Commentary on factors affecting transverse vibration using an idealized theoretical equation

Treesearch

Joseph F. Murphy

2000-01-01

An idealized theoretical equation to calculate flexural stiffness using transverse vibration of a simply end-supported beam is being considered by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Wood Committee D07 to determine lumber modulus of elasticity. This commentary provides the user a quantitative view of six factors that affect the accuracy of using the...

Evaluation of Factors Influencing Accuracy of Principal Procedure Coding Based on ICD-9-CM: An Iranian Study

PubMed Central

Farzandipour, Mehrdad; Sheikhtaheri, Abbas

2009-01-01

To evaluate the accuracy of procedural coding and the factors that influence it, 246 records were randomly selected from four teaching hospitals in Kashan, Iran. “Recodes” were assigned blindly and then compared to the original codes. Furthermore, the coders' professional behaviors were carefully observed during the coding process. Coding errors were classified as major or minor. The relations between coding accuracy and possible effective factors were analyzed by χ2 or Fisher exact tests as well as the odds ratio (OR) and the 95 percent confidence interval for the OR. The results showed that using a tabular index for rechecking codes reduces errors (83 percent vs. 72 percent accuracy). Further, more thorough documentation by the clinician positively affected coding accuracy, though this relation was not significant. Readability of records decreased errors overall (p = .003), including major ones (p = .012). Moreover, records with no abbreviations had fewer major errors (p = .021). In conclusion, not using abbreviations, ensuring more readable documentation, and paying more attention to available information increased coding accuracy and the quality of procedure databases. PMID:19471647

Parameter Accuracy in Meta-Analyses of Factor Structures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gnambs, Timo; Staufenbiel, Thomas

2016-01-01

Two new methods for the meta-analysis of factor loadings are introduced and evaluated by Monte Carlo simulations. The direct method pools each factor loading individually, whereas the indirect method synthesizes correlation matrices reproduced from factor loadings. The results of the two simulations demonstrated that the accuracy of…

Intrapersonal Variability in Negative Affect as a Moderator of Accuracy and Bias in Interpersonal Perception.

PubMed

Sadikaj, Gentiana; Moskowitz, D S; Zuroff, David C

2015-08-01

High intrapersonal variability has frequently been found to be related to poor personal and interpersonal outcomes. Little research has examined processes by which intrapersonal variability influences outcomes. This study explored the relation of intrapersonal variability in negative affect (negative affect flux) to accuracy and bias in the perception of a romantic partner's quarrelsome behavior. A sample of 93 cohabiting couples participated in a study using an event-contingent recording (ECR) methodology in which they reported their negative affect, quarrelsome behavior, and perception of their partner's quarrelsome behavior in interactions with each other during a 20-day period. Negative affect flux was operationalized as the within-person standard deviation of negative affect scores across couple interactions. Findings suggested that participants were both accurate in tracking changes in their partner's quarrelsome behavior and biased in assuming their partner's quarrelsome behavior mirrored their own quarrelsome behavior. Negative affect flux moderated both accuracy and bias of assumed similarity such that participants with higher flux manifested both greater tracking accuracy and larger bias of assumed similarity. Negative affect flux may be related to enhanced vigilance to close others' negative behavior, which may explain higher tracking accuracy and propensity to rely on a person's own negative behavior as a means of judging others' negative behavior. These processes may augment these individuals' negative interpersonal behavior, enhance cycles of negative social interactions, and lead to poor intrapersonal and interpersonal outcomes.

Factors affecting the accuracy of genomic selection for growth and wood quality traits in an advanced-breeding population of black spruce (Picea mariana).

PubMed

Lenz, Patrick R N; Beaulieu, Jean; Mansfield, Shawn D; Clément, Sébastien; Desponts, Mireille; Bousquet, Jean

2017-04-28

Genomic selection (GS) uses information from genomic signatures consisting of thousands of genetic markers to predict complex traits. As such, GS represents a promising approach to accelerate tree breeding, which is especially relevant for the genetic improvement of boreal conifers characterized by long breeding cycles. In the present study, we tested GS in an advanced-breeding population of the boreal black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] BSP) for growth and wood quality traits, and concurrently examined factors affecting GS model accuracy. The study relied on 734 25-year-old trees belonging to 34 full-sib families derived from 27 parents and that were established on two contrasting sites. Genomic profiles were obtained from 4993 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) representative of as many gene loci distributed among the 12 linkage groups common to spruce. GS models were obtained for four growth and wood traits. Validation using independent sets of trees showed that GS model accuracy was high, related to trait heritability and equivalent to that of conventional pedigree-based models. In forward selection, gains per unit of time were three times higher with the GS approach than with conventional selection. In addition, models were also accurate across sites, indicating little genotype-by-environment interaction in the area investigated. Using information from half-sibs instead of full-sibs led to a significant reduction in model accuracy, indicating that the inclusion of relatedness in the model contributed to its higher accuracies. About 500 to 1000 markers were sufficient to obtain GS model accuracy almost equivalent to that obtained with all markers, whether they were well spread across the genome or from a single linkage group, further confirming the implication of relatedness and potential long-range linkage disequilibrium (LD) in the high accuracy estimates obtained. Only slightly higher model accuracy was obtained when using marker subsets that were

Hostility and Facial Affect Recognition: Effects of a Cold Pressor Stressor on Accuracy and Cardiovascular Reactivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herridge, Matt L.; Harrison, David W.; Mollet, Gina A.; Shenal, Brian V.

2004-01-01

The effects of hostility and a cold pressor stressor on the accuracy of facial affect perception were examined in the present experiment. A mechanism whereby physiological arousal level is mediated by systems which also mediate accuracy of an individual's interpretation of affective cues is described. Right-handed participants were classified as…

Factoring vs linear modeling in rate estimation: a simulation study of relative accuracy.

PubMed

Maldonado, G; Greenland, S

1998-07-01

A common strategy for modeling dose-response in epidemiology is to transform ordered exposures and covariates into sets of dichotomous indicator variables (that is, to factor the variables). Factoring tends to increase estimation variance, but it also tends to decrease bias and thus may increase or decrease total accuracy. We conducted a simulation study to examine the impact of factoring on the accuracy of rate estimation. Factored and unfactored Poisson regression models were fit to follow-up study datasets that were randomly generated from 37,500 population model forms that ranged from subadditive to supramultiplicative. In the situations we examined, factoring sometimes substantially improved accuracy relative to fitting the corresponding unfactored model, sometimes substantially decreased accuracy, and sometimes made little difference. The difference in accuracy between factored and unfactored models depended in a complicated fashion on the difference between the true and fitted model forms, the strength of exposure and covariate effects in the population, and the study size. It may be difficult in practice to predict when factoring is increasing or decreasing accuracy. We recommend, therefore, that the strategy of factoring variables be supplemented with other strategies for modeling dose-response.

Revealing how network structure affects accuracy of link prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jin-Xuan; Zhang, Xiao-Dong

2017-08-01

Link prediction plays an important role in network reconstruction and network evolution. The network structure affects the accuracy of link prediction, which is an interesting problem. In this paper we use common neighbors and the Gini coefficient to reveal the relation between them, which can provide a good reference for the choice of a suitable link prediction algorithm according to the network structure. Moreover, the statistical analysis reveals correlation between the common neighbors index, Gini coefficient index and other indices to describe the network structure, such as Laplacian eigenvalues, clustering coefficient, degree heterogeneity, and assortativity of network. Furthermore, a new method to predict missing links is proposed. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm yields better prediction accuracy and robustness to the network structure than existing currently used methods for a variety of real-world networks.

The role of selected lexical factors on confrontation naming accuracy, speed, and fluency in adults who do and do not stutter.

PubMed

Newman, Rochelle S; Bernstein Ratner, Nan

2007-02-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether lexical access in adults who stutter (AWS) differs from that in people who do not stutter. Specifically, the authors examined the role of 3 lexical factors on naming speed, accuracy, and fluency: word frequency, neighborhood density, and neighborhood frequency. If stuttering results from an impairment in lexical access, these factors were hypothesized to differentially affect AWS performance on a confrontation naming task. Twenty-five AWS and 25 normally fluent comparison speakers, matched for age and education, participated in a confrontation naming task designed to explore within-speaker performance on naming accuracy, speed, and fluency based on stimulus word frequency and neighborhood characteristics. Accuracy, fluency, and reaction time (from acoustic waveform analysis) were computed. In general, AWS demonstrated the same effects of lexical factors on their naming as did adults who do not stutter. However, accuracy of naming was reduced for AWS. Stuttering rate was influenced by word frequency but not other factors. Results suggest that AWS could have a fundamental deficit in lexical retrieval, but this deficit is unlikely to be at the level of the word's abstract phonological representation. Implications for further research are discussed.

Lengths of Orthologous Prokaryotic Proteins Are Affected by Evolutionary Factors

PubMed Central

Tatarinova, Tatiana; Dien Bard, Jennifer; Cohen, Irit

2015-01-01

Proteins of the same functional family (for example, kinases) may have significantly different lengths. It is an open question whether such variation in length is random or it appears as a response to some unknown evolutionary driving factors. The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate existence of factors affecting prokaryotic gene lengths. We believe that the ranking of genomes according to lengths of their genes, followed by the calculation of coefficients of association between genome rank and genome property, is a reasonable approach in revealing such evolutionary driving factors. As we demonstrated earlier, our chosen approach, Bubble-sort, combines stability, accuracy, and computational efficiency as compared to other ranking methods. Application of Bubble Sort to the set of 1390 prokaryotic genomes confirmed that genes of Archaeal species are generally shorter than Bacterial ones. We observed that gene lengths are affected by various factors: within each domain, different phyla have preferences for short or long genes; thermophiles tend to have shorter genes than the soil-dwellers; halophiles tend to have longer genes. We also found that species with overrepresentation of cytosines and guanines in the third position of the codon (GC3 content) tend to have longer genes than species with low GC3 content. PMID:26114113

Lengths of Orthologous Prokaryotic Proteins Are Affected by Evolutionary Factors.

PubMed

Tatarinova, Tatiana; Salih, Bilal; Dien Bard, Jennifer; Cohen, Irit; Bolshoy, Alexander

2015-01-01

Proteins of the same functional family (for example, kinases) may have significantly different lengths. It is an open question whether such variation in length is random or it appears as a response to some unknown evolutionary driving factors. The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate existence of factors affecting prokaryotic gene lengths. We believe that the ranking of genomes according to lengths of their genes, followed by the calculation of coefficients of association between genome rank and genome property, is a reasonable approach in revealing such evolutionary driving factors. As we demonstrated earlier, our chosen approach, Bubble-sort, combines stability, accuracy, and computational efficiency as compared to other ranking methods. Application of Bubble Sort to the set of 1390 prokaryotic genomes confirmed that genes of Archaeal species are generally shorter than Bacterial ones. We observed that gene lengths are affected by various factors: within each domain, different phyla have preferences for short or long genes; thermophiles tend to have shorter genes than the soil-dwellers; halophiles tend to have longer genes. We also found that species with overrepresentation of cytosines and guanines in the third position of the codon (GC3 content) tend to have longer genes than species with low GC3 content.

Emotional and Social Factors influence Poker Decision Making Accuracy.

PubMed

Laakasuo, Michael; Palomäki, Jussi; Salmela, Mikko

2015-09-01

Poker is a social game, where success depends on both game strategic knowledge and emotion regulation abilities. Thus, poker provides a productive environment for studying the effects of emotional and social factors on micro-economic decision making. Previous research indicates that experiencing negative emotions, such as moral anger, reduces mathematical accuracy in poker decision making. Furthermore, various social aspects of the game—such as losing against "bad players" due to "bad luck"—seem to fuel these emotional states. We designed an Internet-based experiment, where participants' (N = 459) mathematical accuracy in five different poker decision making tasks were assessed. In addition, we manipulated the emotional and social conditions under which the tasks were presented, in a 2 × 2 experimental setup: (1) Anger versus neutral emotional state—participants were primed either with an anger-inducing, or emotionally neutral story, and (2) Social cue versus non-social cue—during the tasks, either an image of a pair of human eyes was "following" the mouse cursor, or an image of a black moving box was presented. The results showed that anger reduced mathematical accuracy of decision making only when participants were "being watched" by a pair of moving eyes. Experienced poker players made mathematically more accurate decisions than inexperienced ones. The results contribute to current understanding on how emotional and social factors influence decision making accuracy in economic games.

Predicting the Accuracy of Facial Affect Recognition: The Interaction of Child Maltreatment and Intellectual Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shenk, Chad E.; Putnam, Frank W.; Noll, Jennie G.

2013-01-01

Previous research demonstrates that both child maltreatment and intellectual performance contribute uniquely to the accurate identification of facial affect by children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to extend this research by examining whether child maltreatment affects the accuracy of facial recognition differently at varying…

Accuracy of selected techniques for estimating ice-affected streamflow

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walker, John F.

1991-01-01

This paper compares the accuracy of selected techniques for estimating streamflow during ice-affected periods. The techniques are classified into two categories - subjective and analytical - depending on the degree of judgment required. Discharge measurements have been made at three streamflow-gauging sites in Iowa during the 1987-88 winter and used to established a baseline streamflow record for each site. Using data based on a simulated six-week field-tip schedule, selected techniques are used to estimate discharge during the ice-affected periods. For the subjective techniques, three hydrographers have independently compiled each record. Three measures of performance are used to compare the estimated streamflow records with the baseline streamflow records: the average discharge for the ice-affected period, and the mean and standard deviation of the daily errors. Based on average ranks for three performance measures and the three sites, the analytical and subjective techniques are essentially comparable. For two of the three sites, Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance detects significant differences among the three hydrographers for the subjective methods, indicating that the subjective techniques are less consistent than the analytical techniques. The results suggest analytical techniques may be viable tools for estimating discharge during periods of ice effect, and should be developed further and evaluated for sites across the United States.

Factors affecting sign retroreflectivity

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-01-01

This study was undertaken to better understand the factors that may affect road sign retroreflectivity, specifically age and physical orientation. A better understanding of these factors could provide guidance to ODOT in managing its inventory of roa...

Factors interfering with the accuracy of five blood glucose meters used in Chinese hospitals.

PubMed

Lv, Hong; Zhang, Guo-jun; Kang, Xi-xiong; Yuan, Hui; Lv, Yan-wei; Wang, Wen-wen; Randall, Rollins

2013-09-01

The prevalence of diabetes is increasing in China. Glucose control is very important in diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of five glucose meters used in Chinese hospitals with a reference method, in the absence and presence of various factors that may interfere with the meters. Within-run precision of the meters was evaluated include Roche Accu-Chek Inform®, Abbott Precision PCx FreeStyle®, Bayer Contour®, J&J LifeScan SureStep Flexx®, and Nova Biomedical StatStrip®. The interference of hematocrit level, maltose, ascorbic acid, acetaminophen, galactose, dopamine, and uric acid were tested in three levels of blood glucose, namely low, medium, and high concentrations. Accuracy (bias) of the meters and analytical interference by various factors were evaluated by comparing results obtained in whole blood specimens with those in plasma samples of the whole blood specimens run on the reference method. Impact of oxygen tension on above five blood glucose meters was detected. Precision was acceptable and slightly different between meters. There were no significant differences in the measurements between the meters and the reference method. The hematocrit level significantly interfered with all meters, except StatStrip. Measurements were affected to varying degrees by different substances at different glucose levels, e.g. acetaminophen and ascorbic acid (Freestyle), maltose and galactose (FreeStyle, Accu-Chek), uric acid (FreeStyle, Bayer Contour), and dopamine (Bayer Contour). The measurements with the five meters showed a good correlation with the plasma hexokinase reference method, but most were affected by the hematocrit level. Some meters also showed marked interference by other substances. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Influence of Affective Empathy and Autism Spectrum Traits on Empathic Accuracy

PubMed Central

aan het Rot, Marije; Hogenelst, Koen

2014-01-01

Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by interpersonal deficits and has been associated with limited cognitive empathy, which includes perspective taking, theory of mind, and empathic accuracy (EA). The capacity for affective empathy may also be impaired. In the present study we aimed to determine if EA in normally developing individuals with varying levels of autism spectrum traits is moderated by trait affective empathy. Fifty male and fifty female participants (‘perceivers’) completed the Autism-Spectrum Quotient and the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale to assess autism spectrum traits and trait affective empathy, respectively. EA was assessed using a Dutch-language version of a previously developed task and involved rating the feelings of others (‘targets’) verbally recounting autobiographical emotional events. Targets varied in trait emotional expressivity, assessed using the Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire. Perceivers with more autism spectrum traits performed worse on the EA task, particularly when their trait affective empathy was relatively low. Interpersonal deficits in autism spectrum disorder may be partially explained by low cognitive empathy. Further, they might be aggravated by a limited capacity for affective empathy. PMID:24905105

Current Mood Symptoms Do Not Affect the Accuracy of Retrospective Self-Ratings of Childhood ADHD Symptoms.

PubMed

Grogan, Katie; Bramham, Jessica

2016-12-01

Given that the diagnosis of adulthood ADHD depends on the retrospective self-report of childhood ADHD symptoms, this study aimed to establish whether current mood affects the accuracy of retrospective self-ratings of childhood ADHD. Barkley's Adult ADHD Rating Scale (BAARS) was used to assess the retrospective self- and parent-reports of childhood ADHD symptoms of 160 adults with ADHD and 92 adults without ADHD. Self-rated current mood was also measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Higher BAARS self-ratings correlated with higher HADS self-ratings. Strongest correlations were evident between hyperactive/impulsive symptoms and anxiety symptoms. There was no relationship between current mood and accuracy of self-report. Current mood does not affect the accuracy of retrospective self-ratings of ADHD. Future research should aim to provide new measures of anxiety in ADHD to avoid the double counting of hyperactive/impulsive and anxiety symptoms. © The Author(s) 2014.

Factors affecting construction performance: exploratory factor analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soewin, E.; Chinda, T.

2018-04-01

The present work attempts to develop a multidimensional performance evaluation framework for a construction company by considering all relevant measures of performance. Based on the previous studies, this study hypothesizes nine key factors, with a total of 57 associated items. The hypothesized factors, with their associated items, are then used to develop questionnaire survey to gather data. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to the collected data which gave rise 10 factors with 57 items affecting construction performance. The findings further reveal that the items constituting ten key performance factors (KPIs) namely; 1) Time, 2) Cost, 3) Quality, 4) Safety & Health, 5) Internal Stakeholder, 6) External Stakeholder, 7) Client Satisfaction, 8) Financial Performance, 9) Environment, and 10) Information, Technology & Innovation. The analysis helps to develop multi-dimensional performance evaluation framework for an effective measurement of the construction performance. The 10 key performance factors can be broadly categorized into economic aspect, social aspect, environmental aspect, and technology aspects. It is important to understand a multi-dimension performance evaluation framework by including all key factors affecting the construction performance of a company, so that the management level can effectively plan to implement an effective performance development plan to match with the mission and vision of the company.

Going the distance: spatial scale of athletic experience affects the accuracy of path integration.

PubMed

Smith, Alastair D; Howard, Christina J; Alcock, Niall; Cater, Kirsten

2010-09-01

Evidence suggests that athletically trained individuals are more accurate than untrained individuals in updating their spatial position through idiothetic cues. We assessed whether training at different spatial scales affects the accuracy of path integration. Groups of rugby players (large-scale training) and martial artists (small-scale training) participated in a triangle-completion task: they were led (blindfolded) along two sides of a right-angled triangle and were required to complete the hypotenuse by returning to the origin. The groups did not differ in their assessment of the distance to the origin, but rugby players were more accurate than martial artists in assessing the correct angle to turn (heading), and landed significantly closer to the origin. These data support evidence that distance and heading components can be dissociated. Furthermore, they suggest that the spatial scale at which an individual is trained may affect the accuracy of one component of path integration but not the other.

Factors Affecting Medical Service Quality.

PubMed

Mosadeghrad, Ali Mohammad

2014-02-01

A better understanding of factors influencing quality of medical service can pinpoint better strategies for quality assurance in medical services. This study aimed to identify factors affecting the quality of medical services provided by Iranian physicians. Exploratory in-depth individual interviews were conducted with sixty-four physicians working in various medical institutions in Iran. Individual, organizational and environmental factors enhance or inhibit the quality of medical services. Quality of medical services depends on the personal factors of the physician and patient, and factors pertaining to the healthcare setting and the broader environment. Differences in internal and external factors such as availability of resources, patient cooperation and collaboration among providers affect the quality of medical services and patient outcomes. Supportive leadership, proper planning, education and training and effective management of resources and processes improve the quality of medical services. This article contributes to healthcare theory and practice by developing a conceptual framework for understanding factors that influence medical services quality.

Factors Determining the Inter-observer Variability and Diagnostic Accuracy of High-resolution Manometry for Esophageal Motility Disorders.

PubMed

Kim, Ji Hyun; Kim, Sung Eun; Cho, Yu Kyung; Lim, Chul-Hyun; Park, Moo In; Hwang, Jin Won; Jang, Jae-Sik; Oh, Minkyung

2018-01-30

Although high-resolution manometry (HRM) has the advantage of visual intuitiveness, its diagnostic validity remains under debate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of HRM for esophageal motility disorders. Six staff members and 8 trainees were recruited for the study. In total, 40 patients enrolled in manometry studies at 3 institutes were selected. Captured images of 10 representative swallows and a single swallow in analyzing mode in both high-resolution pressure topography (HRPT) and conventional line tracing formats were provided with calculated metrics. Assessments of esophageal motility disorders showed fair agreement for HRPT and moderate agreement for conventional line tracing (κ = 0.40 and 0.58, respectively). With the HRPT format, the k value was higher in category A (esophagogastric junction [EGJ] relaxation abnormality) than in categories B (major body peristalsis abnormalities with intact EGJ relaxation) and C (minor body peristalsis abnormalities or normal body peristalsis with intact EGJ relaxation). The overall exact diagnostic accuracy for the HRPT format was 58.8% and rater's position was an independent factor for exact diagnostic accuracy. The diagnostic accuracy for major disorders was 63.4% with the HRPT format. The frequency of major discrepancies was higher for category B disorders than for category A disorders (38.4% vs 15.4%; P < 0.001). The interpreter's experience significantly affected the exact diagnostic accuracy of HRM for esophageal motility disorders. The diagnostic accuracy for major disorders was higher for achalasia than distal esophageal spasm and jackhammer esophagus.

Perceptual Load Affects Eyewitness Accuracy and Susceptibility to Leading Questions.

PubMed

Murphy, Gillian; Greene, Ciara M

2016-01-01

Load Theory (Lavie, 1995, 2005) states that the level of perceptual load in a task (i.e., the amount of information involved in processing task-relevant stimuli) determines the efficiency of selective attention. There is evidence that perceptual load affects distractor processing, with increased inattentional blindness under high load. Given that high load can result in individuals failing to report seeing obvious objects, it is conceivable that load may also impair memory for the scene. The current study is the first to assess the effect of perceptual load on eyewitness memory. Across three experiments (two video-based and one in a driving simulator), the effect of perceptual load on eyewitness memory was assessed. The results showed that eyewitnesses were less accurate under high load, in particular for peripheral details. For example, memory for the central character in the video was not affected by load but memory for a witness who passed by the window at the edge of the scene was significantly worse under high load. High load memories were also more open to suggestion, showing increased susceptibility to leading questions. High visual perceptual load also affected recall for auditory information, illustrating a possible cross-modal perceptual load effect on memory accuracy. These results have implications for eyewitness memory researchers and forensic professionals.

Perceptual Load Affects Eyewitness Accuracy and Susceptibility to Leading Questions

PubMed Central

Murphy, Gillian; Greene, Ciara M.

2016-01-01

Load Theory (Lavie, 1995, 2005) states that the level of perceptual load in a task (i.e., the amount of information involved in processing task-relevant stimuli) determines the efficiency of selective attention. There is evidence that perceptual load affects distractor processing, with increased inattentional blindness under high load. Given that high load can result in individuals failing to report seeing obvious objects, it is conceivable that load may also impair memory for the scene. The current study is the first to assess the effect of perceptual load on eyewitness memory. Across three experiments (two video-based and one in a driving simulator), the effect of perceptual load on eyewitness memory was assessed. The results showed that eyewitnesses were less accurate under high load, in particular for peripheral details. For example, memory for the central character in the video was not affected by load but memory for a witness who passed by the window at the edge of the scene was significantly worse under high load. High load memories were also more open to suggestion, showing increased susceptibility to leading questions. High visual perceptual load also affected recall for auditory information, illustrating a possible cross-modal perceptual load effect on memory accuracy. These results have implications for eyewitness memory researchers and forensic professionals. PMID:27625628

Factors influencing accuracy of cortical thickness in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Belathur Suresh, Mahanand; Fischl, Bruce; Salat, David H

2018-04-01

There is great value to use of structural neuroimaging in the assessment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, to date, predictive value of structural imaging tend to range between 80% and 90% in accuracy and it is unclear why this is the case given that structural imaging should parallel the pathologic processes of AD. There is a possibility that clinical misdiagnosis relative to the gold standard pathologic diagnosis and/or additional brain pathologies are confounding factors contributing to reduced structural imaging classification accuracy. We examined potential factors contributing to misclassification of individuals with clinically diagnosed AD purely from cortical thickness measures. Correctly classified and incorrectly classified groups were compared across a range of demographic, biological, and neuropsychological data including cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, amyloid imaging, white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume, cognitive, and genetic factors. Individual subject analyses suggested that at least a portion of the control individuals misclassified as AD from structural imaging additionally harbor substantial AD biomarker pathology and risk, yet are relatively resistant to cognitive symptoms, likely due to "cognitive reserve," and therefore clinically unimpaired. In contrast, certain clinical control individuals misclassified as AD from cortical thickness had increased WMH volume relative to other controls in the sample, suggesting that vascular conditions may contribute to classification accuracy from cortical thickness measures. These results provide examples of factors that contribute to the accuracy of structural imaging in predicting a clinical diagnosis of AD, and provide important information about considerations for future work aimed at optimizing structural based diagnostic classifiers for AD. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

How does the host population's network structure affect the estimation accuracy of epidemic parameters?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yashima, Kenta; Ito, Kana; Nakamura, Kazuyuki

2013-03-01

When an Infectious disease where to prevail throughout the population, epidemic parameters such as the basic reproduction ratio, initial point of infection etc. are estimated from the time series data of infected population. However, it is unclear how does the structure of host population affects this estimation accuracy. In other words, what kind of city is difficult to estimate its epidemic parameters? To answer this question, epidemic data are simulated by constructing a commuting network with different network structure and running the infection process over this network. From the given time series data for each network structure, we would like to analyzed estimation accuracy of epidemic parameters.

Cued Speech Transliteration: Effects of Accuracy and Lag Time on Message Intelligibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krause, Jean C.; Lopez, Katherine A.

2017-01-01

This paper is the second in a series concerned with the level of access afforded to students who use educational interpreters. The first paper (Krause & Tessler, 2016) focused on factors affecting accuracy of messages produced by Cued Speech (CS) transliterators (expression). In this study, factors affecting intelligibility (reception by deaf…

Accuracy of travel time distribution (TTD) models as affected by TTD complexity, observation errors, and model and tracer selection

USGS Publications Warehouse

Green, Christopher T.; Zhang, Yong; Jurgens, Bryant C.; Starn, J. Jeffrey; Landon, Matthew K.

2014-01-01

Analytical models of the travel time distribution (TTD) from a source area to a sample location are often used to estimate groundwater ages and solute concentration trends. The accuracies of these models are not well known for geologically complex aquifers. In this study, synthetic datasets were used to quantify the accuracy of four analytical TTD models as affected by TTD complexity, observation errors, model selection, and tracer selection. Synthetic TTDs and tracer data were generated from existing numerical models with complex hydrofacies distributions for one public-supply well and 14 monitoring wells in the Central Valley, California. Analytical TTD models were calibrated to synthetic tracer data, and prediction errors were determined for estimates of TTDs and conservative tracer (NO3−) concentrations. Analytical models included a new, scale-dependent dispersivity model (SDM) for two-dimensional transport from the watertable to a well, and three other established analytical models. The relative influence of the error sources (TTD complexity, observation error, model selection, and tracer selection) depended on the type of prediction. Geological complexity gave rise to complex TTDs in monitoring wells that strongly affected errors of the estimated TTDs. However, prediction errors for NO3− and median age depended more on tracer concentration errors. The SDM tended to give the most accurate estimates of the vertical velocity and other predictions, although TTD model selection had minor effects overall. Adding tracers improved predictions if the new tracers had different input histories. Studies using TTD models should focus on the factors that most strongly affect the desired predictions.

Spacecraft attitude determination accuracy from mission experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brasoveanu, D.; Hashmall, J.

1994-01-01

This paper summarizes a compilation of attitude determination accuracies attained by a number of satellites supported by the Goddard Space Flight Center Flight Dynamics Facility. The compilation is designed to assist future mission planners in choosing and placing attitude hardware and selecting the attitude determination algorithms needed to achieve given accuracy requirements. The major goal of the compilation is to indicate realistic accuracies achievable using a given sensor complement based on mission experience. It is expected that the use of actual spacecraft experience will make the study especially useful for mission design. A general description of factors influencing spacecraft attitude accuracy is presented. These factors include determination algorithms, inertial reference unit characteristics, and error sources that can affect measurement accuracy. Possible techniques for mitigating errors are also included. Brief mission descriptions are presented with the attitude accuracies attained, grouped by the sensor pairs used in attitude determination. The accuracies for inactive missions represent a compendium of missions report results, and those for active missions represent measurements of attitude residuals. Both three-axis and spin stabilized missions are included. Special emphasis is given to high-accuracy sensor pairs, such as two fixed-head star trackers (FHST's) and fine Sun sensor plus FHST. Brief descriptions of sensor design and mode of operation are included. Also included are brief mission descriptions and plots summarizing the attitude accuracy attained using various sensor complements.

Context matters: the structure of task goals affects accuracy in multiple-target visual search.

PubMed

Clark, Kait; Cain, Matthew S; Adcock, R Alison; Mitroff, Stephen R

2014-05-01

Career visual searchers such as radiologists and airport security screeners strive to conduct accurate visual searches, but despite extensive training, errors still occur. A key difference between searches in radiology and airport security is the structure of the search task: Radiologists typically scan a certain number of medical images (fixed objective), and airport security screeners typically search X-rays for a specified time period (fixed duration). Might these structural differences affect accuracy? We compared performance on a search task administered either under constraints that approximated radiology or airport security. Some displays contained more than one target because the presence of multiple targets is an established source of errors for career searchers, and accuracy for additional targets tends to be especially sensitive to contextual conditions. Results indicate that participants searching within the fixed objective framework produced more multiple-target search errors; thus, adopting a fixed duration framework could improve accuracy for career searchers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Sampling factors influencing accuracy of sperm kinematic analysis.

PubMed

Owen, D H; Katz, D F

1993-01-01

Sampling conditions that influence the accuracy of experimental measurement of sperm head kinematics were studied by computer simulation methods. Several archetypal sperm trajectories were studied. First, mathematical models of typical flagellar beats were input to hydrodynamic equations of sperm motion. The instantaneous swimming velocities of such sperm were computed over sequences of flagellar beat cycles, from which the resulting trajectories were determined. In a second, idealized approach, direct mathematical models of trajectories were utilized, based upon similarities to the previous hydrodynamic constructs. In general, it was found that analyses of sampling factors produced similar results for the hydrodynamic and idealized trajectories. A number of experimental sampling factors were studied, including the number of sperm head positions measured per flagellar beat, and the time interval over which these measurements are taken. It was found that when one flagellar beat is sampled, values of amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH) and linearity (LIN) approached their actual values when five or more sample points per beat were taken. Mean angular displacement (MAD) values, however, remained sensitive to sampling rate even when large sampling rates were used. Values of MAD were also much more sensitive to the initial starting point of the sampling procedure than were ALH or LIN. On the basis of these analyses of measurement accuracy for individual sperm, simulations were then performed of cumulative effects when studying entire populations of motile cells. It was found that substantial (double digit) errors occurred in the mean values of curvilinear velocity (VCL), LIN, and MAD under the conditions of 30 video frames per second and 0.5 seconds of analysis time. Increasing the analysis interval to 1 second did not appreciably improve the results. However, increasing the analysis rate to 60 frames per second significantly reduced the errors. These findings

Factors Affecting Tocopherol Concentrations in Soybean Seeds.

PubMed

Carrera, Constanza S; Seguin, Philippe

2016-12-21

Soybean seeds contain several health-beneficial compounds, including tocopherols, which are used by the nutraceutical and functional food industries. Soybean tocopherol concentrations are, however, highly variable. Large differences observed in tocopherol concentrations among soybean genotypes together with the relatively simple biosynthetic pathway involving few genes support the feasibility of selecting for high-tocopherol soybean. Tocopherol concentrations are also highly influenced by environmental factors and field management. Temperature during seed filling and soil moisture appear to be the main factors affecting tocopherol concentrations; other factors such as soil fertility and solar radiation also affect concentrations and composition. Field management decisions including seeding date, row spacing, irrigation, and fertilization also affect tocopherols. Knowledge of factors affecting soybean tocopherols is essential to develop management strategies that will lead to the production of seeds with consistent target concentrations that will meet the needs of the nutraceutical and functional food industries.

Web-based Factors Affecting Online Purchasing Behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ariff, Mohd Shoki Md; Sze Yan, Ng; Zakuan, Norhayati; Zaidi Bahari, Ahamad; Jusoh, Ahmad

2013-06-01

The growing use of internet and online purchasing among young consumers in Malaysia provides a huge prospect in e-commerce market, specifically for B2C segment. In this market, if E-marketers know the web-based factors affecting online buyers' behaviour, and the effect of these factors on behaviour of online consumers, then they can develop their marketing strategies to convert potential customers into active one, while retaining existing online customers. Review of previous studies related to the online purchasing behaviour in B2C market has point out that the conceptualization and empirical validation of the online purchasing behaviour of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literate users, or ICT professional, in Malaysia has not been clearly addressed. This paper focuses on (i) web-based factors which online buyers (ICT professional) keep in mind while shopping online; and (ii) the effect of web-based factors on online purchasing behaviour. Based on the extensive literature review, a conceptual framework of 24 items of five factors was constructed to determine web-based factors affecting online purchasing behaviour of ICT professional. Analysis of data was performed based on the 310 questionnaires, which were collected using a stratified random sampling method, from ICT undergraduate students in a public university in Malaysia. The Exploratory factor analysis performed showed that five factors affecting online purchase behaviour are Information Quality, Fulfilment/Reliability/Customer Service, Website Design, Quick and Details, and Privacy/Security. The result of Multiple Regression Analysis indicated that Information Quality, Quick and Details, and Privacy/Security affect positively online purchase behaviour. The results provide a usable model for measuring web-based factors affecting buyers' online purchase behaviour in B2C market, as well as for online shopping companies to focus on the factors that will increase customers' online purchase.

The accuracy of climate models' simulated season lengths and the effectiveness of grid scale correction factors

DOE PAGES

Winterhalter, Wade E.

2011-09-01

Global climate change is expected to impact biological populations through a variety of mechanisms including increases in the length of their growing season. Climate models are useful tools for predicting how season length might change in the future. However, the accuracy of these models tends to be rather low at regional geographic scales. Here, I determined the ability of several atmosphere and ocean general circulating models (AOGCMs) to accurately simulate historical season lengths for a temperate ectotherm across the continental United States. I also evaluated the effectiveness of regional-scale correction factors to improve the accuracy of these models. I foundmore » that both the accuracy of simulated season lengths and the effectiveness of the correction factors to improve the model's accuracy varied geographically and across models. These results suggest that regional specific correction factors do not always adequately remove potential discrepancies between simulated and historically observed environmental parameters. As such, an explicit evaluation of the correction factors' effectiveness should be included in future studies of global climate change's impact on biological populations.« less

Factors Affecting Wound Healing

PubMed Central

Guo, S.; DiPietro, L.A.

2010-01-01

Wound healing, as a normal biological process in the human body, is achieved through four precisely and highly programmed phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. For a wound to heal successfully, all four phases must occur in the proper sequence and time frame. Many factors can interfere with one or more phases of this process, thus causing improper or impaired wound healing. This article reviews the recent literature on the most significant factors that affect cutaneous wound healing and the potential cellular and/or molecular mechanisms involved. The factors discussed include oxygenation, infection, age and sex hormones, stress, diabetes, obesity, medications, alcoholism, smoking, and nutrition. A better understanding of the influence of these factors on repair may lead to therapeutics that improve wound healing and resolve impaired wounds. PMID:20139336

Factors affecting wound healing.

PubMed

Guo, S; Dipietro, L A

2010-03-01

Wound healing, as a normal biological process in the human body, is achieved through four precisely and highly programmed phases: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. For a wound to heal successfully, all four phases must occur in the proper sequence and time frame. Many factors can interfere with one or more phases of this process, thus causing improper or impaired wound healing. This article reviews the recent literature on the most significant factors that affect cutaneous wound healing and the potential cellular and/or molecular mechanisms involved. The factors discussed include oxygenation, infection, age and sex hormones, stress, diabetes, obesity, medications, alcoholism, smoking, and nutrition. A better understanding of the influence of these factors on repair may lead to therapeutics that improve wound healing and resolve impaired wounds.

Accuracy of endoscopic ultrasonography for diagnosing ulcerative early gastric cancers

PubMed Central

Park, Jin-Seok; Kim, Hyungkil; Bang, Byongwook; Kwon, Kyesook; Shin, Youngwoon

2016-01-01

Abstract Although endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is the first-choice imaging modality for predicting the invasion depth of early gastric cancer (EGC), the prediction accuracy of EUS is significantly decreased when EGC is combined with ulceration. The aim of present study was to compare the accuracy of EUS and conventional endoscopy (CE) for determining the depth of EGC. In addition, the various clinic-pathologic factors affecting the diagnostic accuracy of EUS, with a particular focus on endoscopic ulcer shapes, were evaluated. We retrospectively reviewed data from 236 consecutive patients with ulcerative EGC. All patients underwent EUS for estimating tumor invasion depth, followed by either curative surgery or endoscopic treatment. The diagnostic accuracy of EUS and CE was evaluated by comparing the final histologic result of resected specimen. The correlation between accuracy of EUS and characteristics of EGC (tumor size, histology, location in stomach, tumor invasion depth, and endoscopic ulcer shapes) was analyzed. Endoscopic ulcer shapes were classified into 3 groups: definite ulcer, superficial ulcer, and ill-defined ulcer. The overall accuracy of EUS and CE for predicting the invasion depth in ulcerative EGC was 68.6% and 55.5%, respectively. Of the 236 patients, 36 patients were classified as definite ulcers, 98 were superficial ulcers, and 102 were ill-defined ulcers, In univariate analysis, EUS accuracy was associated with invasion depth (P = 0.023), tumor size (P = 0.034), and endoscopic ulcer shapes (P = 0.001). In multivariate analysis, there is a significant association between superficial ulcer in CE and EUS accuracy (odds ratio: 2.977; 95% confidence interval: 1.255–7.064; P = 0.013). The accuracy of EUS for determining tumor invasion depth in ulcerative EGC was superior to that of CE. In addition, ulcer shape was an important factor that affected EUS accuracy. PMID:27472672

Factors Affecting Sign Retroreflectivity : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-01-01

This study was undertaken to better understand the factors that may affect road sign retroreflectivity, specifically age and physical orientation. A better understanding of these factors could provide guidance to ODOT in managing its inventory of roa...

Factors affecting the use and perceived benefit of ITE and BTE hearing aids.

PubMed

Baumfield, A; Dillon, H

2001-08-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate factors that might affect hearing aid use, satisfaction and perceived benefit. A further aim was to look at which variables affect the choice of hearing aid, in particular, an in-the-ear (ITE) versus a behind-the-ear (BTE) device. Twenty-nine elderly hearing-impaired people with a mild-to-moderate hearing loss were fitted with both an ITE and a BTE hearing aid with similar electroacoustic performance. Both hearing aids were linear with output compression limiting and were fitted in a randomized order. After wearing each device for a six-week period, subj ets were asked to select the hearing aid they preferred. Variables significantly related to hearing aid choice, use and perceived benefit included ease of management, accuracy with which the NAL-R insertion gain target was achieved, earmould comfort and the type of hearing aid the client preferred initially.

Analysis on detection accuracy of binocular photoelectric instrument optical axis parallelism digital calibration instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ying, Jia-ju; Yin, Jian-ling; Wu, Dong-sheng; Liu, Jie; Chen, Yu-dan

2017-11-01

Low-light level night vision device and thermal infrared imaging binocular photoelectric instrument are used widely. The maladjustment of binocular instrument ocular axises parallelism will cause the observer the symptom such as dizziness, nausea, when use for a long time. Binocular photoelectric equipment digital calibration instrument is developed for detecting ocular axises parallelism. And the quantitative value of optical axis deviation can be quantitatively measured. As a testing instrument, the precision must be much higher than the standard of test instrument. Analyzes the factors that influence the accuracy of detection. Factors exist in each testing process link which affect the precision of the detecting instrument. They can be divided into two categories, one category is factors which directly affect the position of reticle image, the other category is factors which affect the calculation the center of reticle image. And the Synthesize error is calculated out. And further distribute the errors reasonably to ensure the accuracy of calibration instruments.

Motor Inhibition Affects the Speed But Not Accuracy of Aimed Limb Movements in an Insect

PubMed Central

Calas-List, Delphine; Clare, Anthony J.; Komissarova, Alexandra; Nielsen, Thomas A.

2014-01-01

When reaching toward a target, human subjects use slower movements to achieve higher accuracy, and this can be accompanied by increased limb impedance (stiffness, viscosity) that stabilizes movements against motor noise and external perturbation. In arthropods, the activity of common inhibitory motor neurons influences limb impedance, so we hypothesized that this might provide a mechanism for speed and accuracy control of aimed movements in insects. We recorded simultaneously from excitatory leg motor neurons and from an identified common inhibitory motor neuron (CI1) in locusts that performed natural aimed scratching movements. We related limb movement kinematics to recorded motor activity and demonstrate that imposed alterations in the activity of CI1 influenced these kinematics. We manipulated the activity of CI1 by injecting depolarizing or hyperpolarizing current or killing the cell using laser photoablation. Naturally higher levels of inhibitory activity accompanied faster movements. Experimentally biasing the firing rate downward, or stopping firing completely, led to slower movements mediated by changes at several joints of the limb. Despite this, we found no effect on overall movement accuracy. We conclude that inhibitory modulation of joint stiffness has effects across most of the working range of the insect limb, with a pronounced effect on the overall velocity of natural movements independent of their accuracy. Passive joint forces that are greatest at extreme joint angles may enhance accuracy and are not affected by motor inhibition. PMID:24872556

Brief Contemplation as a Factor in the Accuracy of Perceptual Judgments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rollman, Steven A.; Gabbard-Alley, Anne

A study investigated the importance of brief contemplation as a factor in the accuracy of judgments about other people, based on their nonverbal appearance. The following questions were addressed: (1) Are observers who are given time to contemplate the significance of nonverbal cues more accurate in their perceptual judgments than observers who…

[Evaluation of accuracy and influence factors of bedside blood glucose monitoring in critically ill patients].

PubMed

Feng, Tao; Cao, Xiang-yuan

2012-08-01

group (all P<0.01). (4)On the influence factors of accuracy in POCT for glucose, BGL, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHEII) score and hematocrit level were into the logistic regression equation. The accuracy of POCT for glucose was markedly affected by the BGL, severity of patients and hematocrit level during glucose control. Under hypoglycemia, the agreement between laboratory and glucometer measurements was obviously fallen and it tended to overestimate the patient's real glucose value.

Accuracy and generalizability in summaries of affect regulation strategies: comment on Webb, Miles, and Sheeran (2012).

PubMed

Augustine, Adam A; Hemenover, Scott H

2013-05-01

In their examination of the effectiveness of affect regulation strategies, Webb, Miles, and Sheeran (2012) offered the results of a broad meta-analysis of studies on regulatory interventions. Their analysis provides an alternative to our earlier, more focused meta-analysis of the affect regulation literature (Augustine & Hemenover, 2009). Unfortunately, there are a number of errors and omissions in this new meta-analysis that could lead to misconceptions regarding both our previous work and the state of the affect regulation literature. In this comment, we examine the impact of methodological issues, inconsistent inclusion criteria, variance in manipulations, and what we perceive to be a subjective and inconsistent selection of effect sizes on the accuracy and generalizability of Webb and colleagues' estimates of affect regulation strategy effectiveness. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Analysis of spatial distribution of land cover maps accuracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khatami, R.; Mountrakis, G.; Stehman, S. V.

2017-12-01

Land cover maps have become one of the most important products of remote sensing science. However, classification errors will exist in any classified map and affect the reliability of subsequent map usage. Moreover, classification accuracy often varies over different regions of a classified map. These variations of accuracy will affect the reliability of subsequent analyses of different regions based on the classified maps. The traditional approach of map accuracy assessment based on an error matrix does not capture the spatial variation in classification accuracy. Here, per-pixel accuracy prediction methods are proposed based on interpolating accuracy values from a test sample to produce wall-to-wall accuracy maps. Different accuracy prediction methods were developed based on four factors: predictive domain (spatial versus spectral), interpolation function (constant, linear, Gaussian, and logistic), incorporation of class information (interpolating each class separately versus grouping them together), and sample size. Incorporation of spectral domain as explanatory feature spaces of classification accuracy interpolation was done for the first time in this research. Performance of the prediction methods was evaluated using 26 test blocks, with 10 km × 10 km dimensions, dispersed throughout the United States. The performance of the predictions was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic. Relative to existing accuracy prediction methods, our proposed methods resulted in improvements of AUC of 0.15 or greater. Evaluation of the four factors comprising the accuracy prediction methods demonstrated that: i) interpolations should be done separately for each class instead of grouping all classes together; ii) if an all-classes approach is used, the spectral domain will result in substantially greater AUC than the spatial domain; iii) for the smaller sample size and per-class predictions, the spectral and spatial domain

Concurrent and prospective associations between facial affect recognition accuracy and childhood antisocial behavior.

PubMed

Bowen, Erica; Dixon, Louise

2010-01-01

This study examined the concurrent and prospective associations between children's ability to accurately recognize facial affect at age 8.5 and antisocial behavior at age 8.5 and 10.5 years in a sub sample of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort (5,396 children; 2,644, 49% males). All observed effects were small. It was found that at age 8.5 years, in contrast to nonantisocial children; antisocial children were less accurate at decoding happy and sad expressions when presented at low intensity. In addition, concurrent antisocial behavior was associated with misidentifying expressions of fear as expressions of sadness. In longitudinal analyses, children who misidentified fear as anger exhibited a decreased risk of antisocial behavior 2 years later. The study suggests that concurrent rather than future antisocial behavior is associated with facial affect recognition accuracy. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Age Learning Factors Affecting Pilot Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torbert, Brison

This document, intended for pilot education and flight safety specialists, consists chiefly of a review of the literature on physiological factors that affect pilot education and an examination of environmental factors that should be scrutinized in order to improve the effectiveness of aviation learning facilities. The physiological factors…

Environmental Factors Affecting Preschoolers' Motor Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Venetsanou, Fotini; Kambas, Antonis

2010-01-01

The process of development occurs according to the pattern established by the genetic potential and also by the influence of environmental factors. The aim of the present study was to focus on the main environmental factors affecting motor development. The review of the literature revealed that family features, such as socioeconomic status,…

Architectural constraints are a major factor reducing path integration accuracy in the rat head direction cell system.

PubMed

Page, Hector J I; Walters, Daniel; Stringer, Simon M

2015-01-01

Head direction cells fire to signal the direction in which an animal's head is pointing. They are able to track head direction using only internally-derived information (path integration)In this simulation study we investigate the factors that affect path integration accuracy. Specifically, two major limiting factors are identified: rise time, the time after stimulation it takes for a neuron to start firing, and the presence of symmetric non-offset within-layer recurrent collateral connectivity. On the basis of the latter, the important prediction is made that head direction cell regions directly involved in path integration will not contain this type of connectivity; giving a theoretical explanation for architectural observations. Increased neuronal rise time is found to slow path integration, and the slowing effect for a given rise time is found to be more severe in the context of short conduction delays. Further work is suggested on the basis of our findings, which represent a valuable contribution to understanding of the head direction cell system.

Accuracy of food intake reporting in obese subjects with metabolic risk factors.

PubMed

Svendsen, Mette; Tonstad, Serena

2006-03-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the accuracy of reported energy intake according to a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and dietary records (DR) in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome risk factors. Subjects were twenty-three men and twenty-seven women with mean BMI of 35.7 (range 30.5-43.8) kg/m(2) who participated in a dietary interview based on a FFQ and completed weighed DR. Total energy expenditure was measured with the doubly labelled water method. Total energy expenditure, measured RMR and physical activity level did not differ between under-reporters (50 % of the sample) and non-under-reporters. Under-reporters had lower median intake of sweets, desserts and snacks than non-under-reporters (100 v. 161 g/d (P = 0.0008) and 61 v. 128 g/d (P = 0.0002) according to the FFQ and DR, respectively). The DR also showed lower energy density (6.7 (sd 1.3) v. 7.9 (SD 1.6) kJ/g; P = 0.0064), lower intake of sugary drinks (0 v. 167 g/d; P = 0.0063) and higher scores for dietary restraint (9.0 (sd 5.0) v. 6.1 (SD 3.5); P = 0.0285) in under-reporters. Energy density was associated with accuracy according to the FFQ (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (RS) 0.406; P = 0.0034) and the DR (RS 0.537; P < 0.0001). In multivariate analysis, consumption of bread and sweets, desserts and snacks measured by the FFQ was positively associated with accuracy (R(2)adjusted 0.46 (95 % CI 0.32, 0.70)). According to the DR, consumption of sweets, desserts and snacks was also associated with accuracy, as was dietary restraint (inversely) (R(2)adjusted 0.67 (95 % CI 0.54, 0.83)). In obese subjects with metabolic risk factors, intake of sweets, desserts and snacks, bread and dietary restraint were determinants of reporting accuracy.

Camera sensor arrangement for crop/weed detection accuracy in agronomic images.

PubMed

Romeo, Juan; Guerrero, José Miguel; Montalvo, Martín; Emmi, Luis; Guijarro, María; Gonzalez-de-Santos, Pablo; Pajares, Gonzalo

2013-04-02

In Precision Agriculture, images coming from camera-based sensors are commonly used for weed identification and crop line detection, either to apply specific treatments or for vehicle guidance purposes. Accuracy of identification and detection is an important issue to be addressed in image processing. There are two main types of parameters affecting the accuracy of the images, namely: (a) extrinsic, related to the sensor's positioning in the tractor; (b) intrinsic, related to the sensor specifications, such as CCD resolution, focal length or iris aperture, among others. Moreover, in agricultural applications, the uncontrolled illumination, existing in outdoor environments, is also an important factor affecting the image accuracy. This paper is exclusively focused on two main issues, always with the goal to achieve the highest image accuracy in Precision Agriculture applications, making the following two main contributions: (a) camera sensor arrangement, to adjust extrinsic parameters and (b) design of strategies for controlling the adverse illumination effects.

