CUBED, NSF PHY-0758120 and Sanford Lab.

A smoking-related background helps moderate smokers to focus: An event-related potential study using a Go-NoGo task.

PubMed

Detandt, Sandrine; Bazan, Ariane; Schröder, Elisa; Olyff, Giulia; Kajosch, Hendrik; Verbanck, Paul; Campanella, Salvatore

2017-10-01

Cognitive impairment is a major component in addiction. However, research has been inconclusive as to whether this is also the case for smokers. The present study aims at providing electrophysiological clue for altered inhibitory control in smokers and at investigating whether reduced inhibition was more pronounced during exposure to a smoking cue. ERPs were recorded during a visual Go-NoGo task performed by 18 smokers and 23 controls, in which either a frequent Go signal (letter "M") or a rare No-Go signal ("letter W") were superimposed on three different long-lasting background contexts: black-neutral, smoking-related and non smoking-related. (1) Smokers performed worse and had an earlier NoGo-N2 latency as compared to controls and independently of context, suggesting a general inhibition impairment; (2) with smoking-related backgrounds specifically, smokers made fewer mistakes than they did in other contexts and displayed a larger NoGo P3 amplitude. These data might suggest that background cues related to addiction may help smokers to be more accurate in an inhibition task. Our results show the classical inhibitory impairment in smokers as compared to non-smokers. However, our data also suggest that a smoking-related background may bolster the inhibitory ability of smokers specifically. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

32 CFR 770.49 - Background.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., Washington § 770.49 Background. (a) Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is a major naval ship repair facility, with... interruption. Additionally, most of Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is dedicated to heavy industrial activity where...

Seven layers of security to help protect biomedical research facilities.

PubMed

Mortell, Norman

2010-04-01

In addition to risks such as theft and fire that can confront any type of business, the biomedical research community often faces additional concerns over animal rights extremists, infiltrations, data security and intellectual property rights. Given these concerns, it is not surprising that the industry gives a high priority to security. This article identifies security threats faced by biomedical research companies and shows how these threats are ranked in importance by industry stakeholders. The author then goes on to discuss seven key 'layers' of security, from the external environment to the research facility itself, and how these layers all contribute to the creation of a successfully secured facility.

Facility Will Help Transition Models Into Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Mohi

2009-02-01

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA SWPC), in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA), is establishing a center to promote and facilitate the transition of space weather models to operations. The new facility, called the Developmental Testbed Center (DTC), will take models used by researchers and rigorously test them to see if they can withstand continued use as viable warning systems. If a model used in a space weather warning system crashes or fails to perform well, severe consequences can result. These include increased radiation risks to astronauts and people traveling on high-altitude flights, national security vulnerabilities from the loss of military satellite communications, and the cost of replacing damaged military and commercial spacecraft.

Performance and Facility Background Pressure Characterization Tests of NASAs 12.5-kW Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamhawi, Hani; Huang, Wensheng; Haag, Thomas; Shastry, Rohit; Thomas, Robert; Yim, John; Herman, Daniel; Williams, George; Myers, James; Hofer, Richard;

Influence of Background Noise Produced in University Facilities on the Brain Waves Associated With Attention of Students and Employees.

PubMed

Trista N-Hernández, E; Pav On-García, I; Campos-Cantón, I; Ontaño N-García, L J; Kolosovas-Machuca, E S

2017-09-01

As a consequence of noise exposure, lack of attention badly affects directly the academic and work performance. The study of the brain and the waves that it produces is the most objective way to evaluate this process. Attentional improvement is associated with increases of the amplitude in both beta and theta bands. The objective of this work is to study the influence of background noise produced inside university facilities on changes in the cerebral waves related to attention processes (beta 13-30 Hz and theta 4-7 Hz). Volunteers were asked to perform a specific task in which attention was involved. This task was performed in both silent and noisy conditions. To evaluate the cerebral activity of volunteers during the development of the test, measurement of spontaneous activity (electroencephalogram) was developed. The results show significant decreases in both beta and theta frequency bands under background noise exposure. Since attentional improvement is related to an increment on amplitude of both beta and theta bands, it is suggested that decreases on amplitude of these frequency bands could directly be related to a lack of attention caused by the exposure to background noise.

Web-based credential monitoring instantly flags health professionals with fraudulent licenses or criminal backgrounds.

PubMed

Haddad, Matthew

2009-01-01

An alarming number of practicing medical professionals and healthcare staffers across the nation may have criminal backgrounds, jeopardizing the health of hundreds of millions of patients and compromising the integrity of healthcare in this country. An investigation conducted by The Los Angeles Times found that an extraordinary number of nurses in California with criminal backgrounds had been allowed to continue working in healthcare facilities for years--their crimes virtually swept under the rug. This article suggests that continuous monitoring of healthcare credentials can mitigate the potential harm posed by credentialing fraud, recommending 24/7 monitoring in real-time as opposed to once every year or two as is the current practice. This would include verification of provider licenses, Drug Enforcement Administration certification, Office of Inspector General status, and criminal offenses. Automatic and continuous monitoring of licenses and other databases for changes and lapses, and reports on issues that are uncovered, help to prevent harmful acts on the part of healthcare providers with questionable backgrounds.

Topical Backgrounder: How Safe Am I? Helping Communities Evaluate Chemical Risks

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Part of the May 1999 Guides to Environmental Risk Management Series created by the National Safety Council. Explains how RMPs will help prevent emergency chemical releases, reduce risk from exposure to hazards, and minimize consequences.

Assessing the security vulnerabilities of correctional facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spencer, Debra D.; Morrison, G. Steve

1998-12-01

The National Institute of Justice has tasked their satellite facility at Sandia National Laboratories and their Southeast Regional Technology Center in Charleston, South Carolina to devise new procedures and tools for helping correctional facilities to assess their security vulnerabilities. Thus, a team is visiting selected correctional facilities and performing vulnerability assessments. A vulnerability assessment helps identify the easiest paths for inmate escape, for introduction of contraband such as drugs or weapons, for unexpected intrusion from outside of the facility, and for the perpetration of violent acts on other inmates and correctional employees. In addition, the vulnerability assessment helps to quantify the security risks for the facility. From these assessments will come better procedures for performing vulnerability assessments in general at other correctional facilities, as well as the development of tools to assist with the performance of such vulnerability assessments.

Compact anti-radon facility

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

Fajt, L.; Kouba, P.; Mamedov, F.

Suppression of radon background is one of main tasks in ultra-low background experiments. The most promising technique for suppression of radon is its adsorption on charcoal. Within the frame of the NEMO-3 experiment, radon trapping facility (RTF) was installed in Modane underground laboratory in 2004. Based on long-term experience with this facility a new compact transportable anti-radon facility was constructed in cooperation among IEAP CTU, SÚRO and ATEKO company. The device provides 20m{sup 3}/h of purified air (air radon activity at the output ∼10mBq/m{sup 3}). The basic features and preliminary results of anti-radon device testing are presented.

Conceptual design for the Space Station Freedom fluid physics/dynamics facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Robert L.; Chucksa, Ronald J.; Omalley, Terence F.; Oeftering, Richard C.

1993-01-01

A study team at NASA's Lewis Research Center has been working on a definition study and conceptual design for a fluid physics and dynamics science facility that will be located in the Space Station Freedom's baseline U.S. Laboratory module. This modular, user-friendly facility, called the Fluid Physics/Dynamics Facility, will be available for use by industry, academic, and government research communities in the late 1990's. The Facility will support research experiments dealing with the study of fluid physics and dynamics phenomena. Because of the lack of gravity-induced convection, research into the mechanisms of fluids in the absence of gravity will help to provide a better understanding of the fundamentals of fluid processes. This document has been prepared as a final version of the handout for reviewers at the Fluid Physics/Dynamics Facility Assessment Workshop held at Lewis on January 24 and 25, 1990. It covers the background, current status, and future activities of the Lewis Project Study Team effort. It is a revised and updated version of a document entitled 'Status Report on the Conceptual Design for the Space Station Fluid Physics/Dynamics Facility', dated January 1990.

Density of Indoor Tanning Facilities in 116 Large U.S. Cities

PubMed Central

Hoerster, Katherine D.; Garrow, Rebecca L.; Mayer, Joni A.; Clapp, Elizabeth J.; Weeks, John R.; Woodruff, Susan I.; Sallis, James F.; Slymen, Donald J.; Patel, Minal R.; Sybert, Stephanie A.

2009-01-01

Background U.S. adolescents and young adults are using indoor tanning at high rates, even though it has been linked to both melanoma and squamous cell cancer. Because the availability of commercial indoor tanning facilities may influence use, data are needed on the number and density of such facilities. Methods In March 2006, commercial indoor tanning facilities in 116 large U.S. cities were identified, and the number and density (per 100,000 population) were computed for each city. Bivariate and multivariate analyses conducted in 2008 tested the association between tanning-facility density and selected geographic, climatologic, demographic, and legislative variables. Results Mean facility number and density across cities were 41.8 (SD=30.8) and 11.8 (SD=6.0), respectively. In multivariate analysis, cities with higher percentages of whites and lower ultraviolet (UV)index scores had significantly higher facility densities than those with lower percentages of whites and higher UV index scores. Conclusions These data indicate that commercial indoor tanning is widely available in the urban U.S., and this availability may help explain the high usage of indoor tanning. PMID:19215849

Automated Help System For A Supercomputer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callas, George P.; Schulbach, Catherine H.; Younkin, Michael

1994-01-01

Expert-system software developed to provide automated system of user-helping displays in supercomputer system at Ames Research Center Advanced Computer Facility. Users located at remote computer terminals connected to supercomputer and each other via gateway computers, local-area networks, telephone lines, and satellite links. Automated help system answers routine user inquiries about how to use services of computer system. Available 24 hours per day and reduces burden on human experts, freeing them to concentrate on helping users with complicated problems.

Physical activity breaks and facilities in US secondary schools

PubMed Central

Hood, Nancy E.; Colabianchi, Natalie; Terry-McElrath, Yvonne M.; O’Malley, Patrick M.; Johnston, Lloyd D.

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND Research on physical activity breaks and facilities (indoor and outdoor) in secondary schools is relatively limited. METHODS School administrators and students in nationally representative samples of 8th (middle school) and 10th/12th grade (high school) students were surveyed annually from 2008-09 through 2011-12. School administrators reported information about physical activity breaks and facilities. Students self-reported height, weight, and physical activity. RESULTS The prevalence of physical activity breaks and indoor and outdoor facilities (dichotomized by median split) differed significantly by region of the country, school size, student race/ethnicity, and school socioeconomic status (SES). Breaks were associated with lower odds of overweight (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.91, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.83-1.00) and obesity (AOR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.75-0.99) among middle school students. Among low-SES middle school students and schools, higher indoor facilities were associated with lower rates of overweight and obesity. Among high school students, higher indoor and outdoor facilities were associated with 19%-42% higher odds of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. CONCLUSIONS Physical activity breaks and school facilities may help to address high rates of overweight/obesity and low physical activity levels among secondary students, especially lower-SES students. Students in all schools should have equal access to these resources. PMID:25274169

Development of a low background test facility for the SPICA-SAFARI on-ground calibration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dieleman, P.; Laauwen, W. M.; Ferrari, L.; Ferlet, M.; Vandenbussche, B.; Meinsma, L.; Huisman, R.

2012-09-01

SAFARI is a far-infrared camera to be launched in 2021 onboard the SPICA satellite. SAFARI offers imaging spectroscopy and imaging photometry in the wavelength range of 34 to 210 μm with detector NEP of 2•10-19 W/√Hz. A cryogenic test facility for SAFARI on-ground calibration and characterization is being developed. The main design driver is the required low background of a few attoWatts per pixel. This prohibits optical access to room temperature and hence all test equipment needs to be inside the cryostat at 4.5K. The instrument parameters to be verified are interfaces with the SPICA satellite, sensitivity, alignment, image quality, spectral response, frequency calibration, and point spread function. The instrument sensitivity is calibrated by a calibration source providing a spatially homogeneous signal at the attoWatt level. This low light intensity is achieved by geometrical dilution of a 150K source to an integrating sphere. The beam quality and point spread function is measured by a pinhole/mask plate wheel, back-illuminated by a second integrating sphere. This sphere is fed by a stable wide-band source, providing spectral lines via a cryogenic etalon.

Low-background germanium radioassay for the MAJORANA Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trimble, James E., Jr.

The focus of the MAJORANA COLLABORATION is the search for nuclear neutrinoless double beta decay. If discovered, this process would prove that the neutrino is its own anti-particle, or a M AJORANA particle. Being constructed at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR aims to show that a background rate of 3 counts per region of interest (ROI) per tonne per year in the 4 keV ROI surrounding the 2039-keV Q-value energy of 76Ge is achievable and to demonstrate the technological feasibility of building a tonne-scale Ge-based experiment. Because of the rare nature of this process, detectors in the system must be isolated from ionizing radiation backgrounds as much as possible. This involved building the system with materials containing very low levels of naturally- occurring and anthropogenic radioactive isotopes at a deep underground site. In order to measure the levels of radioactive contamination in some components, the Majorana Demonstrator uses a low background counting facility managed by the Experimental Nuclear and Astroparticle Physics (ENAP) group at UNC. The UNC low background counting (LBC) facility is located at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility (KURF) located in Ripplemead, VA. The facility was used for a neutron activation analysis of samples of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) tubing intended for use in the Demonstrator. Calculated initial activity limits (90% C.L.) of 238U and 232Th in the 0.002-in PTFE samples were 7.6 ppt and 5.1 ppt, respectively. The same limits in the FEP tubing sample were 150 ppt and 45 ppt, respectively. The UNC LBC was also used to gamma-assay a modified stainless steel flange to be used as a vacuum feedthrough. Trace activities of both 238U and 232Th were found in the sample, but all were orders of magnitude below the acceptable threshold for the Majorana experiment. Also discussed is a proposed next generation ultra-low background system designed

School Nutrition Facility Planning Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pannell, Dorothy VanEgmond

This publication is designed to help superintendents, local facilities coordinators, and food-service directors in planning the remodeling of an outdated food-service facility or the building of a new one. The introduction describes the roles of the local facility coordinator, the local child-nutrition director, the architect, the food-service…

A Photofission Delayed γ-ray Spectra Calculation Tool for the Conception of a Nuclear Material Characterization Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernard, D.; Serot, O.; Simon, E.; Boucher, L.; Plumeri, S.

2018-01-01

The photon interrogation analysis is a nondestructive technique allowing to identify and quantify fissile materials in nuclear waste packages. This paper details an automatic procedure which has been developed to simulate the delayed γ-ray spectra for several actinide photofissions. This calculation tool will be helpful for the fine conception (collimation, shielding, noise background optimizations, etc.) and for the on-line analysis of such a facility.

Foregrounding the Background.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robbins, Bruce

1998-01-01

Argues that when introductory activities to the classics begin with background information, it can upstage or confine the life of the story, and shows little faith in the students as readers or in the literature itself. Suggests sometimes letting the literature begin, and then helping students make sense of it. Discusses examples from "To Kill a…

Dialysis Facility and Patient Characteristics Associated with Utilization of Home Dialysis

PubMed Central

Walker, David R.; Inglese, Gary W.; Sloand, James A.

2010-01-01

Background and objectives: Nonmedical factors influencing utilization of home dialysis at the facility level are poorly quantified. Home dialysis is comparably effective and safe but less expensive to society and Medicare than in-center hemodialysis. Elimination of modifiable practice variation unrelated to medical factors could contribute to improvements in patient outcomes and use of scarce resources. Design, setting, participants, & measurements: Prevalent dialysis patient data by facility were collected from the 2007 ESRD Network’s annual reports. Facility characteristic data were collected from Medicare’s Dialysis Facility Compare file. A multivariate regression model was used to evaluate associations between the use of home dialysis and facility characteristics. Results: The utilization of home dialysis was positively associated with facility size, percent patients employed full- or part-time, younger population, and years a facility was Medicare certified. Variables negatively associated include an increased number of hemodialysis patients per hemodialysis station, chain association, rural location, more densely populated zip code, a late dialysis work shift, and greater percent of black patients within a zip code. Conclusions: Improved understanding of factors affecting the frequency of use of home dialysis may help explain practice variations across the United States that result in an imbalanced use of medical resources within the ESRD population. In turn, this may improve the delivery of healthcare and extend the ability of an increasingly overburdened medical financing system to survive. PMID:20634324

Building Excellence: How Helping Charters Access Facilities Can Improve Opportunity for Idaho Kids

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robson, Kelly; Squire, Juliet

2016-01-01

To better understand charter leaders' experiences acquiring facilities, the authors conducted a survey of all charter school leaders in the state of Idaho. The leaders of 26 brick-and-mortar charter schools responded, representing 65 percent of all such charter schools in the state. The survey gathered a number of facilities-related data points,…

Spectroscopic studies of the parameters of plasma jets during their propagation in the background plasma on the PF-3 facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dan'ko, S. A.; Ananyev, S. S.; Kalinin, Yu G.; Krauz, V. I.; Myalton, V. V.

2017-04-01

This paper presents measurement results of neon and helium plasma parameters in axial jets generated in plasma focus discharge. They were obtained in the course of experiments on laboratory modeling of astrophysical jets performed at the PF-3 facility. The plasma concentration was determined according to Stark broadening of spectral lines; the ionization temperature was determined by the average ion charge. The values of the concentration and temperature of jet plasma and background plasma at two distances from the pinch are also presented. In addition, an estimation was made of the heat content losses of the neon and helium jets during their movement through the surrounding medium.

High-pressure water facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

NASA Test Operations Group employees, from left, Todd Pearson, Tim Delcuze and Rodney Wilkinson maintain a water pump in Stennis Space Center's high-pressure water facility. The three were part of a group of employees who rode out Hurricane Katrina at the facility and helped protect NASA's rocket engine test complex.

High-pressure water facility

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-02-15

NASA Test Operations Group employees, from left, Todd Pearson, Tim Delcuze and Rodney Wilkinson maintain a water pump in Stennis Space Center's high-pressure water facility. The three were part of a group of employees who rode out Hurricane Katrina at the facility and helped protect NASA's rocket engine test complex.

"Boys don't cry": examination of the links between endorsement of masculine norms, self-stigma, and help-seeking attitudes for men from diverse backgrounds.

PubMed

Vogel, David L; Heimerdinger-Edwards, Sarah R; Hammer, Joseph H; Hubbard, Asale

2011-07-01

The role of conformity to dominant U.S. masculine norms as an antecedent to help-seeking attitudes in men has been established using convenience samples made up largely of college-age and European American males. However, the role of conformity to masculine norms on help-seeking attitudes for noncollege-age men or for men from diverse backgrounds is not well understood. To fill this gap in the literature, the present study examined the cross-cultural relevance of a mediational model of the relationships between conformity to dominant U.S. masculine norms and attitudes toward counseling through the mediator of self-stigma of seeking counseling for 4,773 men from both majority and nonmajority populations (race/ethnicity and sexual orientation). Structural equation modeling results showed that the model established using college males from majority groups (European American, heterosexual) may be applicable to a community sample of males from differing racial/ethnic groups and sexual orientations. However, some important differences in the presence and strengths of the relationships between conformity to dominant masculine norms and the other variables in the model were present across different racial/ethnic groups and sexual orientations. These findings suggest the need to pay specific theoretical and clinical attention to how conformity to dominant masculine norms and self-stigma are linked to unfavorable attitudes toward help seeking for these men, in order to encourage underserved men's help-seeking behavior.

33 CFR 105.305 - Facility Security Assessment (FSA) requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Facility Security Assessment (FSA... SECURITY MARITIME SECURITY MARITIME SECURITY: FACILITIES Facility Security Assessment (FSA) § 105.305 Facility Security Assessment (FSA) requirements. (a) Background. The facility owner or operator must ensure...

33 CFR 105.305 - Facility Security Assessment (FSA) requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Facility Security Assessment (FSA... SECURITY MARITIME SECURITY MARITIME SECURITY: FACILITIES Facility Security Assessment (FSA) § 105.305 Facility Security Assessment (FSA) requirements. (a) Background. The facility owner or operator must ensure...

33 CFR 105.305 - Facility Security Assessment (FSA) requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Facility Security Assessment (FSA... SECURITY MARITIME SECURITY MARITIME SECURITY: FACILITIES Facility Security Assessment (FSA) § 105.305 Facility Security Assessment (FSA) requirements. (a) Background. The facility owner or operator must ensure...

33 CFR 105.305 - Facility Security Assessment (FSA) requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Facility Security Assessment (FSA... SECURITY MARITIME SECURITY MARITIME SECURITY: FACILITIES Facility Security Assessment (FSA) § 105.305 Facility Security Assessment (FSA) requirements. (a) Background. The facility owner or operator must ensure...

33 CFR 105.305 - Facility Security Assessment (FSA) requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Facility Security Assessment (FSA... SECURITY MARITIME SECURITY MARITIME SECURITY: FACILITIES Facility Security Assessment (FSA) § 105.305 Facility Security Assessment (FSA) requirements. (a) Background. The facility owner or operator must ensure...

Patient Care Staffing Levels and Facility Characteristics in U.S. Hemodialysis Facilities

PubMed Central

Yoder, Laura A. G.; Xin, Wenjun; Norris, Keith C.; Yan, Guofen

2013-01-01

Background Higher numbers of registered nurses per patient have been associated with improved patient outcomes in acute care facilities. Variation and associations of patient-care staffing levels and hemodialysis facility characteristics have not been previously examined. Study Design Cross-sectional study using Poisson regression to examine associations betwee patient-care staffing levels and hemodialysis facility characteristics. Setting & Participants 4,800 U.S. hemodialysis facilities in the 2009 CMS ESRD Annual Facility Survey (CMS-2744), USRDS. Predictors Facility characteristics, including profit status, freestanding status, chain affiliatio and geographic region, adjusted for facility size, capacity, functional type, and urbanicity. Outcomes Patient care staffing levels, including ratios of Registered Nurses (RN), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), Patient Care Technicians (PCT), composite staff (RN+LPN+PCT), Social Workers, and Dietitians to in-center hemodialysis patients. Results After adjusting for background facility characteristics, the ratios of RNs and LPNs to patients were 35% (p<0.001) and 42% (p<0.001) lower, but the PCT-to-patient ratio was 16% (p<0.001) higher in for-profit facilities than those in nonprofit facilities (Rate ratio, 0.65, 95%CI, 0.63–0.68; 0.58, 0.51–0.65; 1.16, 1.12–1.19; respectively). Regionally, compared to the Northeast, the adjusted RN-to-patient ratio was 14% (p< 0.001) lower in the Midwest, 25% (p< 0.001) lower in the South, and 18% (p< 0.001) lower in the West. Even after additional adjustments, the large for-profit chains had significantly lower RN and LPN ratios than the largest nonprofit chain, but a significantly higher PCT-to-patient ratio. The overall composite staffing levels were also lower in for-profit and chain-affiliated facilities. The patterns hold when the hospital-based units were excluded. Limitations Nursing hours were not available. Conclusions The significant variation in patient-care staffing

Search Results Help - Industrial Stormwater | ECHO | US EPA

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Help page for Industrial Stormwater program facility search, which provides data about Clean Water Act discharge permits with an industrial stormwater component, including EPA Industrial Stormwater Multi-Sector General Permits.

Background nuclei measurements and implications for cavitation inception in hydrodynamic test facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venning, J. A.; Khoo, M. T.; Pearce, B. W.; Brandner, P. A.

2018-04-01

Water susceptibility and background nuclei content in a water tunnel are investigated using a cavitation susceptibility meter. The measured cumulative histogram of nuclei concentration against critical pressure shows a power law dependence over a large range of concentrations and pressures. These results show that the water strength is not characterised by a single tension but is susceptible to `all' tensions depending on the relevant timescale. This background nuclei population is invariant to tunnel conditions showing that it is stabilised against dissolution. Consideration of a practical cavitating flow about a sphere shows that although background nuclei may be activated, their numbers are so few compared with other sources that they are insignificant for this case.

Mitigating risks related to facilities management.

PubMed

O'Neill, Daniel P; Scarborough, Sydney

2013-07-01

By looking at metrics focusing on the functionality, age, capital investment, transparency, and sustainability (FACTS) of their organizations' facilities, facilities management teams can build potential business cases to justify upgrading the facilities. A FACTS analysis can ensure that capital spent on facilities will produce a higher or more certain ROI than alternatives. A consistent process for managing spending helps to avoid unexpected spikes that cost the enterprise more in the long run.

Energy Efficiency Team Helping Delaware Towns Find Savings

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The wastewater treatment plant in Selbyville, Delaware, is benefitting from an EPA-Delaware partnership designed to help water and wastewater facilities save energy and money while cutting pollution that contributes to climate change.

Test facility requirements for the thermal vacuum thermal balance test of the Cosmic Background Explorer Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milam, Laura J.

1991-01-01

The Cosmic Background Explorer Observatory (COBE) underwant a thermal vacuum thermal balance test in the Space Environment Simulator (SES). This was the largest and most complex test ever conducted at this facility. The 4 x 4 m (13 x 13 ft) spacecraft weighed approx. 2223 kg (4900 lbs) for the test. The test set up included simulator panels for the inboard solar array panels, simulator panels for the flight cowlings, Sun and Earth Sensor stimuli, Thermal Radio Frequency Shield heater stimuli and a cryopanel for thermal control in the Attitude Control System Shunt Dissipator area. The fixturing also included a unique 4.3 m (14 ft) diameter Gaseous Helium Cryopanel which provided a 20 K environment for the calibration of one of the spacecraft's instruments, the Differential Microwave Radiometer. This cryogenic panel caused extra contamination concerns and a special method was developed and written into the test procedure to prevent the high buildup of condensibles on the panel which could have led to backstreaming of the thermal vacuum chamber. The test was completed with a high quality simulated space environment provided to the spacecraft. The test requirements, test set up, and special fixturing are described.

Microbial background flora in small-scale cheese production facilities does not inhibit growth and surface attachment of Listeria monocytogenes.

PubMed

Schirmer, B C T; Heir, E; Møretrø, T; Skaar, I; Langsrud, S

2013-10-01

The background microbiota of 5 Norwegian small-scale cheese production sites was examined and the effect of the isolated strains on the growth and survival of Listeria monocytogenes was investigated. Samples were taken from the air, food contact surfaces (storage surfaces, cheese molds, and brine) and noncontact surfaces (floor, drains, and doors) and all isolates were identified by sequencing and morphology (mold). A total of 1,314 isolates were identified and found to belong to 55 bacterial genera, 1 species of yeast, and 6 species of mold. Lactococcus spp. (all of which were Lactococcus lactis), Staphylococcus spp., Microbacterium spp., and Psychrobacter sp. were isolated from all 5 sites and Rhodococcus spp. and Chryseobacterium spp. from 4 sites. Thirty-two genera were only found in 1 out of 5 facilities each. Great variations were observed in the microbial background flora both between the 5 producers, and also within the various production sites. The greatest diversity of bacteria was found in drains and on rubber seals of doors. The flora on cheese storage shelves and in salt brines was less varied. A total of 62 bacterial isolates and 1 yeast isolate were tested for antilisterial activity in an overlay assay and a spot-on-lawn assay, but none showed significant inhibitory effects. Listeria monocytogenes was also co-cultured on ceramic tiles with bacteria dominating in the cheese production plants: Lactococcus lactis, Pseudomonas putida, Staphylococcus equorum, Rhodococcus spp., or Psychrobacter spp. None of the tested isolates altered the survival of L. monocytogenes on ceramic tiles. The conclusion of the study was that no common background flora exists in cheese production environments. None of the tested isolates inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes. Hence, this study does not support the hypothesis that the natural background flora in cheese production environments inhibits the growth or survival of L. monocytogenes. Copyright © 2013 American

Strategic benefits of master facility plans.

PubMed

Shannon, K

1996-02-01

In recent years, many healthcare executives have stopped developing master facility plans due to some basic misconceptions about them, namely that master facility plans are too rigid or require major capital commitment. By getting past these misconceptions, healthcare executives can help their organizations develop and implement master facility plans that serve as flexible, reliable blueprints in guiding the organizations toward achieving their strategic, operational, and financial goals.

Everyday ethics and help-seeking in early rheumatoid arthritis

PubMed Central

Townsend, A.; Adam, P.; Cox, S.M.; Li, L.C.

2018-01-01

Background Sociological understandings of chronic illness have revealed tensions and complexities around help-seeking. Although ethics underpins healthcare, its application in the area of chronic illness is limited. Here we apply an ethical framework to interview accounts and identify ethical challenges in the early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience. Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with eight participants who had been diagnosed with RA in the 12 months prior to recruitment. Applying the concepts of autonomous decision-making and procedural justice highlighted ethical concerns which arose throughout the help-seeking process. Analysis was based on the constant-comparison approach. Results Individuals described decision-making, illness actions and the medical encounter. The process was complicated by inadequate knowledge about symptoms, common-sense understandings about the GP appointment, difficulties concerning access to specialists, and patient–practitioner interactions. Autonomous decision-making and procedural justice were compromised. The accounts revealed contradictions between the policy ideals of active self-management, patient-centred care and shared decision-making, and the everyday experiences of individuals. Conclusions For ethical healthcare there is a need for: public knowledge about early RA symptoms; more effective patient–practitioner communication; and increased support during the wait between primary and secondary care. Healthcare facilities and the government may consider different models to deliver services to people requiring rheumatology consults. PMID:20610465

A Robot to Help Make the Rounds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

This paper presents a discussion on the Pyxis HelpMate SecurePak (SP) trackless robotic courier designed by Transitions Research Corporation, to navigate autonomously throughout medical facilities, transporting pharmaceuticals, laboratory specimens, equipment, supplies, meals, medical records, and radiology films between support departments and nursing floors.

Boeing infrared sensor (BIRS) calibration facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hazen, John D.; Scorsone, L. V.

1990-01-01

The Boeing Infrared Sensor (BIRS) Calibration Facility represents a major capital investment in optical and infrared technology. The facility was designed and built for the calibration and testing of the new generation large aperture long wave infrared (LWIR) sensors, seekers, and related technologies. Capability exists to perform both radiometric and goniometric calibrations of large infrared sensors under simulated environmental operating conditions. The system is presently configured for endoatmospheric calibrations with a uniform background field which can be set to simulate the expected mission background levels. During calibration, the sensor under test is also exposed to expected mission temperatures and pressures within the test chamber. Capability exists to convert the facility for exoatmospheric testing. The configuration of the system is described along with hardware elements and changes made to date are addressed.

First Iron Opacity Experiments on the National Ignition Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perry, Theodore; Dodd, Evan; Cardenas, Tana; Devolder, Barbara; Flippo, Kirk; Johns, Heather; Kline, John; Sherrill, Manolo; Urbatsch, Todd; Heeter, Robert; Ahmed, Maryum; Emig, James; Iglesias, Carlos; Liedahl, Duane; London, Richard; Martin, Madison; Schneider, Marilyn; Thompson, Nathaniel; Wilson, Brian; Opachich, Yekaterina; King, James; Huffman, Eric; Knight, Russel; Bailey, James; Rochau, Gregory

2017-10-01

Iron opacity experiments on the Sandia National Laboratories Z machine have shown up to factors of two discrepancies between theory and experiment. To help resolve these discrepancies an experimental platform for doing comparable opacity experiments is being developed on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Initial iron data has been taken at a temperature of 150 eV and an electron density of 6x1021/cm3, but higher temperatures and densities will be required to address the discrepancies that have been observed in the Z experiments. The plans to go to higher temperatures and densities and how to deal with current issues with instrumental backgrounds will be discussed. Performed under the auspices of USDOE LANL Contract DE-AC52-06NA25396.

Radon-related Backgrounds in the LUX Dark Matter Search

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradley, A.; Akerib, D. S.; Araújo, H. M.; Bai, X.; Bailey, A. J.; Balajthy, J.; Bernard, E.; Bernstein, A.; Byram, D.; Cahn, S. B.; Carmona-Benitez, M. C.; Chan, C.; Chapman, J. J.; Chiller, A. A.; Chiller, C.; Coffey, T.; Currie, A.; de Viveiros, L.; Dobi, A.; Dobson, J.; Druszkiewicz, E.; Edwards, B.; Faham, C. H.; Fiorucci, S.; Flores, C.; Gaitskell, R. J.; Gehman, V. M.; Ghag, C.; Gibson, K. R.; Gilchriese, M. G. D.; Hall, C.; Hertel, S. A.; Horn, M.; Huang, D. Q.; Ihm, M.; Jacobsen, R. G.; Kazkaz, K.; Knoche, R.; Larsen, N. A.; Lee, C.; Lindote, A.; Lopes, M. I.; Malling, D. C.; Mannino, R.; McKinsey, D. N.; Mei, D.-M.; Mock, J.; Moongweluwan, M.; Morad, J.; Murphy, A. St. J.; Nehrkorn, C.; Nelson, H.; Neves, F.; Ott, R. A.; Pangilinan, M.; Parker, P. D.; Pease, E. K.; Pech, K.; Phelps, P.; Reichhart, L.; Shutt, T.; Silva, C.; Solovov, V. N.; Sorensen, P.; O'Sullivan, K.; Sumner, T. J.; Szydagis, M.; Taylor, D.; Tennyson, B.; Tiedt, D. R.; Tripathi, M.; Uvarov, S.; Verbus, J. R.; Walsh, N.; Webb, R.; White, J. T.; Witherell, M. S.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Woods, M.; Zhang, C.

The LUX detector is currently in operation at the Davis Campus at the 4850' level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, SD to directly search for WIMP dark matter. Knowing the type and rate of backgrounds is critical in a rare, low energy event search, and LUX was designed, constructed, and deployed to mitigate backgrounds, both internal and external. An important internal background are decays of radon and its daughters. These consist of alpha decays, which are easily tagged and are a tracer of certain backgrounds, and beta decays, some of which are not as readily tagged and present a background for the WIMP search. We report on studies of alpha decay and discuss implications for the WIMP search.

A Little Background Music, Please.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giles, Martha Mead

1991-01-01

Background music could be used to provide a pleasant beginning for the school day, to help keep students quiet and relaxed in the school cafeteria at lunchtime, and to provide a midafternoon lift for bored and tired children. The most effective music pleases children without overly exciting them through jarring rhythms and loud dynamics. (nine…

PLANNING THE INDOOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION FACILITIES.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

HASE, GERALD J.; HICK, BASIL L.

THIS PAMPHLET IS DESIGNED TO HELP ARCHITECTS AND LOCAL SCHOOL OFFICIALS IN THE PREPARATION OF PLANS FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION FACILITIES IN NEW AND EXISTING BUILDINGS. FACILITIES MENTIONED INCLUDE--(1) GYMNASIUM, (2) SWIMMING POOL, (3) SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY ROOM, (4) DRESSING AND SHOWERING ROOMS, (5) TEAM ROOM, (6) EQUIPMENT DRYING ROOM, (7) LAUNDRY…

Resident's concerns and attitudes towards Solid Waste Management facilities

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

Rahardyan, B.; Matsuto, T.; Kakuta, Y.

2004-07-01

Because of limited space, the siting and construction of a new SWM facility is a big challenge in Japan. An SWM facility should be socially accepted as well as environmentally and economically sound. This study aimed to investigate people's concerns about SWM facilities and their attitudes towards such facilities. A questionnaire was designed based on literature reviews and was sent to residents in three municipalities with different backgrounds. The questions covered concerns on the impact of an SWM facility, management aspects, unfairness of facility siting, and attitudes to facility construction. Of the many concerns, 'pollution and health effect' had themore » highest rating, followed by 'reliability', 'damage to nature' and 'cost'. The rating was different between municipalities, reflecting their geographic and social backgrounds. Using factor analysis, correlations among concerns were analyzed, and five principal components were extracted, namely 'pollution', 'nuisance', 'facility management', 'planning of facility', and 'merit/demerit'. Although obvious correlations were not found between individual items of concern and attitudes to construction of a facility, the discriminant analysis indicated dominant concerns of attitudes, but the disagreement between actual impact and citizens were found. As for attributes, the 'opposed' attitude decreased for residents who had visited an SWM facility, even if they had only seen it from outside.« less

The test facility requirements for the thermal vacuum thermal balance test of the Cosmic Background Explorer Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milam, Laura J.

1990-01-01

The Cosmic Background Explorer Observatory (COBE) underwent a thermal vacuum thermal balance test in the Space Environment Simulator (SES). This was the largest and most complex test ever conducted at this facility. The 4 x 4 m (13 x 13 ft) spacecraft weighed approx. 2223 kg (4900 lbs) for the test. The test set up included simulator panels for the inboard solar array panels, simulator panels for the flight cowlings, Sun and Earth Sensor stimuli, Thermal Radio Frequency Shield heater stimuli and a cryopanel for thermal control in the Attitude Control System Shunt Dissipator area. The fixturing also included a unique 4.3 m (14 ft) diameter Gaseous Helium Cryopanel which provided a 20 K environment for the calibration of one of the spacecraft's instruments, the Differential Microwave Radiometer. This cryogenic panel caused extra contamination concerns and a special method was developed and written into the test procedure to prevent the high buildup of condensibles on the panel which could have led to backstreaming of the thermal vacuum chamber. The test was completed with a high quality simulated space environment provided to the spacecraft. The test requirements, test set up, and special fixturing are described.

Chemical facility vulnerability assessment project.

PubMed

Jaeger, Calvin D

2003-11-14

Sandia National Laboratories, under the direction of the Office of Science and Technology, National Institute of Justice, conducted the chemical facility vulnerability assessment (CFVA) project. The primary objective of this project was to develop, test and validate a vulnerability assessment methodology (VAM) for determining the security of chemical facilities against terrorist or criminal attacks (VAM-CF). The project also included a report to the Department of Justice for Congress that in addition to describing the VAM-CF also addressed general observations related to security practices, threats and risks at chemical facilities and chemical transport. In the development of the VAM-CF Sandia leveraged the experience gained from the use and development of VAs in other areas and the input from the chemical industry and Federal agencies. The VAM-CF is a systematic, risk-based approach where risk is a function of the severity of consequences of an undesired event, the attack potential, and the likelihood of adversary success in causing the undesired event. For the purpose of the VAM-CF analyses Risk is a function of S, L(A), and L(AS), where S is the severity of consequence of an event, L(A) is the attack potential and L(AS) likelihood of adversary success in causing a catastrophic event. The VAM-CF consists of 13 basic steps. It involves an initial screening step, which helps to identify and prioritize facilities for further analysis. This step is similar to the prioritization approach developed by the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Other steps help to determine the components of the risk equation and ultimately the risk. The VAM-CF process involves identifying the hazardous chemicals and processes at a chemical facility. It helps chemical facilities to focus their attention on the most critical areas. The VAM-CF is not a quantitative analysis but, rather, compares relative security risks. If the risks are deemed too high, recommendations are developed for

Overall view of administration area with building 11110 in background, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Overall view of administration area with building 11110 in background, looking east from facility gate. - Naval Ordnance Test Station Inyokern, China Lake Pilot Plant, Pilot Plant Road, China Lake, Kern County, CA

Radon-related backgrounds in the LUX dark matter search

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

Bradley, A.; Akerib, D. S.; Araújo, H. M.

The LUX detector is currently in operation at the Davis Campus at the 4850’ level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, SD to directly search for WIMP dark matter. Knowing the type and rate of backgrounds is critical in a rare, low energy event search, and LUX was designed, constructed, and deployed to mitigate backgrounds, both internal and external. An important internal background are decays of radon and its daughters. These consist of alpha decays, which are easily tagged and are a tracer of certain backgrounds, and beta decays, some of which are not as readily taggedmore » and present a background for the WIMP search. We report on studies of alpha decay and discuss implications for the WIMP search.« less

Radon-related backgrounds in the LUX dark matter search

DOE PAGES

Bradley, A.; Akerib, D. S.; Araújo, H. M.; ...

2015-01-01

The LUX detector is currently in operation at the Davis Campus at the 4850’ level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, SD to directly search for WIMP dark matter. Knowing the type and rate of backgrounds is critical in a rare, low energy event search, and LUX was designed, constructed, and deployed to mitigate backgrounds, both internal and external. An important internal background are decays of radon and its daughters. These consist of alpha decays, which are easily tagged and are a tracer of certain backgrounds, and beta decays, some of which are not as readily taggedmore » and present a background for the WIMP search. We report on studies of alpha decay and discuss implications for the WIMP search.« less

Environmental Management Guide for Educational Facilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

APPA: Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers, 2017

2017-01-01

Since 1996, APPA and CSHEMA, the Campus Safety Health and Environmental Management Association, have collaborated to produce guidance documents to help educational facilities get ahead of the moving target that is environmental compliance. This new 2017 edition will help you identify which regulations pertain to your institution, and assist in…

The Benefits of Guided Facility Self-Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Leary, Keith

2012-01-01

A growing number of educational institutions have discovered that a guided self-assessment solution helps them to consistently and cost-effectively obtain facility condition information and make better-informed capital planning decisions. Facility self-assessment employs a consistent, repeatable process for internal staff to quickly assess assets…

Help-Seeking Behavior of West African Migrants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knipscheer, Jeroen W.; Kleber, Rolf J.

2008-01-01

In this article, the authors present essential aspects of the help-seeking behavior with regard to mental health problems of Ghanaian migrants in the Netherlands. Samples of citizens in the general population (n=97) and outpatients treated in mental health care facilities (n=36) were included. Data were acquired by administering a semi-structured…

A History of Educational Facilities Laboratories (EFL)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Judy

2009-01-01

The Educational Facilities Laboratories (EFL), an independent research organization established by the Ford Foundation, opened its doors in 1958 under the direction of Harold B. Gores, a distinguished educator. Its purpose was to help schools and colleges maximize the quality and utility of their facilities, stimulate research, and disseminate…

New NREL Research Facility Slashes Energy Use by 66 Percent

Science.gov Websites

Thermal Test Facility, which serves as a showcase of energy-saving features and the home of NREL's cutting technologies now being developed at the Thermal Test Facility will help us reach this goal." The facility energy-efficient building design, NREL's Thermal Test Facility houses sophisticated equipment for

Help-Seeking Behaviour of Student Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Shihkuan

2005-01-01

Background: Student teachers struggle with a wide range of problems because they are lacking professional knowledge, inexperienced in dealing with colleagues and students, and unfamiliar with school environments. It is essential for the survival of student teachers to establish supportive relationships for professional and personal help.…

EPA'S METAL FINISHING FACILITY POLLUTION PREVENTION TOOL - 2002

EPA Science Inventory

To help metal finishing facilities meet the goal of profitable pollution prevention, the USEPA is developing the Metal Finishing Facility Pollution Prevention Tool (MFFP2T), a computer program that estimates the rate of solid, liquid waste generation and air emissions. This progr...

[Community self-help houses as a form of community social support].

PubMed

Dabrowski, S; Brodniak, W; Gierlacki, J; Welbel, S

1998-01-01

Two forms of community-based social support were introduced by the Polish Mental Health Act--community specialist social help services and community self-help houses--for seriously mentally ill and severely mentally retarded persons. According to the art. 8 community social support should be organized by social help agencies in consultation with psychiatric facilities. Data obtained from the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy indicated that from 21th of January 1995 (when the Mental Health Act was put in force) until 30th of June 1997 social help agencies and non-governmental organizations sponsored by social help agencies have set up 134 community self-help houses with 4103 places. In the middle of last year nearly 3500 persons were using these houses. Most of the houses were located in the following districts: Gdańsk (20), Gorzów (16), Płock (12), Warszawa (8 for 164 persons). Vast majority of them served as day rehabilitation houses, while only a few provided sheltered housing as well. Tentative evaluation of functioning of these houses shows that: operational definition of community self-help house given in the target network of nursing homes and community self-help houses should be modified to include statutory purposes of community social support provided in art.8, selection of the persons using community self-help houses should follow the legal requirement of the Mental Health Act (art. 8), separated rehabilitation programs for mentally ill (psychotic) and mentally retarded persons need to be provided, participation of psychiatric facilities in the organization of the community self-help houses should be increased, functioning of the community self-help houses ought to be supervised by specialists, staff of the community self-help houses need to be systematically trained.

Cutting the Cost of New Community College Facilities: Streamlining the Facilities Approval Process. Commission on Innovation Policy Discussion Paper Number 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BW Associates, Berkeley, CA.

Intended to provide background information and preliminary options for the California Community Colleges' Commission on Innovation, this document proposes that approval processes for new facilities be simplified and that restrictions on the lease or purchase of off-campus facilities be eased. Following introductory materials detailing the…

Effects of wind on background particle concentrations at truck freight terminals.

PubMed

Garcia, Ronald; Hart, Jaime E; Davis, Mary E; Reaser, Paul; Natkin, Jonathan; Laden, Francine; Garshick, Eric; Smith, Thomas J

2007-01-01

Truck freight terminals are predominantly located near highways and industrial facilities. This proximity to pollution sources, coupled with meteorological conditions and wind patterns, may affect occupational exposures to particles at these work locations. To understand this process, data from an environmental sampling study of particles at U.S. trucking terminals, along with weather and geographic maps, were analyzed to determine the extent to which the transportation of particles from local pollutant sources elevated observed occupational exposures at these locations. To help identify potential upwind sources, wind direction weighted averages and speed measurements were used to construct wind roses that were superimposed on overhead photos of the terminal and examined for upwind source activity. Statistical tests were performed on these "source" and "nonsource" directions to determine whether there were significant differences in observed particle levels between the two groups. Our results provide evidence that nearby upwind pollution sources significantly elevated background concentrations at only a few of the locations sampled, whereas the majority provided little to no evidence of a significant upwind source effect.

Detroit Metropolitan Library Research and Demonstration Project. Background Data.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kremer, Helen

The Detroit Metropolitan Region, including six countries in southeastern Michigan, is the focus for the Detroit Metropolitan Library Research and Demonstration Project. This document provides background data on the region for the Project. Data included are (1) population, (2) educational facilities, (3) numbers of elementary and secondary pupils…

Association of U.S. Dialysis Facility Neighborhood Characteristics with Facility-Level Kidney Transplantation

PubMed Central

Plantinga, Laura; Pastan, Stephen; Kramer, Michael; McClellan, Ann; Krisher, Jenna; Patzer, Rachel E.

2014-01-01

Background Improving access to optimal healthcare may depend on attributes of neighborhoods where patients receive healthcare services. We investigated whether characteristics of dialysis facility neighborhoods—where most patients with end-stage renal disease are treated—were associated with facility-level kidney transplantation. Methods We examined the association between census tract (neighborhood)-level sociodemographic factors and facility-level kidney transplantation rate in 3,983 U.S. dialysis facilities with reported kidney transplantation rates. Number of kidney transplants and total person-years contributed at the facility level in 2007-2010 were obtained from the Dialysis Facility Report and linked to census tract data on sociodemographic characteristics from the American Community Survey 2006-2010 by dialysis facility location. We used multivariable Poisson models with generalized estimating equations to estimate associations between neighborhood characteristics and transplant incidence. Results U.S. dialysis facilities were located in neighborhoods with substantially greater proportions of black and poor residents, relative to the national average. Most facility neighborhood characteristics were associated with transplant, with incidence rate ratios (95% CI) for standardized increments (in percentage) of neighborhood exposures of: living in poverty, 0.88 (0.84-0.92), black race, 0.83 (0.78-0.89); high school graduates, 1.22 (1.17-1.26); and unemployed, 0.90 (0.85-0.95). Conclusion Dialysis facility neighborhood characteristics may be modestly associated with facility rates of kidney transplantation. The success of dialysis facility interventions to improve access to kidney transplantation may partially depend on reducing neighborhood-level barriers. PMID:25196018

A Comparison of Technologically Mediated and Face-to-Face Help-Seeking Sources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reeves, Philip M.; Sperling, Rayne A.

2015-01-01

Background: Current post-secondary school students have access to multiple help-seeking sources. As help-seeking behaviour relates to academic achievement, the provision of preferred help sources would be beneficial to students, instructors, and course designers. Aims: This study examines whether students prefer and intend to utilize…

Charter School Facilities: A Resource Guide on Development and Financing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jakubowski, Lara

This manual provides information to help charter schools navigate the facility development process, including worksheets that can be customized to suit a particular school's needs. Sections cover how facility planning fits into business planning for charter schools, review a process for assessing a school's facility needs, and summarize how to…

Can Research Findings Help School Systems Obtain the Most Bang from the Construction Bucks?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earthman, Glen I.; Lemasters, Linda K.

Research on educational facilities is important to help industry and school districts make decisions on funding and maintaining good educational environments for their students. This paper presents findings from three syntheses of 232 studies on educational facilities and funding decisions, followed by discussions of practical solutions designed…

Industrial Assessment Center Helps Boost Efficiency for Small and Medium Manufacturers

ScienceCinema

Johnson, Mark; Friedman, David

2018-06-12

The Industrial Assessment Center program helps small and medium manufacturers boost efficiency and save energy. It pairs companies with universities as students perform energy assessments and provide recommendations to improve their facilities.

Industrial Assessment Center Helps Boost Efficiency for Small and Medium Manufacturers

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

Johnson, Mark; Friedman, David

The Industrial Assessment Center program helps small and medium manufacturers boost efficiency and save energy. It pairs companies with universities as students perform energy assessments and provide recommendations to improve their facilities.

Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility | Bioenergy | NREL

Science.gov Websites

industrial, two-story building with high-bay, piping, and large processing equipment. Three workers in hard intellectual property and helping industrial partners commercialize technologies. Testing Facilities and

The planned Alaska SAR Facility - An overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carsey, Frank; Weeks, Wilford

1987-01-01

The Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) is described in an overview fashion. The facility consists of three major components, a Receiving Ground System, a SAR Processing System and an Analysis and Archiving System; the ASF Program also has a Science Working Team and the requisite management and operations systems. The ASF is now an approved and fully funded activity; detailed requirements and science background are presented for the facility to be implemented for data from the European ERS-1, the Japanese ERS-1 and Radarsat.

Help-Seeking Behavior for Children with Acute Respiratory Infection in Ethiopia: Results from 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Background Acute respiratory infection is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality among children under five years of age in Ethiopia. While facilities have been implemented to address this problem they are underused due to a lack in help-seeking behavior. This study investigates factors related to the help-seeking behavior of mothers for children with acute respiratory infection using data from the 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey. Methods Data on 11,030 children aged 0–59 months obtained through interviewing women aged 15–49 years throughout Ethiopia was available. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine which factors are related to help-seeking behavior for acute respiratory infection. Results In the two weeks prior to the survey, 773(7%) of the children were reported to have symptoms of acute respiratory infection while treatment was sought for only 209 (27.2%). The odds ratio for acute respiratory infection was 1.6 (95% CI: 1.2–2.0) for rural residence with only 25.2% of these mothers seeking help compared to 46.4% for mothers with an urban residence. Smaller family size, younger mothers’ age and having had prenatal care had a statistically significant odds ratio greater than 1 for both urban and rural residences. Highest wealth index had a statistically significant odds ratio greater than 1 for rural residence only, whereas primary education or higher had a statistically significant odds ratio greater than 1 for urban residence. Conclusions Children from rural areas are more at risk for acute respiratory infection while their mothers are less likely to seek help. Nevertheless, there is also underuse of available services in urban areas. Interventions should target mothers with less education and wealth and older mothers. Expanding prenatal care among these groups would encourage a better use of available facilities and subsequently better care for their children. PMID:26560469

Sport Facility Planning and Management. Sport Management Library.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farmer, Peter J.; Mulrooney, Aaron L.; Ammon, Rob, Jr.

Students of sports facilities management will need to acquire a wide variety of managerial skills and knowledge in order to be adequately prepared to plan and manage these facilities. This textbook offers students a mix of practical examples and recognized theory to help them in the planning, constructing, promoting, and managing of sports…

Surveying School Facilities Needs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weichel, Harry J.; Dennell, James

1990-01-01

Ralston (Nebraska) Public School District's communitywide survey helped set school facilities priorities while keeping the district's finite resources firmly in mind. With an outline of maintenance costs for the next 10 years, the district can develop a strategic construction schedule. The board also has the option of financing projects through a…

Prototype and Evaluation of AutoHelp: A Case-based, Web-accessible Help Desk System for EOSDIS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, Christine M.; Thurman, David A.

1999-01-01

AutoHelp is a case-based, Web-accessible help desk for users of the EOSDIS. Its uses a combination of advanced computer and Web technologies, knowledge-based systems tools, and cognitive engineering to offload the current, person-intensive, help desk facilities at the DAACs. As a case-based system, AutoHelp starts with an organized database of previous help requests (questions and answers) indexed by a hierarchical category structure that facilitates recognition by persons seeking assistance. As an initial proof-of-concept demonstration, a month of email help requests to the Goddard DAAC were analyzed and partially organized into help request cases. These cases were then categorized to create a preliminary case indexing system, or category structure. This category structure allows potential users to identify or recognize categories of questions, responses, and sample cases similar to their needs. Year one of this research project focused on the development of a technology demonstration. User assistance 'cases' are stored in an Oracle database in a combination of tables linking prototypical questions with responses and detailed examples from the email help requests analyzed to date. When a potential user accesses the AutoHelp system, a Web server provides a Java applet that displays the category structure of the help case base organized by the needs of previous users. When the user identifies or requests a particular type of assistance, the applet uses Java database connectivity (JDBC) software to access the database and extract the relevant cases. The demonstration will include an on-line presentation of how AutoHelp is currently structured. We will show how a user might request assistance via the Web interface and how the AutoHelp case base provides assistance. The presentation will describe the DAAC data collection, case definition, and organization to date, as well as the AutoHelp architecture. It will conclude with the year 2 proposal to more fully develop the

Facility Response Planning: Compliance Assistance Guide

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This guide was developed in order to help owners and operators of facilities that store or use oil, as well as other interested people, to better understand the Federal Oil Pollution Prevention regulation.

Sanford Underground Research Facility - The United State's Deep Underground Research Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vardiman, D.

2012-12-01

/LIDAR), surveying instruments, and surveying benchmarks and optical survey points. Currently an array of single and multipoint extensometers monitors the Davis Campus. A facility-wide micro seismic monitoring system is anticipated to be deployed during the latter half of 2012. This system is designed to monitor minor events initiated within the historical mined out portions of the facility. The major science programs for the coming five years consist of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR (MJD) neutrinoless double beta decay experiment; the Large Underground Xenon (LUX) dark matter search, the Center for Ultralow Background Experiments at DUSEL (CUBED), numerous geoscience installations, Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE), a nuclear astrophysics program involving a low energy underground particle accelerator, second and third generation dark matter experiments, and additional low background counting facilities. The Sanford Lab facility is an active, U.S. based, deep underground research facility dedicated to science, affording the science community the opportunity to conduct unprecedented scientific research in a broad range of physics, biology and geoscience fields at depth. SURF is actively interested in hosting additional research collaborations and provides resources for full facility design, cost estimation, excavation, construction and support management services.

Helping small babies survive: an evaluation of facility-based Kangaroo Mother Care implementation progress in Uganda

PubMed Central

Aliganyira, Patrick; Kerber, Kate; Davy, Karen; Gamache, Nathalie; Sengendo, Namaala Hanifah; Bergh, Anne-Marie

2014-01-01

Introduction Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn death in Uganda, accounting for 38% of the nation's 39,000 annual newborn deaths. Kangaroo mother care is a high-impact; cost-effective intervention that has been prioritized in policy in Uganda but implementation has been limited. Methods A standardised, cross-sectional, mixed-method evaluation design was used, employing semi-structured key-informant interviews and observations in 11 health care facilities implementing kangaroo mother care in Uganda. Results The facilities visited scored between 8.28 and 21.72 out of the possible 30 points with a median score of 14.71. Two of the 3 highest scoring hospitals were private, not-for-profit hospitals whereas the second highest scoring hospital was a central teaching hospital. Facilities with KMC services are not equally distributed throughout the country. Only 4 regions (Central 1, Central 2, East-Central and Southwest) plus the City of Kampala were identified as having facilities providing KMC services. Conclusion KMC services are not instituted with consistent levels of quality and are often dependent on private partner support. With increasing attention globally and in country, Uganda is in a unique position to accelerate access to and quality of health services for small babies across the country. PMID:25667699

Helping small babies survive: an evaluation of facility-based Kangaroo Mother Care implementation progress in Uganda.

PubMed

Aliganyira, Patrick; Kerber, Kate; Davy, Karen; Gamache, Nathalie; Sengendo, Namaala Hanifah; Bergh, Anne-Marie

2014-01-01

Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn death in Uganda, accounting for 38% of the nation's 39,000 annual newborn deaths. Kangaroo mother care is a high-impact; cost-effective intervention that has been prioritized in policy in Uganda but implementation has been limited. A standardised, cross-sectional, mixed-method evaluation design was used, employing semi-structured key-informant interviews and observations in 11 health care facilities implementing kangaroo mother care in Uganda. The facilities visited scored between 8.28 and 21.72 out of the possible 30 points with a median score of 14.71. Two of the 3 highest scoring hospitals were private, not-for-profit hospitals whereas the second highest scoring hospital was a central teaching hospital. Facilities with KMC services are not equally distributed throughout the country. Only 4 regions (Central 1, Central 2, East-Central and Southwest) plus the City of Kampala were identified as having facilities providing KMC services. KMC services are not instituted with consistent levels of quality and are often dependent on private partner support. With increasing attention globally and in country, Uganda is in a unique position to accelerate access to and quality of health services for small babies across the country.

Help-Seeking on Facebook Versus More Traditional Sources of Help: Cross-Sectional Survey of Military Veterans

PubMed Central

Marsh, Heather E; Liebow, Samuel B L; Chen, Jason I; Forsberg, Christopher W; Nicolaidis, Christina; Saha, Somnath; Dobscha, Steven K

2018-01-01

Background The media has devoted significant attention to anecdotes of individuals who post messages on Facebook prior to suicide. However, it is unclear to what extent social media is perceived as a source of help or how it compares to other sources of potential support for mental health problems. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the degree to which military veterans with depression use social media for help-seeking in comparison to other more traditional sources of help. Methods Cross-sectional self-report survey of 270 adult military veterans with probable major depression. Help-seeking intentions were measured with a modified General Help-Seeking Questionnaire. Facebook users and nonusers were compared via t tests, Chi-square, and mixed effects regression models. Associations between types of help-seeking were examined using mixed effects models. Results The majority of participants were users of social media, primarily Facebook (n=162). Mean overall help-seeking intentions were similar between Facebook users and nonusers, even after adjustment for potential confounders. Facebook users were very unlikely to turn to Facebook as a venue for support when experiencing either emotional problems or suicidal thoughts. Compared to help-seeking intentions for Facebook, help-seeking intentions for formal (eg, psychologists), informal (eg, friends), or phone helpline sources of support were significantly higher. Results did not substantially change when examining users of other social media, women, or younger adults. Conclusions In its current form, the social media platform Facebook is not seen as a venue to seek help for emotional problems or suicidality among veterans with major depression in the United States. PMID:29483064

Addressing social aspects associated with wastewater treatment facilities

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

Padilla-Rivera, Alejandro; Morgan-Sagastume, Juan Manuel; Noyola, Adalberto

In wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF), technical and financial aspects have been considered a priority, while other issues, such as social aspects, have not been evaluated seriously and there is not an accepted methodology for assessing it. In this work, a methodology focused on social concerns related to WWTF is presented. The methodology proposes the use of 25 indicators as a framework for measuring social performance to evaluate the progress in moving towards sustainability. The methodology was applied to test its applicability and effectiveness in two WWTF in Mexico (urban and rural). This evaluation helped define the key elements, stakeholders andmore » barriers in the facilities. In this context, the urban facility showed a better overall performance, a result that may be explained mainly by the better socioeconomic context of the urban municipality. Finally, the evaluation of social aspects using the semi-qualitative approach proposed in this work allows for a comparison between different facilities and for the identification of strengths and weakness, and it provides an alternative tool for achieving and improving wastewater management. - Highlights: • The methodology proposes 25 indicators as a framework for measuring social performance in wastewater treatment facilities. • The evaluation helped to define the key elements, stakeholders and barriers in the wastewater treatment facilities. • The evaluation of social aspects allows the identification of strengths and weakness for improving wastewater management. • It provides a social profile of the facility that highlights the best and worst performances.« less

Intention to seek professional psychological help among college students in Turkey: influence of help-seeking attitudes

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Depression rates are high among college students in Turkey, but often students do not seek mental health care. This study aimed to examine the association between attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help and intention to seek professional psychological help among such college students. We also examined the factors associated with students’ professional psychological help-seeking attitudes. We conducted this cross-sectional study among 456 conveniently sampled graduate and undergraduate students in Ankara. We collected students’ data using self-administered, structured questionnaires in the Turkish language and then analyzed the data using both descriptive and multivariate methods. Results In the multiple linear regression analyses, students’ attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help were positively associated with intention to seek such help (p < 0.001). Other factors positively associated with students’ attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help included the following: age (p < 0.001), perceived social support from family (p < 0.05), perceived social support from friends (p < 0.01), and perceived social support from significant other (p < 0.05). Students with less positive attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help were more likely to be men (p < 0.001), undergraduate students (p < 0.001), and students who were not aware of the presence of the on-campus counseling center (p < 0.01). Conclusions Students’ positive attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help were positively associated with their intentions to seek such help. To encourage utilization of the counseling center inside the campus more frequently when in need, interventions might be necessary to improve students’ attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help—in particular among young male students. PMID:24313965

Low background screening capability in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghag, Chamkaur

2015-08-01

Low background rare event searches in underground laboratories seeking observation of direct dark matter interactions or neutrino-less double beta decay have the potential to profoundly advance our understanding of the physical universe. Successful results from these experiments depend critically on construction from extremely radiologically clean materials and accurate knowledge of subsequent low levels of expected background. The experiments must conduct comprehensive screening campaigns to reduce radioactivity from detector components, and these measurements also inform detailed characterisation and quantification of background sources and their impact, necessary to assign statistical significance to any potential discovery. To provide requisite sensitivity for material screening and characterisation in the UK to support our rare event search activities, we have re-developed our infrastructure to add ultra-low background capability across a range of complementary techniques that collectively allow complete radioactivity measurements. Ultra-low background HPGe and BEGe detectors have been installed at the Boulby Underground Laboratory, itself undergoing substantial facility re-furbishment, to provide high sensitivity gamma spectroscopy in particular for measuring the uranium and thorium decay series products. Dedicated low-activity mass spectrometry instrumentation has been developed at UCL for part per trillion level contaminant identification to complement underground screening with direct U and Th measurements, and meet throughput demands. Finally, radon emanation screening at UCL measures radon background inaccessible to gamma or mass spectrometry techniques. With this new capability the UK is delivering half of the radioactivity screening for the LZ dark matter search experiment.

Implementing a Help Desk at a Small Liberal Arts College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Actis, Bev

1993-01-01

Planning for a computer use "help desk" at Kenyon College (Ohio) was constrained by very limited resources. However, careful and thorough planning resulted in a low-budget, homegrown, but highly effective facility. Staffing, training, staff communication, and marketing the service were essential elements in its success. (MSE)

Development of an Ultra-Low Background Liquid Scintillation Counter for Trace Level Analysis

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

Erchinger, Jennifer L.; Orrell, John L.; Aalseth, Craig E.

2015-09-01

Low-level liquid scintillation counting (LSC) has been established as one of the radiation detection techniques useful in elucidating environmental processes and environmental monitoring around nuclear facilities. The Ultra-Low Background Liquid Scintillation Counter (ULB-LSC) under construction in the Shallow Underground Laboratory at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory aims to further reduce the MDAs and/or required sample processing. Through layers of passive shielding in conjunction with an active veto and 30 meters water equivalent overburden, the background reduction is expected to be 10 to 100 times below typical analytic low-background liquid scintillation systems. Simulations have shown an expected background of around 14 countsmore » per day. A novel approach to the light collection will use a coated hollow light guide cut into the inner copper shielding. Demonstration LSC measurements will show low-energy detection, spectral deconvolution, and alpha/beta discrimination capabilities, from trials with standards of tritium, strontium-90, and actinium-227, respectively. An overview of the system design and expected demonstration measurements will emphasize the potential applications of the ULB-LSC in environmental monitoring for treaty verification, reach-back sample analysis, and facility inspections.« less

Calibration facility for environment dosimetry instruments

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

Bercea, Sorin; Celarel, Aurelia; Cenusa, Constantin

2013-12-16

In the last ten years, the nuclear activities, as well as the major nuclear events (see Fukushima accident) had an increasing impact on the environment, merely by contamination with radioactive materials. The most conferment way to quickly identify the presence of some radioactive elements in the environment, is to measure the dose-equivalent rate H. In this situation, information concerning the values of H due only to the natural radiation background must exist. Usually, the values of H due to the natural radiation background, are very low (∼10{sup −9} - 10{sup −8} Sv/h). A correct measurement of H in this rangemore » involve a performing calibration of the measuring instruments in the measuring range corresponding to the natural radiation background lead to important problems due to the presence of the natural background itself the best way to overlap this difficulty is to set up the calibration stand in an area with very low natural radiation background. In Romania, we identified an area with such special conditions at 200 m dept, in a salt mine. This paper deals with the necessary requirements for such a calibration facility, as well as with the calibration stand itself. The paper includes also, a description of the calibration stand (and images) as well as the radiological and metrological parameters. This calibration facilities for environment dosimetry is one of the few laboratories in this field in Europe.« less

Team Update on North American Proton Facilities for Radiation Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.; Turflinger, Thomas; Haas, Thurman; George, Jeffrey; Moss, Steven; Davis, Scott; Kostic, Andrew; Wie, Brian; Reed, Robert; Guertin, Steven;

Coping with mental health issues: subjective experiences of self-help and helpful contextual factors at the start of mental health treatment

PubMed Central

Biringer, Eva; Davidson, Larry; Sundfør, Bengt; Lier, Haldis Ø.; Borg, Marit

2016-01-01

Abstract Background: Self-help strategies and various contextual factors support recovery. However, more in-depth knowledge is needed about how self-help strategies and supportive environments facilitate the recovery process. Aims: To explore what individuals who have recently been referred to a specialist Community Mental Health Center experience as helpful and what they do to help themselves. Method: Ten service users participated in in-depth interviews within a collaborative-reflexive framework. A hermeneutic-phenomenological approach was used. Results: Participants described a variety of helpful strategies and environmental supports. Four relevant main themes were identified: helpful activities, helpful people and places, self-instruction and learning about mental problems and medication and self-medication. Conclusions: The process of recovery is initiated before people become users of mental health services. This study confirms that recovery takes place within the person’s daily life context and involves the interplay of contextual factors, such as family, friends, good places, work and other meaningful activities. The coping strategies reported may represent an important focus for attention and clinical intervention. PMID:26484831

Bootstraps: Federal Trio Programs, if Funded, Could Help Close Income Gap

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jean, Reggie

2011-01-01

Since 1964, the federal government has had two successful programs that have helped Americans from low-income and first-generation college backgrounds (whose parents never enrolled in higher education) prepare for and earn their college degrees, helping to stop the cycle of poverty. The federally funded TRIO programs (Upward Bound, Veterans Upward…

Family Housing Self-Help Program: Evaluation and Recommendations for Improvements.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-07-01

the Army Housing Management Division, Facilities Branch, Office of the Chief of Engineers (OCE), under reimbursable Work Unit QH5, " Family Housing Self...40-A171 466 FAMILY HOUSIN G SB -HEL PROGRAM: KVJ A I N 1/1 u NLASSIFIED L 86 CEI I -T-8 6 /901 IL H I LAl 51 , L 40-N1 L6 132 2= 1.25 LA.11...Laboratory July 1986 Family Housing Self-Help Evaluation and Improvement AD-A171 466 Family Housing Self-Help Program: Evaluation and Recommendations for

Background Report: Recommendations on Guidance for Diagnostic X-Ray Studies in Federal Health Care Facilities

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document shares the guidance developed by the Interagency Working Group which was formed to develop guidance to reduce unnecessary radiation exposures from the use of x-rays in the healing arts in Federal health care facilities.

Where Do Jamaican Adolescents Turn for Psychological Help?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Dahra Jackson

2012-01-01

Background: Stigma about mental health is a significant problem in Jamaica and the wider English-speaking Caribbean. In general, negative attitudes and opinions about mental illness have been found to negatively impact psychological help-seeking among several populations. Objective: This study examined Jamaican adolescents' preferential sources of…

Trends in CT scan rates in children and pregnant women: teaching, private, public and nonprofit facilities.

PubMed

Hoshiko, Sumi; Smith, Daniel; Fan, Cathyn; Jones, Carrie R; McNeel, Sandra V; Cohen, Ronald A

2014-05-01

Radiation exposure from medical sources now equals or exceeds that from natural background sources, largely attributable to a 20-fold increase in CT use since 1980. Increasing exposure to children and fetuses is of most concern due to their heightened susceptibility. More recently, CT use may be leveling or decreasing, but it is unclear whether this change is widespread or varies by type of institution. We sought to characterize trends in CT utilization in California hospitals and emergency departments among children and pregnant women, looking at different types of facilities, such as teaching, private, public and nonprofit institutions. We examined frequency of CT examinations by year from 229 facilities reporting CT usage in routinely collected California statewide data for 2005-2012. We modeled trends overall and by facility type. CT scans for pediatric and pregnant patient visits in the emergency department increased initially, then started to decline after 2008. Among hospital admissions, rates declined or leveled after 2005. In the emergency department, CT rates varied between types of facilities, with teaching hospitals reducing use sooner and more sharply than other types of facilities. CT utilization in California among children and pregnant women has begun to level or decline. Still, population exposure remains at historically high levels, warranting consideration of potential public health implications. Further examination of reasons for trends among hospital types, particularly how teaching hospitals have reduced rates of CT utilization, may help identify strategies for CT reduction without compromising patient care.

The Context of Religious and Spiritual Care at the End of Life in Long-term Care Facilities.

PubMed

Hamilton, V Lee; Daaleman, Timothy P; Williams, Christianna S; Zimmerman, Sheryl

2009-01-01

Despite the increasing numbers of Americans who die in nursing homes (NHs) and residential care/assisted living (RC/AL) facilities, and the importance of religious and spiritual needs as one approaches death, little is known about how these needs are met for dying individuals in long-term care (LTC) institutional settings. This study compared receipt of religious and spiritual help in four types of LTC settings: NHs, smaller (<16 beds) RC/AL facilities, traditional RC/AL facilities, and new-model RC/AL facilities. Data were also available for religious affiliation of the facilities, size, and provision of religious and hospice services. Controlling for such factors, the importance of religion/spirituality to the decedent was the strongest predictor of the decedent's receipt of spiritual help. In addition, new-model RC/AL facilities were significantly more likely to provide help for religious and spiritual needs of decedent residents than other RC/AL types, but did not differ significantly from NHs.

Conceptual Modeling Framework for E-Area PA HELP Infiltration Model Simulations

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

Dyer, J. A.

A conceptual modeling framework based on the proposed E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility (LLWF) closure cap design is presented for conducting Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP) model simulations of intact and subsided cap infiltration scenarios for the next E-Area Performance Assessment (PA).

Helping Users Help Themselves.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Malley, Claire E.

This discussion of the design of user-initiated help systems in computers focuses on the information that users actively seek to help them with their tasks, with emphasis on how to help users ask the questions that will bridge the gap between the initial internal (mental) form of the query and their information need as expressed by the system.…

Occupations at Case Closure for Vocational Rehabilitation Applicants with Criminal Backgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitfield, Harold Wayne

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify industries that hire persons with disabilities and criminal backgrounds. The researcher obtained data on 1,355 applicants for vocational rehabilitation services who were living in adult correctional facilities at the time of application. Service-based industries hired the most ex-inmates with disabilities…

Understanding help-seeking amongst university students: the role of group identity, stigma, and exposure to suicide and help-seeking

PubMed Central

Kearns, Michelle; Muldoon, Orla T.; Msetfi, Rachel M.; Surgenor, Paul W. G.

2015-01-01

Background: Despite a high prevalence of suicide ideation and mental health issues amongst university students, the stigma of help-seeking remains a barrier to those who are in real need of professional support. Social identity theory states that help received from an ingroup source is more welcome and less threatening to one's identity than that from a source perceived as outgroup. Therefore, we hypothesized that students' stigma toward seeking help from their university mental health service would differ based on the strength of their identification with the university. Method: An online survey including measures of stigma of suicide, group identification, experience with help-seeking and exposure to suicide was administered to Irish university students (N = 493). Results: Group identification was a significant predictor of help-seeking attitudes after controlling for already known predictors. Contrary to our expectations, those who identified more strongly with their university demonstrated a higher stigma of seeking help from their university mental health service. Conclusions: Results are discussed in relation to self-categorization theory and the concept of normative fit. Practical implications for mental health service provision in universities are also addressed, specifically the need for a range of different mental health services both on and off-campus. PMID:26483722

A Bioinformatics Facility for NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schweighofer, Karl; Pohorille, Andrew

2006-01-01

Building on an existing prototype, we have fielded a facility with bioinformatics technologies that will help NASA meet its unique requirements for biological research. This facility consists of a cluster of computers capable of performing computationally intensive tasks, software tools, databases and knowledge management systems. Novel computational technologies for analyzing and integrating new biological data and already existing knowledge have been developed. With continued development and support, the facility will fulfill strategic NASA s bioinformatics needs in astrobiology and space exploration. . As a demonstration of these capabilities, we will present a detailed analysis of how spaceflight factors impact gene expression in the liver and kidney for mice flown aboard shuttle flight STS-108. We have found that many genes involved in signal transduction, cell cycle, and development respond to changes in microgravity, but that most metabolic pathways appear unchanged.

A method to characterise site, urban and regional ambient background radiation.

PubMed

Passmore, C; Kirr, M

2011-03-01

Control dosemeters are routinely provided to customers to monitor the background radiation so that it can be subtracted from the gross response of the dosemeter to arrive at the occupational dose. Landauer, the largest dosimetry processor in the world with subsidiaries in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Japan, Mexico and the UK, has clients in approximately 130 countries. The Glenwood facility processes over 1.1 million controls per year. This network of clients around the world provides a unique ability to monitor the world's ambient background radiation. Control data can be mined to provide useful historical information regarding ambient background rates and provide a historical baseline for geographical areas. Historical baseline can be used to provide site or region-specific background subtraction values, document the variation in ambient background radiation around a client's site or provide a baseline for measuring the efficiency of clean-up efforts in urban areas after a dirty bomb detonation.

Please Help Your Union

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Killeen, Tim

2006-03-01

The continuing success of AGU relies entirely on the volunteer work of members. A major contribution to these efforts comes from the over 40 committees that plan, oversee, and have operational roles in our meetings, publications, finances, elections, awards, education, public information, and public affairs activities. The names of committees are provided in the accompanying text box; their current membership and descriptions can be found on the Web at the AGU site. One of the most important and challenging tasks of the incoming AGU President is to reestablish these committees by appointing hundreds of volunteers. I now solicit your help in staffing these committees. Ideally, participation in these important committees will reflect the overall membership and perspectives of AGU members, so please do consider volunteering yourself. Of course, nominations of others would also be very welcome. I am particularly interested in making sure that the gender balance, age, and geographic representation are appropriate and reflect our changing demographics. Any suggestions you might have will be more helpful if accompanied by a few sentences of background information relevant to the particular committee.

Naturally occurring workplace facilities to increase the leisure time physical activity of workers: A propensity-score weighted population study.

PubMed

Biswas, Aviroop; Smith, Peter M; Gignac, Monique A M

2018-06-01

The benefit of providing access to physical activity facilities at or near work to support the leisure time physical activity (LTPA) of workers is uncertain. We examined the association between access to physical activity facilities at or near work and the LTPA of workers after adjusting for a range of individual and occupational characteristics. Data was obtained from 60,650 respondents to the 2007-2008 Canadian Community Health Survey. Participants were employed adults ≥18 years of age who had no long-term health condition which reduced their participation in physical activity. Latent class analysis determined naturally occurring combinations of physical activity facilities at or near work. Each combination was balanced by 19 individual and occupational covariate characteristics using inverse probability of treatment weights derived from propensity scores. The association between combinations of physical activity facilities at or near work on LTPA level was estimated by multinomial logistic regression. Five different combinations of physical activity facilities were available to respondents at or near work. Data were analyzed in 2017. All possible physical facilities increased the likelihood for LTPA (OR, 2.08, 95% CI, 1.03-4.20) and other combinations were also positively associated. Respondents with no physical activity facilities were characterized as having a low education, low income, high physically demanding work, poor health and mental health, non-white racial background, and being an immigrant. Access to supportive workplace environments can help workers be physically active. Future research should assess a range of personal, social and environmental factors that may be driving this relationship.

Compensatory help-seeking in young and older adults: does seeking help, help?

PubMed

Alea, Nicole; Cunningham, Walter R

2003-01-01

Asking other people for help is a compensatory behavior that may be useful across the life span to enhance functioning. Seventy-two older and younger men and women were either allowed to ask for help or were not allowed to ask for help while solving reasoning problems. Although the older adults answered fewer problems correctly, they did not seek additional help to compensate for their lower levels of performance. Younger adults sought more help. There were no age differences, however, in the types of help sought: indirect help (e.g., hints) was sought more often than direct help (e.g., asking for the answer). Exploratory analyses revealed that one's ability level was a better indicator than age of the utility of help-seeking. Findings are interpreted in the context of social and task-related influences on the use of help-seeking as a compensatory behavior across the life span.

Description and Operation of the A3 Subscale Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saunders, G. P.; Varner, D. G.; Grover, J. B.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the general design and operation of the A3 Subscale test facility. The goal is to provide the reader with a general understanding of what the major facility systems are, where they are located, and how they are used to meet the objectives supporting the design of the A3 altitude rocket test facility. This paper also provides the reader with the background information prior to reading the subsequent papers detailing the design and test results of the various systems described herein.

Effect of Background Pressure on the Plasma Oscillation Characteristics of the HiVHAc Hall Thruster

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

Hall thruster , a number of plasma diagnostics were implemented to study the effect of varying facility background pressure on thruster operation. These diagnostics characterized the thruster performance, the plume, and the plasma oscillations in the thruster. Thruster performance and plume characteristics as functions of background pressure were previously published. This paper will focus on changes in the plasma oscillation characteristics with changing background pressure. The diagnostics used to study plasma oscillations include a high-speed camera and a set of

Heterogeneity in the background and earnings of nurses in India: evidence from a cross-sectional study in Gujarat.

PubMed

Seth, Katyayni

2017-11-01

It is important to understand the service conditions of nurses because these influence nurses' motivations and ability to provide care. Although nurses are estimated to constitute 30% of India's health workforce, limited empirical information is available about them. This paper attempts to address this gap in research. A cross-sectional survey of 266 nurses in the state of Gujarat was conducted to understand the demographic characteristics, qualifications and employment features of nurses working in India's private and public health sectors. Descriptive and univariate analyses were performed using the collected information. A multivariate regression model was also estimated with monthly earnings as the dependent variable, and workplace, type of employment contract, caste background and years in the nursing workforce as independent variables. The three main findings presented in this article highlight considerable heterogeneity in the background and employment of nurses in India. First, 49% of nurses working in private hospitals and as temporary employees in public facilities belonged to historically disadvantaged social groups (deemed Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) and were estimated to earn 9% less than similarly qualified and practiced nurses from general caste categories (P = 0.02). Second, 18% of nurses working in private hospitals did not have formal nursing qualifications. Third, nurses working in private hospitals and as temporary employees in public facilities earned less than the minimum wage stipulated by the Government of India. Permanent public sector nurses were estimated to earn 105% more than private sector nurses with the same qualifications, years of work and caste background (P <  0.001). This study finds that the disproportionate presence of women and socially discriminated caste groups in the nursing workforce, coupled with the failure of governmental agencies to regulate the health sector, might help explain the low wages and lack of

Evaluation and Selection of Renewable Energy Technologies for Highway Maintenance Facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrews, Taylor

The interest in renewable energy has been increasing in recent years as attempts to reduce energy costs as well the consumption of fossil fuels are becoming more common. Companies and organizations are recognizing the increasing reliance on limited fossil fuels' resources, and as competition and costs for these resources grow, alternative solutions are becoming more appealing. Many federally run buildings and associations also have the added pressure of meeting the mandates of federal energy policies that dictate specific savings or reductions. Federal highway maintenance facilities run by the Department of Transportation fall into this category. To help meet energy saving goals, an investigation into potential renewable energy technologies was completed for the Ohio Department of Transportation. This research examined several types of renewable energy technologies and the major factors that affect their performance and evaluated their potential for implementation at highway maintenance facilities. Facilities energy usage data were provided, and a facility survey and site visits were completed to enhance the evaluation of technologies and the suitability for specific projects. Findings and technology recommendations were presented in the form of selection matrices, which were designed to help make selections in future projects. The benefits of utilization of other tools such as analysis software and life cycle assessments were also highlighted. These selection tools were designed to be helpful guides when beginning the pursuit of a renewable energy technology for highway maintenance facilities, and can be applied to other similar building types and projects. This document further discusses the research strategies and findings as well as the recommendations that were made to the personnel overseeing Ohio's highway maintenance facilities.

Mitigation of ^{42}Ar/^{42}K background for the GERDA Phase II experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubashevskiy, A.; Agostini, M.; Budjáš, D.; Gangapshev, A.; Gusev, K.; Heisel, M.; Klimenko, A.; Lazzaro, A.; Lehnert, B.; Pelczar, K.; Schönert, S.; Smolnikov, A.; Walter, M.; Zuzel, G.

2018-01-01

Background coming from the ^{42}Ar decay chain is considered to be one of the most relevant for the Gerda experiment, which searches for the neutrinoless double beta decay of ^{76}Ge. The sensitivity strongly relies on the absence of background around the Q-value of the decay. Background coming from ^{42}K, a progeny of ^{42}Ar, can contribute to that background via electrons from the continuous spectrum with an endpoint at 3.5 MeV. Research and development on the suppression methods targeting this source of background were performed at the low-background test facility LArGe . It was demonstrated that by reducing ^{42}K ion collection on the surfaces of the broad energy germanium detectors in combination with pulse shape discrimination techniques and an argon scintillation veto, it is possible to suppress ^{42}K background by three orders of magnitude. This is sufficient for Phase II of the Gerda experiment.

The Ohio School Facilities Commission. Revamping the State's School Construction Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Patta, Joe

2001-01-01

Presents an interview with the Ohio School Facilities Commission's (OSFC) Executive Director who discusses the OSFC's history and its work in managing K-12 school facilities throughout the state. Topics include its efforts to help school districts get bond measures on ballets, funding projects, and its "Partnering Program" for construction…

Haselden/RNL - Research Support Facility Documentary

ScienceCinema

Haselden, Byron; Baker, Jeff; Glover, Bill; von Luhrte, Rich; Randock, Craig; Andary, John; Macey, Philip; Okada, David

2017-12-12

The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Research Support Facility (RSF) on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is positioned to be one of the most energy efficient buildings in the world. It will demonstrate NREL's role in moving advanced technologies and transferring knowledge into commercial applications. Because 19 percent of the country's energy is used by commercial buildings, DOE plans to make this facility a showcase for energy efficiency. DOE hopes the design of the RSF will be replicated by the building industry and help reduce the nation's energy consumption by changing the way commercial buildings are designed and built.

Radiocarbon signal of a low and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal facility in nearby trees.

PubMed

Janovics, R; Kelemen, D I; Kern, Z; Kapitány, S; Veres, M; Jull, A J T; Molnár, M

2016-03-01

Tree ring series were collected from the vicinity of a Hungarian radioactive waste treatment and disposal facility and from a distant control background site, which is not influenced by the radiocarbon discharge of the disposal facility but it represents the natural regional (14)C level. The (14)C concentration of the cellulose content of tree rings was measured by AMS. Data of the tree ring series from the disposal facility was compared to the control site for each year. The results were also compared to the (14)C data of the atmospheric (14)C monitoring stations at the disposal facility and to international background measurements. On the basis of the results, the excess radiocarbon of the disposal facility can unambiguously be detected in the tree from the repository site. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

State and Federal Policies for School Facility Construction: A Comparison of Michigan and Ohio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Thomas E.

2015-01-01

Background: The Ohio School Facilities Commission was set up in response to litigation compelling the state to achieve a more equitable distribution in the quality of school facilities. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was a federal policy to stimulate the United States economy and support school facility construction. These two…

Stress and Coping among Owners and Managers of Residential Care Facilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Hollie; And Others

Stress and burnout are common in the caregiving professions. Stress negatively affects both the caregivers and patients. In order to help caregivers deal with stress effectively and to improve the care in residential care facilities, it is essential to learn more about the particular stressors that managers of such facilities experience. In this…

Genetic Background and Environment Influence the Effects of Mutations in pykF and Help Reveal Mechanisms Underlying Their Benefit

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-01

another trait (Losos 2011). All of these factors make it hard to identify adaptations. Mutations are the ultimate source of genetic variation that is...effects when added to the same evolved background (See Table 2.2 for results of one-way ANOVAs). Genetic background explains most (~ 88%) of the variation ...in fitness whereas the variation explained by different pykF alleles is negligible (~2%) compared to statistical noise (~8%) (Table 2.3). These

Selling a gun to a stranger without a background check: acceptable behaviour?

PubMed

Hemenway, David; Azrael, Deborah; Miller, Matthew

2018-06-01

One way that guns get into the wrong hands is via gun sales without a background check. While the large majority of Americans support laws requiring universal background checks, no prior study has assessed whether Americans think it is acceptable behaviour to sell a gun to a stranger without a background check, whether or not there is a law against it. We sponsored a nationally representative survey of over 3900 American adults, oversampling gun owners, using an online panel provided by the survey firm Growth for Knowledge. Over 72% of American adults agree or strongly agree with the statement that 'whether it is legal or not, it is NOT acceptable to sell a gun to a stranger without a background check' and 11% disagree or strongly disagree. Subgroups less likely to agree are young adults, men, conservatives, those with less than a high school education and gun owners. Reducing the number of guns sold without a background check could help reduce the flow of guns to felons. Changes in normative attitudes and behaviours, as well as changes in law, could help accomplish this goal. Most Americans, including gun owners, believe selling a gun to a stranger without a background check is not acceptable behaviour. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Is My Facility a Good Candidate for CHP?

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Learn if a facility is a good candidate for CHP by answering a list of questions, and access the CHP Spark Spread Estimator, a tool that helps evaluate a prospective CHP system for its potential economic feasibility.

Development of Facility Type Information Packages for Design of Air Force Facilities.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-03-01

solution. For example, the optimum size and loca- 19 tion of windows for the incorporation of a passive solar *l . heating system varies with location, time...conditioning load estimate M. Energy impact statement N. Majcom review comments 0. Solar energy systems 61 4 Information which could help in the development...and Passive solar systems. All facilities should have Scme aspects of passive solar incor- por3ted into the iesign. Active sclar systems should ze con

The F-18 systems research aircraft facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sitz, Joel R.

1992-01-01

To help ensure that new aerospace initiatives rapidly transition to competitive U.S. technologies, NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility has dedicated a systems research aircraft facility. The primary goal is to accelerate the transition of new aerospace technologies to commercial, military, and space vehicles. Key technologies include more-electric aircraft concepts, fly-by-light systems, flush airdata systems, and advanced computer architectures. Future aircraft that will benefit are the high-speed civil transport and the National AeroSpace Plane. This paper describes the systems research aircraft flight research vehicle and outlines near-term programs.

Abatement of Xenon and Iodine Emissions from Medical Isotope Production Facilities

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

Doll, Charles G.; Sorensen, Christina M.; Bowyer, Ted W.

2014-04-01

The capability of the International Monitoring System (IMS) to detect xenon from underground nuclear explosions is dependent on the radioactive xenon background. Adding to the background, medical isotope production (MIP) by fission releases several important xenon isotopes including xenon-133 and iodine-133 that decays to xenon-133. The amount of xenon released from these facilities may be equivalent to or exceed that released from an underground nuclear explosion. Thus the release of gaseous fission products within days of irradiation makes it difficult to distinguish MIP emissions from a nuclear explosion. In addition, recent shortages in molybdenum-99 have created interest and investment opportunitiesmore » to design and build new MIP facilities in the United States and throughout the world. Due to the potential increase in the number of MIP facilities, a discussion of abatement technologies provides insight into how the problem of emission control from MIP facilities can be tackled. A review of practices is provided to delineate methods useful for abatement of medical isotopes.« less

Computer Model Used to Help Customize Medicine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stauber, Laurel J.; Veris, Jenise

2001-01-01

Dr. Radhakrishnan, a researcher at the NASA Glenn Research Center, in collaboration with biomedical researchers at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, is developing computational models of human physiology that quantitate metabolism and its regulation, in both healthy and pathological states. These models can help predict the effects of stresses or interventions, such as drug therapies, and contribute to the development of customized medicine. Customized medical treatment protocols can give more comprehensive evaluations and lead to more specific and effective treatments for patients, reducing treatment time and cost. Commercial applications of this research may help the pharmaceutical industry identify therapeutic needs and predict drug-drug interactions. Researchers will be able to study human metabolic reactions to particular treatments while in different environments as well as establish more definite blood metabolite concentration ranges in normal and pathological states. These computational models may help NASA provide the background for developing strategies to monitor and safeguard the health of astronauts and civilians in space stations and colonies. They may also help to develop countermeasures that ameliorate the effects of both acute and chronic space exposure.

The Planning and Implementation of Test Facility Improvements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oberlander, Larry

2008-01-01

As engineering programs develop, and product testing begins, ideas for process improvement soon become obvious. Engineers envision new holding and handling fixtures. Additional custom-made support equipment may be needed. Perhaps modifications to the building or modifications to facility hardware are the order of the day. This is where a flexible creative test organization is needed. We need not be content with the status quo. All of these desired test innovations can make the difficult easy and improve the work flow. At times, implementing these new ideas demands more time or specialized expertise than test team members have. Through the coordinated use of labor resources, the needed improvements can still be made and in a timely fashion that supports program schedules. This presentation provides practical advice and a method whereby test personnel can creatively develop facility improvements and manage them from start to finish. You can control just how much time you invest and what part of your concepts you will personally design. By wisely defining the requirements and presenting them to the appropriate help sources (vendors, contractors, coworkers, and support departments), you can get the help you need to bring the improvements you have conceived, into fruition. Aspects of this presentation include defining requirements for test facility improvements, choosing labor resources, writing a statement of work, determining cost and benefits, securing department approval, coordinating procurement, managing the project, and training the end users. The process of successfully implementing test facility improvements is thoroughly explained. It has been tried, proven and improved over nearly 25 years of use. Whether considering a $50 improvement or a $50 million dollar improvement, this discussion will provide helpful pointers. Examples of improvements made through this process and their illustration will be included.

NASA Dryden flow visualization facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delfrate, John H.