Universal and culture-specific factors in the recognition and performance of musical affect expressions.

PubMed

Laukka, Petri; Eerola, Tuomas; Thingujam, Nutankumar S; Yamasaki, Teruo; Beller, Grégory

2013-06-01

We present a cross-cultural study on the performance and perception of affective expression in music. Professional bowed-string musicians from different musical traditions (Swedish folk music, Hindustani classical music, Japanese traditional music, and Western classical music) were instructed to perform short pieces of music to convey 11 emotions and related states to listeners. All musical stimuli were judged by Swedish, Indian, and Japanese participants in a balanced design, and a variety of acoustic and musical cues were extracted. Results first showed that the musicians' expressive intentions could be recognized with accuracy above chance both within and across musical cultures, but communication was, in general, more accurate for culturally familiar versus unfamiliar music, and for basic emotions versus nonbasic affective states. We further used a lens-model approach to describe the relations between the strategies that musicians use to convey various expressions and listeners' perceptions of the affective content of the music. Many acoustic and musical cues were similarly correlated with both the musicians' expressive intentions and the listeners' affective judgments across musical cultures, but the match between musicians' and listeners' uses of cues was better in within-cultural versus cross-cultural conditions. We conclude that affective expression in music may depend on a combination of universal and culture-specific factors.

Does Physical Loading Affect The Speed and Accuracy of Tactical Decision-Making in Elite Junior Soccer Players?

PubMed Central

Frýbort, Pavel; Kokštejn, Jakub; Musálek, Martin; Süss, Vladimír

2016-01-01

A soccer player’s capability to control and manage his behaviour in a game situation is a prerequisite, reflecting not only swift and accurate tactical decision-making, but also prompt implementation of a motor task during intermittent exercise conditions. The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationship between varying exercise intensity and the visual-motor response time and the accuracy of motor response in an offensive game situation in soccer. The participants (n = 42) were male, semi-professional, soccer players (M age 18.0 ± 0.9 years) and trained five times a week. Each player performed four different modes of exercise intensity on the treadmill (motor inactivity, aerobic, intermittent and anaerobic activity). After the end of each exercise, visual-motor response time and accuracy of motor response were assessed. Players’ motion was captured by digital video camera. ANOVA indicated no significant difference (p = 0.090) in the accuracy of motor response between the four exercise intensity modes. Practical significance (Z-test = 0.31) was found in visual-motor response time between exercise with dominant involvement of aerobic metabolism, and intense intermittent exercise. A medium size effect (Z-test = 0.34) was also found in visual-motor response time between exercise with dominant involvement of aerobic metabolism and exercise with dominant involvement of anaerobic metabolism, which was confirmed by ANOVA (897.02 ± 57.46 vs. 940.95 ± 71.14; p = 0.002). The results showed that different modes of exercise intensity do not adversely affect the accuracy of motor responses; however, high-intensity exercise has a negative effect on visual-motor response time in comparison to moderate intensity exercise. Key points Different exercise intensity modes did not affect the accuracy of motor response. Anaerobic, highly intensive short-term exercise significantly decreased the visual-motor response time in comparison with aerobic exercise. Further

Does Physical Loading Affect The Speed and Accuracy of Tactical Decision-Making in Elite Junior Soccer Players?

PubMed

Frýbort, Pavel; Kokštejn, Jakub; Musálek, Martin; Süss, Vladimír

2016-06-01

A soccer player's capability to control and manage his behaviour in a game situation is a prerequisite, reflecting not only swift and accurate tactical decision-making, but also prompt implementation of a motor task during intermittent exercise conditions. The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationship between varying exercise intensity and the visual-motor response time and the accuracy of motor response in an offensive game situation in soccer. The participants (n = 42) were male, semi-professional, soccer players (M age 18.0 ± 0.9 years) and trained five times a week. Each player performed four different modes of exercise intensity on the treadmill (motor inactivity, aerobic, intermittent and anaerobic activity). After the end of each exercise, visual-motor response time and accuracy of motor response were assessed. Players' motion was captured by digital video camera. ANOVA indicated no significant difference (p = 0.090) in the accuracy of motor response between the four exercise intensity modes. Practical significance (Z-test = 0.31) was found in visual-motor response time between exercise with dominant involvement of aerobic metabolism, and intense intermittent exercise. A medium size effect (Z-test = 0.34) was also found in visual-motor response time between exercise with dominant involvement of aerobic metabolism and exercise with dominant involvement of anaerobic metabolism, which was confirmed by ANOVA (897.02 ± 57.46 vs. 940.95 ± 71.14; p = 0.002). The results showed that different modes of exercise intensity do not adversely affect the accuracy of motor responses; however, high-intensity exercise has a negative effect on visual-motor response time in comparison to moderate intensity exercise. Key pointsDifferent exercise intensity modes did not affect the accuracy of motor response.Anaerobic, highly intensive short-term exercise significantly decreased the visual-motor response time in comparison with aerobic exercise.Further research

Nutritional Factors Affecting Adult Neurogenesis and Cognitive Function.

PubMed

Poulose, Shibu M; Miller, Marshall G; Scott, Tammy; Shukitt-Hale, Barbara

2017-11-01

Adult neurogenesis, a complex process by which stem cells in the hippocampal brain region differentiate and proliferate into new neurons and other resident brain cells, is known to be affected by many intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including diet. Neurogenesis plays a critical role in neural plasticity, brain homeostasis, and maintenance in the central nervous system and is a crucial factor in preserving the cognitive function and repair of damaged brain cells affected by aging and brain disorders. Intrinsic factors such as aging, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and brain injury, as well as lifestyle factors such as high-fat and high-sugar diets and alcohol and opioid addiction, negatively affect adult neurogenesis. Conversely, many dietary components such as curcumin, resveratrol, blueberry polyphenols, sulforaphane, salvionic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and diets enriched with polyphenols and PUFAs, as well as caloric restriction, physical exercise, and learning, have been shown to induce neurogenesis in adult brains. Although many of the underlying mechanisms by which nutrients and dietary factors affect adult neurogenesis have yet to be determined, nutritional approaches provide promising prospects to stimulate adult neurogenesis and combat neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline. In this review, we summarize the evidence supporting the role of nutritional factors in modifying adult neurogenesis and their potential to preserve cognitive function during aging. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

Effects of accuracy motivation and anchoring on metacomprehension judgment and accuracy.

PubMed

Zhao, Qin

2012-01-01

The current research investigates how accuracy motivation impacts anchoring and adjustment in metacomprehension judgment and how accuracy motivation and anchoring affect metacomprehension accuracy. Participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions produced by the between-subjects factorial design involving accuracy motivation (incentive or no) and peer performance anchor (95%, 55%, or no). Two studies showed that accuracy motivation did not impact anchoring bias, but the adjustment-from-anchor process occurred. Accuracy incentive increased anchor-judgment gap for the 95% anchor but not for the 55% anchor, which induced less certainty about the direction of adjustment. The findings offer support to the integrative theory of anchoring. Additionally, the two studies revealed a "power struggle" between accuracy motivation and anchoring in influencing metacomprehension accuracy. Accuracy motivation could improve metacomprehension accuracy in spite of anchoring effect, but if anchoring effect is too strong, it could overpower the motivation effect. The implications of the findings were discussed.

How Nonrecidivism Affects Predictive Accuracy: Evidence from a Cross-Validation of the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hilton, N. Zoe; Harris, Grant T.

2009-01-01

Prediction effect sizes such as ROC area are important for demonstrating a risk assessment's generalizability and utility. How a study defines recidivism might affect predictive accuracy. Nonrecidivism is problematic when predicting specialized violence (e.g., domestic violence). The present study cross-validates the ability of the Ontario…

Factors affecting measured aircraft sound levels in the vicinity of start-of-takeoff roll

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richard, Horonjeff; Fleming, Gregg G.; Rickley, Edward J.; Connor, Thomas L.

This paper presents the findings of a recently conducted measurement and analysis program of jet transport aircraft sound levels in the vicinity of the star-of-takeoff roll. The purpose of the program was two-fold: (1) to evaluate the computational accuracy of the Federal Aviation Administration's Integrated Noise Model (INM) in the vicinity of start-of-takeoff roll with a recently updated database (INM 3.10), and (2) to provide guidance for future model improvements. Focusing on the second of these two goals, this paper examines several factors affecting Sound Exposure Levels (SELs) in the hemicircular area behind the aircraft brake release point at the start-of-takeoff. In addition to the aircraft type itself, these factors included the geometric relationship of the measurement site to the runway, the wind velocity (speed and direction), aircraft grow weight, and start-of-roll mode (static or rolling start).

Factors affecting dignity of patients with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Sharifi, Simin; Borhani, Fariba; Abbaszadeh, Abbas

2016-12-01

MS is one of the most common chronic diseases of the nervous system. Apart from disease progression, other complications such as unemployment, separation and divorce could potentially threat patients' dignity. Most of the previous studies have been done of maintaining patients' dignity in interaction with healthcare team, but studies on affecting factors of dignity in chronic patients in the society and in interaction with usual people are scarce. We aimed to investigate factors affecting dignity of Iranian patients with MS in daily living and in interaction of them with the society. In this qualitative study, 13 patients with multiple sclerosis were chosen by purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted until data saturation. The study was done in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Factors affecting dignity were classified as 'personal factors' and 'social factors'. Personal factors consist of the following subcategories: patients' communication with self, patients' knowledge, patients' values and beliefs and patients' resources. Social factors include others' communication with patients, social knowledge, social values and beliefs and social resources. Multiple personal and social factors interfere in perceived patient dignity. In fact, interaction between personal and social factors can be influential in final perceived dignity. By focusing on whole aspects of the patients' lives, we can identify dignity-promoting or dignity-threatening factors and help patients maintain their dignity by taking appropriate measures for moderating threatening factors and improving dignity enhancing ones. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

4D dose simulation in volumetric arc therapy: Accuracy and affecting parameters

PubMed Central

Werner, René

2017-01-01

Radiotherapy of lung and liver lesions has changed from normofractioned 3D-CRT to stereotactic treatment in a single or few fractions, often employing volumetric arc therapy (VMAT)-based techniques. Potential unintended interference of respiratory target motion and dynamically changing beam parameters during VMAT dose delivery motivates establishing 4D quality assurance (4D QA) procedures to assess appropriateness of generated VMAT treatment plans when taking into account patient-specific motion characteristics. Current approaches are motion phantom-based 4D QA and image-based 4D VMAT dose simulation. Whereas phantom-based 4D QA is usually restricted to a small number of measurements, the computational approaches allow simulating many motion scenarios. However, 4D VMAT dose simulation depends on various input parameters, influencing estimated doses along with mitigating simulation reliability. Thus, aiming at routine use of simulation-based 4D VMAT QA, the impact of such parameters as well as the overall accuracy of the 4D VMAT dose simulation has to be studied in detail–which is the topic of the present work. In detail, we introduce the principles of 4D VMAT dose simulation, identify influencing parameters and assess their impact on 4D dose simulation accuracy by comparison of simulated motion-affected dose distributions to corresponding dosimetric motion phantom measurements. Exploiting an ITV-based treatment planning approach, VMAT treatment plans were generated for a motion phantom and different motion scenarios (sinusoidal motion of different period/direction; regular/irregular motion). 4D VMAT dose simulation results and dose measurements were compared by local 3% / 3 mm γ-evaluation, with the measured dose distributions serving as ground truth. Overall γ-passing rates of simulations and dynamic measurements ranged from 97% to 100% (mean across all motion scenarios: 98% ± 1%); corresponding values for comparison of different day repeat measurements were

4D dose simulation in volumetric arc therapy: Accuracy and affecting parameters.

PubMed

Sothmann, Thilo; Gauer, Tobias; Werner, René

2017-01-01

Radiotherapy of lung and liver lesions has changed from normofractioned 3D-CRT to stereotactic treatment in a single or few fractions, often employing volumetric arc therapy (VMAT)-based techniques. Potential unintended interference of respiratory target motion and dynamically changing beam parameters during VMAT dose delivery motivates establishing 4D quality assurance (4D QA) procedures to assess appropriateness of generated VMAT treatment plans when taking into account patient-specific motion characteristics. Current approaches are motion phantom-based 4D QA and image-based 4D VMAT dose simulation. Whereas phantom-based 4D QA is usually restricted to a small number of measurements, the computational approaches allow simulating many motion scenarios. However, 4D VMAT dose simulation depends on various input parameters, influencing estimated doses along with mitigating simulation reliability. Thus, aiming at routine use of simulation-based 4D VMAT QA, the impact of such parameters as well as the overall accuracy of the 4D VMAT dose simulation has to be studied in detail-which is the topic of the present work. In detail, we introduce the principles of 4D VMAT dose simulation, identify influencing parameters and assess their impact on 4D dose simulation accuracy by comparison of simulated motion-affected dose distributions to corresponding dosimetric motion phantom measurements. Exploiting an ITV-based treatment planning approach, VMAT treatment plans were generated for a motion phantom and different motion scenarios (sinusoidal motion of different period/direction; regular/irregular motion). 4D VMAT dose simulation results and dose measurements were compared by local 3% / 3 mm γ-evaluation, with the measured dose distributions serving as ground truth. Overall γ-passing rates of simulations and dynamic measurements ranged from 97% to 100% (mean across all motion scenarios: 98% ± 1%); corresponding values for comparison of different day repeat measurements were

Does ADHD in adults affect the relative accuracy of metamemory judgments?

PubMed

Knouse, Laura E; Paradise, Matthew J; Dunlosky, John

2006-11-01

Prior research suggests that individuals with ADHD overestimate their performance across domains despite performing more poorly in these domains. The authors introduce measures of accuracy from the larger realm of judgment and decision making--namely, relative accuracy and calibration--to the study of self-evaluative judgment accuracy in adults with ADHD. Twenty-eight adults with ADHD and 28 matched controls participate in a computer-administered paired-associate learning task and predict their future recall using immediate and delayed judgments of learning (JOLs). Retrospective confidence judgments are also collected. Groups perform equally in terms of judgment magnitude and absolute judgment accuracy as measured by discrepancy scores and calibration curves. Both groups benefit equally from making their JOL at a delay, and the group with ADHD show higher relative accuracy for delayed judgments. Results suggest that under certain circumstances, adults with ADHD can make accurate judgments about their future memory.

Accuracy of tablet splitting and liquid measurements: an examination of who, what and how.

PubMed

Abu-Geras, Dana; Hadziomerovic, Dunja; Leau, Andrew; Khan, Ramzan Nazim; Gudka, Sajni; Locher, Cornelia; Razaghikashani, Maryam; Lim, Lee Yong

2017-05-01

To examine factors that might affect the ability of patients to accurately halve tablets or measure a 5-ml liquid dose. Eighty-eight participants split four different placebo tablets by hand and using a tablet splitter, while 85 participants measured 5 ml of water, 0.5% methylcellulose (MC) and 1% MC using a syringe and dosing cup. Accuracy of manipulation was determined by mass measurements. The general population was less able than pharmacy students to break tablets into equal parts, although age, gender and prior experience were insignificant factors. Greater accuracy of tablet halving was observed with tablet splitter, with scored tablets split more equally than unscored tablets. Tablet size did not affect the accuracy of splitting. However, >25% of small scored tablets failed to be split by hand, and 41% of large unscored tablets were split into >2 portions in the tablet splitter. In liquid measurement, the syringe provided more accurate volume measurements than the dosing cup, with higher accuracy observed for the more viscous MC solutions than water. Formulation characteristics and manipulation technique have greater influences on the accuracy of medication modification and should be considered in off-label drug use in vulnerable populations. © 2016 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Effects of Socio-Economic Background Factors on Typewriting Speed and Accuracy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erickson, Lawrence W.

The socioeconomic backgrounds of typewriting students as such backgrounds affect typewriting performance is evaluated in this research. There is convincing evidence that socioeconomic factors play a significant role in affecting typewriting performance. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are almost always associated with the poorest…

The range of confidence scales does not affect the relationship between confidence and accuracy in recognition memory.

PubMed

Tekin, Eylul; Roediger, Henry L

2017-01-01

Researchers use a wide range of confidence scales when measuring the relationship between confidence and accuracy in reports from memory, with the highest number usually representing the greatest confidence (e.g., 4-point, 20-point, and 100-point scales). The assumption seems to be that the range of the scale has little bearing on the confidence-accuracy relationship. In two old/new recognition experiments, we directly investigated this assumption using word lists (Experiment 1) and faces (Experiment 2) by employing 4-, 5-, 20-, and 100-point scales. Using confidence-accuracy characteristic (CAC) plots, we asked whether confidence ratings would yield similar CAC plots, indicating comparability in use of the scales. For the comparisons, we divided 100-point and 20-point scales into bins of either four or five and asked, for example, whether confidence ratings of 4, 16-20, and 76-100 would yield similar values. The results show that, for both types of material, the different scales yield similar CAC plots. Notably, when subjects express high confidence, regardless of which scale they use, they are likely to be very accurate (even though they studied 100 words and 50 faces in each list in 2 experiments). The scales seem convertible from one to the other, and choice of scale range probably does not affect research into the relationship between confidence and accuracy. High confidence indicates high accuracy in recognition in the present experiments.

Prompting methods affect the accuracy of children's school lunch recalls.

PubMed

Baxter, S D; Thompson, W O; Davis, H C

2000-08-01

To evaluate the feasibility of implementing 3 specific prompting methods among students in the first and fourth grades (mean age = 7.2 and 10.1 years, respectively), to validate recall accuracy of first- and fourth-grade students against observation, to develop a single measure of inaccuracy that cumulated errors in reporting food items and amounts without allowing underreporting and overreporting to cancel each other, and to establish information regarding the measure of inaccuracy for use in future studies. Children were interviewed the morning after they were observed eating lunch provided by the school. Interviews included free recall, nonsuggestive prompted recall, and specific prompted recall (either preference, food category, or visual). Ninety-six children (48 students per grade) were studied--32 per the specific prompting method--stratified by grade, sex, and ethnicity (African-American or white). Specific prompting method was randomly assigned to children within strata. Food items were categorized and weighted as: combination entree = 2, condiments = 1/3, and other = 1. To calculate inaccuracy of recall, absolute differences between amounts reported and observed eaten were calculated for each item and then multiplied by each item's weight; these values were then summed across all items for each child. Inaccuracy of recall was determined before specific prompting and after specific prompting and for the difference (inaccuracy after specific prompting minus inaccuracy before specific prompting). Before specific prompting, median inaccuracy was 2.7 servings for the 48 first-grade students and 1.7 servings for the 48 fourth-grade students. The median difference in inaccuracy from before to after specific prompting was 0 for both grades. Specific prompting increased recall accuracy for 9 first-graders and 12 fourth-graders, but decreased recall accuracy for 21 first-graders and 7 fourth-graders, and did not change recall accuracy for 18 first-graders and 29

Economic and Cultural Factors Affecting University Excellence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jabnoun, Naceur

2009-01-01

Purpose: The ranking of top universities in the world has generated increased interest in the factors that enhance university performance. The purpose of this paper is to identify economic and cultural factors that affect the number of top ranking universities in each country. Design/methodology/approach: This paper first identifies the number of…

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING BREAST CANCER SUSCEPTIBILITY

EPA Science Inventory

Environmental Factors Affecting Breast Cancer Susceptibility
Suzanne. E. Fenton
US EPA, ORD, MD-67 NHEERL, Reproductive Toxicology Division, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711.

Breast cancer is still the most common malignancy afflicting women in the Western world. Alt...

Factors Affecting Radon Concentration in Houses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Sharif, Abdel-Latif; Abdelrahman, Y. S.

2001-03-01

The dangers to the human health upon exposure to radon and its daughter products is the main motivation behind the vast number of studies performed to find the concentration of radon in our living environment, including our houses. The presence of radon and its daughter products in houses are due to various sources including building materials and the soil under the houses. Many factors affect radon concentration in our houses, the elevation above ground level,ventilation, building materials and room usage being among these factors. In our paper, we discuss the effect of elevation above ground level, room usage and ventilation on the Radon concentration in houses. The faculty residences of the Mu'tah University (Jordan) were chosen in our study. Our results showed that the concentration of radon decreases with elevation. Ventilation rate was also found to affect radon concentration, where low concentrations observed for areas with good ventilation.

Factors affecting caregivers' ability to make environmental modifications.

PubMed

Messecar, D C

2000-12-01

This study explored factors that family caregivers described as affecting their ability to use environmental modifications. Intensive interviews and participant observation were used to collect detailed data from 24 primary family caregivers. Several factors that affect the caregivers' ability to implement modification strategies were identified in the analysis. These factors included attributes of the elderly individual, attributes of the modification, quality of the caregiver-elderly relationship, caregivers' skills, personal resources of the caregiver, and the informal and formal supports available. Of these factors, the most important were the salient skills that caregivers need to implement environmental modifications. These findings point to the importance of caregivers receiving skills training in this important dimension of caregiving. Intervention should be based on a collaborative approach that ensures the caregiver and care receiver's needs and preferences are respected.

Electrode replacement does not affect classification accuracy in dual-session use of a passive brain-computer interface for assessing cognitive workload.

PubMed

Estepp, Justin R; Christensen, James C

2015-01-01

The passive brain-computer interface (pBCI) framework has been shown to be a very promising construct for assessing cognitive and affective state in both individuals and teams. There is a growing body of work that focuses on solving the challenges of transitioning pBCI systems from the research laboratory environment to practical, everyday use. An interesting issue is what impact methodological variability may have on the ability to reliably identify (neuro)physiological patterns that are useful for state assessment. This work aimed at quantifying the effects of methodological variability in a pBCI design for detecting changes in cognitive workload. Specific focus was directed toward the effects of replacing electrodes over dual sessions (thus inducing changes in placement, electromechanical properties, and/or impedance between the electrode and skin surface) on the accuracy of several machine learning approaches in a binary classification problem. In investigating these methodological variables, it was determined that the removal and replacement of the electrode suite between sessions does not impact the accuracy of a number of learning approaches when trained on one session and tested on a second. This finding was confirmed by comparing to a control group for which the electrode suite was not replaced between sessions. This result suggests that sensors (both neurological and peripheral) may be removed and replaced over the course of many interactions with a pBCI system without affecting its performance. Future work on multi-session and multi-day pBCI system use should seek to replicate this (lack of) effect between sessions in other tasks, temporal time courses, and data analytic approaches while also focusing on non-stationarity and variable classification performance due to intrinsic factors.

Toward Quantitative Small Animal Pinhole SPECT: Assessment of Quantitation Accuracy Prior to Image Compensations

PubMed Central

Chen, Chia-Lin; Wang, Yuchuan; Lee, Jason J. S.; Tsui, Benjamin M. W.

2011-01-01

Purpose We assessed the quantitation accuracy of small animal pinhole single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) under the current preclinical settings, where image compensations are not routinely applied. Procedures The effects of several common image-degrading factors and imaging parameters on quantitation accuracy were evaluated using Monte-Carlo simulation methods. Typical preclinical imaging configurations were modeled, and quantitative analyses were performed based on image reconstructions without compensating for attenuation, scatter, and limited system resolution. Results Using mouse-sized phantom studies as examples, attenuation effects alone degraded quantitation accuracy by up to −18% (Tc-99m or In-111) or −41% (I-125). The inclusion of scatter effects changed the above numbers to −12% (Tc-99m or In-111) and −21% (I-125), respectively, indicating the significance of scatter in quantitative I-125 imaging. Region-of-interest (ROI) definitions have greater impacts on regional quantitation accuracy for small sphere sources as compared to attenuation and scatter effects. For the same ROI, SPECT acquisitions using pinhole apertures of different sizes could significantly affect the outcome, whereas the use of different radii-of-rotation yielded negligible differences in quantitation accuracy for the imaging configurations simulated. Conclusions We have systematically quantified the influence of several factors affecting the quantitation accuracy of small animal pinhole SPECT. In order to consistently achieve accurate quantitation within 5% of the truth, comprehensive image compensation methods are needed. PMID:19048346

Which factors affect software projects maintenance cost more?

PubMed

Dehaghani, Sayed Mehdi Hejazi; Hajrahimi, Nafiseh

2013-03-01

The software industry has had significant progress in recent years. The entire life of software includes two phases: production and maintenance. Software maintenance cost is increasingly growing and estimates showed that about 90% of software life cost is related to its maintenance phase. Extraction and considering the factors affecting the software maintenance cost help to estimate the cost and reduce it by controlling the factors. In this study, the factors affecting software maintenance cost were determined then were ranked based on their priority and after that effective ways to reduce the maintenance costs were presented. This paper is a research study. 15 software related to health care centers information systems in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and hospitals function were studied in the years 2010 to 2011. Among Medical software maintenance team members, 40 were selected as sample. After interviews with experts in this field, factors affecting maintenance cost were determined. In order to prioritize the factors derived by AHP, at first, measurement criteria (factors found) were appointed by members of the maintenance team and eventually were prioritized with the help of EC software. Based on the results of this study, 32 factors were obtained which were classified in six groups. "Project" was ranked the most effective feature in maintenance cost with the highest priority. By taking into account some major elements like careful feasibility of IT projects, full documentation and accompany the designers in the maintenance phase good results can be achieved to reduce maintenance costs and increase longevity of the software.

Analysis of factors affecting the accuracy, reproducibility, and interpretation of microbial community carbon source utilization patterns

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haack, S.K.; Garchow, H.; Klug, M.J.; Forney, L.J.

1995-01-01

We determined factors that affect responses of bacterial isolates and model bacterial communities to the 95 carbon substrates in Biolog microliter plates. For isolates and communities of three to six bacterial strains, substrate oxidation rates were typically nonlinear and were delayed by dilution of the inoculum. When inoculum density was controlled, patterns of positive and negative responses exhibited by microbial communities to each of the carbon sources were reproducible. Rates and extents of substrate oxidation by the communities were also reproducible but were not simply the sum of those exhibited by community members when tested separately. Replicates of the same model community clustered when analyzed by principal- components analysis (PCA), and model communities with different compositions were clearly separated un the first PCA axis, which accounted for >60% of the dataset variation. PCA discrimination among different model communities depended on the extent to which specific substrates were oxidized. However, the substrates interpreted by PCA to be most significant in distinguishing the communities changed with reading time, reflecting the nonlinearity of substrate oxidation rates. Although whole-community substrate utilization profiles were reproducible signatures for a given community, the extent of oxidation of specific substrates and the numbers or activities of microorganisms using those substrates in a given community were not correlated. Replicate soil samples varied significantly in the rate and extent of oxidation of seven tested substrates, suggesting microscale heterogeneity in composition of the soil microbial community.

Does ADHD in Adults Affect the Relative Accuracy of Metamemory Judgments?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knouse, Laura E.; Paradise, Matthew J.; Dunlosky, John

2006-01-01

Objective: Prior research suggests that individuals with ADHD overestimate their performance across domains despite performing more poorly in these domains. The authors introduce measures of accuracy from the larger realm of judgment and decision making--namely, relative accuracy and calibration--to the study of self-evaluative judgment accuracy…

Preslaughter factors affecting poultry meat quality chapter 2.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Poultry meat quality is affected by numerous antemortem factors, in particular those occurring during the last 24 hours that the bird is alive. These short term factors influence carcass yield (live shrink), carcass defects (bruising, broken/dislocated bones), carcass microbiological contamination, ...

Social Power Increases Interoceptive Accuracy

PubMed Central

Moeini-Jazani, Mehrad; Knoeferle, Klemens; de Molière, Laura; Gatti, Elia; Warlop, Luk

2017-01-01

Building on recent psychological research showing that power increases self-focused attention, we propose that having power increases accuracy in perception of bodily signals, a phenomenon known as interoceptive accuracy. Consistent with our proposition, participants in a high-power experimental condition outperformed those in the control and low-power conditions in the Schandry heartbeat-detection task. We demonstrate that the effect of power on interoceptive accuracy is not explained by participants’ physiological arousal, affective state, or general intention for accuracy. Rather, consistent with our reasoning that experiencing power shifts attentional resources inward, we show that the effect of power on interoceptive accuracy is dependent on individuals’ chronic tendency to focus on their internal sensations. Moreover, we demonstrate that individuals’ chronic sense of power also predicts interoceptive accuracy similar to, and independent of, how their situationally induced feeling of power does. We therefore provide further support on the relation between power and enhanced perception of bodily signals. Our findings offer a novel perspective–a psychophysiological account–on how power might affect judgments and behavior. We highlight and discuss some of these intriguing possibilities for future research. PMID:28824501

Factors affecting computer mouse use for young children: implications for AAC.

PubMed

Costigan, F Aileen; Light, Janice C; Newell, Karl M

2012-06-01

More than 12% of preschoolers receiving special education services have complex communication needs, including increasing numbers of children who do not have significant motor impairments (e.g., children with autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, etc.). In order to meet their diverse communication needs (e.g., face-to-face, written, Internet, telecommunication), these children may use mainstream technologies accessed via the mouse, yet little is known about factors that affect the mouse performance of young children. This study used a mixed factorial design to investigate the effects of age, target size, and angle of approach on accuracy and time required for accurate target selection with a mouse for 20 3-year-old and 20 4-year-old children. The 4-year-olds were generally more accurate and faster than the 3-year-olds. Target size and angle mediated differences in performance within age groups. The 3-year-olds were more accurate and faster in selecting the medium and large targets relative to the small target, were faster in selecting the large relative to the medium target, and were faster in selecting targets along the vertical relative to the diagonal angle. The 4-year-olds were faster in selecting the medium and large targets relative to the small target. Implications for improving access to AAC include the preliminary suggestion of age-related threshold target sizes that support sufficient accuracy, the possibility of efficiency benefits when target size is increased up to an age-related threshold, and identification of the potential utility of the vertical angle as a context for training navigational input device use.

Design Parameters Affecting the Accuracy of Isothermal Thermocouples

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-01-02

Design Parameters Lead Wire Length intekference Accuracy Askew Installation Tungsten / Rhenium Wire Diameter Trajectory Insulation Thickness Heatshield...Summary ................. 73 A-3 Thermodynamic Properties of Tungsten / Rhenium Therm ocouples ............................ 75 A-4 Thermodynamic Properties...were tungsten / rhenium , chromel/alumel, and iron/constbntan, which covered the 0 to 5000, 0 to 2200, and 0 to I-00°F temperatut- ranges, resoectively. in

FACTORS ADVERSELY AFFECTING AMPHIBIAN POPULATIONS IN THE US

EPA Science Inventory

Factors known or suspected to be adversely affecting native amphibian populations in the US were identified using information from species accounts written in a standardized format by multiple authors in a forthcoming book. Specific adverse factors were identified for 53 (58%) of...

Factors affecting radiographers' organizational commitment.

PubMed

Akroyd, Duane; Jackowski, Melissa B; Legg, Jeffrey S

2007-01-01

A variety of factors influence employees' attitudes toward their workplace and commitment to the organization that employs them. However, these factors have not been well documented among radiologic technologists. To determine the predictive ability of selected organizational, leadership, work-role and demographic variables on organizational commitment for a national sample of radiographers. Three thousand radiographers registered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists working full time in clinical settings were surveyed by mail regarding their commitment to their employers, leadership within the organization that employs them, employer support and demographic information. Overall, radiographers were found to have only a moderate level of commitment to their employers. Among the factors that significantly affected commitment were the radiographer's educational level, perceived level of organizational support, role clarity and organizational leadership. The results of this study could provide managers and supervisors with insights on how to empower and challenge radiographers and offer opportunities that will enhance radiographers' commitment to the organization, thus reducing costly turnover and improving employee performance.

Factors Affecting Faculty Web Portal Usability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bringula, Rex P.; Basa, Roselle S.

2011-01-01

The study investigated the factors that might significantly affect web portal usability. Results of the study were intended to serve as inputs for faculty web portal development of the University of the East-Manila. Descriptive statistics utilized questionnaire data from 82 faculty members. The data showed that most of the respondents were…

Low Calorie Diet Affects Aging-Related Factors

MedlinePlus

... Research News From NIH Low Calorie Diet Affects Aging-Related Factors Past Issues / Summer 2006 Table of ... project sponsored by the NIH's National Institute on Aging (NIA) to learn more about the effects of ...

What Factors Affect Response to Ads? A Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rotzoll, Kim B.

The concept of "frame of reference" offers a perspective from which to examine the many factors which affect advertising response. The advertiser is interested in affecting two types of overt behavior. First, the individual is induced to select a particular stimulus (the advertisement) from competing stimuli (such as other people, noise,…

Electrode replacement does not affect classification accuracy in dual-session use of a passive brain-computer interface for assessing cognitive workload

PubMed Central

Estepp, Justin R.; Christensen, James C.

2015-01-01

The passive brain-computer interface (pBCI) framework has been shown to be a very promising construct for assessing cognitive and affective state in both individuals and teams. There is a growing body of work that focuses on solving the challenges of transitioning pBCI systems from the research laboratory environment to practical, everyday use. An interesting issue is what impact methodological variability may have on the ability to reliably identify (neuro)physiological patterns that are useful for state assessment. This work aimed at quantifying the effects of methodological variability in a pBCI design for detecting changes in cognitive workload. Specific focus was directed toward the effects of replacing electrodes over dual sessions (thus inducing changes in placement, electromechanical properties, and/or impedance between the electrode and skin surface) on the accuracy of several machine learning approaches in a binary classification problem. In investigating these methodological variables, it was determined that the removal and replacement of the electrode suite between sessions does not impact the accuracy of a number of learning approaches when trained on one session and tested on a second. This finding was confirmed by comparing to a control group for which the electrode suite was not replaced between sessions. This result suggests that sensors (both neurological and peripheral) may be removed and replaced over the course of many interactions with a pBCI system without affecting its performance. Future work on multi-session and multi-day pBCI system use should seek to replicate this (lack of) effect between sessions in other tasks, temporal time courses, and data analytic approaches while also focusing on non-stationarity and variable classification performance due to intrinsic factors. PMID:25805963

Affective and Social Factors in a Project-Based Writing Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kathpalia, Sujata Surinder; Heah, Carmel

2011-01-01

Much of the work in academic writing has focused on the cognitive rather than the affective and social aspects involved in project-based writing. Emphasis in past research has been on skills and processes of writing rather than on affective factors such as motivation, attitudes, feelings or social factors involving intrapersonal and interpersonal…

Substrate-Related Factors Affecting Enzymatic Saccharification of Lignocelluloses: Our Recent Understanding

Treesearch

Shao-Yuan Leu; J.Y. Zhu

2013-01-01

Enzymatic saccharification of cellulose is a key step in conversion of plant biomass to advanced biofuel and chemicals. Many substrate-related factors affect saccharification. Rather than examining the role of each individual factor on overall saccharification efficiency, this study examined how each factor affects the three basic processes of a heterogeneous...

Microbiologic factors affecting Clostridium difficile recurrence.

PubMed

Chilton, C H; Pickering, D S; Freeman, J

2018-05-01

Recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (rCDI) places a huge economic and practical burden on healthcare facilities. Furthermore, rCDI may affect quality of life, leaving patients in an rCDI cycle and dependant on antibiotic therapy. To discuss the importance of microbiologic factors in the development of rCDI. Literature was drawn from a search of PubMed from 2000 onwards with the search term 'recurrent Clostridium difficile infection' and further references cited within these articles. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews have shown that CDI and rCDI risk factors are similar. Development of rCDI is attendant on many factors, including immune status or function, comorbidities and concomitant treatments. Studies suggest that poor bacterial diversity is correlated with clinical rCDI. Narrow-spectrum gut microflora-sparing antimicrobials (e.g. surotomycin, cadazolid, ridinilazole) are in development for CDI treatment, while microbiota therapeutics (faecal microbiota transplantation, nontoxigenic C. difficile, stool substitutes) are increasingly being explored. rCDI can only occur when viable C. difficile spores are present, either within the gut lumen after infection or when reacquired from the environment. C. difficile spore germination can be influenced by gut environmental factors resulting from dysbiosis, and spore outgrowth may be affected stage by some antimicrobials (e.g. fidaxomicin, ramoplanin, oritavancin). rCDI is a significant challenge for healthcare professionals, requiring a multifaceted approach; optimized infection control to minimize reinfection; C. difficile-targeted antibiotics to minimize dysbiosis; and gut microflora restoration to promote colonization resistance. These elements should be informed by our understanding of the microbiologic factors involved in both C. difficile itself and the gut microbiome. Copyright © 2017 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting stream nutrient loads: A synthesis of regional SPARROW model results for the continental United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Preston, Stephen D.; Alexander, Richard B.; Schwarz, Gregory E.; Crawford, Charles G.

2011-01-01

We compared the results of 12 recently calibrated regional SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes) models covering most of the continental United States to evaluate the consistency and regional differences in factors affecting stream nutrient loads. The models - 6 for total nitrogen and 6 for total phosphorus - all provide similar levels of prediction accuracy, but those for major river basins in the eastern half of the country were somewhat more accurate. The models simulate long-term mean annual stream nutrient loads as a function of a wide range of known sources and climatic (precipitation, temperature), landscape (e.g., soils, geology), and aquatic factors affecting nutrient fate and transport. The results confirm the dominant effects of urban and agricultural sources on stream nutrient loads nationally and regionally, but reveal considerable spatial variability in the specific types of sources that control water quality. These include regional differences in the relative importance of different types of urban (municipal and industrial point vs. diffuse urban runoff) and agriculture (crop cultivation vs. animal waste) sources, as well as the effects of atmospheric deposition, mining, and background (e.g., soil phosphorus) sources on stream nutrients. Overall, we found that the SPARROW model results provide a consistent set of information for identifying the major sources and environmental factors affecting nutrient fate and transport in United States watersheds at regional and subregional scales. ?? 2011 American Water Resources Association. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Information quantity and quality affect the realistic accuracy of personality judgment.

PubMed

Letzring, Tera D; Wells, Shannon M; Funder, David C

2006-07-01

Triads of unacquainted college students interacted in 1 of 5 experimental conditions that manipulated information quantity (amount of information) and information quality (relevance of information to personality), and they then made judgments of each others' personalities. To determine accuracy, the authors compared the ratings of each judge to a broad-based accuracy criterion composed of personality ratings from 3 types of knowledgeable informants (the self, real-life acquaintances, and clinician-interviewers). Results supported the hypothesis that information quantity and quality would be positively related to objective knowledge about the targets and realistic accuracy. Interjudge consensus and self-other agreement followed a similar pattern. These findings are consistent with expectations based on models of the process of accurate judgment (D. C. Funder, 1995, 1999) and consensus (D. A. Kenny, 1994). Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Improved localization accuracy in stochastic super-resolution fluorescence microscopy by K-factor image deshadowing

PubMed Central

Ilovitsh, Tali; Meiri, Amihai; Ebeling, Carl G.; Menon, Rajesh; Gerton, Jordan M.; Jorgensen, Erik M.; Zalevsky, Zeev

2013-01-01

Localization of a single fluorescent particle with sub-diffraction-limit accuracy is a key merit in localization microscopy. Existing methods such as photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM) and stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) achieve localization accuracies of single emitters that can reach an order of magnitude lower than the conventional resolving capabilities of optical microscopy. However, these techniques require a sparse distribution of simultaneously activated fluorophores in the field of view, resulting in larger time needed for the construction of the full image. In this paper we present the use of a nonlinear image decomposition algorithm termed K-factor, which reduces an image into a nonlinear set of contrast-ordered decompositions whose joint product reassembles the original image. The K-factor technique, when implemented on raw data prior to localization, can improve the localization accuracy of standard existing methods, and also enable the localization of overlapping particles, allowing the use of increased fluorophore activation density, and thereby increased data collection speed. Numerical simulations of fluorescence data with random probe positions, and especially at high densities of activated fluorophores, demonstrate an improvement of up to 85% in the localization precision compared to single fitting techniques. Implementing the proposed concept on experimental data of cellular structures yielded a 37% improvement in resolution for the same super-resolution image acquisition time, and a decrease of 42% in the collection time of super-resolution data with the same resolution. PMID:24466491

Factors affecting strategic plan implementation using interpretive structural modeling (ISM).

PubMed

Bahadori, Mohammadkarim; Teymourzadeh, Ehsan; Tajik, Hamidreza; Ravangard, Ramin; Raadabadi, Mehdi; Hosseini, Seyed Mojtaba

2018-06-11

Purpose Strategic planning is the best tool for managers seeking an informed presence and participation in the market without surrendering to changes. Strategic planning enables managers to achieve their organizational goals and objectives. Hospital goals, such as improving service quality and increasing patient satisfaction cannot be achieved if agreed strategies are not implemented. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting strategic plan implementation in one teaching hospital using interpretive structural modeling (ISM). Design/methodology/approach The authors used a descriptive study involving experts and senior managers; 16 were selected as the study sample using a purposive sampling method. Data were collected using a questionnaire designed and prepared based on previous studies. Data were analyzed using ISM. Findings Five main factors affected strategic plan implementation. Although all five variables and factors are top level, "senior manager awareness and participation in the strategic planning process" and "creating and maintaining team participation in the strategic planning process" had maximum drive power. "Organizational structure effects on the strategic planning process" and "Organizational culture effects on the strategic planning process" had maximum dependence power. Practical implications Identifying factors affecting strategic plan implementation is a basis for healthcare quality improvement by analyzing the relationship among factors and overcoming the barriers. Originality/value The authors used ISM to analyze the relationship between factors affecting strategic plan implementation.

Exploring paraprofessional and classroom factors affecting teacher supervision.

PubMed

Irvin, Dwight W; Ingram, Paul; Huffman, Jonathan; Mason, Rose; Wills, Howard

2018-02-01

Paraprofessionals serve a primary role in supporting students with disabilities in the classroom, which necessitates teachers' supervision as a means to improve their practice. Yet, little is known regarding what factors affect teacher supervision. We sought to identify how paraprofessional competence and classroom type affected the levels of teacher direction. We administered an adapted version of the Paraprofessional Needs, Knowledge & Tasks Survey and the Survey for Teachers Supervising Paraprofessionals to teachers supervising paraprofessionals in elementary schools. Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine the link between paraprofessional competence and classroom factors affecting the level of teacher supervision. Our results indicated that when teachers perceived paraprofessionals as being more skilled, they provided more supervision, and when more supervision was provided the less they thought paraprofessionals should be doing their assigned tasks. Additionally, paraprofessionals working in classrooms with more students with mild disabilities received less supervision than paraprofessionals working in classrooms with more students with moderate-to-severe disabilities. Those paraprofessionals in classrooms serving mostly children with mild disabilities were also perceived as having lower levels of skill competence than those serving in classrooms with students with more moderate-to-severe disabilities. By understanding the factors that affect teacher supervision, policy and professional development opportunities can be refined/developed to better support both supervising teachers and paraprofessionals and, in turn, improve the outcomes of children with disabilities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ranking factors affecting emissions of GHG from incubated agricultural soils.

PubMed

García-Marco, S; Ravella, S R; Chadwick, D; Vallejo, A; Gregory, A S; Cárdenas, L M

2014-07-01

Agriculture significantly contributes to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and there is a need to develop effective mitigation strategies. The efficacy of methods to reduce GHG fluxes from agricultural soils can be affected by a range of interacting management and environmental factors. Uniquely, we used the Taguchi experimental design methodology to rank the relative importance of six factors known to affect the emission of GHG from soil: nitrate (NO 3 - ) addition, carbon quality (labile and non-labile C), soil temperature, water-filled pore space (WFPS) and extent of soil compaction. Grassland soil was incubated in jars where selected factors, considered at two or three amounts within the experimental range, were combined in an orthogonal array to determine the importance and interactions between factors with a L 16 design, comprising 16 experimental units. Within this L 16 design, 216 combinations of the full factorial experimental design were represented. Headspace nitrous oxide (N 2 O), methane (CH 4 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations were measured and used to calculate fluxes. Results found for the relative influence of factors (WFPS and NO 3 - addition were the main factors affecting N 2 O fluxes, whilst glucose, NO 3 - and soil temperature were the main factors affecting CO 2 and CH 4 fluxes) were consistent with those already well documented. Interactions between factors were also studied and results showed that factors with little individual influence became more influential in combination. The proposed methodology offers new possibilities for GHG researchers to study interactions between influential factors and address the optimized sets of conditions to reduce GHG emissions in agro-ecosystems, while reducing the number of experimental units required compared with conventional experimental procedures that adjust one variable at a time.

Ranking factors affecting emissions of GHG from incubated agricultural soils

PubMed Central

García-Marco, S; Ravella, S R; Chadwick, D; Vallejo, A; Gregory, A S; Cárdenas, L M

2014-01-01

Agriculture significantly contributes to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and there is a need to develop effective mitigation strategies. The efficacy of methods to reduce GHG fluxes from agricultural soils can be affected by a range of interacting management and environmental factors. Uniquely, we used the Taguchi experimental design methodology to rank the relative importance of six factors known to affect the emission of GHG from soil: nitrate (NO3−) addition, carbon quality (labile and non-labile C), soil temperature, water-filled pore space (WFPS) and extent of soil compaction. Grassland soil was incubated in jars where selected factors, considered at two or three amounts within the experimental range, were combined in an orthogonal array to determine the importance and interactions between factors with a L16 design, comprising 16 experimental units. Within this L16 design, 216 combinations of the full factorial experimental design were represented. Headspace nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were measured and used to calculate fluxes. Results found for the relative influence of factors (WFPS and NO3− addition were the main factors affecting N2O fluxes, whilst glucose, NO3− and soil temperature were the main factors affecting CO2 and CH4 fluxes) were consistent with those already well documented. Interactions between factors were also studied and results showed that factors with little individual influence became more influential in combination. The proposed methodology offers new possibilities for GHG researchers to study interactions between influential factors and address the optimized sets of conditions to reduce GHG emissions in agro-ecosystems, while reducing the number of experimental units required compared with conventional experimental procedures that adjust one variable at a time. PMID:25177207

Evaluating the Effect of Learning Style and Student Background on Self-Assessment Accuracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alaoutinen, Satu

2012-01-01

This study evaluates a new taxonomy-based self-assessment scale and examines factors that affect assessment accuracy and course performance. The scale is based on Bloom's Revised Taxonomy and is evaluated by comparing students' self-assessment results with course performance in a programming course. Correlation has been used to reveal possible…

Factors Governing Surface Form Accuracy In Diamond Machined Components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myler, J. K.; Page, D. A.

1988-10-01

simple spheres. It is important however to realise that a diamond turning process will possess a new set of criteria which limit the accuracy of the surface profile created corresponding to a completely new set of specifications. The most important factors are:- tool centring accuracy, surface waviness, conical form error, and other rotationally symmetric non spherical errors. The fixturing of the workpiece is very different from that of a conventional lap, since in many cases the diamond machine resembles a conventional lathe geometry where the workpiece rotates at a few thousand R.P.M. Substrates must be held rigidly for rotation at such speeds as compared with more delicate mounting methods for conventional laps. Consequently the workpiece may suffer from other forms of deformation which are non-rotationally symmetric due to mounting stresses (static deformation) and stresses induced at the speed of rotation (dynamic deformation). The magnitude of each of these contributions to overall form error will be a function of the type of machine, the material, substrate, and testing design. The following sections describe each of these effects in more detail based on experience obtained on a Pneumo Precision MSG325 XY CNC machine. Certain in-process measurement techniques have been devised to minimise and quantify each contribution.

Encoding Modality Can Affect Memory Accuracy via Retrieval Orientation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierce, Benton H.; Gallo, David A.

2011-01-01

Research indicates that false memory is lower following visual than auditory study, potentially because visual information is more distinctive. In the present study we tested the extent to which retrieval orientation can cause a modality effect on memory accuracy. Participants studied unrelated words in different modalities, followed by criterial…

Validity of Teacher-Based Vision Screening and Factors Associated with the Accuracy of Vision Screening in Vietnamese Children.

PubMed

Paudel, Prakash; Kovai, Vilas; Naduvilath, Thomas; Phuong, Ha Thanh; Ho, Suit May; Giap, Nguyen Viet

2016-01-01

To assess validity of teacher-based vision screening and elicit factors associated with accuracy of vision screening in Vietnam. After brief training, teachers independently measured visual acuity (VA) in 555 children aged 12-15 years in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province. Teacher VA measurements were compared to those of refractionists. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated for uncorrected VA (UVA) and presenting VA (PVA) 20/40 or worse in either eye. Chi-square, Fisher's exact test and multivariate logistic regression were used to assess factors associated with accuracy of vision screening. Level of significance was set at 5%. Trained teachers in Vietnam demonstrated 86.7% sensitivity, 95.7% specificity, 86.7% positive predictive value and 95.7% negative predictive value in identifying children with visual impairment using the UVA measurement. PVA measurement revealed low accuracy for teachers, which was significantly associated with child's age, sex, spectacle wear and myopic status, but UVA measurement showed no such associations. Better accuracy was achieved in measurement of VA and identification of children with visual impairment using UVA measurement compared to PVA. UVA measurement is recommended for teacher-based vision screening programs.

Reviews on factors affecting fatigue behavior of high-Mn steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Sangshik; Jeong, Daeho; Sung, Hyokyung

2018-01-01

A variety of factors affect the fatigue behavior of high-Mn steels, which include both extrinsic (i.e., loading type, R ratio, specimen type, surface condition, temperature, and environment) and intrinsic (i.e., chemical composition, grain size, microstructure, stacking fault energy) factors. Very often, the influence of extrinsic factors on the fatigue behavior is even greater than that of intrinsic factors, misleading the interpretation of fatigue data. The metallurgical factors influence the initiation and propagation behaviors of fatigue by altering the characteristics of slip that is prerequisite for fatigue damage accumulation. It is however not easy to separate the effect of each factor since they affect the fatigue behavior of high-Mn steels in complex and synergistic way. In this review, the fatigue data of high-Mn steels are summarized and the factors complicating the interpretation are discussed.

Review: Factors affecting fouling in conventional pens for slaughter pigs.

PubMed

Larsen, M L V; Bertelsen, M; Pedersen, L J

2018-02-01

This review assesses factors affecting fouling in conventional pens for slaughter pigs. Fouling of the pen happens when pigs change their excretory behaviour from occurring in the designated dunging area to the lying area. This can result in a lower hygiene, bad air quality, extra work for the farmer, disturbance of the pigs' resting behaviour and an increase in agonistic interactions. A systematic search was conducted and results narrowed down to 21 articles. Four factors were found to affect fouling directly: insufficient space allowance, the flooring design of the pen, the thermal climate and pigs' earlier experience. Further, these primary factors are affected by secondary factors such as the shape of the pen, the weight of the pigs and especially the heat balance of the pigs, which is affected by several tertiary factors including, for example, temperature, humidity and draught. Results indicate that the most important factor to control when trying to prevent fouling of a pen is the pen climate. An appropriate climate may be accomplished through floor cooling in the designated lying area, sprinklers above the designated dunging area and by ensuring a more optimal ambient temperature curve that also fits the weight of the pigs in different stages of the production. All in all, fouling of the pen in conventional slaughter pigs is a multifactorial problem, but it is important to focus on increasing the comfortability, and especially the climate, of the designated lying area.