1995-01-01

This report describes the Flow Visualization Facility at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. This water tunnel facility is used primarily for visualizing and analyzing vortical flows on aircraft models and other shapes at high-incidence angles. The tunnel is used extensively as a low-cost, diagnostic tool to help engineers understand complex flows over aircraft and other full-scale vehicles. The facility consists primarily of a closed-circuit water tunnel with a 16- x 24-in. vertical test section. Velocity of the flow through the test section can be varied from 0 to 10 in/sec; however, 3 in/sec provides optimum velocity for the majority of flow visualization applications. This velocity corresponds to a unit Reynolds number of 23,000/ft and a turbulence level over the majority of the test section below 0.5 percent. Flow visualization techniques described here include the dye tracer, laser light sheet, and shadowgraph. Limited correlation to full-scale flight data is shown.

A Case Study of the County School Facility Tax Initiative in Mary County, Illinois

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Vince L.; Reeves, Alison G.; Puchner, Laurel

2017-01-01

K-12 Illinois public school facilities need to be repaired and rebuilt. The County School Facility Occupation Tax (CSFT) was made law in 2007 in Illinois to help provide funding for Illinois public school facilities. This single case study, qualitative research, outlines findings from 86, face-to- face, phone and email interviews and approximately…

A National Student Competition on Adaptive Re-use: A Shelter Care Facility.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois Univ., Urbana.

The Shelter Care Competition, devised to help communities identify cost-effective shelter care facilities for juveniles, sought to generate new ideas for, and to apply environmental characteristics to, residential facilities. The designs were submitted by university students who incorporated the concept of adaptive re-use as a cost effective…

IMPLEMENTATION OF USEPA'S METAL FINISHING FACILITY POLLUTION PREVENTION TOOL (MFFP2T) - 2003

EPA Science Inventory

To help metal finishing facilities meet the goal of profitable pollution prevention, the USEPA is developing the Metal Finishing Facility Pollution Prevention Tool (MFFP2T), a computer program that estimates the rate of solid, liquid waste generation and air emissions. This progr...

3. VIEW LOOKING NORTH, COMPONENTS TEST LABORATORY, DYNAMIC TEST FACILITY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

3. VIEW LOOKING NORTH, COMPONENTS TEST LABORATORY, DYNAMIC TEST FACILITY (SATURN V IN BACKGROUND). - Marshall Space Flight Center, East Test Area, Components Test Laboratory, Huntsville, Madison County, AL

Building a Foundation for Success: How Authorizers Can Help Schools with the Facilities Challenge. Authorizer Issue Brief. Number 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halsband, Robin; Hassel, Bryan C.

2004-01-01

One of the single biggest challenges for a charter school is securing financing for an adequate facility. While a stellar building provides no guarantee that a school will be a success, having adequate facilities that at least meet the needs of an academic program without robbing the budget can go a long way toward creating an environment…

Availability of physical activity-related facilities and neighborhood demographic and socioeconomic characteristics: a national study.

PubMed

Powell, Lisa M; Slater, Sandy; Chaloupka, Frank J; Harper, Deborah

2006-09-01

We examined associations between neighborhood demographic characteristics and the availability of commercial physical activity-related outlets by zip code across the United States. Multivariate analyses were conducted to assess the availability of 4 types of outlets: (1) physical fitness facilities, (2) membership sports and recreation clubs, (3) dance facilities, and (4) public golf courses. Commercial outlet data were linked by zip code to US Census Bureau population and socioeconomic data. Results showed that commercial physical activity-related facilities were less likely to be present in lower-income neighborhoods and in neighborhoods with higher proportions of African American residents, residents with His-panic ethnicity, and residents of other racial minority backgrounds. In addition, these neighborhoods had fewer such facilities available. Lack of availability of facilities that enable and promote physical activity may, in part, underpin the lower levels of activity observed among populations of low socioeconomic status and minority backgrounds.

Expected Backgrounds of the BetaCage, an Ultra-sensitive Screener for Surface Contamination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Boqian; Bunker, Raymond; Schnee, Richard; Bowles, Michael; Kos, Marek; Ahmed, Zeeshan; Golwala, Sunil; Nelson, Robert; Grant, Darren

2013-04-01

Material screening for low-energy betas and alphas is necessary for rare-event-search experiments, such as dark matter and neutrinoless double-beta decay searches where surface radiocontamination has become a significant background. The BetaCage, a gaseous neon time-projection chamber, has been proposed as a screener for emitters of low-energy betas and alphas to which existing screening facilities are insufficiently sensitive. The expected sensitivity is 0.1 betas / (keV m^2 day) and 0.1 alphas / (m^2 day). Expected backgrounds are dominated by Compton scattering of external photons in the sample to be screened; radioassays and simulations indicate backgrounds from detector materials and radon daughters should be subdominant. We will report on details of the background simulations and the detector design that allows discrimination to reach these sensitivity levels.

Haselden/RNL - Research Support Facility Documentary

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

Haselden, Byron; Baker, Jeff; Glover, Bill

2010-06-10

The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Research Support Facility (RSF) on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is positioned to be one of the most energy efficient buildings in the world. It will demonstrate NREL's role in moving advanced technologies and transferring knowledge into commercial applications. Because 19 percent of the country's energy is used by commercial buildings, DOE plans to make this facility a showcase for energy efficiency. DOE hopes the design of the RSF will be replicated by the building industry and help reduce the nation's energy consumption by changing the way commercial buildings are designedmore » and built.« less

Wavelength modulated surface enhanced (resonance) Raman scattering for background-free detection.

PubMed

Praveen, Bavishna B; Steuwe, Christian; Mazilu, Michael; Dholakia, Kishan; Mahajan, Sumeet

2013-05-21

Spectra in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) are always accompanied by a continuum emission called the 'background' which complicates analysis and is especially problematic for quantification and automation. Here, we implement a wavelength modulation technique to eliminate the background in SERS and its resonant version, surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS). This is demonstrated on various nanostructured substrates used for SER(R)S. An enhancement in the signal to noise ratio for the Raman bands of the probe molecules is also observed. This technique helps to improve the analytical ability of SERS by alleviating the problem due to the accompanying background and thus making observations substrate independent.

[Algorithm for taking into account the average annual background of air pollution in the assessment of health risks].

PubMed

Fokin, M V

2013-01-01

State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University" of the Ministry of Health care and Social Development, Moscow, Russian Federation. The assessment of health risks from air pollution with emissions from industrial facilities, without the average annual background of air pollution does not meet sanitary legislation. However Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring issues official certificates for a limited number of areas covered by the observations of the full program on the stationary points. Questions of accounting average background air pollution in the evaluation of health risks from exposure to emissions from industrial facilities are considered.

Altruism in Survivors of Sexual Violence: The Typology of Helping Others

PubMed Central

Stidman, Andrea Warner; Draucker, Claire Burke; Martsolf, Donna S

2014-01-01

Background Sexual violence is a significant and prevalent problem that affects many people in the United States. Helping others is one way people cope with, or heal from, sexual violence. Objective. To develop of Typology of Helping Others describing how survivors of sexual violence engage in altruism. Design Qualitative descriptive methods were used to describe how survivors of sexual violence engaged in altruism in response to their experiences with violence. Results Helping others was a salient concern for most participants who experienced sexual violence. Participants indicated multiple and varied ways of helping others. Results also indicated that participants experienced some healing from their experiences before they were able to actively engage in, or be effective in, helping others. Conclusions Clinicians working with survivors of sexual violence should be attuned to the different ways survivors engage in altruism and the potential influences of race and gender on helping others. PMID:22495915

Prevalence of pregnancy-related complications and course of labour of surviving women who gave birth in selected health facilities in Rwanda: a health facility-based, cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Semasaka Sengoma, Jean Paul; Krantz, Gunilla; Nzayirambaho, Manasse; Munyanshongore, Cyprien; Edvardsson, Kristina; Mogren, Ingrid

2017-07-09

This study estimated health facility-based prevalence for pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage and caesarean section (CS) due to prolonged labour/dystocia. The background characteristics of Rwandan pregnant women, the course of labour and the level of healthcare were investigated in relation to pregnancy and delivery outcomes. This is health facility-based study and data were collected in 2014-2015 through structured interviews and medical records (n=817) in Kigali and Northern Province, Rwanda. Frequencies and prevalence were used to describe participants' background factors, labour and delivery-related characteristics. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression models were performed for different background factors and pregnancy/delivery outcomes. Pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, postpartum haemorrhage and CS due to prolonged labour/dystocia represented 1%, 2.7% and 5.4% of all participants, respectively. In total, 56.4% of the participants were transferred from facilities with low levels to those with higher levels of healthcare, and the majority were transferred from health centres to district hospitals, with CS as the main reason for transfer. Participants who arrived at the health facility with cervical dilation grade of ≤3 cm spent more hours in maternity ward than those who arrived with cervical dilatation grade of ≥4 cm. Risk factors for CS due to prolonged labour or dystocia were poor households, nulliparity and residence far from health facility. The estimated health facility-based prevalence of pregnancy-related complications was relatively low in this sample from Rwanda. CS was the main reason for the transfer of pregnant women from health centres to district hospitals. Upgrading the capacity of health centres in the management of pregnant women in Rwanda may improve maternal and fetal health. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is

Morbidity profile of elderly outpatients attending selected sub-district Siddha health facilities in Tamil Nadu, India

PubMed Central

Selvaraj, Kalaiselvi; Srinivasan, Manikandan; Duraisamy, Venkatachalam; Ramaswamy, Gomathi; Venugopal, Vinayagamurthy; Chinnakali, Palanivel

2016-01-01

Background: Recently, under National Health Mission alternate systems of Medicine are mainstreamed in public health care system. Effective action plan generation, logistic arrangement and roll out of these alternate systems of Medicine needs understanding on profile of morbidities among attendees who come to these facilities. Objectives: This study was planned to report profile of morbidities, age and sex differentials in specific morbidities among geriatric attendees in secondary level siddha health facilities. Materials and Methods: A facility based cross sectional study was conducted among elderly person (60 years and above) attending Siddha outpatient department (OPD) from two of the randomly selected sub district level siddha facilities in Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India. Information on socio-demographic variables like age, gender, education and clinical profile (diagnosis) were collected from records already maintained in the siddha OPD. Morbidities were summarized in terms of proportions based on age and gender. Age and sex specific differentials on specific morbidities were compared using ‘z’ test. Results: Of 2710 patients who visited these two siddha facilities during the reference period, 763 (28.1%) patients were elderly. Arthritis (45.2%), neuritis (8.8%), diabetes (6.6%), bronchial asthma (5.2%), hemiplegia (3.7%) were the top five morbidities diagnosed and treated among elderly attending the siddha OPD. There was a predilection towards elderly male for morbidities such as bronchial asthma and hemiplegia compared to elderly female. Similarly, higher proportions of lumbar spondylosis, hypertension and fungal skin diseases were reported among aged 80 years or more compared to elderly aged 60-79 years. Conclusion: Elderly constitute more than one fourth of outpatients load from siddha health facilities. Degenerative diseases like arthritis and non-communicable diseases were the common morbidities in this age group. Geriatric clinics and mobile

Health Care Facilities Resilient to Climate Change Impacts

PubMed Central

Paterson, Jaclyn; Berry, Peter; Ebi, Kristie; Varangu, Linda

2014-01-01

Climate change will increase the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events and create risks that will impact health care facilities. Health care facilities will need to assess climate change risks and adopt adaptive management strategies to be resilient, but guidance tools are lacking. In this study, a toolkit was developed for health care facility officials to assess the resiliency of their facility to climate change impacts. A mixed methods approach was used to develop climate change resiliency indicators to inform the development of the toolkit. The toolkit consists of a checklist for officials who work in areas of emergency management, facilities management and health care services and supply chain management, a facilitator’s guide for administering the checklist, and a resource guidebook to inform adaptation. Six health care facilities representing three provinces in Canada piloted the checklist. Senior level officials with expertise in the aforementioned areas were invited to review the checklist, provide feedback during qualitative interviews and review the final toolkit at a stakeholder workshop. The toolkit helps health care facility officials identify gaps in climate change preparedness, direct allocation of adaptation resources and inform strategic planning to increase resiliency to climate change. PMID:25522050

Background noise measurements from jet exit vanes designed to reduced flow pulsations in an open-jet wind tunnel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoad, D. R.; Martin, R. M.

1985-01-01

Many open jet wind tunnels experience pulsations of the flow which are typically characterized by periodic low frequency velocity and pressure variations. One method of reducing these fluctuations is to install vanes around the perimeter of the jet exit to protrude into the flow. Although these vanes were shown to be effective in reducing the fluctuation content, they can also increase the test section background noise level. The results of an experimental acoustic program in the Langley 4- by 7-Meter Tunnel is presented which evaluates the effect on tunnel background noise of such modifications to the jet exit nozzle. Noise levels for the baseline tunnel configuration are compared with those for three jet exit nozzle modifications, including an enhanced noise reduction configuration that minimizes the effect of the vanes on the background noise. Although the noise levels for this modified vane configuration were comparable to baseline tunnel background noise levels in this facility, installation of these modified vanes in an acoustic tunnel may be of concern because the noise levels for the vanes could be well above background noise levels in a quiet facility.

A predictive score to identify hospitalized patients' risk of discharge to a post-acute care facility

PubMed Central

Louis Simonet, Martine; Kossovsky, Michel P; Chopard, Pierre; Sigaud, Philippe; Perneger, Thomas V; Gaspoz, Jean-Michel

2008-01-01

Background Early identification of patients who need post-acute care (PAC) may improve discharge planning. The purposes of the study were to develop and validate a score predicting discharge to a post-acute care (PAC) facility and to determine its best assessment time. Methods We conducted a prospective study including 349 (derivation cohort) and 161 (validation cohort) consecutive patients in a general internal medicine service of a teaching hospital. We developed logistic regression models predicting discharge to a PAC facility, based on patient variables measured on admission (day 1) and on day 3. The value of each model was assessed by its area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC). A simple numerical score was derived from the best model, and was validated in a separate cohort. Results Prediction of discharge to a PAC facility was as accurate on day 1 (AUC: 0.81) as on day 3 (AUC: 0.82). The day-3 model was more parsimonious, with 5 variables: patient's partner inability to provide home help (4 pts); inability to self-manage drug regimen (4 pts); number of active medical problems on admission (1 pt per problem); dependency in bathing (4 pts) and in transfers from bed to chair (4 pts) on day 3. A score ≥ 8 points predicted discharge to a PAC facility with a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 63%, and was significantly associated with inappropriate hospital days due to discharge delays. Internal and external validations confirmed these results. Conclusion A simple score computed on the 3rd hospital day predicted discharge to a PAC facility with good accuracy. A score > 8 points should prompt early discharge planning. PMID:18647410

Analysis of factors of treatment completion in dots health facilities in metro Manila, Philippines: a case-control study.

PubMed

Lagrada, Leizel P; Uehara, Naruo; Kawahara, Kazuo

2008-12-01

STUDY BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Philippines is one of the 22 countries with high TB burden. DOTS was adopted not only by purely public providers (PP) but also by public-private mix (PPM) facilities. This study aims to identify the patient and facility factors that promote completion of TB treatment in DOTS facilities in an urban setting. The study also explores the difference between the PP and PPM DOTS facilities in terms of case management and treatment outcomes. [Methods] A case control study was done by interviewing 394 patients sampled from TB cohort report between 2003 and 2005 of 14 DOTS facilities in Metro Manila. Statistical analyses used include chi-square test and logistic regression analysis. Being female and aged 30-44 (OR = 7.04; 95% CI 1.12-44.35), unemployed (OR = 2.73; 95% CI 1.18-6.33), being above per capita poverty threshold (OR = 2.03; 95% CI 1.03-3.99), having experienced at least one of the signs and symptoms of TB (OR = 4.64; 95% CI 1.29-16.67), taking the medication at health facility (OR = 3.87; 95% CI 1.48-10.16) and patient's understanding of DOT (OR = 2.67; 95% CI 1.37-5.23) predict TB treatment completion. Public-private mix type of DOTS facility was also significantly associated with completing treatment (chi 2 (1) = 54.76, p = 0.000). Patient factors like middle-aged female compared to female aged more than 60, being above per capita poverty threshold, unemployment and having experienced at least one signs and symptoms of TB and facility factors like providing treatment at the facility and explaining the DOT to patient increase the likelihood of completing treatment. Thus, encouraging patients to take their medication at the facility and helping the patients understand the importance of DOT can increase TB treatment completion. The seemingly better DOTS implementation and treatment outcomes by the PPM must be evaluated further through cost effectiveness and efficiency studies.

Race/Ethnic Disparities in the Utilization of Treatment for Drug Dependent Inmates in U.S. State Correctional Facilities

PubMed Central

Nowotny, Kathryn M.

2014-01-01

This study examines race/ethnic disparities in treatment for drug dependent inmates in state correctional facilities. The data come from the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities. Fixed effects logistic regression is used to analyze treatment outcomes for 5,180 inmates housed within 286 prisons. The analysis accounts for differences in background characteristics (i.e., age, gender, marital status, foreign born status, veteran status), socioeconomic characteristics (i.e., education, employment prior to incarceration), mental health (i.e., diagnosis with a serious mental illness), and incarceration experiences (i.e., current conviction, previous incarceration episodes, time served, additional sentencing requirements, external social support, disciplinary violations). The findings identify a remarkable unmet need among drug dependent inmates in that less than one-half of drug dependent inmates had received any type of treatment in prison at the time of the interview with the most common treatment type being self-help groups. Compared to whites, drug dependent Latino inmates have significantly lower odds of utilizing treatment, yet there are no significant black-white disparities found. Implications for drug treatment within prisons are discussed. PMID:25270722

Facility Practice Variation to Help Understand the Effects of Public Policy: Insights from the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS).

PubMed

Fuller, Douglas S; Robinson, Bruce M

2017-01-06

Recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services policies have used dialysis facility practice variation to develop public ratings and adjust payments. In the Dialysis Facility Compare star rating system (DFC SRS), facility-relative rates of performance-based clinical measures varied nearly two-fold for mortality (standardized mortality ratio; 10th/90th percentiles: 0.71, 1.34) and hospitalization (standardized hospitalization ratio; 10th/90th percentiles: 0.64, 1.37), and nearly four-fold for transfusion (standardized transfusion ratio; 10th/90th percentiles: 0.43, 1.65). Medicare claims data (from July of 2014) demonstrate that facility variation for the proportions of patients on hemodialysis hospitalized (10th/90th percentiles: 27%, 50%) and transfused (10th/90th percentiles: 3%, 17%) within 6 months that far exceeds relatively modest recent overall longitudinal trends. DFC SRS-rated facility variation is also substantial for fistula (10th/90th percentiles: 50%, 78%) and catheter use >90 days (10th/90th percentiles: 3%, 19%). By contrast, DFC SRS-rated facility distributions for adult hemodialysis Kt/V>1.2 (10th/90th percentiles: 84%, 97%) and total serum calcium >10.2 mg/dl (median, 1%; 75th/90th percentiles: 3%, 5%) are quite narrow and may be of questionable value. Likewise, variation in the US Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study is over two-fold for facility median serum parathyroid hormone (10th/90th percentiles: 290 pg/ml, 629 pg/ml) and ferritin (10th/90th percentiles: 469 ng/ml, 1143 ng/ml) levels, and facility mean treatment time varies by 30 minutes (10th/90th percentiles: 204 minutes, 234 minutes). Rising serum parathyroid hormone and ferritin levels, and generally short dialysis treatment time, represent areas unchecked by existing policy; both overall trends and facility variation in these values may reflect unintended consequences of policy or reimbursement pressures and therefore raise concern. Additionally, outcomes in the transition

2016 Annual Report - Argonne Leadership Computing Facility

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

Collins, Jim; Papka, Michael E.; Cerny, Beth A.

The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) helps researchers solve some of the world’s largest and most complex problems, while also advancing the nation’s efforts to develop future exascale computing systems. This report presents some of the ALCF’s notable achievements in key strategic areas over the past year.

Effect of Background Pressure on the Plasma Oscillation Characteristics of the HiVHAc Hall Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, Wensheng; Kamhawi, Hani; Lobbia, Robert B.; Brown, Daniel L.

2014-01-01

During a component compatibility test of the NASA HiVHAc Hall thruster, a high-speed camera and a set of high-speed Langmuir probes were implemented to study the effect of varying facility background pressure on thruster operation. The results show a rise in the oscillation frequency of the breathing mode with rising background pressure, which is hypothesized to be due to a shortening accelerationionization zone. An attempt is made to apply a simplified ingestion model to the data. The combined results are used to estimate the maximum acceptable background pressure for performance and wear testing.

Pima Cultural Background Materials for an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title III Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brook, Weston L., Comp.; And Others

Produced with funds under Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, this unit on Pima cultural background and Middle American civilization was designed to help Pima students achieve a sense of identity and pride in their Indian background by (1) thinking of themselves as a people with a long history and (2) learning that their…

Radioactivities of Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) materials: Baggage and bonanzas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Alan R.; Hurley, Donna L.

1992-01-01

Radioactivities in materials onboard the returned Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) satellite were studied by a variety of techniques. Among the most powerful is low-background Ge-semiconductor detector gamma-ray spectrometry, illustrated here by results obtained at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory's (LBL) Low Background Facilities. The observed radioactivities are of two origins: those radionuclides produced by nuclear reactions with the radiation field in orbit, and radionuclides present initially as 'contaminants' in materials used for construction of the spacecraft and experimental assemblies. In the first category are experiment-related monitor foils and tomato seeds, and such spacecraft materials as aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium. In the second category are aluminum, beryllium, titanium, vanadium, and some special glasses.

Characterization of background concentrations of contaminants using a mixture of normal distributions.

PubMed

Qian, Song S; Lyons, Regan E

2006-10-01

We present a Bayesian approach for characterizing background contaminant concentration distributions using data from sites that may have been contaminated. Our method, focused on estimation, resolves several technical problems of the existing methods sanctioned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (a hypothesis testing based method), resulting in a simple and quick procedure for estimating background contaminant concentrations. The proposed Bayesian method is applied to two data sets from a federal facility regulated under the Resource Conservation and Restoration Act. The results are compared to background distributions identified using existing methods recommended by the USEPA. The two data sets represent low and moderate levels of censorship in the data. Although an unbiased estimator is elusive, we show that the proposed Bayesian estimation method will have a smaller bias than the EPA recommended method.

Financing strategic healthcare facilities: the growing attraction of alternative capital.

PubMed

Zismer, Daniel K; Fox, James; Torgerson, Paul

2013-05-01

Community health system leaders often dismiss use of alternative capital to finance strategic facilities as being too expensive and less strategically useful, preferring to follow historical precedent and use tax-exempt bonding to finance such facilities. Proposed changes in accounting rules should cause third-party-financed facility lease arrangements to be treated similarly to tax-exempt debt financings with respect to the income statement and balance sheet, increasing their appeal to community health systems. An in-depth comparison of the total costs associated with each financing approach can help inform the choice of financing approaches by illuminating their respective advantages and disadvantages.

Comparison of Perceived and Technical Healthcare Quality in Primary Health Facilities: Implications for a Sustainable National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana

PubMed Central

Alhassan, Robert Kaba; Duku, Stephen Opoku; Janssens, Wendy; Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward; Spieker, Nicole; van Ostenberg, Paul; Arhinful, Daniel Kojo; Pradhan, Menno; Rinke de Wit, Tobias F.

2015-01-01

Background Quality care in health facilities is critical for a sustainable health insurance system because of its influence on clients’ decisions to participate in health insurance and utilize health services. Exploration of the different dimensions of healthcare quality and their associations will help determine more effective quality improvement interventions and health insurance sustainability strategies, especially in resource constrained countries in Africa where universal access to good quality care remains a challenge. Purpose To examine the differences in perceptions of clients and health staff on quality healthcare and determine if these perceptions are associated with technical quality proxies in health facilities. Implications of the findings for a sustainable National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana are also discussed. Methods This is a cross-sectional study in two southern regions in Ghana involving 64 primary health facilities: 1,903 households and 324 health staff. Data collection lasted from March to June, 2012. A Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was performed to determine differences in client and health staff perceptions of quality healthcare. Spearman’s rank correlation test was used to ascertain associations between perceived and technical quality care proxies in health facilities, and ordered logistic regression employed to predict the determinants of client and staff-perceived quality healthcare. Results Negative association was found between technical quality and client-perceived quality care (coef. = -0.0991, p<0.0001). Significant staff-client perception differences were found in all healthcare quality proxies, suggesting some level of unbalanced commitment to quality improvement and potential information asymmetry between clients and service providers. Overall, the findings suggest that increased efforts towards technical quality care alone will not necessarily translate into better client-perceived quality care and willingness to

The role of civil society in strengthening intercultural maternal health care in local health facilities: Puno, Peru

PubMed Central

Samuel, Jeannie

2016-01-01

Background and objective Peru's Ministry of Health has made efforts to increase the cultural inclusiveness of maternal health services. In 2005, the Ministry adopted an intercultural birthing policy (IBP) that authorizes and encourages the use of culturally acceptable birthing practices in government-run health facilities. However, studies suggest that indigenous women may receive inconsistent benefits from these kinds of policies. This article examines whether a grassroots accountability initiative based on citizen monitoring of local health facilities by indigenous women can help to promote the objectives of the IBP and improve intercultural maternal health care. Design Findings are drawn from a larger qualitative research study completed in 2015 that included fieldwork done between 2010 and 2011. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 women working as citizen monitors in local health facilities in Puno and 30 key informants, including frontline health workers, health officials, and civil society actors in Puno and Lima, and human rights lawyers from the Defensoría del Pueblo Office in Puno. Results Monitors confirmed from their own personal experiences in the 1990s and early 2000s that respect for intercultural aspects of maternal health care, including traditional indigenous birthing practices, were not readily accepted in publicly funded health facilities. It was also common for indigenous women to face discrimination when seeking health service provided by the state. Although the government's adoption of the IBP in 2005 was a positive step, considerable efforts are still needed to ensure high-quality, culturally appropriate maternal health care is consistently available in local health facilities. Conclusions Despite important progress in the past two decades, policies aimed at improving intercultural maternal health care are unevenly implemented in local health facilities. Civil society, in particular indigenous women themselves, can play an

Public Involvement Opportunities for the DUF6 Conversion Facility EISs

Science.gov Websites

and Uses DUF6 Conversion EIS Documents News FAQs Internet Resources Glossary Home » Conversion Management | DUF6 Conversion Facility EISs | Documents News | FAQs | Internet Resources | Glossary Help

Role of Self-help Group in Substance Addiction Recovery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Prangya Paramita Priyadarshini

2012-11-01

Background: The Narcotics Anonymous (NA)/Alcoholic Anonymous(AA) is based on the philosophy of self-help, where the former addicts and recovering addicts share experiences, provide emotional support and do active monitoring through mentoring. In mentoring, a former addict with longer duration of drug-free life acts as a guide to the newly recovering addict. Objective: The objective was to study the effect of involvement in self help group upon addictís level of depression, functional social support, and anxiety. Method: The size of the sample was 60. 30 addicts were taken from rehabilitation centre and 30 were taken from self-help groups. ANOVA was used to analyze the result. Result: In all the criteria it was found that there exists a significant impact of Self-help group. Conclusion: Self-help group provide clients with a social network of individuals with similar problems and experiences, since most of these individuals may be isolated from society due to the social stigma attached to their addictions. The transition from being help recipients to being helpers enables recovering addicts to build their self-confidence and feelings of being wanted and desired in society, which facilitates their self-confidence and positive self-esteem.

Providing Data and Modeling to Help Manage Water Supplies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nickles, James

2008-01-01

The Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) and other local water purveyors have partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to assess hydrologic conditions and to quan-tify the county-wide interconnections between surface water and ground water. Through this partnership, USGS scientists have completed assessments of the geohydrology and geochemistry of the Sonoma and Alexander Valley ground-water basins. Now, the USGS is constructing a detailed ground-water flow model of the Santa Rosa Plain. It will be used to help identify strategies for surface-water/ground-water management and help to ensure long-term viability of the water supply. The USGS is also working with the SCWA to help meet future demand in the face of possible new restrictions on its main source of water, the Russian River. SCWA draws water from the alluvial aquifer underlying and adjacent to the Russian River and may want to extend riverbank filtration facilities to new areas. USGS scientists are conducting research to charac-terize riverbank filtration processes and changes in water quality during reduced river flows.

Energy Savings and Sustainability Opportunities at US Army Corps of Engineers Facilities: A Guide to Identify, Prioritize, and Estimate Projects at Complexes That Have Not Conducted a Facility-Level Energy and Water Evaluation

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-16

Engineers to help identify and develop energy and water conservation projects in the facilities for which they are responsible. DISCLAIMER: The...and water throughout their facility. To identify energy and water conservation measures (ECMs), an energy manager would generally start by performing...an Energy and Water Conservation Assessment, essentially a facility-level evaluation of the en- ergy and water consuming equipment and systems that

Assessment study of infrared detector arrays for low-background astronomical research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ando, K. J.

1978-01-01

The current state-of-the-art of infrared detector arrays employing charge coupled devices (CCD) or charge injection devices (CID) readout are assessed. The applicability, limitations and potentials of such arrays under the low-background astronomical observing conditions of interest for SIRFT (Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility) are determined. The following are reviewed: (1) monolithic extrinsic arrays; (2) monolithic intrinsic arrays; (3) charge injection devices; and (4) hybrid arrays.

Limited electricity access in health facilities of sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of data on electricity access, sources, and reliability

PubMed Central

Adair-Rohani, Heather; Zukor, Karen; Bonjour, Sophie; Wilburn, Susan; Kuesel, Annette C; Hebert, Ryan; Fletcher, Elaine R

2013-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Access to electricity is critical to health care delivery and to the overarching goal of universal health coverage. Data on electricity access in health care facilities are rarely collected and have never been reported systematically in a multi-country study. We conducted a systematic review of available national data on electricity access in health care facilities in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: We identified publicly-available data from nationally representative facility surveys through a systematic review of articles in PubMed, as well as through websites of development agencies, ministries of health, and national statistics bureaus. To be included in our analysis, data sets had to be collected in or after 2000, be nationally representative of a sub-Saharan African country, cover both public and private health facilities, and include a clear definition of electricity access. Results: We identified 13 health facility surveys from 11 sub-Saharan African countries that met our inclusion criteria. On average, 26% of health facilities in the surveyed countries reported no access to electricity. Only 28% of health care facilities, on average, had reliable electricity among the 8 countries reporting data. Among 9 countries, an average of 7% of facilities relied solely on a generator. Electricity access in health care facilities increased by 1.5% annually in Kenya between 2004 and 2010, and by 4% annually in Rwanda between 2001 and 2007. Conclusions: Energy access for health care facilities in sub-Saharan African countries varies considerably. An urgent need exists to improve the geographic coverage, quality, and frequency of data collection on energy access in health care facilities. Standardized tools should be used to collect data on all sources of power and supply reliability. The United Nations Secretary-General's “Sustainable Energy for All” initiative provides an opportunity to comprehensively monitor energy access in health care

Department of Energy Other Major Laboratories and Facilities

Science.gov Websites

major laboratories and facilities. This high-level compilation of their history and achievements Laboratory (NBL) History About Background/History of the Laboratory New Brunswick Laboratory website TOP dropdown listing Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) History Environmental Assessments

Helping Low-Income Mothers with Criminal Records Achieve Self-Sufficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Rebecca

2000-01-01

This issue of WIN (Welfare Information Network) Issue Notes focuses on helping low-income mothers with criminal records achieve self-sufficiency. Section 1 offers background. Section 2 answers these policy questions: why states might want to focus on serving low-income mothers with criminal records; how states can encourage employers to hire…

Effect of Background Pressure on the Performance and Plume of the HiVHAc Hall Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, Wensheng; Kamhawi, Hani; Haag, Thomas

2013-01-01

During the Single String Integration Test of the NASA HiVHAc Hall thruster, a number of plasma diagnostics were implemented to study the effect of varying facility background pressure on thruster operation. These diagnostics include thrust stand, Faraday probe, ExB probe, and retarding potential analyzer. The test results indicated a rise in thrust and discharge current with background pressure. There was also a decrease in ion energy per charge, an increase in multiply-charged species production, a decrease in plume divergence, and a decrease in ion beam current with increasing background pressure. A simplified ingestion model was applied to determine the maximum acceptable background pressure for thrust measurement. The maximum acceptable ingestion percentage was found to be around 1%. Examination of the diagnostics results suggest the ionization and acceleration zones of the thruster were shifting upstream with increasing background pressure.

The ASTROCULTURE Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Research with plants in microgravity offers many exciting opportunities to gain new insights and could improve products on Earth ranging from crop production to fragrances and food flavorings. The ASTROCULTURE facility is a lead commercial facility for plant growth and plant research in microgravity and was developed by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WSCAR), a NASA Commercial Space Center. On STS-95 it will support research that could help improve crop development leading to plants that are more disease resistant or have a higher yield and provide data on the production of plant essential oils---oils that contain the essence of the plant and provide both fragrance and flavoring. On STS-95, a flowering plant will be grown in ASTROCULTURE and samples taken using a method developed by the industry partner for this investigation. On Earth the samples will be analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and the data used to evaluate both the production of fragrant oils in microgravity and in the development of one or more products.

Study of light backgrounds from relativistic electrons in air light-guides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riordan, S.; Zhao, Y. X.; Baunack, S.; Becker, D.; Clarke, C.; Dehmelt, K.; Deshpande, A.; Gericke, M.; Gläser, B.; Imai, K.; Kutz, T.; Maas, F. E.; McNulty, D.; Pan, J.; Park, S.; Rahman, S.; Souder, P. A.; Wang, P.; Wellman, B.; Kumar, K. S.

2018-07-01

The MOLLER experiment proposed at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility plans a precision low energy determination of the weak mixing angle via the measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in the scattering of high energy longitudinally polarized electrons from electrons bound in a liquid hydrogen target (Møller scattering). A relative measure of the scattering rate is planned to be obtained by intercepting the Møller scattered electrons with a circular array of thin fused silica tiles attached to air light guides, which facilitate the transport of Cherenkov photons generated within the tiles to photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The scattered flux will also pass through the light guides of downstream tiles, generating additional Cherenkov as well as scintillation light and is a potential background. In order to estimate the rate of these backgrounds, a gas-filled tube detector was designed and deployed in an electron beam at the MAMI facility at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. Described in this paper is the design of a detector to measure separately the scintillation and Cherenkov responses of gas mixtures from relativistic electrons, the results of studies of several gas mixtures with comparisons to simulations, and conclusions about the implications for the design of the MOLLER detector apparatus.

When the Professor Is Wrong: Students Helping Teachers To Learn.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Browning, Judith

This paper recounts a difficult and valuable lesson in one educator's teaching career--when her students helped her to see a central flaw in her approach to the texts in a course entitled "Women in Literature." The paper first gives some background about the educator's preconceptions when she developed the material for the "Women in…

Wire Chambers and Cherenkov Detectors at Fermilab Test Beam Facility

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

Tame Narvaez, Karla

2017-01-01

Fermilab Test Beam Facility (FTBF) is dedicated to helping scientists test their prototypes. For this, FTBF has instrumentation that is very useful for the users. However, before a user can test a detector, it is necessary to ensure the facility has the characteristics they need. During this summer, we studied beam properties by collecting Cherenkov and wire chamber data. Analyzed data will be used for updating the general information that FTBF posts on a web page.

Help Helps, but Only so Much: Research on Help Seeking with Intelligent Tutoring Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aleven, Vincent; Roll, Ido; McLaren, Bruce M.; Koedinger, Kenneth R.

2016-01-01

Help seeking is an important process in self-regulated learning (SRL). It may influence learning with intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), because many ITSs provide help, often at the student's request. The Help Tutor was a tutor agent that gave in-context, real-time feedback on students' help-seeking behavior, as they were learning with an ITS.…

Throughput Optimization of Continuous Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Facilities.

PubMed

Garcia, Fernando A; Vandiver, Michael W

2017-01-01

In order to operate profitably under different product demand scenarios, biopharmaceutical companies must design their facilities with mass output flexibility in mind. Traditional biologics manufacturing technologies pose operational challenges in this regard due to their high costs and slow equipment turnaround times, restricting the types of products and mass quantities that can be processed. Modern plant design, however, has facilitated the development of lean and efficient bioprocessing facilities through footprint reduction and adoption of disposable and continuous manufacturing technologies. These development efforts have proven to be crucial in seeking to drastically reduce the high costs typically associated with the manufacturing of recombinant proteins. In this work, mathematical modeling is used to optimize annual production schedules for a single-product commercial facility operating with a continuous upstream and discrete batch downstream platform. Utilizing cell culture duration and volumetric productivity as process variables in the model, and annual plant throughput as the optimization objective, 3-D surface plots are created to understand the effect of process and facility design on expected mass output. The model shows that once a plant has been fully debottlenecked it is capable of processing well over a metric ton of product per year. Moreover, the analysis helped to uncover a major limiting constraint on plant performance, the stability of the neutralized viral inactivated pool, which may indicate that this should be a focus of attention during future process development efforts. LAY ABSTRACT: Biopharmaceutical process modeling can be used to design and optimize manufacturing facilities and help companies achieve a predetermined set of goals. One way to perform optimization is by making the most efficient use of process equipment in order to minimize the expenditure of capital, labor and plant resources. To that end, this paper introduces a

Process evaluation of the RaDIANT community study: a dialysis facility-level intervention to increase referral for kidney transplantation.

PubMed

Hamoda, Reem E; Gander, Jennifer C; McPherson, Laura J; Arriola, Kimberly J; Cobb, Loren; Pastan, Stephen O; Plantinga, Laura; Browne, Teri; Hartmann, Erica; Mulloy, Laura; Zayas, Carlos; Krisher, Jenna; Patzer, Rachel E

2018-01-15

The Reducing Disparities in Access to kidNey Transplantation Community Study (RaDIANT) was an End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network 6-developed, dialysis facility-level randomized trial testing the effectiveness of a 1-year multicomponent education and quality improvement intervention in increasing referral for kidney transplant evaluation among selected Georgia dialysis facilities. To assess implementation of the RaDIANT intervention, we conducted a process evaluation at the conclusion of the intervention period (January-December 2014). We administered a 20-item survey to the staff involved with transplant education in 67 dialysis facilities randomized to participate in intervention activities. Survey items assessed facility participation in the intervention (fidelity and reach), helpfulness and willingness to continue intervention activities (sustainability), suggestions for improving intervention components (sustainability), and factors that may have influenced participation and study outcomes (context). We defined high fidelity to the intervention as completing 11 or more activities, and high participation in an activity as having at least 75% participation across intervention facilities. Staff from 65 of the 67 dialysis facilities completed the questionnaire, and more than half (50.8%) reported high adherence (fidelity) to RaDIANT intervention requirements. Nearly two-thirds (63.1%) of facilities reported that RaDIANT intervention activities were helpful or very helpful, with 90.8% of facilities willing to continue at least one intervention component beyond the study period. Intervention components with high participation emphasized staff and patient-level education, including in-service staff orientations, patient and family education programs, and patient educational materials. Suggested improvements for intervention activities emphasized addressing financial barriers to transplantation, with financial education materials perceived as most helpful among Ra

School Facilities Planning. Research Report Number 1974-2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National School Boards Association, Washington, DC.

Literature reviewed in this report is intended to help school boards reconsider conventional approaches to school facilities planning. A blueprint is presented for good relationships between decision-makers and architects, explaining a sequence for the planning and construction process and the roles each party should fulfill to work successfully.…

Facility 596, detail of ramp from below, with replacement sheetpile ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Facility 596, detail of ramp from below, with replacement sheet-pile dolphin on right and southernmost dolphins in background. - U.S. Naval Base, Pearl Harbor, Ferry Landing Type, Halawa Landing on Ford Island, Pearl City, Honolulu County, HI

Health facilities at the district level in Indonesia

PubMed Central

Heywood, Peter; Harahap, Nida P

2009-01-01

Background At Independence the Government of Indonesia inherited a weak and unevenly distributed health system to which much of the population had only limited access. In response, the government decided to increase the number of facilities and to locate them closer to the people. To staff these health facilities the government introduced obligatory government service for all new graduates in medicine, nursing and midwifery. Most of these staff also established private practices in the areas in which they were located. The health information system contains little information on the health care facilities established for private practice by these staff. This article reports on the results of enumerating all health facilities in 15 districts in Java. Methods We enumerated all healthcare facilities, public and private, by type in each of 15 districts in Java. Results The enumeration showed a much higher number of healthcare facilities in each district than is shown in most reports and in the health information system which concentrates on public, multi-provider facilities. Across the 15 districts: 86% of facilities were solo-provider facilities for outpatient services; 13% were multi-provider facilities for outpatient services; and 1% were multi-provider facilities offering both outpatient and inpatient services. Conclusion The relatively good distribution of health facilities in Indonesia was achieved through establishing public health centers at the sub-district level and staffing them through a system of compulsory service for doctors, nurses and midwives. Subsequently, these public sector staff also established solo-provider facilities for their own private practice; these solo-provider facilities, of which those for nurses are almost half, comprise the largest category of outpatient care facilities, most are not included in official statistics. Now that Indonesia no longer has mandatory service for newly graduated doctors, nurses and midwives, it will have

75 FR 13433 - Safety Zone; Invista Inc Facility Docks, Victoria Barge Canal, Victoria, TX

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-22

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Invista Inc Facility Docks, Victoria Barge Canal, Victoria, TX AGENCY: Coast Guard... safety zone for a partial blockage of the Victoria Barge Canal when the Invista Inc facility is... channel will be substantially reduced. The safety zone is necessary to help ensure the safety of the...

Tackling the Remaining Attainment Gap between Students with and without Immigrant Background: An Investigation into the Equivalence of SES Constructs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenkeit, Jenny; Caro, Daniel H.; Strand, Steve

2015-01-01

In England, students with immigrant background exhibit lower educational attainment than those without immigrant background. Family socioeconomic status (SES) helps explain differences in educational attainment, but a gap remains that differs in size for students with different immigrant backgrounds. While the explanatory repertoire for the…

Resident and facility characteristics associated with care-need level deterioration in long-term care welfare facilities in Japan.

PubMed

Jin, Xueying; Tamiya, Nanako; Jeon, Boyoung; Kawamura, Akira; Takahashi, Hideto; Noguchi, Haruko

2018-05-01

To determine the resident and facility characteristics associated with residents' care-need level deterioration in long-term care welfare facilities in Japan. A nationally representative sample of 358 886 residents who lived in 3774 long-term care welfare facilities for at least 1 year from October 2012 was obtained from long-term care insurance claims data. Facility characteristics were linked with a survey of institutions and establishments for long-term care in 2012. We used a multilevel logistic regression according to the inclusion and exclusion of lost to follow-up to define the resident and facility characteristics associated with resident care-need level deteriorations (lost to follow-up: the majority were hospitalized residents or had died; were treated as deterioration in the including loss to follow-up model). Adjusting for the covariates, at the resident level, older age and lower care-need level at baseline were more likely to show deterioration in the care-need level. At the facility level, metropolitan facilities, unit model (all private room settings) and mixed-model facilities (partly private room settings) were less likely to experience care-need level deterioration. A higher proportion of registered nurses among all nurses was negatively related to care-need level deterioration only in the model including lost to follow-up. A higher proportion of registered dietitians among all dietitians and the facilities in business for fewer years were negatively associated with care-need level deterioration only in the model excluding lost to follow-up. The present study could help identify residents who are at risk of care-need level deterioration, and could contribute to improvements in provider quality performance and enhance competence in the market. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 758-766. © 2018 The Authors Geriatrics & Gerontology International published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Geriatrics Society.

Ultraviolet Free Electron Laser Facility preliminary design report

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

Ben-Zvi, I.