The Role of Cognitive and Affective Factors in Measures of L2 Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zabihi, Reza

2018-01-01

This study investigates the direct and/or indirect effects of some cognitive (working memory capacity) and affective (writing anxiety and writing self-efficacy) variables on the complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of second language (L2) learners' writings. To achieve this goal, 232 upper-intermediate English learners performed an automated…

Factors affecting the quality of life in childhood epilepsy in China.

PubMed

Yong, L; Chengye, J; Jiong, Q

2006-03-01

To explore the level of, and factors affecting the quality of life (QOL) in childhood epilepsy in China. At the Peking University First Hospital, we consecutively identified 418 parents whose children were with known epilepsy to complete a questionnaire, which included children's demographic characteristics, clinical message of epilepsy, QOL, familial message, parental symptoms of anxiety/depression. Significant (p<0.05) affecting factors of children's quality of life included current educational degree, mental development, age at diagnosis, age at onset, seizure frequency, duration, AED number; parental significant (p<0.05) affecting factors included anxiety, depression and health. On regression analysis, parental anxiety was the most important factor in explaining lower QOL in childhood epilepsy. AEDs, familial economic state, paternal career, seizure frequency were also significant factors. Parental anxiety outweighed the physical factors in determining QOL in childhood epilepsy. Recognition of this will be helpful for professionals to treat disease and improve the QOL of childhood epilepsy.

Factors affecting academic leadership in dermatology.

PubMed

Martires, Kathryn J; Aquino, Lisa L; Wu, Jashin J

2015-02-01

Although prior studies have examined methods by which to recruit and retain academic dermatologists, few have examined factors that are important for developing academic leaders in dermatology. This study sought to examine characteristics of dermatology residency programs that affect the odds of producing department or division chairs/chiefs and program directors (PDs). Data regarding program size, faculty, grants, alumni residency program attended, lectures, and publications for all accredited US dermatology residency programs were collected. Of the 103 programs examined, 46% had graduated at least 1 chair/chief, and 53% had graduated at least 1 PD. Results emphasize that faculty guidance and research may represent modifiable factors by which a dermatology residency program can increase its graduation of academic leaders.

Measured and Monte Carlo calculated k{sub Q} factors: Accuracy and comparison

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

Muir, B. R.; McEwen, M. R.; Rogers, D. W. O.

2011-08-15

Purpose: The journal Medical Physics recently published two papers that determine beam quality conversion factors, k{sub Q}, for large sets of ion chambers. In the first paper [McEwen Med. Phys. 37, 2179-2193 (2010)], k{sub Q} was determined experimentally, while the second paper [Muir and Rogers Med. Phys. 37, 5939-5950 (2010)] provides k{sub Q} factors calculated using Monte Carlo simulations. This work investigates a variety of additional consistency checks to verify the accuracy of the k{sub Q} factors determined in each publication and a comparison of the two data sets. Uncertainty introduced in calculated k{sub Q} factors by possible variation ofmore » W/e with beam energy is investigated further. Methods: The validity of the experimental set of k{sub Q} factors relies on the accuracy of the NE2571 reference chamber measurements to which k{sub Q} factors for all other ion chambers are correlated. The stability of NE2571 absorbed dose to water calibration coefficients is determined and comparison to other experimental k{sub Q} factors is analyzed. Reliability of Monte Carlo calculated k{sub Q} factors is assessed through comparison to other publications that provide Monte Carlo calculations of k{sub Q} as well as an analysis of the sleeve effect, the effect of cavity length and self-consistencies between graphite-walled Farmer-chambers. Comparison between the two data sets is given in terms of the percent difference between the k{sub Q} factors presented in both publications. Results: Monitoring of the absorbed dose calibration coefficients for the NE2571 chambers over a period of more than 15 yrs exhibit consistency at a level better than 0.1%. Agreement of the NE2571 k{sub Q} factors with a quadratic fit to all other experimental data from standards labs for the same chamber is observed within 0.3%. Monte Carlo calculated k{sub Q} factors are in good agreement with most other Monte Carlo calculated k{sub Q} factors. Expected results are observed for the

Text Difficulty Affects Metacomprehension Accuracy and Knowledge Test Performance in Text Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vössing, J.; Stamov-Roßnagel, C.; Heinitz, K.

2017-01-01

Metacomprehension as reflected in judgements of one's learning is crucial for self-regulated study, yet their accuracy is often low. We investigated text difficulty as a constraint on metacomprehension accuracy in text learning. A total of 235 participants studied a 10-section expository text and afterwards took a knowledge test. They made…

78 FR 46418 - Proposed Information Collection (Obligation To Report Factors Affecting Entitlement) Activity...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-31

... (Obligation To Report Factors Affecting Entitlement) Activity; Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Benefits... use of other forms of information technology. Title: Obligation to Report Factors Affecting... entitlement factors. Individual factors such as income, marital status, and the beneficiary's number of...

75 FR 62634 - Proposed Information Collection (Obligation to Report Factors Affecting Entitlement) Activity...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-12

... (Obligation to Report Factors Affecting Entitlement) Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Benefits... use of other forms of information technology. Title: Obligation to Report Factors Affecting... entitlement factors. Individual factors such as income, marital status, and the beneficiary's number of...

Analysis of factors affecting employee satisfaction: A case study from Pakistan.

PubMed

Rukh, Lala; Choudhary, Muhammad Abbas; Abbasi, Saddam Akber

2015-01-01

Employee job satisfaction has been a research focal point throughout the world. It is a key factor when measuring the performance of an organization and individuals. A leading engineering goods manufacturing enterprise in Pakistan, has been used in this case study. In Pakistan, very limited research has been done with respect to factors affecting job satisfaction. Some research has been done in medical institutions, banks, universities and the information technology sector but large public sector organizations in Pakistan have not been studied. A theoretical foundation for researching factors affecting job satisfaction in large organizations is outlined. The objective of this research is to analyze various demographic, financial and non-financial factors affecting the satisfaction level of employees and to study the effects across different employee groups. This study is based on quantitative data analysis. The employees of the organization under study have been divided into 10 homogeneous groups based on their departments. Information on job related factors (affecting the satisfaction level) have been collected from subsamples of each group using a self-administered questionnaire. An overall sample of 250 (out of total 1100) employees has been selected. Before conducting the survey, reliability of the questionnaire was measured using Cronbach's alpha. The normality of data was also examined using the Kolmogorov Smirnov test. Hypotheses devised to address the research questions were tested by using non-parametric Spearman correlation and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The response rate was 73.2%. Research findings indicated the significant factors that affect the satisfaction level of employees. Median group differences existed between responses based on age, work experience, salary and designation (i.e. job position/rank) of employees. Job satisfaction was also positively and significantly associated with job related factors such as pay, promotion, relation with employees

Factors Affecting Successful Implementation of Hospital Information Systems.

PubMed

Farzandipur, Mehrdad; Jeddi, Fatemeh Rangraz; Azimi, Esmaeil

2016-02-01

Today, the use of information systems in health environments, like any other fields, is necessary and organizational managers are convinced to use these systems. However, managers' satisfaction is not the only factor in successfully implementing these systems and failed information technology projects (IT) are reported despite the consent of the directors. Therefore, this study aims to determine the factors affecting the successful implementation of a hospital information system. The study was carried out as a descriptive method in 20 clinical hospitals that the hospital information system (HIS) was conducted in them. The clinical and paraclinical users of mentioned hospitals are the study group. 400 people were chosen as samples in scientific method and the data was collected using a questionnaire consisted of three main human, managerial and organizational, and technological factors, by questionnaire and interview. Then the data was scored in Likert scale (score of 1 to 5) and were analyzed using the SPSS software. About 75 percent of the population were female, with average work experience of 10 years and the mean age was 30 years. The human factors affecting the success of hospital information system implementation achieved the mean score of 3.5, both organizational and managerial factors 2.9 and technological factors the mean of 3. Human factors including computer skills, perceiving usefulness and perceiving the ease of a hospital information system use are more effective on the acceptance and successful implementation of hospital information systems; then the technological factors play a greater role. It is recommended that for the successful implementation of hospital information systems, most of these factors to be considered.

Factors Affecting Open-Set Word Recognition in Adults with Cochlear Implants

PubMed Central

Holden, Laura K.; Finley, Charles C.; Firszt, Jill B.; Holden, Timothy A.; Brenner, Christine; Potts, Lisa G.; Gotter, Brenda D.; Vanderhoof, Sallie S.; Mispagel, Karen; Heydebrand, Gitry; Skinner, Margaret W.

2012-01-01

A monosyllabic word test was administered to 114 postlingually-deaf adult cochlear implant (CI) recipients at numerous intervals from two weeks to two years post-initial CI activation. Biographic/audiologic information, electrode position, and cognitive ability were examined to determine factors affecting CI outcomes. Results revealed that Duration of Severe-to-Profound Hearing Loss, Age at Implantation, CI Sound-field Threshold Levels, Percentage of Electrodes in Scala Vestibuli, Medio-lateral Electrode Position, Insertion Depth, and Cognition were among the factors that affected performance. Knowledge of how factors affect performance can influence counseling, device fitting, and rehabilitation for patients and may contribute to improved device design. PMID:23348845

Factors affecting self-regulated learning in medical students: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Jouhari, Zahra; Haghani, Fariba; Changiz, Tahereh

2015-01-01

Introduction Clinical courses are required of all medical students and means that they must develop the key skill of self-regulation during learning. The ability to self-regulate learning strategies is affected by different factors. This study determined the views of medical students on the factors affecting self-regulated learning (SRL). Method This study uses a qualitative approach and the content analysis method. Nineteen medical students in their fourth, fifth, and sixth years of study at Isfahan University of Medical Science participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The students were selected using purposive sampling based on their overall grade point average (GPA). Results Five main themes were found to affect SRL. These themes included family with the two subthemes of family supervisory and supportive roles; peers with the two subthemes of facilitating and inhibiting roles; instructors with the two subthemes of personal and educational instructor's characteristics; educational environment with the two subthemes of facilitator and inhibitor roles; and student with the two subthemes of facilitating and inhibiting personal factors. Conclusion The outcomes of student understanding of the factors affecting self-regulation indicate that facilitating factors should be used on an individual basis to reduce the effect of inhibiting factors to improve self-regulation in students. PMID:26549046

Factors affecting self-regulated learning in medical students: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Jouhari, Zahra; Haghani, Fariba; Changiz, Tahereh

2015-01-01

Introduction Clinical courses are required of all medical students and means that they must develop the key skill of self-regulation during learning. The ability to self-regulate learning strategies is affected by different factors. This study determined the views of medical students on the factors affecting self-regulated learning (SRL). Method This study uses a qualitative approach and the content analysis method. Nineteen medical students in their fourth, fifth, and sixth years of study at Isfahan University of Medical Science participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The students were selected using purposive sampling based on their overall grade point average (GPA). Results Five main themes were found to affect SRL. These themes included family with the two subthemes of family supervisory and supportive roles; peers with the two subthemes of facilitating and inhibiting roles; instructors with the two subthemes of personal and educational instructor's characteristics; educational environment with the two subthemes of facilitator and inhibitor roles; and student with the two subthemes of facilitating and inhibiting personal factors. Conclusion The outcomes of student understanding of the factors affecting self-regulation indicate that facilitating factors should be used on an individual basis to reduce the effect of inhibiting factors to improve self-regulation in students.

Factors affecting self-regulated learning in medical students: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Jouhari, Zahra; Haghani, Fariba; Changiz, Tahereh

2015-01-01

Clinical courses are required of all medical students and means that they must develop the key skill of self-regulation during learning. The ability to self-regulate learning strategies is affected by different factors. This study determined the views of medical students on the factors affecting self-regulated learning (SRL). This study uses a qualitative approach and the content analysis method. Nineteen medical students in their fourth, fifth, and sixth years of study at Isfahan University of Medical Science participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The students were selected using purposive sampling based on their overall grade point average (GPA). Five main themes were found to affect SRL. These themes included family with the two subthemes of family supervisory and supportive roles; peers with the two subthemes of facilitating and inhibiting roles; instructors with the two subthemes of personal and educational instructor's characteristics; educational environment with the two subthemes of facilitator and inhibitor roles; and student with the two subthemes of facilitating and inhibiting personal factors. The outcomes of student understanding of the factors affecting self-regulation indicate that facilitating factors should be used on an individual basis to reduce the effect of inhibiting factors to improve self-regulation in students.

14 CFR Appendix B to Part 1215 - Factors Affecting Standard Charges

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2011-01-01 2010-01-01 true Factors Affecting Standard Charges B Appendix B to Part 1215 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION TRACKING AND DATA RELAY SATELLITE SYSTEM (TDRSS) Pt. 1215, App. B Appendix B to Part 1215—Factors Affecting Standard...

Methods of Combinatorial Optimization to Reveal Factors Affecting Gene Length

PubMed Central

Bolshoy, Alexander; Tatarinova, Tatiana

2012-01-01

In this paper we present a novel method for genome ranking according to gene lengths. The main outcomes described in this paper are the following: the formulation of the genome ranking problem, presentation of relevant approaches to solve it, and the demonstration of preliminary results from prokaryotic genomes ordering. Using a subset of prokaryotic genomes, we attempted to uncover factors affecting gene length. We have demonstrated that hyperthermophilic species have shorter genes as compared with mesophilic organisms, which probably means that environmental factors affect gene length. Moreover, these preliminary results show that environmental factors group together in ranking evolutionary distant species. PMID:23300345

Analysis of algae growth mechanism and water bloom prediction under the effect of multi-affecting factor.

PubMed

Wang, Li; Wang, Xiaoyi; Jin, Xuebo; Xu, Jiping; Zhang, Huiyan; Yu, Jiabin; Sun, Qian; Gao, Chong; Wang, Lingbin

2017-03-01

The formation process of algae is described inaccurately and water blooms are predicted with a low precision by current methods. In this paper, chemical mechanism of algae growth is analyzed, and a correlation analysis of chlorophyll-a and algal density is conducted by chemical measurement. Taking into account the influence of multi-factors on algae growth and water blooms, the comprehensive prediction method combined with multivariate time series and intelligent model is put forward in this paper. Firstly, through the process of photosynthesis, the main factors that affect the reproduction of the algae are analyzed. A compensation prediction method of multivariate time series analysis based on neural network and Support Vector Machine has been put forward which is combined with Kernel Principal Component Analysis to deal with dimension reduction of the influence factors of blooms. Then, Genetic Algorithm is applied to improve the generalization ability of the BP network and Least Squares Support Vector Machine. Experimental results show that this method could better compensate the prediction model of multivariate time series analysis which is an effective way to improve the description accuracy of algae growth and prediction precision of water blooms.

Accuracy aspects of stereo side-looking radar. [analysis of its visual perception and binocular vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leberl, F. W.

1979-01-01

The geometry of the radar stereo model and factors affecting visual radar stereo perception are reviewed. Limits to the vertical exaggeration factor of stereo radar are defined. Radar stereo model accuracies are analyzed with respect to coordinate errors caused by errors of radar sensor position and of range, and with respect to errors of coordinate differences, i.e., cross-track distances and height differences.

Constructing better classifier ensemble based on weighted accuracy and diversity measure.

PubMed

Zeng, Xiaodong; Wong, Derek F; Chao, Lidia S

2014-01-01

A weighted accuracy and diversity (WAD) method is presented, a novel measure used to evaluate the quality of the classifier ensemble, assisting in the ensemble selection task. The proposed measure is motivated by a commonly accepted hypothesis; that is, a robust classifier ensemble should not only be accurate but also different from every other member. In fact, accuracy and diversity are mutual restraint factors; that is, an ensemble with high accuracy may have low diversity, and an overly diverse ensemble may negatively affect accuracy. This study proposes a method to find the balance between accuracy and diversity that enhances the predictive ability of an ensemble for unknown data. The quality assessment for an ensemble is performed such that the final score is achieved by computing the harmonic mean of accuracy and diversity, where two weight parameters are used to balance them. The measure is compared to two representative measures, Kappa-Error and GenDiv, and two threshold measures that consider only accuracy or diversity, with two heuristic search algorithms, genetic algorithm, and forward hill-climbing algorithm, in ensemble selection tasks performed on 15 UCI benchmark datasets. The empirical results demonstrate that the WAD measure is superior to others in most cases.

Constructing Better Classifier Ensemble Based on Weighted Accuracy and Diversity Measure

PubMed Central

Chao, Lidia S.

2014-01-01

A weighted accuracy and diversity (WAD) method is presented, a novel measure used to evaluate the quality of the classifier ensemble, assisting in the ensemble selection task. The proposed measure is motivated by a commonly accepted hypothesis; that is, a robust classifier ensemble should not only be accurate but also different from every other member. In fact, accuracy and diversity are mutual restraint factors; that is, an ensemble with high accuracy may have low diversity, and an overly diverse ensemble may negatively affect accuracy. This study proposes a method to find the balance between accuracy and diversity that enhances the predictive ability of an ensemble for unknown data. The quality assessment for an ensemble is performed such that the final score is achieved by computing the harmonic mean of accuracy and diversity, where two weight parameters are used to balance them. The measure is compared to two representative measures, Kappa-Error and GenDiv, and two threshold measures that consider only accuracy or diversity, with two heuristic search algorithms, genetic algorithm, and forward hill-climbing algorithm, in ensemble selection tasks performed on 15 UCI benchmark datasets. The empirical results demonstrate that the WAD measure is superior to others in most cases. PMID:24672402

Factors Affecting Smoking Tendency and Smoking Intensity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, Nissim Ben; Zion, Uri Ben

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to measure the relative effect of relevant explanatory variable on smoking tendency and smoking intensity. Design/methodology/approach: Using survey data collected by the Israeli Bureau of Statistics in 2003-2004, a probit procedure is estimated for analyzing factors that affect the probability of being a…

Main error factors, affecting inversion of EM data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuev, M. A.; Magomedov, M.; Korneev, V. A.; Goloshubin, G.; Zuev, J.; Brovman, Y.

2013-12-01

Inversions of EM data are complicated by a number of factors that need to be taken into account. These factors might contribute by tens of percents in data values, concealing responses from target objects, which usually contribute at the level of few percents only. We developed the exact analytical solutions of the EM wave equations that properly incorporate the contributions of the following effects: 1) A finite source size effect, where conventional dipole (zero-size) approximation brings 10-40% error compare to a real size source, needed to provide adequate signal-to-noise ratio. 2) Complex topography. A three-parametrical approach allows to keep the data misfits in 0.5% corridor while topography effect might be up to 40%. 3) Grounding shadow effect, caused by return ground currents, when Tx-line vicinity is horizontally non-uniform. By keeping survey setup within some reasonable geometrical ratios, the shadow effect comes to just one frequency-independent coefficient, which can be excluded from processing by using logarithmical derivatives. 4) Layer's wide spectral range effect. This brings to multi-layer spectral overlapping, so each frequency is affected by many layers; that requires wide spectral range processing, making the typical 'few-frequency data acquisition' non-reliable. 5) Horizontal sensitivity effect. The typical view at the target signal, reflected from a Tx-Rx mid-point is valid only for a ray approximation, reliable in a far-field zone. Unlike this, the real EM surveys usually work in near-field zone. Thus Tx-Rx mid-point does not represent the layer, so a sensitivity distribution function must be computed for each layer for the following 3D-unification process. 6) Wide range Rx-directions from mid-line Tx. Survey terrain often prevents placing Rx perpendicular to Tx-line, and even small deviations without proper corrections cause a significant inaccuracy. A radical simplification of the effect's description becomes possible after applying a

Use of single-representative reverse-engineered surface-models for RSA does not affect measurement accuracy and precision.

PubMed

Seehaus, Frank; Schwarze, Michael; Flörkemeier, Thilo; von Lewinski, Gabriela; Kaptein, Bart L; Jakubowitz, Eike; Hurschler, Christof

2016-05-01

Implant migration can be accurately quantified by model-based Roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA), using an implant surface model to locate the implant relative to the bone. In a clinical situation, a single reverse engineering (RE) model for each implant type and size is used. It is unclear to what extent the accuracy and precision of migration measurement is affected by implant manufacturing variability unaccounted for by a single representative model. Individual RE models were generated for five short-stem hip implants of the same type and size. Two phantom analyses and one clinical analysis were performed: "Accuracy-matched models": one stem was assessed, and the results from the original RE model were compared with randomly selected models. "Accuracy-random model": each of the five stems was assessed and analyzed using one randomly selected RE model. "Precision-clinical setting": implant migration was calculated for eight patients, and all five available RE models were applied to each case. For the two phantom experiments, the 95%CI of the bias ranged from -0.28 mm to 0.30 mm for translation and -2.3° to 2.5° for rotation. In the clinical setting, precision is less than 0.5 mm and 1.2° for translation and rotation, respectively, except for rotations about the proximodistal axis (<4.1°). High accuracy and precision of model-based RSA can be achieved and are not biased by using a single representative RE model. At least for implants similar in shape to the investigated short-stem, individual models are not necessary. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:903-910, 2016. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Identification of Factors That Affect Software Complexity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaiser, Javaid

A survey of computer scientists was conducted to identify factors that affect software complexity. A total of 160 items were selected from the literature to include in a questionnaire sent to 425 individuals who were employees of computer-related businesses in Lawrence and Kansas City. The items were grouped into nine categories called system…

INTERNATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN FACTORS AFFECTING LABOUR MOBILITY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

SELLIER, F.; ZARKA, C.

THE GEOGRAPHICAL, OCCUPATIONAL, AND INTERFIRM MOBILITY, AND THE FACTORS AFFECTING THESE MOVEMENTS FOR WORKERS IN FRANCE, ITALY, GERMANY, AND SWEDEN IN THE PERIOD SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR ARE STUDIED. DATA OBTAINED FROM INDUSTRIAL SURVEYS AND GENERAL CENSUSES WERE USED TO COMPARE THE FOUR COUNTRIES WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE UNITED STATES.…

Accuracy of Cup Positioning With the Computed Tomography-Based Two-dimensional to Three-Dimensional Matched Navigation System: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Study.

PubMed

Yamada, Kazuki; Endo, Hirosuke; Tetsunaga, Tomonori; Miyake, Takamasa; Sanki, Tomoaki; Ozaki, Toshifumi

2018-01-01

The accuracy of various navigation systems used for total hip arthroplasty has been described, but no publications reported the accuracy of cup orientation in computed tomography (CT)-based 2D-3D (two-dimensional to three-dimensional) matched navigation. In a prospective, randomized controlled study, 80 hips including 44 with developmental dysplasia of the hips were divided into a CT-based 2D-3D matched navigation group (2D-3D group) and a paired-point matched navigation group (PPM group). The accuracy of cup orientation (absolute difference between the intraoperative record and the postoperative measurement) was compared between groups. Additionally, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate patient factors affecting the accuracy of cup orientation in each navigation. The accuracy of cup inclination was 2.5° ± 2.2° in the 2D-3D group and 4.6° ± 3.3° in the PPM group (P = .0016). The accuracy of cup anteversion was 2.3° ± 1.7° in the 2D-3D group and 4.4° ± 3.3° in the PPM group (P = .0009). In the PPM group, the presence of roof osteophytes decreased the accuracy of cup inclination (odds ratio 8.27, P = .0140) and the absolute value of pelvic tilt had a negative influence on the accuracy of cup anteversion (odds ratio 1.27, P = .0222). In the 2D-3D group, patient factors had no effect on the accuracy of cup orientation. The accuracy of cup positioning in CT-based 2D-3D matched navigation was better than in paired-point matched navigation, and was not affected by patient factors. It is a useful system for even severely deformed pelvises such as developmental dysplasia of the hips. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Metasynthesis of Factors Affecting Self-Management of Chronic Illness

PubMed Central

SCHULMAN-GREEN, Dena; JASER, Sarah S.; PARK, Chorong; WHITTEMORE, Robin

2015-01-01

Aim To identify factors that may serve as facilitators and barriers to self-management described by adults living with chronic illness by conducting a qualitative metasynthesis. Background Self-management is an individuals’ active management of a chronic illness in collaboration with their family members and clinicians. Design Qualitative metasynthesis. Data Sources We analyzed studies (N=53) published between January 2000–May 2013 that described factors affecting self-management in chronic illness as reported by adults aged over 18 years with chronic illness. Review Methods Sandelowsi and Barroso approach to qualitative metasynthesis: literature search; quality appraisal; analysis; and synthesis of findings. Results Collectively, article authors reported on sixteen chronic illnesses, most commonly diabetes (N=28) and cardiovascular disease (N=20). Participants included men and women (mean age=57, range 18–94) from twenty countries representing diverse races and ethnicities. We identified five categories of factors affecting self-management: Personal/Lifestyle Characteristics; Health Status; Resources; Environmental Characteristics; and Health Care System. Factors may interact to affect self-management and may exist on a continuum of positive (facilitator) to negative (barrier). Conclusion Understanding factors that influence self-management may improve assessment of self-management among adults with chronic illness and may inform interventions tailored to meet individuals’ needs and improve health outcomes. PMID:26781649

Factors affecting post-pubertal penile size in patients with hypospadias.

PubMed

Moriya, Kimihiko; Nakamura, Michiko; Nishimura, Yoko; Kitta, Takeya; Kanno, Yukiko; Chiba, Hiroki; Kon, Masafumi; Shinohara, Nobuo

2016-09-01

To evaluate actual post-pubertal penile size and factors affecting it in hypospadias patients, we retrospectively reviewed medical charts. Hypospadias patients whose external genitalia were categorized into Tanner stage 5, and whose stretched penile length was evaluated at 15 years old or older from April 2008 to April 2015, were enrolled in the present study. Stretched penile length was measured by a single examiner. Actual post-pubertal stretched penile length and factors affecting the post-pubertal stretched penile length were estimated. Statistical analysis was performed using Mann-Whitney U test and univariate and multivariate linear regression models for the determination of independent factors. Thirty patients met the inclusion criteria. Median age at evaluation was 17.2 years. Thirteen and 17 had mild and severe hypospadias, respectively. Endocrinological abnormality was identified in 5. Multivariate analysis showed that the severity of hypospadias and endocrinological abnormality were significant factors affecting stretched penile length. Stretched penile length in 25 patients without endocrinological abnormality was significantly longer than that in those with endocrinological abnormality (p = 0.036). Among patients without endocrinological abnormality, stretched penile length in 13 with severe hypospadias was significantly shorter than that in 12 with mild hypospadias (p = 0.004). While the severity of hypospadias and endocrinological abnormality at post-pubertal evaluation were factors affecting post-pubertal penile size, stretched penile length in patients with severe hypospadias was shorter even in cases without endocrinological abnormality. These results suggest that severe hypospadias is not only a disorder of urethral development, but also a disorder of penile development.

Does filler database size influence identification accuracy?

PubMed

Bergold, Amanda N; Heaton, Paul

2018-06-01

Police departments increasingly use large photo databases to select lineup fillers using facial recognition software, but this technological shift's implications have been largely unexplored in eyewitness research. Database use, particularly if coupled with facial matching software, could enable lineup constructors to increase filler-suspect similarity and thus enhance eyewitness accuracy (Fitzgerald, Oriet, Price, & Charman, 2013). However, with a large pool of potential fillers, such technologies might theoretically produce lineup fillers too similar to the suspect (Fitzgerald, Oriet, & Price, 2015; Luus & Wells, 1991; Wells, Rydell, & Seelau, 1993). This research proposes a new factor-filler database size-as a lineup feature affecting eyewitness accuracy. In a facial recognition experiment, we select lineup fillers in a legally realistic manner using facial matching software applied to filler databases of 5,000, 25,000, and 125,000 photos, and find that larger databases are associated with a higher objective similarity rating between suspects and fillers and lower overall identification accuracy. In target present lineups, witnesses viewing lineups created from the larger databases were less likely to make correct identifications and more likely to select known innocent fillers. When the target was absent, database size was associated with a lower rate of correct rejections and a higher rate of filler identifications. Higher algorithmic similarity ratings were also associated with decreases in eyewitness identification accuracy. The results suggest that using facial matching software to select fillers from large photograph databases may reduce identification accuracy, and provides support for filler database size as a meaningful system variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Factors affecting rotator cuff healing.

PubMed

Mall, Nathan A; Tanaka, Miho J; Choi, Luke S; Paletta, George A

2014-05-07

Several studies have noted that increasing age is a significant factor for diminished rotator cuff healing, while biomechanical studies have suggested the reason for this may be an inferior healing environment in older patients. Larger tears and fatty infiltration or atrophy negatively affect rotator cuff healing. Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, double-row repairs, performing a concomitant acromioplasty, and the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) do not demonstrate an improvement in structural healing over mini-open rotator cuff repairs, single-row repairs, not performing an acromioplasty, or not using PRP. There is conflicting evidence to support postoperative rehabilitation protocols using early motion over immobilization following rotator cuff repair.

Factors affecting corticosteroid concentrations in yellow-bellied marmots.

PubMed

Armitage, K B

1991-01-01

1. Bound and total corticosteroid concentrations of yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) were lowest in May after emergence from hibernation and peaked in August prior to immergence. 2. Total corticosteroids were affected by age but not by sex or reproductive status. 3. There was no consistent relationship between measures of population density and concentrations of corticosteroids; when a significant relationship occurred, only 22-34% of the variation was explained. 4. Social status and social behavior were the major factors affecting corticosteroid concentrations.

Factors affecting Iran`s future. Final report

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

Sinai, J.

1993-05-28

This study examines the factors affecting Iran`s future by focusing on the demographic, economic, and military trends in Iran and their impact on the country`s national security objectives in the next decade. The paper also assesses the implications of an economic embargo on Iran and potential Iranian threats to regional and United States national interests.

Are Affective Factors a Good Predictor of Science Achievement? Examining the Role of Affective Factors Based on PISA 2006

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozel, Murat; Caglak, Serdar; Erdogan, Mehmet

2013-01-01

This study investigated how affective factors like attitude and motivation contribute to science achievement in PISA 2006 using linear structural modeling. The data set of PISA 2006 collected from 4942 fifteen-year-old Turkish students (2290 females, 2652 males) was used for the statistical analyses. A total of 42 selected items on a four point…

Quantifying the relative contributions of lexical and phonological factors to regular past tense accuracy

PubMed Central

Owen Van Horne, Amanda J.; Green Fager, Melanie

2015-01-01

Purpose Children with specific language impairment (SLI) frequently have difficulty producing the past tense. This study aimed to quantify the relative influence of telicity (i.e., the completedness of an event), verb frequency, and stem final phonemes on the production of past tense by school-age children with SLI and their typically-developing (TD) peers. Method Archival elicited production data from children with SLI between the ages of 6 and 9 and TD peers ages 4 to 8 were reanalyzed. Past tense accuracy was predicted using measures of telicity, verb frequency measures, and properties of the final consonant of the verb stem. Result All children were highly accurate when verbs were telic, the inflected form was frequently heard in the past tense, and the word ended in a sonorant/ non-alveolar consonant. All children were less accurate when verbs were atelic, rarely heard in the past tense, or ended in a word final obstruent or alveolar consonant. SLI status depressed overall accuracy rates, but did not influence how facilitative a given factor was. Conclusion Some factors that have been believed to be useful only when children are first discovering past tense, such as telicity, appear to be influential in later years as well. PMID:25879455

Factors affecting cardiac rehabilitation referral by physician specialty.

PubMed

Grace, Sherry L; Grewal, Keerat; Stewart, Donna E

2008-01-01

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is widely underutilized because of multiple factors including physician referral practices. Previous research has shown CR referral varies by type of provider, with cardiologists more likely to refer than primary care physicians. The objective of this study was to compare factors affecting CR referral in primary care physicians versus cardiac specialists. A cross-sectional survey of a stratified random sample of 510 primary care physicians and cardiac specialists (cardiologists or cardiovascular surgeons) in Ontario identified through the Canadian Medical Directory Online was administered. One hundred four primary care physicians and 81 cardiac specialists responded to the 26-item investigator-generated survey examining medical, demographic, attitudinal, and health system factors affecting CR referral. Primary care physicians were more likely to endorse lack of familiarity with CR site locations (P < .001), lack of standardized referral forms (P < .001), inconvenience (P = .04), program quality (P = .004), and lack of discharge communication from CR (P = .001) as factors negatively impacting CR referral practices than cardiac specialists. Cardiac specialists were significantly more likely to perceive that their colleagues and department would regularly refer patients to CR than primary care physicians (P < .001). Where differences emerged, primary care physicians were more likely to perceive factors that would impede CR referral, some of which are modifiable. Marketing CR site locations, provision of standardized referral forms, and ensuring discharge summaries are communicated to primary care physicians may improve their willingness to refer to CR.

Is Gaydar Affected by Attitudes Toward Homosexuality? Confidence, Labeling Bias, and Accuracy.

PubMed

Brewer, Gayle; Lyons, Minna

2017-01-01

Previous research has largely ignored the relationship between sexual orientation judgement accuracy, confidence, and attitudes toward homosexuality. In an online study, participants (N = 269) judged the sexual orientation of homosexual and heterosexual targets presented via a series of facial photographs. Participants also indicated their confidence in each judgment and completed the Modern Homonegativity Scale (Morrison & Morrison, 2002). We found that (1) homosexual men and heterosexual women were more accurate when judging photographs of women as opposed to photographs of men, and (2) in heterosexual men, negative attitudes toward homosexual men predicted confidence and bias when rating men's photographs. Findings indicate that homosexual men and heterosexual women are similar in terms of accuracy in judging women's sexuality. Further, especially in men, homophobia is associated with cognitive biases in labeling other men but does not have a relationship with increased accuracy.

Accuracy and speed feedback: Global and local effects on strategy use

PubMed Central

Touron, Dayna R.; Hertzog, Christopher

2013-01-01

Background Skill acquisition often involves a shift from an effortful algorithm-based strategy to more fluent memory-based performance. Older adults’ slower strategy transitions can be ascribed to both slowed learning and metacognitive factors. Experimenters often provide feedback on response accuracy; this emphasis may either inadvertently reinforce older adults’ conservatism or might highlight that retrieval is generally quite accurate. RT feedback can lead to more rapid shift to retrieval (Hertzog, Touron, & Hines, 2007). Methods This study parametrically varied trial-by-trial feedback to examine whether strategy shifts in the noun-pair task in younger (M = 19) and older adults (M = 67) were influenced by type of performance feedback: none, trial accuracy, trial RT, or both accuracy and RT. Results Older adults who received accuracy feedback retrieved more often, particularly on difficult rearranged trials, and participants who receive speed feedback performed the scanning strategy more quickly. Age differences were also obtained in local (trial-level) reactivity to task performance, but these were not affected by feedback. Conclusions Accuracy and speed feedback had distinct global (general) influences on task strategies and performance. In particular, it appears that the standard practice of providing trial-by-trial accuracy feedback might facilitate older adults’ use of retrieval strategies in skill acquisition tasks. PMID:24785594

Factors Affecting Radiologist's PACS Usage.

PubMed

Forsberg, Daniel; Rosipko, Beverly; Sunshine, Jeffrey L

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if any of the factors radiologist, examination category, time of week, and week effect PACS usage, with PACS usage defined as the sequential order of computer commands issued by a radiologist in a PACS during interpretation and dictation. We initially hypothesized that only radiologist and examination category would have significant effects on PACS usage. Command logs covering 8 weeks of PACS usage were analyzed. For each command trace (describing performed activities of an attending radiologist interpreting a single examination), the PACS usage variables number of commands, number of command classes, bigram repetitiveness, and time to read were extracted. Generalized linear models were used to determine the significance of the factors on the PACS usage variables. The statistical results confirmed the initial hypothesis that radiologist and examination category affect PACS usage and that the factors week and time of week to a large extent have no significant effect. As such, this work provides direction for continued efforts to analyze system data to better understand PACS utilization, which in turn can provide input to enable optimal utilization and configuration of corresponding systems. These continued efforts were, in this work, exemplified by a more detailed analysis using PACS usage profiles, which revealed insights directly applicable to improve PACS utilization through modified system configuration.

Cognitive Factors Affecting Freeze-like Behavior in Humans.

PubMed

Alban, Michael W; Pocknell, Victoria

2017-01-01

Contemporary research on survival-related defensive behaviors has identified physiological markers of freeze/flight/fight. Our research focused on cognitive factors associated with freeze-like behavior in humans. Study 1 tested if an explicit decision to freeze is associated with the psychophysiological state of freezing. Heart rate deceleration occurred when participants chose to freeze. Study 2 varied the efficacy of freezing relative to other defense options and found "freeze" was responsive to variations in the perceived effectiveness of alternative actions. Study 3 tested if individual differences in motivational orientation affect preference for a "freeze" option when the efficacy of options is held constant. A trend in the predicted direction suggested that naturally occurring cognitions led loss-avoiders to select "freeze" more often than reward-seekers. In combination, our attention to the cognitive factors affecting freeze-like behavior in humans represents a preliminary step in addressing an important but neglected research area.

Factors affecting the use of hardwood flooring in urban rehabilitation

Treesearch

Robert L. Jr. Nevel; Robert L. Jr. Nevel

1973-01-01

The continued use of hardwood flooring in urban rehabilitation is being threatened. A study of the influences that determine the choice of flooring indicates that economic, physical, or technological factors dominate. Most factors affecting the use of hardwood flooring are related to cost, availability, and compatibility. Of these factors, time and cost of installation...

Factors Affecting Sleep Quality of Patients in Intensive Care Unit

PubMed Central

Bihari, Shailesh; Doug McEvoy, R.; Matheson, Elisha; Kim, Susan; Woodman, Richard J.; Bersten, Andrew D.

2012-01-01

Introduction: Sleep disturbance is a frequently overlooked complication of intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Aim: To evaluate sleep quality among patients admitted to ICU and investigate environmental and non-environmental factors that affect sleep quality in ICU. Methods: Over a 22-month period, we consecutively recruited patients who spent ≥ 2 nights post-endotracheal extubation in ICU and who were orientated to time, place, and person on the day of discharge. Self-reported sleep quality, according to a modified Freedman questionnaire, which provided data on self-reported ICU sleep quality in ICU and environmental factors affecting sleep quality in the ICU, were collected. We also investigated non-environmental factors, such as severity of illness, ICU interventions, and medications that can affect sleep quality. Results: Fifty males and 50 females were recruited with a mean (± SD) age of 65.1 ± 15.2 years. APACHE II score at admission to ICU was 18.1 ± 7.5 with duration of stay 6.7 ± 6.5days. Self-reported sleep quality score at home (1 = worst; 10 = best) was 7.0 ± 2.2; this decreased to 4.0 ± 1.7 during their stay in ICU (p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis with APACHE III as severity of illness (R2 = 0.25), factors [exp(b)(95% CI), p value] which significantly affected sleep in ICU were sex [0.37(0.19-0.72), p < 0.01], age and sex interaction [1.02(1.01-1.03), p < 0.01], bedside phone [0.92(0.87-0.97), p < 0.01], prior quality of sleep at home [1.30(1.05-1.62), p = 0.02], and use of steroids [0.82(0.69-0.98), p = 0.03] during the stay in ICU. Conclusion: Reduced sleep quality is a common problem in ICU with a multifactorial etiology. Citation: Bihari S; McEvoy RD; Kim S; Woodman RJ; Bersten AD. Factors affecting sleep quality of patients in intensive care unit. J Clin Sleep Med 2012;8(3):301-307. PMID:22701388

An Analysis of Factors That Affect the Educational Performance of Agricultural Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenway, Gina

2012-01-01

Many factors contribute to student achievement. This study focuses on three areas: how students learn, how student personality type affects performance, and how course format affects performance outcomes. The analysis sought to improve understanding of the direction and magnitude with which each of these factors impacts student success. Improved…

Assessment of Factor Affecting Institutional Performance: The Case of Wolaita Sodo University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shibru, Sintayehu; Bibiso, Mesfin; Ousman, Kedir

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore factors that affect institutional performance of Wolaita Sodo University. The study has identified middle level manager's perceptions toward institutional performance to indicate the key factors that seem to affect the performance of the university. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and…

Theories of willpower affect sustained learning.

PubMed

Miller, Eric M; Walton, Gregory M; Dweck, Carol S; Job, Veronika; Trzesniewski, Kali H; McClure, Samuel M

2012-01-01

Building cognitive abilities often requires sustained engagement with effortful tasks. We demonstrate that beliefs about willpower-whether willpower is viewed as a limited or non-limited resource-impact sustained learning on a strenuous mental task. As predicted, beliefs about willpower did not affect accuracy or improvement during the initial phases of learning; however, participants who were led to view willpower as non-limited showed greater sustained learning over the full duration of the task. These findings highlight the interactive nature of motivational and cognitive processes: motivational factors can substantially affect people's ability to recruit their cognitive resources to sustain learning over time.

Overlay accuracy fundamentals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kandel, Daniel; Levinski, Vladimir; Sapiens, Noam; Cohen, Guy; Amit, Eran; Klein, Dana; Vakshtein, Irina

2012-03-01

Currently, the performance of overlay metrology is evaluated mainly based on random error contributions such as precision and TIS variability. With the expected shrinkage of the overlay metrology budget to < 0.5nm, it becomes crucial to include also systematic error contributions which affect the accuracy of the metrology. Here we discuss fundamental aspects of overlay accuracy and a methodology to improve accuracy significantly. We identify overlay mark imperfections and their interaction with the metrology technology, as the main source of overlay inaccuracy. The most important type of mark imperfection is mark asymmetry. Overlay mark asymmetry leads to a geometrical ambiguity in the definition of overlay, which can be ~1nm or less. It is shown theoretically and in simulations that the metrology may enhance the effect of overlay mark asymmetry significantly and lead to metrology inaccuracy ~10nm, much larger than the geometrical ambiguity. The analysis is carried out for two different overlay metrology technologies: Imaging overlay and DBO (1st order diffraction based overlay). It is demonstrated that the sensitivity of DBO to overlay mark asymmetry is larger than the sensitivity of imaging overlay. Finally, we show that a recently developed measurement quality metric serves as a valuable tool for improving overlay metrology accuracy. Simulation results demonstrate that the accuracy of imaging overlay can be improved significantly by recipe setup optimized using the quality metric. We conclude that imaging overlay metrology, complemented by appropriate use of measurement quality metric, results in optimal overlay accuracy.

Factors affecting onset of puberty in Denizli province in Turkey.

PubMed

Semiz, Serap; Kurt, Funda; Kurt, Devrim Tanil; Zencir, Mehmet; Sevinç, Ozgür

2009-01-01

The relationship between the possible factors affecting pubertal onset and pubertal timing was investigated in the Denizli province in Turkey. A total number of 3311 subjects (1562 girls, 1749 boys) aged 6-16.5 years participated in this study. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Pubertal stages were assessed according to methods of Marshall and Tanner. Testicular volume was determined using Prader orchidometer. Menarcheal age was recorded. All parents and students completed different questionnaires on demographic variables affecting pubertal timing such as socioeconomic conditions, psychosocial factors, exercise, nutritional status, chronic diseases, migration and birth weight. Using distribution percentiles of pubertal stages according to age, the relation between pubertal timing and factors affecting puberty was investigated. There was no significant association between exercise, birth weight, migration, chronic disease, and socioeconomic status and age of puberty onset. Menarcheal age of overweight and obese girls was significantly lower than that of girls with normal weight. In-family stress was the cause of early puberty in girls and of delayed puberty in boys.

Factors affecting the periapical healing process of endodontically treated teeth.

PubMed

Holland, Roberto; Gomes, João Eduardo; Cintra, Luciano Tavares Angelo; Queiroz, Índia Olinta de Azevedo; Estrela, Carlos

2017-01-01

Tissue repair is an essential process that reestablishes tissue integrity and regular function. Nevertheless, different therapeutic factors and clinical conditions may interfere in this process of periapical healing. This review aims to discuss the important therapeutic factors associated with the clinical protocol used during root canal treatment and to highlight the systemic conditions associated with the periapical healing process of endodontically treated teeth. The antibacterial strategies indicated in the conventional treatment of an inflamed and infected pulp and the modulation of the host's immune response may assist in tissue repair, if wound healing has been hindered by infection. Systemic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension, can also inhibit wound healing. The success of root canal treatment is affected by the correct choice of clinical protocol. These factors are dependent on the sanitization process (instrumentation, irrigant solution, irrigating strategies, and intracanal dressing), the apical limit of the root canal preparation and obturation, and the quality of the sealer. The challenges affecting the healing process of endodontically treated teeth include control of the inflammation of pulp or infectious processes and simultaneous neutralization of unpredictable provocations to the periapical tissue. Along with these factors, one must understand the local and general clinical conditions (systemic health of the patient) that affect the outcome of root canal treatment prediction.

Nurse aide decision making in nursing homes: factors affecting empowerment.

PubMed

Chaudhuri, Tanni; Yeatts, Dale E; Cready, Cynthia M

2013-09-01

To evaluate factors affecting structural empowerment among nurse aides in nursing homes. Structural empowerment can be defined as the actual rather than perceived ability to make autonomous decisions within an organisation. Given the paucity of research on the subject, this study helps to close the gap by identifying factors that affect nurse aide empowerment, that is, decision-making among nurse aides. The data for the study come from self-administered questionnaires distributed to direct-care workers (nurse aides) in 11 nursing homes in a southern state in the USA. Ordinary least square regression models were estimated to analyse the effects of demographic predictors, personal factors (competency, emotional exhaustion and positive attitude) and structural characteristics (coworker and supervisor support, information availability and shared governance) on nurse aide decision-making. Findings suggest race among demographic predictors, emotional exhaustion among personal characteristics, and supervisor support, and shared governance among structural factors, significantly affect nurse aide decision-making. It is important to explore race as one of the central determinants of structural empowerment among nurse aides. In addition, the nature and type of emotional exhaustion that propels decision-making needs to be further examined. The study shows the importance of shared governance and supervisor support for fostering nurse aide empowerment. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Nutritional Factors Affecting Adult Neurogenesis and Cognitive Function

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Adult neurogenesis, a complex process by which stem cells in the hippocampal brain region differentiate and proliferate into new neurons and other resident brain cells, is known to be affected by many intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including diet. Neurogenesis plays a critical role in neural plas...

Evaluation of factors affecting CGMS calibration.

PubMed

Buckingham, Bruce A; Kollman, Craig; Beck, Roy; Kalajian, Andrea; Fiallo-Scharer, Rosanna; Tansey, Michael J; Fox, Larry A; Wilson, Darrell M; Weinzimer, Stuart A; Ruedy, Katrina J; Tamborlane, William V

2006-06-01

The optimal number/timing of calibrations entered into the CGMS (Medtronic MiniMed, Northridge, CA) continuous glucose monitoring system have not been previously described. Fifty subjects with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (10-18 years old) were hospitalized in a clinical research center for approximately 24 h on two separate days. CGMS and OneTouch Ultra meter (LifeScan, Milpitas, CA) data were obtained. The CGMS was retrospectively recalibrated using the Ultra data varying the number and timing of calibrations. Resulting CGMS values were compared against laboratory reference values. There was a modest improvement in accuracy with increasing number of calibrations. The median relative absolute deviation (RAD) was 14%, 15%, 13%, and 13% when using three, four, five, and seven calibration values, respectively (P < 0.001). Corresponding percentages of CGMS-reference pairs meeting the International Organisation for Standardisation criteria were 66%, 67%, 71%, and 72% (P < 0.001). Nighttime accuracy improved when daytime calibrations (pre-lunch and pre-dinner) were removed leaving only two calibrations at 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. (median difference, -2 vs. -9 mg/dL, P < 0.001; median RAD, 12% vs. 15%, P = 0.001). Accuracy was better on visits where the average absolute rate of glucose change at the times of calibration was lower. On visits with average absolute rates <0.5, 0.5 to <1.0, 1.0 to <1.5, and >or=1.5 mg/dL/min, median RAD values were 13% versus 14% versus 17% versus 19%, respectively (P = 0.05). Although accuracy is slightly improved with more calibrations, the timing of the calibrations appears more important. Modifying the algorithm to put less weight on daytime calibrations for nighttime values and calibrating during times of relative glucose stability may have greater impact on accuracy.

Evaluation of Factors Affecting CGMS Calibration

PubMed Central

2006-01-01

Background The optimal number/timing of calibrations entered into the Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (“CGMS”; Medtronic MiniMed, Northridge, CA) have not been previously described. Methods Fifty subjects with T1DM (10–18y) were hospitalized in a clinical research center for ~24h on two separate days. CGMS and OneTouch® Ultra® Meter (“Ultra”; LifeScan, Milpitas, CA) data were obtained. The CGMS was retrospectively recalibrated using the Ultra data varying the number and timing of calibrations. Resulting CGMS values were compared against laboratory reference values. Results There was a modest improvement in accuracy with increasing number of calibrations. The median relative absolute deviation (RAD) was 14%, 15%, 13% and 13% when using 3, 4, 5 and 7 calibration values, respectively (p<0.001). Corresponding percentages of CGMS-reference pairs meeting the ISO criteria were 66%, 67%, 71% and 72% (p<0.001). Nighttime accuracy improved when daytime calibrations (pre-lunch and pre-dinner) were removed leaving only two calibrations at 9p.m. and 6a.m. (median difference: −2 vs. −9mg/dL, p<0.001; median RAD: 12% vs. 15%, p=0.001). Accuracy was better on visits where the average absolute rate of glucose change at the times of calibration was lower. On visits with average absolute rates <0.5, 0.5-<1.0, 1.0-<1.5 and ≥1.5mg/dL/min, median RAD values were 13% vs. 14% vs. 17% vs. 19%, respectively (p=0.05). Conclusions Although accuracy is slightly improved with more calibrations, the timing of the calibrations appears more important. Modifying the algorithm to put less weight on daytime calibrations for nighttime values and calibrating during times of relative glucose stability may have greater impact on accuracy. PMID:16800753

The key factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheung, Derek

2018-01-01

Individual interest in school science lessons can be defined as a relatively stable and enduring personal emotion comprising affective and behavioural reactions to events in the regular science lessons at school. Little research has compared the importance of different factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons. The present study aimed to address this gap, using a mixed methods design. Qualitative interview data were collected from 60 Hong Kong junior secondary school students, who were asked to describe the nature of their interest in science lessons and the factors to which they attribute this. Teacher interviews, parent interviews, and classroom observations were conducted to triangulate student interview data. Five factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons were identified: situational influences in science lessons, individual interest in science, science self-concept, grade level, and gender. Quantitative data were then collected from 591 students using a questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was applied to test a hypothesised model, which provided an acceptable fit to the student data. The strongest factor affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons was science self-concept, followed by individual interest in science and situational influences in science lessons. Grade level and gender were found to be nonsignificant factors. These findings suggest that teachers should pay special attention to the association between academic self-concept and interest if they want to motivate students to learn science at school.

ShinyGPAS: interactive genomic prediction accuracy simulator based on deterministic formulas.

PubMed

Morota, Gota

2017-12-20

Deterministic formulas for the accuracy of genomic predictions highlight the relationships among prediction accuracy and potential factors influencing prediction accuracy prior to performing computationally intensive cross-validation. Visualizing such deterministic formulas in an interactive manner may lead to a better understanding of how genetic factors control prediction accuracy. The software to simulate deterministic formulas for genomic prediction accuracy was implemented in R and encapsulated as a web-based Shiny application. Shiny genomic prediction accuracy simulator (ShinyGPAS) simulates various deterministic formulas and delivers dynamic scatter plots of prediction accuracy versus genetic factors impacting prediction accuracy, while requiring only mouse navigation in a web browser. ShinyGPAS is available at: https://chikudaisei.shinyapps.io/shinygpas/ . ShinyGPAS is a shiny-based interactive genomic prediction accuracy simulator using deterministic formulas. It can be used for interactively exploring potential factors that influence prediction accuracy in genome-enabled prediction, simulating achievable prediction accuracy prior to genotyping individuals, or supporting in-class teaching. ShinyGPAS is open source software and it is hosted online as a freely available web-based resource with an intuitive graphical user interface.

75 FR 80114 - Agency Information Collection (Obligation To Report Factors Affecting Entitlement) Activity Under...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-21

... (Obligation To Report Factors Affecting Entitlement) Activity Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans Benefits... Report Factors Affecting Entitlement (38 CFR 3.204(a)(1), 38 CFR 3.256(a) and 38 CFR 3.277(b)). OMB... benefits must report changes in their entitlement factors. Individual factors such as income, marital...

Factors Affecting Students' Grades in Principles of Economics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kara, Orhan; Bagheri, Fathollah; Tolin, Thomas

2009-01-01

Factors affecting students' grades in principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics students are analyzed from the data collected in two public universities. Results indicate that gender, number of hours worked, SAT scores, number of missed classes, recommending the course to a friend, instructors, being a junior, number of economics courses…

Assessing and Ensuring GOES-R Magnetometer Accuracy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carter, Delano R.; Todirita, Monica; Kronenwetter, Jeffrey; Chu, Donald

2016-01-01

The GOES-R magnetometer subsystem accuracy requirement is 1.7 nanoteslas (nT). During quiet times (100 nT), accuracy is defined as absolute mean plus 3 sigma. During storms (300 nT), accuracy is defined as absolute mean plus 2 sigma. Error comes both from outside the magnetometers, e.g. spacecraft fields and misalignments, as well as inside, e.g. zero offset and scale factor errors. Because zero offset and scale factor drift over time, it will be necessary to perform annual calibration maneuvers. To predict performance before launch, we have used Monte Carlo simulations and covariance analysis. Both behave as expected, and their accuracy predictions agree within 30%. With the proposed calibration regimen, both suggest that the GOES-R magnetometer subsystem will meet its accuracy requirements.

Systematic review of factors affecting pharmaceutical expenditures.

PubMed

Mousnad, Mohamed Awad; Shafie, Asrul Akmal; Ibrahim, Mohamed Izham

2014-06-01

To systematically identify the main factors contributing to the increase in pharmaceutical expenditures. A systematic search of published studies was conducted utilising major widely used electronic databases using the search terms 'factors,' 'financing,' 'pharmaceutical,' and 'expenditures.' To be included, the studies needed to: (1) measure at least one of the following outcomes: total growth in pharmaceutical expenditures, price growth or quantity growth; (2) mention a clear method for analysing the impact of factors affecting the increases in drug expenditures; (3) be written in English. Nonprimary articles that were published only as an abstract, a review, a commentary or a letter were excluded. From a total of 2039 studies, only 25 were included in the full review. The main determinant categories that were identified in the review were factors related to price, utilisation, therapeutic choice, demand and health care system. The major cost drivers were found to be changes in drug quantities and therapies as well as new drugs. It is important for policymakers to understand pharmaceutical spending trends and the factors that influence them in order to formulate effective cost containment strategies and design optimum drug policy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Key factors affecting dying children and their families.

PubMed

Hinds, Pamela S; Schum, Lisa; Baker, Justin N; Wolfe, Joanne

2005-01-01

The death of a child alters the life and health of others immediately and for the rest of their lives. How a child dies influences parents' abilities to continue their role functions as well as siblings' abilities to make and maintain friendships, and may be the basis for health care providers' decisions to exit direct care roles. Thus, facilitating a "good death"-an obvious care priority for all involved with the dying child-ought also to be a priority for the health of bereaved families and affected health care providers. Making this a care priority is complicated by a serious lack of data, as details of the last hours or weeks of a dying child or adolescent's life are largely unknown. The purpose of this paper is to identify key factors that affect the course of dying children and adolescents and that of their bereaved survivors, and to link those key factors to needed research that could produce clinically relevant findings to improve the care of these patients. Key factors described here include suffering (physical, psychological, and spiritual), communication, decision making, prognostic ambiguities, ability of the seriously ill child to give assent to research participation, and educational preparation of health care providers to give competent end-of-life care.

Genetic factors affecting dental caries risk.

PubMed

Opal, S; Garg, S; Jain, J; Walia, I

2015-03-01

This article reviews the literature on genetic aspects of dental caries and provides a framework for the rapidly changing disease model of caries. The scope is genetic aspects of various dental factors affecting dental caries. The PubMed database was searched for articles with keywords 'caries', 'genetics', 'taste', 'diet' and 'twins'. This was followed by extensive handsearching using reference lists from relevant articles. The post-genomic era will present many opportunities for improvement in oral health care but will also present a multitude of challenges. We can conclude from the literature that genes have a role to play in dental caries; however, both environmental and genetic factors have been implicated in the aetiology of caries. Additional studies will have to be conducted to replicate the findings in a different population. Identification of genetic risk factors will help screen and identify susceptible patients to better understand the contribution of genes in caries aetiopathogenesis. Information derived from these diverse studies will provide new tools to target individuals and/or populations for a more efficient and effective implementation of newer preventive measures and diagnostic and novel therapeutic approaches in the management of this disease. © 2015 Australian Dental Association.

Factors affecting sustainability of rural water schemes in Swaziland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, Graciana; Nkambule, Sizwe E.

The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to reduce the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by the year 2015 has been met as of 2010, but huge disparities exist. Some regions, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa are lagging behind it is also in this region where up to 30% of the rural schemes are not functional at any given time. There is need for more studies on factors affecting sustainability and necessary measures which when implemented will improve the sustainability of rural water schemes. The main objective of this study was to assess the main factors affecting the sustainability of rural water schemes in Swaziland using a Multi-Criteria Analysis Approach. The main factors considered were: financial, social, technical, environmental and institutional. The study was done in Lubombo region. Fifteen functional water schemes in 11 communities were studied. Data was collected using questionnaires, checklist and focused group discussion guide. A total of 174 heads of households were interviewed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data and to calculate sustainability scores for water schemes. SPSS was also used to classify sustainability scores according to sustainability categories: sustainable, partially sustainable and non-sustainable. The averages of the ratings for the different sub-factors studied and the results on the sustainability scores for the sustainable, partially sustainable and non-sustainable schemes were then computed and compared to establish the main factors influencing sustainability of the water schemes. The results indicated technical and social factors as most critical while financial and institutional, although important, played a lesser role. Factors which contributed to the sustainability of water schemes were: functionality; design flow; water fetching time; ability to meet additional demand; use by population; equity; participation in decision making on operation and

Factors Affecting Online Groupwork Interest: A Multilevel Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Du, Jianxia; Xu, Jianzhong; Fan, Xitao

2013-01-01

The purpose of the present study is to examine the personal and contextual factors that may affect students' online groupwork interest. Using the data obtained from graduate students in an online course, both student- and group-level predictors for online groupwork interest were analyzed within the framework of hierarchical linear modeling…

Factors Affecting the Technology Readiness of Health Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Stephanie E.

2010-01-01

Federal government policies are promoting diffusion of technologies into the healthcare system. If health professionals reject the new technologies planned for the healthcare system, it could result in costly failures, delays, and workforce problems. There is a lack of knowledge about factors that affect technology readiness (TR), defined as the…

SU-F-J-205: Effect of Cone Beam Factor On Cone Beam CT Number Accuracy

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

Yao, W; Hua, C; Farr, J

Purpose: To examine the suitability of a Catphan™ 700 phantom for image quality QA of a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) system deployed for proton therapy. Methods: Catphan phantoms, particularly Catphan™ 504, are commonly used in image quality QA for CBCT. As a newer product, Catphan™ 700 offers more tissue equivalent inserts which may be useful for generating the electron density – CT number curve for CBCT based treatment planning. The sensitometry-and-geometry module used in Catphan™ 700 is located at the end of the phantom and after the resolution line pair module. In Catphan™ 504 the line pair module ismore » located at the end of the phantom and after the sensitometry-and-geometry module. To investigate the effect of difference in location on CT number accuracy due to the cone beam factor, we scanned the Catphan™ 700 with the central plane of CBCT at the center of the phantom, line pair and sensitometry-andgeometry modules of the phantom, respectively. The protocol head and thorax scan modes were used. For each position, scans were repeated 4 times. Results: For the head scan mode, the standard deviation (SD) of the CT numbers of each insert under 4 repeated scans was up to 20 HU, 11 HU, and 11 HU, respectively, for the central plane of CBCT located at the center of the phantom, line pair, and sensitometry-and-geometry modules of the phantom. The mean of the SD was 9.9 HU, 5.7 HU, and 5.9 HU, respectively. For the thorax mode, the mean of the SD was 4.5 HU, 4.4 HU, and 4.4 HU, respectively. The assessment of image quality based on resolution and spatial linearity was not affected by imaging location changes. Conclusion: When the Catphan™ 700 was aligned to the center of imaging region, the CT number accuracy test may not meet expectations. We recommend reconfiguration of the modules.« less

Factors affecting receipt of chemotherapy in women with breast cancer

PubMed Central

Morimoto, Libby; Coalson, Jenna; Mowat, Fionna; O’Malley, Cynthia

2010-01-01

Aims: To review literature describing factors associated with receipt of chemotherapy for breast cancer, to better understand what factors are most relevant to women’s health and whether health disparities are apparent, and to assess how these factors might affect observational studies and outcomes research. Patterns of care for metastatic breast cancer, for which no standard-of-care exists, were of particular interest. Methods: Relevant studies written in English, Italian, French, or Spanish, published in 2000 or later, were identified through MEDLINE and reviewed. Review articles and clinical trials were excluded; all observational studies and surveys were considered. Articles were reviewed for any discussion of patient characteristics, hospital/physician/insurance characteristics, psychosocial characteristics, and clinical characteristics affecting receipt of chemotherapy by breast cancer patients. Results: In general, factors associated with increased likelihood of receiving chemotherapy included younger age, being Caucasian, having good general health and few co-morbidities, having more severe clinical disease, having responded well to previous treatment, and having breast cancer that is estrogen- or progesterone-receptor-negative. Many of the clinical factors found to increase the likelihood of receiving chemotherapy were consistent with current oncology guidelines. Of the relevant 19 studies identified, only six (32%) reported data specific to metastatic cancer; most studies aggregated women with stage I–IV for purposes of analysis. Conclusion: Studies of patterns of care in breast cancer treatment can help identify challenges in health care provided to particular subgroups of women and can aid researchers in designing studies that account for such factors in clinical and outcomes research. Although scarce, studies evaluating only women with metastatic breast cancer indicate that factors affecting decisions related to receipt of chemotherapy are similar

Investigation on the Accuracy of Superposition Predictions of Film Cooling Effectiveness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Tong; Zhu, Hui-ren; Liu, Cun-liang; Wei, Jian-sheng

2018-05-01

Film cooling effectiveness on flat plates with double rows of holes has been studied experimentally and numerically in this paper. This configuration is widely used to simulate the multi-row film cooling on turbine vane. Film cooling effectiveness of double rows of holes and each single row was used to study the accuracy of superposition predictions. Method of stable infrared measurement technique was used to measure the surface temperature on the flat plate. This paper analyzed the factors that affect the film cooling effectiveness including hole shape, hole arrangement, row-to-row spacing and blowing ratio. Numerical simulations were performed to analyze the flow structure and film cooling mechanisms between each film cooling row. Results show that the blowing ratio within the range of 0.5 to 2 has a significant influence on the accuracy of superposition predictions. At low blowing ratios, results obtained by superposition method agree well with the experimental data. While at high blowing ratios, the accuracy of superposition prediction decreases. Another significant factor is hole arrangement. Results obtained by superposition prediction are nearly the same as experimental values of staggered arrangement structures. For in-line configurations, the superposition values of film cooling effectiveness are much higher than experimental data. For different hole shapes, the accuracy of superposition predictions on converging-expanding holes is better than cylinder holes and compound angle holes. For two different hole spacing structures in this paper, predictions show good agreement with the experiment results.

Factors affecting the periapical healing process of endodontically treated teeth

PubMed Central

Holland, Roberto; Gomes, João Eduardo; Cintra, Luciano Tavares Angelo; Queiroz, Índia Olinta de Azevedo; Estrela, Carlos

2017-01-01

Abstract Tissue repair is an essential process that reestablishes tissue integrity and regular function. Nevertheless, different therapeutic factors and clinical conditions may interfere in this process of periapical healing. This review aims to discuss the important therapeutic factors associated with the clinical protocol used during root canal treatment and to highlight the systemic conditions associated with the periapical healing process of endodontically treated teeth. The antibacterial strategies indicated in the conventional treatment of an inflamed and infected pulp and the modulation of the host's immune response may assist in tissue repair, if wound healing has been hindered by infection. Systemic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension, can also inhibit wound healing. The success of root canal treatment is affected by the correct choice of clinical protocol. These factors are dependent on the sanitization process (instrumentation, irrigant solution, irrigating strategies, and intracanal dressing), the apical limit of the root canal preparation and obturation, and the quality of the sealer. The challenges affecting the healing process of endodontically treated teeth include control of the inflammation of pulp or infectious processes and simultaneous neutralization of unpredictable provocations to the periapical tissue. Along with these factors, one must understand the local and general clinical conditions (systemic health of the patient) that affect the outcome of root canal treatment prediction. PMID:29069143

Factors affecting outcome in ocular myasthenia gravis.

PubMed

Mazzoli, Marco; Ariatti, Alessandra; Valzania, Franco; Kaleci, Shaniko; Tondelli, Manuela; Nichelli, Paolo F; Galassi, Giuliana

2018-01-01

50%-60% of patients with ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) progress to generalized myasthenia gravis (GMG) within two years. The aim of our study was to explore factors affecting prognosis of OMG and to test the predictive role of several independent clinical variables. We reviewed a cohort of 168 Caucasian patients followed from September 2000 to January 2016. Several independent variables were considered as prognostic factors: gender, age of onset, results on electrophysiological tests, presence and level of antibodies against acetylcholine receptors (AChR Abs), treatments, thymic abnormalities. The primary outcome was the progression to GMG and/or the presence of bulbar symptoms. Secondary outcomes were either achievement of sustained minimal manifestation status or worsening in ocular quantitative MG subscore (O-QMGS) or worsening in total QMG score (T-QMGS), assessed by Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) quantitative scores. Changes in mental and physical subscores of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were assessed with SF-36 questionnaire. Variance analysis was used to interpret the differences between AChR Ab titers at different times of follow up among the generalized and non-generalized patients. Conversion to GMG occurred in 18.4% of patients; it was significantly associated with sex, later onset of disease and anti-AChR Ab positivity. Antibody titer above the mean value of 25.8 pmol/mL showed no significant effect on generalization. Sex and late onset of disease significantly affected T-QMGS worsening. None of the other independent variables significantly affected O-QMGS and HRQoL. Sex, later onset and anti-AChR Ab positivity were significantly associated with clinical worsening.

On the Accuracy of Probabilistic Bucking Load Prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arbocz, Johann; Starnes, James H.; Nemeth, Michael P.

2001-01-01

The buckling strength of thin-walled stiffened or unstiffened, metallic or composite shells is of major concern in aeronautical and space applications. The difficulty to predict the behavior of axially compressed thin-walled cylindrical shells continues to worry design engineers as we enter the third millennium. Thanks to extensive research programs in the late sixties and early seventies and the contributions of many eminent scientists, it is known that buckling strength calculations are affected by the uncertainties in the definition of the parameters of the problem such as definition of loads, material properties, geometric variables, edge support conditions, and the accuracy of the engineering models and analysis tools used in the design phase. The NASA design criteria monographs from the late sixties account for these design uncertainties by the use of a lump sum safety factor. This so-called 'empirical knockdown factor gamma' usually results in overly conservative design. Recently new reliability based probabilistic design procedure for buckling critical imperfect shells have been proposed. It essentially consists of a stochastic approach which introduces an improved 'scientific knockdown factor lambda(sub a)', that is not as conservative as the traditional empirical one. In order to incorporate probabilistic methods into a High Fidelity Analysis Approach one must be able to assess the accuracy of the various steps that must be executed to complete a reliability calculation. In the present paper the effect of size of the experimental input sample on the predicted value of the scientific knockdown factor lambda(sub a) calculated by the First-Order, Second-Moment Method is investigated.

Factors affecting sexual function in menopause: A review article.

PubMed

Nazarpour, Soheila; Simbar, Masoumeh; Tehrani, Fahimeh Ramezani

2016-08-01

This study aimed to systematically review the articles on factors affecting sexual function during menopause. Searching articles indexed in Pubmed, Science Direct, Iranmedex, EMBASE, Scopus, and Scientific Information Database databases, a total number of 42 studies published between 2003 and 2013 were selected. Age, estrogen deficiency, type of menopause, chronic medical problems, partner's sex problems, severity of menopause symptoms, dystocia history, and health status were the physical factors influencing sexual function of menopausal women. There were conflicting results regarding the amount of androgens, hormonal therapy, exercise/physical activity, and obstetric history. In the mental-emotional area, all studies confirmed the impact of depression and anxiety. Social factors, including smoking, alcohol consumption, the quality of relationship with husband, partner's loyalty, sexual knowledge, access to health care, a history of divorce or the death of a husband, living apart from a spouse, and a negative understanding of women's health were found to affect sexual function; however, there were conflicting results regarding the effects of education, occupation, socioeconomic status, marital duration, and frequency of sexual intercourse. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Accuracy and Confidence of Visual Short-Term Memory Do Not Go Hand-In-Hand: Behavioral and Neural Dissociations

PubMed Central

Bona, Silvia; Silvanto, Juha

2014-01-01

Currently influential models of working memory posit that memory content is highly accessible to conscious inspection. These models predict that metacognition of memory performance should go hand-in-hand with the accuracy of the underlying memory representation. To test this view, we investigated how visual information presented during the maintenance period affects VSTM accuracy and confidence. We used a delayed cue–target orientation discrimination task in which participants were asked to hold in memory a grating, and during the maintenance period a second memory cue could be presented. VSTM accuracy of the first memory cue was impaired when the orientation of the second memory cue was sufficiently different. However, participants' response confidence was reduced whenever the second memory cue was presented; thus VSTM accuracy and confidence were dissociated. In a second experiment, we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to investigate the causal role of this region in VSTM metacognition. Relative to the sham condition, anodal tDCS induced a general reduction in confidence ratings but did not affect VSTM accuracy. Overall, these results indicate that our metacognition of memory performance is influenced by factors other than the accuracy of the underlying memory representation. PMID:24663094

Accuracy and confidence of visual short-term memory do not go hand-in-hand: behavioral and neural dissociations.

PubMed

Bona, Silvia; Silvanto, Juha

2014-01-01

Currently influential models of working memory posit that memory content is highly accessible to conscious inspection. These models predict that metacognition of memory performance should go hand-in-hand with the accuracy of the underlying memory representation. To test this view, we investigated how visual information presented during the maintenance period affects VSTM accuracy and confidence. We used a delayed cue-target orientation discrimination task in which participants were asked to hold in memory a grating, and during the maintenance period a second memory cue could be presented. VSTM accuracy of the first memory cue was impaired when the orientation of the second memory cue was sufficiently different. However, participants' response confidence was reduced whenever the second memory cue was presented; thus VSTM accuracy and confidence were dissociated. In a second experiment, we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to investigate the causal role of this region in VSTM metacognition. Relative to the sham condition, anodal tDCS induced a general reduction in confidence ratings but did not affect VSTM accuracy. Overall, these results indicate that our metacognition of memory performance is influenced by factors other than the accuracy of the underlying memory representation.

Analysis on factors affecting consumers decision on purchasing simple-type houses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rumintang, A.; Sholichin, I.

2018-01-01

In line with the increase of the population and the need of comfortable houses, as affected by modernization era, the house demand is getting higher. Hence, conducting a research on consumers need and want in buying a house should be seriously attempted to succeed marketing activity. Using an analysis consumers’ behavior, the researcher will know few affecting factors related to consumers’ satisfaction in buying a house. Among other, the factors in question include: house price, house condition, facilities, location and accessability. The sample of this research was drawn from the residents of Graha Asri Housing, Taman Bulang Permai, and Sukodono Permai. Based on the analysis and discussion, some conclusions are made as follow: the factors and variables affecting the consumers’ decision on each choice of house is different and also the same variables on three sources of data include housing atmosphere, cleaning service, ease of access to shopping center, health clinics or hospitals, tourism spot, schools, and the bus station.

Voice Identification: Levels-of-Processing and the Relationship between Prior Description Accuracy and Recognition Accuracy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walter, Todd J.

A study examined whether a person's ability to accurately identify a voice is influenced by factors similar to those proposed by the Supreme Court for eyewitness identification accuracy. In particular, the Supreme Court has suggested that a person's prior description accuracy of a suspect, degree of attention to a suspect, and confidence in…

14 CFR Appendix B to Part 1215 - Factors Affecting Standard Charges

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... DATA RELAY SATELLITE SYSTEM (TDRSS) Pt. 1215, App. B Appendix B to Part 1215—Factors Affecting Standard Charges Charges for services shall be determined by multiplying the factors below by the base rates for...

Other Factors That Affect Heart Disease: Birth Control Pills

MedlinePlus

... Heart Handbook for Women Other Factors That Affect Heart Disease Birth Control Pills Studies show that women who ... t had any more complications because of my heart disease." — Diane Pay attention to diabetes. Levels of glucose, ...

Reappraising factors affecting mourning dove perch coos

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sayre, M.W.; Atkinson, R.D.; Baskett, T.S.; Haas, G.H.

1978-01-01

Results confirmed pairing as the primary factor influencing perch-cooing rates of wild mourning doves (Zenaida macroura). Marked unmated males cooed at substantially higher rates (6.2x) than mated males, had greater probability of cooing (2.3x) during 3-minute periods, and continued cooing longer each morning than mated males. Population density was not a major factor affecting cooing. Unmated males cooed more frequently in the presence of other cooing doves (P < 0.05) than when alone, but the number of additional doves above 1 was unimportant. Cooing rates of both mated and unmated males on areas with dissimilar dove densities were not significantly different. Within limits of standard call-count procedure, weather exerted no detectable influence on cooing.

Organisational Factors Affecting Policy and Programme Decision Making in a Public Health Policy Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zardo, Pauline; Collie, Alex; Livingstone, Charles

2015-01-01

Organisational factors can affect the success of interventions aimed at increasing research use. Research is needed to identify organisational factors affecting research use in specific public health policy contexts. Qualitative interviews with decision makers from a specific public health context identified a range of organisational factors that…

Factors affecting dental service quality.

PubMed

Bahadori, Mohammadkarim; Raadabadi, Mehdi; Ravangard, Ramin; Baldacchino, Donia

2015-01-01

Measuring dental clinic service quality is the first and most important factor in improving care. The quality provided plays an important role in patient satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors affecting dental service quality from the patients' viewpoint. This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted in a dental clinic in Tehran between January and June 2014. A sample of 385 patients was selected from two work shifts using stratified sampling proportional to size and simple random sampling methods. The data were collected, a self-administered questionnaire designed for the purpose of the study, based on the Parasuraman and Zeithaml's model of service quality which consisted of two parts: the patients' demographic characteristics and a 30-item questionnaire to measure the five dimensions of the service quality. The collected data were analysed using SPSS 21.0 and Amos 18.0 through some descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, as well as analytical methods, including confirmatory factor. Results showed that the correlation coefficients for all dimensions were higher than 0.5. In this model, assurance (regression weight=0.99) and tangibility (regression weight=0.86) had, respectively, the highest and lowest effects on dental service quality. The Parasuraman and Zeithaml's model is suitable to measure quality in dental services. The variables related to dental services quality have been made according to the model. This is a pioneering study that uses Parasuraman and Zeithaml's model and CFA in a dental setting. This study provides useful insights and guidance for dental service quality assurance.

Exploring Factors that Affect Purchase Intention of Athletic Team Merchandise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Donghun; Trail, Galen T.; Lee, Cindy; Schoenstedt, Linda J.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to test a structural model to determine which psychosocial constructs affected the purchase intention of athletic team merchandise (ATM). Results from the analyses indicated that the twelve-factor ATM model fit the data from collegiate athletic events well, explaining the various impact factors that lead to purchase…

Theories of Willpower Affect Sustained Learning

PubMed Central

Miller, Eric M.; Walton, Gregory M.; Dweck, Carol S.; Job, Veronika; Trzesniewski, Kali H.; McClure, Samuel M.

2012-01-01

Building cognitive abilities often requires sustained engagement with effortful tasks. We demonstrate that beliefs about willpower–whether willpower is viewed as a limited or non-limited resource–impact sustained learning on a strenuous mental task. As predicted, beliefs about willpower did not affect accuracy or improvement during the initial phases of learning; however, participants who were led to view willpower as non-limited showed greater sustained learning over the full duration of the task. These findings highlight the interactive nature of motivational and cognitive processes: motivational factors can substantially affect people’s ability to recruit their cognitive resources to sustain learning over time. PMID:22745675

Factors Influencing Science Content Accuracy in Elementary Inquiry Science Lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowicki, Barbara L.; Sullivan-Watts, Barbara; Shim, Minsuk K.; Young, Betty; Pockalny, Robert

2013-06-01

Elementary teachers face increasing demands to engage children in authentic science process and argument while simultaneously preparing them with knowledge of science facts, vocabulary, and concepts. This reform is particularly challenging due to concerns that elementary teachers lack adequate science background to teach science accurately. This study examined 81 in-classroom inquiry science lessons for preservice education majors and their cooperating teachers to determine the accuracy of the science content delivered in elementary classrooms. Our results showed that 74 % of experienced teachers and 50 % of student teachers presented science lessons with greater than 90 % accuracy. Eleven of the 81 lessons (9 preservice, 2 cooperating teachers) failed to deliver accurate science content to the class. Science content accuracy was highly correlated with the use of kit-based resources supported with professional development, a preference for teaching science, and grade level. There was no correlation between the accuracy of science content and some common measures of teacher content knowledge (i.e., number of college science courses, science grades, or scores on a general science content test). Our study concluded that when provided with high quality curricular materials and targeted professional development, elementary teachers learn needed science content and present it accurately to their students.

29 CFR 784.118 - The exemption is intended for work affected by natural factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 29 Labor 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false The exemption is intended for work affected by natural...(a)(5) Exemption § 784.118 The exemption is intended for work affected by natural factors. As... that are controlled or materially affected by natural factors or elements, such as the vicissitudes of...

29 CFR 784.118 - The exemption is intended for work affected by natural factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false The exemption is intended for work affected by natural...(a)(5) Exemption § 784.118 The exemption is intended for work affected by natural factors. As... that are controlled or materially affected by natural factors or elements, such as the vicissitudes of...

Formal Classroom Observations: Factors That Affect Their Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zaidi, Zeba

2017-01-01

Formal class room observation is a very delicate topic in any educational institution. It involves a series of emotions and sentiments that come with the package. In this paper, the researcher will attempt to analyze the factors that affect the process in a relatively significant manner and thereby contribute greatly to the success or failure of…

Factors affecting patient compliance with compressive brace therapy for pectus carinatum.

PubMed

Kang, Du-Young; Jung, Junho; Chung, Sangho; Cho, Jinkyung; Lee, Sungsoo

2014-12-01

The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting patient compliance with brace therapy for pectus carinatum. Eighty-six pectus carinatum patients who started brace therapy from August 2008 to November 2011 were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups: patients who wore the brace for ≥6 months (compliance group) or patients who wore the brace for <6 months (non-compliance group). Factors affecting patient compliance were assessed at the last day of follow-up with a multiple-choice questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised seven items: pain at compression site, skin problems on compression area, confidence in brace treatment, shame, discomfort, initial result of bracing treatment and total number of factors affecting patient compliance. Eighty-six patients completed the survey, including seven (8.1%) female patients and 79 (91.9%) male patients, with a mean age of 12.0 years at the time of treatment (range, 3-20 years). The initial result of the compression period (P <0.001) and total number of factors affecting patient compliance (P <0.05) were significant predictors of patient compliance. An initial successful result of the compression period may increase patient compliance during treatment for pectus carinatum. Additional efforts to decrease pain, skin problems, shame and discomfort, and to give confidence may be beneficial in increasing compliance with bracing treatment. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

The accuracy of pulse oximetry in emergency department patients with severe sepsis and septic shock: a retrospective cohort study.

PubMed

Wilson, Ben J; Cowan, Hamish J; Lord, Jason A; Zuege, Dan J; Zygun, David A

2010-05-05

Pulse oximetry is routinely used to continuously and noninvasively monitor arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) in critically ill patients. Although pulse oximeter oxygen saturation (SpO2) has been studied in several patient populations, including the critically ill, its accuracy has never been studied in emergency department (ED) patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Sepsis results in characteristic microcirculatory derangements that could theoretically affect pulse oximeter accuracy. The purposes of the present study were twofold: 1) to determine the accuracy of pulse oximetry relative to SaO2 obtained from ABG in ED patients with severe sepsis and septic shock, and 2) to assess the impact of specific physiologic factors on this accuracy. This analysis consisted of a retrospective cohort of 88 consecutive ED patients with severe sepsis who had a simultaneous arterial blood gas and an SpO2 value recorded. Adult ICU patients that were admitted from any Calgary Health Region adult ED with a pre-specified, sepsis-related admission diagnosis between October 1, 2005 and September 30, 2006, were identified. Accuracy (SpO2 - SaO2) was analyzed by the method of Bland and Altman. The effects of hypoxemia, acidosis, hyperlactatemia, anemia, and the use of vasoactive drugs on bias were determined. The cohort consisted of 88 subjects, with a mean age of 57 years (19 - 89). The mean difference (SpO2 - SaO2) was 2.75% and the standard deviation of the differences was 3.1%. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that hypoxemia (SaO2 < 90) significantly affected pulse oximeter accuracy. The mean difference was 4.9% in hypoxemic patients and 1.89% in non-hypoxemic patients (p < 0.004). In 50% (11/22) of cases in which SpO2 was in the 90-93% range the SaO2 was <90%. Though pulse oximeter accuracy was not affected by acidoisis, hyperlactatementa, anemia or vasoactive drugs, these factors worsened precision. Pulse oximetry overestimates ABG-determined SaO2 by a mean of 2.75% in

Factors affecting scholastic performances of adolescents.

PubMed

Shashidhar, Saraswati; Rao, Chandrika; Hegde, Radhakrishna

2009-05-01

The present study aims at recognizing the social influence, study habits and health factors affecting scholastic performances of adolescents and to compare these factors among the adolescents between two categories of school. A total of 1230 adolescents (13-18 yrs) were screened. Data was collected by personal interview, using the teenage screening questionnaire, Trivandrum, between May 2004 and November 2005. A total 615 students from corporation and private schools were studied. 39.76% (489) were high achievers, 13.5% (166) were low achievers with p < 0.001. In the low achievers, 12.03% were from the corporation schools and 1.46% from private schools. The incidence of poor study habits and social factors were increased in low achievers of corporation schools. On multivariate analysis, the predictor variables for poor scholastic performance were adolescent having refractory error, not having help for study at home, not doing home work regularly, not solving question bank papers and reading only before examinations. It is feasible and worthwhile to identify the determinants of scholastic performance and plan intervention strategies at each school. The results of this study highlight the importance of implementing newer strategies, focusing on strict study patterns and creating the conducive school and home environment for study, so as to achieve better scholastic performances.

Factors affecting maintenance overlay ride quality : 1996 rideability status.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

In early 1996, the Virginia Transportation Research Council initiated a formal analysis of the factors affecting overlay ride quality. As part of that effort, a statewide, multi-year survey of the ride quality for both new overlays and pavement await...

Factors affecting the acceptance of expert advice.

PubMed

Van Swol, Lyn M; Sniezek, Janet A

2005-09-01

This paper expands research on the judge advisor system (JAS) by examining advice utilization and trust. Experiment 1 examined five factors that could increase utilization of expert advice: judge's trust in the advisor, advisor confidence, advisor accuracy, judge's prior relationship with the advisor, and judge's power to set payment to the advisor. While judge's trust and advisor confidence correlated with the judge matching the advisor's advice, a stepwise regression found that of the five variables, advisor confidence was the only significant predictor of the judge matching the advisor. Experiment 2 examined trust without the role assignment to judge or advisor. While trust expressed in partner was not higher for the judge than the advisor in Experiment 1, in Experiment 2 trust in partner expressed by the low-expertise dyad member was higher than trust expressed by the high-expertise dyad member. Results from the two experiments are discussed in the context of Sniezek and Van Swol (2001).

External factors affecting data acquisition during corneal topography examination.

PubMed

González-Méijome, José Manuel; Queirós, Antonio; Jorge, Jorge; Fernandes, Paulo; Cerviño, Alejandro; de Almeida, José Borges

2007-03-01

To analyze the factors affecting data acquisition during corneal topography examination with the Medmont E-300 videokeratoscope and to provide strategies to minimize their effects. Sixty eyes from thirty young adults were examined. A second observer registered incidences with the potential to affect data acquisition. Those factors were correlated with the difficulty of measurements as judged subjectively by the practitioner who performed the examination. Measurements of axial curvature were analyzed to evaluate the variability expressed as intrasession and intersession coefficient of variation and the standard error of the mean (SEM). The level of difficulty rated by the practitioner was in general low, with 70% of the eyes being easy or very easy to measure. For the remaining 30% of the eyes, corneal topography measurements were considered to be difficult (27%) or very difficult (3%). Of the external parameters investigated, only fixation instability (P<0.001, chi2) and the need for head repositioning (P=0.024, chi2) were associated significantly with a higher level of difficulty, as rated subjectively by the practitioner. Further analysis showed that some external factors, including those previously mentioned and others related to tear instability, affect the variability of measurements at certain corneal locations, particularly in the vertical meridian when related to tear instability and in the horizontal meridian when related to the need for head repositioning on the chin rest owing to physiognomy interferences with the keratoscope cone. Intersession SEM improved when three readings from each session were considered. The level of subjective difficulty found during videokeratoscopy examination is correlated strongly with fixation instability and the need for head reorientation in the chin rest, whereas tear-related events seem to be less relevant in the practitioner perception of test ease or difficulty. Those factors have relevance in measurement variability.

Factors affecting 30-month survival in lung cancer patients.

PubMed

Mahesh, P A; Archana, S; Jayaraj, B S; Patil, Shekar; Chaya, S K; Shashidhar, H P; Sunitha, B S; Prabhakar, A K

2012-10-01

Age adjusted incidence rate of lung cancer in India ranges from 7.4 to 13.1 per 100,000 among males and 3.9 to 5.8 per 100,000 among females. The factors affecting survival in lung cancer patients in India are not fully understood. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the factors affecting survival in patients diagnosed with lung cancer attending a tertiary care cancer institute in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Consecutive patients with primary lung cancer attending Bangalore Institute of Oncology, a tertiary care centre at Bangalore, between 2006 and 2009 were included. Demographic, clinical, radiological data were collected retrospectively from the medical records. A total of 170 consecutive subjects (128 males, 42 females) diagnosed to have lung cancer; 151 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 19 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) were included. A higher proportion of never-smokers (54.1%) were observed, mostly presenting below the age of 60 yr. Most subjects were in stage IV and III at the time of diagnosis. More than 50 per cent of patients presented with late stage lung cancer even though the duration of symptoms is less than 2 months. The 30-month overall survival rates for smokers and never-smokers were 32 and 49 per cent, respectively. No significant differences were observed in 30 month survival based on age at presentation, gender and type of lung cancer. Cox proportional hazards model identified never-smokers and duration of symptoms less than 1 month as factors adversely affecting survival. Our results showed that lung cancer in Indians involved younger subjects and associated with poorer survival as compared to other ethnic population. Studies on large sample need to be done to evaluate risk factors in lung cancer patients.

Factors affecting 30-month survival in lung cancer patients

PubMed Central

Mahesh, P.A.; Archana, S.; Jayaraj, B.S.; Patil, Shekar; Chaya, S.K.; Shashidhar, H.P.; Sunitha, B.S.; Prabhakar, A.K.

2012-01-01

Background & objectives: Age adjusted incidence rate of lung cancer in India ranges from 7.4 to 13.1 per 100,000 among males and 3.9 to 5.8 per 100,000 among females. The factors affecting survival in lung cancer patients in India are not fully understood. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the factors affecting survival in patients diagnosed with lung cancer attending a tertiary care cancer institute in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Methods: Consecutive patients with primary lung cancer attending Bangalore Institute of Oncology, a tertiary care centre at Bangalore, between 2006 and 2009 were included. Demographic, clinical, radiological data were collected retrospectively from the medical records. Results: A total of 170 consecutive subjects (128 males, 42 females) diagnosed to have lung cancer; 151 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 19 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) were included. A higher proportion of never-smokers (54.1%) were observed, mostly presenting below the age of 60 yr. Most subjects were in stage IV and III at the time of diagnosis. More than 50 per cent of patients presented with late stage lung cancer even though the duration of symptoms is less than 2 months. The 30-month overall survival rates for smokers and never-smokers were 32 and 49 per cent, respectively. No significant differences were observed in 30 month survival based on age at presentation, gender and type of lung cancer. Cox proportional hazards model identified never-smokers and duration of symptoms less than 1 month as factors adversely affecting survival. Interpretation & conclusions: Our results showed that lung cancer in Indians involved younger subjects and associated with poorer survival as compared to other ethnic population. Studies on large sample need to be done to evaluate risk factors in lung cancer patients. PMID:23168702

Factors That Affect Large Subunit Ribosomal DNA Amplicon Sequencing Studies of Fungal Communities: Classification Method, Primer Choice, and Error

PubMed Central

Porter, Teresita M.; Golding, G. Brian

2012-01-01

Nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA is widely used in fungal phylogenetics and to an increasing extent also amplicon-based environmental sequencing. The relatively short reads produced by next-generation sequencing, however, makes primer choice and sequence error important variables for obtaining accurate taxonomic classifications. In this simulation study we tested the performance of three classification methods: 1) a similarity-based method (BLAST + Metagenomic Analyzer, MEGAN); 2) a composition-based method (Ribosomal Database Project naïve Bayesian classifier, NBC); and, 3) a phylogeny-based method (Statistical Assignment Package, SAP). We also tested the effects of sequence length, primer choice, and sequence error on classification accuracy and perceived community composition. Using a leave-one-out cross validation approach, results for classifications to the genus rank were as follows: BLAST + MEGAN had the lowest error rate and was particularly robust to sequence error; SAP accuracy was highest when long LSU query sequences were classified; and, NBC runs significantly faster than the other tested methods. All methods performed poorly with the shortest 50–100 bp sequences. Increasing simulated sequence error reduced classification accuracy. Community shifts were detected due to sequence error and primer selection even though there was no change in the underlying community composition. Short read datasets from individual primers, as well as pooled datasets, appear to only approximate the true community composition. We hope this work informs investigators of some of the factors that affect the quality and interpretation of their environmental gene surveys. PMID:22558215

Factors affecting medication-order processing time.

PubMed

Beaman, M A; Kotzan, J A

1982-11-01

The factors affecting medication-order processing time at one hospital were studied. The order processing time was determined by directly observing the time to process randomly selected new drug orders on all three work shifts during two one-week periods. An order could list more than one drug for an individual patient. The observer recorded the nature, location, and cost of the drugs ordered, as well as the time to process the order. The time and type of interruptions also were noted. The time to process a drug order was classified as six dependent variables: (1) total time, (2) work time, (3) check time, (4) waiting time I--time from arrival on the dumbwaiter until work was initiated, (5) waiting time II--time between completion of the work and initiation of checking, and (6) waiting time III--time after the check was completed until the order left on the dumbwaiter. The significant predictors of each of the six dependent variables were determined using stepwise multiple regression. The total time to process a prescription order was 58.33 +/- 48.72 minutes; the urgency status of the order was the only significant determinant of total time. Urgency status also significantly predicted the three waiting-time variables. Interruptions and the number of drugs on the order were significant determinants of work time and check time. Each telephone interruption increased the work time by 1.72 minutes. While the results of this study cannot be generalized to other institutions, pharmacy managers can use the method of determining factors that affect medication-order processing time to identify problem areas in their institutions.

Accuracy investigation of phthalate metabolite standards.

PubMed

Langlois, Éric; Leblanc, Alain; Simard, Yves; Thellen, Claude

2012-05-01

Phthalates are ubiquitous compounds whose metabolites are usually determined in urine for biomonitoring studies. Following suspect and unexplained results from our laboratory in an external quality-assessment scheme, we investigated the accuracy of all phthalate metabolite standards in our possession by comparing them with those of several suppliers. Our findings suggest that commercial phthalate metabolite certified solutions are not always accurate and that lot-to-lot discrepancies significantly affect the accuracy of the results obtained with several of these standards. These observations indicate that the reliability of the results obtained from different lots of standards is not equal, which reduces the possibility of intra-laboratory and inter-laboratory comparisons of results. However, agreements of accuracy have been observed for a majority of neat standards obtained from different suppliers, which indicates that a solution to this issue is available. Data accuracy of phthalate metabolites should be of concern for laboratories performing phthalate metabolite analysis because of the standards used. The results of our investigation are presented from the perspective that laboratories performing phthalate metabolite analysis can obtain accurate and comparable results in the future. Our findings will contribute to improving the quality of future phthalate metabolite analyses and will affect the interpretation of past results.

Improved Dynamic Modeling of the Cascade Distillation Subsystem and Analysis of Factors Affecting Its Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perry, Bruce A.; Anderson, Molly S.

2015-01-01

The Cascade Distillation Subsystem (CDS) is a rotary multistage distiller being developed to serve as the primary processor for wastewater recovery during long-duration space missions. The CDS could be integrated with a system similar to the International Space Station Water Processor Assembly to form a complete water recovery system for future missions. A preliminary chemical process simulation was previously developed using Aspen Custom Modeler® (ACM), but it could not simulate thermal startup and lacked detailed analysis of several key internal processes, including heat transfer between stages. This paper describes modifications to the ACM simulation of the CDS that improve its capabilities and the accuracy of its predictions. Notably, the modified version can be used to model thermal startup and predicts the total energy consumption of the CDS. The simulation has been validated for both NaC1 solution and pretreated urine feeds and no longer requires retuning when operating parameters change. The simulation was also used to predict how internal processes and operating conditions of the CDS affect its performance. In particular, it is shown that the coefficient of performance of the thermoelectric heat pump used to provide heating and cooling for the CDS is the largest factor in determining CDS efficiency. Intrastage heat transfer affects CDS performance indirectly through effects on the coefficient of performance.

Factors Related to the Accuracy of Self-Reported Dietary Intake of Children Aged 6 to 12 Years Elicited with Interviews: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Sharman, Stefanie J; Skouteris, Helen; Powell, Martine B; Watson, Brittany

2016-01-01

Understanding the relationship between children's dietary consumption and health is important. As such, it is crucial to explore factors related to the accuracy of children's reports of what they consumed. The objective was to evaluate factors related to the accuracy of self-reported dietary intake information elicited by interview methods from children aged 6 to 12 years. A systematic review of English articles using PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, PsycEXTRA, PsycBOOKS, CINAHL Complete, Global Health, and MEDLINE Complete was performed. Search terms included interview, diet, children, and recall; studies were limited to those published from 1970 onward. Additional studies were identified using the reference lists of published articles. Studies that assessed children's dietary intake using direct observation, doubly labeled water, or the double-portion method and compared it with their recall of that intake (unassisted by parents) using an interview were included. The 45 studies that met the inclusion criteria showed that specific interview techniques designed to enhance children's recall accuracy had little effect. Rather, the timing of the interview appeared most important: The shorter the retention interval between children's consumption and their recall, the more accurate their memories. Children's age, body mass index, social desirability, food preferences, and cognitive ability were also related to accuracy. Factors related to the accuracy of children's dietary reporting should be taken into consideration when asking about consumption. Further research is required to examine whether other interview techniques, such as those developed to enhance children's recall of repeated staged events, can improve children's dietary reporting accuracy. Copyright © 2016 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching the Factors Affecting Resistance Using Pencil Leads

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Küçüközer, Asuman

2015-01-01

The aim of this paper is to provide a way of teaching the factors that affect resistance using mechanical pencil leads and the brightness of the light given out by a light bulb connected to an electrical circuit. The resistance of a conductor is directly proportional to its length (L) and inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area (A).…

A new method for measuring the rotational accuracy of rolling element bearings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ye; Zhao, Xiangsong; Gao, Weiguo; Hu, Gaofeng; Zhang, Shizhen; Zhang, Dawei

2016-12-01

The rotational accuracy of a machine tool spindle has critical influence upon the geometric shape and surface roughness of finished workpiece. The rotational performance of the rolling element bearings is a main factor which affects the spindle accuracy, especially in the ultra-precision machining. In this paper, a new method is developed to measure the rotational accuracy of rolling element bearings of machine tool spindles. Variable and measurable axial preload is applied to seat the rolling elements in the bearing races, which is used to simulate the operating conditions. A high-precision (radial error is less than 300 nm) and high-stiffness (radial stiffness is 600 N/μm) hydrostatic reference spindle is adopted to rotate the inner race of the test bearing. To prevent the outer race from rotating, a 2-degrees of freedom flexure hinge mechanism (2-DOF FHM) is designed. Correction factors by using stiffness analysis are adopted to eliminate the influences of 2-DOF FHM in the radial direction. Two capacitive displacement sensors with nano-resolution (the highest resolution is 9 nm) are used to measure the radial error motion of the rolling element bearing, without separating the profile error as the traditional rotational accuracy metrology of the spindle. Finally, experimental measurements are performed at different spindle speeds (100-4000 rpm) and axial preloads (75-780 N). Synchronous and asynchronous error motion values are evaluated to demonstrate the feasibility and repeatability of the developed method and instrument.

Culture and affect: the factor structure of the affective style questionnaire and its relation with depression and anxiety among Japanese.

PubMed

Ito, Masaya; Hofmann, Stefan G

2014-09-02

Affective styles are assumed to be one of the underlying processes of depression and anxiety maintenance. However, little is known about the effect of depression and anxiety and the cultural influence of the factor structure. Here, we examined the cross-cultural validity of the Affective Style Questionnaire and its incremental validity for the influence on depression and anxiety. Affective Style Questionnaire was translated into Japanese using standard back-translation procedure. Japanese university students (N = 1,041) served as participants. Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Rumination and Reflection Questionnaire, Brief COPE, Self-Construal Scale, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were administered. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the Affective Style Questionnaire comprised four factors: Concealing, Adjusting, Holding and Tolerating (CFI = .92, TLI = .90, RMSEA = .07). The measure's convergent and discriminant validity was substantiated by its association with various emotion regulation measures. Regression analyses showed that negative influence of Adjusting, Holding, Reappraisal (β = -.17, -.19, -.30) and positive influence of Suppression (β = .23) were observed on depression. For anxiety, Adjusting and Reappraisal was negatively influenced (β = -.29, and -.18). Reliability and validity of the Affective Style Questionnaire was partly confirmed. Further study is needed to clarify the culturally dependent aspects of affective styles.

Factors That Affect the Academic Success of Foreign Students at Cardinal Stritch University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Annor, Peter

2010-01-01

There are limited studies in the literature on the factors that affect the academic success of foreign students in the United States. This ex post facto mixed method study investigated the factors that affect the academic success of foreign students at Cardinal Stitch University (CSU), a medium size, private university located in the Midwestern…

Looking under the Bonnet: Factors Affecting Student Adoption of E-Learning Systems in Jordan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abbad, Muneer Mahmood; Morris, David; de Nahlik, Carmel

2009-01-01

The primary questions addressed in this paper are the following: what are the factors that affect students' adoption of an e-learning system and what are the relationships among these factors? This paper investigates and identifies some of the major factors affecting students' adoption of an e-learning system in a university in Jordan. E-learning…

Institutional and Managerial Factors Affecting International Student Recruitment Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Mitchell; Heaney, Joo-Gim; Cooper, Maxine

2007-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate international student recruitment from an institutional perspective and to consider institutional factors that may affect recruitment. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative study is undertaken in which education marketing practitioners are interviewed regarding aspects of international…

Application and analysis of debris-flow early warning system in Wenchuan earthquake-affected area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, D. L.; Zhang, S. J.; Yang, H. J.; Zhao, L. Q.; Jiang, Y. H.; Tang, D.; Leng, X. P.

2016-02-01

The activities of debris flow (DF) in the Wenchuan earthquake-affected area significantly increased after the earthquake on 12 May 2008. The safety of the lives and property of local people is threatened by DFs. A physics-based early warning system (EWS) for DF forecasting was developed and applied in this earthquake area. This paper introduces an application of the system in the Wenchuan earthquake-affected area and analyzes the prediction results via a comparison to the DF events triggered by the strong rainfall events reported by the local government. The prediction accuracy and efficiency was first compared with a contribution-factor-based system currently used by the weather bureau of Sichuan province. The storm on 17 August 2012 was used as a case study for this comparison. The comparison shows that the false negative rate and false positive rate of the new system is, respectively, 19 and 21 % lower than the system based on the contribution factors. Consequently, the prediction accuracy is obviously higher than the system based on the contribution factors with a higher operational efficiency. On the invitation of the weather bureau of Sichuan province, the authors upgraded their prediction system of DF by using this new system before the monsoon of Wenchuan earthquake-affected area in 2013. Two prediction cases on 9 July 2013 and 10 July 2014 were chosen to further demonstrate that the new EWS has high stability, efficiency, and prediction accuracy.

Psychological factors affecting medical condition: a new proposal for DSM-V.