1993-02-01

This document, the Preliminary Design Report (PDR) for the Brookhaven Ultraviolet Free Electron Laser (UV FEL) facility, describes all the elements of a facility proposed to meet the needs of a research community which requires ultraviolet sources not currently available as laboratory based lasers. Further, for these experiments, the requisite properties are not extant in either the existing second or upcoming third generation synchrotron light sources. This document is the result of our effort at BNL to identify potential users, determine the requirements of their experiments, and to design a facility which can not only satisfy the existing need, butmore » have adequate flexibility for possible future extensions as need dictates and as evolving technology allows. The PDR is comprised of three volumes. In this, the first volume, background for the development of the proposal is given, including descriptions of the UV FEL facility, and representative examples of the science it was designed to perform. Discussion of the limitations and potential directions for growth are also included. A detailed description of the facility design is then provided, which addresses the accelerator, optical, and experimental systems. Information regarding the conventional construction for the facility is contained in an addendum to volume one (IA).« less

FACILITY 713, DINING ROOM CABINET DOORS AND DOORS FROM LIVING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

FACILITY 713, DINING ROOM CABINET DOORS AND DOORS FROM LIVING ROOM TO ENTRY PORCH IN RIGHT BACKGROUND, VIEW FACING NORTHWEST. - Schofield Barracks Military Reservation, Central-Entry Single-Family Housing Type, Between Bragg & Grime Streets near Ayres Avenue, Wahiawa, Honolulu County, HI

Depression literacy among Australians of Chinese-speaking background in Melbourne, Australia

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background This study investigated the knowledge of depression and preference for professional help, medications and treatment methods among Australians of Chinese-speaking background, and the perceptions of this population of the causes of mental illness. Methods Adopting a cluster convenience sampling method, the study recruited 200 Chinese-speaking subjects from four major areas in metropolitan Melbourne where many Chinese live. The respondents were presented with a vignette describing an individual with depression and then asked questions to assess their understanding of depression and preference for professional help, medications and treatment methods. A comparative approach was used to compare the findings with those of a previous study of the mental health literacy of Australian and Japanese adults. Results Compared to the Australian and Japanese samples, a much lower percentage of Chinese-speaking Australians (14%) could correctly identify major depression described in the vignette, and a higher percentage believed that counseling professionals could be helpful. Higher percentages of those who believed that close family members could be helpful were found in the Chinese-speaking Australian and Japanese samples, and these two groups also expressed more uncertainty about the usefulness or harmfulness of certain medications compared to the Australian sample. Higher percentages of respondents in both the Chinese-speaking Australian and the Australian sample considered "lifestyle changes" to be helpful compared to the Japanese sample. In the Chinese-speaking sample, 30%, 17.4%, 33% and 27% of the respondents rated "traditional Chinese medicine doctors," "Chinese herbal medications," "taking Chinese nutritional foods/supplements" and "qiqong" as helpful. Many perceived "changing fungshui" and "traditional Chinese worship" to be harmful. Regarding the perception of causes of mental illness, items related to psychosocial perspectives including "life stress" and

Family Background and School Effects on Student Achievement: A Multilevel Analysis of the Coleman Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Konstantopoulos, Spyros; Borman, Geoffrey

2011-01-01

Background/Context: A main objective of the Equality of Educational Opportunity Survey (EEOS), conducted in 1965, was to document the lack of availability of equal educational opportunities for minority students in public schools. Another equally important objective was to reveal specific inequalities in facilities and resources available to…

Determinants of Quality of Work Life among Nurses Working in Hawassa Town Public Health Facilities, South Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Belay, Admasu; Woldie, Mirkuzie

2017-01-01

Background A high quality of work life (QWL) is a crucial issue for health care facilities to have qualified, dedicated, and inspired employees. Among different specialties in health care settings, nurses have a major share among other health care providers. So, they should experience a better QWL to deliver high-quality holistic care to those who need help. Objective To assess the level of quality of work life and its predictors among nurses working in Hawassa town public health facilities, South Ethiopia. Methods A facility based cross-sectional study was conducted on 253 nurses of two hospitals and nine health centers. The total sample size was allocated to each facility based on the number of nurses in each facility. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The interitem consistency of the scale used to measure QWL had Cronbach's alpha value of 0.86. A multinomial logistic regression model was fitted to identify significant predictors of quality of work life using SPSS version 20. Results The study showed that 67.2% of the nurses were dissatisfied with the quality of their work life. We found that educational status, monthly income, working unit, and work environment were strong predictors of quality of work life among nurses (p < 0.05). Conclusion Significant proportions of the nurses were dissatisfied with the quality of their work life. The findings in this study and studies reported from elsewhere pinpoint that perception of nurses about the quality of their work life can be modified if health care managers are considerate of the key issues surrounding QWL. PMID:29379654

The Multistage Compressor Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flegel, Ashlie

2004-01-01

Research and developments of new aerospace technologies is one of Glenn Research Center's specialties. One facility that deals with the research of aerospace technologies is the High-speed Multistage Compressor Facility. This facility will be testing the performance and efficiency of an Ultra Efficient Engine Technology (UEET) two-stage compressor. There is a lot of preparation involved with testing something of this caliber. Before the test article can be installed into the test rig, the facility must be fully operational and ready to run. Meaning all the necessary instrumentation must be calibrated and installed in the facility. The test rig should also be in safe operating condition, and the proper safety permits obtained. In preparation for the test, the Multistage Compressor Facility went through a few changes. For instance the facility will now be utilizing slip rings, the gearbox went through some maintenance, new lubrications systems replaced the old ones, and special instrumentation needs to be fine tuned to achieve the maximum amount of accurate data. Slips rings help gather information off of a rotating device - in this case from a shaft - onto stationary contacts. The contacts (or brushes) need to be cooled to reduce the amount of frictional heat produced between the slip ring and brushes. The coolant being run through the slip ring is AK-225, a material hazardous to the ozone. To abide by the safety regulations the coolant must be run through a closed chiller system. A new chiller system was purchased but the reservoir that holds the coolant was ventilated which doesn t make the system truly closed and sealed. My task was to design and have a new reservoir built for the chiller system that complies with the safety guidelines. The gearbox had some safety issues also. Located in the back of the gearbox an inching drive was set up. When the inching drive is in use the gears and chain are bare and someone can easily get caught up in it. So to prevent

SuperCDMS Underground Detector Fabrication Facility

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

Platt, M.; Mahapatra, R.; Bunker, Raymond A.

The SuperCDMS SNOLAB dark matter experiment processes Ge and Si crystals into fully tested phonon and ionization detectors at surface fabrication and test facilities. If not mitigated, it is anticipated that trace-level production of radioisotopes in the crystals due to exposure to cosmic rays at (or above) sea level will result in the dominant source of background events in future dark matter searches using the current SuperCDMS detector technology. Fabrication and testing of detectors in underground facilities shielded from cosmic radiation is one way to directly reduce production of trace levels of radioisotopes, thereby improving experimental sensitivity for the discoverymore » of dark matter beyond the level of the current experiment. In this report, we investigate the cost and feasibility to establish a complete detector fabrication processing chain in an underground location to mitigate cosmogenic activation of the Ge and Si detector substrates. For a specific and concrete evaluation, we explore options for such a facility located at SNOLAB, an underground laboratory in Sudbury, Canada hosting the current and future experimental phases of SuperCDMS.« less

The initiation of mutual-help groups within residential treatment settings.

PubMed

Salem, D A; Gant, L; Campbell, R

1998-08-01

Mutual- and self-help groups for persons with severe mental illness have typically been most accessible to individuals who live independently. In an effort to make their organization more accessible to those who live in residential treatment facilities, Schizophrenics Anonymous (SA) ran introductory mutual-help meetings in four group homes. The results of a quantitative/qualitative case study of this effort are reported. The SA meetings were characterized as more and less successful based on the criteria of residents' attendance, participation, evaluation of the meetings, and interest in continued participation. The following characteristics distinguished between more and less successful meetings: staff support, referent power (i.e., identification with group leaders), and resident characteristics (e.g., gender, education, marital status, level of symptomatology). In spite of behavioral and self-reported evidence of interest and involvement in the meetings and the potential for continued involvement in the organization, no group home residents continued their participation in SA following the introductory meetings. This finding is interpreted from an institutional theory perspective that focuses on incompatibility between the ideologies underlying mutual help and the residential treatment system.

ARM Climate Research Facility: Outreach Tools and Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roeder, L.; Jundt, R.

2009-12-01

Sponsored by the Department of Energy, the ARM Climate Research Facility is a global scientific user facility for the study of climate change. To publicize progress and achievements and to reach new users, the ACRF uses a variety of Web 2.0 tools and strategies that build off of the program’s comprehensive and well established News Center (www.arm.gov/news). These strategies include: an RSS subscription service for specific news categories; an email “newsletter” distribution to the user community that compiles the latest News Center updates into a short summary with links; and a Facebook page that pulls information from the News Center and links to relevant information in other online venues, including those of our collaborators. The ACRF also interacts with users through field campaign blogs, like Discovery Channel’s EarthLive, to share research experiences from the field. Increasingly, field campaign Wikis are established to help ACRF researchers collaborate during the planning and implementation phases of their field studies and include easy to use logs and image libraries to help record the campaigns. This vital reference information is used in developing outreach material that is shared in highlights, news, and Facebook. Other Web 2.0 tools that ACRF uses include Google Maps to help users visualize facility locations and aircraft flight patterns. Easy-to-use comment boxes are also available on many of the data-related web pages on www.arm.gov to encourage feedback. To provide additional opportunities for increased interaction with the public and user community, future Web 2.0 plans under consideration for ACRF include: evaluating field campaigns for Twitter and microblogging opportunities, adding public discussion forums to research highlight web pages, moving existing photos into albums on FlickR or Facebook, and building online video archives through YouTube.

A Bourdieusian Analysis of U.S. Military Culture Ground in the Mental Help-Seeking Literature

PubMed Central

Abraham, Traci; Cheney, Ann M.; Curran, Geoffrey M.

2015-01-01

This theoretical treatise uses the scientific literature concerning help seeking for mental illness among those with a background in the U.S. military to posit a more complex definition of military culture. The help-seeking literature is used to illustrate how hegemonic masculinity, when situated in the military field, informs the decision to seek formal treatment for mental illness among those men with a background in the U.S. military. These analyses advocate for a nuanced, multidimensional, and situated definition of U.S. military culture that emphasizes the way in which institutional structures and social relations of power intersect with individual values, beliefs, and motivations to inform and structure health-related practices. PMID:26229053

A Bourdieusian Analysis of U.S. Military Culture Ground in the Mental Help-Seeking Literature.

PubMed

Abraham, Traci; Cheney, Ann M; Curran, Geoffrey M

2017-09-01

This theoretical treatise uses the scientific literature concerning help seeking for mental illness among those with a background in the U.S. military to posit a more complex definition of military culture. The help-seeking literature is used to illustrate how hegemonic masculinity, when situated in the military field, informs the decision to seek formal treatment for mental illness among those men with a background in the U.S. military. These analyses advocate for a nuanced, multidimensional, and situated definition of U.S. military culture that emphasizes the way in which institutional structures and social relations of power intersect with individual values, beliefs, and motivations to inform and structure health-related practices.

Feasibility Investigation for a Solar Power Generation Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nathan, Lakshmi

2010-01-01

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 states that by fiscal year 2013, at least 7.5% of the energy consumed by the government must be renewable energy. In an effort to help meet this goal, Johnson Space Center (JSC) is considering installing a solar power generation facility. The purpose of this project is to conduct a feasibility investigation for such a facility. Because Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has a solar power generation facility, the first step in this investigation is to learn about KSC's facility and obtain information on how it was constructed. After collecting this information, the following must be determined: the amount of power desired, the size of the facility, potential locations for it, and estimated construction and maintenance costs. Contacts with JSC's energy provider must also be established to determine if a partnership would be agreeable to both parties. Lastly, all of this data must be analyzed to decide whether or not JSC should construct the facility. The results from analyzing the data collected indicate that a 200 kW facility would provide enough energy to meet 1% of JSC's energy demand. This facility would require less than 1 acre of land. In the map below, potential locations are shown in green. The solar power facility is projected to cost $2 M. So far, the information collected indicates that such a facility could be constructed. The next steps in this investigation include contacting JSC's energy provider, CenterPoint Energy, to discuss entering a partnership; developing a life cycle cost analysis to determine payback time; developing more detailed plans; and securing funding.

Health facility committees and facility management - exploring the nature and depth of their roles in Coast Province, Kenya

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Community participation has been emphasized internationally as a way of enhancing accountability, as well as a means to enhance health goals in terms of coverage, access and effective utilization. In rural health facilities in Kenya, initiatives to increase community accountability have focused on Health Facility Committees (HFCs). In Coast Province the role of HFCs has been expanded with the introduction of direct funding of rural facilities. We explored the nature and depth of managerial engagement of HFCs at the facility level in two rural districts in this Coastal setting, and how this has contributed to community accountability Methods We conducted structured interviews with the health worker in-charge and with patients in 30 health centres and dispensaries. These data were supplemented with in-depth interviews with district managers, and with health workers and HFC members in 12 health centres and dispensaries. In-depth interviews with health workers and HFC members included a participatory exercise to stimulate discussion of the nature and depth of their roles in facility management. Results HFCs were generally functioning well and played an important role in facility operations. The breadth and depth of engagement had reportedly increased after the introduction of direct funding of health facilities which allowed HFCs to manage their own budgets. Although relations with facility staff were generally good, some mistrust was expressed between HFC members and health workers, and between HFC members and the broader community, partially reflecting a lack of clarity in HFC roles. Moreover, over half of exit interviewees were not aware of the HFC's existence. Women and less well-educated respondents were particularly unlikely to know about the HFC. Conclusions There is potential for HFCs to play an active and important role in health facility management, particularly where they have control over some facility level resources. However, to optimise their

Matched Index of Refraction Flow Facility

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

Mcllroy, Hugh

What's 27 feet long, 10 feet tall and full of mineral oil (3000 gallons' worth)? If you said INL's Matched Index of Refraction facility, give yourself a gold star. Scientists use computers to model the inner workings of nuclear reactors, and MIR helps validate those models. INL's Hugh McIlroy explains in this video. You can learn more about INL energy research at the lab's facebook site http://www.facebook.com/idahonationallaboratory.

Matched Index of Refraction Flow Facility

ScienceCinema

Mcllroy, Hugh

2018-01-08

What's 27 feet long, 10 feet tall and full of mineral oil (3000 gallons' worth)? If you said INL's Matched Index of Refraction facility, give yourself a gold star. Scientists use computers to model the inner workings of nuclear reactors, and MIR helps validate those models. INL's Hugh McIlroy explains in this video. You can learn more about INL energy research at the lab's facebook site http://www.facebook.com/idahonationallaboratory.

A Background Study of Negro College Students. Bulletin, 1933, No. 8

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caliver, Ambrose

1933-01-01

This bulletin presents a fundamental study of the social backgrounds of college freshmen in 33 colleges for Negro youth located in 17 states. The purpose of this study is to establish criteria and reveal trends with which local schools may compare their own student bodies; and to furnish a body of information which will be helpful in establishing…

Race, Wealth, and Solid Waste Facilities in North Carolina

PubMed Central

Norton, Jennifer M.; Wing, Steve; Lipscomb, Hester J.; Kaufman, Jay S.; Marshall, Stephen W.; Cravey, Altha J.

2007-01-01

Background Concern has been expressed in North Carolina that solid waste facilities may be disproportionately located in poor communities and in communities of color, that this represents an environmental injustice, and that solid waste facilities negatively impact the health of host communities. Objective Our goal in this study was to conduct a statewide analysis of the location of solid waste facilities in relation to community race and wealth. Methods We used census block groups to obtain racial and economic characteristics, and information on solid waste facilities was abstracted from solid waste facility permit records. We used logistic regression to compute prevalence odds ratios for 2003, and Cox regression to compute hazard ratios of facilities issued permits between 1990 and 2003. Results The adjusted prevalence odds of a solid waste facility was 2.8 times greater in block groups with ≥50% people of color compared with block groups with < 10% people of color, and 1.5 times greater in block groups with median house values < $60,000 compared with block groups with median house values ≥$100,000. Among block groups that did not have a previously permitted solid waste facility, the adjusted hazard of a new permitted facility was 2.7 times higher in block groups with ≥50% people of color compared with block groups with < 10% people of color. Conclusion Solid waste facilities present numerous public health concerns. In North Carolina solid waste facilities are disproportionately located in communities of color and low wealth. In the absence of action to promote environmental justice, the continued need for new facilities could exacerbate this environmental injustice. PMID:17805426

Effect of Background Pressure on the Plasma Oscillation Characteristics of the HiVHAc Hall Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huang, Wensheng; Kamhawi, Hani; Lobbia, Robert B.; Brown, Daniel L.

2014-01-01

During a component compatibility test of the NASA HiVHAc Hall thruster, a number of plasma diagnostics were implemented to study the effect of varying facility background pressure on thruster operation. These diagnostics characterized the thruster performance, the plume, and the plasma oscillations in the thruster. Thruster performance and plume characteristics as functions of background pressure were previously published. This paper focuses on changes in the plasma oscillation characteristics with changing background pressure. The diagnostics used to study plasma oscillations include a high-speed camera and a set of high-speed Langmuir probes. The results show a rise in the oscillation frequency of the "breathing" mode with rising background pressure, which is hypothesized to be due to a shortening acceleration/ionization zone. An attempt is made to apply a simplified ingestion model to the data. The combined results are used to estimate the maximum acceptable background pressure for performance and wear testing.

Muon background studies for shallow depth Double - Chooz near detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez, H.

2015-08-01

Muon events are one of the main concerns regarding background in neutrino experiments. The placement of experimental set-ups in deep underground facilities reduce considerably their impact on the research of the expected signals. But in the cases where the detector is installed on surface or at shallow depth, muon flux remains high, being necessary their precise identification for further rejection. Total flux, mean energy or angular distributions are some of the parameters that can help to characterize the muons. Empirically, the muon rate can be measured in an experiment by a number of methods. Nevertheless, the capability to determine the muons angular distribution strongly depends on the detector features, while the measurement of the muon energy is quite difficult. Also considering that on-site measurements can not be extrapolated to other sites due to the difference on the overburden and its profile, it is necessary to find an adequate solution to perform the muon characterization. The method described in this work to obtain the main features of the muons reaching the experimental set-up, is based on the muon transport simulation by the MUSIC software, combined with a dedicated sampling algorithm for shallow depth installations based on a modified Gaisser parametrization. This method provides all the required information about the muons for any shallow depth installation if the corresponding overburden profile is implemented. In this work, the method has been applied for the recently commissioned Double - Chooz near detector, which will allow the cross-check between the simulation and the experimental data, as it has been done for the far detector.

MicroArray Facility: a laboratory information management system with extended support for Nylon based technologies

PubMed Central

Honoré, Paul; Granjeaud, Samuel; Tagett, Rebecca; Deraco, Stéphane; Beaudoing, Emmanuel; Rougemont, Jacques; Debono, Stéphane; Hingamp, Pascal

2006-01-01

Background High throughput gene expression profiling (GEP) is becoming a routine technique in life science laboratories. With experimental designs that repeatedly span thousands of genes and hundreds of samples, relying on a dedicated database infrastructure is no longer an option. GEP technology is a fast moving target, with new approaches constantly broadening the field diversity. This technology heterogeneity, compounded by the informatics complexity of GEP databases, means that software developments have so far focused on mainstream techniques, leaving less typical yet established techniques such as Nylon microarrays at best partially supported. Results MAF (MicroArray Facility) is the laboratory database system we have developed for managing the design, production and hybridization of spotted microarrays. Although it can support the widely used glass microarrays and oligo-chips, MAF was designed with the specific idiosyncrasies of Nylon based microarrays in mind. Notably single channel radioactive probes, microarray stripping and reuse, vector control hybridizations and spike-in controls are all natively supported by the software suite. MicroArray Facility is MIAME supportive and dynamically provides feedback on missing annotations to help users estimate effective MIAME compliance. Genomic data such as clone identifiers and gene symbols are also directly annotated by MAF software using standard public resources. The MAGE-ML data format is implemented for full data export. Journalized database operations (audit tracking), data anonymization, material traceability and user/project level confidentiality policies are also managed by MAF. Conclusion MicroArray Facility is a complete data management system for microarray producers and end-users. Particular care has been devoted to adequately model Nylon based microarrays. The MAF system, developed and implemented in both private and academic environments, has proved a robust solution for shared facilities and

Preoperational Subsurface Conditions at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center Service Waste Disposal Facility

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

Ansley, Shannon Leigh

2002-02-01

The Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) Service Wastewater Discharge Facility replaces the existing percolation ponds as a disposal facility for the INTEC Service Waste Stream. A preferred alternative for helping decrease water content in the subsurface near INTEC, closure of the existing ponds is required by the INTEC Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Record of Decision (ROD) for Waste Area Group 3 Operable Unit 3-13 (DOE-ID 1999a). By August 2002, the replacement facility was constructed approximately 2 miles southwest of INTEC, near the Big Lost River channel. Because groundwater beneath the Idaho National Engineering andmore » Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is protected under Federal and State of Idaho regulations from degradation due to INEEL activities, preoperational data required by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5400.1 were collected. These data include preexisting physical, chemical, and biological conditions that could be affected by the discharge; background levels of radioactive and chemical components; pertinent environmental and ecological parameters; and potential pathways for human exposure or environmental impact. This document presents specific data collected in support of DOE Order 5400.1, including: four quarters of groundwater sampling and analysis of chemical and radiological parameters; general facility description; site specific geology, stratigraphy, soils, and hydrology; perched water discussions; and general regulatory requirements. However, in order to avoid duplication of previous information, the reader is directed to other referenced publications for more detailed information. Documents that are not readily available are compiled in this publication as appendices. These documents include well and borehole completion reports, a perched water evaluation letter report, the draft INEEL Wellhead Protection Program Plan, and the Environmental Checklist.« less

Life or Death Decisions: Framing the Call for Help

PubMed Central

Chou, Eileen Y.; Murnighan, J. Keith

2013-01-01

Background Chronic blood shortages in the U.S. would be alleviated by small increases, in percentage terms, of people donating blood. The current research investigated the effects of subtle changes in charity-seeking messages on the likelihood of people responses to a call for help. We predicted that “avoid losses” messages would lead to more helping behavior than “promote gains” messages would. Method Two studies investigated the effects of message framing on helping intentions and behaviors. With the help and collaboration of the Red Cross, Study 1, a field experiment, directly assessed the effectiveness of a call for blood donations that was presented as either death-preventing (losses) or life-saving (gains), and as being of either more or less urgent need. With the help and collaboration of a local charity, Study 2, a lab experiment, assessed the effects of the gain-versus-loss framing of a donation-soliciting flyer on individuals’ expectations of others’ monetary donations as well their own volunteering behavior. Study 2 also assessed the effects of three emotional motivators - feelings of empathy, positive affect, and relational closeness. Result Study 1 indicated that, on a college campus, describing blood donations as a way to “prevent a death” rather than “save a life” boosted the donation rate. Study 2 showed that framing a charity’s appeals as helping people to avoid a loss led to larger expected donations, increased intentions to volunteer, and more helping behavior, independent of other emotional motivators. Conclusion This research identifies and demonstrates a reliable and effective method for increasing important helping behaviors by providing charities with concrete ideas that can effectively increase helping behavior generally and potentially death-preventing behavior in particular. PMID:23483903

The ASTROCULTURE Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Research with plants in microgravity offers many exciting opportunities to gain new insights and could improve products on Earth ranging from crop production to fragrances and food flavorings. The ASTROCULTURE facility is a lead commercial facility for plant growth and plant research in microgravity and was developed by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WSCAR), a NASA Commercial Space Center. On STS-95 it will support research that could help improve crop development leading to plants that are more disease resistant or have a higher yield and provide data on the production of plant essential oils---oils that contain the essence of the plant and provide both fragrance and flavoring. On STS-95, a flowering plant will be grown in ASTROCULTURE and samples taken using a method developed by the industry partner for this investigation. On Earth, the samples will be analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and the data used to evaluate both the production of fragrant oils in microgravity and in the development of one or more products. The ASTROCULTURE payload uses these pourous tubes with precise pressure sensing and control for fluid delivery to the plant root tray.

Physical Activity Breaks and Facilities in US Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hood, Nancy E.; Colabianchi, Natalie; Terry-McElrath, Yvonne M.; O'Malley, Patrick M.; Johnston, Lloyd D.

2014-01-01

Background: Research on physical activity breaks and facilities (indoor and outdoor) in secondary schools is relatively limited. Methods: School administrators and students in nationally representative samples of 8th (middle school) and 10th/12th grade (high school) students were surveyed annually from 2008-2009 to 2011-2012. School administrators…

View of Facility No. S359 (Seaplane Ramp 3), with Koolau ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

View of Facility No. S359 (Seaplane Ramp 3), with Koolau Mountain Range in background - U.S. Naval Base, Pearl Harbor, Seaplane Runways-1933 Type, South shore of Ford Island, near Lexington Boulevard, Pearl City, Honolulu County, HI

Smokefree signage at New Zealand racecourses and sports facilities with outdoor stands.

PubMed

Thomson, George; Wilson, Nick

2017-10-27

Smokefree signage is crucial to the implementation of smokefree policies for outdoor venues and for facilitating smoking denormalisation. Such signage helps to communicate the expected norms for not smoking at venues. Therefore, we aimed to identify such signage at racecourses and sports facilities that had outdoor stands. We surveyed the entrances of 25 racecourse and 25 sport facilities with outdoor stands, across New Zealand. There were smokefree signs at the main entrances of 40% of the sports facilities with outdoor stands, and at 16% of the 25 other entrances. None of the horse/greyhound racecourses had smokefree signage at any of their entrances.

FACILITY 713, LIVING ROOM SHOWING DIAMONDPANED WINDOWS FLANKING THE FIREPLACE, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

FACILITY 713, LIVING ROOM SHOWING DIAMOND-PANED WINDOWS FLANKING THE FIREPLACE, AND LEADED-GLASS WINDOWS IN DINING ROOM IN RIGHT BACKGROUND, VIEW FACING SOUTHEAST. - Schofield Barracks Military Reservation, Central-Entry Single-Family Housing Type, Between Bragg & Grime Streets near Ayres Avenue, Wahiawa, Honolulu County, HI

1. AERIAL VIEW, NAVAL INACTIVE SHIPS MAINTENANCE FACILITY, SINCLAIR ISLET, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. AERIAL VIEW, NAVAL INACTIVE SHIPS MAINTENANCE FACILITY, SINCLAIR ISLET, BREMERTON, KITSAP COUNTY, WASHINGTON WITH EX-USS HORNET CVS-12, THREE MINECRAFT ALONGSIDE TO PORT. OTHER INACTIVE SHIPS IN BACKGROUND. - U.S.S. HORNET, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Sinclair Inlet, Bremerton, Kitsap County, WA

Femtosecond Electron and Photon Pulses Facility in Thailand

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

Rimjaem, S.; Thongbai, C.; Jinamoon, V.

Femtosecond electron and photon pulses facility has been established as SURIYA project at the Fast Neutron Research Facility (FNRF). Femtosecond electron bunches can be generated from a system consisting of an RF gun with a thermionic cathode, an alpha magnet as an magnetic bunch compressor, and a linear accelerator as a post acceleration section. Femtosecond electron pulses can be used directly or used as a source to produce equally short electromagnetic (EM) radiation pulses via certain kind of radiation production processes. At SURIYA project, we are interested especially in production of radiation in Far-infrared (FIR) regime. At these wavelengths, themore » radiation from femtosecond electron pulses is emitted coherently resulting in high intensity radiation. Overview of the facility, the generation of femtosecond electron bunches, the theoretical background of coherent transition radiation and the recent experimental results will be presented and discussed in this paper.« less

The Smart Power Lab at the Energy Systems Integration Facility

ScienceCinema

Christensen, Dane; Sparn, Bethany; Hannegan, Brian

2018-05-11

Watch how NREL researchers are using the Smart Power Laboratory at the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) to develop technologies that will help the "smart homes" of the future perform efficiently and communicate effectively with the electricity grid while enhancing occupants' comfort and convenience.

The Smart Power Lab at the Energy Systems Integration Facility

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

Christensen, Dane; Sparn, Bethany; Hannegan, Brian

Watch how NREL researchers are using the Smart Power Laboratory at the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) to develop technologies that will help the "smart homes" of the future perform efficiently and communicate effectively with the electricity grid while enhancing occupants' comfort and convenience.

What Are Nursing Facilities Doing to Reduce Potentially Avoidable Hospitalizations?

PubMed

Daras, Laura Coots; Wang, Joyce M; Ingber, Melvin J; Ormond, Catherine; Breg, Nathaniel W; Khatutsky, Galina; Feng, Zhanlian

2017-05-01

Hospitalizations among nursing facility residents are frequent and often potentially avoidable. A number of initiatives and interventions have been developed to reduce excessive hospitalizations; however, little is known about the specific approaches nursing facilities use to address this issue. The objective of this study is to better understand which types of interventions nursing facilities have introduced to reduce potentially avoidable hospitalizations of long-stay nursing facility residents. Cross-sectional survey. 236 nursing facilities from 7 states. Nursing facility administrators. Web-based survey to measure whether facilities introduced any policies or procedures designed specifically to reduce potentially avoidable hospitalizations of long-stay nursing facility residents between 2011 and 2015. We surveyed facilities about seven types of interventions and quality improvement activities related to reducing avoidable hospitalizations, including use of Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers (INTERACT) and American Medical Directors Association tools. Ninety-five percent of responding nursing facilities reported having introduced at least one new policy or procedure to reduce nursing facility resident hospitalizations since January 2011. The most common practice reported was hospitalization rate tracking or review, followed by standardized communication tools, such as Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR). We found some variation in the extent and types of these reported interventions. Nearly all facilities surveyed reported having introduced a variety of initiatives to reduce potentially avoidable hospitalizations, likely driven by federal, state, and corporate initiatives to decrease hospital admissions and readmissions. Copyright © 2017 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. All rights reserved.

Association between Gastrointestinal Illness and Precipitation in Areas Impacted by Combined Sewer Facilities: Analysis of Massachusetts Data, 2003-2007

EPA Science Inventory

Background: Combined sewer systems (CSS) collect rainwater runoff, sewage, and industrial wastewater for transit to treatment facilities. With heavy precipitation, volumes can exceed capacity of treatment facilities, and wastewater discharges directly to receiving waters. These c...

Low Background Assay Results for LZ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliver-Mallory, Kelsey; Thomas, Keenan; Lux-Zeplin Collaboration; Berkeley Low Background Facility Team

2016-03-01

The next generation dark matter experiment LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) requires careful control of intrinsic radioactivity in all critical detector components in order to reach its unprecedented target sensitivity to Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs): 2 ×10-48 cm2 at 50 GeV/c2. Appropriate material selection is essential to meeting this goal, and an extensive campaign of low background screening is currently being carried out using assay devices at the Sanford Underground Research Facility and the Boulby Underground Laboratory. We will present results from this work, including measurements for the Ti cryostat, PMT bases, PMT raw materials, PTFE, and other components. This work was partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Award Number DE-AC02-05CH11231, and is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. 1106400.

Money for Research, Not for Energy Bills: Finding Energy and Cost Savings in High Performance Computer Facility Designs

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

Drewmark Communications; Sartor, Dale; Wilson, Mark

2010-07-01

High-performance computing facilities in the United States consume an enormous amount of electricity, cutting into research budgets and challenging public- and private-sector efforts to reduce energy consumption and meet environmental goals. However, these facilities can greatly reduce their energy demand through energy-efficient design of the facility itself. Using a case study of a facility under design, this article discusses strategies and technologies that can be used to help achieve energy reductions.

Keys to Success: School Facilities Primer, Questions & Answers 101.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brady, Jim

This publication provides answers to basic questions to help school board members more fully address the complexities of the planning, design, and construction process in order to maximize the goal of student success. The 101 questions and answers are in the areas of: facility planning; learning environment; information technology; safe schools;…

Estimating background-subtracted fluorescence transients in calcium imaging experiments: a quantitative approach.

PubMed

Joucla, Sébastien; Franconville, Romain; Pippow, Andreas; Kloppenburg, Peter; Pouzat, Christophe

2013-08-01

Calcium imaging has become a routine technique in neuroscience for subcellular to network level investigations. The fast progresses in the development of new indicators and imaging techniques call for dedicated reliable analysis methods. In particular, efficient and quantitative background fluorescence subtraction routines would be beneficial to most of the calcium imaging research field. A background-subtracted fluorescence transients estimation method that does not require any independent background measurement is therefore developed. This method is based on a fluorescence model fitted to single-trial data using a classical nonlinear regression approach. The model includes an appropriate probabilistic description of the acquisition system's noise leading to accurate confidence intervals on all quantities of interest (background fluorescence, normalized background-subtracted fluorescence time course) when background fluorescence is homogeneous. An automatic procedure detecting background inhomogeneities inside the region of interest is also developed and is shown to be efficient on simulated data. The implementation and performances of the proposed method on experimental recordings from the mouse hypothalamus are presented in details. This method, which applies to both single-cell and bulk-stained tissues recordings, should help improving the statistical comparison of fluorescence calcium signals between experiments and studies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of injury/illness data at a nuclear facility. Part II

DOE PAGES

Cournoyer, Michael E.; Garcia, Vincent E.; Sandoval, Arnold N.; ...

2015-07-01

At Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), there are several nuclear facilities, accelerator facilities, radiological facilities, explosives sites, moderate- and high-hazard non-nuclear facilities, biosciences laboratory, etc. The Plutonium Science and Manufacturing Directorate (ADPSM) provides special nuclear material research, process development, technology demonstration, and manufacturing capabilities. ADPSM manages the LANL Plutonium Facility. Within the Radiological Control Area at TA-55 (PF-4), chemical and metallurgical operations with plutonium and other hazardous materials are performed. LANL Health and Safety Programs investigate injury and illness data. In this study, statistically significant trends have been identified and compared for LANL, ADPSM, and PF-4 injury/illness cases. A previouslymore » described output metric is used to measures LANL management progress towards meeting its operational safety objectives and goals. Timelines are used to determine trends in Injury/Illness types. Pareto Charts are used to prioritize causal factors. The data generated from analysis of Injury/Illness data have helped identify and reduce the number of corresponding causal factors.« less

Density of indoor tanning facilities in 116 large U.S. cities.

PubMed

Hoerster, Katherine D; Garrow, Rebecca L; Mayer, Joni A; Clapp, Elizabeth J; Weeks, John R; Woodruff, Susan I; Sallis, James F; Slymen, Donald J; Patel, Minal R; Sybert, Stephanie A

2009-03-01

U.S. adolescents and young adults are using indoor tanning at high rates, even though it has been linked to both melanoma and squamous cell cancer. Because the availability of commercial indoor tanning facilities may influence use, data are needed on the number and density of such facilities. In March 2006, commercial indoor tanning facilities in 116 large U.S. cities were identified, and the number and density (per 100,000 population) were computed for each city. Bivariate and multivariate analyses conducted in 2008 tested the association between tanning-facility density and selected geographic, climatologic, demographic, and legislative variables. Mean facility number and density across cities were 41.8 (SD=30.8) and 11.8 (SD=6.0), respectively. In multivariate analysis, cities with higher percentages of whites and lower ultraviolet (UV)index scores had significantly higher facility densities than those with lower percentages of whites and higher UV index scores. These data indicate that commercial indoor tanning is widely available in the urban U.S., and this availability may help explain the high usage of indoor tanning.

An Application of Business Process Management to Health Care Facilities.

PubMed

Hassan, Mohsen M D

The purpose of this article is to help health care facility managers and personnel identify significant elements of their facilities to address, and steps and actions to follow, when applying business process management to them. The ABPMP (Association of Business Process Management Professionals) life-cycle model of business process management is adopted, and steps from Lean, business process reengineering, and Six Sigma, and actions from operations management are presented to implement it. Managers of health care facilities can find in business process management a more comprehensive approach to improving their facilities than Lean, Six Sigma, business process reengineering, and ad hoc approaches that does not conflict with them because many of their elements can be included under its umbrella. Furthermore, the suggested application of business process management can guide and relieve them from selecting among these approaches, as well as provide them with specific steps and actions that they can follow. This article fills a gap in the literature by presenting a much needed comprehensive application of business process management to health care facilities that has specific steps and actions for implementation.

Low-energy nuclear astrophysics studies at the Multicharged Ion Research Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Febbraro, Michael; Pain, Steven; Bannister, Mark; Deboer, Richard; Chipps, Kelly; Havener, Charles; Peters, Willan; Ummel, Chad; Smith, Michael; Temanson, Eli; Toomey, Rebecca; Walter, David

2017-09-01

As low-energy nuclear astrophysics progresses toward measuring reaction cross sections in the stellar burning regimes, a worldwide effort is underway to continue these measurements at underground laboratories to achieve the requisite ultra-low-background environment. These facilities are crucial for providing the required low-background environments to perform such measurements of astrophysical importance. While advances have been made in the use of accelerators underground, of equal importance is the detectors, high-current targets, and techniques required to perform such measurements. With these goals in mind, a newly established astrophysics beamline has been built at the Multicharged Ion Research Facility (MIRF) located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The unique capabilities of MIRF will be demonstrated through two recent low-energy above-ground measurements of the dominant s-process neutron source 13C(α,n)16O and associated beam-induced background source 13C(d,n)14N. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. DOE, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics. Research sponsored by the LDRD Program of ORNL, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. DOE.

126. DETAIL OF NORTH PLANT AMMUNITION DEMOLITION FACILITY, WITH ASSEMBLY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

126. DETAIL OF NORTH PLANT AMMUNITION DEMOLITION FACILITY, WITH ASSEMBLY PLANT/WAREHOUSE (BUILDING 1601/1606/1701) IN BACKGROUND, FROM GB MANUFACTURING PLANT. VIEW TO NORTHWEST. - Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Bounded by Ninety-sixth Avenue & Fifty-sixth Avenue, Buckley Road, Quebec Street & Colorado Highway 2, Commerce City, Adams County, CO

125. NORTH PLANT AMMUNITION DEMOLITION FACILITY IN FOREGROUND AND ASSEMBLY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

125. NORTH PLANT AMMUNITION DEMOLITION FACILITY IN FOREGROUND AND ASSEMBLY PLANT/WAREHOUSE (BUILDING 1601/1606/1701) IN BACKGROUND. FROM GB MANUFACTURING PLANT. VIEW TO NORTHWEST. - Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Bounded by Ninety-sixth Avenue & Fifty-sixth Avenue, Buckley Road, Quebec Street & Colorado Highway 2, Commerce City, Adams County, CO

Racial Disparities in Seeking Care for Help Getting Pregnant

PubMed Central

Chin, HB; Howards, PP; Kramer, MR; Mertens, AC; Spencer, JB

2015-01-01

Background Fertility counseling and treatment can help women achieve their desired family size, however, disparities exist in the utilization of this care. Methods This study examines the persistence of a racial disparity in visiting a doctor for help getting pregnant by estimating the direct effect of this association using data from the FUCHSIA Women’s Study, a population-based cohort study. This cohort included 1073 reproductive age women (22-45 years) with 28% reporting infertility. We fit log binomial models to quantify the magnitude of the racial difference in reported care seeking after adjustment for hypothesized mediators using inverse probability weighting. Results Compared with white women, black women were less likely to visit a doctor in the total population [adjusted risk ratio (aRR) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.41, 0.80] and in the subgroup of women with infertility [aRR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.99]. In addition, black women waited twice as long on average before seeking help compared with white women. Conclusions There were notable racial differences in visiting a doctor for help getting pregnant in this study although reports of infertility were similar by race. These differences may be mitigated through improved communication about the range of counseling and treatment options available. PMID:26201443

Lean coding machine. Facilities target productivity and job satisfaction with coding automation.

PubMed

Rollins, Genna

2010-07-01

Facilities are turning to coding automation to help manage the volume of electronic documentation, streamlining workflow, boosting productivity, and increasing job satisfaction. As EHR adoption increases, computer-assisted coding may become a necessity, not an option.

Transactional Relations between Motivational Beliefs and Help Seeking from Teachers and Peers across Adolescence.

PubMed

Amemiya, Jamie; Wang, Ming-Te

2017-08-01

Adolescents often avoid seeking academic help when needed, making it important to understand the motivational processes that support help seeking behavior. Using expectancy-value theory as a framework, this study examined transactional relations between motivational beliefs (i.e., academic self-concept or academic importance) and seeking help from teachers and peers across adolescence (i.e., from approximately age 12 to 17 years). Data were collected from 1479 adolescents (49% female; 61.9% African American, 31.2% European American, 6.9% other race). Analyses were conducted with cross-lagged panel models using three waves of data from seventh, ninth, and eleventh grade. Results indicated that both academic self-concept and academic importance were associated with increases in teacher help seeking in earlier adolescence, but were associated only with increases in peer help seeking in later adolescence. Help-seeking behavior positively influenced motivational beliefs, with teacher help seeking increasing academic self-concept earlier in adolescence and peer help seeking increasing academic importance later in adolescence. These transactional relations differed by adolescents' prior achievement and racial background, but not by adolescents' gender.

The Sanford Underground Research Facility at Homestake (SURF)

DOE PAGES

Lesko, K. T.

2015-03-24

The former Homestake gold mine in Lead, South Dakota is being transformed into a dedicated laboratory to pursue underground research in rare-process physics, as well as offering research opportunities in other disciplines. A key component of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) is the Davis Campus, which is in operation at the 4850-foot level (4300 m.w.e) and currently hosts three projects: the LUX dark matter experiment, the Majorana Demonstrator neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment and the Berkeley and CUBED low-background counters. Plans for possible future experiments at SURF are well underway and include long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments, future dark mattermore » experiments as well as nuclear astrophysics accelerators. Facility upgrades to accommodate some of these future projects have already started. SURF is a dedicated facility with significant expansion capability. These plans include a Generation-2 Dark Matter experiment and the US flagship neutrino experiment, LBNE.« less

A longitudinal daily diary study of family assistance and academic achievement among adolescents from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds.

PubMed

Telzer, Eva H; Fuligni, Andrew J

2009-04-01

A longitudinal daily diary method was employed to examine the implications of family assistance for the academic achievement of 563 adolescents (53% female) from Mexican (n = 217), Chinese (n = 206), and European (n = 140) backgrounds during the high school years (mean age 14.9 years in 9th grade to 17.8 years in 12th grade). Although changes in family assistance time within individual adolescents were not associated with simultaneous changes in their Grade Point Averages (GPAs), increases in the proportion of days spent helping the family were linked to declines in the GPAs of students from Mexican and Chinese backgrounds. The negative implications of spending more days helping the family among these two groups was not explained by family background factors or changes in study time or school problems. These results suggest that the chronicity rather than the amount of family assistance may be difficult for adolescents from Mexican and Chinese backgrounds.

A cross sectional comparison of postnatal care quality in facilities participating in a maternal health voucher program versus non-voucher facilities in Kenya.

PubMed

Warren, Charlotte E; Abuya, Timothy; Kanya, Lucy; Obare, Francis; Njuki, Rebecca; Temmerman, Marleen; Bellows, Ben

2015-07-24

Health service fees constitute substantial barriers for women seeking childbirth and postnatal care. In an effort to reduce health inequities, the government of Kenya in 2006 introduced the output-based approach (OBA), or voucher programme, to increase poor women's access to quality Safe Motherhood services including postnatal care. To help improve service quality, OBA programmes purchase services on behalf of the poor and marginalised, with provider reimbursements for verified services. Kenya's programme accredited health facilities in three districts as well as in two informal Nairobi settlements. Postnatal care quality in voucher health facilities (n = 21) accredited in 2006 and in similar non-voucher health facilities (n = 20) are compared with cross sectional data collected in 2010. Summary scores for quality were calculated as additive sums of specific aspects of each attribute (structure, process, outcome). Measures of effect were assessed in a linear regression model accounting for clustering at facility level. Data were analysed using Stata 11.0. The overall quality of postnatal care is poor in voucher and non-voucher facilities, but many facilities demonstrated 'readiness' for postnatal care (structural attributes: infrastructure, equipment, supplies, staffing, training) indicated by high scores (83/111), with public voucher facilities scoring higher than public non-voucher facilities. The two groups of facilities evinced no significant differences in postnatal care mean process scores: 14.2/55 in voucher facilities versus 16.4/55 in non-voucher facilities; coefficient: -1.70 (-4.9, 1.5), p = 0.294. Significantly more newborns were seen within 48 hours (83.5% versus 72.1%: p = 0.001) and received Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) (82.5% versus 76.5%: p < 0.001) at voucher facilities than at non-voucher facilities. Four years after facility accreditation in Kenya, scores for postnatal care quality are low in all facilities, even those with Safe Motherhood

Dialysis Facility Transplant Philosophy and Access to Kidney Transplantation in the Southeast

PubMed Central

Gander, Jennifer; Browne, Teri; Plantinga, Laura; Pastan, Stephen O; Sauls, Leighann; Krisher, Jenna; Patzer, Rachel E

2015-01-01

Background Little is known about the impact of dialysis facility treatment philosophy on access to transplant. The aim of our study was to determine the relationship between dialysis facility transplant philosophy and facility-level access to kidney transplant waitlisting. Methods A 25-item questionnaire administered to Southeastern dialysis facilities (n=509) in 2012 captured facility transplant philosophy (categorized as “transplant is our first choice,” “transplant is a great option for some,” and “transplant is a good option, if the patient is interested”) .. Facility-level waitlisting and facility characteristics were obtained from the 2008-2011 Dialysis Facility Report. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examinethe association between dialysis facility transplant philosophy and facility waitlisting performance (dichotomized using the national median), where low performance was defined as less than 21.7% of dialysis patients waitlisted within a facility. Results Fewer than 25% (n=124) of dialysis facilities reported “transplant is our first option.” A total of 131 (31.4%) dialysis facilities in the Southeast were high-performing with respect to waitlisting. Adjusted analysis showed that facilities who reported “transplant is our first option” were twice (OR=2.0, 95% CI 1.0, 3.9) as likely to have high waitlisting performance compared to facilities who reported “transplant is a good option, if the patient is interested.” Conclusions Facilities with staff who had a more positive transplant philosophy were more likely to have better facility waitlisting performance. Future prospective studies are needed to further transplantation. PMID:26278585

Testing of materials from the Minnesota Cold Regions pavement research test facility

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-09-01

The U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) conducted various laboratory tests on pavement materials from the Mn/ ROAD facility. The tests helped to characterize the behavior of materials under season frost conditions, and ...

Going Online: Helping Technical Communicators Help Translators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flint, Patricia; Lord van Slyke, Melanie; Starke-Meyerring, Doreen; Thompson, Aimee

1999-01-01

Explains why technical communicators should help translators. Offers tips for creating "translation-friendly" documentation. Describes the research and design process used by the authors to create an online tutorial that provides technical communicators at a medical technology company the information they need to help them write and…

Renovation of the hot press in the Plutonium Experimental Facility

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

Congdon, J.W.; Nelson, G.H.

1990-03-05

The Plutonium Experimental Facility (PEF) will be used to develop a new fuel pellet fabrication process and to evaluate equipment upgrades. The facility was used from 1978 until 1982 to optimize the parameters for fuel pellet production using a process which was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The PEF was shutdown and essentially abandoned until mid-1987 when the facility renovations were initiated by the Actinide Technology Section (ATS) of SRL. A major portion of the renovation work was related to the restart of the hot press system. This report describes the renovations and modifications which were required to restartmore » the PEF hot press. The primary purpose of documenting this work is to help provide a basis for Separations to determine the best method of renovating the hot press in the Plutonium Fuel Fabrication (PuFF) facility. This report also includes several SRL recommendations concerning the renovation and modification of the PuFF hot press. 4 refs.« less

Manual for Public School Facilities: Fire Prevention and Fire Inspection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Educational Management Services.

This manual is designed for use by New York public school administrators and facility inspectors, providing instruction for completing the state's Fire Safety Report. It provides background information and details about the State Fire Prevention and Building Code and regulations, and explains the inspection and enforcement processes. One-third of…

Downgrading Nuclear Facilities to Radiological Facilities

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

Jarry, Jeffrey F.; Farr, Jesse Oscar; Duran, Leroy

2015-08-01

Based on inventory reductions and the use of alternate storage facilities, the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) downgraded 4 SNL Hazard Category 3 (HC-3) nuclear facilities to less-than-HC-3 radiological facilities. SNL’s Waste Management and Pollution Prevention Department (WMPPD) managed the HC-3 nuclear facilities and implemented the downgrade. This paper will examine the downgrade process,

Health care help seeking behaviour among prisoners in Norway

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Prisoners are associated with high health care needs compared with the general population. This study aims to investigate prisoners' use of health service. Methods A cross-sectional study of 29 prisons in central and southern parts of Norway. A questionnaire was distributed to 1, 454 prisoners (90% response rate). Multilevel analyses were employed to analyse help seeking behaviour among the prisoners. Results Help seeking was substantially associated with sleep problems and drug problems. There was also a tendency for closed prisons as well as high staffing levels of healthcare professionals to be associated with elevated health care use. Conclusions This study suggests that sleep problems and drug use are most frequently associated with health service use. The differences in health care use between prisons suggest that the implementation of prison health care standards should be addressed. PMID:22053920

Systems Check: Community Colleges Turn to Facilities Assessments to Plan Capital Projects and Avoid Expensive Emergency Repairs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joch, Alan

2014-01-01

With an emphasis on planning and cutting costs to make better use of resources, facilities managers at community colleges across the nation have undertaken facilities audits usually with the help of outside engineers. Such assessments analyze the history and structural integrity of buildings and core components on campus, including heating…

Preparedness of elderly long-term care facilities in HSE East for influenza outbreaks.

PubMed

O'Connor, L; Boland, M; Murphy, H

2015-01-01

Abstract We assessed preparedness of HSE East elderly long-term care facilities for an influenza outbreak, and identified Public Health Department support needs. We surveyed 166 facilities based on the HSE checklist document for influenza outbreaks, with 58% response rate. Client flu vaccination rates were > 75%; leading barriers were client anxiety and consent issues. Target flu vaccine uptake of 40% in staff occurred in 43% of facilities and was associated with staff vaccine administration by afacility-attached GP (p = 0.035), having a facility outbreak plan (p = 0.013) and being anon-HSE run facility (p = 0.013). Leading barriers were staff personal anxiety (94%) and lack of awareness of the protective effect on clients (21%). Eighty-nine percent found Public Health helpful, and requested further educational support and advocacy. Staff vaccine uptake focus, organisational leadership, optimal vaccine provision models, outbreak plans and Public Health support are central to the influenza campaign in elderly long-term care facilities.

NORTH AND WEST ELEVATIONS OF REMOTE ANALYTICAL FACILITY (CPP627) LOOKING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

NORTH AND WEST ELEVATIONS OF REMOTE ANALYTICAL FACILITY (CPP-627) LOOKING SOUTHEAST. HEADEND PLANT (CPP-640) APPEARS IN THE BACKGROUND. INL PHOTO NUMBER HD-22-1-4. Mike Crane, Photographer, 11/1998 - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, Fuel Reprocessing Complex, Scoville, Butte County, ID

Developing State Agency Facility Plans: A Guide to Planning and Implementation. Michigan Studies in Rehabilitation Utilization Series: 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Juliet V.; Wargel, James F.

Intended for use in inservice training of vocational rehabilitation agency personnel, this facility planning guide is designed to (1) help state agencies understand the new facility planning requirements of the Rehabilitation Comprehensive Services and Developmental Disabilities Amendments of 1978, (2) provide information about a six-step planning…

Empowering biomedical engineering undergraduates to help teach design.

PubMed

Allen, Robert H; Tam, William; Shoukas, Artin A

2004-01-01

We report on our experience empowering upperclassmen and seniors to help teach design courses in biomedical engineering. Initiated in the fall of 1998, these courses are a projects-based set, where teams of students from freshmen level to senior level converge to solve practical problems in biomedical engineering. One goal in these courses is to teach the design process by providing experiences that mimic it. Student teams solve practical projects solicited from faculty, industry and the local community. To hone skills and have a metric for grading, written documentation, posters and oral presentations are required over the two-semester sequence. By requiring a mock design and build exercise in the fall, students appreciate the manufacturing process, the difficulties unforeseen in the design stage and the importance of testing. A Web-based, searchable design repository captures reporting information from each project since its inception. This serves as a resource for future projects, in addition to traditional ones such as library, outside experts and lab facilities. Based on results to date, we conclude that characteristics about our design program help students experience design and learn aspects about teamwork and mentoring useful in their profession or graduate education.

Cosmic Ray Flux in the Presence of a Neutral Background

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Thomas L.; Lodhi, Arfin; Diaz, Abel

2007-01-01

The study of cosmic rays (CRs) is a very mature subject developed around the concept of radiative particle flux phi as a mono-variant function of energy E, that is phi = phi(E). This is based on the notion of the cosmos as being filled with cosmic radiation in the form of a collisionless exosphere of plasma. Neutrals, however, are likewise ubiquitous in space and planetary trapped-radiation belts. It will be shown that in the presence of a neutral background of density rho, flux phi is actually bivariant in energy E and rho, creating a surface phi(E,rho). This is an intrinsic property of charged-particle flux, that flux is not merely a function of E but is dependent upon density rho when a background of neutrals is present. The effect is produced by multiple scattering of charged particles off neutral and ionized atoms along with ionization loss where charged and neutral populations interact. For the harder portion of CR spectra, flux is mono-variant but at nonrelativistic energies (below approx, 350 MeV) it becomes sensitive to the presence of neutral backgrounds. The dependence of phi(E,rho) upon background neutrals is helpful in discussing the anomalous CR (ACR) flux made up of ionized components of the heliospheric neutral atmosphere.

The Dartmouth Elephant plasma facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynch, K. A.

2017-12-01

The Elephant facility in the Dartmouth Dept of Physics and Astronomyis a 1m by 2m chamber with a microwave-resonant plasma source togetherwith a higher energy electron/ion electrostatic gun. In this chamber weaim to re-create features of the auroral ionosphere including both thethermal plasma background, and the precipitating energetic auroral beam.We can manipulate the position and attitude of various sensors withinthe chamber and monitor their response to the various sources. Recentefforts have focussed on the sheath environment near and around thermalion RPA sensors and the small payloads which carry them into theionosphere.

The coincidence counting technique for orders of magnitude background reduction in data obtained with the magnetic recoil spectrometer at OMEGA and the NIF.

PubMed

Casey, D T; Frenje, J A; Séguin, F H; Li, C K; Rosenberg, M J; Rinderknecht, H; Manuel, M J-E; Gatu Johnson, M; Schaeffer, J C; Frankel, R; Sinenian, N; Childs, R A; Petrasso, R D; Glebov, V Yu; Sangster, T C; Burke, M; Roberts, S

2011-07-01

A magnetic recoil spectrometer (MRS) has been built and successfully used at OMEGA for measurements of down-scattered neutrons (DS-n), from which an areal density in both warm-capsule and cryogenic-DT implosions have been inferred. Another MRS is currently being commissioned on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) for diagnosing low-yield tritium-hydrogen-deuterium implosions and high-yield DT implosions. As CR-39 detectors are used in the MRS, the principal sources of background are neutron-induced tracks and intrinsic tracks (defects in the CR-39). The coincidence counting technique was developed to reduce these types of background tracks to the required level for the DS-n measurements at OMEGA and the NIF. Using this technique, it has been demonstrated that the number of background tracks is reduced by a couple of orders of magnitude, which exceeds the requirement for the DS-n measurements at both facilities.

Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) Monthly Report March 2015

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

Soelberg, Renae

Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) Formerly: Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility (ATR NSUF) Monthly Report February 2015 Highlights; Jim Cole attended the OECD NEA Expert Group on Innovative Structural Materials meeting in Paris, France; Jim Lane and Doug Copsey of Writers Ink visited PNNL to prepare an article for the NSUF annual report; Brenden Heidrich briefed the Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee-Facilities Subcommittee on the Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Database project and provided them with custom reports for their upcoming visits to Argonne National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Universitymore » of California-Berkeley Principal Investigator Mehdi Balooch visited PNNL to observe measurements and help finalize plans for completing the desired suite of analyses. His visit was coordinated to coincide with the visit of Jim Lane and Doug Copsey.« less

Helping Yourself by Offering Help: Mediators of Expressive Helping in Survivors of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant.

PubMed

Williamson, Timothy J; Stanton, Annette L; Austin, Jane E; Valdimarsdottir, Heiddis B; Wu, Lisa M; Krull, Jennifer L; Rini, Christine M

2017-10-01

A randomized experiment by Rini et al. (Health Psychol. 33(12):1541-1551, 2014) demonstrated that expressive helping, which involves three expressive writing sessions regarding hematopoietic stem cell transplant, followed by one writing session directed toward helping other stem cell transplant recipients, reduced psychological distress and bothersome physical symptoms among stem cell transplant recipients with elevated survivorship problems, relative to a neutral writing control condition. The current study evaluated whether word use reflective of emotional expression, cognitive processing, and change in perspective mediates the effects of expressive helping. The essays of 67 stem cell transplant recipients with high survivorship problems were analyzed with Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. Multiple mediation modeling was used to test the hypothesized mechanisms of expressive helping on distress and bothersome physical symptoms. Relative to the control condition, expressive helping produced significant reductions in psychological distress and marginal reductions in physical symptom bother in the analyzed subset of participants from the parent study. Results indicated that positive emotion word use significantly mediated effects of expressive helping on reduced distress, but only for participants who used average (compared to above or below average) rates of negative emotion words. Cognitive processing and change in perspective did not significantly mediate benefits of expressive helping. Expressive helping carried its positive effects on distress through participants' higher expression of positive emotions when coupled with moderate rates of negative emotions. Findings highlight the benefit of expressing both positive and negative emotions in stressful situations.

Breaking the Backlog Reduction Mold with FacMan: A Facilities Management Application for Maintenance Backlogs and Capital Renewal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Managan, William H.

1999-01-01

Describes a facilities-management software program that helps managers better document and understand maintenance backlogs, improvements, and future cyclic renewal needs. Major software components are examined including a software tool that filters, groups, and ranks projects to help determine funding requests. (GR)

Proposed chemical mechanismsManagement practices impacts soil nutrients and bacterial populations in backgrounding beef feedlot

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Intensive beef backgrounding often accumulate manure born soil nutrients, microbes, and pharmaceuticals at different site locations. Unless properly managed, such waste materials can pollute surrounding soil and water sources. Soil sampling from these sites helps determining waste material levels bu...

Barrier-Free School Facilities for Handicapped Students. ERS Information Aid.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kunder, Linda H.

The purpose of this document is to assemble and summarize suggestions, recommendations, and regulations--most of which have been made in the light of increasing local, state, and federal mandates--that might be helpful to school officials in making educational facilities barrier-free for handicapped students. Three survey forms are included to…

Spatial association of public sports facilities with body mass index in Korea.

PubMed

Han, Eun Jin; Kang, Kiyeon; Sohn, So Young

2018-05-07

Governments and also local councils create and enforce their own regional public health care plans for the problem of overweight and obesity in the population. Public sports facilities can help these plans. In this paper, we investigated the contribution of public sports facilities to the reduction of the obesity of local residents. We used the data obtained from the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys; and measured the degree of obesity using body mass index (BMI). We conducted various spatial regression analyses including the global Moran's I test and local indicators of spatial autocorrelation analysis finding that there exists spatial dependence in the error term of spatial regression model for BMI. However, we also observed that the number of local public sports facilities is not significantly related to local BMI. This result can be caused by the low utilization ratio and an unbalanced spatial distribution of local public sports facilities. Based on our findings, we suggest that local councils need to improve the quality of public sports facilities encouraging the establishment of preferred types of pubic sports facilities.

Smart Homes and Buildings Research at the Energy Systems Integration Facility

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

Christensen, Dane; Sparn, Bethany; Hannegan, Bryan

Watch how NREL researchers are using the unique capabilities of the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) to develop technologies that will help the “smart” homes and buildings of the future perform efficiently and communicate effectively with the electricity grid while enhancing occupants' comfort and convenience.

Laboratory simulations of astrophysical jets: results from experiments at the PF-3, PF-1000U, and KPF-4 facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krauz, V. I.; Myalton, V. V.; Vinogradov, V. P.; Velikhov, E. P.; Ananyev, S. S.; Dan'ko, S. A.; Kalinin, Yu G.; Kharrasov, A. M.; Vinogradova, Yu V.; Mitrofanov, K. N.; Paduch, M.; Miklaszewski, R.; Zielinska, E.; Skladnik-Sadowska, E.; Sadowski, M. J.; Kwiatkowski, R.; Tomaszewski, K.; Vojtenko, D. A.

2017-10-01

Results are presented from laboratory simulations of plasma jets emitted by young stellar objects carried out at the plasma focus facilities. The experiments were performed at three facilities: the PF-3, PF-1000U and KPF-4. The operation modes were realized enabling the formation of narrow plasma jets which can propagate over long distances. The main parameters of plasma jets and background plasma were determined. In order to control the ratio of a jet density to that of background plasma, some special operation modes with pulsed injection of the working gas were used.

Help-Seeking and Help-Giving for Teen Dating Violence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weisz, Arlene N.; Black, Beverly M.

2009-01-01

This article is based on numerous research projects conducted by the authors on adolescent dating violence. It reviews the results of those projects as they relate to how teens seek help for dating violence and how teens provide help to their friends in violent dating relationships. It concludes with helpful strategies for adults who work with…

Distinguishing nanomaterial particles from background airborne particulate matter for quantitative exposure assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ono-Ogasawara, Mariko; Serita, Fumio; Takaya, Mitsutoshi

2009-10-01

As the production of engineered nanomaterials quantitatively expands, the chance that workers involved in the manufacturing process will be exposed to nanoparticles also increases. A risk management system is needed for workplaces in the nanomaterial industry based on the precautionary principle. One of the problems in the risk management system is difficulty of exposure assessment. In this article, examples of exposure assessment in nanomaterial industries are reviewed with a focus on distinguishing engineered nanomaterial particles from background nanoparticles in workplace atmosphere. An approach by JNIOSH (Japan National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) to quantitatively measure exposure to carbonaceous nanomaterials is also introduced. In addition to real-time measurements and qualitative analysis by electron microscopy, quantitative chemical analysis is necessary for quantitatively assessing exposure to nanomaterials. Chemical analysis is suitable for quantitative exposure measurement especially at facilities with high levels of background NPs.

Background characterization of an ultra-low background liquid scintillation counter

DOE PAGES

Erchinger, J. L.; Orrell, John L.; Aalseth, C. E.; ...

2017-01-26

The Ultra-Low Background Liquid Scintillation Counter developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will expand the application of liquid scintillation counting by enabling lower detection limits and smaller sample volumes. By reducing the overall count rate of the background environment approximately 2 orders of magnitude below that of commercially available systems, backgrounds on the order of tens of counts per day over an energy range of ~3–3600 keV can be realized. Finally, initial test results of the ULB LSC show promising results for ultra-low background detection with liquid scintillation counting.

Unanticipated potential cancer risk near metal recycling facilities

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

Raun, Loren, E-mail: raun@rice.edu; Pepple, Karl, E-mail: pepple.karl@epa.gov; Hoyt, Daniel, E-mail: hoyt.daniel@epa.gov

2013-07-15

Metal recycling is an important growing industry. Prior to this study, area sources consisting of metal recycling facilities fell in a category of limited regulatory scrutiny because of assumed low levels of annual emissions. Initiating with community complaints of nuisance from smoke, dust and odor, the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) began a monitoring program outside metal recycler facilities and found metal particulates in outdoor ambient air at levels which could pose a carcinogenic human health risk. In a study of five similar metal recycler facilities which used a torch cutting process, air downwind and outside themore » facility was sampled for eight hours between 6 and 10 times each over 18 months using a mobile laboratory. Ten background locations were also sampled. Iron, manganese, copper, chromium, nickel, lead, cobalt, cadmium and mercury were detected downwind of the metal recyclers at frequencies ranging from 100% of the time for iron to 2% of the time for mercury. Of these metals, chromium, nickel, lead, cobalt, cadmium and mercury were not detected in any sample in the background. Two pairs of samples were analyzed for total chromium and hexavalent chromium to establish a ratio of the fraction of hexavalent chromium in total chromium. This fraction was used to estimate hexavalent chromium at all locations. The carcinogenic risk posed to a residential receptor from metal particulate matter concentrations in the ambient air attributed to the metal recyclers was estimated from each of the five facilities in an effort to rank the importance of this source and inform the need for further investigation. The total risk from these area sources ranged from an increased cancer risk of 1 in 1,000,000 to 6 in 10,000 using the 95th upper confidence limit of the mean of the carcinogenic metal particulate matter concentration, assuming the point of the exposure is the sample location for a residential receptor after accounting for wind

Stochastic background from cosmic (super)strings: Popcorn-like and (Gaussian) continuous regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Regimbau, Tania; Giampanis, Stefanos; Siemens, Xavier; Mandic, Vuk

2012-03-01

In the era of the next generation of gravitational wave experiments a stochastic background from cusps of cosmic (super)strings is expected to be probed and, if not detected, to be significantly constrained. A popcornlike background can be, for part of the parameter space, as pronounced as the (Gaussian) continuous contribution from unresolved sources that overlap in frequency and time. We study both contributions from unresolved cosmic string cusps over a range of frequencies relevant to ground based interferometers, such as the LIGO/Virgo second generation and Einstein Telescope third generation detectors, the space antenna LISA, and pulsar timing arrays. We compute the sensitivity (at the 2σ level) in the parameter space for the LIGO/Virgo second generation detector, the Einstein Telescope detector, LISA, and pulsar timing arrays. We conclude that the popcorn regime is complementary to the continuous background. Its detection could therefore enhance confidence in a stochastic background detection and possibly help determine fundamental string parameters such as the string tension and the reconnection probability.

The Effectiveness and Need for Facility Based Nurse Aide Training Competency Evaluation Programs.

PubMed

Mileski, Michael; McIlwain, Amber S; Kruse, Clemens Scott; Lieneck, Cristian; Sokan, Amanda

2016-01-01

It has become crucial for nursing facilities to rapidly train future nurse aides and remove any barriers to their matriculation into the field of care. Facilities feel the organizational burden of insufficient staffing and need to lever all effective programs to train future employees. The facility-based, Nurse Aide Training Competency Evaluation Programs (NATCEP) serve as a viable option to help fill shortages in the professional medical workforce. Data were analyzed from the National Nursing Assistant Survey to provide an overview of the benefits of using facility-trained nurse aides, versus those trained elsewhere, including their own perceptions of training and abilities. These findings also show the importance of facility based training programs for nurse aides on a global level. Providing training on site increases the efficiency and proficiency of nurse aides, making the transition to caregivers an easier for students, employers and residents.

Family planning and development helping women world-wide.

PubMed

Mahler, H

1989-04-01

This article discusses the need for family planning (FP) as part of the development process, applauds its successes and rallies continued momentum of the FP movement. 500,000 women die each year from pregnancy- or labor-related conditions, and 10s of millions of women suffer pregnancy-related illnesses and impairments that undermine their social and economic productivity. Moreover, the 4 major factors that lead to high-risk pregnancies, namely, becoming pregnant before the age of 20, after the age of 35, after 4 or more pregnancies, and 2 years after an earlier pregnancy, all reveal the need for FP. These tragedies could be avoided by assuring better nutrition, primary health care for all, good antenatal attention and proper facilities and help in childbirth, access to good obstetric care in emergency situations, and universally available FP services. FP organizations must empower women with the knowledge of FP and the means to put it into practice. Developing countries, such as China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Mexico, in addition to affluent industrialized countries have made strides in FP with the help of such organizations as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). IPPF has helped to motivate large numbers of men and women to determine their ideal family size. It has provided the means for them to reach such goals and has ensured that acceptance of FP has been on a voluntary basis. IPPF has also advised and cajoled governments into becoming involved in FP. In the future, national strategies must produce the building blocks for better policies to help women become more responsible for their lives. The education of women will be vital to achieving this objective as well as other aspects of development.

Design of a cryogenic test facility for evaluating the performance of interferometric components of the SPICA/SAFARI instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veenendaal, Ian T.; Naylor, David A.; Gom, Brad G.

2014-08-01

The Japanese SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA), a 3 m class telescope cooled to ~ 6 K, will provide extremely low thermal background far-infrared observations. An imaging Fourier transform spectrometer (SAFARI) is being developed to exploit the low background provided by SPICA. Evaluating the performance of the interferometer translation stage and key optical components requires a cryogenic test facility. In this paper we discuss the design challenges of a pulse tube cooled cryogenic test facility that is under development for this purpose. We present the design of the cryostat and preliminary results from component characterization and external optical metrology.

[The prevalence of suicide ideas and their psychosocial backgrounds among physicians].

PubMed

Gyorffy, Zsuzsa; Adám, Szilvia; Csoboth, Csilla; Kopp, Mária

2005-01-01

A growing body of evidence in the literature suggests that the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity including suicide is high among physicians. Suicidal ideas are the most important predictors of suicides and suicide attempts. The prevalence of suicidal ideas is higher among physicians compared to the general population. Our goal was to search the factors of suicidal ideas among Hungarian physicians on basis of nationwide representative survey, helping to elaborate prevention programs. Data were collected from 298 female and 109 male physicians using questionnaires. 1,754 white-collar workers from a representative survey (Hungarostudy 2002) served as controls. Statistical analysis examined background factors of suicidal thoughts. We found that the prevalence of suicidal ideas among both female (20,3%) and male physicians (12,1%) was significantly higher than that in the respective control groups (12,3% - 7,6%). Female physicians also exhibited significantly higher prevalence of suicidal ideas (p=0.0058 és OR=1,901). Suicidal ideas were associated with work-related stress. Correlation analyses confirmed a significant relationship between high prevalence of suicidal ideas and long working hours (>8 hours), severe anxiety and work-related stress, and role conflict. Further examination of the background factors of suicidal thoughts may help to elaborate more effective health-prevention and conflict-dealing methods.

Astronaut Andrew S. W. Thomas, mission specialist, is helped with the final touches of suit donning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

STS-77 TRAINING VIEW --- Astronaut Andrew S. W. Thomas, mission specialist, is helped with the final touches of suit donning during emergency bailout training for crew members in the Johnson Space Centers (JSC) Weightless Environment Training Facility (WET-F). Thomas will join five other astronauts for nine days aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour next month.

Sinning against nature: the theory of background conditions

PubMed Central

Blackford, R

2006-01-01

Debates about the moral and political acceptability of particular sexual practices and new technologies often include appeals to a supposed imperative to follow nature. If nature is understood as the totality of all phenomena or as those things that are not artificial, there is little prospect of developing a successful argument to impugn interference with it or sinning against it. At the same time, there are serious difficulties with approaches that seek to identify "proper" human functioning. An alternative approach is to understand interference with nature as acting in a manner that threatens basic background conditions to human choice. Arguably, the theory of background conditions helps explain much of the hostility to practices and technologies that allegedly sin against nature. The theory does not, however, entail that appeals to nature are relevant or rational. Such appeals should be subjected to sceptical scrutiny. Indeed, the theory suggests that arguments against practices and technologies that can be seen as contrary to nature sometimes exercise a psychological attraction that is disproportional to their actual cogency. PMID:17074819

US Army Proposed Automatic Test Equipment Software Development and Support Facility.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-10-29

programs would be prepared as weapon and prime system operating software. The ATE Software Development and Support Facility will help prevent the TPS...ONE AS A STANDARD **Partially being Developed (2) UNDER DEVELOP- by Navy CSS Prgram MENT (3) NEEDS TAILOR- (5) NEEDS ING FOR ARMY DEVELOPMENT A- 2

Conceptual measurement framework for help-seeking for mental health problems

PubMed Central

Rickwood, Debra; Thomas, Kerry

2012-01-01

Background Despite a high level of research, policy, and practice interest in help-seeking for mental health problems and mental disorders, there is currently no agreed and commonly used definition or conceptual measurement framework for help-seeking. Methods A systematic review of research activity in the field was undertaken to investigate how help-seeking has been conceptualized and measured. Common elements were used to develop a proposed conceptual measurement framework. Results The database search revealed a very high level of research activity and confirmed that there is no commonly applied definition of help-seeking and no psychometrically sound measures that are routinely used. The most common element in the help-seeking research was a focus on formal help-seeking sources, rather than informal sources, although studies did not assess a consistent set of professional sources; rather, each study addressed an idiosyncratic range of sources of professional health and community care. Similarly, the studies considered help-seeking for a range of mental health problems and no consistent terminology was applied. The most common mental health problem investigated was depression, followed by use of generic terms, such as mental health problem, psychological distress, or emotional problem. Major gaps in the consistent measurement of help-seeking were identified. Conclusion It is evident that an agreed definition that supports the comparable measurement of help-seeking is lacking. Therefore, a conceptual measurement framework is proposed to fill this gap. The framework maintains that the essential elements for measurement are: the part of the help-seeking process to be investigated and respective time frame, the source and type of assistance, and the type of mental health concern. It is argued that adopting this framework will facilitate progress in the field by providing much needed conceptual consistency. Results will then be able to be compared across studies and

LArGe: active background suppression using argon scintillation for the Gerda 0ν β β -experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agostini, M.; Barnabé-Heider, M.; Budjáš, D.; Cattadori, C.; Gangapshev, A.; Gusev, K.; Heisel, M.; Junker, M.; Klimenko, A.; Lubashevskiy, A.; Pelczar, K.; Schönert, S.; Smolnikov, A.; Zuzel, G.

2015-10-01

LArGe is a Gerda low-background test facility to study novel background suppression methods in a low-background environment, for future application in the Gerda experiment. Similar to Gerda, LArGe operates bare germanium detectors submersed into liquid argon (1 m^3, 1.4 tons), which in addition is instrumented with photomultipliers to detect argon scintillation light. The scintillation signals are used in anti-coincidence with the germanium detectors to effectively suppress background events that deposit energy in the liquid argon. The background suppression efficiency was studied in combination with a pulse shape discrimination (PSD) technique using a BEGe detector for various sources, which represent characteristic backgrounds to Gerda. Suppression factors of a few times 10^3 have been achieved. First background data of LArGe with a coaxial HPGe detector (without PSD) yield a background index of (0.12-4.6)× 10^{-2} cts/(keV kg year) (90 % C.L.), which is at the level of Gerda Phase I. Furthermore, for the first time we monitor the natural ^{42}Ar abundance (parallel to Gerda), and have indication for the 2ν β β -decay in natural germanium. These results show the effectivity of an active liquid argon veto in an ultra-low background environment. As a consequence, the implementation of a liquid argon veto in Gerda Phase II is pursued.

Limited Service Availability, Readiness, and Use of Facility-Based Delivery Care in Haiti: A Study Linking Health Facility Data and Population Data

PubMed Central

Wang, Wenjuan; Winner, Michelle; Burgert-Brucker, Clara R

2017-01-01

Background: Understanding the barriers that women in Haiti face to giving birth at a health facility is important for improving coverage of facility delivery and reducing persistently high maternal mortality. We linked health facility survey data and population survey data to assess the role of the obstetric service environment in affecting women's use of facility delivery care. Methods: Data came from the 2012 Haiti Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and the 2013 Haiti Service Provision Assessment (SPA) survey. DHS clusters and SPA facilities were linked with their geographic coordinate information. The final analysis sample from the DHS comprised 4,921 women who had a live birth in the 5 years preceding the survey. Service availability was measured with the number of facilities providing delivery services within a specified distance from the cluster (within 5 kilometers for urban areas and 10 kilometers for rural areas). We measured facility readiness to provide obstetric care using 37 indicators defined by the World Health Organization. Random-intercept logistic regressions were used to model the variation in individual use of facility-based delivery care and cluster-level service availability and readiness, adjusting for other factors. Results: Overall, 39% of women delivered their most recent birth at a health facility and 61% delivered at home, with disparities by residence (about 60% delivered at a health facility in urban areas vs. 24% in rural areas). About one-fifth (18%) of women in rural areas and one-tenth (12%) of women in nonmetropolitan urban areas lived in clusters where no facility offered delivery care within the specified distances, while nearly all women (99%) in the metropolitan area lived in clusters that had at least 2 such facilities. Urban clusters had better service readiness compared with rural clusters, with a wide range of variation in both areas. Regression models indicated that in both rural and nonmetropolitan urban areas

What would encourage help-seeking for memory problems among UK-based South Asians? A qualitative study.

PubMed

Mukadam, Naaheed; Waugh, Amy; Cooper, Claudia; Livingston, Gill

2015-09-11

People from Minority Ethnic groups tend to present late to dementia services, often in crisis. Culture-specific barriers to help-seeking seem to underlie this. We sought to determine these barriers to timely help-seeking for dementia among people from South Asian backgrounds and what the features of an intervention to overcome them would be. Qualitative study to delineate barriers to and facilitators of help-seeking for South Asian adults with dementia through focus groups and individual interviews. Community settings in and around Greater London. To achieve a maximum variation sample, we purposively recruited 53 English or Bengali speaking South Asian adults without a known diagnosis of dementia through community centres and snowballing. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 83 years, were mostly female and were 60% Bangladeshi. We recruited people from different religions and occupational backgrounds and included those with experience of caring for someone with dementia as well as those without this experience. Participants identified four main barriers to timely diagnosis: barriers to help-seeking for memory problems; the threshold for seeking help for memory problems; ways to overcome barriers to help-seeking; what features an educational resource should have. We have identified the features of an intervention with the potential to improve timely dementia diagnosis in South Asians. The next steps are to devise and test such an intervention. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Measurement of low radioactivity background in a high voltage cable by high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

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

Vacri, M. L. di; Nisi, S.; Balata, M.

2013-08-08

The measurement of naturally occurring low level radioactivity background in a high voltage (HV) cable by high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HR ICP MS) is presented in this work. The measurements were performed at the Chemistry Service of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory. The contributions to the radioactive background coming from the different components of the heterogeneous material were separated. Based on the mass fraction of the cable, the whole contamination was calculated. The HR ICP MS results were cross-checked by gamma ray spectroscopy analysis that was performed at the low background facility STELLA (Sub Terranean Low Levelmore » Assay) of the LNGS underground lab using HPGe detectors.« less

Development of a Rotating Human Research Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mulenburg, Gerald M.; Caldwell, William F.; Tucker, John; Wade, Charles E. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

A unique facility has been developed at the NASA Ames Research Center to provide scientists with unusual research opportunities at greater than Earth's gravity. In addition to its use for basic research, this facility will help provide answers to many of the questions posed by proponents of rotating human space vehicles. This paper describes the design and planned use of this facility, the Spaceflight Environmental Simulator. Using an existing 52-foot diameter cylindrical rotating platform design centrifuge, the revised facility design includes the provision of two human habitats for long duration studies of the effects of hypergravity. Up to four humans (per habitat) will be able to live at up to 2 G for as long as one month without stopping the centrifuge. Each habitat, constructed of lightweight honeycomb sandwich panels, is nominally 9 ft high x 11 ft wide x 25 1/2 ft long. A radial positioning system provides for positioning each habitat at a distance of 15 to 21 feet from the centrifuge's axis of rotation to the midpoint of the habitat's interior floor. As centrifugal acceleration changes with rotation rate, a habitat floor-mounted accelerometer signal provides automatic servo controlled adjustment of each habitat's angle of inclination to provide an environment for the habitat's crew and cargo in which the resultant gravity vector is normal to the habitat floor at all times. Design of the habitats and modifications to the centrifuge are complete, and are currently under construction. Design philosophy and operational rationale are presented along with complete descriptions of the facility and its systems.

Palliative Care Matters: Lessons From the Loss of a Facility Dog.

PubMed

Holman, Elizabeth; Levy, Cari; Kennedy, Brenda

2018-01-01

Animal-assisted intervention is gaining attention as a stress reduction modality. Quantitative data demonstrate its effectiveness, as a recent study published in AJHPM supported that a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital facility dog paired with a palliative care psychologist had a measurable impact on salivary cortisol levels and heart rate in hospitalized veterans. There remains an important role for qualitative insights. The Denver VA palliative care team learned a range of lessons from the sudden loss of their facility dog, many of which relate directly to palliative care. The importance of communication, adjusting to changing teams, and the need for consultation and support based in shared goals and values all became evident in the course of the facility dog's illness. After her death, lessons shifted to grief and loss and how providers, patients, and a community care for each other. People's connection to the facility dog ultimately proved to be a critical factor in helping them connect with one another.

Malaria diagnostic capacity in health facilities in Ethiopia

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Accurate early diagnosis and prompt treatment is one of the key strategies to control and prevent malaria in Ethiopia where both Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are sympatric and require different treatment regimens. Microscopy is the standard for malaria diagnosis at the health centres and hospitals whereas rapid diagnostic tests are used at community-level health posts. The current study was designed to assess malaria microscopy capacity of health facilities in Oromia Regional State and Dire Dawa Administrative City, Ethiopia. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from February to April 2011 in 122 health facilities, where health professionals were interviewed using a pre-tested, standardized assessment tool and facilities’ laboratory practices were assessed by direct observation. Results Of the 122 assessed facilities, 104 (85%) were health centres and 18 (15%) were hospitals. Out of 94 health facilities reportedly performing blood films, only 34 (36%) used both thin and thick smears for malaria diagnosis. The quality of stained slides was graded in 66 health facilities as excellent, good and poor quality in 11(17%), 31 (47%) and 24 (36%) respectively. Quality assurance guidelines and malaria microscopy standard operating procedures were found in only 13 (11%) facilities and 12 (10%) had involved in external quality assessment activities, and 32 (26%) had supportive supervision within six months of the survey. Only seven (6%) facilities reported at least one staff’s participation in malaria microscopy refresher training during the previous 12 months. Although most facilities, 96 (79%), had binocular microscopes, only eight (7%) had the necessary reagents and supplies to perform malaria microscopy. Treatment guidelines for malaria were available in only 38 (31%) of the surveyed facilities. Febrile patients with negative malaria laboratory test results were managed with artemether-lumefantrine or chloroquine in 51% (53

Real-time Stack Monitoring at the BaTek Medical Isotope Production Facility

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

McIntyre, Justin I.; Agusbudiman, A.; Cameron, Ian M.

2016-04-01

Radioxenon emissions from radiopharmaceutical production are a major source of background concentrations affecting the radioxenon detection systems of the International Monitoring System (IMS). Collection of real-time emissions data from production facilities makes it possible to screen out some medical isotope signatures from the IMS radioxenon data sets. This paper describes an effort to obtain and analyze real-time stack emissions data with the design, construction and installation of a small stack monitoring system developed by a joint CTBTO-IDC, BATAN, and PNNL team at the BaTek medical isotope production facility near Jakarta, Indonesia.

Prevalence of School Policies, Programs, and Facilities That Promote a Healthy Physical School Environment

PubMed Central

Everett Jones, Sherry; Brener, Nancy D.; McManus, Tim

2003-01-01

Objectives. We examined the extent to which schools in the United States have health-promoting policies, programs, and facilities. Methods. We analyzed data from the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2000. Results. We found that public schools (vs private and Catholic schools), urban schools (vs rural and suburban schools), and schools with larger enrollments (vs smaller schools) had more health-promoting policies, programs, and facilities in place. On average, middle schools had 11.0 and middle/junior and high schools had 10.4 out of a possible 18 policies, programs, and facilities. Conclusions. Although some schools had many healthy physical environment features, room for improvement exists. Resources are available to help schools improve their health-promoting policies, programs, and facilities. PMID:12948982

Collective helping and bystander effects in coevolving helping networks.

PubMed

Jo, Hang-Hyun; Lee, Hyun Keun; Park, Hyunggyu

2010-06-01

We study collective helping behavior and bystander effects in a coevolving helping network model. A node and a link of the network represents an agent who renders or receives help and a friendly relation between agents, respectively. A helping trial of an agent depends on relations with other involved agents and its result (success or failure) updates the relation between the helper and the recipient. We study the network link dynamics and its steady states analytically and numerically. The full phase diagram is presented with various kinds of active and inactive phases and the nature of phase transitions are explored. We find various interesting bystander effects, consistent with the field study results, of which the underlying mechanism is proposed.

Smart Homes and Buildings Research at the Energy Systems Integration Facility

ScienceCinema

Christensen, Dane; Sparn, Bethany; Hannegan, Bryan

2018-01-16

Watch how NREL researchers are using the unique capabilities of the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) to develop technologies that will help the “smart” homes and buildings of the future perform efficiently and communicate effectively with the electricity grid while enhancing occupants' comfort and convenience.

Effects of Background Music on Objective and Subjective Performance Measures in an Auditory BCI.

PubMed

Zhou, Sijie; Allison, Brendan Z; Kübler, Andrea; Cichocki, Andrzej; Wang, Xingyu; Jin, Jing

2016-01-01

Several studies have explored brain computer interface (BCI) systems based on auditory stimuli, which could help patients with visual impairments. Usability and user satisfaction are important considerations in any BCI. Although background music can influence emotion and performance in other task environments, and many users may wish to listen to music while using a BCI, auditory, and other BCIs are typically studied without background music. Some work has explored the possibility of using polyphonic music in auditory BCI systems. However, this approach requires users with good musical skills, and has not been explored in online experiments. Our hypothesis was that an auditory BCI with background music would be preferred by subjects over a similar BCI without background music, without any difference in BCI performance. We introduce a simple paradigm (which does not require musical skill) using percussion instrument sound stimuli and background music, and evaluated it in both offline and online experiments. The result showed that subjects preferred the auditory BCI with background music. Different performance measures did not reveal any significant performance effect when comparing background music vs. no background. Since the addition of background music does not impair BCI performance but is preferred by users, auditory (and perhaps other) BCIs should consider including it. Our study also indicates that auditory BCIs can be effective even if the auditory channel is simultaneously otherwise engaged.

Anticipated Guilt for Not Helping and Anticipated Warm Glow for Helping Are Differently Impacted by Personal Responsibility to Help

PubMed Central

Erlandsson, Arvid; Jungstrand, Amanda Å.; Västfjäll, Daniel

2016-01-01

One important motivation for people behaving prosocially is that they want to avoid negative and obtain positive emotions. In the prosocial behavior literature however, the motivations to avoid negative emotions (e.g., guilt) and to approach positive emotions (e.g., warm glow) are rarely separated, and sometimes even aggregated into a single mood-management construct. The aim of this study was to investigate whether anticipated guilt if not helping and anticipated warm glow if helping are influenced similarly or differently when varying situational factors related to personal responsibility to help. Helping scenarios were created and pilot tests established that each helping scenario could be formulated both in a high-responsibility version and in a low-responsibility version. In Study 1 participants read high-responsibility and low-responsibility helping scenarios, and rated either their anticipated guilt if not helping or their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e., separate evaluation). Study 2 was similar but here participants rated both their anticipated guilt if not helping and their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e., joint evaluation). Anticipated guilt was clearly higher in the high-responsibility versions, but anticipated warm glow was unaffected (in Studies 1a and 1b), or even higher in the low-responsibility versions (Study 2). In Studies 3 (where anticipated guilt and warm glow were evaluated separately) and 4 (where they were evaluated jointly), personal responsibility to help was manipulated within-subjects. Anticipated guilt was again constantly higher in the high-responsibility versions but for many types of responsibility-manipulations, anticipated warm glow was higher in the low-responsibility versions. The results suggest that we anticipate guilt if not fulfilling our responsibility but that we anticipate warm glow primarily when doing over and beyond our responsibility. We argue that future studies investigating motivations for helping

Anticipated Guilt for Not Helping and Anticipated Warm Glow for Helping Are Differently Impacted by Personal Responsibility to Help.

PubMed

Erlandsson, Arvid; Jungstrand, Amanda Å; Västfjäll, Daniel

2016-01-01

One important motivation for people behaving prosocially is that they want to avoid negative and obtain positive emotions. In the prosocial behavior literature however, the motivations to avoid negative emotions (e.g., guilt) and to approach positive emotions (e.g., warm glow) are rarely separated, and sometimes even aggregated into a single mood-management construct. The aim of this study was to investigate whether anticipated guilt if not helping and anticipated warm glow if helping are influenced similarly or differently when varying situational factors related to personal responsibility to help. Helping scenarios were created and pilot tests established that each helping scenario could be formulated both in a high-responsibility version and in a low-responsibility version. In Study 1 participants read high-responsibility and low-responsibility helping scenarios, and rated either their anticipated guilt if not helping or their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e., separate evaluation). Study 2 was similar but here participants rated both their anticipated guilt if not helping and their anticipated warm glow if helping (i.e., joint evaluation). Anticipated guilt was clearly higher in the high-responsibility versions, but anticipated warm glow was unaffected (in Studies 1a and 1b), or even higher in the low-responsibility versions (Study 2). In Studies 3 (where anticipated guilt and warm glow were evaluated separately) and 4 (where they were evaluated jointly), personal responsibility to help was manipulated within-subjects. Anticipated guilt was again constantly higher in the high-responsibility versions but for many types of responsibility-manipulations, anticipated warm glow was higher in the low-responsibility versions. The results suggest that we anticipate guilt if not fulfilling our responsibility but that we anticipate warm glow primarily when doing over and beyond our responsibility. We argue that future studies investigating motivations for helping

Perceptions of Help Given to Healthy Older Mothers by Adult Daughters: Ways of Initiating Help and Types of Help Given

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martini, Tanya S.; Grusec, Joan E.; Bernardini, Silvia Cortese

2003-01-01

Older mother-adult daughter dyads (N = 43) addressed two issues pertaining to the ways in which help is initiated (offered, requested, and imposed help) and type of help given (instrumental help, advice, and emotional support) a) mothers' reasoning about these aspects of help, and b) daughters' understanding of mothers' feelings. Both groups noted…

Reliable Facility Location Problem with Facility Protection

PubMed Central

Tang, Luohao; Zhu, Cheng; Lin, Zaili; Shi, Jianmai; Zhang, Weiming

2016-01-01

This paper studies a reliable facility location problem with facility protection that aims to hedge against random facility disruptions by both strategically protecting some facilities and using backup facilities for the demands. An Integer Programming model is proposed for this problem, in which the failure probabilities of facilities are site-specific. A solution approach combining Lagrangian Relaxation and local search is proposed and is demonstrated to be both effective and efficient based on computational experiments on random numerical examples with 49, 88, 150 and 263 nodes in the network. A real case study for a 100-city network in Hunan province, China, is presented, based on which the properties of the model are discussed and some managerial insights are analyzed. PMID:27583542

Evaluation of Plume Divergence and Facility Effects on Far-Field Faraday Probe Current Density Profiles

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

elevated background pressure, compared nude Faraday probe designs, and evaluated design modifications to minimize uncertainty due to charge exchange...evaluated Faraday probe design and facility background pressure on collected ion current. A comparison of two nude Faraday probe designs concluded...140.5 Plasma potential in the region surrounding a nude Faraday probe has been measured to study the possibility of probe bias voltage acting as a

National Transonic Facility Characterization Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bobbitt, C., Jr.; Everhart, J.; Foster, J.; Hill, J.; McHatton, R.; Tomek, W.

2000-01-01

This paper describes the current status of the characterization of the National Transonic Facility. The background and strategy for the tunnel characterization, as well as the current status of the four main areas of the characterization (tunnel calibration, flow quality characterization, data quality assurance, and support of the implementation of wall interference corrections) are presented. The target accuracy requirements for tunnel characterization measurements are given, followed by a comparison of the measured tunnel flow quality to these requirements based on current available information. The paper concludes with a summary of which requirements are being met, what areas need improvement, and what additional information is required in follow-on characterization studies.