PubMed

Fava, Giovanni A; Fabbri, Stefania; Sirri, Laura; Wise, Thomas N

2007-01-01

The DSM category of "psychological factors affecting medical condition" had virtually no impact on clinical practice. However, several clinically relevant psychosomatic syndromes have been described in the literature: disease phobia, persistent somatization, conversion symptoms, illness denial, demoralization, and irritable mood. These syndromes, in addition to the DSM definition of hypochondriasis, can yield clinical specification in the category of "psychological factors affecting medical condition" and eliminate the need for the highly criticized DSM classification of somatoform disorders. This new classification is supported by a growing body of research evidence and is in line with psychosomatic medicine as a recognized subspecialty.

Accuracy requirements and uncertainties in radiotherapy: a report of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

PubMed

van der Merwe, Debbie; Van Dyk, Jacob; Healy, Brendan; Zubizarreta, Eduardo; Izewska, Joanna; Mijnheer, Ben; Meghzifene, Ahmed

2017-01-01

Radiotherapy technology continues to advance and the expectation of improved outcomes requires greater accuracy in various radiotherapy steps. Different factors affect the overall accuracy of dose delivery. Institutional comprehensive quality assurance (QA) programs should ensure that uncertainties are maintained at acceptable levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency has recently developed a report summarizing the accuracy achievable and the suggested action levels, for each step in the radiotherapy process. Overview of the report: The report seeks to promote awareness and encourage quantification of uncertainties in order to promote safer and more effective patient treatments. The radiotherapy process and the radiobiological and clinical frameworks that define the need for accuracy are depicted. Factors that influence uncertainty are described for a range of techniques, technologies and systems. Methodologies for determining and combining uncertainties are presented, and strategies for reducing uncertainties through QA programs are suggested. The role of quality audits in providing international benchmarking of achievable accuracy and realistic action levels is also discussed. The report concludes with nine general recommendations: (1) Radiotherapy should be applied as accurately as reasonably achievable, technical and biological factors being taken into account. (2) For consistency in prescribing, reporting and recording, recommendations of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements should be implemented. (3) Each institution should determine uncertainties for their treatment procedures. Sample data are tabulated for typical clinical scenarios with estimates of the levels of accuracy that are practically achievable and suggested action levels. (4) Independent dosimetry audits should be performed regularly. (5) Comprehensive quality assurance programs should be in place. (6) Professional staff should be appropriately

Demographic and obstetric factors affecting women's sexual functioning during pregnancy.

PubMed

Abouzari-Gazafroodi, Kobra; Najafi, Fatemeh; Kazemnejad, Ehsan; Rahnama, Parvin; Montazeri, Ali

2015-08-19

Sexual desire and frequency of sexual relationships during pregnancy remains challenging. This study aimed to assess factors that affect women's sexual functioning during pregnancy. This was a cross sectional study carried out at prenatal care clinics of public health services in Iran. An author-designed structured questionnaire including items on socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric history, the current pregnancy, and women's sexual functioning during pregnancy was used to collect data. The generalized linear model was performed in order to find out factors that affect women's sexual functioning during pregnancy. In all, 518 pregnant women participated in the study. The mean age of participants was 26.4 years (SD = 4.7). Overall 309 women (59.7%) scored less than mean on sexual functioning. The results obtained from generalized linear model demonstrated that that lower education, unwanted pregnancy, earlier stage of pregnancy, older age, and longer duration of marriage were the most important factors contributing to disturbed sexual functioning among couples. The findings suggest that sexual function during pregnancy might be disturbed due to several factors. Indeed issues on sexual relationship should be included as part of prenatal care and reproductive health programs for every woman.

Affect and Health Behavior Co-Occurrence: The Emerging Roles of Transdiagnostic Factors and Sociocultural Factors.

PubMed

Zvolensky, Michael J; Leventhal, Adam M

2016-01-01

The majority of scientific work addressing relations among affective states and health correlates has focused primarily on their co-occurrence and a limited range of health conditions. We have developed a Special Issue to highlight recent advances in this emerging field of work that addresses the nature and interplay between affective states and disorders, in terms of their impact and consequences from health status and behavior. This Special Issue is organized into three parts classified as (a) co-occurrence and interplay between (b) transdiagnostic factors and (c) sociocultural factors. It is hoped that this issue will (a) alert readers to the significance of this work at different levels of analysis, (b) illustrate the many domains currently being explored via innovative approaches, and (c) identify fecund areas for future systematic study. © The Author(s) 2016.

Prevalence, pathophysiological mechanisms and factors affecting urolithiasis.

PubMed

Khan, Aslam

2018-05-01

The formation of urinary stone, urolithiasis, is one the oldest known disease affecting human throughout different civilizations and times. The exact pathophysiological mechanism of urolithiasis is not yet clear, as these calculi are of various types and too complex for simple understanding. A single theory cannot explain its formation; therefore, different theories are presented in various times for its explanation like free particle, fixed particle, Randall's plaque theory. In addition, various factors and components are identified that play an important role in the formation of these urinary calculi. In this review, composition of kidney stones, its prevalence/incidence, explanation of pathophysiological mechanisms and role of various factors; urinary pH, uric acid, parathyroid hormone, citrate, oxalate, calcium and macromolecules; osteopontin, matrix Gla protein, kidney injury molecules, urinary prothrombin fragment-1, Tamm-Horsfall protein, inter-α-inhibitors, have been discussed in detail.

Factors that affect the development of nurses' competencies: a systematic review.

PubMed

Rizany, Ichsan; Hariyati, Rr Tutik Sri; Handayani, Hanny

2018-02-01

To investigate factors affecting the development of nursing competency based on a review of the literature. A systematic review was utilized. The articles were taken from the databases of Pro-Quest, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Scopus. They were retrieved using the following keywords: nursing competence, nurse competencies and clinical competence. Twenty-one papers were selected. Competence development is a continuous process of improving knowledge, attitudes and skills, and is influenced by a myriad of factors. Six factors were identified that affected the development of nursing competence in our systematic review: (1) work experience, (2) type of nursing environment, (3) educational level achieved, (4) adherence to professionalism, (5) critical thinking, and (6) personal factors. Work experience and education were shown to significantly influence the development of competency of nurses. Nurse managers need to support staffing competence through ongoing education, mentoring-preceptorship training, and case-reflection-discussion teaching programs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Inertial Measures of Motion for Clinical Biomechanics: Comparative Assessment of Accuracy under Controlled Conditions – Changes in Accuracy over Time

PubMed Central

Lebel, Karina; Boissy, Patrick; Hamel, Mathieu; Duval, Christian

2015-01-01

Background Interest in 3D inertial motion tracking devices (AHRS) has been growing rapidly among the biomechanical community. Although the convenience of such tracking devices seems to open a whole new world of possibilities for evaluation in clinical biomechanics, its limitations haven’t been extensively documented. The objectives of this study are: 1) to assess the change in absolute and relative accuracy of multiple units of 3 commercially available AHRS over time; and 2) to identify different sources of errors affecting AHRS accuracy and to document how they may affect the measurements over time. Methods This study used an instrumented Gimbal table on which AHRS modules were carefully attached and put through a series of velocity-controlled sustained motions including 2 minutes motion trials (2MT) and 12 minutes multiple dynamic phases motion trials (12MDP). Absolute accuracy was assessed by comparison of the AHRS orientation measurements to those of an optical gold standard. Relative accuracy was evaluated using the variation in relative orientation between modules during the trials. Findings Both absolute and relative accuracy decreased over time during 2MT. 12MDP trials showed a significant decrease in accuracy over multiple phases, but accuracy could be enhanced significantly by resetting the reference point and/or compensating for initial Inertial frame estimation reference for each phase. Interpretation The variation in AHRS accuracy observed between the different systems and with time can be attributed in part to the dynamic estimation error, but also and foremost, to the ability of AHRS units to locate the same Inertial frame. Conclusions Mean accuracies obtained under the Gimbal table sustained conditions of motion suggest that AHRS are promising tools for clinical mobility assessment under constrained conditions of use. However, improvement in magnetic compensation and alignment between AHRS modules are desirable in order for AHRS to reach their

Factors Affecting Recruitment into Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Jon A.; Lewis, John E.; Katyal, Shalini

2010-01-01

Objective: The authors studied the factors affecting the recruitment into child and adolescent psychiatry training in the United States. Methods: Medical students (n = 154) and general and child and adolescent psychiatry residents (n = 111) completed a questionnaire to evaluate career choice in child psychiatry (n = 265). Results: Compared with…

Ground Truth Sampling and LANDSAT Accuracy Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, J. W.; Gunther, F. J.; Campbell, W. J.

1982-01-01

It is noted that the key factor in any accuracy assessment of remote sensing data is the method used for determining the ground truth, independent of the remote sensing data itself. The sampling and accuracy procedures developed for nuclear power plant siting study are described. The purpose of the sampling procedure was to provide data for developing supervised classifications for two study sites and for assessing the accuracy of that and the other procedures used. The purpose of the accuracy assessment was to allow the comparison of the cost and accuracy of various classification procedures as applied to various data types.

Effects of LiDAR point density, sampling size and height threshold on estimation accuracy of crop biophysical parameters.

PubMed

Luo, Shezhou; Chen, Jing M; Wang, Cheng; Xi, Xiaohuan; Zeng, Hongcheng; Peng, Dailiang; Li, Dong

2016-05-30

Vegetation leaf area index (LAI), height, and aboveground biomass are key biophysical parameters. Corn is an important and globally distributed crop, and reliable estimations of these parameters are essential for corn yield forecasting, health monitoring and ecosystem modeling. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is considered an effective technology for estimating vegetation biophysical parameters. However, the estimation accuracies of these parameters are affected by multiple factors. In this study, we first estimated corn LAI, height and biomass (R² = 0.80, 0.874 and 0.838, respectively) using the original LiDAR data (7.32 points/m²), and the results showed that LiDAR data could accurately estimate these biophysical parameters. Second, comprehensive research was conducted on the effects of LiDAR point density, sampling size and height threshold on the estimation accuracy of LAI, height and biomass. Our findings indicated that LiDAR point density had an important effect on the estimation accuracy for vegetation biophysical parameters, however, high point density did not always produce highly accurate estimates, and reduced point density could deliver reasonable estimation results. Furthermore, the results showed that sampling size and height threshold were additional key factors that affect the estimation accuracy of biophysical parameters. Therefore, the optimal sampling size and the height threshold should be determined to improve the estimation accuracy of biophysical parameters. Our results also implied that a higher LiDAR point density, larger sampling size and height threshold were required to obtain accurate corn LAI estimation when compared with height and biomass estimations. In general, our results provide valuable guidance for LiDAR data acquisition and estimation of vegetation biophysical parameters using LiDAR data.

Eyes on crowding: crowding is preserved when responding by eye and similarly affects identity and position accuracy.

PubMed

Yildirim, Funda; Meyer, Vincent; Cornelissen, Frans W

2015-02-16

Peripheral vision guides recognition and selection of targets for eye movements. Crowding—a decline in recognition performance that occurs when a potential target is surrounded by other, similar, objects—influences peripheral object recognition. A recent model study suggests that crowding may be due to increased uncertainty about both the identity and the location of peripheral target objects, but very few studies have assessed these properties in tandem. Eye tracking can integrally provide information on both the perceived identity and the position of a target and therefore could become an important approach in crowding studies. However, recent reports suggest that around the moment of saccade preparation crowding may be significantly modified. If these effects were to generalize to regular crowding tasks, it would complicate the interpretation of results obtained with eye tracking and the comparison to results obtained using manual responses. For this reason, we first assessed whether the manner by which participants responded—manually or by eye—affected their performance. We found that neither recognition performance nor response time was affected by the response type. Hence, we conclude that crowding magnitude was preserved when observers responded by eye. In our main experiment, observers made eye movements to the location of a tilted Gabor target while we varied flanker tilt to manipulate target-flanker similarity. The results indicate that this similarly affected the accuracy of peripheral recognition and saccadic target localization. Our results inform about the importance of both location and identity uncertainty in crowding. © 2015 ARVO.

A review of affecting factors on sexual satisfaction in women.

PubMed

Shahhosseini, Zohreh; Gardeshi, Zeinab Hamzeh; Pourasghar, Mehdi; Salehi, Fariba

2014-12-01

Sex is a complex, important and sensitive issue in human being and interwoven with the whole of human existence. Given the serious changes in attitude, function and behavior in sex, the need to address sexual function, especially sexual satisfaction, is felt completely. Sexual satisfaction has a very important role in creating marital satisfaction and any defect in sexual satisfaction is significantly associated with risky sexual behaviors, serious mental illness, social crimes and ultimately divorce. The aim of this study was to explore affecting factors on sexual satisfaction in women based on an overview in scientific database. In this narrative review the researchers searched MEDLINE database, Google Scholar and Science Direct as well as Persian database like Scientific Information Database with search terms of sexual satisfaction and sexual function, restricted to English/ Persian language, during the 20 years ago. Then those articles written by renowned experts were selected. In this regard, 57 articles have been reviewed, which 30 articles related to this research have been extracted. The findings were divided in to four categories including: Demographic factors, Pathophysiological factors, Psychological factors and Sociocultural factors. Sexuality, especially sexual intimacy is sophisticated and yet elegant affair that the other persons has different definitions and different functions. Discrepancies in the results of the studies show that analysis of factors affecting sexual satisfaction regardless of the women's' sociocultural context, religious beliefs, and personal attitudes is undoubtedly inefficient, unscientific and irrational.

Analysis of Factors Affecting the Success of Onions Development Program in Kampar Regency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amalia; Putri, Asgami

2017-12-01

The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors influencing the success of the onion plant development program in Kampar regency. The research method used was the applied survey method using interview technique and observation or direct supervision on the location of the object. The briefing of the interviews as well as the accuracy of collecting the required data was guided by the structured questionnaires. Determination technique of location / region sampling was done purposively based on the potency and capacity of commodity development. While the respondents were taken by cluster purvosive sampling method in order to classify the samples in accordance with the purpose of the study, determined by as many as 100 people taken from members of the farmer group. Analytical technique used is by using Logic Regression Analysis to determine the factors that influence the success of the program seen from the characteristics of farmers. From the results of this study it can be concluded that the factors influencing the success of onion development program in Kampar regency were a age (X1), education (X2), income (X3), ethnicity (X4), jobs (X5) And family responsibility (X6) could be made as follows: Log Y (P/1-p) = -1.778 +X10.021 + X20.028 - X30.213 + X41.986 + X52.930 - X60.455 From the above equation, it can be explained that the attributes that are positively related are X1 (age), X2 (education), X4 (ethnicity) and X5 (jobs) while the negative correlates are X3 (income) and X6 (family responsibility). From the logical regression result it can be seen that the significant value <0,05, then the independent variable influenced the dependent variable, so that when viewed from the table in the equation it was found that factors affecting the success rate of red onion development program in Kampar regency were X2 (education), X4 (ethnicity), X5 (jobs), and X6 (family responsibility).

Factors affecting yearly and monthly visits to Taipei Zoo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Ai-Tsen; Lin, Yann-Jou

2018-02-01

This study investigated factors affecting yearly and monthly numbers of visits to Taipei Zoo. Both linear and nonlinear regression models were used to estimate yearly visits. The results of both models showed that the "opening effect" and "animal star effect" had a significantly positive effect on yearly visits, while a SARS outbreak had a negative effect. The number of years had a significant influence on yearly visits. Results showed that the nonlinear model had better explanatory power and fitted the variations of visits better. Results of monthly model showed that monthly visits were significantly influenced by time fluctuations, weather conditions, and the animal star effect. Chinese New Year, summer vacation, numbers of holidays, and animal star exhibitions increased the number of monthly visits, while the number of days with temperatures at or below 15 °C, the number of days with temperatures at or above 30 °C, and the number of rainy days had significantly negative effects. Furthermore, the model of monthly visits showed that the animal star effect could last for over two quarters. The results of this study clarify the factors affecting visits to an outdoor recreation site and confirm the importance of meteorological factors to recreation use.

Rare, but obviously there: effects of target frequency and salience on visual search accuracy.

PubMed

Biggs, Adam T; Adamo, Stephen H; Mitroff, Stephen R

2014-10-01

Accuracy can be extremely important for many visual search tasks. However, numerous factors work to undermine successful search. Several negative influences on search have been well studied, yet one potentially influential factor has gone almost entirely unexplored-namely, how is search performance affected by the likelihood that a specific target might appear? A recent study demonstrated that when specific targets appear infrequently (i.e., once in every thousand trials) they were, on average, not often found. Even so, some infrequently appearing targets were actually found quite often, suggesting that the targets' frequency is not the only factor at play. Here, we investigated whether salience (i.e., the extent to which an item stands out during search) could explain why some infrequent targets are easily found whereas others are almost never found. Using the mobile application Airport Scanner, we assessed how individual target frequency and salience interacted in a visual search task that included a wide array of targets and millions of trials. Target frequency and salience were both significant predictors of search accuracy, although target frequency explained more of the accuracy variance. Further, when examining only the rarest target items (those that appeared on less than 0.15% of all trials), there was a significant relationship between salience and accuracy such that less salient items were less likely to be found. Beyond implications for search theory, these data suggest significant vulnerability for real-world searches that involve targets that are both infrequent and hard-to-spot. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Qualitative Study of Factors Affecting Morale in Psychiatry Residency Training.

PubMed

Caravella, Rachel A; Robinson, Lee A; Wilets, Ilene; Weinberg, Michael; Cabaniss, Deborah L; Cutler, Janis L; Kymissis, Carisa; Arbuckle, Melissa R

2016-10-01

Resident morale is an important yet poorly understood aspect of the residency training experience. Despite implications for program quality, resident satisfaction, patient care, and recruitment, little is known about the variables influencing this complex phenomenon. This study sought to identify important factors affecting morale in psychiatry residency training. The authors conducted four semi-structured focus groups at a moderately sized, urban, psychiatry residency program during the 2013-2014 academic year. They used qualitative data analysis techniques, including grounded theory and content analysis, to identify key themes affecting resident morale across training levels. Twenty-seven residents participated in the focus groups with equal distribution across post-graduate years (PGY) 1-4. Five major conceptual categories affecting resident morale emerged: Sense of Community, Individual Motivators, Clinical Work, Feeling Cared For, and Trust in the Administration. Morale is an important topic in residency education. The qualitative results suggest that factors related to a Sense of Community and Individual Motivators generally enhanced resident morale whereas factors related to a lack of Feeling Cared For and Trust in the Administration tended to contribute to lower morale. The authors describe the possible interventions to promote stronger program morale suggested by these findings.

Factors affecting the overcrowding in outpatient healthcare

PubMed Central

Bahadori, Mohammadkarim; Teymourzadeh, Ehsan; Ravangard, Ramin; Raadabadi, Mehdi

2017-01-01

Background: The expansion of outpatient services and the desire to provide more outpatient care than inpatient care create some problems such as the overcrowding in the outpatient clinics. Given the importance of overcrowding in the outpatient clinics, this qualitative study aimed to determine the factors influencing the overcrowding in the specialty and subspecialty clinic of a teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative study conducted in the specialty and subspecialty clinic of a hospital using content analysis method in the period of January to March 2014. The study population was all managers and heads of the outpatient wards. The studied sample consisted of 22 managers of the clinic wards who were selected using the purposive sampling method. The required data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The collected data was analyzed using conventional content analysis and the MAXQDA 10.0 software. Results: Three themes were identified as the main factors affecting the overcrowding including the internal positive factors, internal negative factors, and external factors. Conclusions: Despite the efforts made to eliminate overcrowding, and reduce waiting times and increase access to the services for patients, the problem of overcrowding still has remained unresolved. In addition, the use of some strategies such as clarifying the working processes of the clinic for staff and patients and the relationships between the clinic and other wards especially emergency department, as well as using a simple triage system on the patients’ arrival at the clinic are recommended. PMID:28546986

Recruitment and retention: factors that affect pericyte migration

PubMed Central

Aguilera, Kristina Y.

2013-01-01

Pericytes are critical for vascular morphogenesis and contribute to several pathologies, including cancer development and progression. The mechanisms governing pericyte migration and differentiation are complex and have not been fully established. Current literature suggests that platelet-derived growth factor/platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β, sphingosine 1-phosphate/endothelial differentiation gene-1, angiopoietin-1/tyrosine kinase with immunoglobulin-like and EGF-like domains 2, angiopoietin-2/tyros-ine kinase with immunoglobulin-like and EGF-like domains 2, transforming growth factor β/activin receptor-like kinase 1, transforming growth factor β/activin receptor-like kinase 5, Semaphorin-3A/Neuropilin, and matrix metalloproteinase activity regulate the recruitment of pericytes to nascent vessels. Interestingly, many of these pathways are directly affected by secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC). Here, we summarize the function of these factors in pericyte migration and discuss if and how SPARC might infuence these activities and thus provide an additional layer of control for the recruitment of vascular support cells. Additionally, the consequences of targeted inhibition of pericytes in tumors and the current understanding of pericyte recruitment in pathological environments are discussed. PMID:23912898

Factors Affecting Role Stress and Burnout among School Counselors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willingham, Wendy Elizabeth

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine factors affecting role stress and burnout among practicing school counselors as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES) and the Role Conflict and Ambiguity Scale. The MBI-ES utilizes three subscales to measure burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal…

Factors affecting species distribution predictions: A simulation modeling experiment

Treesearch

Gordon C. Reese; Kenneth R. Wilson; Jennifer A. Hoeting; Curtis H. Flather

2005-01-01

Geospatial species sample data (e.g., records with location information from natural history museums or annual surveys) are rarely collected optimally, yet are increasingly used for decisions concerning our biological heritage. Using computer simulations, we examined factors that could affect the performance of autologistic regression (ALR) models that predict species...

Motivational Factors Affecting Online Learning by Japanese MBA Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kikuchi, Hisayo

2006-01-01

In Japan, Internet based learning is still at an early stage. However, adult learners in Japanese society expect the development of flexible e-learning programs. This case study examines motivational factors affecting online learning in a Japanese and Australian MBA program, using observations, interviews and a questionnaire survey. The data were…

A Method for Assessing the Accuracy of a Photogrammetry System for Precision Deployable Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Ashley

2005-01-01

The measurement techniques used to validate analytical models of large deployable structures are an integral Part of the technology development process and must be precise and accurate. Photogrammetry and videogrammetry are viable, accurate, and unobtrusive methods for measuring such large Structures. Photogrammetry uses Software to determine the three-dimensional position of a target using camera images. Videogrammetry is based on the same principle, except a series of timed images are analyzed. This work addresses the accuracy of a digital photogrammetry system used for measurement of large, deployable space structures at JPL. First, photogrammetry tests are performed on a precision space truss test article, and the images are processed using Photomodeler software. The accuracy of the Photomodeler results is determined through, comparison with measurements of the test article taken by an external testing group using the VSTARS photogrammetry system. These two measurements are then compared with Australis photogrammetry software that simulates a measurement test to predict its accuracy. The software is then used to study how particular factors, such as camera resolution and placement, affect the system accuracy to help design the setup for the videogrammetry system that will offer the highest level of accuracy for measurement of deploying structures.

Spacecraft attitude determination accuracy from mission experience

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brasoveanu, D.; Hashmall, J.; Baker, D.

1994-01-01

This document presents a compilation of the attitude accuracy attained by a number of satellites that have been supported by the Flight Dynamics Facility (FDF) at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It starts with a general description of the factors that influence spacecraft attitude accuracy. After brief descriptions of the missions supported, it presents the attitude accuracy results for currently active and older missions, including both three-axis stabilized and spin-stabilized spacecraft. The attitude accuracy results are grouped by the sensor pair used to determine the attitudes. A supplementary section is also included, containing the results of theoretical computations of the effects of variation of sensor accuracy on overall attitude accuracy.

Analysis of extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting event related desynchronization production.

PubMed

Takata, Yohei; Kondo, Toshiyuki; Saeki, Midori; Izawa, Jun; Takeda, Kotaro; Otaka, Yohei; It, Koji

2012-01-01

Recently there has been an increase in the number of stroke patients with motor paralysis. Appropriate re-afferent sensory feedback synchronized with a voluntary motor intention would be effective for promoting neural plasticity in the stroke rehabilitation. Therefore, BCI technology is considered to be a promising approach in the neuro-rehabilitation. To estimate human motor intention, an event-related desynchronization (ERD), a feature of electroencephalogram (EEG) evoked by motor execution or motor imagery is usually used. However, there exists various factors that affect ERD production, and its neural mechanism is still an open question. As a preliminary stage, we evaluate mutual effects of intrinsic (voluntary motor imagery) and extrinsic (visual and somatosensory stimuli) factors on the ERD production. Experimental results indicate that these three factors are not always additively interacting with each other and affecting the ERD production.

New strategies in the assessment of psychological factors affecting medical conditions.

PubMed

Sirri, Laura; Fabbri, Stefania; Fava, Giovanni A; Sonino, Nicoletta

2007-12-01

In this article, we examine research that may lead to a better assessment of psychological factors affecting medical conditions. We performed a review of the psychosomatic literature using both Medline and manual searches. We selected papers that were judged to be relevant to new strategies of assessment, with particular reference to the use of the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research. We assessed 8 areas concerned with the assessment of psychological factors in the setting of medical disease: hypochondriasis, disease phobia, persistent somatization, conversion symptoms, illness denial, demoralization, irritable mood, and Type A behavior. A new subclassification of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed. [DSM-V]; not yet published) category of psychological factors affecting physical conditions appears to be feasible and may provide the clinician with better tools for identifying psychological distress.

Characteristics of Marine Gravity Anomaly Reference Maps and Accuracy Analysis of Gravity Matching-Aided Navigation.

PubMed

Wang, Hubiao; Wu, Lin; Chai, Hua; Xiao, Yaofei; Hsu, Houtse; Wang, Yong

2017-08-10

The variation of a marine gravity anomaly reference map is one of the important factors that affect the location accuracy of INS/Gravity integrated navigation systems in underwater navigation. In this study, based on marine gravity anomaly reference maps, new characteristic parameters of the gravity anomaly were constructed. Those characteristic values were calculated for 13 zones (105°-145° E, 0°-40° N) in the Western Pacific area, and simulation experiments of gravity matching-aided navigation were run. The influence of gravity variations on the accuracy of gravity matching-aided navigation was analyzed, and location accuracy of gravity matching in different zones was determined. Studies indicate that the new parameters may better characterize the marine gravity anomaly. Given the precision of current gravimeters and the resolution and accuracy of reference maps, the location accuracy of gravity matching in China's Western Pacific area is ~1.0-4.0 nautical miles (n miles). In particular, accuracy in regions around the South China Sea and Sulu Sea was the highest, better than 1.5 n miles. The gravity characteristic parameters identified herein and characteristic values calculated in various zones provide a reference for the selection of navigation area and planning of sailing routes under conditions requiring certain navigational accuracy.

Characteristics of Marine Gravity Anomaly Reference Maps and Accuracy Analysis of Gravity Matching-Aided Navigation

PubMed Central

Wang, Hubiao; Chai, Hua; Xiao, Yaofei; Hsu, Houtse; Wang, Yong

2017-01-01

The variation of a marine gravity anomaly reference map is one of the important factors that affect the location accuracy of INS/Gravity integrated navigation systems in underwater navigation. In this study, based on marine gravity anomaly reference maps, new characteristic parameters of the gravity anomaly were constructed. Those characteristic values were calculated for 13 zones (105°–145° E, 0°–40° N) in the Western Pacific area, and simulation experiments of gravity matching-aided navigation were run. The influence of gravity variations on the accuracy of gravity matching-aided navigation was analyzed, and location accuracy of gravity matching in different zones was determined. Studies indicate that the new parameters may better characterize the marine gravity anomaly. Given the precision of current gravimeters and the resolution and accuracy of reference maps, the location accuracy of gravity matching in China’s Western Pacific area is ~1.0–4.0 nautical miles (n miles). In particular, accuracy in regions around the South China Sea and Sulu Sea was the highest, better than 1.5 n miles. The gravity characteristic parameters identified herein and characteristic values calculated in various zones provide a reference for the selection of navigation area and planning of sailing routes under conditions requiring certain navigational accuracy. PMID:28796158

Multifactorial analysis of factors affecting recurrence of stroke in Japan.

PubMed

Omori, Toyonori; Kawagoe, Masahiro; Moriyama, Michiko; Yasuda, Takeshi; Ito, Yasuhiro; Hyakuta, Takeshi; Nagatsuka, Kazuyuki; Matsumoto, Masayasu

2015-03-01

Data on factors affecting stroke recurrence are relatively limited. The authors examined potential factors affecting stroke recurrence, retrospectively. The study participants were 1087 patients who were admitted to stroke centers suffering from first-ever ischemic stroke and returned questionnaires with usable information after discharge. The authors analyzed the association between clinical parameters of the patients and their prognosis. Recurrence rate of during an average of 2 years after discharge was 21.3%, and there were differences among stroke subtypes. It was found that the disability level of the patients after discharge correlated well with the level at discharge (r s = 0.66). Multivariate logistic regression analysis of the data shows that modified Rankin Scale score, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score, gender, age, and family history had statistically significant impacts on stroke recurrence, and the impact was different depending on subtypes. These findings suggest that aggressive and persistent health education for poststroke patients and management of risk factors are essential to reduce stroke recurrence. © 2012 APJPH.

Mathematics Performance and the Role Played by Affective and Background Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grootenboer, Peter; Hemmings, Brian

2007-01-01

In this article, we report on a study examining those factors which contribute to the mathematics performance of a sample of children aged between 8 and 13 years. The study was designed specifically to consider the potency of a number of mathematical affective factors, as well as background characteristics (viz., gender, ethnicity, and…

Factors Affecting Career Decision Making of Mexican and Mexican-American Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newlon, Betty J.; Borboa, Roman

The purpose of this research was to identify the self-reported factors affecting the career decision making of Mexican and Mexican-American students. It was hypothesized that the factor clusters would differ between the two sample populations, Mexican and Mexican-American. It was also hypothesized that these clusters would differ from six clusters…

Industry Training: The Factors that Affect Demand. Discussion Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, A.; Roberts, P.; Noble, C.; Hayton, G.; Thorne, E.

A study was conducted in Australia, to determine the factors that affect demand for job training. The study consisted of 30 detailed industry case studies, an industry analysis, and a literature review. Each case study examined current training practices, training decision making in the business, and the determinants of training for the…

An Analysis of Factors Affecting Community College Students' Expectations on E-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kilic-Cakmak, Ebru; Karatas, Sercin; Ocak, Mehmet Akif

2009-01-01

There are many factors that affect the e-learning process. Instructor, assessment and evaluation, communication, and technical support are among the leading factors. It is obvious that these factors influence the effectiveness of e-learning and may be related to different expectations of e-learners. Therefore, this study focuses on examining the…

Accuracy of expressions for the fill factor of a solar cell in terms of open-circuit voltage and ideality factor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leilaeioun, Mehdi; Holman, Zachary C.

2016-09-01

An approximate expression proposed by Green predicts the maximum obtainable fill factor (FF) of a solar cell from its open-circuit voltage (Voc). The expression was originally suggested for silicon solar cells that behave according to a single-diode model and, in addition to Voc, it requires an ideality factor as input. It is now commonly applied to silicon cells by assuming a unity ideality factor—even when the cells are not in low injection—as well as to non-silicon cells. Here, we evaluate the accuracy of the expression in several cases. In particular, we calculate the recombination-limited FF and Voc of hypothetical silicon solar cells from simulated lifetime curves, and compare the exact FF to that obtained with the approximate expression using assumed ideality factors. Considering cells with a variety of recombination mechanisms, wafer doping densities, and photogenerated current densities reveals the range of conditions under which the approximate expression can safely be used. We find that the expression is unable to predict FF generally: For a typical silicon solar cell under one-sun illumination, the error is approximately 6% absolute with an assumed ideality factor of 1. Use of the expression should thus be restricted to cells under very low or very high injection.

Research on the impact factors of GRACE precise orbit determination by dynamic method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Nan-nan; Zhou, Xu-hua; Li, Kai; Wu, Bin

2018-07-01

With the successful use of GPS-only-based POD (precise orbit determination), more and more satellites carry onboard GPS receivers to support their orbit accuracy requirements. It provides continuous GPS observations in high precision, and becomes an indispensable way to obtain the orbit of LEO satellites. Precise orbit determination of LEO satellites plays an important role for the application of LEO satellites. Numerous factors should be considered in the POD processing. In this paper, several factors that impact precise orbit determination are analyzed, namely the satellite altitude, the time-variable earth's gravity field, the GPS satellite clock error and accelerometer observation. The GRACE satellites provide ideal platform to study the performance of factors for precise orbit determination using zero-difference GPS data. These factors are quantitatively analyzed on affecting the accuracy of dynamic orbit using GRACE observations from 2005 to 2011 by SHORDE software. The study indicates that: (1) with the altitude of the GRACE satellite is lowered from 480 km to 460 km in seven years, the 3D (three-dimension) position accuracy of GRACE satellite orbit is about 3˜4 cm based on long spans data; (2) the accelerometer data improves the 3D position accuracy of GRACE in about 1 cm; (3) the accuracy of zero-difference dynamic orbit is about 6 cm with the GPS satellite clock error products in 5 min sampling interval and can be raised to 4 cm, if the GPS satellite clock error products with 30 s sampling interval can be adopted. (4) the time-variable part of earth gravity field model improves the 3D position accuracy of GRACE in about 0.5˜1.5 cm. Based on this study, we quantitatively analyze the factors that affect precise orbit determination of LEO satellites. This study plays an important role to improve the accuracy of LEO satellites orbit determination.

A Study of the Technological, Instructional, and Motivational Factors Affecting PHR Certification Exam Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonner, David M.

2012-01-01

Although previous studies have considered the factors affecting other certification exam outcomes, they have not examined those that are related to performance on the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) exam. In response to that need, this study specifically investigates technology and training factors that affect self-efficacy and self-set…

[Factors affecting residual stones after percutaneous nephrolithotomy in patients with renal calculus].

PubMed

Qiao, Mingzhou; Zhang, Haifang; Zhou, Chenlong

2015-11-24

To explore the factors affecting the residual stones after percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in patients with renal calculus. A retrospective analysis was performed for 1 200 patients who were affected by renal calculus and treated with PCNL between Jan 2008 and May 2014 in People's Hospital of Anyang City. Among those patients, 16 were diagnosed as bilateral renal stone and had two successive operations. The size, location and number of stones, previous history of surgery, the degree of hydronephrosis, urinary infection were included in the univariate analysis. Significant factors in univariate analysis were included in the multivariate analysis to determine factors affecting stone residual. A total of 385 cases developed stone residual after surgery. The overall residual rate was 31.7%. In univariate analysis, renal pelvis combined with caliceal calculus (P=0.006), stone size larger than 4 cm (P=0.005), stone number more than 4 (P=0.002), the amount of bleeding more than 200 ml (P=0.025), operation time longer than 120 minutes (P=0.028) were associated with an increased rate of stone residual. When subjected to the Cox multivariate analysis, the independent risk factors for residual stones were renal pelvis combined with caliceal calculus (P=0.049), stone size larger than 4 cm (P=0.038) and stone number more than 4 (P=0.018). Factors affecting the incidence of residual stones after PCNL are the size, location and number of stones. Larger size stone and the presence of renal pelvis combined with caliceal calculus are significantly associated with residual stones. Nevertheless, stone number less than 4 indicates an increased stone clearance rate.

Kappa and Rater Accuracy: Paradigms and Parameters.

PubMed

Conger, Anthony J

2017-12-01

Drawing parallels to classical test theory, this article clarifies the difference between rater accuracy and reliability and demonstrates how category marginal frequencies affect rater agreement and Cohen's kappa (κ). Category assignment paradigms are developed: comparing raters to a standard (index) versus comparing two raters to one another (concordance), using both nonstochastic and stochastic category membership. Using a probability model to express category assignments in terms of rater accuracy and random error, it is shown that observed agreement (Po) depends only on rater accuracy and number of categories; however, expected agreement (Pe) and κ depend additionally on category frequencies. Moreover, category frequencies affect Pe and κ solely through the variance of the category proportions, regardless of the specific frequencies underlying the variance. Paradoxically, some judgment paradigms involving stochastic categories are shown to yield higher κ values than their nonstochastic counterparts. Using the stated probability model, assignments to categories were generated for 552 combinations of paradigms, rater and category parameters, category frequencies, and number of stimuli. Observed means and standard errors for Po, Pe, and κ were fully consistent with theory expectations. Guidelines for interpretation of rater accuracy and reliability are offered, along with a discussion of alternatives to the basic model.

Factors affecting decision-making of patients choosing acupuncture in a public hospital.

PubMed

Sayampanathan, Andrew Arjun; Koh, Thean Howe Bryan; Kong, Keng He; Low, Yin Peng

2015-11-01

With increasing evidence to support its practice, acupuncture has been integrated within many hospitals around the world. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors affecting decision making of patients as they select acupuncture treatment for their medical conditions and symptoms within a public hospital. A qualitative study consisting of in depth interviews with 14 patients was conducted. All patients attended an acupuncture clinic within a public hospital. Data collected was analysed via thematic analysis. Four main factor groups affecting decision making of patients were identified- factors affecting the level and value of patient-centric care, the confidence and trust patients place within the acupuncture service, the presence of collaborative efforts between acupuncturists and Western medicine practitioners, and the knowledge, culture and belief society has regarding the role of acupuncture and Western medicine. All participants interviewed had more than one factor group present as enablers toward their eventual selection of acupuncture for ailment management. It was also noted that although the majority of participants had sufficient knowledge regarding acupuncture, there were a select few who had misperceptions or no knowledge regarding certain aspects of acupuncture. There may be certain patterns in the way patients choose to utilise acupuncture services in public hospitals. Further studies should also be carried out in other public hospitals to analyse the factor groups identified further.

Factors that Affect Poverty Areas in North Sumatera Using Discriminant Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasution, D. H.; Bangun, P.; Sitepu, H. R.

2018-04-01

In Indonesia, especially North Sumatera, the problem of poverty is one of the fundamental problems that become the focus of government both central and local government. Although the poverty rate decreased but the fact is there are many people who are poor. Poverty happens covers several aspects such as education, health, demographics, and also structural and cultural. This research will discuss about several factors such as population density, Unemployment Rate, GDP per capita ADHK, ADHB GDP per capita, economic growth and life expectancy that affect poverty in Indonesia. To determine the factors that most influence and differentiate the level of poverty of the Regency/City North Sumatra used discriminant analysis method. Discriminant analysis is one multivariate analysis technique are used to classify the data into a group based on the dependent variable and independent variable. Using discriminant analysis, it is evident that the factor affecting poverty is Unemployment Rate.

Factors Other than GFR Affecting Serum Cystatin C Levels

PubMed Central

Stevens, Lesley A; Schmid, Christopher H.; Greene, Tom; Li, Liang; Beck, Gerald J; Joffe, Marshall; Froissart, Marc; Kusek, John; Zhang, Yaping (Lucy); Coresh, Josef; Levey, Andrew S

2015-01-01

Cystatin C is gaining acceptance as an endogenous filtration marker. Factors other than glomerular filtration rate (GFR) that affect the serum level have not been carefully studied. In a cross-sectional analysis of a pooled dataset of participants from clinical trials and a clinical population with chronic kidney disease (N=3418), we related serum levels of cystatin C and creatinine to clinical and biochemical variables after adjustment for GFR using errors-in-variables models to account for GFR measurement error. GFR was measured as urinary clearance of 125I-iothalamate and 15Cr-EDTA. Cystatin C was assayed at a single laboratory and creatinine was standardized to reference methods. Mean (SD) creatinine and cystatin C were 2.1 (1.1) mg/dL and 1.8 (0.8) mg/L, respectively. After adjustment for GFR, cystatin C was 4.3% lower for every 20 years of age, 9.2% lower for female sex but only 1.9% lower in blacks. Diabetes was associated with 8.5% higher levels of cystatin C and 3.9% lower levels of creatinine. Higher C-reactive protein and white blood cell count and lower serum albumin were associated with higher levels of cystatin C and lower levels of creatinine. Adjustment for age, sex and race had a greater effect on association of factors with creatinine than cystatin C. In conclusion, cystatin C is affected by factors other than GFR. Clinicians should consider these factors when interpreting the serum levels or GFR estimates from cystatin C. PMID:19119287

[Analysis on accuracy and influencing factors of oral fluid-based rapid HIV self-testing among men who have sex with men].

PubMed

Li, Youfang; Wang, Yumiao; Zhang, Renzhong; Wang, Jue; Li, Zhiqing; Wang, Ling; Pan, Songfeng; Yang, Yanling; Ma, Yanling; Jia, Manhong

2016-01-01

To understood the accuracy of oral fluid-based rapid HIV self-testing among men who have sex with men (MSM) and related factors. Survey was conducted among MSM selected through non-probability sampling to evaluate the quality of their rapid HIV self-testing, and related information was analyzed. The most MSM were aged 21-30 years (57.0%). Among them, 45.7% had educational level of college or above, 78.5% were unmarried, 59.3% were casual laborers. The overall accuracy rate of oral fluid based self-testing was 95.0%, the handling of"inserting test paper into tube as indicated by arrow on it"had the highest accuracy rate (98.0%), and the handling of"gently upsetting tube for 3 times"had lowest accuracy rate (65.0%); Chi-square analysis showed that educational level, no touch with middle part of test paper, whether reading the instruction carefully, whether understanding the instruction and inserting test paper into tube as indicated by the arrow on it were associated with the accuracy of oral fluid-based rapid HIV self-testing, (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that educational level, no touch with middle part of test paper and understanding instructions were associated with the accuracy of oral fluid-based rapid HIV self-testing. The accuracy of oral fluid-based rapid HIV self-testing was high among MSM, the accuracy varied with the educational level of the MSM. Touch with the middle part of test paper or not and understanding the instructions or not might influence the accuracy of the self-testing.

Validating YouTube Factors Affecting Learning Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pratama, Yoga; Hartanto, Rudy; Suning Kusumawardani, Sri

2018-03-01

YouTube is often used as a companion medium or a learning supplement. One of the educational places that often uses is Jogja Audio School (JAS) which focuses on music production education. Music production is a difficult material to learn, especially at the audio mastering. With tutorial contents from YouTube, students find it easier to learn and understand audio mastering and improved their learning performance. This study aims to validate the role of YouTube as a medium of learning in improving student’s learning performance by looking at the factors that affect student learning performance. The sample involves 100 respondents from JAS at audio mastering level. The results showed that student learning performance increases seen from factors that have a significant influence of motivation, instructional content, and YouTube usefulness. Overall findings suggest that YouTube has a important role to student learning performance in music production education and as an innovative and efficient learning medium.

Beyond Negative Pain-Related Psychological Factors: Resilience Is Related to Lower Pain Affect in Healthy Adults.

PubMed

Hemington, Kasey S; Cheng, Joshua C; Bosma, Rachael L; Rogachov, Anton; Kim, Junseok A; Davis, Karen D

2017-09-01

Resilience, a characteristic that enhances adaptation in response to stressful events, is a positive psychological factor that can predict and modulate health outcomes. However, resilience is rarely considered in pain research. Conversely, negative psychological factors (eg, anxiety, depression) are known to be related to the affective dimension of pain. It is critical to understand all potential psychological drivers of pain affect, a prominent component of chronic pain. We tested the hypothesis that higher resilience is associated with lower pain affect, above and beyond the predictive value of negative psychological factors. Healthy adults underwent psychophysical testing to acquire ratings of heat pain intensity and unpleasantness and completed the Resilience Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (trait form), Beck Depression Inventory, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and the Pain Vigilance and Attention Questionnaire. Multiple regression modeling (n = 68) showed resilience to be a negatively associated with pain affect (unpleasantness). Furthermore, in individuals with higher anxiety scores, resilience was protective against higher pain affect. This highlights the importance of resilience, a positive psychological factor, in the affective dimension of pain. This study is the first to assess a positive psychological factor and experimental pain affect, and has the potential to improve prediction of and treatment strategies for clinical pain. We report that resilience, a positive psychological factor, interacts with anxiety and is associated with heat pain affect (unpleasantness) in healthy individuals. Resilience may provide predictive value of chronic pain affect and treatment outcomes, and could be a target for behavioral therapy. Copyright © 2017 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A study of the factors affecting the range of airplanes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biermann, David

1937-01-01

A study was made of the most important factors affecting the range of airplanes. Numerical examples are given showing the effects of different variables on the range of a two-engine airplane. The takeoff problems of long-range airplanes are analyzed.

An Empirically Derived Taxonomy of Factors Affecting Physicians' Willingness to Disclose Medical Errors

PubMed Central

Kaldjian, Lauris C; Jones, Elizabeth W; Rosenthal, Gary E; Tripp-Reimer, Toni; Hillis, Stephen L

2006-01-01

BACKGROUND Physician disclosure of medical errors to institutions, patients, and colleagues is important for patient safety, patient care, and professional education. However, the variables that may facilitate or impede disclosure are diverse and lack conceptual organization. OBJECTIVE To develop an empirically derived, comprehensive taxonomy of factors that affects voluntary disclosure of errors by physicians. DESIGN A mixed-methods study using qualitative data collection (structured literature search and exploratory focus groups), quantitative data transformation (sorting and hierarchical cluster analysis), and validation procedures (confirmatory focus groups and expert review). RESULTS Full-text review of 316 articles identified 91 impeding or facilitating factors affecting physicians' willingness to disclose errors. Exploratory focus groups identified an additional 27 factors. Sorting and hierarchical cluster analysis organized factors into 8 domains. Confirmatory focus groups and expert review relocated 6 factors, removed 2 factors, and modified 4 domain names. The final taxonomy contained 4 domains of facilitating factors (responsibility to patient, responsibility to self, responsibility to profession, responsibility to community), and 4 domains of impeding factors (attitudinal barriers, uncertainties, helplessness, fears and anxieties). CONCLUSIONS A taxonomy of facilitating and impeding factors provides a conceptual framework for a complex field of variables that affects physicians' willingness to disclose errors to institutions, patients, and colleagues. This taxonomy can be used to guide the design of studies to measure the impact of different factors on disclosure, to assist in the design of error-reporting systems, and to inform educational interventions to promote the disclosure of errors to patients. PMID:16918739

Factors Affecting Teen Involvement in Pennsylvania 4-H Programming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, Bart E.; Ewing, John C.; Bruce, Jacklyn A.

2010-01-01

The study reported here determined the factors that affect teen involvement in 4-H programming. The design of the study was descriptive and correlational in nature. Using a purposive sampling procedure, a survey questionnaire was distributed to all (N=214) 4-H members attending the 4-H State Leadership Conference. The major findings of the study…

[Factors affecting the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in inpatient units: perception of nurses].

PubMed

Citolino, Clairton Marcos Filho; Santos, Eduesley Santana; Silva, Rita de Cassia Gengo E; Nogueira, Lilia de Souza

2015-12-01

To identify, in the perception of nurses, the factors that affect the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in adult inpatient units, and investigate the influence of both work shifts and professional experience length of time in the perception of these factors. A descriptive, exploratory study conducted at a hospital specialized in cardiology and pneumology with the application of a questionnaire to 49 nurses working in inpatient units. The majority of nurses reported that the high number of professionals in the scenario (75.5%), the lack of harmony (77.6%) or stress of any member of staff (67.3%), lack of material and/or equipment failure (57.1%), lack of familiarity with the emergency trolleys (98.0%) and presence of family members at the beginning of the cardiopulmonary arrest assistance (57.1%) are factors that adversely affect the quality of care provided during CPR. Professional experience length of time and the shift of nurses did not influence the perception of these factors. The identification of factors that affect the quality of CPR in the perception of nurses serves as parameter to implement improvements and training of the staff working in inpatient units.

Factors Affecting Zebra Mussel Kill by the Bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens

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

Daniel P. Molloy

2004-02-24

The specific purpose of this research project was to identify factors that affect zebra mussel kill by the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens. Test results obtained during this three-year project identified the following key variables as affecting mussel kill: treatment concentration, treatment duration, mussel siphoning activity, dissolved oxygen concentration, water temperature, and naturally suspended particle load. Using this latter information, the project culminated in a series of pipe tests which achieved high mussel kill inside power plants under once-through conditions using service water in artificial pipes.

Optimizing Tsunami Forecast Model Accuracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitmore, P.; Nyland, D. L.; Huang, P. Y.

2015-12-01

Recent tsunamis provide a means to determine the accuracy that can be expected of real-time tsunami forecast models. Forecast accuracy using two different tsunami forecast models are compared for seven events since 2006 based on both real-time application and optimized, after-the-fact "forecasts". Lessons learned by comparing the forecast accuracy determined during an event to modified applications of the models after-the-fact provide improved methods for real-time forecasting for future events. Variables such as source definition, data assimilation, and model scaling factors are examined to optimize forecast accuracy. Forecast accuracy is also compared for direct forward modeling based on earthquake source parameters versus accuracy obtained by assimilating sea level data into the forecast model. Results show that including assimilated sea level data into the models increases accuracy by approximately 15% for the events examined.

Psychological Factor Affecting English Speaking Performance for the English Learners in Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haidara, Youssouf

2016-01-01

In every learning situation or environment, human psychology plays a significant role. English speaking is a language skill that is highly affected by human psychology. This research aimed at describing the psychological factor that affects negatively the English speaking performance for the English learners in Indonesia. A descriptive qualitative…

The Key Factors Affecting Students' Individual Interest in School Science Lessons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheung, Derek

2018-01-01

Individual interest in school science lessons can be defined as a relatively stable and enduring personal emotion comprising affective and behavioural reactions to events in the regular science lessons at school. Little research has compared the importance of different factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons. The…

Affective changes during the postpartum period: Influences of genetic and experiential factors.

PubMed

Agrati, Daniella; Lonstein, Joseph S

2016-01-01

This article is part of a Special Issue "Parental Care". The postpartum period involves some truly transformational changes in females' socioemotional behaviors. For most female laboratory rodents and women, these changes include an improvement in their affective state, which has positive consequences for their ability to sensitively care for their offspring. There is heterogeneity among females in the likelihood of this positive affective change, though, and some women experience elevated anxiety or depression (or in rodents anxiety- or depression-related behaviors) after giving birth. We aim to contribute to the understanding of this heterogeneity in maternal affectivity by reviewing selected components of the scientific literatures on laboratory rodents and humans examining how mothers' physical contact with her infants, genetics, history of anxiety and depression and early-life and recent-life experiences contribute to individual differences in postpartum affective states. These studies together indicate that multiple biological and environmental factors beyond female maternal state shape affective responses during the postpartum period, and probably do so in an interactive manner. Furthermore, the similar capacity of some of these factors to modulate anxiety and depression in human and rodent mothers suggests cross-species conservation of mechanisms regulating postpartum affectivity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors Affecting Soil Microbial Community Structure in Tomato Cropping Systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil and rhizosphere microbial communities in agroecosystems may be affected by soil, climate, plant species, and management. We identified some of the most important factors controlling microbial biomass and community structure in an agroecosystem utilizing tomato plants with the following nine tre...