Impact of Antimicrobial Stewardship on Physician Practice in a Geriatric Facility

PubMed Central

Kassett, Nina; Sham, Rosalind; Aleong, Rosanne; Yang, Daisy; Kirzner, Michael; Craft, Aidlee

2016-01-01

Background There is a paucity of literature describing the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) in long-term care (LTC) facilities. The current study evaluated the impact of an ASP that was implemented across a geriatric facility, which included an inpatient specialty hospital and an LTC facility. The program included prospective audits with feedback, multidisciplinary education, information technology interventions, and guideline development. Objective To investigate the impact of the ASP on physicians’ prescribing practices in this geriatric facility. Methods Utilization data for antibiotics commonly used to treat urinary tract infections were retrieved for the period September 1, 2011, to August 31, 2013. The study examined whether there were significant changes in overall antibiotic use, ciprofloxacin use, and physician prescribing behaviour after program implementation in September 2012. Results There was no significant change in the total number of antibiotic prescriptions for urinary tract infections in the hospital or the LTC facility after ASP implementation. Significant reductions were seen in the average days of therapy initially prescribed and the actual days of therapy after ASP implementation in the LTC facility but not the hospital. Across both facilities, significant reductions were seen in the number of ciprofloxacin prescriptions. Conclusions The current study showed that an ASP can affect physicians’ antibiotic prescribing behaviour and antibiotic usage in an LTC environment. PMID:28123192

The Educational Facilities Professional's Practical Guide to Reducing the Campus Carbon Footprint

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hignite, Karla

2009-01-01

As more institutions respond to the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, or are otherwise responsible for campus environmental stewardship, this implementation guide gives educational facilities professionals a practical framework for moving forward in their unique role within this process. The intent is to help facilities…

Life-Cycle Assessments of Selected NASA Ground-Based Test Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sydnor, George Honeycutt

2012-01-01

In the past two years, two separate facility-specific life cycle assessments (LCAs) have been performed as summer student projects. The first project focused on 13 facilities managed by NASA s Aeronautics Test Program (ATP), an organization responsible for large, high-energy ground test facilities that accomplish the nation s most advanced aerospace research. A facility inventory was created for each facility, and the operational-phase carbon footprint and environmental impact were calculated. The largest impacts stemmed from electricity and natural gas used directly at the facility and to generate support processes such as compressed air and steam. However, in specialized facilities that use unique inputs like R-134a, R-14, jet fuels, or nitrogen gas, these sometimes had a considerable effect on the facility s overall environmental impact. The second LCA project was conducted on the NASA Ames Arc Jet Complex and also involved creating a facility inventory and calculating the carbon footprint and environmental impact. In addition, operational alternatives were analyzed for their effectiveness at reducing impact. Overall, the Arc Jet Complex impact is dominated by the natural-gas fired boiler producing steam on-site, but alternatives were provided that could reduce the impact of the boiler operation, some of which are already being implemented. The data and results provided by these LCA projects are beneficial to both the individual facilities and NASA as a whole; the results have already been used in a proposal to reduce carbon footprint at Ames Research Center. To help future life cycle projects, several lessons learned have been recommended as simple and effective infrastructure improvements to NASA, including better utility metering and data recording and standardization of modeling choices and methods. These studies also increased sensitivity to and appreciation for quantifying the impact of NASA s activities.

Dialysis facility and patient characteristics associated with utilization of home dialysis.

PubMed

Walker, David R; Inglese, Gary W; Sloand, James A; Just, Paul M

2010-09-01

Nonmedical factors influencing utilization of home dialysis at the facility level are poorly quantified. Home dialysis is comparably effective and safe but less expensive to society and Medicare than in-center hemodialysis. Elimination of modifiable practice variation unrelated to medical factors could contribute to improvements in patient outcomes and use of scarce resources. Prevalent dialysis patient data by facility were collected from the 2007 ESRD Network's annual reports. Facility characteristic data were collected from Medicare's Dialysis Facility Compare file. A multivariate regression model was used to evaluate associations between the use of home dialysis and facility characteristics. The utilization of home dialysis was positively associated with facility size, percent patients employed full- or part-time, younger population, and years a facility was Medicare certified. Variables negatively associated include an increased number of hemodialysis patients per hemodialysis station, chain association, rural location, more densely populated zip code, a late dialysis work shift, and greater percent of black patients within a zip code. Improved understanding of factors affecting the frequency of use of home dialysis may help explain practice variations across the United States that result in an imbalanced use of medical resources within the ESRD population. In turn, this may improve the delivery of healthcare and extend the ability of an increasingly overburdened medical financing system to survive.

Cosmic microwave background polarization signals from tangled magnetic fields.

PubMed

Seshadri, T R; Subramanian, K

2001-09-03

Tangled, primordial cosmic magnetic fields create small rotational velocity perturbations on the last scattering surface of the cosmic microwave background radiation. For fields which redshift to a present value of B0 = 3 x 10(-9) G, these vector modes are shown to generate polarization anisotropies of order 0.1-4 microK on small angular scales (500help in their detection.

An Information System for the Council of Educational Facility Planners International Membership Information Network. Volume 1: Background Report and Implementation Models. Volume 2: Appendices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hruday, Connie; And Others

This document is designed to assist the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFP/I) in planning for the establishment of an information system for its members and other stakeholders who need information on educational facilities. The report focuses on the major activities to be accomplished and the issues to be considered when…

Lost in the Lifeworld: Technology Help Seeking and Giving on Diverse, Post-Secondary Campuses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tannis, Derek

2013-01-01

Information and communications technology (ICT) is integrated throughout a student's lived experience in their post-secondary learning environment. In order for students with limited or no background with ICT to achieve their academic goals, a central part of their adaptation involves an intensive period of ICT help seeking. Using anecdotes from…

Quality of antenatal care service provision in health facilities across sub–Saharan Africa: Evidence from nationally representative health facility assessments

PubMed Central

Kanyangarara, Mufaro; Munos, Melinda K; Walker, Neff

2017-01-01

Background Utilization of antenatal care (ANC) services has increased over the past two decades. Continued gains in maternal and newborn health will require an understanding of both access and quality of ANC services. We linked health facility and household survey data to examine the quality of service provision for five ANC interventions across health facilities in sub–Saharan Africa. Methods Using data from 20 nationally representative health facility assessments – the Service Provision Assessment (SPA) and the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA), we estimated facility level readiness to deliver five ANC interventions: tetanus toxoid vaccine for pregnant women, intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy (IPTp), syphilis detection and treatment in pregnancy, iron supplementation and hypertensive disease case management. Facility level indicators were stratified by health facility type, managing authority and location, then linked to estimates of ANC utilization in that stratum from the corresponding Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to generate population level estimates of the ‘likelihood of appropriate care’. Finally, the association between estimates of the ‘likelihood of appropriate care’ from the linking approach and estimates of coverage levels from the DHS were assessed. Findings A total of 10 534 health facilities were surveyed in the 20 health facility assessments, of which 8742 reported offering ANC services and were included in the analysis. Health facility readiness to deliver IPTp, iron supplementation, and tetanus toxoid vaccination was higher (median: 84.1%, 84.9% and 82.8% respectively) than readiness to deliver hypertensive disease case management and syphilis detection and treatment (median: 23.0% and 19.9% respectively). Coverage of at least 4 ANC visits ranged from 24.8% to 75.8%. Estimates of the likelihood of appropriate care derived from linking health facility and household survey data

The Viability of Lease Purchases as a Means for Funding School Facilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bunch, Beverly S.; Smith, Tina

2002-01-01

Examines the use of the lease purchase of school facilities in Texas; provides background on the use of lease purchases by Texas school districts; describes factors influencing the use of lease purchases and superintendents' experiences based on survey responses from 50 school districts; recommends careful evaluation of advantages and…

"Boys Don't Cry": Examination of the Links between Endorsement of Masculine Norms, Self-Stigma, and Help-Seeking Attitudes for Men from Diverse Backgrounds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vogel, David L.; Heimerdinger-Edwards, Sarah R.; Hammer, Joseph H.; Hubbard, Asale

2011-01-01

The role of conformity to dominant U.S. masculine norms as an antecedent to help-seeking attitudes in men has been established using convenience samples made up largely of college-age and European American males. However, the role of conformity to masculine norms on help-seeking attitudes for noncollege-age men or for men from diverse backgrounds…

Cryogenic implications of orbit selection of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, J. H.; Brooks, W. F.; Maa, S.

1986-01-01

An investigation has been conducted to determine how the choice of orbit for NASA's prospective Space IR Telescope Facility (SIRTF), between polar (99-deg) and low inclination (28.5-deg) alternatives, will affect the performance of the all-superfluid He-cooled IR optics employed. While the dewar design met both the service life and 200-micron background-limited performance criteria in the case of the polar orbit mission, the alternative orbit allowed the background-limited criteria to be met only 50 percent of the time. It is accordingly recommended that the 200-micron background-limited observations be made only for a limited portion of the mission, while meeting the 100-micron limit at all times.

General service and child immunization-specific readiness assessment of healthcare facilities in two selected divisions in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Shawon, Md Shajedur Rahman; Adhikary, Gourab; Ali, Md Wazed; Shamsuzzaman, Md; Ahmed, Shahabuddin; Alam, Nurul; Shackelford, Katya A; Woldeab, Alexander; Lim, Stephen S; Levine, Aubrey; Gakidou, Emmanuela; Uddin, Md Jasim

2018-01-25

Service readiness of health facilities is an integral part of providing comprehensive quality healthcare to the community. Comprehensive assessment of general and service-specific (i.e. child immunization) readiness will help to identify the bottlenecks in healthcare service delivery and gaps in equitable service provision. Assessing healthcare facilities readiness also helps in optimal policymaking and resource allocation. A health facility survey was conducted between March 2015 and December 2015 in two purposively selected divisions in Bangladesh; i.e. Rajshahi division (high performing) and Sylhet division (low performing). A total of 123 health facilities were randomly selected from different levels of service, both public and private, with variation in sizes and patient loads from the list of facilities. Data on various aspects of healthcare facility were collected by interviewing key personnel. General service and child immunization specific service readiness were assessed using the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) manual developed by World Health Organization (WHO). The analyses were stratified by division and level of healthcare facilities. The general service readiness index for pharmacies, community clinics, primary care facilities and higher care facilities were 40.6%, 60.5%, 59.8% and 69.5%, respectively in Rajshahi division and 44.3%, 57.8%, 57.5% and 73.4%, respectively in Sylhet division. Facilities at all levels had the highest scores for basic equipment (ranged between 51.7% and 93.7%) and the lowest scores for diagnostic capacity (ranged between 0.0% and 53.7%). Though facilities with vaccine storage capacity had very high levels of service readiness for child immunization, facilities without vaccine storage capacity lacked availability of many tracer items. Regarding readiness for newly introduced pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), most of the surveyed facilities reported lack of

Integrated infrared detector arrays for low-background astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccreight, C. R.

1979-01-01

Existing integrated infrared detector array technology is being evaluated under low-background conditions to determine its applicability in orbiting astronomical applications where extended integration times and photometric accuracy are of interest. Preliminary performance results of a 1 x 20 elements InSb CCD array under simulated astronomical conditions are presented. Using the findings of these tests, improved linear- and area-array technology will be developed for use in NASA programs such as the Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility. For wavelengths less than 30 microns, extrinsic silicon and intrinsic arrays with CCD readout will be evaluated and improved as required, while multiplexed arrays of Ge:Ga for wavelengths in the range 30 to 120 microns will be developed as fundamental understanding of this material improves. Future efforts will include development of improved drive and readout circuitry, and consideration of alternate multiplexing schemes.

Chameleon scalar fields in relativistic gravitational backgrounds

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

Tsujikawa, Shinji; Tamaki, Takashi; Tavakol, Reza, E-mail: shinji@rs.kagu.tus.ac.jp, E-mail: tamaki@gravity.phys.waseda.ac.jp, E-mail: r.tavakol@qmul.ac.uk

2009-05-15

We study the field profile of a scalar field {phi} that couples to a matter fluid (dubbed a chameleon field) in the relativistic gravitational background of a spherically symmetric spacetime. Employing a linear expansion in terms of the gravitational potential {Phi}{sub c} at the surface of a compact object with a constant density, we derive the thin-shell field profile both inside and outside the object, as well as the resulting effective coupling with matter, analytically. We also carry out numerical simulations for the class of inverse power-law potentials V({phi}) = M{sup 4+n}{phi}{sup -n} by employing the information provided by ourmore » analytical solutions to set the boundary conditions around the centre of the object and show that thin-shell solutions in fact exist if the gravitational potential {Phi}{sub c} is smaller than 0.3, which marginally covers the case of neutron stars. Thus the chameleon mechanism is present in the relativistic gravitational backgrounds, capable of reducing the effective coupling. Since thin-shell solutions are sensitive to the choice of boundary conditions, our analytic field profile is very helpful to provide appropriate boundary conditions for {Phi}{sub c}{approx}« less

Use of Telemedicine for Management of Diabetes in Correctional Facilities.

PubMed

Kassar, Kinan; Roe, Cheryl; Desimone, Marisa

2017-01-01

Prisoners can have difficulty obtaining subspecialty consultations. Telemedicine is used to provide diabetes consultations for residents of correctional facilities from our diabetes center. Telemedicine helps improve access to endocrinologists at reduced cost, but little outcome data are available. A retrospective chart review of prisoners from 15 correctional facilities who received televisits for diabetes from 2011 to 2014 was performed. Demographic information, complications, medications, blood pressure, and laboratory results were collected. At baseline (n = 106), mean age was 44 years, duration of diabetes was 15 years, 44% had type 1 diabetes, and all were male. Only 64 of the participants had ≥2 video consultations; 58/64 had follow-up HbA1c results; and 53/58 were insulin requiring. Mean initial HbA1c was 9.3% with an average decrease of 0.5% from initial to final visit (a mean of 3.6 televisits). Patients with an initial HbA1c >9% (n = 28) had an average drop of 1.3%. Twenty-two subjects had initial elevated blood pressure; 20/22 (91%) were prescribed angiotensin-converting-enzyme-inhibitors (ACE-I)/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB); and 15 of these 20 (75%) had a final blood pressure <140/90 mm Hg over a mean of 3.3 televisits. 17/20 with high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were treated with statin drugs; 15/17 (88%) had improved LDL on follow-up. Follow-up was limited by prisoner availability or visit cancellation by prison facility. Improvements in glycemic, blood pressure, and lipid control for prisoners with diabetes can be achieved with teleconsultations to correctional institutions. Given the high costs of transporting prisoners to healthcare facilities, telemedicine should be considered to help improve diabetes care for this vulnerable population.

Comparison of Hospitalization Rates among For-Profit and Nonprofit Dialysis Facilities

PubMed Central

Johansen, Kirsten L.; Romano, Patrick S.; Chertow, Glenn M.; Mu, Yi; Ishida, Julie H.; Grimes, Barbara; Kaysen, George A.; Nguyen, Danh V.

2014-01-01

Summary Background and objectives The vast majority of US dialysis facilities are for-profit and profit status has been associated with processes of care and outcomes in patients on dialysis. This study examined whether dialysis facility profit status was associated with the rate of hospitalization in patients starting dialysis. Design, setting, participants, & methods This was a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries starting dialysis between 2005 and 2008 using data from the US Renal Data System. All-cause hospitalization was examined and compared between for-profit and nonprofit dialysis facilities through 2009 using Poisson regression. Companion analyses of cause-specific hospitalization that are likely to be influenced by dialysis facility practices including hospitalizations for heart failure and volume overload, access complications, or hyperkalemia were conducted. Results The cohort included 150,642 patients. Of these, 12,985 (9%) were receiving care in nonprofit dialysis facilities. In adjusted models, patients receiving hemodialysis in for-profit facilities had a 15% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 13% to 18%) higher relative rate of hospitalization compared with those in nonprofit facilities. Among patients receiving peritoneal dialysis, the rate of hospitalization in for-profit versus nonprofit facilities was not significantly different (relative rate, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.17). Patients on hemodialysis receiving care in for-profit dialysis facilities had a 37% (95% CI, 31% to 44%) higher rate of hospitalization for heart failure or volume overload and a 15% (95% CI, 11% to 20%) higher rate of hospitalization for vascular access complications. Conclusions Hospitalization rates were significantly higher for patients receiving hemodialysis in for-profit compared with nonprofit dialysis facilities. PMID:24370770

Barriers to providing palliative care in long-term care facilities

PubMed Central

Brazil, Kevin; Bédard, Michel; Krueger, Paul; Taniguchi, Alan; Kelley, Mary Lou; McAiney, Carrie; Justice, Christopher

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVE To assess challenges in providing palliative care in long-term care (LTC) facilities from the perspective of medical directors. DESIGN Cross-sectional mailed survey. A questionnaire was developed, reviewed, pilot-tested, and sent to 450 medical directors representing 531 LTC facilities. Responses were rated on 2 different 5-point scales. Descriptive analyses were conducted on all responses. SETTING All licensed LTC facilities in Ontario with designated medical directors. PARTICIPANTS Medical directors in the facilities. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Demographic and practice characteristics of physicians and facilities, importance of potential barriers to providing palliative care, strategies that could be helpful in providing palliative care, and the kind of training in palliative care respondents had received. RESULTS Two hundred seventy-five medical directors (61%) representing 302 LTC facilities (57%) responded to the survey. Potential barriers to providing palliative care were clustered into 3 groups: facility staff’s capacity to provide palliative care, education and support, and the need for external resources. Two thirds of respondents (67.1%) reported that inadequate staffing in their facilities was an important barrier to providing palliative care. Other barriers included inadequate financial reimbursement from the Ontario Health Insurance Program (58.5%), the heavy time commitment required (47.3%), and the lack of equipment in facilities (42.5%). No statistically significant relationship was found between geographic location or profit status of facilities and barriers to providing palliative care. Strategies respondents would use to improve provision of palliative care included continuing medical education (80.0%), protocols for assessing and monitoring pain (77.7%), finding ways to increase financial reimbursement for managing palliative care residents (72.1%), providing educational material for facility staff (70.7%), and providing practice

Barriers to providing palliative care in long-term care facilities.

PubMed

Brazil, Kevin; Bédard, Michel; Krueger, Paul; Taniguchi, Alan; Kelley, Mary Lou; McAiney, Carrie; Justice, Christopher

2006-04-01

To assess challenges in providing palliative care in long-term care (LTC) facilities from the perspective of medical directors. Cross-sectional mailed survey. A questionnaire was developed, reviewed, pilot-tested, and sent to 450 medical directors representing 531 LTC facilities. Responses were rated on 2 different 5-point scales. Descriptive analyses were conducted on all responses. All licensed LTC facilities in Ontario with designated medical directors. Medical directors in the facilities. Demographic and practice characteristics of physicians and facilities, importance of potential barriers to providing palliative care, strategies that could be helpful in providing palliative care, and the kind of training in palliative care respondents had received. Two hundred seventy-five medical directors (61%) representing 302 LTC facilities (57%) responded to the survey. Potential barriers to providing palliative care were clustered into 3 groups: facility staff's capacity to provide palliative care, education and support, and the need for external resources. Two thirds of respondents (67.1%) reported that inadequate staffing in their facilities was an important barrier to providing palliative care. Other barriers included inadequate financial reimbursement from the Ontario Health Insurance Program (58.5%), the heavy time commitment required (47.3%), and the lack of equipment in facilities (42.5%). No statistically significant relationship was found between geographic location or profit status of facilities and barriers to providing palliative care. Strategies respondents would use to improve provision of palliative care included continuing medical education (80.0%), protocols for assessing and monitoring pain (77.7%), finding ways to increase financial reimbursement for managing palliative care residents (72.1%), providing educational material for facility staff (70.7%), and providing practice guidelines related to assessing and managing palliative care patients (67

SIRTF, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simmons, Larry L.

1999-01-01

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is the last of the NASA Great Observatories, and a cornerstone of the NASA Origins Missions. The Observatory will include an 85 cm telescope in a unique orbit around the sun. The telescope will be launched at ambient temperature and cooled to 5.5K in space. The science instruments will use large detector arrays that will be background limited, and capable of a broad range of astrophysical investigations. The SIRTF architecture will accommodate up to 5 years of cryogenic space operations. This talk will describe both the scientific and technical capabilities of SIRTF.

STS-65 Payload Specialist Mukai dons LES and parachute with technicians' help

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

STS-65 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai adjusts the neck dam of her launch and entry suit (LES) as Boeing's Sharon Daley and Grady Due help her with the parachute pack prior to a launch emergency egress training (bailout) exercise at the Johnson Space Center's (JSC's) Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) Bldg 29. Mukai will join six NASA astronauts later this year for two weeks aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, in support of the second International Microgravity Laboratory 2 (IML-2) mission. Mukai represents Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA).

Building a Sustained School Facilities Remedy: Arizona's Innovative Blueprint for Capital Funding. Education, Equity, and the Law. No. 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, Molly A.

2010-01-01

For over ten years, the State of Arizona has implemented an innovative statewide process for financing and building school facilities and purchasing other capital items for its schools. Spawned by an education quality lawsuit, the 1998 Students FIRST Act established the School Facilities Board, which succeeded in helping rural, suburban, and urban…

Moral Education: A Handbook for Teachers. Insights and Practical Strategies for Helping Adolescents to Become More Caring, Thoughtful, and Responsible Persons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Robert T.

This handbook contains background readings, teaching strategies, and units of study for teaching moral education at the elementary, secondary, and adult levels. It offers practical strategies and insights for helping adolescents become more caring, thoughtful, and responsible persons. The intent is to help young people make more rational decisions…

Association between mental health-related stigma and active help-seeking: systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Schnyder, Nina; Panczak, Radoslaw; Groth, Nicola; Schultze-Lutter, Frauke

2017-04-01

Background Mental disorders create high individual and societal costs and burden, partly because help-seeking is often delayed or completely avoided. Stigma related to mental disorders or mental health services is regarded as a main reason for insufficient help-seeking. Aims To estimate the impact of four stigma types (help-seeking attitudes and personal, self and perceived public stigma) on active help-seeking in the general population. Method A systematic review of three electronic databases was followed by random effect meta-analyses according to the stigma types. Results Twenty-seven studies fulfilled eligibility criteria. Participants' own negative attitudes towards mental health help-seeking (OR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.73-0.88) and their stigmatising attitudes towards people with a mental illness (OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.69-0.98) were associated with less active help-seeking. Self-stigma showed insignificant association (OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.76-1.03), whereas perceived public stigma was not associated. Conclusions Personal attitudes towards mental illness or help-seeking are associated with active help-seeking for mental problems. Campaigns promoting help-seeking and fighting mental illness-related stigma should target these personal attitudes rather than broad public opinion. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2017.

Implementing facility-based kangaroo mother care services: lessons from a multi-country study in Africa

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Some countries have undertaken programs that included scaling up kangaroo mother care. The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the implementation status of facility-based kangaroo mother care services in four African countries: Malawi, Mali, Rwanda and Uganda. Methods A cross-sectional, mixed-method research design was used. Stakeholders provided background information at national meetings and in individual interviews. Facilities were assessed by means of a standardized tool previously applied in other settings, employing semi-structured key-informant interviews and observations in 39 health care facilities in the four countries. Each facility received a score out of a total of 30 according to six stages of implementation progress. Results Across the four countries 95 per cent of health facilities assessed demonstrated some evidence of kangaroo mother care practice. Institutions that fared better had a longer history of kangaroo mother care implementation or had been developed as centres of excellence or had strong leaders championing the implementation process. Variation existed in the quality of implementation between facilities and across countries. Important factors identified in implementation are: training and orientation; supportive supervision; integrating kangaroo mother care into quality improvement; continuity of care; high-level buy in and support for kangaroo mother care implementation; and client-oriented care. Conclusion The integration of kangaroo mother care into routine newborn care services should be part of all maternal and newborn care initiatives and packages. Engaging ministries of health and other implementing partners from the outset may promote buy in and assist with the mobilization of resources for scaling up kangaroo mother care services. Mechanisms for monitoring these services should be integrated into existing health management information systems. PMID:25001366

The New Facilities for Neutron Radiography at the LVR-15 Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soltes, J.; Viererbl, L.; Vacik, J.; Tomandl, I.; Krejci, F.; Jakubek, J.

2016-09-01

Neutron radiography is an imaging method often used at research reactor sites. Back in 2011 a project was started with the goal to build a neutron radiography facility at the site of the LVR-15 research reactor in Rez, Czech Republic. In the scope of the project two horizontal channels were adapted for the needs of neutron radiography. This comprises the HC1 channel which offers an intense thermal neutron beam with a diameter of 10 cm, which can be used for imaging of larger samples, and the HC3 channel which beam is restricted just to 4x80 mm2, but is highly thermalized, collimated and reduced from gamma background, thus capable of providing better radiograph resolution. Both facilities are equipped with newest Timepix based detectors, with thin 6LiF converters for neutron detection capable of delivering high resolution. Both facilities offer a unique opportunity for non-destructive testing in the Czech region. In 2015 both facilities were put into test operation and several radiographs were acquired, which are presented in the following text.

Detecting background changes in environments with dynamic foreground by separating probability distribution function mixtures using Pearson's method of moments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Colleen; Jordan, Jay; Carlson, Jeff

2007-02-01

This paper presents parameter estimation techniques useful for detecting background changes in a video sequence with extreme foreground activity. A specific application of interest is automated detection of the covert placement of threats (e.g., a briefcase bomb) inside crowded public facilities. We propose that a histogram of pixel intensity acquired from a fixed mounted camera over time for a series of images will be a mixture of two Gaussian functions: the foreground probability distribution function and background probability distribution function. We will use Pearson's Method of Moments to separate the two probability distribution functions. The background function can then be "remembered" and changes in the background can be detected. Subsequent comparisons of background estimates are used to detect changes. Changes are flagged to alert security forces to the presence and location of potential threats. Results are presented that indicate the significant potential for robust parameter estimation techniques as applied to video surveillance.

Barriers to Shared Use of Indoor and Outdoor Facilities at US Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Lindsey; Calvert, Hannah G.; Chaloupka, Frank J.

2018-01-01

Background: School policies and practices, such as the sharing of school facilities with the surrounding community, support physical activity among students and community members, but are often underutilized. This study examined variations in shared use practices, and associations with perceived barriers. Methods: Surveys were completed by a…

Influences on the start, selection and duration of treatment with antibiotics in long-term care facilities

PubMed Central

Daneman, Nick; Campitelli, Michael A.; Giannakeas, Vasily; Morris, Andrew M.; Bell, Chaim M.; Maxwell, Colleen J.; Jeffs, Lianne; Austin, Peter C.; Bronskill, Susan E.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Understanding the extent to which current antibiotic prescribing behaviour is influenced by clinicians’ historical patterns of practice will help target interventions to optimize antibiotic use in long-term care. Our objective was to evaluate whether clinicians’ historical prescribing behaviours influence the start, prolongation and class selection for treatment with antibiotics in residents of long-term care facilities. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all physicians who prescribed to residents in long-term care facilities in Ontario between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2014. We examined variability in antibiotic prescribing among physicians for 3 measures: start of treatment with antibiotics, use of prolonged durations exceeding 7 days and selection of fluoroquinolones. Funnel plots with control limits were used to determine the extent of variation and characterize physicians as extreme low, low, average, high and extreme high prescribers for each tendency. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess whether a clinician’s prescribing tendency in the previous year predicted current prescribing patterns, after accounting for residents’ demographics, comorbidity, functional status and indwelling devices. RESULTS: Among 1695 long-term care physicians, who prescribed for 93 132 residents, there was wide variability in the start of antibiotic treatment (median 45% of patients, interquartile range [IQR] 32%–55%), use of prolonged treatment durations (median 30% of antibiotic prescriptions, IQR 19%–46%) and selection of fluoroquinolones (median 27% of antibiotic prescriptions, IQR 18%–37%). Prescribing tendencies for antibiotics by physicians in 2014 correlated strongly with tendencies in the previous year. After controlling for individual resident characteristics, prior prescribing tendency was a significant predictor of current practice. INTERPRETATION: Physicians prescribing antibiotics exhibited individual, measurable

Ultra-low background mass spectrometry for rare-event searches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobson, J.; Ghag, C.; Manenti, L.

2018-01-01

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) allows for rapid, high-sensitivity determination of trace impurities, notably the primordial radioisotopes 238U and 232Th, in candidate materials for low-background rare-event search experiments. We describe the setup and characterisation of a dedicated low-background screening facility at University College London where we operate an Agilent 7900 ICP-MS. The impact of reagent and carrier gas purity is evaluated and we show that twice-distilled ROMIL-SpATM-grade nitric acid and zero-grade Ar gas delivers similar sensitivity to ROMIL-UpATM-grade acid and research-grade gas. A straightforward procedure for sample digestion and analysis of materials with U/Th concentrations down to 10 ppt g/g is presented. This includes the use of 233U and 230Th spikes to correct for signal loss from a range of sources and verification of 238U and 232Th recovery through digestion and analysis of a certified reference material with a complex sample matrix. Finally, we demonstrate assays and present results from two sample preparation and assay methods: a high-sensitivity measurement of ultra-pure Ti using open digestion techniques, and a closed vessel microwave digestion of a nickel-chromium-alloy using a multi-acid mixture.

Measuring facility capability to provide routine and emergency childbirth care to mothers and newborns: An appeal to adjust for delivery caseload of facilities

PubMed Central

Allen, Stephanie M.; Opondo, Charles; Campbell, Oona M. R.

2017-01-01

Background Measurement of Emergency Obstetric Care capability is common, and measurement of newborn and overall routine childbirth care has begun in recent years. These assessments of facility capabilities can be used to identify geographic inequalities in access to functional health services and to monitor improvements over time. This paper develops an approach for monitoring the childbirth environment that accounts for the delivery caseload of the facility. Methods We used data from the Kenya Service Provision Assessment to examine facility capability to provide quality childbirth care, including infrastructure, routine maternal and newborn care, and emergency obstetric and newborn care. A facility was considered capable of providing a function if necessary tracer items were present and, for emergency functions, if the function had been performed in the previous three months. We weighted facility capability by delivery caseload, and compared results with those generated using traditional “survey weights”. Results Of the 403 facilities providing childbirth care, the proportion meeting criteria for capability were: 13% for general infrastructure, 6% for basic emergency obstetric care, 3% for basic emergency newborn care, 13% and 11% for routine maternal and newborn care, respectively. When the new caseload weights accounting for delivery volume were applied, capability improved and the proportions of deliveries occurring in a facility meeting capability criteria were: 51% for general infrastructure, 46% for basic emergency obstetric care, 12% for basic emergency newborn care, 36% and 18% for routine maternal and newborn care, respectively. This is because most of the caseload was in hospitals, which generally had better capability. Despite these findings, fewer than 2% of deliveries occurred in a facility capable of providing all functions. Conclusion Reporting on the percentage of facilities capable of providing certain functions misrepresents the capacity to

Facility provision in elementary schools: Correlates with physical education, recess, and obesity

PubMed Central

Fernandes, Meenakshi; Sturm, Roland

2009-01-01

Objectives The objectives were to: (1) document correlations among facility provision (availability and adequacy) in elementary schools, child sociodemographic factors, and school characteristics nationwide; and (2) investigate whether facility provision is associated with physical education (PE) time, recess time, and obesity trajectory. Methods The analytic sample included 8935 fifth graders from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey Kindergarten Cohort. School teachers and administrators were surveyed about facility provision, PE, and recess time in April 2004. Multivariate linear and logistic regressions that accounted for the nesting of children within schools were used. Results Children from disadvantaged backgrounds were more likely to attend a school with worse gymnasium and playground provision. Gymnasium availability was associated with an additional 8.3 min overall and at least an additional 25 min of PE per week for schools in humid climate zones. These figures represent 10.8 and 32.5%, respectively, of the average time spent in PE. No significant findings were obtained for gymnasium and playground adequacy in relation to PE and recess time, and facility provision in relation to obesity trajectory. Conclusions Poor facility provision is a potential barrier for school physical activity programs and facility provision is lower in schools that most need them: urban, high minority, and high enrollment schools. PMID:19850074

A test matrix sequencer for research test facility automation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccartney, Timothy P.; Emery, Edward F.

1990-01-01

The hardware and software configuration of a Test Matrix Sequencer, a general purpose test matrix profiler that was developed for research test facility automation at the NASA Lewis Research Center, is described. The system provides set points to controllers and contact closures to data systems during the course of a test. The Test Matrix Sequencer consists of a microprocessor controlled system which is operated from a personal computer. The software program, which is the main element of the overall system is interactive and menu driven with pop-up windows and help screens. Analog and digital input/output channels can be controlled from a personal computer using the software program. The Test Matrix Sequencer provides more efficient use of aeronautics test facilities by automating repetitive tasks that were once done manually.

Spectroscopic Measurements of Collision-less Coupling Between Explosive Debris Plasmas and Ambient, Magnetized Background Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bondarenko, Anton; Schaeffer, Derek; Everson, Erik; Vincena, Stephen; van Compernolle, Bart; Constantin, Carmen; Clark, Eric; Niemann, Christoph

2013-10-01

Emission spectroscopy is currently being utilized in order to assess collision-less momentum and energy coupling between explosive debris plasmas and ambient, magnetized background plasmas of astrophysical relevance. In recent campaigns on the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) (nelec =1012 -1013 cm-3, Telec ~ 5 eV, B0 = 200 - 400 G) utilizing the new Raptor laser facility (1053 nm, 100 J per pulse, 25 ns FWHM), laser-ablated carbon debris plasmas were generated within ambient, magnetized helium background plasmas and prominent spectral lines of carbon and helium ions were studied in high spectral (0 . 01 nm) and temporal (50 ns) resolution. Time-resolved velocity components extracted from Doppler shift measurements of the C+4 227 . 1 nm spectral line along two perpendicular axes reveal significant deceleration as the ions stream and gyrate within the helium background plasma, indicating collision-less momentum coupling. The He+1 320 . 3 nm and 468 . 6 nm spectral lines of the helium background plasma are observed to broaden and intensify in response to the carbon debris plasma, indicative of strong electric fields (Stark broadening) and energetic electrons. The experimental results are compared to 2D hybrid code simulations.

National facilities study. Volume 4: Space operations facilities task group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

The principal objectives of the National Facilities Study (NFS) were to: (1) determine where U.S. facilities do not meet national aerospace needs; (2) define new facilities required to make U.S. capabilities 'world class' where such improvements are in the national interest; (3) define where consolidation and phase-out of existing facilities is appropriate; and (4) develop a long-term national plan for world-class facility acquisition and shared usage. The Space Operations Facilities Task Group defined discrete tasks to accomplish the above objectives within the scope of the study. An assessment of national space operations facilities was conducted to determine the nation's capability to meet the requirements of space operations during the next 30 years. The mission model used in the study to define facility requirements is described in Volume 3. Based on this model, the major focus of the Task Group was to identify any substantive overlap or underutilization of space operations facilities and to identify any facility shortfalls that would necessitate facility upgrades or new facilities. The focus of this initial study was directed toward facility recommendations related to consolidations, closures, enhancements, and upgrades considered necessary to efficiently and effectively support the baseline requirements model. Activities related to identifying facility needs or recommendations for enhancing U.S. international competitiveness and achieving world-class capability, where appropriate, were deferred to a subsequent study phase.

Helping for Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neuringer, Allen; Oleson, Kathryn C.

2010-01-01

In "Helping for Change," Allen Neuringer and Kathryn Oleson describe another strategy that individuals can use to achieve their green goals. You might ask, "How can helping someone else help me change when I'm in the habit of not fulfilling my own promises?" The authors answer that question by explaining how the social reinforcement in a helping…

Help-seeking intentions in college students: an exploration of eating disorder specific help-seeking and general psychological help-seeking.

PubMed

Tillman, Kathleen S; Sell, Darcie M

2013-04-01

This study investigated help-seeking intentions for eating disorders and general psychological problems in college students. Participants reported that they would be more likely to seek help for a friend with an eating disorder than for themselves if they were experiencing an eating disorder. Multiple factors (i.e., sex, year in college, knowledge of eating disorders, and knowledge of available resources) were assessed to determine the prediction of help-seeking intentions. Only the knowledge of eating disorders significantly predicted whether or not a student would be willing to seek help for a friend with a general psychological disorder. None of these factors predicted willingness to seek help for friends with an eating disorder. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dance Facilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashton, Dudley, Ed.; Irey, Charlotte, Ed.

This booklet represents an effort to assist teachers and administrators in the professional planning of dance facilities and equipment. Three chapters present the history of dance facilities, provide recommended dance facilities and equipment, and offer some adaptations of dance facilities and equipment, for elementary, secondary and college level…

Establishing an Online HIV Peer Helping Programme: A Review of Process Challenges and Lessons Learned

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Gregory E.; Corcoran, Valerie; Myles, Adam; Lundrigan, Philip; White, Robert; Greidanus, Elaine; Savage, Stephanie L.; Pope, Leslie; McDonald, James; Yetman, Gerard

2015-01-01

Background: Online peer support can be a valuable approach to helping people living with HIV, especially in regions with large rural populations and relatively centralised HIV services. Design: This paper focuses on a community-university partnership aimed at developing an online peer support programme in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and…

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner (left) and STS-117 Mission Specialist James Reilly (right) are donning protective clothing to interface with the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), in the background. Equipment familiarization is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-10-21

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner (left) and STS-117 Mission Specialist James Reilly (right) are donning protective clothing to interface with the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), in the background. Equipment familiarization is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations.

Electronics technician Bill Clark assembling a cannon plug with the help of Jim Lewis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

There is always something needed for a NASA aircraft before a research flight can take place. This photo shows William J. Clark working on one of those 'somethings' while Jimmie C. Lewis watches ready to help. Working on a research project is a challenge, for there is no set pattern to follow. From the drawings to the final product there are many people who contribute to that final product -- the flight. The electronic technicians in the Instrumentation Laboratory at NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility are no exception. Bill Clark is busy creating a cannon plug to be used on the CV-990. He is soldering wires in the appropriate order so the plug will transmit electrical currents correctly when installed in the airplane. Jim stands by to give help and support on the project.

The DOE ARM Aerial Facility

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

Schmid, Beat; Tomlinson, Jason M.; Hubbe, John M.

2014-05-01

The Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is a climate research user facility operating stationary ground sites that provide long-term measurements of climate relevant properties, mobile ground- and ship-based facilities to conduct shorter field campaigns (6-12 months), and the ARM Aerial Facility (AAF). The airborne observations acquired by the AAF enhance the surface-based ARM measurements by providing high-resolution in-situ measurements for process understanding, retrieval-algorithm development, and model evaluation that are not possible using ground- or satellite-based techniques. Several ARM aerial efforts were consolidated into the AAF in 2006. With the exception of a small aircraft used for routinemore » measurements of aerosols and carbon cycle gases, AAF at the time had no dedicated aircraft and only a small number of instruments at its disposal. In this "virtual hangar" mode, AAF successfully carried out several missions contracting with organizations and investigators who provided their research aircraft and instrumentation. In 2009, AAF started managing operations of the Battelle-owned Gulfstream I (G-1) large twin-turboprop research aircraft. Furthermore, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided funding for the procurement of over twenty new instruments to be used aboard the G-1 and other AAF virtual-hangar aircraft. AAF now executes missions in the virtual- and real-hangar mode producing freely available datasets for studying aerosol, cloud, and radiative processes in the atmosphere. AAF is also engaged in the maturation and testing of newly developed airborne sensors to help foster the next generation of airborne instruments.« less

Evaluation of ultra-low background materials for uranium and thorium using ICP-MS

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

Hoppe, E. W.; Overman, N. R.; LaFerriere, B. D.

2013-08-08

An increasing number of physics experiments require low background materials for their construction. The presence of Uranium and Thorium and their progeny in these materials present a variety of unwanted background sources for these experiments. The sensitivity of the experiments continues to drive the necessary levels of detection ever lower as well. This requirement for greater sensitivity has rendered direct radioassay impractical in many cases requiring large quantities of material, frequently many kilograms, and prolonged counting times, often months. Other assay techniques have been employed such as Neutron Activation Analysis but this requires access to expensive facilities and instrumentation andmore » can be further complicated and delayed by the formation of unwanted radionuclides. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a useful tool and recent advancements have increased the sensitivity particularly in the elemental high mass range of U and Th. Unlike direct radioassay, ICP-MS is a destructive technique since it requires the sample to be in liquid form which is aspirated into a high temperature plasma. But it benefits in that it usually requires a very small sample, typically about a gram. This paper discusses how a variety of low background materials such as copper, polymers, and fused silica are made amenable to ICP-MS assay and how the arduous task of maintaining low backgrounds of U and Th is achieved.« less

Evaluation of Ultra-Low Background Materials for Uranium and Thorium Using ICP-MS

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

Hoppe, Eric W.; Overman, Nicole R.; LaFerriere, Brian D.

2013-08-08

An increasing number of physics experiments require low background materials for their construction. The presence of Uranium and Thorium and their progeny in these materials present a variety of unwanted background sources for these experiments. The sensitivity of the experiments continues to drive the necessary levels of detection ever lower as well. This requirement for greater sensitivity has rendered direct radioassay impractical in many cases requiring large quantities of material, frequently many kilograms, and prolonged counting times, often months. Other assay techniques have been employed such as Neutron Activation Analysis but this requires access to expensive facilities and instrumentation andmore » can be further complicated and delayed by the formation of unwanted radionuclides. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a useful tool and recent advancements have increased the sensitivity particularly in the elemental high mass range of U and Th. Unlike direct radioassay, ICP-MS is a destructive technique since it requires the sample to be in liquid form which is aspirated into a high temperature plasma. But it benefits in that it usually requires a very small sample, typically about a gram. Here we will discuss how a variety of low background materials such as copper, polymers, and fused silica are made amenable to ICP-MS assay and how the arduous task of maintaining low backgrounds of U and Th is achieved.« less

A Toolbox for Corrective Action: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Facilities Investigation Remedy Selection Track

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The purpose of this toolbox is to help EPA Regional staff and their partners to take advantage of the efficiency and quality gains from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facilities Investigation Remedy Selection Track (FIRST) approach.

Factors influencing help seeking in mentally distressed young adults: a cross-sectional survey.

PubMed Central

Biddle, Lucy; Gunnell, David; Sharp, Debbie; Donovan, Jenny L

2004-01-01

BACKGROUND: Young adults, especially men, are among those least likely to consult healthcare professionals when mentally distressed or suicidal. AIMS: To investigate the help-seeking behaviours of mentally distressed young adults. Design of study: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Bristol and surrounding areas, including inner-city, suburban and urban locations. METHOD: A questionnaire was sent to a sample of 3004 young adults aged 16-24 years. This assessed probable mental disorder (using the 12-item general health questionnaire [GHQ-12]), suicidal thoughts (GHQ-28 suicide subscale), and help-seeking behaviours. RESULTS: Most responders who were assessed as having probable mental disorders (GHQ "cases") had not sought help. Help seeking was more common in female GHQ cases than male cases (34.8% and 21.8%,respectively; P = 0.003) and women with suicidal thoughts more commonly sought help than men with suicidal thoughts (41.6% and 30.9%, respectively; P = 0.15). Small proportions of male and female GHQ cases (7.5% and 8.9%, respectively; P = 0.6), and less than one in five responders with suicidal thoughts, had consulted a general practitioner. In more female than male cases, help was sought from family and friends (30.7% and 18.4%, respectively; P = 0.004). GHQ score was the strongest predictor of help seeking. Men had a higher threshold of severity at which they would seek help than women. Recent experience of suicidal thoughts appeared to be a stronger predictor of formal help seeking in mentally distressed women than mentally distressed men. CONCLUSION: Distressed young adults are reluctant to seek help. Men are particularly unlikely to do so unless severely distressed and tend not to seek lay support. Sex differences in help seeking may be important in understanding the high suicide rate for men. PMID:15113490

Bridging the gap between research and application -- business plan spreadsheets are helping wood recovery efforts

Treesearch

Philip A. Araman; E. Hager; A.L. Hammett

1998-01-01

Wood pallets break or end up in the wrong places where they are no longer useful. They become a waste problem that needs to be dealt with. Many find their way to recovery and repair facilities, but many don’t and most likely end up in landfills. Our charge is to reduce landfilling of unwanted and discarded wood pallets and to push them into highest value uses. To help...

Operating manual for the High Flux Isotope Reactor. Volume I. Description of the facility

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

Not Available

1982-09-01

This volume contains a comprehensive description of the High Flux Isotope Reactor Facility. Its primary purpose is to supplement the detailed operating procedures, providing the reactor operators with background information on the various HFIR systems. The detailed operating procdures are presented in another report.

Planning School Library Media Center Facilities for New Hampshire and Vermont. Vermont Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snider, Susan C.; Schubert, Leda

This booklet provides guidelines and suggestions for planning school library media facilities. The intended audience is library media specialists; however, it is expected that administrators and architects may also find it useful. The importance of helping the architect understand the school media center's unique mission and relevant educational…

Distribution of physical activity facilities in Scotland by small area measures of deprivation and urbanicity

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The aim of this study was to examine the distribution of physical activity facilities by area-level deprivation in Scotland, adjusting for differences in urbanicity, and exploring differences between and within the four largest Scottish cities. Methods We obtained a list of all recreational physical activity facilities in Scotland. These were mapped and assigned to datazones. Poisson and negative binomial regression models were used to investigate associations between the number of physical activity facilities relative to population size and quintile of area-level deprivation. Results The results showed that prior to adjustment for urbanicity, the density of all facilities lessened with increasing deprivation from quintiles 2 to 5. After adjustment for urbanicity and local authority, the effect of deprivation remained significant but the pattern altered, with datazones in quintile 3 having the highest estimated mean density of facilities. Within-city associations were identified between the number of physical activity facilities and area-level deprivation in Aberdeen and Dundee, but not in Edinburgh or Glasgow. Conclusions In conclusion, area-level deprivation appears to have a significant association with the density of physical activity facilities and although overall no clear pattern was observed, affluent areas had fewer publicly owned facilities than more deprived areas but a greater number of privately owned facilities. PMID:20955548

Implementation of tuberculosis infection control in health facilities in Mukono and Wakiso districts, Uganda

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Tuberculosis infection control (TBIC) is rarely implemented in the health facilities in resource limited settings. Understanding the reasons for low level of implementation is critical. The study aim was to assess TBIC practices and barriers to implementation in two districts in Uganda. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in 51 health facilities in districts of Mukono and Wakiso. The study included: a facility survey, observations of practices and eight focus group discussions with health workers. Results Quantitative: Only 16 facilities (31%) had a TBIC plan. Five facilities (10%) were screening patients for cough. Two facilities (4%) reported providing masks to patients with cough. Ventilation in the waiting areas was inadequate for TBIC in 43% (22/51) of the facilities. No facility possessed N95 particulate respirators. Qualitative: Barriers that hamper implementation of TBIC elicited included: under-staffing, lack of space for patient separation, lack of funds to purchase masks, and health workers not appreciating the importance of TBIC. Conclusion TBIC measures were not implemented in health facilities in the two Ugandan districts where the survey was done. Health system factors like lack of staff, space and funds are barriers to implement TBIC. Effective implementation of TBIC measures occurs when the fundamental health system building blocks -governance and stewardship, financing, infrastructure, procurement and supply chain management are in place and functioning appropriately. PMID:23915376

Characterizing the Cosmic Infrared Background Fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yanxia

2015-08-01

A salient feature of the Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB) fluctuations is that their spatial power spectrum rises a factor of ~10 above the expected contribution from all known sources at angular scales >20‧‧. A tantalizing large-scale correlation signal between the residual Cosmic X-ray Background (CXB) and CIB found in the Extended Groth Strip (EGS) further suggests that at least 20% of the CIB fluctuations are associated with accreting X-ray sources, with efficient energy production similar to black holes. However, there is still a controversy about the sources that produce the excess flux. They could be faint, local populations with different spatial distribution from other known galaxies, e.g., intra-halo light (emitted from stars in the outskirts of local galaxies), or really high-z populations at the epoch of reionization that we know little of. Constraining the origin of the CIB fluctuations will help to establish our understanding of the overall cosmic energy budget.In this talk, we will present our plan to break down this controversy, current state of data collection and analysis.(1) We will combine the archival Spitzer/IRAC and Herschel/PACS data, with the Chandra data of the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), to accurately measure the source-subtracted CIB and CXB fluctuations to the largest angular scale (~1-2 deg) to date. The newly discovered link between CIB and CXB fluctuations found in the EGS will be revisited in the COSMOS, which provides better photon statistics. (2) We have been working on cross-correlating the unresolved background with the discrete sources detected at shorter wavelengths (1- 2μm), using ground-based multi-wavelength observations. In addition to exploring the Pan-STARRS 3PI and Medium Deep Survey database, we have also been awarded the telescope time of CFHT/WIRCam and Subaru/Hyper-Suprime-Cam for this purpose. The preliminary data analysis will be presented.

86. VIEW OF LIQUID NITROGEN STORAGE FACILITY LOCATED DIRECTLY WEST ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

86. VIEW OF LIQUID NITROGEN STORAGE FACILITY LOCATED DIRECTLY WEST OF THE SLC-3W FUEL APRON. NOTE HEAT EXCHANGER IN BACKGROUND. CAMERA TOWER LOCATED DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF LIQUID NITROGEN STORAGE TANK. NITROGEN AND HELIUM GAS STORAGE TANKS AT SOUTH END OF FUEL APRON IN LOWER RIGHT CORNER. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 West, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

Performance, Facility Pressure Effects, and Stability Characterization Tests of NASA's Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamhawi, Hani; Huang, Wensheng; Haag, Thomas; Yim, John; Herman, Daniel; Williams, George; Gilland, James; Peterson, Peter; Hofer, Richard; Mikellides, Ioannis

2016-01-01

NASAs Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) 12.5 kW Technology Demonstration Unit-1 (TDU-1) Hall thruster has been the subject of extensive technology maturation in preparation for flight system development. Part of the technology maturation effort included experimental evaluation of the TDU-1 thruster with conducting and dielectric front pole cover materials in two different electrical configurations. A graphite front pole cover thruster configuration with the thruster body electrically tied to cathode and an alumina front pole cover thruster configuration with the thruster body floating were evaluated. Both configurations were also evaluated at different facility background pressure conditions to evaluate background pressure effects on thruster operation. Performance characterization tests found that higher thruster performance was attained with the graphite front pole cover configuration with the thruster electrically tied to cathode. A total thrust efficiency of 68 and a total specific impulse of 2,820 s was demonstrated at a discharge voltage of 600 V and a discharge power of 12.5 kW. Thruster stability regimes were characterized with respect to the thruster discharge current oscillations and with maps of the current-voltage-magnetic field (IVB). Analysis of TDU-1 discharge current waveforms found that lower normalized discharge current peak-to-peak and root mean square magnitudes were attained when the thruster was electrically floated with alumina front pole covers. Background pressure effects characterization tests indicated that the thruster performance and stability was mostly invariant to changes in the facility background pressure for vacuum chamber pressure below 110-5 Torr-Xe (for thruster flow rate above 8 mgs). Power spectral density analysis of the discharge current waveform showed that increasing the vacuum chamber background pressure resulted in a higher discharge current dominant frequency. Finally the IVB maps of the TDU-1

Pain treatment facilities: do we need quantity or quality?

PubMed

de Meij, Nelleke; Köke, Albère; van der Weijden, Trudy; van Kleef, Maarten; Patijn, Jacob

2014-10-01

Chronic pain patients referred to a pain treatment facility have no guarantee that they will receive a proper diagnostic procedure or treatment. To obtain information about organizational aspects of pain treatment facilities and the content of their daily pain practice, we performed a questionnaire survey. The aim of the study was to evaluate the amount of pain treatment facilities, the content of organized specialized pain care and adherence to the criteria of the internationally accepted guidelines for pain treatment services. The University Pain Centre Maastricht in the Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Management at Maastricht University Medical Centre developed a questionnaire survey based on the Recommendations for Pain Treatment Services of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). The questionnaire was sent to the medical boards of all hospitals in the Netherlands (n=94). The response rate was 86% (n=81). Of all hospitals, 88.9% (n=72) reported the provision of organized specialized pain care, which was provided by a pain management team in 86.1% (n=62) and by an individual specialist in 13.9% (n=10). Insight was obtained from pain treatment facilities in five different domains: the organizational structure of pain management, composition of the pain team, pain team practice, patient characteristics, and research and education facilities. Although 88.9% of all hospitals stated that organized specialized pain care was provided, only a few hospitals could adhere to the criteria for pain treatment services of the IASP. The outcome of the questionnaire survey may help to define quality improvement standards for pain treatment facilities. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

STS-45 MS Foale dons EMU with technicians' help in JSC's WETF Bldg 29

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

STS-45 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, Mission Specialist (MS) C. Michael Foale stands on a platform as technicians help him don his extravehicular mobility unit (EMU). The technicians are preparing to connect the EMU upper and lower torsos at the waist ring. When fully suited, Foale will be lowered into a nearby 25 ft deep pool for an underwater simulation of contingency extravehicular activity (EVA) procedures. The pool is located in JSC's Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) Bldg 29.

Optimal background matching camouflage.

PubMed

Michalis, Constantine; Scott-Samuel, Nicholas E; Gibson, David P; Cuthill, Innes C

2017-07-12

Background matching is the most familiar and widespread camouflage strategy: avoiding detection by having a similar colour and pattern to the background. Optimizing background matching is straightforward in a homogeneous environment, or when the habitat has very distinct sub-types and there is divergent selection leading to polymorphism. However, most backgrounds have continuous variation in colour and texture, so what is the best solution? Not all samples of the background are likely to be equally inconspicuous, and laboratory experiments on birds and humans support this view. Theory suggests that the most probable background sample (in the statistical sense), at the size of the prey, would, on average, be the most cryptic. We present an analysis, based on realistic assumptions about low-level vision, that estimates the distribution of background colours and visual textures, and predicts the best camouflage. We present data from a field experiment that tests and supports our predictions, using artificial moth-like targets under bird predation. Additionally, we present analogous data for humans, under tightly controlled viewing conditions, searching for targets on a computer screen. These data show that, in the absence of predator learning, the best single camouflage pattern for heterogeneous backgrounds is the most probable sample. © 2017 The Authors.

Supply-Side Barriers to Maternity-Care in India: A Facility-Based Analysis

PubMed Central

Kumar, Santosh; Dansereau, Emily

2014-01-01

Background Health facilities in many low- and middle-income countries face several types of barriers in delivering quality health services. Availability of resources at the facility may significantly affect the volume and quality of services provided. This study investigates the effect of supply-side determinants of maternity-care provision in India. Methods Health facility data from the District-Level Household Survey collected in 2007–2008 were analyzed to explore the effects of supply-side factors on the volume of delivery care provided at Indian health facilities. A negative binomial regression model was applied to the data due to the count and over-dispersion property of the outcome variable (number of deliveries performed at the facility). Results Availability of a labor room (Incidence Rate Ratio [IRR]: 1.81; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.68–1.95) and facility opening hours (IRR: 1.43; CI: 1.35–1.51) were the most significant predictors of the volume of delivery care at the health facilities. Medical and paramedical staff were found to be positively associated with institutional deliveries. The volume of deliveries was also higher if adequate beds, essential obstetric drugs, medical equipment, electricity, and communication infrastructures were available at the facility. Findings were robust to the inclusion of facility's catchment area population and district-level education, health insurance coverage, religion, wealth, and fertility. Separate analyses were performed for facilities with and without a labor room and results were qualitatively similar across these two types of facilities. Conclusions Our study highlights the importance of supply-side barriers to maternity-care India. To meet Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, policymakers should make additional investments in improving the availability of medical drugs and equipment at primary health centers (PHCs) in India. PMID:25093729

Social Support, Help-Seeking, and Mental Health Outcomes Among Veterans in Non-VA Facilities: Results from the Veterans’ Health Study

PubMed Central

Adams, Richard E.; Urosevich, Thomas G.; Hoffman, Stuart N.; Kirchner, H. Lester; Hyacinthe, Johanna C.; Figley, Charles R.; Boscarino, Joseph J.; Boscarino, Joseph A.

2017-01-01

Using a stress process model, the authors examined social and psychological resources to better understand mental health outcomes among veterans. For this study, we surveyed 700 U.S. veterans who were outpatients in the Geisinger Health System. Independent variables included demographic factors, stressful and traumatic events, social support measures, and psychosocial factors. Using logistic regression, the authors examined 4 types of social connections: social support, help-seeking support, social capital, and other mental health support to predict mental health outcomes, including posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, suicide ideation, alcohol misuse, mental health service use, and Veterans Affairs service use. Results suggested that help-seeking support since deployment was a risk factor for 5 adverse outcomes, whereas social support was protective for 1 outcome. We concluded that high levels of help-seeking support since deployment among veterans was associated with a higher prevalence of mental health problems. These findings were unexpected and suggest the need for additional social support-related research among veterans. PMID:29098116

Master Plan for Educational Facilities: City of Clifton, Passaic County, New Jersey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engelhardt and Engelhardt, Inc., Purdy Station, NY.

Clifton, New Jersey, has a land area of just under 12 square miles with a population estimated in 1976 to be 83,592 persons. This master plan for educational facilities begins with an overview of the district and its historical background. A number of maps illustrate characteristics of the area, including its topography, relationship to key…

A National Survey of Mental Health Screening and Assessment Practices in Juvenile Correctional Facilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swank, Jacqueline M.; Gagnon, Joseph C.

2017-01-01

Background: Mental health screening and assessment is crucial within juvenile correctional facilities (JC). However, limited information is available about the current screening and assessment procedures specifically within JC. Objective: The purpose of the current study was to obtain information about the mental health screening and assessment…

76 FR 44614 - Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-26

... Facility Operating Licenses Involving No Significant Hazards Considerations Background Pursuant to Section... authority to issue and make immediately effective any amendment to an operating license upon a determination... electronic form will be posted on the NRC Web site and on the Federal rulemaking Web site http://www...

Costs of facility-based HIV testing in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe

PubMed Central

Mwenge, Lawrence; Sande, Linda; Mangenah, Collin; Ahmed, Nurilign; Kanema, Sarah; d’Elbée, Marc; Sibanda, Euphemia; Kalua, Thokozani; Ncube, Gertrude; Johnson, Cheryl C.; Hatzold, Karin; Cowan, Frances M.; Corbett, Elizabeth L.; Ayles, Helen; Maheswaran, Hendramoorthy

2017-01-01

Background Providing HIV testing at health facilities remains the most common approach to ensuring access to HIV treatment and prevention services for the millions of undiagnosed HIV-infected individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. We sought to explore the costs of providing these services across three southern African countries with high HIV burden. Methods Primary costing studies were undertaken in 54 health facilities providing HIV testing services (HTS) in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Routinely collected monitoring and evaluation data for the health facilities were extracted to estimate the costs per individual tested and costs per HIV-positive individual identified. Costs are presented in 2016 US dollars. Sensitivity analysis explored key drivers of costs. Results Health facilities were testing on average 2290 individuals annually, albeit with wide variations. The mean cost per individual tested was US$5.03.9 in Malawi, US$4.24 in Zambia and US$8.79 in Zimbabwe. The mean cost per HIV-positive individual identified was US$79.58, US$73.63 and US$178.92 in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively. Both cost estimates were sensitive to scale of testing, facility staffing levels and the costs of HIV test kits. Conclusions Health facility based HIV testing remains an essential service to meet HIV universal access goals. The low costs and potential for economies of scale suggests an opportunity for further scale-up. However low uptake in many settings suggests that demand creation or alternative testing models may be needed to achieve economies of scale and reach populations less willing to attend facility based services. PMID:29036171

Interim Analysis of School Facility Funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Including Expenditures through January 5, 2010

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

21st Century School Fund, 2010

2010-01-01

The 21st Century School Fund, through its Building Educational Success Together (BEST) collaborative, is tracking the effect of federal stimulus funding on the condition of PK-12 public school facilities and whether or not the distribution of ARRA funding related to public school facilities is helping reduce the disparity of capital expenditures…

[New procedures for recognition and differentiation of depression in immigrants. Case report of a patient with Turkish immigrant background].

PubMed

Schouler-Ocak, M; Aichberger, M C; Heredia Montesinos, A; Bromand, Z; Rapp, M A; Heinz, A

2010-07-01

Depression is a cross-cultural disorder, which displays cultural differences in symptom presentation and prevalence. The guidelines for the assessment of cultural influencing factors for the medical history and therapy and the consideration of stressors associated with the immigration process can help to better understand the socio-cultural background of patients with an immigration background and facilitate the differential diagnosis. Using these strategies, psychiatry and psychotherapy are better prepared to deal with this large heterogeneous population given the fact that one fifth of Germany's population has an immigration background. The transcultural aspects of depression are illustrated with a case report.

Barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking for young elite athletes: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Adolescents and young adults experience a high level of mental disorders, yet tend not to seek help. Research indicates that there are many barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for young people in the general community. However there are limited data available for young elite athletes. This study aims to determine what young elite athletes perceive as the barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for common mental health problems. Methods Fifteen elite athletes aged 16–23 years each participated in one of three focus group discussions. In addition to written data, verbal responses were audio taped, transcribed and thematically analysed. Results Participants’ written and verbal data suggested that stigma was the most important perceived barrier to seeking help for young elite athletes. Other notable barriers were a lack of mental health literacy, and negative past experiences of help-seeking. Facilitators to help-seeking were encouragement from others, having an established relationship with a provider, pleasant previous interactions with providers, the positive attitudes of others, especially their coach, and access to the internet. Conclusions Intervention strategies for improving help-seeking in young elite athletes should focus on reducing stigma, increasing mental health literacy, and improving relations with potential providers. PMID:23009161

Helping Your Child through Early Adolescence -- Helping Your Child Series

MedlinePlus

... Bibliography Acknowledgements Tips to Help Your Child through Early Adolescence No Child Left Behind < Previous page | ^ Top ^ | Next page > Printable ... Information About... Transforming Teaching Family and Community Engagement Early Learning Helping Your Child Our mission is to promote student achievement and ...

Helping E-Commerce Consumers Make Good Purchase Decisions: A User Reviews-Based Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Richong; Tran, Thomas T.

Online product reviews provided by the consumers, who have previously purchased and used some particular products, form a rich source of information for other consumers who would like to study about these products in order to make their purchase decisions. Realizing this great need of consumers, several e-commerce web sites such as Amazon.com offer facilities for consumers to review products and exchange their purchase opinions. Unfortunately, reading through the massive amounts of product reviews available online from many e-communities, forums and newsgroups is not only a tedious task but also an impossible one. Indeed, nowadays consumers need an effective and reliable method to search through those huge sources of information and sort out the most appropriate and helpful product reviews. This paper proposes a model to discover the helpfulness of online product reviews. Product reviews can be analyzed and ranked by our scoring system and those reviews that may help consumers better than others will be found. In addition, we compare our model with a number of machine learning techniques. Our experimental results confirm that our approach is effective in ranking and classifying online product reviews.

Responsible innovation in human germline gene editing: Background document to the recommendations of ESHG and ESHRE.

PubMed

De Wert, Guido; Heindryckx, Björn; Pennings, Guido; Clarke, Angus; Eichenlaub-Ritter, Ursula; van El, Carla G; Forzano, Francesca; Goddijn, Mariëtte; Howard, Heidi C; Radojkovic, Dragica; Rial-Sebbag, Emmanuelle; Dondorp, Wybo; Tarlatzis, Basil C; Cornel, Martina C

2018-04-01

Technological developments in gene editing raise high expectations for clinical applications, including editing of the germline. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) together developed a Background document and Recommendations to inform and stimulate ongoing societal debates. This document provides the background to the Recommendations. Germline gene editing is currently not allowed in many countries. This makes clinical applications in these countries impossible now, even if germline gene editing would become safe and effective. What were the arguments behind this legislation, and are they still convincing? If a technique could help to avoid serious genetic disorders, in a safe and effective way, would this be a reason to reconsider earlier standpoints? This Background document summarizes the scientific developments and expectations regarding germline gene editing, legal regulations at the European level, and ethics for three different settings (basic research, preclinical research and clinical applications). In ethical terms, we argue that the deontological objections (e.g., gene editing goes against nature) do not seem convincing while consequentialist objections (e.g., safety for the children thus conceived and following generations) require research, not all of which is allowed in the current legal situation in European countries. Development of this Background document and Recommendations reflects the responsibility to help society understand and debate the full range of possible implications of the new technologies, and to contribute to regulations that are adapted to the dynamics of the field while taking account of ethical considerations and societal concerns.

Improving Quality of Care in Primary Health-Care Facilities in Rural Nigeria

PubMed Central

Ugo, Okoli; Ezinne, Eze-Ajoku; Modupe, Oludipe; Nicole, Spieker; Kelechi, Ohiri

2016-01-01

Background: Nigeria has a high population density but a weak health-care system. To improve the quality of care, 3 organizations carried out a quality improvement pilot intervention at the primary health-care level in selected rural areas. Objective: To assess the change in quality of care in primary health-care facilities in rural Nigeria following the provision of technical governance support and to document the successes and challenges encountered. Method: A total of 6 states were selected across the 6 geopolitical zones of the country. However, assessments were carried out in 40 facilities in only 5 states. Selection was based on location, coverage, and minimum services offered. The facilities were divided randomly into 2 groups. The treatment group received quality-of-care assessment, continuous feedback, and improvement support, whereas the control group received quality assessment and no other support. Data were collected using the SafeCare Healthcare Standards and managed on the SafeCare Data Management System—AfriDB. Eight core areas were assessed at baseline and end line, and compliance to quality health-care standards was compared. Result: Outcomes from 40 facilities were accepted and analyzed. Overall scores increased in the treatment facilities compared to the control facilities, with strong evidence of improvement (t = 5.28, P = .0004) and 11% average improvement, but no clear pattern of improvement emerged in the control group. Conclusion: The study demonstrated governance support and active community involvement offered potential for quality improvement in primary health-care facilities. PMID:28462280

Background sources at PEP

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

Lynch, H.; Schwitters, R.F.; Toner, W.T.

Important sources of background for PEP experiments are studied. Background particles originate from high-energy electrons and positrons which have been lost from stable orbits, ..gamma..-rays emitted by the primary beams through bremsstrahlung in the residual gas, and synchrotron radiation x-rays. The effect of these processes on the beam lifetime are calculated and estimates of background rates at the interaction region are given. Recommendations for the PEP design, aimed at minimizing background are presented. 7 figs., 4 tabs.

Performance, Facility Pressure Effects, and Stability Characterization Tests of NASA's Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding Thruster

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamhawi, Hani; Huang, Wensheng; Haag, Thomas; Yim, John; Herman, Daniel; Peterson, Peter Y.; Williams, George J.; Gilland, James; Hofer, Richard; Mikellides, Ioannis

2016-01-01

NASA's Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding (HERMeS) 12.5 kW Technology Demonstration Unit-1 (TDU-1) has been the subject of extensive technology maturation in preparation for flight system development. Part of the technology maturation effort included experimental evaluation of the TDU-1 thruster with conducting and dielectric front pole cover materials in two different electrical configurations. A graphite front magnetic pole cover thruster configuration with the thruster body electrically tied to cathode, and an alumina front pole cover thruster configuration with the thruster body floating were evaluated. Both configurations were also evaluated at different facility background pressure conditions to evaluate background pressure effects on thruster operation. Performance characterization tests found that higher thruster performance was attained with the graphite front pole cover configuration with the thruster electrically tied to cathode. A total thrust efficiency of 68% and a total specific impulse of 2,820 s was demonstrated at a discharge voltage of 600 V and a discharge power of 12.5 kW. Thruster stability regimes were characterized with respect to the thruster discharge current oscillations and with maps of the discharge current-voltage-magnetic field (IVB). Analysis of TDU-1 discharge current waveforms found that lower normalized discharge current peak-to-peak and root mean square magnitudes were attained when the thruster was electrically floated with alumina front pole covers. Background pressure effects characterization tests indicated that the thruster performance and stability were mostly invariant to changes in the facility background pressure for vacuum chamber pressure below 1×10-5 Torr-Xe (for thruster flow rates of 20.5 mg/s). Power spectral density analysis of the discharge current waveforms showed that increasing the vacuum chamber background pressure resulted in a higher discharge current dominant breathing mode frequency. Finally, IVB

Do Online Mental Health Services Improve Help-Seeking for Young People? A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Mangan, Cheryl; Sanci, Lena

2014-01-01

Background Young people regularly use online services to seek help and look for information about mental health problems. Yet little is known about the effects that online services have on mental health and whether these services facilitate help-seeking in young people. Objective This systematic review investigates the effectiveness of online services in facilitating mental health help-seeking in young people. Methods Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, literature searches were conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane library. Out of 608 publications identified, 18 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria of investigating online mental health services and help-seeking in young people aged 14-25 years. Results Two qualitative, 12 cross-sectional, one quasi-experimental, and three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were reviewed. There was no change in help-seeking behavior found in the RCTs, while the quasi-experimental study found a slight but significant increase in help-seeking. The cross-sectional studies reported that online services facilitated seeking help from a professional source for an average of 35% of users. The majority of the studies included small sample sizes and a high proportion of young women. Help-seeking was often a secondary outcome, with only 22% (4/18) of studies using adequate measures of help-seeking. The majority of studies identified in this review were of low quality and likely to be biased. Across all studies, young people regularly used and were generally satisfied with online mental health resources. Facilitators and barriers to help-seeking were also identified. Conclusions Few studies examine the effects of online services on mental health help-seeking. Further research is needed to determine whether online mental health services effectively facilitate help-seeking for young people. PMID:24594922

Thermal-hydraulic analysis of the coil test facility for CFETR.

PubMed

Ren, Yong; Liu, Xiaogang; Li, Junjun; Wang, Zhaoliang; Qiu, Lilong; Du, Shijun; Li, Guoqiang; Gao, Xiang

2016-01-01

Performance test of the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) central solenoid (CS) and toroidal field (TF) insert coils is of great importance to evaluate the CFETR magnet performance in relevant operation conditions. The superconducting magnet of the coil test facility for CFETR is being designed with the aim of providing a background magnetic field to test the CFETR CS insert and TF insert coils. The superconducting magnet consists of the inner module with Nb 3 Sn coil and the outer module with NbTi coil. The superconducting magnet is designed to have a maximum magnetic field of 12.59 T and a stored energy of 436.6 MJ. An active quench protection circuit and the positive temperature coefficient dump resistor were adopted to transfer the stored magnetic energy. The temperature margin behavior of the test facility for CFETR satisfies the design criteria. The quench analysis of the test facility shows that the cable temperature and the helium pressure inside the jacket are within the design criteria.

Children's Recognition of Pride and Guilt as Consequences of Helping and Not Helping.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shorr, David N.; McClelland, Stephen E.

1998-01-01

Investigated the relationship between young children's age and their recognition that helping or choosing not to help can cause feelings of pride or guilt. Found age differences in identifying helping-action or inaction as causes, but little support for the hypothesis that identification of guilt as a consequence of not helping would…

Help-Seeking Behavior for Children with Acute Respiratory Infection in Ethiopia: Results from 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey.

PubMed

Astale, Tigist; Chenault, Michelene

2015-01-01

Acute respiratory infection is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality among children under five years of age in Ethiopia. While facilities have been implemented to address this problem they are underused due to a lack in help-seeking behavior. This study investigates factors related to the help-seeking behavior of mothers for children with acute respiratory infection using data from the 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey. Data on 11,030 children aged 0-59 months obtained through interviewing women aged 15-49 years throughout Ethiopia was available. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine which factors are related to help-seeking behavior for acute respiratory infection. In the two weeks prior to the survey, 773(7%) of the children were reported to have symptoms of acute respiratory infection while treatment was sought for only 209 (27.2%). The odds ratio for acute respiratory infection was 1.6 (95% CI: 1.2-2.0) for rural residence with only 25.2% of these mothers seeking help compared to 46.4% for mothers with an urban residence. Smaller family size, younger mothers' age and having had prenatal care had a statistically significant odds ratio greater than 1 for both urban and rural residences. Highest wealth index had a statistically significant odds ratio greater than 1 for rural residence only, whereas primary education or higher had a statistically significant odds ratio greater than 1 for urban residence. Children from rural areas are more at risk for acute respiratory infection while their mothers are less likely to seek help. Nevertheless, there is also underuse of available services in urban areas. Interventions should target mothers with less education and wealth and older mothers. Expanding prenatal care among these groups would encourage a better use of available facilities and subsequently better care for their children.

Managing Disruptive Behavior by Patients and Physicians: A Responsibility of the Dialysis Facility Medical Director.

PubMed

Jones, Edward R; Goldman, Richard S

2015-08-07

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Conditions for Coverage make the medical director of an ESRD facility responsible for all aspects of care, including high-quality health care delivery (e.g., safe, effective, timely, efficient, and patient centered). Because of the high-pressure environment of the dialysis facility, conflicts are common. Conflict frequently occurs when aberrant behaviors disrupt the dialysis facility. Patients, family members, friends, and, less commonly appreciated, nephrology clinicians (i.e., nephrologists and advanced care practitioners) may manifest disruptive behavior. Disruptive behavior in the dialysis facility impairs the ability to deliver high-quality care. Furthermore, disruptive behavior is the leading cause for involuntary discharge (IVD) or involuntary transfer (IVT) of a patient from a facility. IVD usually results in loss of continuity of care, increased emergency department visits, and increased unscheduled, acute dialysis treatments. A sufficient number of IVDs and IVTs also trigger an extensive review of the facility by the regional ESRD Networks, exposing the facility to possible Medicare-imposed sanctions. Medical directors must be equipped to recognize and correct disruptive behavior. Nephrology-based literature and tools exist to help dialysis facility medical directors successfully address and resolve disruptive behavior before medical directors must involuntarily discharge a patient or terminate an attending clinician. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Characterization of exposure to silver nanoparticles in a manufacturing facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Junsu; Kwak, Byoung Kyu; Bae, Eunjoo; Lee, Jeongjin; Kim, Younghun; Choi, Kyunghee; Yi, Jongheop

2009-10-01

An assessment of the extent of exposure to nanomaterials in the workplace will be helpful in improving the occupational safety of workers. It is essential that the exposure data in the workplace are concerned with risk management to evaluate and reduce worker exposure. In a manufacturing facility dealing with nanomaterials, some exposure data for gas-phase reactions are available, but much less information is available regarding liquid-phase reactions. Although the potential for inhaling nanomaterials in a liquid-phase process is less than that for gas-phase, the risks of exposure during wet-chemistry processes are not negligible. In this study, we monitored and analyzed the exposure characteristics of silver nanoparticles during a liquid-phase process in a commercial production facility. Based on the measured exposure data, the source of Ag nanoparticles emitted during the production processes was indentified and a mechanism for the growth of Ag nanoparticle released is proposed. The data reported in this study could be used to establish occupational safety guidelines in the nanotechnology workplace, especially in a liquid-phase production facility.

Facilities Performance Indicators Report 2013-14: Tracking Your Facilities Vital Signs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

APPA: Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers, 2015

2015-01-01

This paper features an expanded Web-based "Facilities Performance Indicators (FPI) Report." The purpose of APPA: Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (APPA's) Facilities Performance Indicators is to provide a representative set of statistics about facilities in educational institutions. "The Facilities Performance…

Vice President Pence Visits SLS Engineering Test Facility

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-09-25

The Vice President toured the SLS engineering facility where the engine section of the rocket’s massive core stage is undergoing a major stress test. The rocket’s four RS-25 engines and the two solid rocket boosters that attach to the SLS engine section will produce more than 8 million pounds of thrust to launch the Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit. More than 3,000 measurements using sensors installed on the test section will help ensure the core stage for all SLS missions can withstand the extreme forces of flight.

Asking for Help: A Relational Perspective on Help Seeking in the Workplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Rijt, Janine; Van den Bossche, Piet; van de Wiel, Margje W. J.; De Maeyer, Sven; Gijselaers, Wim H.; Segers, Mien S. R.

2013-01-01

In the context of the complexity of today's organizations, help seeking behavior is considered as an important step to problem solving and learning in organizations. Yet, help seeking has received less attention in organizational literature. To increase the potential impact of help seeking on learning, it is essential to understand which…

Timeliness of abnormal screening and diagnostic mammography follow-up at facilities serving vulnerable women

PubMed Central

Goldman, L. Elizabeth; Walker, Rod; Hubbard, Rebecca; Kerlikowske, Karla

2013-01-01

Background Whether timeliness of follow-up after abnormal mammography differs at facilities serving vulnerable populations such as women with limited education or income, in rural areas, and racial/ethnic minorities is unknown. Methods We examined receipt of diagnostic evaluation following abnormal mammography using 1998-2006 Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium-linked Medicare claims. We compared whether time to recommended breast imaging or biopsy depended on whether women attended facilities serving vulnerable populations. We characterized a facility by the proportion of mammograms performed on women with limited education or income, in rural areas, or racial/ethnic minorities. Results We analyzed 30,874 abnormal screening examinations recommended for follow-up imaging across 142 facilities and 10,049 abnormal diagnostic examinations recommended for biopsy across 114 facilities. Women at facilities serving populations with less education or more racial/ethnic minorities had lower rates of follow-up imaging (4-5% difference, p<0.05), and women at facilities serving more rural and low income populations had lower rates of biopsy (4-5% difference, p<0.05). Women undergoing biopsy at facilities serving vulnerable populations had longer times until biopsy than those at facilities serving non-vulnerable populations (21.6 days vs. 15.6 days; 95% CI for mean difference 4.1-7.7). The proportion of women receiving recommended imaging within 11 months and biopsy within 3 months varied across facilities (interquartile range 85.5%-96.5% for imaging and 79.4%-87.3% for biopsy). Conclusions Among Medicare recipients, follow-up rates were slightly lower at facilities serving vulnerable populations, and among those women who returned for diagnostic evaluation, time to follow-up was slightly longer at facilities that served vulnerable population. Interventions should target variability in follow-up rates across facilities, and evaluate effectiveness particularly at facilities

Resilience and Its Contributing Factors in Adolescents in Long-Term Residential Care Facilities Affiliated to Tehran Welfare Organization

PubMed Central

Nourian, Manijeh; Mohammadi Shahboulaghi, Farahnaz; Nourozi Tabrizi, Kian; Rassouli, Maryam; Biglarrian, Akbar

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: Resilience is a quality that affects an individual’s ability to cope with tension. The present study was conducted to determine resilience and its contributing factors in high-risk adolescents living in residential care facilities affiliated to Tehran Welfare Organization in order to help develop effective preventive measures for them. Methods: The present descriptive study was conducted on 223 adolescents living in 15 different governmental residential care centers in 2014. Participants were selected through convenience sampling. The data required were collected via the Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale with content validity (S-CVI=0.92) and a reliability of α=0.77 and r=0.83 (P<0.001). The data obtained were analyzed in SPSS-20 using descriptive and inferential statistics including Chi-square test, independent t-test and ANOVA. Results: The adolescents’ mean score of resilience was 84.41±11.01. The level of resilience was moderate in 46.2% of the participants and was significantly higher in the female than in the male adolescents (P=0.006); moreover, the score obtained was lower in primary school children as compared to middle school and high school students (P<0.001). Conclusion: Directors of care facilities and residential care personnel should adopt preventive resilience-based strategies in order to optimize resilience among adolescents, particularly the male. It is important to provide a basis to prevent adolescents’ academic failure and place a stronger value on education than the past. PMID:27713901

Thermionic system evaluated test (TSET) facility description

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fairchild, Jerry F.; Koonmen, James P.; Thome, Frank V.

1992-01-01

A consortium of US agencies are involved in the Thermionic System Evaluation Test (TSET) which is being supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO). The project is a ground test of an unfueled Soviet TOPAZ-II in-core thermionic space reactor powered by electrical heat. It is part of the United States' national thermionic space nuclear power program. It will be tested in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the New Mexico Engineering Research Institute complex by the Phillips Laboratoty, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the University of New Mexico. One of TSET's many objectives is to demonstrate that the US can operate and test a complete space nuclear power system, in the electrical heater configuration, at a low cost. Great efforts have been made to help reduce facility costs during the first phase of this project. These costs include structural, mechanical, and electrical modifications to the existing facility as well as the installation of additional emergency systems to mitigate the effects of utility power losses and alkali metal fires.

Off-site movement of pesticide-contaminated fill from agrichemical facilities during the 1993 flooding in Illinois

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roy, W.R.; Chou, S.-F.J.; Krapac, I.G.

1995-01-01

Twenty retail agrichemical facilities were flooded. There was a concern that pesticide-contaminated road fill at these facilities had been transported into residential areas by the flooding. Forty fill and flood- related sediment samples were collected at six facilities. No significant accumulation of sediments was present at any of the six facilities. At five of the six facilities, it did not appear that road fill had been transported off-site. Pesticides were detected in sediment samples collected off-site adjacent to five of the facilities. Of the 21 samples collected off-site, atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazide) and metolachlor (2-chloro-6'-ethyl-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acet-o-toluidine) were detected in 86 and 81% of the samples, respectively. When compared with on-site concentrations, off-site pesticide concentrations were either at similar levels, or were as much as three orders of magnitude less. The interpretation of the pesticide data was difficult and often inconclusive, because there were no background data on the occurrence and distribution of pesticides at each site before flooding.

Seeking Help in Domestic Violence Among Muslim Women in Muslim-Majority and Non-Muslim-Majority Countries: A Literature Review.

PubMed

Afrouz, Rojan; Crisp, Beth R; Taket, Ann

2018-01-01

Women from different backgrounds and cultures are at risk of domestic violence. Disclosing the abusive experience and seeking help is not straightforward and easy and might be a complicated and long-term process. Muslim women, like other groups of women, may face various barriers to disclose abusive relationships and for seeking help. Some of the barriers may be common for the majority of Muslim women in different contexts, while others might be related to women's situations and the wider society they live. To identify these barriers and make recommendations for future studies, this article reviews related papers conducted in both Muslim-majority and non-Muslim-majority countries. A critical systematic review of the literature was conducted for identifying Muslim women's barriers in disclosing abuse and seeking help. Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. The main identified barriers are discussed into under four themes: social context, family context, individual factors, and expectations of service providers. Although the researchers tried to investigate various barriers in seeking help, many of them have not focused on structural obstacles. Besides, in many Muslim-majority countries, the issue has not been explored. Therefore, the results of the current article will not apply to those countries. Recommendation for future research comprises more qualitative research compatible with the women's cultures and backgrounds in different societies, focusing more on structural and cultural factors to explore and find women's barriers to seek help.

AN ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL VALUES AND RESIDENT-CENTERED CULTURE CHANGE IN US NURSING FACILITIES

PubMed Central

Banaszak-Holl, Jane; Castle, Nicholas G.; Lin, Michael; Spreitzer, Gretchen

2012-01-01

Background Culture Change initiatives propose to improve care by addressing the lack of managerial supports and prevalent stressful work environments in the industry; however, little is known about how Culture Change facilities differ from facilities in the industry that have not chosen to affiliate with the resident-centered care movements. Purpose To evaluate representation of organizational culture values within a random sample of U.S. nursing home facilities using the Competing Values Framework (CVF) and to determine whether organizational values are related to membership in resident-centered Culture Change initiatives. Design and Methods We collected reports of cultural values using a well-established CVF instrument in a random survey of facility administrators and directors of nursing within all states. We received responses from 57% of the facilities that were mailed the survey. Directors of nursing and administrators did not vary significantly in their reports of culture and facility measures combine their responses. Findings Nursing facilities favored market-focused cultural values on average and developmental values, key to innovation, were the least common across all nursing homes. Approximately 17% of facilities reported all cultural values were strong within their facilities. Only high developmental cultural values were linked to participation in culture change initiatives. Culture Change facilities were not different from non-Culture Change facilities in the promotion of employee focus as organizational culture, as is emphasized in group culture values. Likewise, Culture Change facilities were also not any more likely to have hierarchical or market foci than non-Culture Change facilities. Practice Implications Our results counter the argument that Culture Change facilities have a stronger internal employee focus than facilities more generally but does show that Culture Change facilities report stronger developmental cultures than non-Culture Change

College students' intentions to seek help for suicidal ideation: accounting for the help-negation effect.

PubMed

Yakunina, Elena S; Rogers, James R; Waehler, Charles A; Werth, James L

2010-10-01

Prior research has identified a negative association between suicidal ideation and help-seeking, a phenomenon called "help-negation." Help-negation has been documented to occur for both professional and nonprofessional sources of help. In this study help-seeking attitudes, stigma concerns, and perceptions of social support were examined as possible mediators of help-negation. Data were collected from a nonclinical sample of college undergraduates at a midwestern university (N = 321). Findings provided partial support for the mediation hypotheses. Help-seeking attitudes and stigma were significant predictors of help-seeking intentions (β = .34 and β = -.17, p < .05, respectively), but did not mediate help-negation for professional sources. Perceptions of social support, on the other hand, fully mediated help-negation for nonprofessional sources (β = .27, p < .05).

76 FR 64388 - Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses; Involving No...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-18

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2011-0241] Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses; Involving No Significant Hazards Considerations Background Pursuant to section 189a. (2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or NRC) is publishing...

76 FR 55125 - Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-06

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2011-0205] Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No Significant Hazards Considerations Background Pursuant to Section 189a. (2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or NRC) is publishing thi...

76 FR 9821 - Biweekly Notice Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-22

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2011-0040] Biweekly Notice Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No Significant Hazards Considerations I. Background Pursuant to Section 189a.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or NRC) is publishing...

76 FR 4381 - Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-25

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2011-0019] Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses Involving No Significant Hazards Considerations I. Background Pursuant to section 189a. (2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or NRC) is publishing...

Toddlers Help a Peer.

PubMed

Hepach, Robert; Kante, Nadine; Tomasello, Michael

2017-09-01

Toddlers are remarkably prosocial toward adults, yet little is known about their helping behavior toward peers. In the present study with 18- and 30-month-old toddlers (n = 192, 48 dyads per age group), one child needed help reaching an object to continue a task that was engaging for both children. The object was within reach of the second child who helped significantly more often compared to a no-need control condition. The helper also fulfilled the peer's need when the task was engaging only for the child needing help. These findings suggest that toddlers' skills and motivations of helping do not depend on having a competent and helpful recipient, such as an adult, but rather they are much more flexible and general. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Facilities maintenance handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This handbook is a guide for facilities maintenance managers. Its objective is to set minimum facilities maintenance standards. It also provides recommendations on how to meet the standards to ensure that NASA maintains its facilities in a manner that protects and preserves its investment in the facilities in a cost-effective manner while safely and efficiently performing its mission. This handbook implements NMI 8831.1, which states NASA facilities maintenance policy and assigns organizational responsibilities for the management of facilities maintenance activities on all properties under NASA jurisdiction. It is a reference for facilities maintenance managers, not a step-by-step procedural manual. Because of the differences in NASA Field Installation organizations, this handbook does not assume or recommend a typical facilities maintenance organization. Instead, it uses a systems approach to describe the functions that should be included in any facilities maintenance management system, regardless of its organizational structure. For documents referenced in the handbook, the most recent version of the documents is applicable. This handbook is divided into three parts: Part 1 specifies common definitions and facilities maintenance requirements and amplifies the policy requirements contained in NMI 8831. 1; Part 2 provides guidance on how to meet the requirements of Part 1, containing recommendations only; Part 3 contains general facilities maintenance information. One objective of this handbook is to fix commonality of facilities maintenance definitions among the Centers. This will permit the application of uniform measures of facilities conditions, of the relationship between current replacement value and maintenance resources required, and of the backlog of deferred facilities maintenance. The utilization of facilities maintenance system functions will allow the Centers to quantitatively define maintenance objectives in common terms, prepare work plans, and

[Helping people is beautiful: an inquiry into the aesthetic consciousness of the helping profession].

PubMed

Wang, Shane

2013-08-01

This article addresses the helping profession as an art. The author uses an art philosophy perspective to review the phenomenon and meaning of the helping profession as "art" and addresses several questions. These questions include: What category or categories of art best define the helping profession? Can the process and / or results of helping be appreciated as works of art? What is the value of treating the helping profession as an art form? The purpose of this article is to expand knowledge regarding the aesthetic nature of the helping profession.

Caregivers' experience of the decision-making process for placing a person with dementia into a nursing home: comparing caregivers from Chinese ethnic minority with those from English-speaking backgrounds.

PubMed

Caldwell, Lauren; Low, Lee-Fay; Brodaty, Henry

2014-03-01

The experience of care transitions for people with dementia from ethnic minority groups has been poorly researched. Few studies have examined the decision to put someone on a waiting list for a nursing home and then actually accept a place. Many nursing homes have long waiting lists, but sometimes offers of a place are declined. Our aims were to investigate the decision-making process for placing a person with dementia on a waiting list for a nursing home, why offers of a place are accepted or declined, and the influence of cultural factors, comparing caregivers from Chinese and English-speaking backgrounds. Semi-structured interviews with 27 caregivers of people with dementia on waiting lists or living in nursing homes (20 Chinese background and seven English-speaking background) were conducted, with thematic analysis of factors affecting caregivers' decision-making. Caregivers were at different stages of decision-making when they applied for a waiting list - some were ready for placement, others applied "just in case," and for some there was no waiting time because of an urgent need for placement. Caregivers' decisions were influenced by their emotions and expectations of nursing homes. The decision-making process was similar for both cultural groups, but Chinese caregivers spoke more about their sense of duty, the need for a Chinese specific facility, and declining a place because of family disagreement. Understanding cultural issues, including stereotypes and concerns about nursing homes, and providing better information about admission processes may help caregivers by allaying their anxiety about nursing home placement.

Preliminary Findings on the Association Between Clients’ Perceived Helpfulness of Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes: Does Race Matter?

PubMed Central

Montgomery, LaTrice; Sanning, Blair; Litvak, Nicole; Peters, Erica N.

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND Few studies examine the helpfulness and effectiveness of substance abuse treatment from the clients’ perspective. METHODS The current secondary analysis examined the perceived helpfulness of substance abuse treatment components and its relationship to treatment outcomes among 387 Black and White adults participating in a multisite randomized clinical trial (RCT) of Motivational Enhancement Therapy. Throughout the 16-week RCT, participants self-reported substance use. Upon completion of treatment, participants completed a self-report measure assessing the perceived helpfulness of treatment components. RESULTS Black participants rated 9 out of 12 treatment components (e.g., “learning skills that will help me cope with my problems”) as being more helpful than their White counterparts, even after controlling for age, gender, employment status, primary drug type, and treatment assignment. However, perceived helpfulness ratings were not associated with substance use outcomes among Black or White participants. CONCLUSIONS Clients’ perceived helpfulness of treatment components is an important factor to consider in improving the delivery of substance abuse treatment, especially for Black adults. PMID:24767892

Seeking help for depression from family and friends: A qualitative analysis of perceived advantages and disadvantages

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background People with depression often seek help from family and friends and public health campaigns frequently encourage such help seeking behaviours. However, there has been little systematically collected empirical data concerning the effects of such informal help seeking. The current study sought to investigate the views of consumers about the advantages and disadvantages of seeking support from family and friends for depression. Methods Participants were the subset of 417 respondents to a survey, sent to 7000 randomly selected members of an Australian electoral community, who indicated that they had sought help for depression from family or friends. One item on the survey asked participants to indicate the advantages or disadvantages of seeking help from family or friends. A coding system was developed based on a content analysis of the responses to the item. Each of the responses was then coded by two raters. Results Respondents identified both advantages and disadvantages of seeking support from friends. The most commonly cited advantage was social support (n = 282) including emotional support (n = 154), informational support (n = 93), companionship support (n = 36) and instrumental support (n = 23). Other advantages related to family's or friend's background knowledge of the person and their circumstances (n = 72), the opportunity to offload the burden associated with depression (n = 62), the personal attributes of family and friends (n = 49), their accessibility (n = 36), and the opportunity to educate family and friends and increase their awareness about the respondent's depression (n = 30). The most commonly cited disadvantages were stigma (n = 53), inappropriate support (n = 45), the family member's lack of knowledge, training and expertise (n = 32) and the adverse impact of the help seeking on the family/friend (n = 20) and the relationship (n = 18). Conclusions Family and friends are well placed to provide support which consumers perceive to be

Digital image classification with the help of artificial neural network by simple histogram

PubMed Central

Dey, Pranab; Banerjee, Nirmalya; Kaur, Rajwant

2016-01-01

Background: Visual image classification is a great challenge to the cytopathologist in routine day-to-day work. Artificial neural network (ANN) may be helpful in this matter. Aims and Objectives: In this study, we have tried to classify digital images of malignant and benign cells in effusion cytology smear with the help of simple histogram data and ANN. Materials and Methods: A total of 404 digital images consisting of 168 benign cells and 236 malignant cells were selected for this study. The simple histogram data was extracted from these digital images and an ANN was constructed with the help of Neurointelligence software [Alyuda Neurointelligence 2.2 (577), Cupertino, California, USA]. The network architecture was 6-3-1. The images were classified as training set (281), validation set (63), and test set (60). The on-line backpropagation training algorithm was used for this study. Result: A total of 10,000 iterations were done to train the ANN system with the speed of 609.81/s. After the adequate training of this ANN model, the system was able to identify all 34 malignant cell images and 24 out of 26 benign cells. Conclusion: The ANN model can be used for the identification of the individual malignant cells with the help of simple histogram data. This study will be helpful in the future to identify malignant cells in unknown situations. PMID:27279679

Women’s accounts of help-seeking in early rheumatoid arthritis from symptom onset to diagnosis

PubMed Central

Townsend, Anne; Backman, Catherine L; Adam, Paul; Li, Linda C

2018-01-01

Background As interest in gender and health grows, the notion that women are more likely than men to consult doctors is increasingly undermined as more complex understandings of help seeking and gender emerge. While men’s reluctance to seek help is associated with practices of masculinities, there has been less consideration of women’s help-seeking practices. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease that predominantly affects women and requires prompt treatment but considerable patient-based delays persist along the care pathway. This paper examines women’s accounts of help seeking in early RA from symptom onset to diagnosis. Methods We conducted in-depth interviews with 37 women with RA <12 months in Canada. Analysis was based on a constant comparison, thematic approach informed by narrative analysis. Results The women’s accounts featured masculine practices associated with men’s help-seeking. The women presented such behaviours as relational, e.g. rooted in family socialisation and a determination to maintain roles and ‘normal’ life. Discussion Our findings raise questions about how far notions of gender operate to differentiate men and women’s help seeking and may indicate more similarities than differences. Recognising this has implications for policy and practice initiatives for both men and women. PMID:24567194

Facilities Performance Indicators Report, 2004-05. Facilities Core Data Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glazner, Steve, Ed.