Factors Affecting Accuracy of Past Tense Production in Children with Specific Language Impairment and Their Typically Developing Peers: The Influence of Verb Transitivity, Clause Location, and Sentence Type

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owen, Amanda J.

2010-01-01

Purpose: The author examined the influence of sentence type, clause order, and verb transitivity on the accuracy of children's past tense productions. All groups of children, but especially children with specific language impairment (SLI), were predicted to decrease accuracy as linguistic complexity increased. Method: The author elicited past…

Factors affecting the reproductive success of dominant male meerkats.

PubMed

Spong, Göran F; Hodge, Sarah J; Young, Andrew J; Clutton-Brock, Tim H

2008-05-01

Identifying traits that affect the reproductive success of individuals is fundamental for our understanding of evolutionary processes. In cooperative breeders, a dominant male typically restricts mating access to the dominant female for extended periods, resulting in pronounced variation in reproductive success among males. This may result in strong selection for traits that increase the likelihood of dominance acquisition, dominance retention and reproductive rates while dominant. However, despite considerable research on reproductive skew, few studies have explored the factors that influence these three processes among males in cooperative species. Here we use genetic, behavioural and demographic data to investigate the factors affecting reproductive success in dominant male meerkats (Suricata suricatta). Our data show that dominant males sire the majority of all offspring surviving to 1 year. A male's likelihood of becoming dominant is strongly influenced by age, but not by weight. Tenure length and reproductive rate, both important components of dominant male reproductive success, are largely affected by group size and composition, rather than individual traits. Dominant males in large groups have longer tenures, but after this effect is controlled, male tenure length also correlates negatively to the number of adult females in the group. Male reproductive rate also declines as the number of intra- and extra-group competitors increases. As the time spent in the dominant position and reproductive rate while dominant explain > 80% of the total variance in reproductive success, group composition thus has major implications for male reproductive success.

Assessing and Ensuring GOES-R Magnetometer Accuracy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kronenwetter, Jeffrey; Carter, Delano R.; Todirita, Monica; Chu, Donald

2016-01-01

The GOES-R magnetometer accuracy requirement is 1.7 nanoteslas (nT). During quiet times (100 nT), accuracy is defined as absolute mean plus 3 sigma. During storms (300 nT), accuracy is defined as absolute mean plus 2 sigma. To achieve this, the sensor itself has better than 1 nT accuracy. Because zero offset and scale factor drift over time, it is also necessary to perform annual calibration maneuvers. To predict performance, we used covariance analysis and attempted to corroborate it with simulations. Although not perfect, the two generally agree and show the expected behaviors. With the annual calibration regimen, these predictions suggest that the magnetometers will meet their accuracy requirements.

Study on the position accuracy of a mechanical alignment system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Yimin

In this thesis, we investigated the precision level and established the baseline achieved by a mechanical alignment system using datums and reference surfaces. The factors which affect the accuracy of mechanical alignment system were studied and methodology was developed to suppress these factors so as to reach its full potential precision. In order to characterize the mechanical alignment system quantitatively, a new optical position monitoring system by using quadrant detectors has been developed in this thesis, it can monitor multi-dimensional degrees of mechanical workpieces in real time with high precision. We studied the noise factors inside the system and optimized the optical system. Based on the fact that one of the major limiting noise factors is the shifting of the laser beam, a noise cancellation technique has been developed successfully to suppress this noise, the feasibility of an ultra high resolution (<20 A) for displacement monitoring has been demonstrated. Using the optical position monitoring system, repeatability experiment of the mechanical alignment system has been conducted on different kinds of samples including steel, aluminum, glass and plastics with the same size 100mm x 130mm. The alignment accuracy was studied quantitatively rather than qualitatively before. In a controlled environment, the alignment precision can be improved 5 folds by securing the datum without other means of help. The alignment accuracy of an aluminum workpiece having reference surface by milling is about 3 times better than by shearing. Also we have found that sample material can have fairly significant effect on the alignment precision of the system. Contamination trapped between the datum and reference surfaces in mechanical alignment system can cause errors of registration or reduce the level of manufacturing precision. In the thesis, artificial and natural dust particles were used to simulate the real situations and their effects on system precision have been

Factors affecting the employability in people with epilepsy.

PubMed

Wo, Monica Chen Mun; Lim, Kheng Seang; Choo, Wan Yuen; Tan, Chong Tin

2016-12-01

People with epilepsy (PWE) are negatively prejudiced in their ability to work. This study aimed to examine demographic, clinical and psychological factors associated with employability in PWE. This study recruited epilepsy patients from a neurology clinic in Malaysia. Employability was measured using employment ratio, with a ratio ≥90% (ER90) classified as high employability. Basic demographic data such as age, gender, marital status, religion, education level and household income was collected. Clinical measures consisted of age of seizure onset, seizure frequency, type of epilepsy, aura, polytherapy, nocturnal seizures and seizure control. Psychological measures included Work Self-Determination Index (WSDI), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Of 146 PWE, 64.4% had high employability. The participants were predominantly female (52%), Chinese (50.7%), single (50%), having tertiary education (55.5%) and focal epilepsy (72.6%). Clinically, only type of epilepsy was significantly correlated to employability of PWE. Employability of PWE was associated with ability to work (indicated by education level, work performance affected by seizures, ability to travel independently and ability to cope with stress at work) and family overprotection. The high employability group was found to have lower self-perceived stigma (ESS), higher self-determined motivation (WSDI), self-esteem (SES) and perceived social support (MSPSS), than the low employability group. Logistic regression analysis showed that tertiary education level (AOR 3.42, CI: 1.46-8.00), higher self-determination (WSDI, AOR 1.09, CI: 1.012-1.17), lower family overprotection (AOR 0.76, CI: 0.61-0.95), and generalised epilepsy (AOR 4.17, CI: 1.37-12.70) were significant predictors for higher employability in PWE. Ability to work (education level), clinical factor (type of epilepsy) and psychological factor (self-determined motivation and family

Affective processes in human-automation interactions.

PubMed

Merritt, Stephanie M

2011-08-01

This study contributes to the literature on automation reliance by illuminating the influences of user moods and emotions on reliance on automated systems. Past work has focused predominantly on cognitive and attitudinal variables, such as perceived machine reliability and trust. However, recent work on human decision making suggests that affective variables (i.e., moods and emotions) are also important. Drawing from the affect infusion model, significant effects of affect are hypothesized. Furthermore, a new affectively laden attitude termed liking is introduced. Participants watched video clips selected to induce positive or negative moods, then interacted with a fictitious automated system on an X-ray screening task At five time points, important variables were assessed including trust, liking, perceived machine accuracy, user self-perceived accuracy, and reliance.These variables, along with propensity to trust machines and state affect, were integrated in a structural equation model. Happiness significantly increased trust and liking for the system throughout the task. Liking was the only variable that significantly predicted reliance early in the task. Trust predicted reliance later in the task, whereas perceived machine accuracy and user self-perceived accuracy had no significant direct effects on reliance at any time. Affective influences on automation reliance are demonstrated, suggesting that this decision-making process may be less rational and more emotional than previously acknowledged. Liking for a new system may be key to appropriate reliance, particularly early in the task. Positive affect can be easily induced and may be a lever for increasing liking.

Personal Factors that Affect the Satisfaction of Female Patients Undergoing Esthetic Suture after Typical Thyroidectomy.

PubMed

Kim, Hyo Young; Kim, Jung Won; Park, Jin Hyung; Kim, Jung Hun; Han, Yea Sik

2013-07-01

In esthetic surgery, understanding the factors that influence patient satisfaction is important for successful practice. We hypothesize that the factors that influence patient satisfaction include not only aesthetic and functional outcomes, but also personal factors such as the level of familiarity with factors affecting wound healing and expectations regarding aesthetic outcome. One hundred patients who underwent esthetic closure after thyroidectomy were included in this study. In order to evaluate the individual characteristics of the patients, a preoperative survey was administered to the patients. We estimated the patient satisfaction six months postoperatively and assessed the aesthetic and functional outcomes using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale. According to the results of correlation analysis, level of familiarity with wound healing factors had a positive correlation with satisfaction. High expectations, pain, itching, and high observer scale score had negative correlations with satisfaction. The factors that were correlated with satisfaction were included in the multiple regression analysis. Level of familiarity with wound healing factors was found to have a positive relationship with satisfaction, while itching and observer scale were found to have a negative relationship with satisfaction. After excluding 10 patients who had hypertrophic scars, only level of familiarity with wound healing factors and expectations affected satisfaction. The level of familiarity with factors affecting wound healing and expectations were found to independently affect satisfaction. Improving patients' level of familiarity with wound healing factors and reducing their expectations by providing suitable preoperative education has the potential to improve patient satisfaction.

Arsenic in Drinking Water in Bangladesh: Factors Affecting Child Health

PubMed Central

Aziz, Sonia N.; Aziz, Khwaja M. S.; Boyle, Kevin J.

2014-01-01

The focus of this paper is to present an empirical model of factors affecting child health by observing actions households take to avoid exposure to arsenic in drinking water. Millions of Bangladeshis face multiple health hazards from high levels of arsenic in drinking water. Safe water sources are either expensive or difficult to access, affecting people’s individuals’ time available for work and ultimately affecting the health of household members. Since children are particularly susceptible and live with parents who are primary decision makers for sustenance, parental actions linking child health outcomes is used in the empirical model. Empirical results suggest that child health is significantly affected by the age and gender of the household water procurer. Adults with a high degree of concern for children’s health risk from arsenic contamination, and who actively mitigate their arsenic contaminated water have a positive effect on child health. PMID:24982854

Factors affecting physical therapists’ job satisfaction: questionnaire survey targeting first-year physical therapists

PubMed Central

Kota, Munetsugu; Kudo, Hiroyuki; Okita, Kazuhiko

2018-01-01

[Purpose] The survey aimed to clarify the factors that affect physiotherapists’ job satisfaction. [Subjects and Methods] To examine factors affecting physical therapists’ job satisfaction using a cross-sectional study with a questionnaire survey. Subjects were 193 first-year physical therapists who participated in a newcomer orientation at Hiroshima Prefectural Physical Therapy Association. The questionnaire comprised items concerning physical therapists’ satisfaction with their work, motives for becoming physical therapists, education in school, internships, the workplace, and comfort in the workplace. [Results] Subjects were divided into two groups according to their satisfaction with their occupation. The “high satisfaction” group included 157 subjects, and the group “low satisfaction” group included 36 subjects. Using logistic regression analysis, items concerning comfort in the workplace, motives for becoming physical therapists, and learning in school were analysed. [Conclusion] Factors affecting physical therapists’ job satisfaction were primarily influenced by previous experience and working conditions. PMID:29706706

Factors affecting physical therapists' job satisfaction: questionnaire survey targeting first-year physical therapists.

PubMed

Kota, Munetsugu; Kudo, Hiroyuki; Okita, Kazuhiko

2018-04-01

[Purpose] The survey aimed to clarify the factors that affect physiotherapists' job satisfaction. [Subjects and Methods] To examine factors affecting physical therapists' job satisfaction using a cross-sectional study with a questionnaire survey. Subjects were 193 first-year physical therapists who participated in a newcomer orientation at Hiroshima Prefectural Physical Therapy Association. The questionnaire comprised items concerning physical therapists' satisfaction with their work, motives for becoming physical therapists, education in school, internships, the workplace, and comfort in the workplace. [Results] Subjects were divided into two groups according to their satisfaction with their occupation. The "high satisfaction" group included 157 subjects, and the group "low satisfaction" group included 36 subjects. Using logistic regression analysis, items concerning comfort in the workplace, motives for becoming physical therapists, and learning in school were analysed. [Conclusion] Factors affecting physical therapists' job satisfaction were primarily influenced by previous experience and working conditions.

Factors affecting wood energy consumption by U.S. households

Treesearch

Nianfu Song; Francisco X. Aguilar; Stephen R. Shifley; Michael E. Goerndt

2012-01-01

About 23% of energy derived from woody sources in the U.S. was consumed by households, of which 70% was used by households in rural areas in 2005. We investigated factors affecting household-level wood energy consumption in the four continental U.S. regions using data from the U.S. Residential Energy Consumption Survey. To account for a large number of zero...

Effects of Experience and Training on Diagnostic Accuracy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brammer, Robert

The interview process was studied to uncover the relationship of expertise in psychotherapy to the likelihood of accurate diagnosis. Experience and training affect the number of diagnostic questions clinicians ask as compared to personal, family, social, occupational, and history questions; and this in turn affects the accuracy of the diagnoses…

Impact of severe tricuspid regurgitation on accuracy of systolic pulmonary arterial pressure measured by Doppler echocardiography: Analysis in an unselected patient population.

PubMed

Fei, Beini; Fan, Ting; Zhao, Ling; Pei, Xiaoli; Shu, Xianhong; Fang, Xiaoyan; Cheng, Leilei

2017-07-01

Pulmonary arterial pressure is an important index in cardiovascular disorders, especially for pulmonary hypertension (PH). Doppler echocardiography (DE) is widely used as a noninvasive method to assess pulmonary arterial pressure. However, recent studies have found several hemodynamic factors that affect its accuracy in estimating systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (sPAP). But the effect of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has not been investigated. Therefore, our study is aimed to determine whether the severity of TR will affect the accuracy of sPAP measured by DE in an unselected patient population. We retrospectively studied 177 patients who underwent DE and right heart catheterization (RHC) examinations. Patients were categorized into 3 groups according to the severity of TR (mild, moderate, and severe). The discrepancy in sPAP measured by DE and RHC was calculated and compared in each group. Determinants of discordant results between two methods were also evaluated. Age, gender, interval between DE and RHC, sequence of DE and RHC were similar among groups (all P>.05). Differences in sPAP, RAP, and tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient (TR-PG) were similar in group 1 and 2 (all P>.05), while all significantly higher in group 3 (all P<.05). The difference in sPAP between DE and RHC was affected independently by severe TR and severe PH (both P<.05). Severe TR and severe PH affect the accuracy of sPAP measured by DE. Modification of echocardiographic sPAP measurements by taking into consideration of these factors may lead to reduced systemic errors. © 2017, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The main factor affecting the competitiveness of Contractor Company

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurisra; Malahayati, Nurul; Mahmuddin

2018-05-01

Contractor companies must have the competitive advantage to compete in maintaining the survival of the company. Problems arise because quite a lot of advantages can be used and these advantages must be used appropriately to produce competitiveness for the company to continue to compete and to win the competition. This study aims to determine the main factors affecting the competitiveness of medium-class contractors in Banda Aceh. Data collection was obtained through questionnaires distributed to 31 middle-class contractors in Banda Aceh. Data processing and analysis is done by using descriptive analysis. Based on the result of descriptive analysis, it can be concluded that the most important competitiveness factor with a mean score value 4.52 is the relationship, and the factor that has the highest mean score value is the relationship with the government of 4.97, while the result of the ranking analysis is obtained 25 factor that is critical to the competitiveness of medium-class contractors in Banda Aceh.

Factors Affecting the Formation of Food Preferences in Preschool Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alles-White, Monica L.; Welch, Patricia

1985-01-01

Identifies and discusses factors that affect the development of food preferences in preschool children, including familiarity, age, parents, peers, teachers, and programs designed to influence food habits. Makes recommendations to preschool and day care programs for creating an atmosphere conducive to trying new foods. (Author/DST)

A retrospective analysis to identify the factors affecting infection in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

PubMed

Park, Ji Hyun; Kim, Hyeon-Young; Lee, Hanna; Yun, Eun Kyoung

2015-12-01

This study compares the performance of the logistic regression and decision tree analysis methods for assessing the risk factors for infection in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The subjects were 732 cancer patients who were receiving chemotherapy at K university hospital in Seoul, Korea. The data were collected between March 2011 and February 2013 and were processed for descriptive analysis, logistic regression and decision tree analysis using the IBM SPSS Statistics 19 and Modeler 15.1 programs. The most common risk factors for infection in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy were identified as alkylating agents, vinca alkaloid and underlying diabetes mellitus. The logistic regression explained 66.7% of the variation in the data in terms of sensitivity and 88.9% in terms of specificity. The decision tree analysis accounted for 55.0% of the variation in the data in terms of sensitivity and 89.0% in terms of specificity. As for the overall classification accuracy, the logistic regression explained 88.0% and the decision tree analysis explained 87.2%. The logistic regression analysis showed a higher degree of sensitivity and classification accuracy. Therefore, logistic regression analysis is concluded to be the more effective and useful method for establishing an infection prediction model for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Risk factors for injuries in landslide- and flood-affected populations in Uganda.

PubMed

Agrawal, Shreya; Gopalakrishnan, Tisha; Gorokhovich, Yuri; Doocy, Shannon

2013-08-01

The frequency of occurrence of natural disasters has increased over the past several decades, which necessitates a better understanding of human vulnerability, particularly in low-resource settings. This paper assesses risk factors for injury in the March 2010 floods and landslides in Eastern Uganda, and compares the effects of location, injury type, and severity. A stratified cluster survey of the disaster-affected populations was conducted five months after onset of the disasters. Probability proportional to size sampling was used to sample 800 households, including 400 affected by floods in Butaleja District and 400 affected by landslides in Bududa District. Flood- and landslide-affected populations were surveyed in July 2010 using a stratified cluster design. The odds of injury were 65% higher in the flood-affected groups than the landslide-affected groups in a logistic regression (OR = 0.35; 95% CI, 0.24-0.52; P < .001). The injury rate was greater in individuals under 42 years of age, and location of injury was a contributing factor. More people were injured in the flood-affected population as compared with the landslide-affected population, and injuries were more severe. This study illustrates differences between populations injured by flood and landslide disasters that occurred simultaneously in Eastern Uganda in 2010. In areas where landslides are prone to occur due to massive rainfalls or floods, preventative measures, such as early warning systems and evacuation, are more likely to increase the likelihood of people surviving, while for areas with massive floods, immediate and effective medical attention can save lives and improve injury outcomes.

The factors affecting on estimation of carbohydrate content of meals in carbohydrate counting

PubMed Central

Kawamura, Tomoyuki; Takamura, Chihiro; Hirose, Masakazu; Hashimoto, Tomomi; Higashide, Takashi; Kashihara, Yoneo; Hashimura, Kayako; Shintaku, Haruo

2015-01-01

Abstract. The objective of this study was to identify factors affecting on errors in carbohydrate (CHO) content estimation during CHO counting. Thirty-seven type 1 diabetes patients and 22 of their parents and 28 physicians/dieticians were enrolled in this study. CHO counting was counted in “Carb”, with 1 Carb defined as 10 g of CHO. To evaluate the accuracy of CHO counting, 80 real-size photographs of cooked meals were presented to the subjects for Carb estimation. Carbs tended to be overestimated for foods containing relatively small amounts of Carbs. On the other hands, Carbs tended to be underestimated for foods with higher than 6 Carbs. Accurate estimation of the Carbs in food containing a large amount of rice was particularly difficult even in the subjects having the CHO counting experience. The Carb contents of high-calorie foods such as meats, fried foods, and desserts tended to be overestimated. This error was smaller in subjects having the CHO counting experience. In conclusion, misunderstanding of high-calorie dishes containing high amounts of CHO was observed in inexperienced subjects, indicating the efficacy of the current methodology of CHO counting. On the other hand it was difficult even for experienced subjects to assess the amount of seasoned rice, suggesting the need for a new methodology for accurate estimation. PMID:26568656

Factors affecting smoking in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Beratis, S; Katrivanou, A; Gourzis, P

2001-01-01

There is an increased frequency of smoking among patients with schizophrenia. However, it is unknown whether the smoking behavior of the patients is similar in all schizophrenia subtypes, as well as which is the relationship between smoking initiation and disease onset. Four hundred six patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia were interviewed to determine the smoking status in relationship to gender and schizophrenic subtype, and to other factors that could affect or be affected by smoking. The frequency of smoking among patients (58%) was significantly greater than in subjects from the general population (42%) (P =.000005). Male patients smoked significantly more frequently (70%) than the corresponding control subjects (50%) (P =.000006), whereas the difference failed to reach significance between female patients (41%) and control subjects (32%). Among male patients, the number of smokers was significantly greater than in the controls in the paranoid (77%), undifferentiated (72%), and residual (78%) subtypes, whereas there was no significant difference in the disorganized (44%) and catatonic (22%) subtypes. The findings show that the frequency of smoking in schizophrenia patients increases with increasing positive symptoms and decreases with increasing negative symptoms. Male and female smoking patients consumed approximately 10 cigarettes per day more than the corresponding control subjects (P <.000001). In 86% of the patients, smoking initiation occurred before the disease onset. Among patients who smoked, smoking initiation and disease onset occurred at age 18.7 +/- 4.4 and 24.1 +/- 6.1 years, respectively (P <.000001). It appears that smoking in schizophrenia is influenced by gender and subtype. However, the nature of this association remains uncertain because in the vast majority of the patients smoking initiation occurs earlier than the disease onset. Copyright 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company

Companion of choice at birth: factors affecting implementation.

PubMed

Kabakian-Khasholian, Tamar; Portela, Anayda

2017-08-31

Two recent recommendations made by the World Health Organization confirm the benefits of companion of choice at birth on labour outcomes; however institutional practices and policies do not always support its implementation in different settings around the world. We conducted a review to determine factors that affect implementation of this intervention considering the perspectives and experiences of different stakeholders and other institutional, systemic barriers and facilitators. Forty one published studies were included in this review. Thirty one publications were identified from a 2013 Cochrane review on the effectiveness of companion of choice at birth. We also reviewed 10 qualitative studies conducted alongside the trials or other interventions on labour and birth companionship identified through electronic searches. The SURE (Supporting the Use of Research Evidence) framework was used to guide the thematic analysis of implementation factors. Women and their families expressed appreciation for the continuous presence of a person to provide support during childbirth. Health care providers were concerned about the role of the companion and possible interference with activities in the labour ward. Allocation of resources, organization of care, facility-related constraints and cultural inclinations were identified as implementation barriers. Prior to introducing companion of choice at birth, understanding providers' attitudes and sensitizing them to the evidence is necessary. The commitment of the management of health care facilities is also required to change policies, including allocation of appropriate physical space that respects women's privacy. Implementation research to develop models for different contexts which could be scaled up would be useful, including documentation of factors that affected implementation and how they were addressed. Future research should also focus on documenting the costs related to implementation, and on measuring the impact of

Improvement of the Accuracy of InSAR Image Co-Registration Based On Tie Points - A Review.

PubMed

Zou, Weibao; Li, Yan; Li, Zhilin; Ding, Xiaoli

2009-01-01

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a new measurement technology, making use of the phase information contained in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. InSAR has been recognized as a potential tool for the generation of digital elevation models (DEMs) and the measurement of ground surface deformations. However, many critical factors affect the quality of InSAR data and limit its applications. One of the factors is InSAR data processing, which consists of image co-registration, interferogram generation, phase unwrapping and geocoding. The co-registration of InSAR images is the first step and dramatically influences the accuracy of InSAR products. In this paper, the principle and processing procedures of InSAR techniques are reviewed. One of important factors, tie points, to be considered in the improvement of the accuracy of InSAR image co-registration are emphatically reviewed, such as interval of tie points, extraction of feature points, window size for tie point matching and the measurement for the quality of an interferogram.

Do knowledge, knowledge sources and reasoning skills affect the accuracy of nursing diagnoses? a randomised study.

PubMed

Paans, Wolter; Sermeus, Walter; Nieweg, Roos Mb; Krijnen, Wim P; van der Schans, Cees P

2012-08-01

This paper reports a study about the effect of knowledge sources, such as handbooks, an assessment format and a predefined record structure for diagnostic documentation, as well as the influence of knowledge, disposition toward critical thinking and reasoning skills, on the accuracy of nursing diagnoses.Knowledge sources can support nurses in deriving diagnoses. A nurse's disposition toward critical thinking and reasoning skills is also thought to influence the accuracy of his or her nursing diagnoses. A randomised factorial design was used in 2008-2009 to determine the effect of knowledge sources. We used the following instruments to assess the influence of ready knowledge, disposition, and reasoning skills on the accuracy of diagnoses: (1) a knowledge inventory, (2) the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, and (3) the Health Science Reasoning Test. Nurses (n = 249) were randomly assigned to one of four factorial groups, and were instructed to derive diagnoses based on an assessment interview with a simulated patient/actor. The use of a predefined record structure resulted in a significantly higher accuracy of nursing diagnoses. A regression analysis reveals that almost half of the variance in the accuracy of diagnoses is explained by the use of a predefined record structure, a nurse's age and the reasoning skills of `deduction' and `analysis'. Improving nurses' dispositions toward critical thinking and reasoning skills, and the use of a predefined record structure, improves accuracy of nursing diagnoses.

Do knowledge, knowledge sources and reasoning skills affect the accuracy of nursing diagnoses? a randomised study

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background This paper reports a study about the effect of knowledge sources, such as handbooks, an assessment format and a predefined record structure for diagnostic documentation, as well as the influence of knowledge, disposition toward critical thinking and reasoning skills, on the accuracy of nursing diagnoses. Knowledge sources can support nurses in deriving diagnoses. A nurse’s disposition toward critical thinking and reasoning skills is also thought to influence the accuracy of his or her nursing diagnoses. Method A randomised factorial design was used in 2008–2009 to determine the effect of knowledge sources. We used the following instruments to assess the influence of ready knowledge, disposition, and reasoning skills on the accuracy of diagnoses: (1) a knowledge inventory, (2) the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, and (3) the Health Science Reasoning Test. Nurses (n = 249) were randomly assigned to one of four factorial groups, and were instructed to derive diagnoses based on an assessment interview with a simulated patient/actor. Results The use of a predefined record structure resulted in a significantly higher accuracy of nursing diagnoses. A regression analysis reveals that almost half of the variance in the accuracy of diagnoses is explained by the use of a predefined record structure, a nurse’s age and the reasoning skills of `deduction’ and `analysis’. Conclusions Improving nurses’ dispositions toward critical thinking and reasoning skills, and the use of a predefined record structure, improves accuracy of nursing diagnoses. PMID:22852577

The Synergistic Effect of Affective Factors on Student Learning Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jack, Brady Michael; Lin, Huann-shyang; Yore, Larry D.

2014-01-01

This study investigates how affective and self-related factors impact participation in science learning and environmental awareness and responsibility. Using PISA 2006 datasets from Taiwan and Canada having similar level of science competency, the model for this study verifies and expands an earlier model by examining the relationships among…

Factors Affecting Educational Innovation with in Class Electronic Response Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Mark; Bell, Amani; Comerton-Forde, Carole; Pickering, Joanne; Blayney, Paul

2007-01-01

This paper reports the use of Rogers' diffusion of innovation perspective to understand the factors affecting educational innovation decisions, specifically in regard to in class electronic response systems. Despite decreasing costs and four decades of research showing strong student support, academic adoption is limited. Using data collected from…

Factors Affecting the Acceptability of Microforms as a Reading Medium.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spencer, Herbert; Reynolds, Linda

Based on visits to representative microform users and an extensive survey of relevant literature, a study was undertaken to assess the relative importance of factors affecting the acceptability of microforms as reading mediums. The following variables were considered: (1) microform characteristics; (2) equipment design; (3) work station design;…

Environmental factors affecting understory diversity in second-growth deciduous forests

Treesearch

Cynthia D. Huebner; J.C. Randolph; G.R. Parker

1995-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the most important nonanthropogenic factors affecting understory (herbs, shrubs and low-growing vines) diversity in forested landscapes of southern Indiana. Fourteen environmental variables were measured for 46 sites. Multiple regression analysis showed significant positive correlation between understory diversity and tree...

Factors Affecting School Choice: What Do Malaysian Chinese Parents Want?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siah, Poh Chua; Christina Ong, Sook Beng; Tan, Swee Mee; Sim, Chzia Poaw; Xian Thoo, Raphael Yi

2018-01-01

Aiming to explore factors affecting Malaysian Chinese parents in sending their children to either national secondary schools or Chinese independent schools, 494 parents were surveyed using a questionnaire. Results showed that parents who sent their children to Chinese independent schools have different priorities compared to those who sent theirs…

Risk factors affecting human traumatic tympanic membrane perforation regeneration therapy using fibroblast growth factor-2.

PubMed

Lou, Zhengcai; Yang, Jian; Tang, Yongmei; Xiao, Jian

2015-01-01

The use of growth factors to achieve closure of human traumatic tympanic membrane perforations (TMPs) has recently been demonstrated. However, pretreatment factors affecting healing outcomes have seldom been discussed. The objective of this study was to evaluate pretreatment factors contributing to the success or failure of healing of TMPs using fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2). A retrospective cohort study of 99 patients (43 males, 56 females) with traumatic TMPs who were observed for at least 6 months after FGF-2 treatment between March 2011 and December 2012. Eleven factors considered likely to affect the outcome of perforation closure were evaluated statistically using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Each traumatic TMP was treated by direct application of FGF-2. Complete closure versus failure to close. In total, 99 patients were analyzed. The total closure rate was 92/99 (92.9%) at 6 months; the mean closure time was 10.59 ±  6.81 days. The closure rate did not significantly differ between perforations with or without inverted edges (100.0% vs. 91.4%, p = 0.087), among different size groups (p = 0.768), or among different periods of exposure to injury (p = 0.051). However, the closure rate was significantly different between the high- and low-dose FGF-2 groups (85.0% vs. 98.3%, p = 0.010) and between perforations where the umbo or malleus was or was not involved in perforation (85.4% vs. 98.3%, p = 0.012). Additionally, univariate logistic regression analysis tests showed that it was difficult to achieve healing of these perforations with a history of chronic otitis media or residual TM calcification (p = 0.006), the umbo or malleus was involved in perforation (p = 0.038), and with a high dose of FGF-2 (p = 0.035) compared with control groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only a history of chronic otitis media and residual TM calcification and perforation close to the

Factors affecting alkali jarosite precipitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutrizac, J. E.

1983-12-01

Several factors affecting the precipitation of the alkali jarosites (sodium jarosite, potassium jarosite, rubidium jarosite, and ammonium jarosite) have been studied systematically using sodium jarosite as the model. The pH of the reacting solution exercises a major influence on the amount of jarosite formed, but has little effect on the composition of the washed product. Higher temperatures significantly increase the yield and slightly raise the alkali content of the jarosites. The yield and alkali content both increase greatly with the alkali concentration to about twice the stoichiometric requirement but, thereafter, remain nearly constant. At 97 °C, the amount of product increases with longer retention times to about 15 hours, but more prolonged reaction times are without significant effect on the amount or composition of the jarosite. Factors such as the presence of seed or ionic strength have little effect on the yield or jarosite composition. The amount of precipitate augments directly as the iron concentration of the solution increases, but the product composition is nearly independent of this variable. A significant degree of agitation is necessary to suspend the product and to prevent the jarosite from coating the apparatus with correspondingly small yields. Once the product is adequately suspended, however, further agitation is without significant effect. The partitioning of alkali ions during jarosite precipitation was ascertained for K:Na, Na:NH4, K:NH4, and K:Rb. Potassium jarosite is the most stable of the alkali jarosites and the stability falls systematically for lighter or heavier congeners; ammonium jarosite is slightly more stable than the sodium analogue. Complete solid solubility among the various alkali jarosite-type compounds was established.

Can segmentation evaluation metric be used as an indicator of land cover classification accuracy?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Švab Lenarčič, Andreja; Đurić, Nataša; Čotar, Klemen; Ritlop, Klemen; Oštir, Krištof

2016-10-01

It is a broadly established belief that the segmentation result significantly affects subsequent image classification accuracy. However, the actual correlation between the two has never been evaluated. Such an evaluation would be of considerable importance for any attempts to automate the object-based classification process, as it would reduce the amount of user intervention required to fine-tune the segmentation parameters. We conducted an assessment of segmentation and classification by analyzing 100 different segmentation parameter combinations, 3 classifiers, 5 land cover classes, 20 segmentation evaluation metrics, and 7 classification accuracy measures. The reliability definition of segmentation evaluation metrics as indicators of land cover classification accuracy was based on the linear correlation between the two. All unsupervised metrics that are not based on number of segments have a very strong correlation with all classification measures and are therefore reliable as indicators of land cover classification accuracy. On the other hand, correlation at supervised metrics is dependent on so many factors that it cannot be trusted as a reliable classification quality indicator. Algorithms for land cover classification studied in this paper are widely used; therefore, presented results are applicable to a wider area.

[Phosphorus availability in cropland soils of China and related affecting factors].

PubMed

Wang, Yong-Zhuang; Chen, Xin; Shi, Yi

2013-01-01

Soil phosphorus (P) availability directly determines cropland productivity. Based on the long-term fertilization experiments in different climatic zones of China, this paper summarized the P content, its availability, and the factors affecting the P transformation in China cropland soils. The total and available P contents in different types of China cropland soils were 0.31-1.72 g x kg(-1) and 0.1-228.8 mg x kg(-1), respectively. Soil parent material, soil physical and chemical prosperities, and fertilization practices were the main factors affecting the soil P availability. It was suggested that more attentions should be paid on the mixed application of organic manure and chemical fertilizers to improve the P availability of cropland soils and on the potential environmental impacts of this fertilization.

Factors affecting workplace bullying and lateral violence among clinical nurses in Korea: descriptive study.

PubMed

Oh, Hyunjin; Uhm, Dong Choon; Yoon, Young Joo

2016-04-01

Workplace bullying and lateral violence are serious issues affecting the work life of hospital nurses. The purpose of this study was to identify the selected individual and institutional characteristics for workplace bullying and lateral violence using a conceptual framework. A descriptive survey design was used. A convenience sample of 255 nurses in tertiary hospitals, who had a minimum of 6 months clinical experience, completed the survey. Regression analysis was used to determine factors significantly associated with workplace bullying and lateral violence. The Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised and the Lateral Violence scale were used to measure workplace bullying and lateral violence. A negative affect, individualism and working in hospital specialty units predicted workplace bullying. Individualism, a negative affect, affiliated hospital and working hours predicted verbal abuse whereas the place of employment was significantly associated with lateral violence. The results of this study identified factors that are associated with bullying and violence but did not fully support the conceptual framework. The individual characteristic negative affect was significantly associated with most types of workplace bullying and lateral violence bully whereas the place of employment was an important factor in lateral violence. Nurse managers need to be aware that both individual and institutional factors may impact levels of workplace bullying and lateral violence in their hospitals and need to prepare specific strategies to address these multiple factors. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Factors affecting length of stay in teaching hospitals of a middle-income country

PubMed Central

Khosravizadeh, Omid; Vatankhah, Soudabeh; Bastani, Peivand; Kalhor, Rohollah; Alirezaei, Samira; Doosty, Farzane

2016-01-01

Introduction The length of stay (LOS) in hospitals is a widely used and important criteria for evaluating hospital performance. The aim of this study was to determine factors affecting LOS in teaching hospitals of Qazvin Providence. Methods In this cross-sectional study, patients’ health records were randomly selected from archives in teaching hospitals of Qazvin in 2013. Data were collected through a data entry form and were analyzed using Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Kruskal–Wallis, and Mann–Whitney U tests at the significant level of 0.05. Results The mean of hospital LOS was 5.45 ± 6.14 days. Age, employment, marital status, history of previous admission, patient condition at discharge, method of payment, and type of treatment had an impact on LOS (p<0.05). Other factors, including gender, place of residence, and type of admission, did not affect LOS. Conclusion Because hospitals consume a perceptible part of resources in a health system, controlled and optimized use of its resources help to save a lot. Therefore, this study showed many clinical and nonclinical factors affect LOS in evaluating these factors, which may reduce inappropriate hospital stays and decrease costs. PMID:27957301

Analysis of usability factors affecting purchase intention in online e-commerce sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perdana, R. A.; Suzianti, A.

2017-03-01

The growing number of internet users plays a significant role in the emergence of a variety of online e-commerce sites to meet the needs of Indonesians. However, there are still some problems faced by the users in using e-commerce sites. Therefore, a research related to user experience on their purchase intention to foster e-commerce sites is required. This study is conducted to find out the relationship between usability factors on e-commerce users’ purchase intention using a case study by using SEM to analyse the usability of the website. The result of this study shows that credibility, readability and telepresence are usability factors that directly affect purchase intention, while simplicity, consistency and interactivity are usability factors that indirectly affect purchase intention. Therefore, we can conclude that Indonesian consumers are on the Early Majority phase in adopting Company A.

The Internal Structure of Positive and Negative Affect: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the PANAS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuccitto, Daniel E.; Giacobbi, Peter R., Jr.; Leite, Walter L.

2010-01-01

This study tested five confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) models of the Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to provide validity evidence based on its internal structure. A sample of 223 club sport athletes indicated their emotions during the past week. Results revealed that an orthogonal two-factor CFA model, specifying error…

Factors affecting midwives' confidence in intrapartum care: a phenomenological study.

PubMed

Bedwell, Carol; McGowan, Linda; Lavender, Tina

2015-01-01

midwives are frequently the lead providers of care for women throughout labour and birth. In order to perform their role effectively and provide women with the choices they require midwives need to be confident in their practice. This study explores factors which may affect midwives' confidence in their practice. hermeneutic phenomenology formed the theoretical basis for the study. Prospective longitudinal data collection was completed using diaries and semi-structured interviews. Twelve midwives providing intrapartum care in a variety of settings were recruited to ensure a variety of experiences in different contexts were captured. the principal factor affecting workplace confidence, both positively and negatively, was the influence of colleagues. Perceived autonomy and a sense of familiarity could also enhance confidence. However, conflict in the workplace was a critical factor in reducing midwives' confidence. Confidence was an important, but fragile, phenomenon to midwives and they used a variety of coping strategies, emotional intelligence and presentation management to maintain it. this is the first study to highlight both the factors influencing midwives' workplace confidence and the strategies midwives employed to maintain their confidence. Confidence is important in maintaining well-being and workplace culture may play a role in explaining the current low morale within the midwifery workforce. This may have implications for women's choices and care. Support, effective leadership and education may help midwives develop and sustain a positive sense of confidence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Specifying the non-specific factors underlying opioid analgesia: Expectancy, attention, and affect

PubMed Central

Atlas, Lauren Y.; Wielgosz, Joseph; Whittington, Robert A.; Wager, Tor D.

2013-01-01

Rationale Psychological processes such as expectancy, attention, and affect directly influence clinical outcomes. These factors are grouped together as “nonspecific” factors, or placebo effects, in the medical literature, and their individual contributions are rarely considered. The pain-reducing effects of analgesic treatments may reflect changes in these psychological factors, rather than pure drug effects on pain. Furthermore, drug effects may not be isolated by drug vs. placebo comparisons if drugs interact with relevant psychological processes. Objectives To determine whether the analgesic effects of opioid and placebo treatment are mediated by changes in attention, expectancy, or affect. Methods We crossed intravenous administration of a potent opioid analgesic, remifentanil, with information about drug delivery (treatment expectancy, or placebo) using a balanced placebo design. We measured drug and treatment expectancy effects on pain, attention, and responses to emotional images. We also examined interactions with cue-based expectations about noxious stimulation, or stimulus expectancy. Results Pain was additively influenced by treatment expectancy, stimulus expectancy, and drug concentration. Attention performance showed a small but significant interaction between drug and treatment expectancy. Finally, remifentanil enhanced responses to both positive and negative emotional images. Conclusions The pain-relieving effects of opioid drugs are unlikely to be mediated by changes in threat or affective processing. Standard open-label opioid administration influences multiple clinically relevant cognitive and emotional processes. Psychological factors can combine with drug effects to influence multiple outcomes in distinct ways. The influence of specific psychological factors should be considered when developing and testing pharmacological treatments. PMID:24096537

Happy but overconfident: positive affect leads to inaccurate metacomprehension.

PubMed

Prinz, Anja; Bergmann, Viktoria; Wittwer, Jörg

2018-05-14

When learning from text, it is important that learners not only comprehend the information provided but also accurately monitor and judge their comprehension, which is known as metacomprehension accuracy. To investigate the role of a learner's affective state for text comprehension and metacomprehension accuracy, we conducted an experiment with N = 103 university students in whom we induced positive, negative, or neutral affect. Positive affect resulted in poorer text comprehension than neutral affect. Positive affect also led to overconfident predictions, whereas negative and neutral affect were both associated with quite accurate predictions. Independent of affect, postdictions were rather underconfident. The results suggest that positive affect bears processing disadvantages for achieving deep comprehension and adequate prediction accuracy. Given that postdictions were more accurate, practice tests might represent an effective instructional method to help learners in a positive affective state to accurately judge their text comprehension.

Precision and accuracy of luminescence lifetime-based phosphor thermometry: A case study of Eu(III):YSZ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heeg, B.; Jenkins, T. P.

2013-09-01

Laser induced phosphor thermometry as a reliable technique requires an analysis of factors controlling or contributing to the precision and accuracy of a measurement. In this paper, we discuss several critical design parameters in the development of luminescence lifetime-based phosphor thermometry instrumentation for use at elevated temperatures such as encountered in hot sections of gas turbine engines. As precision is predominantly governed by signal and background photon shot noise and detector noise, a brief summary is presented of how these noise contributions may affect the measurement. Accuracy, on the other hand, is governed by a range of effects including, but not limited to, detector response characteristics, laser-induced effects, the photo-physics of the sensor materials, and also the method of data reduction. The various possible outcomes of measurement precision and accuracy are discussed with luminescence lifetime measurements on Eu(III):YSZ sensor coatings.

Study on the factors affecting the quality of public bus transportation service in Bali Province using factor analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Susilawati, M.; Nilakusmawati, D. P. E.

2017-06-01

The volume of mobility flows are increasing day by day and the condition of the number of people using private transport modes contribute to traffic congestion. With the limited capacity of the road, one of the alternatives solution to reduce congestion is to optimize the use of public transport. The purposes of this study are to determine the factors that influence user’s satisfaction on the quality of public bus transportation service and determine variables that became identifier on the dominant factor affecting user’s satisfaction. The study was conducted for the public bus transportation between districts in the province of Bali, which is among the eight regencies and one municipality, using a questionnaire as a data collection instrument. Service variables determinant of user’s satisfaction in this study, described in 25 questions, which were analyzed using factor analysis. The results showed there were six factors that explain the satisfaction of users of public transport in Bali, with a total diversity of data that can be parsed by 61.436%. These factors are: Safety and comfort, Responsiveness, Capacity, Tangible, Safety, Reliability. The dominant factor affecting public transport user satisfaction is the safety and comfort, with the most influential variable is feeling concerned about the personal safety of users when on the bus.

A study of factors affecting the adoption of server virtualization technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Hsin-Ke; Lin, Peng-Chun; Chiang, Chang-Heng; Cho, Chien-An

2018-04-01

It has become a trend that worldwide enterprises and organizations apply new technologies to improve their operations; besides, it has higher cost and less flexibility to construct and manage traditional servers, therefore the current mainstream is to use server virtualization technology. However, from these new technology organizations will not necessarily get the expected benefits because each one has its own level of organizational complexity and abilities to accept changes. The researcher investigated key factors affecting the adoption of virtualization technology through two phases. In phase I, the researcher reviewed literature and then applied the dimensions of "Information Systems Success Model" (ISSM) to generalize the factors affecting the adoption of virtualization technology to be the preliminary theoretical framework and develop a questionnaire; in phase II, a three-round Delphi Method was used to integrate the opinions of experts from related fields which were then gradually converged in order to obtain a stable and objective questionnaire of key factors so that these results were expected to provide references for organizations' adoption of server virtualization technology and future studies.

Factors Affecting Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes among Lebanese College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oweini, Ahmad; Houri, Ahmad

2006-01-01

This exploratory study aimed at assessing the variables that would positively affect the knowledge and attitude of a group of Lebanese college students regarding the environment, namely such factors as gender, age, previous hiking experience and living abroad. A purposeful sample of students attending the Lebanese American University, was asked to…

Factors Affecting Performance of Undergraduate Students in Construction Related Disciplines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olatunji, Samuel Olusola; Aghimien, Douglas Omoregie; Oke, Ayodeji Emmanuel; Olushola, Emmanuel

2016-01-01

Academic performance of students in Nigerian institutions has been of much concern to all and sundry hence the need to assess the factors affecting performance of undergraduate students in construction related discipline in Nigeria. A survey design was employed with questionnaires administered on students in the department of Quantity Surveying,…

Factors affecting the implementation of childhood vaccination communication strategies in Nigeria: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Oku, Afiong; Oyo-Ita, Angela; Glenton, Claire; Fretheim, Atle; Eteng, Glory; Ames, Heather; Muloliwa, Artur; Kaufman, Jessica; Hill, Sophie; Cliff, Julie; Cartier, Yuri; Bosch-Capblanch, Xavier; Rada, Gabriel; Lewin, Simon

2017-02-15

The role of health communication in vaccination programmes cannot be overemphasized: it has contributed significantly to creating and sustaining demand for vaccination services and improving vaccination coverage. In Nigeria, numerous communication approaches have been deployed but these interventions are not without challenges. We therefore aimed to explore factors affecting the delivery of vaccination communication in Nigeria. We used a qualitative approach and conducted the study in two states: Bauchi and Cross River States in northern and southern Nigeria respectively. We identified factors affecting the implementation of communication interventions through interviews with relevant stakeholders involved in vaccination communication in the health services. We also reviewed relevant documents. Data generated were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. We used the SURE framework to organise the identified factors (barriers and facilitators) affecting vaccination communication delivery. We then grouped these into health systems and community level factors. Some of the commonly reported health system barriers amongst stakeholders interviewed included: funding constraints, human resource factors (health worker shortages, training deficiencies, poor attitude of health workers and vaccination teams), inadequate infrastructure and equipment and weak political will. Community level factors included the attitudes of community stakeholders and of parents and caregivers. We also identified factors that appeared to facilitate communication activities. These included political support, engagement of traditional and religious institutions and the use of organised communication committees. Communication activities are a crucial element of immunization programmes. It is therefore important for policy makers and programme managers to understand the barriers and facilitators affecting the delivery of vaccination communication so as to be able to implement

Factors affecting early and long-term outcomes after completion pneumonectomy.

PubMed

Chataigner, Olivier; Fadel, Elie; Yildizeli, Bedrettin; Achir, Abdallah; Mussot, Sacha; Fabre, Dominique; Mercier, Olaf; Dartevelle, Philippe G

2008-05-01

To identify factors that affect operative mortality and morbidity and long-term survival after completion pneumonectomy. We retrospectively reviewed the charts of consecutive patients who underwent completion pneumonectomy at our cardiothoracic surgery department from January 1996 to December 2005. We identified 69 patients, who accounted for 17.8% of all pneumonectomies during the study period; 22 had benign disease and 47 malignant disease (second primary lung cancer, n=19; local recurrence, n=17; or metastasis, n=11). There were 50 males and 19 females with a mean age of 60 years (range, 29-80 years). Postoperative mortality was 12% and postoperative morbidity 41%. Factors associated with postoperative mortality included obesity (p=0.005), coronary artery disease (p=0.03), removal of the right lung (p=0.02), advanced age (p=0.02), and renal failure (p<0.0001). Preoperative renal failure was the only significant risk factor for mortality by multivariate analysis (p=0.036). Bronchopleural fistula developed in seven patients (10%), with risk factors being removal of the right lung (p=0.04) and mechanical stump closure (p=0.03). Overall survival was 65% after 3 years and 46% after 5 years. Long-term survival was not affected by the reason for completion pneumonectomy. Although long-term survival was acceptable, postoperative mortality and morbidity rates remained high, confirming the reputation of completion pneumonectomy as a challenging procedure. Significant comorbidities and removal of the right lung were the main risk factors for postoperative mortality. Improved patient selection and better management of preoperative renal failure may improve the postoperative outcomes of this procedure, which offers a chance for prolonged survival.

Accuracy and Repeatability of Trajectory Rod Measurement Using Laser Scanners.

PubMed

Liscio, Eugene; Guryn, Helen; Stoewner, Daniella

2017-12-22

Three-dimensional (3D) technologies contribute greatly to bullet trajectory analysis and shooting reconstruction. There are few papers which address the errors associated with utilizing laser scanning for bullet trajectory documentation. This study examined the accuracy and precision of laser scanning for documenting trajectory rods in drywall for angles between 25° and 90°. The inherent error range of 0.02°-2.10° was noted while the overall error for laser scanning ranged between 0.04° and 1.98°. The inter- and intraobserver errors for trajectory rod placement and virtual trajectory marking showed that the range of variation for rod placement was between 0.1°-1° in drywall and 0.05°-0.5° in plywood. Virtual trajectory marking accuracy tests showed that 75% of data values were below 0.91° and 0.61° on azimuth and vertical angles, respectively. In conclusion, many contributing factors affect bullet trajectory analysis, and the use of 3D technologies can aid in reduction of errors associated with documentation. © 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Factors Affecting 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration in Response to Vitamin D Supplementation

PubMed Central

Mazahery, Hajar; von Hurst, Pamela R.

2015-01-01

Sun exposure is the main source of vitamin D. Due to many lifestyle risk factors vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency is becoming a worldwide health problem. Low 25(OH)D concentration is associated with adverse musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal health outcomes. Vitamin D supplementation is currently the best approach to treat deficiency and to maintain adequacy. In response to a given dose of vitamin D, the effect on 25(OH)D concentration differs between individuals, and it is imperative that factors affecting this response be identified. For this review, a comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify those factors and to explore their significance in relation to circulating 25(OH)D response to vitamin D supplementation. The effect of several demographic/biological factors such as baseline 25(OH)D, aging, body mass index(BMI)/body fat percentage, ethnicity, calcium intake, genetics, oestrogen use, dietary fat content and composition, and some diseases and medications has been addressed. Furthermore, strategies employed by researchers or health care providers (type, dose and duration of vitamin D supplementation) and environment (season) are other contributing factors. With the exception of baseline 25(OH)D, BMI/body fat percentage, dose and type of vitamin D, the relative importance of other factors and the mechanisms by which these factors may affect the response remains to be determined. PMID:26121531

Factors Affecting Aerosol Radiative Forcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jingxu; Lin, Jintai; Ni, Ruijing

2016-04-01

Rapid industrial and economic growth has meant a large amount of aerosols in the atmosphere with strong radiative forcing (RF) upon the climate system. Over parts of the globe, the negative forcing of aerosols has overcompensated for the positive forcing of greenhouse gases. Aerosol RF is determined by emissions and various chemical-transport-radiative processes in the atmosphere, a multi-factor problem whose individual contributors have not been well quantified. In this study, we analyze the major factors affecting RF of secondary inorganic aerosols (SIOAs, including sulfate, nitrate and ammonium), primary organic aerosol (POA), and black carbon (BC). We analyze the RF of aerosols produced by 11 major regions across the globe, including but not limited to East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, North America, and Western Europe. Factors analyzed include population size, per capita gross domestic production (GDP), emission intensity (i.e., emissions per unit GDP), chemical efficiency (i.e., mass per unit emissions) and radiative efficiency (i.e., RF per unit mass). We find that among the 11 regions, East Asia produces the largest emissions and aerosol RF, due to relatively high emission intensity and a tremendous population size. South Asia produce the second largest RF of SIOA and BC and the highest RF of POA, in part due to its highest chemical efficiency among all regions. Although Southeast Asia also has large emissions, its aerosol RF is alleviated by its lowest chemical efficiency. The chemical efficiency and radiative efficiency of BC produced by the Middle East-North Africa are the highest across the regions, whereas its RF is lowered by a small per capita GDP. Both North America and Western Europe have low emission intensity, compensating for the effects on RF of large population sizes and per capita GDP. There has been a momentum to transfer industries to Southeast Asia and South Asia, and such transition is expected to continue in the coming years. The

Factors Affecting Aerosol Radiative Forcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Lin, J.; Ni, R.