2006-01-01

The purpose of "Facilities Performance Indicators" is to provide a representative set of statistics about facilities in educational institutions. The second iteration of the web-based Facilities Core Data Survey was posted and available to facilities professionals at more than 3,000 institutions in the Fall of 2005. The website offered a printed…

Radiation Detection Field Test at the Federal Express (FedEx) Air Cargo Facility at Denver International Airport (DIA)

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

Weirup, D; Waters, A; Hall, H

2004-02-11

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently conducted a field-test of radiation detection and identification equipment at the air cargo facility of Federal Express (FedEx) located at Denver International Airport (DIA) over a period of two weeks. Comprehensive background measurements were performed and were analyzed, and a trial strategy for detection and identification of parcels displaying radioactivity was implemented to aid in future development of a comprehensive protection plan. The purpose of this project was threefold: {sm_bullet} Quantify background radiation environments at an air cargo facility. {sm_bullet} Quantify and identify ''nuisance'' alarms. {sm_bullet} Evaluate the performance of various isotope identifiers deployedmore » in an operational environment (in this case, the operational environment included the biggest blizzard in over 90 years!).« less

A randomized trial of heart failure disease management in skilled nursing facilities (SNF Connect): Lessons learned.

PubMed

Daddato, Andrea; Wald, Heidi L; Horney, Carolyn; Fairclough, Diane L; Leister, Erin C; Coors, Marilyn; Capell, Warren H; Boxer, Rebecca S

2017-06-01

Conducting clinical trials in skilled nursing facilities is particularly challenging. This manuscript describes facility and patient recruitment challenges and solutions for clinical research in skilled nursing facilities. Lessons learned from the SNF Connect Trial, a randomized trial of a heart failure disease management versus usual care for patients with heart failure receiving post-acute care in skilled nursing facilities, are discussed. Description of the trial design and barriers to facility and patient recruitment along with regulatory issues are presented. The recruitment of Denver-metro skilled nursing facilities was facilitated by key stakeholders of the skilled nursing facilities community. However, there were still a number of barriers to facility recruitment including leadership turnover, varying policies regarding research, fear of litigation and of an increased workload. Engagement of facilities was facilitated by their strong interest in reducing hospital readmissions, marketing potential to hospitals, and heart failure management education for their staff. Recruitment of patients proved difficult and there were few facilitators. Identified patient recruitment challenges included patients being unaware of their heart failure diagnosis, patients overwhelmed with their illness and care, and frequently there was no available proxy for cognitively impaired patients. Flexibility in changing the recruitment approach and targeting skilled nursing facilities with higher rates of admissions helped to overcome some barriers. Recruitment of skilled nursing facilities and patients in skilled nursing facilities for clinical trials is challenging. Strategies to attract both facilities and patients are warranted. These include aligning study goals with facility incentives and flexible recruitment protocols to work with patients in "transition crisis."

Backgrounds in Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maxwell, John C.; Long, Barbara K.

"Backgrounds in Language," a field-tested inservice course designed for use by groups of 15 or 25 language arts teachers, provides the subject matter background teachers need to make informed decisions about what curriculum materials to use in what way, at what time, and with which students. The course is comprised of eight 2-hour sessions,…

The interaction of family background and personal education on depressive symptoms in later life.

PubMed

Schaan, Barbara

2014-02-01

This study assesses the interaction between personal education and family background during childhood on depressive symptoms in later life by applying Ross & Mirowsky's resource substitution and structural amplification theory of health and education. OLS regression models are estimated using data from the "Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe" (SHARE), which covers information on current social and health status as well as retrospective life histories from 20,716 respondents aged 50 or older from thirteen European countries. Higher education helps to overcome the negative consequences of a poor family background. Since people from poor families are less likely to attain higher educational levels, they lack exactly the resource they need in order to overcome the negative consequences their non-prosperous background has on depressive symptoms. Thus, low family background and low personal education amplify each other. Examining the processes described by theory of resource substitution and structural amplification over different age groups from midlife to old-age suggests that the moderating effect of education remains constant over age among people coming from a poor family background. However, there is some evidence for a decrease with age in the buffering effect of a well-off family background on depressive symptoms among the low educated group. Furthermore, the educational gap in depression diverges with age among individuals originating from a well-off family background. Taken together the results cautiously allude to the conclusion that three processes - cumulative (dis-)advantage, age-as-leveler, and persistent inequalities - might take place. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How Common is Common Use Facilities at Airports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbeau, Addison D.

This study looked at common use airports across the country and at the implementation of common use facailities at airports. Common use consists of several elements that maybe installed at an airport. One of the elements is the self-service kiosks that allow passengers to have a faster check-in process, therefore moving them more quickly within the airport. Another element is signage and the incorporation of each airline's logo. Another aspect of common useis an airport regaining control of terminal gates by reducing the number of gates that are exclusively leased to a specific air carrier. This research focused on the current state of the common use facilities across the United States and examines the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. The research entailed interviews with personnel at a wide range of airports and found that each airport is in a different stage of implementation; some have fully implemented the common use concept while others are in the beginning stages of implementation. The questions were tailored to determine what the advantages and disadvantages are of a common use facility. The most common advantages reported included flexibility and cost. In the commom use system the airport reserves the right to move any airline to a different gate at any time for any reason. In turn, this helps reduce gates delays at that facility. For the airports that were interviewed no major disadvantages were reported. One down side of common use facilities for the airport involved is the major capital cost that is required to move to a common use system.

ESO adaptive optics facility progress report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arsenault, Robin; Madec, Pierre-Yves; Paufique, Jerome; La Penna, Paolo; Stroebele, Stefan; Vernet, Elise; Pirard, Jean-Francois; Hackenberg, Wolfgang; Kuntschner, Harald; Jochum, Lieselotte; Kolb, Johann; Muller, Nicolas; Le Louarn, Miska; Amico, Paola; Hubin, Norbert; Lizon, Jean-Louis; Ridings, Rob; Abad, Jose A.; Fischer, Gert; Heinz, Volker; Kiekebusch, Mario; Argomedo, Javier; Conzelmann, Ralf; Tordo, Sebastien; Donaldson, Robert; Soenke, Christian; Duhoux, Philippe; Fedrigo, Enrico; Delabre, Bernard; Jost, Andreas; Duchateau, Michel; Downing, Mark; Moreno, Javier R.; Dorn, Reinhold; Manescau, Antonio; Bonaccini Calia, Domenico; Quattri, Marco; Dupuy, Christophe; Guidolin, Ivan M.; Comin, Mauro; Guzman, Ronald; Buzzoni, Bernard; Quentin, Jutta; Lewis, Steffan; Jolley, Paul; Kraus, Maximilian; Pfrommer, Thomas; Biasi, Roberto; Gallieni, Daniele; Bechet, Clementine; Stuik, Remko

2012-07-01

The ESO Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF) consists in an evolution of one of the ESO VLT unit telescopes to a laser driven adaptive telescope with a deformable mirror in its optical train. The project has completed the procurement phase and several large structures have been delivered to Garching (Germany) and are being integrated (the AO modules GRAAL and GALACSI and the ASSIST test bench). The 4LGSF Laser (TOPTICA) has undergone final design review and a pre-production unit has been built and successfully tested. The Deformable Secondary Mirror is fully integrated and system tests have started with the first science grade thin shell mirror delivered by SAGEM. The integrated modules will be tested in stand-alone mode in 2012 and upon delivery of the DSM in late 2012, the system test phase will start. A commissioning strategy has been developed and will be updated before delivery to Paranal. A substantial effort has been spent in 2011-2012 to prepare the unit telescope to receive the AOF by preparing the mechanical interfaces and upgrading the cooling and electrical network. This preparation will also simplify the final installation of the facility on the telescope. A lot of attention is given to the system calibration, how to record and correct any misalignment and control the whole facility. A plan is being developed to efficiently operate the AOF after commissioning. This includes monitoring a relevant set of atmospheric parameters for scheduling and a Laser Traffic control system to assist the operator during the night and help/support the observing block preparation.

A guideline for interpersonal capabilities enhancement to support sustainable facility management practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarpin, Norliana; Kasim, Narimah; Zainal, Rozlin; Noh, Hamidun Mohd

2018-04-01

Facility management is the key phase in the development cycle of an assets and spans over a considerable length of time. Therefore, facility managers are in a commanding position to maximise the potential of sustainability through the development phases from construction, operation, maintenance and upgrade leading to decommission and deconstruction. Sustainability endeavours in facility management practices will contribute to reducing energy consumption, waste and running costs. Furthermore, it can also help in improving organisational productivity, financial return and community standing of the organisation. Facility manager should be empowered with the necessary knowledge and capabilities at the forefront facing sustainability challenge. However, literature studies show a gap between the level of awareness, specific knowledge and the necessary skills required to pursue sustainability in the facility management professional. People capability is considered as the key enabler in managing the sustainability agenda as well as being central to the improvement of competency and innovation in an organisation. This paper aims to develop a guidelines for interpersonal capabilities to support sustainability in facility management practice. Starting with a total of 7 critical interpersonal capabilities factors identified from previous questionnaire survey, the authors conducted an interview with 3 experts in facility management to assess the perceived importance of these factors. The findings reveal a set of guidelines for the enhancement of interpersonal capabilities among facility managers by providing what can be done to acquire these factors and how it can support the application of sustainability in their practice. The findings of this paper are expected to form the basis of a mechanism framework developed to equip facility managers with the right knowledge, to continue education and training and to develop new mind-sets to enhance the implementation of sustainability

Assessing patient safety in Canadian ambulatory surgery facilities: A national survey

PubMed Central

Ahmad, Jamil; Ho, Olivia A; Carman, Wayne W; Thoma, Achilles; Lalonde, Donald H; Lista, Frank

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: There has been increased interest regarding patient safety and standards of care in Canadian ambulatory surgery facilities where surgical procedures are performed. The Canadian Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities (CAAASF) is a national organization formed to establish and maintain standards to ensure that surgical procedures conducted outside of public hospitals are performed safely. OBJECTIVE: To determine how many procedures are performed annually at CAAASF member sites, and to examine complication rates and several key patient safety practices. METHODS: All 69 facilities accredited by the CAAASF were surveyed. The survey focused on procedural data, complication rates and patient safety interventions. RESULTS: In 2010, 40,240 estimated procedures were performed. A total of 263 (0.007%) complications were reported. Sixteen (0.0004%) patients required reoperations in hospital and 19 (0.0004%) patients required transfer to hospital on the day of surgery. There were only two mortalities within 30 days of surgery reported in the past five years. With regard to patient safety practices, 93% used antimicrobial prophylaxis, 100% used strategies to maintain normothermia and 82% used measures for venous thromboembolism prevention. CONCLUSION: The present study is the first to report on the Canadian experience in ambulatory surgery facilities and provides insight into current practices at these facilities. Appropriate accreditation of ambulatory surgery facilities, well-established patient safety-related standards of care, careful patient selection and procedures performed by qualified health care professionals with appropriate certification practicing within the scope of their practice form the basis for safe and effective ambulatory surgery. PMID:25152645

Screensaver: an open source lab information management system (LIMS) for high throughput screening facilities

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Shared-usage high throughput screening (HTS) facilities are becoming more common in academe as large-scale small molecule and genome-scale RNAi screening strategies are adopted for basic research purposes. These shared facilities require a unique informatics infrastructure that must not only provide access to and analysis of screening data, but must also manage the administrative and technical challenges associated with conducting numerous, interleaved screening efforts run by multiple independent research groups. Results We have developed Screensaver, a free, open source, web-based lab information management system (LIMS), to address the informatics needs of our small molecule and RNAi screening facility. Screensaver supports the storage and comparison of screening data sets, as well as the management of information about screens, screeners, libraries, and laboratory work requests. To our knowledge, Screensaver is one of the first applications to support the storage and analysis of data from both genome-scale RNAi screening projects and small molecule screening projects. Conclusions The informatics and administrative needs of an HTS facility may be best managed by a single, integrated, web-accessible application such as Screensaver. Screensaver has proven useful in meeting the requirements of the ICCB-Longwood/NSRB Screening Facility at Harvard Medical School, and has provided similar benefits to other HTS facilities. PMID:20482787

Temperature dependent BRDF facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Airola, Marc B.; Brown, Andrea M.; Hahn, Daniel V.; Thomas, Michael E.; Congdon, Elizabeth A.; Mehoke, Douglas S.

2014-09-01

Applications involving space based instrumentation and aerodynamically heated surfaces often require knowledge of the bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of an exposed surface at high temperature. Addressing this need, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) developed a BRDF facility that features a multiple-port vacuum chamber, multiple laser sources covering the spectral range from the longwave infrared to the ultraviolet, imaging pyrometry and laser heated samples. Laser heating eliminates stray light that would otherwise be seen from a furnace and requires minimal sample support structure, allowing low thermal conduction loss to be obtained, which is especially important at high temperatures. The goal is to measure the BRDF of ceramic-coated surfaces at temperatures in excess of 1000°C in a low background environment. Most ceramic samples are near blackbody in the longwave infrared, thus pyrometry using a LWIR camera can be very effective and accurate.

Community outreach at biomedical research facilities.

PubMed

Goldman, M; Hedetniemi, J N; Herbert, E R; Sassaman, J S; Walker, B C

2000-12-01

For biomedical researchers to fulfill their responsibility for protecting the environment, they must do more than meet the scientific challenge of reducing the number and volume of hazardous materials used in their laboratories and the engineering challenge of reducing pollution and shifting to cleaner energy sources. They must also meet the public relations challenge of informing and involving their neighbors in these efforts. The experience of the Office of Community Liaison of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in meeting the latter challenge offers a model and several valuable lessons for other biomedical research facilities to follow. This paper is based on presentations by an expert panel during the Leadership Conference on Biomedical Research and the Environment held 1--2 November 1999 at NIH, Bethesda, Maryland. The risks perceived by community members are often quite different from those identified by officials at the biomedical research facility. The best antidote for misconceptions is more and better information. If community organizations are to be informed participants in the decision-making process, they need a simple but robust mechanism for identifying and evaluating the environmental hazards in their community. Local government can and should be an active and fully informed partner in planning and emergency preparedness. In some cases this can reduce the regulatory burden on the biomedical research facility. In other cases it might simplify and expedite the permitting process or help the facility disseminate reliable information to the community. When a particular risk, real or perceived, is of special concern to the community, community members should be involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of targeted risk assessment activities. Only by doing so will the community have confidence in the results of those activities. NIH has involved community members in joint efforts to deal with topics as varied as recycling and soil

HEPA Help

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rathey, Allen

2006-01-01

Poor indoor air quality in school facilities can detract from the health and productivity of students, teachers and other employees. Asthma--often triggered or aggravated by dust--is the No. 1 cause of chronic absenteeism in schools. Using vacuum cleaners equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to clean education institutions…

The drivers of facility-based immunization performance and costs. An application to Moldova.

PubMed

Maceira, Daniel; Goguadze, Ketevan; Gotsadze, George

2015-05-07

This paper identifies factors that affect the cost and performance of the routine immunization program in Moldova through an analysis of facility-based data collected as part of a multi-country costing and financing study of routine immunization (EPIC). A nationally representative sample of health care facilities (50) was selected through multi-stage, stratified random sampling. Data on inputs, unit prices and facility outputs were collected during October 3rd 2012-January 14th 2013 using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis was performed to determine factors affecting facility outputs (number of doses administered and fully immunized children) and explaining variation in total facility costs. The study found that the number of working hours, vaccine wastage rates, and whether or not a doctor worked at a facility (among other factors) were positively and significantly associated with output levels. In addition, the level of output, price of inputs and share of the population with university education were significantly associated with higher facility costs. A 1% increase in fully immunized child would increase total cost by 0.7%. Few costing studies of primary health care services in developing countries evaluate the drivers of performance and cost. This exercise attempted to fill this knowledge gap and helped to identify organizational and managerial factors at a primary care district and national level that could be addressed by improved program management aimed at improved performance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EMP Vulnerabilities of Telecommunications Facilities and Their Relevance to EMP Protection Standards

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

capacitor must be capable of withstanding surges of two and one-half times the rated voltage with a rise time of the surge to half crest voltage of 4...n Executive Summary This report identifies and categorizes the reasons for High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) vulnerability of terrestrial...for the design, installation and maintenance of telecommunication facilities. 1.1 Background High- altitude EMP (HEMP) vulnerabilities and effects

College Students' Intentions to Seek Help for Suicidal Ideation: Accounting for the Help-Negation Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yakunina, Elena S.; Rogers, James R.; Waehler, Charles A.; Werth, James L., Jr.

2010-01-01

Prior research has identified a negative association between suicidal ideation and help-seeking, a phenomenon called "help-negation." Help-negation has been documented to occur for both professional and nonprofessional sources of help. In this study help-seeking attitudes, stigma concerns, and perceptions of social support were examined as…

Helping Books Helping Families: A Picture Book/Storytelling/Discussion Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baycich, Dianna; Cooper, Robin Echols; Burrier, Carolyn M.; Gotwald, Karen; Lombardo, Cindy; Nalepa, Laurie; Nespeca, Sue McCleaf; Norman, Cathy; Petruzzi, Tony; Gildone, Stephanie; Nyman, Pam; Fathman, Robert E.; Stephens, Brad

Helping Books Help Families (HBHF) is a book discussion program developed by the State Library of Ohio to be instituted by public and school libraries in the state of Ohio. The focus of the program is to promote reading with three groups: families as a group, to parents alone as role models for reading, and to students in school libraries. There…

Improved E-ELT subsystem and component specifications, thanks to M1 test facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dimmler, M.; Marrero, J.; Leveque, S.; Barriga, Pablo; Sedghi, B.; Kornweibel, N.

2014-07-01

During the last 2 years ESO has operated the "M1 Test Facility", a test stand consisting of a representative section of the E-ELT primary mirror equipped with 4 complete prototype segment subunits including sensors, actuators and control system. The purpose of the test facility is twofold: it serves to study and get familiar with component and system aspects like calibration, alignment and handling procedures and suitable control strategies on real hardware long before the primary mirror (hereafter M1) components are commissioned. Secondly, and of major benefit to the project, it offered the possibility to evaluate component and subsystem performance and interface issues in a system context in such detail, that issues could be identified early enough to feed back into the subsystem and component specifications. This considerably reduces risk and cost of the production units and allows refocusing the project team on important issues for the follow-up of the production contracts. Experiences are presented in which areas the results of the M1 Test Facility particularly helped to improve subsystem specifications and areas, where additional tests were adopted independent of the main test facility. Presented are the key experiences of the M1 Test Facility which lead to improved specifications or identified the need for additional testing outside of the M1 Test Facility.

Gamblers seeking online help are active help-seekers: Time to support autonomy and competence.

PubMed

Rodda, S N; Dowling, N A; Lubman, D I

2018-06-05

Research investigating rates of help-seeking for problem gambling has traditionally focused on the uptake of face-to-face gambling services alone, despite the World Health Organisation defining help-seeking as any action or activity undertaken to improve or resolve emotional, psychological or behavioural problems. The primary aim of this study is to examine the full range of help-seeking options utilised by gamblers, and to determine whether administering a comprehensive list of help options yields higher help-seeking rates than a single item measure. A one-item and expanded 14-item help-seeking Questionnaire (the Help-Seeking Questionnaire; HSQ) were administered to 277 problem gamblers seeking help online. We found the 14-item HSQ yielded a significantly higher level of lifetime professional help-seeking (70%) compared to the one-item measure (22%). When we included self-directed activities, 93% of gamblers reported they had previously attempted at least one activity to reduce their gambling. Current measurement of help-seeking appears to underestimate the range of activities currently undertaken by gamblers to reduce their gambling. Surveys need to include the one-item HSQ (over the past 12 months have you sought professional help or advice (online, by phone, or in person), support from family or friends, or did something by yourself to limit or reduce your gambling?) or the three-item HSQ which measures engagement of face-to-face services (i.e., counselling, advice, groups), distance-based (i.e., anonymous telephone, online) and self-directed (i.e., activities not involving professional oversight) activities separately. The full 14-item screen can be administered when brief screens are positive to ensure accurate measurement of help-seeking. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Facilities Performance Indicators Report 2012-13: Tracking Your Facilities Vital Signs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

APPA: Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers, 2014

2014-01-01

This paper features an expanded Web-based "Facilities Performance Indicators (FPI) Report." The purpose of APPA's Facilities Performance Indicators is to provide a representative set of statistics about facilities in educational institutions. "The Facilities Performance Indicators Report" is designed for survey…

Planning and Designing Facilities. Facility Design and Development--Part 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hypes, Michael G.

2006-01-01

Before one begins the planning process for a new facility, it is important to determine if there is a need for a new facility. The demand for a new facility can be drawn from increases in the number of users, the type of users, and the type of events to be conducted in the facility. A feasibility study should be conducted to analyze the legal…

The Help Desk.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Regina; And Others

1988-01-01

The first of three articles describes the results of a survey that examined characteristics and responsibilities of help-desk personnel at major database and online services. The second provides guidelines to using such customer services, and the third lists help-desk numbers for online databases and systems. (CLB)

A whole body counting facility in a remote Enewetak Island setting.

PubMed

Bell, Thomas R; Hickman, David; Yamaguchi, Lance; Jackson, William; Hamilton, Terry

2002-08-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has recently implemented a series of strategic initiatives to address long-term radiological surveillance needs at former U.S. test sites in the Marshall Islands. The plan is to engage local atoll communities in developing shared responsibilities for implementing radiation protection programs for resettled and resettling populations. As part of this new initiative, DOE agreed to design and construct a radiological laboratory on Enewetak Island, and help develop the necessary local resources to maintain and operate the facility. This cooperative effort was formalized in August 2000 between the DOE, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Enewetak/Ujelang Local Atoll Government (EULGOV). The laboratory facility was completed in May 2001. The laboratory incorporates both a permanent whole body counting system to assess internal exposures to 137Cs, and clean living space for people providing 24-h void urine samples. DOE continues to provide on-going technical assistance, training, and data quality review while EULGOV provides manpower and infrastructure development to sustain facility operations on a full-time basis. This paper will detail the special construction, transportation and installation issues in establishing a whole body counting facility in an isolated, harsh environmental setting.

18. Topside facility, interior of facility manager's room, view towards ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

18. Topside facility, interior of facility manager's room, view towards west. Lyon - Whiteman Air Force Base, Oscar O-1 Minuteman Missile Alert Facility, Southeast corner of Twelfth & Vendenberg Avenues, Knob Noster, Johnson County, MO

Design knowledge capture for a corporate memory facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boose, John H.; Shema, David B.; Bradshaw, Jeffrey M.

1990-01-01

Currently, much of the information regarding decision alternatives and trade-offs made in the course of a major program development effort is not represented or retained in a way that permits computer-based reasoning over the life cycle of the program. The loss of this information results in problems in tracing design alternatives to requirements, in assessing the impact of change in requirements, and in configuration management. To address these problems, the problem was studied of building an intelligent, active corporate memory facility which would provide for the capture of the requirements and standards of a program, analyze the design alternatives and trade-offs made over the program's lifetime, and examine relationships between requirements and design trade-offs. Early phases of the work have concentrated on design knowledge capture for the Space Station Freedom. Tools are demonstrated and extended which helps automate and document engineering trade studies, and another tool is being developed to help designers interactively explore design alternatives and constraints.

Experimental Fuels Facility Re-categorization Based on Facility Segmentation

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

Reiss, Troy P.; Andrus, Jason

The Experimental Fuels Facility (EFF) (MFC-794) at the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) located on the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site was originally constructed to provide controlled-access, indoor storage for radiological contaminated equipment. Use of the facility was expanded to provide a controlled environment for repairing contaminated equipment and characterizing, repackaging, and treating waste. The EFF facility is also used for research and development services, including fuel fabrication. EFF was originally categorized as a LTHC-3 radiological facility based on facility operations and facility radiological inventories. Newly planned program activities identified the need to receive quantities of fissionable materials in excessmore » of the single parameter subcritical limit in ANSI/ANS-8.1, “Nuclear Criticality Safety in Operations with Fissionable Materials Outside Reactors” (identified as “criticality list” quantities in DOE-STD-1027-92, “Hazard Categorization and Accident Analysis Techniques for Compliance with DOE Order 5480.23, Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports,” Attachment 1, Table A.1). Since the proposed inventory of fissionable materials inside EFF may be greater than the single parameter sub-critical limit of 700 g of U-235 equivalent, the initial re-categorization is Hazard Category (HC) 2 based upon a potential criticality hazard. This paper details the facility hazard categorization performed for the EFF. The categorization was necessary to determine (a) the need for further safety analysis in accordance with LWP-10802, “INL Facility Categorization,” and (b) compliance with 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 830, Subpart B, “Safety Basis Requirements.” Based on the segmentation argument presented in this paper, the final hazard categorization for the facility is LTHC-3. Department of Energy Idaho (DOE-ID) approval of the final hazard categorization determined by this hazard assessment document (HAD) was required

Predicting help-seeking behavior: The impact of knowing someone close who has sought help.

PubMed

Disabato, David J; Short, Jerome L; Lameira, Diane M; Bagley, Karen D; Wong, Stephanie J

2018-02-15

This study sought to replicate and extend research on social facilitators of college student's help seeking for psychological problems. We collected data on 420 ethnically diverse college students at a large public university (September 2008-May 2010). Students completed a cross-sectional online survey. We found that students who were aware of close others' (eg, family, friends) help seeking were two times more likely to have sought formal (eg, psychologist) and informal (eg, clergy) help themselves. Tests of moderation revealed the incremental effect (ie, controlling for help-seeking attitudes, internalizing symptoms, cultural demographics) of close others' formal help seeking was strong and significant for men (R 2 = 0.112), while it was negligible and nonsignificant for women (R 2 = .002). We discuss the importance for students-particularly men-to learn about close others' help seeking for facilitating their own help seeking during times of distress.

Federal and state nursing facility websites: just what the consumer needs?

PubMed

Harrington, Charlene; Collier, Eric; O'Meara, Janis; Kitchener, Martin; Simon, Lisa Payne; Schnelle, John F

2003-01-01

Since the introduction of the Medicare Nursing Home Compare website in 1999, some states have begun to develop their own websites to help consumers compare nursing facilities (NFs). This article presents a brief conceptual framework for the type of information needed for an Internet-based information system and analyzes existing federal and state NF websites, using data collected from a survey completed in 2002. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have a variety of information on NFs, similar to the information on the Medicare website. Information on characteristics and deficiencies of a facility is the most commonly available, but a few states have data on ownership, staffing indicators, quality indicators, complaints, and enforcement actions. Other types of data, such as resident characteristics, staff turnover rates, and financial indicators, are generally not available. Although many states are making progress toward providing consumers with information, there are gaps that exist, which if filled, could provide consumers with a better tool for facility selection and monitoring the quality of care.

Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Healthcare Facilities in Nanjing: Network Point Pattern Analysis and Correlation Analysis.

PubMed

Ni, Jianhua; Qian, Tianlu; Xi, Changbai; Rui, Yikang; Wang, Jiechen

2016-08-18

The spatial distribution of urban service facilities is largely constrained by the road network. In this study, network point pattern analysis and correlation analysis were used to analyze the relationship between road network and healthcare facility distribution. The weighted network kernel density estimation method proposed in this study identifies significant differences between the outside and inside areas of the Ming city wall. The results of network K-function analysis show that private hospitals are more evenly distributed than public hospitals, and pharmacy stores tend to cluster around hospitals along the road network. After computing the correlation analysis between different categorized hospitals and street centrality, we find that the distribution of these hospitals correlates highly with the street centralities, and that the correlations are higher with private and small hospitals than with public and large hospitals. The comprehensive analysis results could help examine the reasonability of existing urban healthcare facility distribution and optimize the location of new healthcare facilities.

Some Historical Background to the Country School Legacy: Frontier and Rural Schools in Colorado, 1859-1950. Country School Legacy: Humanities on the Frontier.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Charlie H., Jr.

A study of historical background of the frontier and rural schools in Colorado describes education in the United State in general and the development of the educational process and school facilities during five phases of Colorado's economic and political development. "The Nation" discusses philosophies generally held during the middle…

Helping Children Communicate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seefeldt, Carol

2004-01-01

This article discusses how teachers and parents can help build children's communication skills. Children's language develops in predictable stages. Here, the author outlines these stages. She also gives suggestions to parents on how to help build their communication skills at home. Language learning takes place throughout the classroom. The author…

Hanford Facility dangerous waste permit application, liquid effluent retention facility and 200 area effluent treatment facility

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

Coenenberg, J.G.

1997-08-15

The Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application is considered to 10 be a single application organized into a General Information Portion (document 11 number DOE/RL-91-28) and a Unit-Specific Portion. The scope of the 12 Unit-Specific Portion is limited to Part B permit application documentation 13 submitted for individual, `operating` treatment, storage, and/or disposal 14 units, such as the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility and 200 Area Effluent 15 Treatment Facility (this document, DOE/RL-97-03). 16 17 Both the General Information and Unit-Specific portions of the Hanford 18 Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application address the content of the Part B 19 permit applicationmore » guidance prepared by the Washington State Department of 20 Ecology (Ecology 1987 and 1996) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 21 (40 Code of Federal Regulations 270), with additional information needs 22 defined by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments and revisions of 23 Washington Administrative Code 173-303. For ease of reference, the Washington 24 State Department of Ecology alpha-numeric section identifiers from the permit 25 application guidance documentation (Ecology 1996) follow, in brackets, the 26 chapter headings and subheadings. A checklist indicating where information is 27 contained in the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility and 200 Area Effluent 28 Treatment Facility permit application documentation, in relation to the 29 Washington State Department of Ecology guidance, is located in the Contents 30 Section. 31 32 Documentation contained in the General Information Portion is broader in 33 nature and could be used by multiple treatment, storage, and/or disposal units 34 (e.g., the glossary provided in the General Information Portion). Wherever 35 appropriate, the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility and 200 Area Effluent 36 Treatment Facility permit application documentation makes cross-reference to 37 the General Information Portion, rather than

77 FR 22808 - Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-17

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2012-0090] Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses Involving No Significant Hazards Considerations Background Pursuant to Section 189a. (2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or...

78 FR 44167 - Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-23

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2013-0158] Biweekly Notice; Applications and Amendments to Facility Operating Licenses and Combined Licenses Involving No Significant Hazards Considerations Background Pursuant to Section 189a. (2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission or...

Physical Facilities for Holistic Education: Lessons from Secondary Schools in Kiambu and Samburu Counties, Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ndirangu, Waweru Peter; Thinguri, Ruth; Chui, Mary Mugwe

2016-01-01

This paper is premised on the background that the majority of researchers and educationists who have contributed to the discourse on education for sustainability seem to be in agreement that management of physical facilities are critical ingredients in achieving holistic and sustainable education. The study examined the application of physical…

Depression literacy among Australians of Chinese-speaking background in Melbourne, Australia.

PubMed

Wong, Fu Keung Daniel; Lam, Yuk Kit Angus; Poon, Ada

2010-01-19

This study investigated the knowledge of depression and preference for professional help, medications and treatment methods among Australians of Chinese-speaking background, and the perceptions of this population of the causes of mental illness. Adopting a cluster convenience sampling method, the study recruited 200 Chinese-speaking subjects from four major areas in metropolitan Melbourne where many Chinese live. The respondents were presented with a vignette describing an individual with depression and then asked questions to assess their understanding of depression and preference for professional help, medications and treatment methods. A comparative approach was used to compare the findings with those of a previous study of the mental health literacy of Australian and Japanese adults. Compared to the Australian and Japanese samples, a much lower percentage of Chinese-speaking Australians (14%) could correctly identify major depression described in the vignette, and a higher percentage believed that counseling professionals could be helpful. Higher percentages of those who believed that close family members could be helpful were found in the Chinese-speaking Australian and Japanese samples, and these two groups also expressed more uncertainty about the usefulness or harmfulness of certain medications compared to the Australian sample. Higher percentages of respondents in both the Chinese-speaking Australian and the Australian sample considered "lifestyle changes" to be helpful compared to the Japanese sample. In the Chinese-speaking sample, 30%, 17.4%, 33% and 27% of the respondents rated "traditional Chinese medicine doctors," "Chinese herbal medications," "taking Chinese nutritional foods/supplements" and "qiqong" as helpful. Many perceived "changing fungshui" and "traditional Chinese worship" to be harmful. Regarding the perception of causes of mental illness, items related to psychosocial perspectives including "life stress" and "interpersonal conflict" were

Distribution of the background gas in the MITICA accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sartori, E.; Dal Bello, S.; Serianni, G.; Sonato, P.

2013-02-01

MITICA is the ITER neutral beam test facility to be built in Padova for the generation of a 40A D- ion beam with a 16×5×16 array of 1280 beamlets accelerated to 1MV. The background gas pressure distribution and the particle flows inside MITICA accelerator are critical aspects for stripping losses, generation of secondary particles and beam non-uniformities. To keep the stripping losses in the extraction and acceleration stages reasonably low, the source pressure should be 0.3 Pa or less. The gas flow in MITICA accelerator is being studied using a 3D Finite Element code, named Avocado. The gas-wall interaction model is based on the cosine law, and the whole vacuum system geometry is represented by a view factor matrix based on surface discretization and gas property definitions. Pressure distribution and mutual fluxes are then solved linearly. In this paper the result of a numerical simulation is presented, showing the steady-state pressure distribution inside the accelerator when gas enters the system at room temperature. The accelerator model is limited to a horizontal slice 400 mm high (1/4 of the accelerator height). The pressure profile at solid walls and through the beamlet axis is obtained, allowing the evaluation and the discussion of the background gas distribution and nonuniformity. The particle flux at the inlet and outlet boundaries (namely the grounded grid apertures and the lateral conductances respectively) will be discussed.

Comparison of optimized algorithms in facility location allocation problems with different distance measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Rakesh; Chandrawat, Rajesh Kumar; Garg, B. P.; Joshi, Varun

2017-07-01

Opening the new firm or branch with desired execution is very relevant to facility location problem. Along the lines to locate the new ambulances and firehouses, the government desires to minimize average response time for emergencies from all residents of cities. So finding the best location is biggest challenge in day to day life. These type of problems were named as facility location problems. A lot of algorithms have been developed to handle these problems. In this paper, we review five algorithms that were applied to facility location problems. The significance of clustering in facility location problems is also presented. First we compare Fuzzy c-means clustering (FCM) algorithm with alternating heuristic (AH) algorithm, then with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms using different type of distance function. The data was clustered with the help of FCM and then we apply median model and min-max problem model on that data. After finding optimized locations using these algorithms we find the distance from optimized location point to the demanded point with different distance techniques and compare the results. At last, we design a general example to validate the feasibility of the five algorithms for facilities location optimization, and authenticate the advantages and drawbacks of them.

Visual signal detection in structured backgrounds. II. Effects of contrast gain control, background variations, and white noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eckstein, M. P.; Ahumada, A. J. Jr; Watson, A. B.

1997-01-01

Studies of visual detection of a signal superimposed on one of two identical backgrounds show performance degradation when the background has high contrast and is similar in spatial frequency and/or orientation to the signal. To account for this finding, models include a contrast gain control mechanism that pools activity across spatial frequency, orientation and space to inhibit (divisively) the response of the receptor sensitive to the signal. In tasks in which the observer has to detect a known signal added to one of M different backgrounds grounds due to added visual noise, the main sources of degradation are the stochastic noise in the image and the suboptimal visual processing. We investigate how these two sources of degradation (contrast gain control and variations in the background) interact in a task in which the signal is embedded in one of M locations in a complex spatially varying background (structured background). We use backgrounds extracted from patient digital medical images. To isolate effects of the fixed deterministic background (the contrast gain control) from the effects of the background variations, we conduct detection experiments with three different background conditions: (1) uniform background, (2) a repeated sample of structured background, and (3) different samples of structured background. Results show that human visual detection degrades from the uniform background condition to the repeated background condition and degrades even further in the different backgrounds condition. These results suggest that both the contrast gain control mechanism and the background random variations degrade human performance in detection of a signal in a complex, spatially varying background. A filter model and added white noise are used to generate estimates of sampling efficiencies, an equivalent internal noise, an equivalent contrast-gain-control-induced noise, and an equivalent noise due to the variations in the structured background.

Volatile Organic Compound and Particulate Emission Studies of AF (Air Force) Paint Booth Facilities. Phase 1.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-07-01

quantity of air which requires processing. Recirculation systems were designed for two of the painting facilities included in this study. In designing the...BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE .... ................ .... 57 B. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS .... ............... .... 58 1. Safety Standards .......... ............... 58...65 5. Conceptual Design .... ................ ... 68 V CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............... .. 72 A. CONCLUSIONS

Helping America's Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bush, Laura

2005-01-01

As First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush is leading the Helping America's Youth initiative of the federal government. She articulates the goal of enlisting public and volunteer resources to foster healthy growth by early intervention and mentoring of youngsters at risk. Helping America's Youth will benefit children and teenagers by…

Peers, Pathology, and Helping: Some Kids Are More Helpful Than Others.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hampson, Robert B.

Research suggests that a relatively stable, through small, percentage of children may be consistently conscientious helpers. What differentiates these children from others must become the focus of research in children's helping behavior. The available research on characteristics of helping children is relatively scarce. The purpose of this study…

Selecting long-term care facilities with high use of acute hospitalisations: issues and options

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background This paper considers approaches to the question “Which long-term care facilities have residents with high use of acute hospitalisations?” It compares four methods of identifying long-term care facilities with high use of acute hospitalisations by demonstrating four selection methods, identifies key factors to be resolved when deciding which methods to employ, and discusses their appropriateness for different research questions. Methods OPAL was a census-type survey of aged care facilities and residents in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2008. It collected information about facility management and resident demographics, needs and care. Survey records (149 aged care facilities, 6271 residents) were linked to hospital and mortality records routinely assembled by health authorities. The main ranking endpoint was acute hospitalisations for diagnoses that were classified as potentially avoidable. Facilities were ranked using 1) simple event counts per person, 2) event rates per year of resident follow-up, 3) statistical model of rates using four predictors, and 4) change in ranks between methods 2) and 3). A generalized mixed model was used for Method 3 to handle the clustered nature of the data. Results 3048 potentially avoidable hospitalisations were observed during 22 months’ follow-up. The same “top ten” facilities were selected by Methods 1 and 2. The statistical model (Method 3), predicting rates from resident and facility characteristics, ranked facilities differently than these two simple methods. The change-in-ranks method identified a very different set of “top ten” facilities. All methods showed a continuum of use, with no clear distinction between facilities with higher use. Conclusion Choice of selection method should depend upon the purpose of selection. To monitor performance during a period of change, a recent simple rate, count per resident, or even count per bed, may suffice. To find high–use facilities regardless of resident needs

Handi Helps, 1984.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handi Helps, 1984

1984-01-01

The eight issues of Handi Helps presented in this document focus on specific issues of concern to the disabled, parents, and those working with the disabled. The two-page handi help fact sheets focus on the following topics: child abuse, leukemia, arthritis, Tourette Syndrome, hemophilia, the puppet program "Meet the New Kids on the…

Handi Helps, 1985

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handi Helps, 1985

1985-01-01

The six issues of Handi Helps presented here focus on specific issues of concern to the disabled, parents, and those working with the disabled. The two-page handi help fact sheets focus on the following topics: child sexual abuse prevention, asthma, scoliosis, the role of the occupational therapist, kidnapping, and muscular dystrophy. Each handi…

SPEAKEASY HELP documents

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

Fink, J.K.

1972-07-01

The HELP documents provide SPEAKEASY users with concise definitions of most of the words available in the current processors. In this report, the documents are given in a variety of formats to enable one to find specific information quickly. The bulk of this report consists of computer read-out of the HELP library via SPEAKEASY.

Perceived barriers and facilitators to mental health help-seeking in young people: a systematic review

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Adolescents and young adults frequently experience mental disorders, yet tend not to seek help. This systematic review aims to summarise reported barriers and facilitators of help-seeking in young people using both qualitative research from surveys, focus groups, and interviews and quantitative data from published surveys. It extends previous reviews through its systematic research methodology and by the inclusion of published studies describing what young people themselves perceive are the barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for common mental health problems. Methods Twenty two published studies of perceived barriers or facilitators in adolescents or young adults were identified through searches of PubMed, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane database. A thematic analysis was undertaken on the results reported in the qualitative literature and quantitative literature. Results Fifteen qualitative and seven quantitative studies were identified. Young people perceived stigma and embarrassment, problems recognising symptoms (poor mental health literacy), and a preference for self-reliance as the most important barriers to help-seeking. Facilitators were comparatively under-researched. However, there was evidence that young people perceived positive past experiences, and social support and encouragement from others as aids to the help-seeking process. Conclusions Strategies for improving help-seeking by adolescents and young adults should focus on improving mental health literacy, reducing stigma, and taking into account the desire of young people for self-reliance. PMID:21192795

Neutron induced radio-isotopes and background for Ge double beta decay experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Pinghan; Majorana Collaboration

2015-10-01

Environmental neutrons, mostly produced by muons in the cosmic rays, might contribute backgrounds to the search for neutrinoless double beta decays. These neutrons can interact with materials and generate radio-isotopes, which can decay and produce radioactive backgrounds. Some of these neutron-induced isotopes have a signature of a time-delayed coincidence, allowing us to study these infrequent events. For example, such isotopes can decay by beta decay to metastable states and then decay by gamma decay to the ground state. Considering the time-delayed coincidence of these two processes, we can determine candidates for these neutron-induced isotopes in the data and estimate the flux of neutrons in the deep underground environment. In this report, we will list possible neutron-induced isotopes and the methodology to detect them, especially those that can affect the search for neutrinoless double beta decays in 76Ge. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics, the Particle Astrophysics Program of the National Science Foundation, and the Sanford Underground Research Facility. We acknowledge the support of the U.S. Department of Energy through the LANL/LDRD Program.

Patient and Facility Variation in Costs of VHA Heart Failure Patients

PubMed Central

Yoon, Jean; Fonarow, Gregg C.; Groeneveld, Peter W.; Teerlink, John; Whooley, Mary A.; Sahay, Anju; Heidenreich, Paul

2017-01-01

Objectives To determine the variation in annual health care costs among heart failure patients in the VA system. Background Heart failure is associated with considerable use of health care resources, but little is known about patterns in patient characteristics related to higher costs. Methods We obtained VA utilization and cost records for all patients with a diagnosis of heart failure in fiscal year 2010. We compared total VA costs by patient demographic factors, comorbid conditions, and facility where they were treated in bivariate analyses. We regressed total costs on patient factors alone; VA facility alone; and all factors combined to determine the relative contribution of patient factors and facility to explaining cost differences. Results There were 117,870 patients with heart failure, and their mean annual VA costs were $30,719 (SD=49,180) with more than half of their costs due to inpatient care. Patients at younger ages, of Hispanic or black race/ethnicity, diagnosed with comorbid drug use disorders, or who died during the year had the highest costs (all P<0.01). There was variation in costs by facility as mean adjusted costs ranged from approximately $15,000 to $48,000. In adjusted analyses patient factors alone explained more of the variation in health care costs (R2=0.116) compared to the facility where the patient was treated (R2=0.018). Conclusion A large variation in costs of heart failure patients was observed across facilities although this was explained largely by patient factors. Improving the efficiency of VA resource utilization may require increased scrutiny of high-cost patients to determine if adequate value is being delivered to those patients. PMID:26970829