2016-12-01

Rapid industrial and economic growth has meant large amount of aerosols in the atmosphere with strong radiative forcing (RF) upon the climate system. Over parts of the globe, the negative forcing of aerosols has overcompensated for the positive forcing of greenhouse gases. Aerosol RF is determined by emissions and various chemical-transport-radiative processes in the atmosphere, a multi-factor problem whose individual contributors have not been well quantified. In this study, we analyze the major factors affecting RF of secondary inorganic aerosols (SIOAs, including sulfate, nitrate and ammonium), primary organic aerosol (POA), and black carbon (BC). We analyze the RFof aerosols produced by 11 major regions across the globe, including but not limited to East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, North America, and Western Europe. Factors analyzed include population size, per capita gross domestic production (GDP), emission intensity (i.e., emissionsper unit GDP), chemical efficiency (i.e., mass per unit emissions) and radiative efficiency (i.e., RF per unit mass). We find that among the 11 regions, East Asia produces the largest emissions and aerosol RF, due to relatively high emission intensity and a tremendous population size.South Asia produce the second largest RF of SIOA and BC and the highest RF of POA, in part due to its highest chemical efficiency among all regions. Although Southeast Asia also has large emissions,its aerosol RF is alleviated by its lowest chemical efficiency.The chemical efficiency and radiative efficiency of BC produced by the Middle East-North Africa are the highest across the regions, whereas its RF is loweredbyasmall per capita GDP.Both North America and Western Europe have low emission intensity, compensating for the effects on RF of large population sizes and per capita GDP. There has been a momentum to transfer industries to Southeast Asia and South Asia, and such transition is expected to continue in the coming years. The resulting

Mothers recovering from cocaine addiction: factors affecting parenting skills.

PubMed

Coyer, S M

2001-01-01

To identify factors that may influence parenting by mothers who are recovering from cocaine addiction. Exploratory descriptive, with in-depth unstructured interviews. Interviews were conducted in the woman's home or in a treatment center. A convenience sample of 11 women recovering from cocaine addiction who were mothers of children 3 years of age and younger. A content analysis was used to analyze the interview data. Two themes, personal/psychologic factors and environmental/contextual factors, and four subthemes emerged. They identify issues that may affect parenting by mothers being treated for cocaine addiction. Subthemes included low self-esteem, difficulty developing a maternal identity, isolation from friends and family, and chronic life stress. This study provides a better understanding of the sources contributing to vulnerability in the parenting role for mothers recovering from cocaine addiction and will assist nurses in providing care for these mothers and their children.

Factors Affecting the Interest of Israeli Social Work Students in Working with Different Client Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krumer-Nevo, Michal; Weiss, Idit

2006-01-01

Employing a large-scale sample of 521 BSW students from 4 Israeli schools of social work, this research examines the factors affecting social work students' interest in working with a wide range of client groups. The results suggest that student interest in working with specific client groups is affected by factors related to desire for…

Factors Affecting English Language Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Hong Thi; Warren, Wendy; Fehring, Heather

2014-01-01

This paper reports part of a study that aims to explore factors affecting the efficacy of non-major English teaching and learning in Vietnamese higher education through an investigation of classroom practices. Eight non-participant class observations were conducted at HUTECH University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The study's findings show that…

The Impact of CLIL on Affective Factors and Vocabulary Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heras, Arantxa; Lasagabaster, David

2015-01-01

The aim of this article is twofold: to assess the effectiveness of a CLIL (content and language integrated learning) module on affective factors (motivation and self-esteem), and to test the purported blurring effect of CLIL on gender differences in foreign language learning. Forty-six students in their fourth year of compulsory secondary…

The Perspective of Gozitan Teachers on Factors Affecting Students' Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xuereb, Lorna; De Giovanni, Katya Sarah

2016-01-01

This study aims at exploring the impact of factors at pupil, teacher and school levels on students? academic achievement. Moreover, the main purpose was that of investigating which one of the three levels is most likely to affect students? educational accomplishment. A questionnaire was administered to 100 Gozitan teachers. Results were analysed…

77 FR 18862 - Brazil: Competitive Factors Affecting U.S. and Brazilian Agricultural Sales in Selected Third...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-28

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 332-524] Brazil: Competitive Factors Affecting U.S. and Brazilian Agricultural Sales in Selected Third Country Markets AGENCY: United States... Committee in investigation No. 332-524, Brazil: Competitive Factors In Brazil Affecting U.S. and Brazilian...

Influence of cue word perceptual information on metamemory accuracy in judgement of learning.

PubMed

Hu, Xiao; Liu, Zhaomin; Li, Tongtong; Luo, Liang

2016-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that perceptual information regarding to-be-remembered words in the study phase affects the accuracy of judgement of learning (JOL). However, few have investigated whether the perceptual information in the JOL phase influences JOL accuracy. This study examined the influence of cue word perceptual information in the JOL phase on immediate and delayed JOL accuracy through changes in cue word font size. In Experiment 1, large-cue word pairs had significantly higher mean JOL magnitude than small-cue word pairs in immediate JOLs and higher relative accuracy than small-cue pairs in delayed JOLs, but font size had no influence on recall performance. Experiment 2 increased the JOL time, and mean JOL magnitude did not reliably differ for large-cue compared with small-cue pairs in immediate JOLs. However, the influence on relative accuracy still existed in delayed JOLs. Experiment 3 increased the familiarity of small-cue words in the delayed JOL phase by adding a lexical decision task. The results indicated that cue word font size no longer affected relative accuracy in delayed JOLs. The three experiments in our study indicated that the perceptual information regarding cue words in the JOL phase affects immediate and delayed JOLs in different ways.

Factors affecting the stability of reverse shoulder arthroplasty: a biomechanical study.

PubMed

Clouthier, Allison L; Hetzler, Markus A; Fedorak, Graham; Bryant, J Tim; Deluzio, Kevin J; Bicknell, Ryan T

2013-04-01

Despite the success of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) in treating patients with painful pseudoparalytic shoulders, instability is a common complication and currently the factors affecting stability are not well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate a number of factors as well as the interactions between factors to determine how they affect the stability of the prosthesis. These factors included: active arm posture (abduction and abduction plane angles), loading direction, glenosphere diameter and eccentricity, and humeral socket constraint. Force required to dislocate the joint, determined using a biomechanical shoulder simulator, was used as a measure of stability. A factorial design experiment was implemented to examine the factors and interactions. Actively increasing the abduction angle by 15° leads to a 30% increase in stability and use of an inferior-offset rather than a centered glenosphere improved stability by 17%. Use of a more constrained humeral socket also increased stability; but the effect was dependent on loading direction, with a 88% improvement for superior loading, 66% for posterior, 36% for anterior, and no change for inferior loading. Abduction plane angle and glenosphere diameter had no effect on stability. Increased glenohumeral abduction and the use of an inferior-offset glenosphere were found to increase the stability of RSA. Additionally, use of a more constrained humeral socket increased stability for anterior, posterior, and superior loading. These identified factor effects have the potential to decrease the risk of dislocation following RSA. Copyright © 2013 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness and Use of Moodle: Students' Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Damnjanovic, Vesna; Jednak, Sandra; Mijatovic, Ivana

2015-01-01

The purpose of this research paper is to identify the factors affecting the effectiveness of Moodle from the students' perspective. The research hypotheses derived from the suggested extended Seddon model have been empirically validated using the responses to a survey on e-learning usage among 255 users. We tested the model across higher education…

Improvement of the Accuracy of InSAR Image Co-Registration Based On Tie Points – A Review

PubMed Central

Zou, Weibao; Li, Yan; Li, Zhilin; Ding, Xiaoli

2009-01-01

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a new measurement technology, making use of the phase information contained in the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. InSAR has been recognized as a potential tool for the generation of digital elevation models (DEMs) and the measurement of ground surface deformations. However, many critical factors affect the quality of InSAR data and limit its applications. One of the factors is InSAR data processing, which consists of image co-registration, interferogram generation, phase unwrapping and geocoding. The co-registration of InSAR images is the first step and dramatically influences the accuracy of InSAR products. In this paper, the principle and processing procedures of InSAR techniques are reviewed. One of important factors, tie points, to be considered in the improvement of the accuracy of InSAR image co-registration are emphatically reviewed, such as interval of tie points, extraction of feature points, window size for tie point matching and the measurement for the quality of an interferogram. PMID:22399966

How Angular Velocity Features and Different Gyroscope Noise Types Interact and Determine Orientation Estimation Accuracy.

PubMed

Pasciuto, Ilaria; Ligorio, Gabriele; Bergamini, Elena; Vannozzi, Giuseppe; Sabatini, Angelo Maria; Cappozzo, Aurelio

2015-09-18

In human movement analysis, 3D body segment orientation can be obtained through the numerical integration of gyroscope signals. These signals, however, are affected by errors that, for the case of micro-electro-mechanical systems, are mainly due to: constant bias, scale factor, white noise, and bias instability. The aim of this study is to assess how the orientation estimation accuracy is affected by each of these disturbances, and whether it is influenced by the angular velocity magnitude and 3D distribution across the gyroscope axes. Reference angular velocity signals, either constant or representative of human walking, were corrupted with each of the four noise types within a simulation framework. The magnitude of the angular velocity affected the error in the orientation estimation due to each noise type, except for the white noise. Additionally, the error caused by the constant bias was also influenced by the angular velocity 3D distribution. As the orientation error depends not only on the noise itself but also on the signal it is applied to, different sensor placements could enhance or mitigate the error due to each disturbance, and special attention must be paid in providing and interpreting measures of accuracy for orientation estimation algorithms.

How Angular Velocity Features and Different Gyroscope Noise Types Interact and Determine Orientation Estimation Accuracy

PubMed Central

Pasciuto, Ilaria; Ligorio, Gabriele; Bergamini, Elena; Vannozzi, Giuseppe; Sabatini, Angelo Maria; Cappozzo, Aurelio

2015-01-01

In human movement analysis, 3D body segment orientation can be obtained through the numerical integration of gyroscope signals. These signals, however, are affected by errors that, for the case of micro-electro-mechanical systems, are mainly due to: constant bias, scale factor, white noise, and bias instability. The aim of this study is to assess how the orientation estimation accuracy is affected by each of these disturbances, and whether it is influenced by the angular velocity magnitude and 3D distribution across the gyroscope axes. Reference angular velocity signals, either constant or representative of human walking, were corrupted with each of the four noise types within a simulation framework. The magnitude of the angular velocity affected the error in the orientation estimation due to each noise type, except for the white noise. Additionally, the error caused by the constant bias was also influenced by the angular velocity 3D distribution. As the orientation error depends not only on the noise itself but also on the signal it is applied to, different sensor placements could enhance or mitigate the error due to each disturbance, and special attention must be paid in providing and interpreting measures of accuracy for orientation estimation algorithms. PMID:26393606

The Effects of Alcohol Intoxication on Accuracy and the Confidence–Accuracy Relationship in Photographic Simultaneous Line‐ups

PubMed Central

Colloff, Melissa F.; Karoğlu, Nilda; Zelek, Katarzyna; Ryder, Hannah; Humphries, Joyce E.; Takarangi, Melanie K.T.

2017-01-01

Summary Acute alcohol intoxication during encoding can impair subsequent identification accuracy, but results across studies have been inconsistent, with studies often finding no effect. Little is also known about how alcohol intoxication affects the identification confidence–accuracy relationship. We randomly assigned women (N = 153) to consume alcohol (dosed to achieve a 0.08% blood alcohol content) or tonic water, controlling for alcohol expectancy. Women then participated in an interactive hypothetical sexual assault scenario and, 24 hours or 7 days later, attempted to identify the assailant from a perpetrator present or a perpetrator absent simultaneous line‐up and reported their decision confidence. Overall, levels of identification accuracy were similar across the alcohol and tonic water groups. However, women who had consumed tonic water as opposed to alcohol identified the assailant with higher confidence on average. Further, calibration analyses suggested that confidence is predictive of accuracy regardless of alcohol consumption. The theoretical and applied implications of our results are discussed.© 2017 The Authors Applied Cognitive Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. PMID:28781426

Enhanced CT images by the wavelet transform improving diagnostic accuracy of chest nodules.

PubMed

Guo, Xiuhua; Liu, Xiangye; Wang, Huan; Liang, Zhigang; Wu, Wei; He, Qian; Li, Kuncheng; Wang, Wei

2011-02-01

The objective of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy in the interpretation of chest nodules using original CT images versus enhanced CT images based on the wavelet transform. The CT images of 118 patients with cancers and 60 with benign nodules were used in this study. All images were enhanced through an algorithm based on the wavelet transform. Two experienced radiologists interpreted all the images in two reading sessions. The reading sessions were separated by a minimum of 1 month in order to minimize the effect of observer's recall. The Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test was used to analyze the interpretation results between original and enhanced images. The Kruskal-Wallis H nonparametric test of K independent samples was used to investigate the related factors which could affect the diagnostic accuracy of observers. The area under the ROC curves for the original and enhanced images was 0.681 and 0.736, respectively. There is significant difference in diagnosing the malignant nodules between the original and enhanced images (z = 7.122, P < 0.001), whereas there is no significant difference in diagnosing the benign nodules (z = 0.894, P = 0.371). The results showed that there is significant difference between original and enhancement images when the size of nodules was larger than 2 cm (Z = -2.509, P = 0.012, indicating the size of the nodules is a critical evaluating factor of the diagnostic accuracy of observers). This study indicated that the image enhancement based on wavelet transform could improve the diagnostic accuracy of radiologists for the malignant chest nodules.

Factors Affecting Conservation Practice Behavior of CRP Participants in Alabama

Treesearch

Okwudili Onianwa; Gerald Wheelock; Shannon Hendrix

1999-01-01

This study examines the factors that affect conservation practice choices of CRP farmers in Alabama. From over 9,000 contracts enrolled in the state between 1986 and 1995, 594 were randomly selected for the study. A multiple-regression analysis was employed to analyze the data. Results indicate that education, ratio ofcropland in CRP, farm size, gender, prior crop...

Factors Affecting the Retention Decisions of Female Surface Warfare Officers

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-03-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. FACTORS AFFECTING THE RETENTION...Warfare Officers 6. AUTHOR(S) Clifton, Elizabeth A. 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval Postgraduate School ...for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN LEADERSHIP AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL March 2003

Factors Affecting Lactoferrin Concentration in Human Milk: How Much Do We Know?

PubMed Central

Villavicencio, Aasith; Rueda, Maria S.; Turin, Christie G.; Ochoa, Theresa J.

2017-01-01

Lactoferrin (LF) is a breast milk glycoprotein with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. Its beneficial properties in infants, especially in those born preterm, are currently being studied in clinical trials. However, the maternal and nursing infant factors that may affect the concentration of LF in breast milk are still not clear. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the factors that may affect LF concentration. We used a 2-step approach to identify the eligible studies according to inclusion/exclusion criteria and to determine which studies would be considered. We included 70 qualified articles from 29 countries with publication dates ranging from 1976 to 2015. We described the correlation between LF concentration in breast milk and lactation stage; 10 maternal factors, such as race, parity, among others; and 2 infant factors, infections and prematurity. Colostrum has the highest LF levels, but they decrease with days postpartum. No other factor has been consistently associated with LF concentration. A major limitation of the majority of the published studies is the small sample size and the different methods used to measure LF concentration. Therefore, there is a need for large, multicenter studies with standardized study design, sample collection, and LF measurement methods to identify clinically significant factors associated with LF expression in breast milk, which will help promote exclusive breastfeeding in preterm infants. PMID:28075610

Methods specification for diagnostic test accuracy studies in fine-needle aspiration cytology: a survey of reporting practice.

PubMed

Schmidt, Robert L; Factor, Rachel E; Affolter, Kajsa E; Cook, Joshua B; Hall, Brian J; Narra, Krishna K; Witt, Benjamin L; Wilson, Andrew R; Layfield, Lester J

2012-01-01

Diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) studies on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) often show considerable variability in diagnostic accuracy between study centers. Many factors affect the accuracy of FNAC. A complete description of the testing parameters would help make valid comparisons between studies and determine causes of performance variation. We investigated the manner in which test conditions are specified in FNAC DTA studies to determine which parameters are most commonly specified and the frequency with which they are specified and to see whether there is significant variability in reporting practice. We identified 17 frequently reported test parameters and found significant variation in the reporting of these test specifications across studies. On average, studies reported 5 of the 17 items that would be required to specify the test conditions completely. A more complete and standardized reporting of methods, perhaps by means of a checklist, would improve the interpretation of FNAC DTA studies.

Factors affecting assertiveness among student nurses.

PubMed

Ibrahim, Sanaa Abd El Azim

2011-05-01

This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting assertiveness among student nurses. The study was carried out at Faculty of Nursing, Port-Said University, on 207 student nurses from four different grades. Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, consisted of 30 items, was used to measure the students' assertiveness level and a 12-item scale developed by Spreitzer was used to measure students' psychological empowerment. The study results showed that 60.4% of the students were assertive, while about half of the students were empowered. A positive relation between student assertiveness and psychological empowerment was detected. Moreover, positive relations regarding family income and students' assertiveness and psychological empowerment were determined. The study recommended introduction of specific courses aiming at enhancing the acquisition of assertiveness skills, in addition, nurse educators must motivate their students to express their opinion and personal rights and also they must pay attention for students' empowerment and enhance students' autonomy. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Priming effects for affective vs. neutral faces.

PubMed

Burton, Leslie A; Rabin, Laura; Wyatt, Gwinne; Frohlich, Jonathan; Bernstein Vardy, Susan; Dimitri, Diana

2005-12-01

Affective and Neutral Tasks (faces with negative or neutral content, with different lighting and orientation) requiring reaction time judgments of poser identity were administered to 32 participants. Speed and accuracy were better for the Affective than Neutral Task, consistent with literature suggesting facilitation of performance by affective content. Priming effects were significant for the Affective but not Neutral Task. An Explicit Post-Test indicated no conscious knowledge of the stimulus frequency that was associated with performance facilitation. Faster performance by female vs. male participants, and differential speeds and susceptibility to priming of different emotions were also found. Anger and shock were responded to most rapidly and accurately in several conditions, showed no gender differences, and showed significant priming for both RT and accuracy. Fear and pain were responded to least accurately, were associated with faster female than male reaction time, and the accuracy data showed a kind of reverse priming.

Factors Affecting Regional Per-Capita Carbon Emissions in China Based on an LMDI Factor Decomposition Model

PubMed Central

Dong, Feng; Long, Ruyin; Chen, Hong; Li, Xiaohui; Yang, Qingliang

2013-01-01

China is considered to be the main carbon producer in the world. The per-capita carbon emissions indicator is an important measure of the regional carbon emissions situation. This study used the LMDI factor decomposition model–panel co-integration test two-step method to analyze the factors that affect per-capita carbon emissions. The main results are as follows. (1) During 1997, Eastern China, Central China, and Western China ranked first, second, and third in the per-capita carbon emissions, while in 2009 the pecking order changed to Eastern China, Western China, and Central China. (2) According to the LMDI decomposition results, the key driver boosting the per-capita carbon emissions in the three economic regions of China between 1997 and 2009 was economic development, and the energy efficiency was much greater than the energy structure after considering their effect on restraining increased per-capita carbon emissions. (3) Based on the decomposition, the factors that affected per-capita carbon emissions in the panel co-integration test showed that Central China had the best energy structure elasticity in its regional per-capita carbon emissions. Thus, Central China was ranked first for energy efficiency elasticity, while Western China was ranked first for economic development elasticity. PMID:24353753

Factors affecting regional per-capita carbon emissions in China based on an LMDI factor decomposition model.

PubMed

Dong, Feng; Long, Ruyin; Chen, Hong; Li, Xiaohui; Yang, Qingliang

2013-01-01

China is considered to be the main carbon producer in the world. The per-capita carbon emissions indicator is an important measure of the regional carbon emissions situation. This study used the LMDI factor decomposition model-panel co-integration test two-step method to analyze the factors that affect per-capita carbon emissions. The main results are as follows. (1) During 1997, Eastern China, Central China, and Western China ranked first, second, and third in the per-capita carbon emissions, while in 2009 the pecking order changed to Eastern China, Western China, and Central China. (2) According to the LMDI decomposition results, the key driver boosting the per-capita carbon emissions in the three economic regions of China between 1997 and 2009 was economic development, and the energy efficiency was much greater than the energy structure after considering their effect on restraining increased per-capita carbon emissions. (3) Based on the decomposition, the factors that affected per-capita carbon emissions in the panel co-integration test showed that Central China had the best energy structure elasticity in its regional per-capita carbon emissions. Thus, Central China was ranked first for energy efficiency elasticity, while Western China was ranked first for economic development elasticity.

[Factors affecting infant mortality (author's transl)].

PubMed

Chackiel, J

1982-04-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the differentials and detect factors affecting infant mortality on the basis of data obtained from the fertility surveys from those countries participating in the World Fertility Survey. In particular, this includes the surveys carried out in Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. 3 types of explanatory variables may be considered from the information available: 1) context variables related to the mother's environment; 2) socioeconomic variables based on the educational and economic characteristics of the mother and her last husband; and 3) biological factors (from each woman's pregnancy history) such as mother's age at birth of the child, order of birth, interbirth interval, etc. The countries, whether high or low mortality, present great differences in child mortality in most of the variables considered. In Panama and Costa Rica there are population sectors with infant mortality rates of around 100/1000 live births, whereas in Peru these are over 150/1000 (children from mothers without education, low agricultural strata, etc.). Besides presenting the differentials, a methodological test is made through the application to Costa Rica and Peru of the Proportional Hazards Model which permits analysis of the effects of variables when acting simultaneously upon mortality in early childhood. The variables which show the highest disparity in mortality level are: natural region among the context variables, education of mother among the socioeconomic variables, and interbirth interval and maternal age at birth of their children among the biological ones.

Factors affecting rotator cuff healing after arthroscopic repair: osteoporosis as one of the independent risk factors.

PubMed

Chung, Seok Won; Oh, Joo Han; Gong, Hyun Sik; Kim, Joon Yub; Kim, Sae Hoon

2011-10-01

The prognostic factors associated with structural outcome after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair have not yet been fully determined. The hypothesis of this study was that bone mineral density (BMD) is an important prognostic factor affecting rotator cuff healing after arthroscopic cuff repair. Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Among 408 patients who underwent arthroscopic repair for full-thickness rotator cuff tear between January 2004 and July 2008, 272 patients were included whose postoperative cuff integrity was verified by computed tomography arthrography (CTA) or ultrasonography (USG) and simultaneously who were evaluated by various functional outcome instruments. The mean age at the time of operation was 59.5 ± 7.9 years. Postoperative CTA or USG was performed at a mean 13.0 ± 5.1 months after surgery, and the mean follow-up period was 37.2 ± 10.0 months (range, 24-65 months). The clinical, structural, and surgery-related factors affecting cuff integrity including BMD were analyzed using both univariate and multivariate analysis. Evaluation of postoperative cuff integrity was performed by musculoskeletal radiologists who were unaware of the present study. The failure rate of rotator cuff healing was 22.8% (62 of 272). The failure rate was significantly higher in patients with lower BMD (P < .001); older age (P < .001); female gender (P = .03); larger tear size (P < .001); higher grade of fatty infiltration (FI) of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and subscapularis (all P < .001); diabetes mellitus (P = .02); shorter acromiohumeral distance (P < .001); and associated biceps procedure (P < .001). However, in the multivariate analysis, only BMD (P = .001), FI of the infraspinatus (P = .01), and the amount of retraction (P = .03) showed a significant relationship with cuff healing failure following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Bone mineral density, as well as FI of the infraspinatus and amount of retraction, was an independent determining factor

Factors that affect the onset of action of non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents

PubMed Central

Kim, Yong Byum; Sung, Tae-Yun

2017-01-01

Neuromuscular blockade plays an important role in the safe management of patient airways, surgical field improvement, and respiratory care. Rapid-sequence induction of anesthesia is indispensable to emergency surgery and obstetric anesthesia, and its purpose is to obtain a stable airway, adequate depth of anesthesia, and appropriate respiration within a short period of time without causing irritation or damage to the patient. There has been a continued search for new neuromuscular blocking drugs (NMBDs) with a rapid onset of action. Factors that affect the onset time include the potency of the NMBDs, the rate of NMBDs reaching the effect site, the onset time by dose control, metabolism and elimination of NMBDs, buffered diffusion to the effect site, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit affinity, drugs that affect acetylcholine (ACh) production and release at the neuromuscular junction, drugs that inhibit plasma cholinesterase, presynaptic receptors responsible for ACh release at the neuromuscular junction, anesthetics or drugs that affect muscle contractility, site and methods for monitoring neuromuscular function, individual variability, and coexisting disease. NMBDs with rapid onset without major adverse events are expected in the next few years, and the development of lower potency NMBDs will continue. Anesthesiologists should be aware of the use of NMBDs in the management of anesthesia. The choice of NMBD and determination of the appropriate dosage to modulate neuromuscular blockade characteristics such as onset time and duration of neuromuscular blockade should be considered along with factors that affect the effects of the NMBDs. In this review, we discuss the factors that affect the onset time of NMBDs. PMID:29046769

Bio-psycho-social factors affecting sexual self-concept: A systematic review

PubMed Central

Potki, Robabeh; Ziaei, Tayebe; Faramarzi, Mahbobeh; Moosazadeh, Mahmood; Shahhosseini, Zohreh

2017-01-01

Background Nowadays, it is believed that mental and emotional aspects of sexual well-being are the important aspects of sexual health. Sexual self-concept is a major component of sexual health and the core of sexuality. It is defined as the cognitive perspective concerning the sexual aspects of ‘self’ and refers to the individual’s self-perception as a sexual creature. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the different factors affecting sexual self-concept. Methods English electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar as well as two Iranian databases including Scientific Information Database and Iranmedex were searched for English and Persian-language articles published between 1996 and 2016. Of 281 retrieved articles, 37 articles were finally included for writing this review article. Results Factors affecting sexual self-concept were categorized to biological, psychological and social factors. In the category of biological factors, age gender, marital status, race, disability and sexual transmitted infections are described. In the psychological category, the impact of body image, sexual abuse in childhood and mental health history are present. Lastly, in the social category, the roles of parents, peers and the media are discussed. Conclusion As the development of sexual self-concept is influenced by multiple events in individuals’ lives, to promotion of sexual self-concept, an integrated implementation of health policies is recommended. PMID:29038693

Bio-psycho-social factors affecting sexual self-concept: A systematic review.

PubMed

Potki, Robabeh; Ziaei, Tayebe; Faramarzi, Mahbobeh; Moosazadeh, Mahmood; Shahhosseini, Zohreh

2017-09-01

Nowadays, it is believed that mental and emotional aspects of sexual well-being are the important aspects of sexual health. Sexual self-concept is a major component of sexual health and the core of sexuality. It is defined as the cognitive perspective concerning the sexual aspects of 'self' and refers to the individual's self-perception as a sexual creature. The aim of this study was to assess the different factors affecting sexual self-concept. English electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar as well as two Iranian databases including Scientific Information Database and Iranmedex were searched for English and Persian-language articles published between 1996 and 2016. Of 281 retrieved articles, 37 articles were finally included for writing this review article. Factors affecting sexual self-concept were categorized to biological, psychological and social factors. In the category of biological factors, age gender, marital status, race, disability and sexual transmitted infections are described. In the psychological category, the impact of body image, sexual abuse in childhood and mental health history are present. Lastly, in the social category, the roles of parents, peers and the media are discussed. As the development of sexual self-concept is influenced by multiple events in individuals' lives, to promotion of sexual self-concept, an integrated implementation of health policies is recommended.

Clinical trials involving cats: what factors affect owner participation?

PubMed

Gruen, Margaret E; Jiamachello, Katrina N; Thomson, Andrea; Lascelles, B Duncan X

2014-09-01

Clinical trials are frequently hindered by difficulties in recruiting eligible participants, increasing the timeline and limiting generalizability of results. In veterinary medicine, where proxy enrollment is required, no studies have detailed what factors influence owner participation in clinical trials involving cats. We aimed to investigate these factors through a survey of owners at first opinion practices. The survey was designed using feedback from a pilot study and input from clinical researchers. Owners were asked demographic questions and whether they would, would not, or were unsure about participating in a clinical trial with their cat. They then ranked the importance and influence of various factors on participation using a five-point Likert-type scale, and incentives from most to least encouraging. A total of 413 surveys were distributed to cat owners at four hospitals, two feline-only and two multi-species; 88.6% were completed. Data for importance and influence factors as well as incentive rankings were analyzed overall, and by hospital type, location and whether owners would consider participating. The most influential factors were trust in the organization, benefit to the cat and veterinarian recommendation. Importance and influence factors varied by willingness to participate. Ranked incentives were not significantly different across groups, with 'Free Services' ranked highest. This study provides a first look at what factors influence participation in clinical trials with cats. Given the importance placed in the recommendation of veterinarians, continued work is needed to determine veterinarian-related factors affecting clinical trial participation. The results provide guidance towards improved clinical trial design, promotion and education. © ISFM and AAFP 2014.

Including Both Time and Accuracy in Defining Text Search Efficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Symons, Sonya; Specht, Jacqueline A.

1994-01-01

Examines factors related to efficiency in a textbook search task. Finds that time and accuracy involved distinct processes and that accuracy was related to verbal competence. Finds further that measures of planning and extracting information accounted for 59% of the variance in search efficiency. Suggests that both accuracy and rate need to be…

Factors affecting smartphone adoption for accessing information in medical settings.

PubMed

Tahamtan, Iman; Pajouhanfar, Sara; Sedghi, Shahram; Azad, Mohsen; Roudbari, Masoud

2017-06-01

This study aimed to acquire knowledge about the factors affecting smartphone adoption for accessing information in medical settings in Iranian Hospitals. A qualitative and quantitative approach was used to conduct this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 medical residents and interns in 2013 to identify determinant factors for smartphone adoption. Afterwards, nine relationships were hypothesised. We developed a questionnaire to test these hypotheses and to evaluate the importance of each factor. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the causal relations between model parameters and to accurately identify determinant factors. Eight factors were identified in the qualitative phase of the study, including perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, training, internal environment, personal experience, social impacts, observability and job related characteristics. Among the studied factors, perceived usefulness, personal experience and job related characteristics were significantly associated with attitude to use a smartphone which accounted for 64% of the variance in attitude. Perceived usefulness had the strongest impact on attitude to use a smartphone. The factors that emerged from interviews were consistent with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and some previous studies. TAM is a reliable model for understanding the factors of smartphone acceptance in medical settings. © 2017 Health Libraries Group.

Factors affecting mortality in elderly patients who underwent surgery for gastric cancer.

PubMed

Kayılıoglu, Selami Ilgaz; Göktug, Ufuk Utku; Dinc, Tolga; Sozen, Isa; Yavuz, Zeynep; Coskun, Faruk

2018-03-05

The aim of this study was to determine factors affecting overall mortality in patients over 60 years of age who underwent surgery for gastric cancer in our clinic. Data on histopathological diagnosis (tumor size, lymph node status, and number), pathological stage, serum albumin level, tumor markers, complete blood count, and demographic information of 109 patients over 60 years of age who had surgery for gastric cancer between January 2011 and July 2016 were obtained retrospectively from the patient files. In addition, the survival status of all patients were examined and recorded. Metastatic lymph node ratio (MLR), red cell distribution width platelet ratio (RPR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), plateletlymphocyte ratio (PLR), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) were calculated. On univariate analysis of independent parameters, pathological LN number (p = 0.001), MLR (p <0.001), T3 (p = 0.001) or T4 (p = 0,006) tumor stage according to TNM system, the presence of metastasis (p = 0.063), and male gender (p = 0.066) were found to affect overall mortality (OM). On multivariable Cox regression analysis of these results, MLR (p = 0.005) and T stage (p = 0.006) was determined to be a statistically significant and independent prognostic value. In patients over 60 years of age who underwent surgery for gastric cancer, the factors affecting mortality were determined to be the presence of metastases, number of pathological lymph nodes, and male gender. Metastatic lymph node ratio and T1&T2 stage were determined to be independent prognostic factors. Elderly, Gastric cancer, Mortality, Prognostic factor.

Control of exogenous factors affecting plasma homovanillic acid concentration.

PubMed

Davidson, M; Giordani, A B; Mohs, R C; Mykytyn, V V; Platt, S; Aryan, Z S; Davis, K L

1987-04-01

Measurements of plasma homovanillic acid (pHVA) concentrations appear to be a valid research strategy in psychiatric disorders in which a central dopamine (DA) abnormality has been implicated. This study provides guidance about the control of some of the exogenous factors affecting pHVA concentrations. Fasting for 14 hours eliminates the dietary effects on pHVA in healthy human subjects. Changing position, walking for 30 minutes, or smoking two cigarettes has no effect on pHVA concentrations.

Factors Affecting Differential Equation Problem Solving Ability of Students at Pre-University Level: A Conceptual Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aisha, Bibi; Zamri, Sharifa NorulAkmar Syed; Abdallah, Nabeel; Abedalaziz, Mohammad; Ahmad, Mushtaq; Satti, Umbreen

2017-01-01

In this study, different factors affecting students' differential equations (DEs) solving abilities were explored at pre university level. To explore main factors affecting students' differential equations problem solving ability, articles for a 19-year period, from 1996 to 2015, were critically reviewed and analyzed. It was revealed that…

Pre-analytical Factors Influence Accuracy of Urine Spot Iodine Assessment in Epidemiological Surveys.

PubMed

Doggui, Radhouene; El Ati-Hellal, Myriam; Traissac, Pierre; El Ati, Jalila

2018-03-26

Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) is commonly used to assess iodine status of subjects in epidemiological surveys. As pre-analytical factors are an important source of measurement error and studies about this phase are scarce, our objective was to assess the influence of urine sampling conditions on UIC, i.e., whether the child ate breakfast or not, urine void rank of the day, and time span between last meal and urine collection. A nationwide, two-stage, stratified, cross-sectional study including 1560 children (6-12 years) was performed in 2012. UIC was determined by the Sandell-Kolthoff method. Pre-analytical factors were assessed from children's mothers by using a questionnaire. Association between iodine status and pre-analytical factors were adjusted for one another and socio-economic characteristics by multivariate linear and multinomial regression models (RPR: relative prevalence ratios). Skipping breakfast prior to morning urine sampling decreased UIC by 40 to 50 μg/L and the proportion of UIC < 100 μg/L was higher among children having those skipped breakfast (RPR = 3.2[1.0-10.4]). In unadjusted analyses, UIC was less among children sampled more than 5 h from their last meal. UIC decreased with rank of urine void (e.g., first vs. second, P < 0.001); also, the proportion of UIC < 100 μg/L was greater among 4th rank samples (vs. second RPR = 2.1[1.1-4.0]). Subjects' breakfast status and urine void rank should be accounted for when assessing iodine status. Providing recommendations to standardize pre-analytical factors is a key step toward improving accuracy and comparability of survey results for assessing iodine status from spot urine samples. These recommendations have to be evaluated by future research.

Cued Speech Transliteration: Effects of Speaking Rate and Lag Time on Production Accuracy

PubMed Central

Tessler, Morgan P.

2016-01-01

Many deaf and hard-of-hearing children rely on interpreters to access classroom communication. Although the exact level of access provided by interpreters in these settings is unknown, it is likely to depend heavily on interpreter accuracy (portion of message correctly produced by the interpreter) and the factors that govern interpreter accuracy. In this study, the accuracy of 12 Cued Speech (CS) transliterators with varying degrees of experience was examined at three different speaking rates (slow, normal, fast). Accuracy was measured with a high-resolution, objective metric in order to facilitate quantitative analyses of the effect of each factor on accuracy. Results showed that speaking rate had a large negative effect on accuracy, caused primarily by an increase in omitted cues, whereas the effect of lag time on accuracy, also negative, was quite small and explained just 3% of the variance. Increased experience level was generally associated with increased accuracy; however, high levels of experience did not guarantee high levels of accuracy. Finally, the overall accuracy of the 12 transliterators, 54% on average across all three factors, was low enough to raise serious concerns about the quality of CS transliteration services that (at least some) children receive in educational settings. PMID:27221370

Merriam's turkey nest survival and factors affecting nest predation by mammals

Treesearch

Chad P. Lehman; Mark A. Rumble; Lester D. Flake; Daniel J. Thompson

2008-01-01

Nest success is an important parameter affecting population fluctuations of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). Factors influencing mammalian predation on turkey nests are complicated and not well understood. Therefore, we assessed nest hazard risk by testing competing hypotheses of Merriam's turkey (M. g. merriami) nest...

Factors that affect coseismic folds in an overburden layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Shaogang; Cai, Yongen

2018-03-01

Coseismic folds induced by blind thrust faults have been observed in many earthquake zones, and they have received widespread attention from geologists and geophysicists. Numerous studies have been conducted regarding fold kinematics; however, few have studied fold dynamics quantitatively. In this paper, we establish a conceptual model with a thrust fault zone and tectonic stress load to study the factors that affect coseismic folds and their formation mechanisms using the finite element method. The numerical results show that the fault dip angle is a key factor that controls folding. The greater the dip angle is, the steeper the fold slope. The second most important factor is the overburden thickness. The thicker the overburden is, the more gradual the fold. In this case, folds are difficult to identify in field surveys. Therefore, if a fold can be easily identified with the naked eye, the overburden is likely shallow. The least important factors are the mechanical parameters of the overburden. The larger the Young's modulus of the overburden is, the smaller the displacement of the fold and the fold slope. Strong horizontal compression and vertical extension in the overburden near the fault zone are the main mechanisms that form coseismic folds.

Multi-Level Family Factors and Affective and Behavioral Symptoms of Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Chinese Children

PubMed Central

Tang, Yixin; Lin, Xiuyun; Chi, Peilian; Zhou, Qing; Hou, Xiangning

2017-01-01

Given the important role of family environment in children's psychological development, the objective of this study was to examine the linkages between family factors at the whole, dyadic, and individual levels and two dimensions (affective and behavioral) of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) symptoms in Chinese children. Participants comprised of 80 father-child dyads and 169 mother-child dyads from families with ODD children. The results indicated that multilevel family factors were differently associated with children's affective and behavioral ODD symptoms. All the family factors at the dyadic and individual levels were significantly associated with child affective ODD symptoms. However, only the most proximal factors (parent-child relationship and child emotion regulation, which were directly related to child) were significantly related to child behavioral ODD symptoms. The present study extends the current knowledge regarding the relationships between family factors and two dimensions of child ODD symptoms by testing the comprehensive multilevel family factors model. This study also recommends that future interventions for ODD children should consider the multi-level family factors to enhance intervention efficacy. PMID:28713321

Thermal radiation view factor: Methods, accuracy and computer-aided procedures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kadaba, P. V.

1982-01-01

The computer aided thermal analysis programs which predicts the result of predetermined acceptable temperature range prior to stationing of these orbiting equipment in various attitudes with respect to the Sun and the Earth was examined. Complexity of the surface geometries suggests the use of numerical schemes for the determination of these viewfactors. Basic definitions and standard methods which form the basis for various digital computer methods and various numerical methods are presented. The physical model and the mathematical methods on which a number of available programs are built are summarized. The strength and the weaknesses of the methods employed, the accuracy of the calculations and the time required for computations are evaluated. The situations where accuracies are important for energy calculations are identified and methods to save computational times are proposed. Guide to best use of the available programs at several centers and the future choices for efficient use of digital computers are included in the recommendations.

Factors affecting compliance with measles vaccination in Lao PDR.

PubMed

Phimmasane, Maniphet; Douangmala, Somthana; Koffi, Paulin; Reinharz, Daniel; Buisson, Yves

2010-09-24

In line with WHO objectives, the Lao Government is committed to eliminate measles by 2012. Yet from 1992 to 2007, the annual incidence of measles remained high while the vaccination coverage showed a wide diversity across provinces. A descriptive study was performed to determine factors affecting compliance with vaccination against measles, which included qualitative and quantitative components. The qualitative study used a convenience sample of 13 persons in charge of the vaccination program, consisting of officials from different levels of the health care structure and members of vaccination teams. The quantitative study performed on the target population consisted of a matched, case-control survey conducted on a stratified random sample of parents of children aged 9-23 months. Overall, 584 individuals (292 cases and 292 controls) were interviewed in the three provinces selected because of low vaccination coverage. On the provision of services side (supply), the main problems identified were a lack of vaccine supply and diluent, a difficulty in maintaining the cold chain, a lack of availability and competence among health workers, a lack of coordination and a limited capacity to assess needs and make coherent decisions. In the side of the consumer (demand), major obstacles identified were poor knowledge about measles immunization and difficulties in accessing vaccination centers because of distance and cost. In multivariate analysis, a low education level of the father was a factor of non-immunization while the factors of good compliance were high incomes, spacing of pregnancies, a feeling that children must be vaccinated, knowledge about immunization age, presenting oneself to the hospital rather than expecting the mobile vaccination teams and last, immunization of other family members or friends' children. The main factors affecting the compliance with vaccination against measles in Laos involve both the supply side and the demand side. Obtaining an effective

Factors affecting sexual life during pregnancy in eastern Turkey.

PubMed

Eryilmaz, Gülşen; Ege, Emel; Zincir, Handan

2004-01-01

This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study aiming to determine the factors affecting sexual life in pregnant women. The study was carried out in 238 women in Malatya, Turkey. It was found that 61.4% regarded coitus as a risk during pregnancy, 31.9% did not have any knowledge about this matter. In 81.5% sexual life was affected during pregnancy. The mean frequency of intercourse was 2.02 +/- 0.7/week before pregnancy and decreased to 1.51 +/- 0.6/week during pregnancy. The reasons for this decline are: exhaustion and fatigue (64.3%); waning of sexual desire (55.9%); harmful to the fetus (49.2%); causing abortions in early pregnancy (45%), and inducing preterm labor (34%). There was a significant relationship between changes in sexual life during pregnancy and the duration of marriage (chi2=10.8, p<0.05), education level (chi2=18.1, p<0.05), parity (chi2=11.1, p<0.05), and gravidity (chi2=6.8, p<0.05). The variables such as age, employment status, and number of abortions did not affect sexual life during pregnancy. Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

Factors Affecting the Quality of Tooth Enamel for In Vivo EPR-Based Retrospective Biodosimetry

PubMed Central

Desmet, Céline M.; Levêque, Philippe; Gallez, Bernard

2016-01-01

In vivo electron paramagnetic resonance biodosimetry on tooth enamel is likely to be an important technology for triage of overexposed individuals after a major radiological incident. The accuracy and robustness of the technique relies on various properties of the enamel such as the geometry of the tooth, the presence of restorations, whitening treatments or exposition to sunlight. Those factors are reviewed, and their influence on dosimetry specifically for triage purposes is discussed. PMID:27473693

Factors Affecting Husband Participation in Antenatal Care Attendance and Delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rumaseuw, R.; Berliana, S. M.; Nursalam, N.; Efendi, F.; Pradanie, R.; Rachmawati, P. D.; Aurizki, G. E.

2018-02-01

The government has implemented several programs to prevent and reduce a mother’s mortality rate by enhancing active role of the family. The most responsible family member on maintaining the pregnancy and delivery process is the husband. The husband must be active to take care of his wife. Active participation of the husband in accompanying his wife during pregnancy and the delivery process is one of the substantial factors, which helps the husband to take decisions related to the health of his wife. This study aimed to identify variables and its trends, which significantly affect a husband’s participation in accompanying his wife during pregnancy and the delivery process. The data used in this study was from an Indonesian Demographic Health Survey 2012. The study used binary logistic regression as the analysis method. The result showed as many as 8,237 husbands accompanied their wife in antenatal care and the delivery process. The significant variables affecting the husband participation are the age of the wife, the education of wife, the education of the husband, the occupational status of the wife and the husband, the number of children, pregnancy status, and residency region. The possibility for a husband to accompany his wife is larger in several factors, such as the wife being between the ages of 21 - 35 years old, a husband who minimally graduated from junior high school, a working husband, as well as a wife, and the number of children less than and equal to two and the expected pregnancy. The government should consider those factors to create policy related women’s health and integrate the factors into various sectors.

Insensitivity of the octahedral spherical hohlraum to power imbalance, pointing accuracy, and assemblage accuracy

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

Huo, Wen Yi; Zhao, Yiqing; Zheng, Wudi

2014-11-15

The random radiation asymmetry in the octahedral spherical hohlraum [K. Lan et al., Phys. Plasmas 21, 0 10704 (2014)] arising from the power imbalance, pointing accuracy of laser quads, and the assemblage accuracy of capsule is investigated by using the 3-dimensional view factor model. From our study, for the spherical hohlraum, the random radiation asymmetry arising from the power imbalance of the laser quads is about half of that in the cylindrical hohlraum; the random asymmetry arising from the pointing error is about one order lower than that in the cylindrical hohlraum; and the random asymmetry arising from the assemblage errormore » of capsule is about one third of that in the cylindrical hohlraum. Moreover, the random radiation asymmetry in the spherical hohlraum is also less than the amount in the elliptical hohlraum. The results indicate that the spherical hohlraum is more insensitive to the random variations than the cylindrical hohlraum and the elliptical hohlraum. Hence, the spherical hohlraum can relax the requirements to the power imbalance and pointing accuracy of laser facility and the assemblage accuracy of capsule.« less

Milking performance evaluation and factors affecting milking claw vacuum levels with flow simulator.

PubMed

Enokidani, Masafumi; Kawai, Kazuhiro; Shinozuka, Yasunori; Watanabe, Aiko

2017-08-01

Milking performance of milking machines that matches the production capability of dairy cows is important in reducing the risk of mastitis, particularly in high-producing cows. This study used a simulated milking device to examine the milking performance of the milking system of 73 dairy farms and to analyze the factors affecting claw vacuum. Mean claw vacuum and range of fluctuation of claw vacuum (claw vacuum range) were measured at three different flow rates: 5.7, 7.6 and 8.7 kg/min. At the highest flow rate, only 16 farms (21.9%) met both standards of mean claw vacuum ≥35 kPa and claw vacuum range ≤ 7 kPa, showing that milking systems currently have poor milking performance. The factors affecting mean claw vacuum were claw type, milk-meter and vacuum shut-off device; the factor affecting claw vacuum range was claw type. Examination of the milking performance of the milking system using a simulated milking device allows an examination of the performance that can cope with high producing cows, indicating the possibility of reducing the risk of mastitis caused by inappropriate claw vacuum. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Factors that Affect Emergent Literacy Development When Engaging with Electronic Books

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salmon, Lynda G.

2014-01-01

This article reviews extant literature with the purpose of identifying factors that affect the potential efficacy of electronic books to support literacy development during early childhood. Selection criteria include experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational studies from peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to 2013 with a target population…

Motivating Factors that Affect Enrolment and Student Performance in an ODL Engineering Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dadigamuwa, P. R.; Senanayake, Samans

2012-01-01

The present study was carried out to determine the motivating factors for enrolling in an engineering study programme in open and distance learning (ODL) and the factors that affect the students' performance. The study was conducted with two convenient samples of students following distance learning courses in engineering technology, conducted by…

Technical Errors May Affect Accuracy of Torque Limiter in Locking Plate Osteosynthesis.

PubMed

Savin, David D; Lee, Simon; Bohnenkamp, Frank C; Pastor, Andrew; Garapati, Rajeev; Goldberg, Benjamin A

2016-01-01

In locking plate osteosynthesis, proper surgical technique is crucial in reducing potential pitfalls, and use of a torque limiter makes it possible to control insertion torque. We conducted a study of the ways in which different techniques can alter the accuracy of torque limiters. We tested 22 torque limiters (1.5 Nm) for accuracy using hand and power tools under different rotational scenarios: hand power at low and high velocity and drill power at low and high velocity. We recorded the maximum torque reached after each torque-limiting event. Use of torque limiters under hand power at low velocity and high velocity resulted in significantly (P < .0001) different mean (SD) measurements: 1.49 (0.15) Nm and 3.73 (0.79) Nm. Use under drill power at controlled low velocity and at high velocity also resulted in significantly (P < .0001) different mean (SD) measurements: 1.47 (0.14) Nm and 5.37 (0.90) Nm. Maximum single measurement obtained was 9.0 Nm using drill power at high velocity. Locking screw insertion with improper technique may result in higher than expected torque and subsequent complications. For torque limiters, the most reliable technique involves hand power at slow velocity or drill power with careful control of insertion speed until 1 torque-limiting event occurs.

A review of genetic, biological, pharmacological, and clinical factors that affect carbohydrate-deficient transferrin levels.

PubMed

Fleming, Michael F; Anton, Raymond F; Spies, Claudia D

2004-09-01

Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) is an alcohol biomarker recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This test is increasingly being used to detect and monitor alcohol use in a variety of health care, legal, and industrial settings. The goal of this study is to review the genetic, biological, pharmacological, and clinical factors that may affect CDT levels. A review of the literature identified 95 research articles that met the authors' criteria and reported potential interactions of a variety of factors on percent and total CDT levels. The review established 12 categories of variables that may affect CDT levels. These categories include (1) alcohol use, (2) genetic factors, (3) race, (4) gender, (5) age, (6) liver disease, (7) iron levels, (8) tobacco use, (9) medication such as estrogen and anticonvulsants, (10) metabolic factors such as body mass index and total body water, (11) chronic medical conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, and (12) surgical patients. There is evidence that %CDT levels are affected by alcohol use, end-stage liver disease, and genetic variants. In addition to these three factors, total CDT levels (CDTect) are also affected by factors that raise transferrin levels such as iron deficiency, chronic illnesses, and menopausal status. Other potential factors such as tobacco and age appear to be confounded by alcohol use. The roles of female gender, low body mass index, chronic inflammatory diseases, and medication on CDT levels require further study. False negatives are associated with female gender, episodic lower level alcohol use, and acute trauma with blood loss. This review suggests that a number of factors are associated with false-positive CDTect and %CDT levels. CDT offers great promise to assist physicians in the care of patients to detect and monitor heavy alcohol use.

Internet search term affects the quality and accuracy of online information about developmental hip dysplasia.

PubMed

Fabricant, Peter D; Dy, Christopher J; Patel, Ronak M; Blanco, John S; Doyle, Shevaun M

2013-06-01

The recent emphasis on shared decision-making has increased the role of the Internet as a readily accessible medical reference source for patients and families. However, the lack of professional review creates concern over the quality, accuracy, and readability of medical information available to patients on the Internet. Three Internet search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing) were evaluated prospectively using 3 difference search terms of varying sophistication ("congenital hip dislocation," "developmental dysplasia of the hip," and "hip dysplasia in children"). Sixty-three unique Web sites were evaluated by each of 3 surgeons (2 fellowship-trained pediatric orthopaedic attendings and 1 orthopaedic chief resident) for quality and accuracy using a set of scoring criteria based on the AAOS/POSNA patient education Web site. The readability (literacy grade level) of each Web site was assessed using the Fleisch-Kincaid score. There were significant differences noted in quality, accuracy, and readability of information depending on the search term used. The search term "developmental dysplasia of the hip" provided higher quality and accuracy compared with the search term "congenital hip dislocation." Of the 63 total Web sites, 1 (1.6%) was below the sixth grade reading level recommended by the NIH for health education materials and 8 (12.7%) Web sites were below the average American reading level (eighth grade). The quality and accuracy of information available on the Internet regarding developmental hip dysplasia significantly varied with the search term used. Patients seeking information about DDH on the Internet may not understand the materials found because nearly all of the Web sites are written at a level above that recommended for publically distributed health information. Physicians should advise their patients to search for information using the term "developmental dysplasia of the hip" or, better yet, should refer patients to Web sites that they have

Current Limitations on VLBI Accuracy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ma, Chopo; Gipson, John; MacMillan, Daniel

1998-01-01

The contribution of VLBI to geophysics and geodesy arises from its ability to measure distances between stations in a network and to determine the orientation of stations in the network as well as the orientation of the network with respect to the external reference frame of extragalactic radio objects. Integrating nearly two decades of observations provides useful information about station positions and velocities and the orientation of the Earth, but the complications of the real world and the limitations of observing, modeling and analysis prevent recovery of all effects. Of the factors that limit the accuracy of seemingly straightforward geodetic parameters, the neutral propagation medium has been subject to the greatest scrutiny, but the treatment of the mapping function, the wet component and spatial/temporal inhomogeneities is still improving. These affect both the terrestrial scale and consistency over time. The modeling of non-secular site motions (tides and loading) has increased in sophistication, but there are some differences between the models and the observations. VLBI antennas are massive objects, so their behavior is quite unlike GPS monuments, but antenna deformations add some (generally) unmodeled signal. Radio sources used in geodetic VLBI observations are selected for strength and (relative) absence of structure, but apparent changes in position can leak into geodetic parameters. A linear rate of change of baseline or site parameters is the simplest model and its error improves with time span. However, in most cases the VLBI data distribution is insufficient to look for real non-linear behavior that might affect the average rate. A few sites have multiple VLBI antennas, and some show small differences in rate. VLBI intrinsically measures relative positions and velocities, but individual site positions and velocities are generally more useful. The creation of the VLBI terrestrial reference frame, which transforms relative information into

Kappa and Rater Accuracy: Paradigms and Parameters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conger, Anthony J.

2017-01-01

Drawing parallels to classical test theory, this article clarifies the difference between rater accuracy and reliability and demonstrates how category marginal frequencies affect rater agreement and Cohen's kappa. Category assignment paradigms are developed: comparing raters to a standard (index) versus comparing two raters to one another…

Factors Affecting Teachers' Adoption of Educational Computer Games: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kebritchi, Mansureh

2010-01-01

Even though computer games hold considerable potential for engaging and facilitating learning among today's children, the adoption of modern educational computer games is still meeting significant resistance in K-12 education. The purpose of this paper is to inform educators and instructional designers on factors affecting teachers' adoption of…

Factors Affecting Participation of Displaced Workers in Retraining: A Literature Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dean, Gary J.

This document offers a selected review of literature relevant to retraining displaced workers. A description of the economic conditions leading to the displacement of workers, the nature and scope of the displaced worker problem, and factors potentially affecting displaced workers' participation in adult education and training programs is…

Factors Affecting Student Retention in Online Courses: Overcoming This Critical Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaytan, Jorge

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine what a panel of 15 experts would identify as critical factors affecting student retention in online courses that will serve as implications for educational leaders to guide their student retention strategies, online organizational structures, institutional policies, and online instructional activities. A…

Factors Affecting Bachelor's Degree Completion among Black Males with Prior Attrition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews-Whetstone, Rayna; Scott, Joyce A.

2015-01-01

Black males lag behind their female counterparts in bachelor's degree completion. This study examined why Black males leave higher education, eventually return, and complete their degrees. Researchers are aware of some of the challenges that Black males encounter in higher education, but there is little information factors affecting successful…

Factors Affecting Career Choice among Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Larissa; Pellowski, Mark W.

2016-01-01

This investigation assessed the factors affecting career choice among 474 current undergraduate and graduate speech-language pathology and audiology students (from four universities). A 14-item questionnaire was developed that included questions related to general influence of career choice and whether or not the participants had previously been,…

Factors affecting the decision to pursue glaucoma fellowship training.

PubMed

Gedde, Steven J; Budenz, Donald L; Haft, Payman; Lee, Yunhee; Quigley, Harry A

2007-01-01

To identify factors associated with the choice to pursue glaucoma fellowship training by graduating ophthalmology residents. An anonymous survey was sent to each graduating ophthalmology resident in the United States in February 2003. Demographic data and information relating to residency training, career goals, and factors influencing career choices were collected from the surveys. Surveys were completed by 215 (49.2%) residents, including 135 (62.8%) who were pursuing fellowships. Among residents undertaking fellowship training, 17 (12.6%) selected glaucoma and 118 (87.4%) chose other subspecialties. Residents entering glaucoma fellowships performed more glaucoma filtering procedures (P=0.006), and they were less likely to publish a paper (P=0.05) and have time allocated for research (P=0.04) than residents seeking fellowships in other subspecialties. Factors that were rated as less important to those choosing glaucoma fellowships included interest in challenging diagnostic problems (P=0.009), types of patient problems (P=0.015), an academic career (P=0.03), and working with new technology (P=0.04). The decision to pursue fellowship training was made later by residents entering glaucoma compared with those choosing other subspecialties (P=0.001). A variety of factors affect the decision to pursue fellowship training. There are differences in how these factors are weighed among residents seeking fellowships in glaucoma and other subspecialties.

An experimental study of factors affecting the selective inhibition of sintering process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asiabanpour, Bahram

Selective Inhibition of Sintering (SIS) is a new rapid prototyping method that builds parts in a layer-by-layer fabrication basis. SIS works by joining powder particles through sintering in the part's body, and by sintering inhibition of some selected powder areas. The objective of this research has been to improve the new SIS process, which has been invented at USC. The process improvement is based on statistical design of experiments. To conduct the needed experiments a working machine and related path generator software were needed. The machine and its control software were made available prior to this research. The path generator algorithms and software had to be created. This program should obtain model geometry data from a CAD file and generate an appropriate path file for the printer nozzle. Also, the program should generate a simulation file for path file inspection using virtual prototyping. The activities related to path generator constitute the first part of this research, which has resulted in an efficient path generator. In addition, to reach an acceptable level of accuracy, strength, and surface quality in the fabricated parts, all effective factors in the SIS process should be identified and controlled. Simultaneous analytical and experimental studies were conducted to recognize effective factors and to control the SIS process. Also, it was known that polystyrene was the most appropriate polymer powder and saturated potassium iodide was the most effective inhibitor among the available candidate materials. In addition, statistical tools were applied to improve the desirable properties of the parts fabricated by the SIS process. An investigation of part strength was conducted using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and a region of acceptable operating conditions for the part strength was found. Then, through analysis of the experimental results, the impact of the factors on the final part surface quality and dimensional accuracy was modeled. After

An Analysis of Multiple Factors Affecting Retention in Web-Based Community College Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doherty, William

2006-01-01

The current study examined four factors affecting retention in Web-based community college courses. Analyses were conducted on student demographics, student learning styles, course communication and external factors. The results suggest that Web-based courses are more attractive to busy students who are also more likely to fail or drop the course.…

Some factors affecting skin and wound healing.

PubMed

Winter, G D

2006-05-01

The domestic pig is the preferred animal for studying the effects of environmental factors on skin and wound because its integument is more like that of man than any other. The three factors that most drastically affect the pattern, speed and quality of healing are dehydration of exposed tissues, the status of the blood supply bringing oxygen and nutrients to the area and sepsis. Wounds exposed to the air lose water vapour, the upper dermis dries and healing takes place beneath a dry scab. Covering a wound with an occlusive dressing prevents scab formation and radically alters the pattern of epidermal wound healing. Blowing on wounds creates a scab within three hours instead of the normal 24 hours but more tissue is sacrificed in the process. This may only be justified if it can be shown that rapid artificial scab formation significantly cuts down the incidence of severe infections, i.e. in large burns. Less serious wounds heal faster when covered with a suitable occlusive dressing. Indolent wounds are characterised by a rim of infected, necrotic tissue in which leucocytes and macrophages are unable to function effectively through lack of oxygen. A suitable dressing changed frequently can bring about mild debridement and re-establish the conditions for healing.

A Proposed Methodology to Assess the Accuracy of 3D Scanners and Casts and Monitor Tooth Wear Progression in Patients.

PubMed

Ahmed, Khaled E; Whitters, John; Ju, Xiangyang; Pierce, S Gareth; MacLeod, Charles N; Murray, Colin A

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to detail and assess the capability of a novel methodology to 3D-quantify tooth wear progression in a patient over a period of 12 months. A calibrated stainless steel model was used to identify the accuracy of the scanning system by assessing the accuracy and precision of the contact scanner and the dimensional accuracy and stability of casts fabricated from three different types of impression materials. Thereafter, the overall accuracy of the 3D scanning system (scanner and casts) was ascertained. Clinically, polyether impressions were made of the patient's dentition at the initial examination and at the 12-month review, then poured in type IV dental stone to assess the tooth wear. The anterior teeth on the resultant casts were scanned, and images were analyzed using 3D matching software to detect dimensional variations between the patient's impressions. The accuracy of the 3D scanning system was established to be 33 μm. 3D clinical analysis demonstrated localized wear on the incisal and palatal surfaces of the patient's maxillary central incisors. The identified wear extended to a depth of 500 μm with a distribution of 4% to 7% of affected tooth surfaces. The newly developed 3D scanning methodology was found to be capable of assessing and accounting for the various factors affecting tooth wear scanning. Initial clinical evaluation of the methodology demonstrates successful monitoring of tooth wear progression. However, further clinical assessment is needed.

Critical Variables in Singing Accuracy Test Construction: A Review of Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nichols, Bryan E.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this review of literature was to identify research findings for designing assessments in singing accuracy. The aim was to specify the test construction variables that directly affect test performance to guide future design in singing accuracy assessment for research and classroom uses. Three pitch-matching tasks--single pitch,…

A Study on Factors Affecting Navy Officers’ Decisions to Pursue Funded Graduate Education: A Qualitative Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

Distribution is unlimited. A STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING NAVY OFFICERS’ DECISIONS TO PURSUE FUNDED GRADUATE EDUCATION: A QUALITATIVE APPROACH ...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited. A STUDY ON FACTORS...REPORT DATE June 2017 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Master’s thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE A STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING NAVY OFFICERS

The Role of Selected Lexical Factors on Confrontation Naming Accuracy, Speed, and Fluency in Adults Who Do and Do Not Stutter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Rochelle S.; Ratner, Nan Bernstein

2007-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether lexical access in adults who stutter (AWS) differs from that in people who do not stutter. Specifically, the authors examined the role of 3 lexical factors on naming speed, accuracy, and fluency: word frequency, neighborhood density, and neighborhood frequency. If stuttering results…

Package Design Affects Accuracy Recognition for Medications.

PubMed

Endestad, Tor; Wortinger, Laura A; Madsen, Steinar; Hortemo, Sigurd

2016-12-01

Our aim was to test if highlighting and placement of substance name on medication package have the potential to reduce patient errors. An unintentional overdose of medication is a large health issue that might be linked to medication package design. In two experiments, placement, background color, and the active ingredient of generic medication packages were manipulated according to best human factors guidelines to reduce causes of labeling-related patient errors. In two experiments, we compared the original packaging with packages where we varied placement of the name, dose, and background of the active ingredient. Age-relevant differences and the effect of color on medication recognition error were tested. In Experiment 1, 59 volunteers (30 elderly and 29 young students), participated. In Experiment 2, 25 volunteers participated. The most common error was the inability to identify that two different packages contained the same active ingredient (young, 41%, and elderly, 68%). This kind of error decreased with the redesigned packages (young, 8%, and elderly, 16%). Confusion errors related to color design were reduced by two thirds in the redesigned packages compared with original generic medications. Prominent placement of substance name and dose with a band of high-contrast color support recognition of the active substance in medications. A simple modification including highlighting and placing the name of the active ingredient in the upper right-hand corner of the package helps users realize that two different packages can contain the same active substance, thus reducing the risk of inadvertent medication overdose. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Analysis of various factors affecting pupil size in patients with glaucoma.

PubMed

Park, Ji Woong; Kang, Bong Hui; Kwon, Ji Won; Cho, Kyong Jin

2017-09-16

Pupil size is an important factor in predicting post-operative satisfaction. We assessed the correlation between pupil size, measured by Humphrey static perimetry, and various affecting factors in patients with glaucoma. In total, 825 eyes of 415 patients were evaluated retrospectively. Pupil size was measured with Humphrey static perimetry. Comparisons of pupil size according to the presence of glaucoma were evaluated, as were correlations between pupil size and various factors, including age, logMAR best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, spherical equivalent, intraocular pressure, axial length, central corneal thickness, white-to-white, and the kappa angle. Pupil size was significantly smaller in glaucoma patients than in glaucoma suspects (p < 0.001) or the normal group (p < 0.001). Pupil size decreased significantly as age (p < 0.001) and central cornea thickness (p = 0.007) increased, and increased significantly as logMAR BCVA (p = 0.02) became worse and spherical equivalent (p = 0.007) and RNFL thickness (p = 0.042) increased. In patients older than 50 years, pupil size was significantly larger in eyes with a history of cataract surgery. Humphrey static perimetry can be useful in measuring pupil size. Pupil size was significantly smaller in eyes with glaucoma. Other factors affecting pupil size can be used in a preoperative evaluation when considering cataract surgery or laser refractive surgery.

Cued Speech Transliteration: Effects of Speaking Rate and Lag Time on Production Accuracy.

PubMed

Krause, Jean C; Tessler, Morgan P

2016-10-01

Many deaf and hard-of-hearing children rely on interpreters to access classroom communication. Although the exact level of access provided by interpreters in these settings is unknown, it is likely to depend heavily on interpreter accuracy (portion of message correctly produced by the interpreter) and the factors that govern interpreter accuracy. In this study, the accuracy of 12 Cued Speech (CS) transliterators with varying degrees of experience was examined at three different speaking rates (slow, normal, fast). Accuracy was measured with a high-resolution, objective metric in order to facilitate quantitative analyses of the effect of each factor on accuracy. Results showed that speaking rate had a large negative effect on accuracy, caused primarily by an increase in omitted cues, whereas the effect of lag time on accuracy, also negative, was quite small and explained just 3% of the variance. Increased experience level was generally associated with increased accuracy; however, high levels of experience did not guarantee high levels of accuracy. Finally, the overall accuracy of the 12 transliterators, 54% on average across all three factors, was low enough to raise serious concerns about the quality of CS transliteration services that (at least some) children receive in educational settings. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Haptic perception accuracy depending on self-produced movement.

PubMed

Park, Chulwook; Kim, Seonjin

2014-01-01

This study measured whether self-produced movement influences haptic perception ability (experiment 1) as well as the factors associated with levels of influence (experiment 2) in racket sports. For experiment 1, the haptic perception accuracy levels of five male table tennis experts and five male novices were examined under two different conditions (no movement vs. movement). For experiment 2, the haptic afferent subsystems of five male table tennis experts and five male novices were investigated in only the self-produced movement-coupled condition. Inferential statistics (ANOVA, t-test) and custom-made devices (shock & vibration sensor, Qualisys Track Manager) of the data were used to determine the haptic perception accuracy (experiment 1, experiment 2) and its association with expertise. The results of this research show that expert-level players acquire higher accuracy with less variability (racket vibration and angle) than novice-level players, especially in their self-produced movement coupled performances. The important finding from this result is that, in terms of accuracy, the skill-associated differences were enlarged during self-produced movement. To explain the origin of this difference between experts and novices, the functional variability of haptic afferent subsystems can serve as a reference. These two factors (self-produced accuracy and the variability of haptic features) as investigated in this study would be useful criteria for educators in racket sports and suggest a broader hypothesis for further research into the effects of the haptic accuracy related to variability.

FACTORS AFFECTING SENSITIVITY OF CHEMICAL AND ECOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF MARINE EMBAYMEMTS TO NITROGEN LOADING

EPA Science Inventory

This paper summarizes an ongoing examination of the primary factors that affect sensitivity of marine embayment responses to nitrogen loading. Included is a discussion of two methods for using these factors: classification of embayments into discrete sensitivity classes and norma...

Risk factors of compliance with self-harm command hallucinations in individuals with affective and non-affective psychosis.

PubMed

Dugré, Jules R; Guay, Jean-Pierre; Dumais, Alexandre

2018-05-01

Clinicians are often left with the difficult task of assessing and managing the risk of violent behaviors in individuals having command hallucinations, which may result in substantial rates of false positive or false negative. Moreover, findings on the association between command hallucinations and suicidal behaviors are limited. In an attempt to better understand compliance to this hallucinatory phenomenon, our objective was to identify the risk factors of compliance with self-harm command hallucinations. Secondary analyses from the MacArthur Study were performed on 82 participants with psychosis reporting such commands. Univariate logistic regression was used to examine the classification value of each characteristic associated with compliance with such commands. Seriousness and frequency of childhood physical abuse, a current comorbid substance use disorder, emotional distress, general symptomatology, history of compliance, and belief about compliance in the future were found to be significant risk factors of compliance with self-harm commands in the week preceding psychiatric inpatient. Multivariate analyses revealed that severity of childhood physical abuse, belief about compliance in the future, and a current comorbid substance use disorder were independent risk factors. The final model showed excellent classification accuracy as suggest by the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC=0.84, 95% CI: 0.75-0.92, p<0.001). Our results suggest considerable clinical implications in regard to the assessment of risk of compliance to self-harm command hallucinations in individuals with psychosis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ontario multidetector computed tomographic coronary angiography study: field evaluation of diagnostic accuracy.

PubMed

Chow, Benjamin J W; Freeman, Michael R; Bowen, James M; Levin, Leslie; Hopkins, Robert B; Provost, Yves; Tarride, Jean-Eric; Dennie, Carole; Cohen, Eric A; Marcuzzi, Dan; Iwanochko, Robert; Moody, Alan R; Paul, Narinder; Parker, John D; O'Reilly, Daria J; Xie, Feng; Goeree, Ron

2011-06-13

Computed tomographic coronary angiography (CTCA) has gained clinical acceptance for the detection of obstructive coronary artery disease. Although single-center studies have demonstrated excellent accuracy, multicenter studies have yielded variable results. The true diagnostic accuracy of CTCA in the "real world" remains uncertain. We conducted a field evaluation comparing multidetector CTCA with invasive CA (ICA) to understand CTCA's diagnostic accuracy in a real-world setting. A multicenter cohort study of patients awaiting ICA was conducted between September 2006 and June 2009. All patients had either a low or an intermediate pretest probability for coronary artery disease and underwent CTCA and ICA within 10 days. The results of CTCA and ICA were interpreted visually by local expert observers who were blinded to all clinical data and imaging results. Using a patient-based analysis (diameter stenosis ≥50%) of 169 patients, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 81.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 71.0%-89.1%), 93.3% (95% CI, 85.9%-97.5%), 91.6% (95% CI, 82.5%-96.8%), and 84.7% (95% CI, 76.0%-91.2%), respectively; the area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.873. The diagnostic accuracy varied across centers (P < .001), with a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value ranging from 50.0% to 93.2%, 92.0% to 100%, 84.6% to 100%, and 42.9% to 94.7%, respectively. Compared with ICA, CTCA appears to have good accuracy; however, there was variability in diagnostic accuracy across centers. Factors affecting institutional variability need to be better understood before CTCA is universally adopted. Additional real-world evaluations are needed to fully understand the impact of CTCA on clinical care. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00371891.

Evaluation of factors that affect hip moment impulse during gait: A systematic review.

PubMed

Inai, Takuma; Takabayashi, Tomoya; Edama, Mutsuaki; Kubo, Masayoshi

2018-03-01

Decreasing the daily cumulative hip moments in the frontal and sagittal planes may lower the risk of hip osteoarthritis. Therefore, it may be important to evaluate factors that affect hip moment impulse during gait. It is unclear what factors affect hip moment impulse during gait. This systematic review aimed to evaluate different factors that affect hip moment impulse during gait in healthy adults and patients with hip osteoarthritis. Four databases (Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and PEDro) were searched up to August 2017 to identify studies that examined hip moment impulse during gait. Data extracted for analysis included the sample size, age, height, body mass, type of intervention, and main findings. After screening, 10 of the 975 studies identified were included in our analysis. Several factors, including a rocker bottom shoe, FitFlop™ sandals, ankle push-off, posture, stride length, body-weight unloading, a rollator, walking poles, and a knee brace, were reviewed. The main findings were as follows: increasing ankle push-off decreased both the hip flexion and extension moment impulses; body-weight unloading decreased both the hip extension and adduction moment impulses; the FitFlop™ sandal increased the sum of the hip flexion and extension moment impulses; long strides increased the hip extension moment impulse; and the use of a knee brace increased hip flexion moment impulse. Of note, none of the eligible studies included patients with hip osteoarthritis. The hip moment impulses can be modified by person-specific factors (ankle push-off and long strides) and external factors (body-weight unloading and use of the FitFlop™ sandals and a knee brace). Effects on the progression of hip osteoarthritis remain to be evaluated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors Affecting University Students' Intention to Use Cloud Computing in Jordan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rababah, Khalid Ali; Khasawneh, Mohammad; Nassar, Bilal

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine the factors affecting students' intention to use cloud computing in the Jordanian universities. To achieve this purpose, a quantitative research approach which is a survey-based was deployed. Around 400 questionnaires were distributed randomly to Information Technology (IT) students at four universities in…

Factors Affecting Early Services for Children Who Are Hard of Hearing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harrison, Melody; Page, Thomas A.; Oleson, Jacob; Spratford, Meredith; Berry, Lauren Unflat; Peterson, Barbara; Welhaven, Anne; Arenas, Richard M.; Moeller, Mary Pat

2016-01-01

Purpose: To describe factors affecting early intervention (EI) for children who are hard of hearing, we analyzed (a) service setting(s) and the relationship of setting to families' frequency of participation, and (b) provider preparation, caseload composition, and experience in relation to comfort with skills that support spoken language for…

Factors Affecting Training Transfer: Participants' Motivation to Transfer Training, Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alawneh, Muhammad K.

2008-01-01

This article investigates factors that motivate participants in learning and training activities to transfer skills, knowledge and attitude from the learning setting to the workplace. Based on training transfer theories hypothesized by Holton (1996), one of the major theories that affect an organization's learning is motivation to transfer theory.…

Factors affecting the achievement of Japanese-style deep knee flexion after total knee arthroplasty using posterior-stabilized prosthesis with high-flex knee design.

PubMed

Niki, Yasuo; Takeda, Yuki; Harato, Kengo; Suda, Yasunori

2015-11-01

Achievement of very deep knee flexion after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) can play a critical role in the satisfaction of patients who demand a floor-sitting lifestyle and engage in high-flexion daily activities (e.g., seiza-sitting). Seiza-sitting is characterized by the knees flexed >145º and feet turned sole upwards underneath the buttocks with the tibia internally rotated. The present study investigated factors affecting the achievement of seiza-sitting after TKA using posterior-stabilized total knee prosthesis with high-flex knee design. Subjects comprised 32 patients who underwent TKA with high-flex knee prosthesis and achieved seiza-sitting (knee flexion >145º) postoperatively. Another 32 patients served as controls who were capable of knee flexion >145º preoperatively, but failed to achieve seiza-sitting postoperatively. Accuracy of femoral and tibial component positions was assessed in terms of deviation from the ideal position using a two-dimensional to three-dimensional matching technique. Accuracies of the component position, posterior condylar offset ratio and intraoperative gap length were compared between the two groups. The proportion of patients with >3º internally rotated tibial component was significantly higher in patients who failed at seiza-sitting (41 %) than among patients who achieved it (13 %, p = 0.021). Comparison of intraoperative gap length between patient groups revealed that gap length at 135º flexion was significantly larger in patients who achieved seiza-sitting (4.2 ± 0.4 mm) than in patients who failed at it (2.7 ± 0.4 mm, p = 0.007). Conversely, no significant differences in gap inclination were seen between the groups. From the perspective of surgical factors, accurate implant positioning, particularly rotational alignment of the tibial component, and maintenance of a sufficient joint gap at 135º flexion appear to represent critical factors for achieving >145º of deep knee flexion after TKA.

Factors associated with perceived accuracy of the Undetectable = Untransmittable slogan among men who have sex with men: Implications for messaging scale-up and implementation.

PubMed

Rendina, H Jonathon; Parsons, Jeffrey T

2018-01-01

Recent research has shown high efficacy of HIV treatment for reducing the risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners. As the efficacy of treatment as prevention (TasP) has proliferated, a new messaging campaign, Undetectable = Untransmittable, has been gaining popularity. The purpose of this paper was to assess factors associated with the perceived accuracy of this TasP messaging strategy among a large and diverse sample of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in order to inform subsequent efforts at large-scale and implementation of the HIV prevention message. We conducted a nationwide survey of GBMSM in the U.S. recruited from an online social networking site and a mobile sexual networking app. We analysed data from 12,222 GBMSM separately by HIV status to examine sociodemographic and behavioural factors associated with ratings of the accuracy of the Undetectable = Untransmittable message, which included the option to indicate not understanding what "undetectable" meant. Among HIV-negative and unknown men, multivariable linear regression indicated that being on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), identifying as gay or queer (versus bisexual or straight), recent serodiscordant condomless anal sex (CAS), testing every six months or more often, less concern about sexually transmitted infection (STI) infection, and lower perceived risk of HIV infection were the factors with the largest independent effect on rating the Undetectable = Untransmittable statement as more accurate. Fewer factors emerged as associated with accuracy ratings among HIV-positive participants-reporting an undetectable viral load, a lifetime acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) diagnosis, and lower concern about STI infection were the factors most strongly associated with rating the statement as more accurate. The findings of the current study highlight variability in the perceived accuracy of the Undetectable = Untransmittable message, suggesting potential

Influence of Layup Sequence on the Surface Accuracy of Carbon Fiber Composite Space Mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zhiyong; Liu, Qingnian; Zhang, Boming; Xu, Liang; Tang, Zhanwen; Xie, Yongjie

2018-04-01

Layup sequence is directly related to stiffness and deformation resistance of the composite space mirror, and error caused by layup sequence can affect the surface precision of composite mirrors evidently. Variation of layup sequence with the same total thickness of composite space mirror changes surface form of the composite mirror, which is the focus of our study. In our research, the influence of varied quasi-isotropic stacking sequences and random angular deviation on the surface accuracy of composite space mirrors was investigated through finite element analyses (FEA). We established a simulation model for the studied concave mirror with 500 mm diameter, essential factors of layup sequences and random angular deviations on different plies were discussed. Five guiding findings were described in this study. Increasing total plies, optimizing stacking sequence and keeping consistency of ply alignment in ply placement are effective to improve surface accuracy of composite mirror.

The Factors that Affect Science Teachers' Participation in Professional Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roux, Judi Ann

Scientific literacy for our students and the possibilities for careers available in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas are important topics for economic growth as well as global competitiveness. The achievement of students in science learning is dependent upon the science teachers' effectiveness and experienced science teachers depend upon relevant professional development experiences to support their learning. In order to understand how to improve student learning in science, the learning of science teachers must also be understood. Previous research studies on teacher professional development have been conducted in other states, but Minnesota science teachers comprised a new and different population from those previously studied. The purpose of this two-phase mixed methods study was to identify the current types of professional development in which experienced, Minnesota secondary science teachers participated and the factors that affect their participation in professional development activities. The mixed-methods approach s utilized an initial online survey followed by qualitative interviews with five survey respondents. The results of the quantitative survey and the qualitative interviews indicated the quality of professional development experiences and the factors which affected the science teachers' participation in professional development activities. The supporting and inhibiting factors involved the availability of resources such as time and money, external relationships with school administrators, teacher colleagues, and family members, and personal intrinsic attributes such as desires to learn and help students. This study also describes implications for science teachers, school administrators, policymakers, and professional development providers. Recommendations for future research include the following areas: relationships between and among intrinsic and extrinsic factors, science-related professional development activities

Factors affecting the adoption of home-heating energy-conservation measures: a behavioral approach

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

Macey, S.M.

1982-01-01

The basic aim of this research is to better understand homeowners' adoption of home-heating energy-conservation measures by analyzing a number of factors that are thought to be underlying determinants of adoption behavior. The basic approach is behavioral drawing on the knowledge built up in behavioral geography through studies on natural hazards and innovation diffusion, and borrowing from psychological theories of attitude formation and decision making. In particular, six factors (information, environmental personality, socio-economic and demographic factors, dwelling unit characteristics, psychological variables, and past experience) are shown to directly and indirectly affect adoption behavior. By this means, differences between adopters andmore » nonadopters in the underlying cognitive structures and in the situational factors that affect their decisions are identified. The study focuses on the adoption of three measures: reducing winter night-time thermostat settings, changing or cleaning furnace filters, and installing an automatic setback thermostat. Personal interviews with a random sample of 159 homeowners in Decatur, Illinois serve as the main data base. Results indicate that adoption behavior is determined more by past experience, than by intention. Beliefs, attitudes, and social influences affect behavior indirectly through intention. These psychological variables also act as mediators between information, knowledge, environmental personality, situational variables and behavior. In particular, respondent's age, previous home ownership, and length of residence act indirectly on adoption behavior. Each of these reflects the amount of past experience the respondent is likely to have.« less

Dietary factors affecting susceptibility to urinary tract infection.

PubMed

Kontiokari, Tero; Nuutinen, Matti; Uhari, Matti

2004-04-01

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is usually an ascending infection caused by bacteria derived from stools. Since the bacterial composition of stools is dependent on the diet, it is likely that the risk of UTI will change with changes in the diet. Most data describing diet as a risk factor for UTI come from epidemiological and interventional trials. It has been shown in a case-control setting that frequent consumption of fresh berry or fruit juices and fermented milk products containing probiotic bacteria decreases the risk for UTI recurrence in women. Several interventional trials have found Vaccinium berry products to provide protection from UTI recurrence. Probiotics have not been able to prevent UTI in interventional trials. However, the lack of an effect may be related to too low a dose or to the use of non-optimal products in these trials. Limited data are available on the effects of nutrition on UTI in children. However, there is no reason to expect that children would be different from adults in this respect. In this review, we discuss the dietary factors affecting the susceptibility to UTI.

Effect of local magnetic field disturbances on inertial measurement units accuracy.

PubMed

Robert-Lachaine, Xavier; Mecheri, Hakim; Larue, Christian; Plamondon, André

2017-09-01

Inertial measurement units (IMUs), a practical motion analysis technology for field acquisition, have magnetometers to improve segment orientation estimation. However, sensitivity to magnetic disturbances can affect their accuracy. The objective of this study was to determine the joint angles accuracy of IMUs under different timing of magnetic disturbances of various durations and to evaluate a few correction methods. Kinematics from 12 individuals were obtained simultaneously with an Xsens system where an Optotrak cluster acting as the reference system was affixed to each IMU. A handling task was executed under normal laboratory conditions and imposed magnetic disturbances. Joint angle RMSE was used to conduct a three-way repeated measures analysis of variance in order to contrast the following disturbance factors: duration (0, 30, 60, 120 and 240 s), timing (during the disturbance, directly after it and a 30-second delay after it) and axis (X, Y and Z). The highest joint angle RMSE was observed on rotations about the Y longitudinal axis and during the longer disturbances. It stayed high directly after a disturbance, but returned close to baseline after a 30-second delay. When magnetic disturbances are experienced, waiting 30 s in a normal condition is recommended as a way to restore the IMUs' initial accuracy. The correction methods performed modestly or poorly in the reduction of joint angle RMSE. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting participation decision and amount of physical activity among urban dwellers in Malaysia.

PubMed

Cheah, Y K; Azahadi, M; Phang, S N; Hazilah, N

2017-05-01

The rapid rise in the prevalence of physical inactivity-related diseases has become a serious public health issue worldwide. The objective of the present study is to examine the factors affecting participation in physical activity among urban dwellers in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study measures physical activity using a rigorous regression model. Data are obtained from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2011 (NHMS 2011). A lognormal hurdle model is used to analyse the participation decision and the amount decision of physical activity. The results show that income, gender, ethnicity, marital status and employment status are significantly associated with participation decision and amount decision. However, age, insurance and self-rated health only affect participation decision, whereas family size, education and smoking only affect amount decision. It can, thus, be concluded that sociodemographic, insurance, lifestyle and health factors play an important role in determining physical activity behaviour among urban dwellers. When formulating policies, special attention must be paid to these factors. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting songbird nest survival in riparian forests in a Midwestern agricultural landscape

Treesearch

Rebecca G. Peak; Frank R. Thompson; Terry L. Shaffer

2004-01-01

We investigated factors affecting nest success of songbirds in riparian forest and buffers in northeastern Missouri. We used an information-theoretic approach to determine support for hypotheses concerning effects of nest-site, habitat-patch, edge, and temporal factors on nest success of songbirds in three narrow (55-95 m) and three wide (400-530 m) riparian forests...

Factors Affecting the Adoption of Information and Communication Technologies in Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salinas, Álvaro; Nussbaum, Miguel; Herrera, Oriel; Solarte, Mario; Aldunate, Roberto

2017-01-01

This study describes the level of adoption of information and communication technologies in teaching in three Latin American countries. It also analyzes factors that affect the process by which teachers incorporate these technologies into their classrooms. In order to do so, an online survey was conducted with 89 teachers. The results show that…

Factors affecting the healing of pressure ulcers in a Korean acute care hospital.

PubMed

Sung, Young Hee; Park, Kyung Hee

2011-01-01

We sought to determine the factors affecting pressure ulcer (PU) healing in an acute care facility in Korea. Data were collected between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007, regarding PU status and factors hypothesized to influence wound healing. We developed a form that queried factors thought to affect PU healing based on literature review. We also administered the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) tool to assess healing of PUs and calculated change in PUSH scale as the outcome variable reflecting the magnitude of the healing of PU. One hundred fifty eight patients with a total of 326 PUs in an acute care hospital located in Seoul, Korea, comprised the sample. The variables found to significantly affect PU healing included mean arterial pressure (MAP), serum albumin level, urinary incontinence, consultation with nutritionist, Braden Scale scale, wound size, and exudate amount. Pressure ulcer healing was improved when the MAP was higher (B = 0.034) and the serum albumin level was more than 2.8 g/dL (20.8 grams/liter) (B = 1.107). When managing patients in an acute care setting, PU healing may be improved by maintaining MAP and providing protein supplements to keep serum albumin level greater than 2.8 g/dL (20.8 grams/liter).

Factors affecting aging cognitive function among community-dwelling older adults.

PubMed

Kim, Chun-Ja; Park, JeeWon; Kang, Se-Won; Schlenk, Elizabeth A

2017-08-01

The study purpose was to determine factors affecting aging cognitive function of 3,645 community-dwelling older adults in Korea. The Hasegawa Dementia Scale assessed aging cognitive function, blood analyses and anthropometrics assessed cardio-metabolic risk factors, and the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form Korean Version assessed depressive symptoms. Participants with poor aging cognitive function were more likely to be in the late age group (≥75 y) and currently smoking and have a medical history of stroke, high body mass index, and high level of depressive symptoms; they were also less likely to engage in regular meals and physical activities. Regular meals and physical activities may be primary factors for clinical assessment to identify older adults at risk for aging cognitive function. With aging, depressive symptoms and other unhealthy lifestyle behaviours should be managed to prevent cognitive function disorders. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

The accuracy of the CAD system using intraoral and extraoral scanners for designing of fixed dental prostheses.

PubMed

Shimizu, Sakura; Shinya, Akikazu; Kuroda, Soichi; Gomi, Harunori

2017-07-26

The accuracy of prostheses affects clinical success and is, in turn, affected by the accuracy of the scanner and CAD programs. Thus, their accuracy is important. The first aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of an intraoral scanner with active triangulation (Cerec Omnicam), an intraoral scanner with a confocal laser (3Shape Trios), and an extraoral scanner with active triangulation (D810). The second aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of the digital crowns designed with two different scanner/CAD combinations. The accuracy of the intraoral scanners and extraoral scanner was clinically acceptable. Marginal and internal fit of the digital crowns fabricated using the intraoral scanner and CAD programs were inferior to those fabricated using the extraoral scanner and CAD programs.

Identifying the factors affecting bike-sharing usage and degree of satisfaction in Ningbo, China

PubMed Central

Guo, Yanyong; Zhou, Jibiao; Wu, Yao; Li, Zhibin

2017-01-01

The boom in bike-sharing is receiving growing attention as societies become more aware of the importance of active non-motorized traffic modes. However, the low usage of this transport mode in China raises concerns. The primary objective of this study is to explore factors affecting bike-sharing usage and satisfaction degree of bike-sharing among the bike-sharing user population in China. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey in Ningbo. A bivariate ordered probit (BOP) model was developed to examine simultaneously those factors associated with both bike-sharing usage and satisfaction degree of bike-sharing among users. Marginal effects for contributory factors were calculated to quantify their impacts on the outcomes. The results showed that the BOP model can account for commonly shared unobserved characteristics within usage and satisfaction of bike-sharing. The BOP model results showed that the usage of bike-sharing was affected by gender, household bicycle/e-bike ownership, trip model, travel time, bike-sharing stations location, and users’ perception of bike-sharing. The satisfaction degree of bike-sharing was affected by household income, bike-sharing stations location, and users’ perception of bike-sharing. It is also found that bike-sharing usage and satisfaction degree are strongly correlated and positive in direction. The results can enhance our comprehension of the factors that affect usage and satisfaction degree of bike-sharing. Based on the results, some suggestions regarding planning, engineering, and public advocacy were discussed to increase the usage of bike-sharing in Ningbo, China. PMID:28934321

Factors affecting the accuracy of near-infrared spectroscopy concentration calculations for focal changes in oxygenation parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strangman, Gary; Franceschini, Maria Angela; Boas, David A.; Sutton, J. P. (Principal Investigator)

2003-01-01

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can be used to noninvasively measure changes in the concentrations of oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin in tissue. We have previously shown that while global changes can be reliably measured, focal changes can produce erroneous estimates of concentration changes (NeuroImage 13 (2001), 76). Here, we describe four separate sources for systematic error in the calculation of focal hemoglobin changes from NIRS data and use experimental methods and Monte Carlo simulations to examine the importance and mitigation methods of each. The sources of error are: (1). the absolute magnitudes and relative differences in pathlength factors as a function of wavelength, (2). the location and spatial extent of the absorption change with respect to the optical probe, (3). possible differences in the spatial distribution of hemoglobin species, and (4). the potential for simultaneous monitoring of multiple regions of activation. We found wavelength selection and optode placement to be important variables in minimizing such errors, and our findings indicate that appropriate experimental procedures could reduce each of these errors to a small fraction (<10%) of the observed concentration changes.

Dimensional accuracy of aluminium extrusions in mechanical calibration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raknes, Christian Arne; Welo, Torgeir; Paulsen, Frode

2018-05-01

Reducing dimensional variations in the extrusion process without increasing cost is challenging due to the nature of the process itself. An alternative approach—also from a cost perspective—is using extruded profiles with standard tolerances and utilize downstream processes, and thus calibrate the part within tolerance limits that are not achievable directly from the extrusion process. In this paper, two mechanical calibration strategies for the extruded product are investigated, utilizing the forming lines of the manufacturer. The first calibration strategy is based on global, longitudinal stretching in combination with local bending, while the second strategy utilizes the principle of transversal stretching and local bending of the cross-section. An extruded U-profile is used to make a comparison between the two methods using numerical analyses. To provide response surfaces with the FEA program, ABAQUS is used in combination with Design of Experiment (DOE). DOE is conducted with a two-level fractional factorial design to collect the appropriate data. The aim is to find the main factors affecting the dimension accuracy of the final part obtained by the two calibration methods. The results show that both calibration strategies have proven to reduce cross-sectional variations effectively form standard extrusion tolerances. It is concluded that mechanical calibration is a viable, low-cost alternative for aluminium parts that demand high dimensional accuracy, e.g. due to fit-up or welding requirements.

Improving coding accuracy in an academic practice.

PubMed

Nguyen, Dana; O'Mara, Heather; Powell, Robert

2017-01-01

Practice management has become an increasingly important component of graduate medical education. This applies to every practice environment; private, academic, and military. One of the most critical aspects of practice management is documentation and coding for physician services, as they directly affect the financial success of any practice. Our quality improvement project aimed to implement a new and innovative method for teaching billing and coding in a longitudinal fashion in a family medicine residency. We hypothesized that implementation of a new teaching strategy would increase coding accuracy rates among residents and faculty. Design: single group, pretest-posttest. military family medicine residency clinic. Study populations: 7 faculty physicians and 18 resident physicians participated as learners in the project. Educational intervention: monthly structured coding learning sessions in the academic curriculum that involved learner-presented cases, small group case review, and large group discussion. overall coding accuracy (compliance) percentage and coding accuracy per year group for the subjects that were able to participate longitudinally. Statistical tests used: average coding accuracy for population; paired t test to assess improvement between 2 intervention periods, both aggregate and by year group. Overall coding accuracy rates remained stable over the course of time regardless of the modality of the educational intervention. A paired t test was conducted to compare coding accuracy rates at baseline (mean (M)=26.4%, SD=10%) to accuracy rates after all educational interventions were complete (M=26.8%, SD=12%); t24=-0.127, P=.90. Didactic teaching and small group discussion sessions did not improve overall coding accuracy in a residency practice. Future interventions could focus on educating providers at the individual level.

Stress, Interviewer Support, and Children's Eyewitness Identification Accuracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rush, Elizabeth B.; Quas, Jodi A.; Yim, Ilona S.; Nikolayev, Mariya; Clark, Steven E.; Larson, Rakel P.

2014-01-01

Few studies have investigated how stress affects eyewitness identification capabilities across development, and no studies have investigated whether retrieval context in conjunction with stress affects accuracy. In this study, one hundred fifty-nine 7- to 8- and 12- to 14-year-olds completed a high- or low-stress laboratory protocol during which…

How social interactions affect emotional memory accuracy: Evidence from collaborative retrieval and social contagion paradigms.

PubMed

Kensinger, Elizabeth A; Choi, Hae-Yoon; Murray, Brendan D; Rajaram, Suparna

2016-07-01

In daily life, emotional events are often discussed with others. The influence of these social interactions on the veracity of emotional memories has rarely been investigated. The authors (Choi, Kensinger, & Rajaram Memory and Cognition, 41, 403-415, 2013) previously demonstrated that when the categorical relatedness of information is controlled, emotional items are more accurately remembered than neutral items. The present study examined whether emotion would continue to improve the accuracy of memory when individuals discussed the emotional and neutral events with others. Two different paradigms involving social influences were used to investigate this question and compare evidence. In both paradigms, participants studied stimuli that were grouped into conceptual categories of positive (e.g., celebration), negative (e.g., funeral), or neutral (e.g., astronomy) valence. After a 48-hour delay, recognition memory was tested for studied items and categorically related lures. In the first paradigm, recognition accuracy was compared when memory was tested individually or in a collaborative triad. In the second paradigm, recognition accuracy was compared when a prior retrieval session had occurred individually or with a confederate who supplied categorically related lures. In both of these paradigms, emotional stimuli were remembered more accurately than were neutral stimuli, and this pattern was preserved when social interaction occurred. In fact, in the first paradigm, there was a trend for collaboration to increase the beneficial effect of emotion on memory accuracy, and in the second paradigm, emotional lures were significantly less susceptible to the "social contagion" effect. Together, these results demonstrate that emotional memories can be more accurate than nonemotional ones even when events are discussed with others (Experiment 1) and even when that discussion introduces misinformation (Experiment 2).

The Influence of Motor Skills on Measurement Accuracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brychta, Petr; Sadílek, Marek; Brychta, Josef

2016-10-01

This innovative study trying to do interdisciplinary interface at first view different ways fields: kinantropology and mechanical engineering. A motor skill is described as an action which involves the movement of muscles in a body. Gross motor skills permit functions as a running, jumping, walking, punching, lifting and throwing a ball, maintaining a body balance, coordinating etc. Fine motor skills captures smaller neuromuscular actions, such as holding an object between the thumb and a finger. In mechanical inspection, the accuracy of measurement is most important aspect. The accuracy of measurement to some extent is also dependent upon the sense of sight or sense of touch associated with fine motor skills. It is therefore clear that the level of motor skills will affect the precision and accuracy of measurement in metrology. Aim of this study is literature review to find out fine motor skills level of individuals and determine the potential effect of different fine motor skill performance on precision and accuracy of mechanical engineering measuring.

Endoscopic Ultrasound-guided Specimen Collection and Evaluation Techniques Affect Diagnostic Accuracy.

PubMed

Bang, Ji Young; Navaneethan, Udayakumar; Hasan, Muhammad K; Hawes, Robert; Varadarajulu, Shyam

2018-03-11

Outcomes of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) evaluation vary with technique, needles, and methods of specimen evaluation. We performed a direct comparison of diagnostic yields of EUS-FNA samples collected using different gauge needles (22- vs 25-gauge), with or without suction. We performed a randomized controlled study of 352 patients with suspected pancreatic masses, referred for EUS-FNA at a tertiary referral center. Patients were randomly assigned to 22-gauge needles with or without suction or 25-gauge needles with or without suction. Specimens were evaluated offsite by cell block and rapid onsite cytologic evaluation (ROSE). Final diagnoses were made based on histologic analyses or 12-month follow-up evaluations. The primary outcome was diagnostic adequacy of cell blocks. Secondary outcomes were operating characteristics of ROSE and EUS-FNA, number of passes required for accurate onsite diagnosis, and amount of blood in specimens. The final diagnoses were malignancy (81.5% of patients) and benign disease (17.0% of patients); 1.4% of patients were lost during follow up. Cell block, ROSE, and EUS-FNA led to diagnostic accuracies of 71.9%, 95.5%, and 96.6%, respectively. A 22-gauge needle with suction was associated with more passes for adequate onsite diagnosis (P = .003) and specimens contained more blood (P = .01). Diagnostic accuracy of specimens collected by transduodenal EUS-FNA was lower with 22-gauge needles with suction compared to other techniques (P = .004). In a randomized trial of patients undergoing EUS-FNA for pancreatic masses, samples collected with 22-gauge vs 25-gauge needles performed equally well for offsite specimen evaluation. Use of suction appears to increase number of passes needed and specimen bloodiness. Specimen collection techniques should be individualized based on method of evaluation. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT02424838. Copyright © 2018 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Factors affecting the vegetation restoration after fires in cold temperate wetlands: A review].

PubMed

Zhao, Feng-Jun; Wang, Li-Zhong; Shu, Li-Fu; Chen, Peng-Yu; Chen, Li-guang

2013-03-01

Cold temperate wetland plays an important role in maintaining regional ecological balance. Fire is an important disturbance factor in wetland ecosystem. Severe burning can induce the marked degradation of the ecological functions of wetland ecosystem. The vegetation restoration, especially the early vegetation restoration, after fires, is the premise and basis for the recovery of the ecological functions of the ecosystem. This paper reviewed the research progress on the factors affecting the vegetation restoration after fires in wetlands. The vegetation restoration after fires in cold temperate wetlands was controlled by the fire intensity, fire size, vegetation types before fires, regeneration characteristics of plant species, and site conditions. It was considered that the long-term monitoring on the post-fire vegetation restoration in cold temperate wetland, the key factors affecting the vegetation restoration, the roles of frozen soil layer on the post-fire vegetation restoration, and the theories and technologies on the vegetation restoration would be the main research directions in the future.

Factors affecting the sustainability of solid waste management system-the case of Palestine.

PubMed

Al-Khateeb, Ammar J; Al-Sari, Majed I; Al-Khatib, Issam A; Anayah, Fathi

2017-02-01

Understanding the predictors of sustainability in solid waste management (SWM) systems can significantly contribute to eliminate many waste management problems. In this paper, the sustainability elements of SWM systems of interest are (1) attitudes toward separation at the source, (2) behaviour regarding reuse and/or recycling and (3) willingness to pay for an improved service of SWM. The predictors affecting these three elements were studied in two Palestinian cities: Ramallah and Jericho. The data were collected via structured questionnaires and direct interviews with the respondents, and the analysis utilized a logistic regression model. The results showed that the place of residence and dwelling premises are the significant factors influencing attitudes toward separation at the source; the place of residence and age are the significant factors explaining behaviour regarding reuse and/or recycling; while the dwelling premises, gender, level of education and being received education on waste management are the significant factors affecting willingness to pay for an improved service of SWM.

Factors that affect the flow of patients through triage.

PubMed

Lyons, Melinda; Brown, Ruth; Wears, Robert

2007-02-01

To use observational methods to objectively evaluate the organisation of triage and what issues may affect the effectiveness of the process. A two-phase study comprising observation of 16 h of triage in a London hospital emergency department and interviews with the triage staff to build a qualitative task analysis and study protocol for phase 2; observation and timing in triage for 1870 min including 257 patients and for 16 different members of the triage staff. No significant difference was found between grades of staff for the average triage time or the fraction of time absent from triage. In all, 67% of the time spent absent from triage was due to escorting patients into the department. The average time a patient waited in the reception before triage was 13 min 34 s; the average length of time to triage for a patient was 4 min 17 s. A significant increase in triage time was found when patients were triaged to a specialty, expected by a specialty, or were actively "seen and treated" in triage. Protocols to prioritise patients with potentially serious conditions to the front of the queue had a significantly positive effect on their waiting time. Supplementary tasks and distractions had varying effects on the timely assessment and triage of patients. The human factors method is applicable to the triage process and can identify key factors that affect the throughput at triage. Referring a patient to a specialty at triage affects significantly the triage workload; hence, alternative methods or management should be suggested. The decision to offer active treatment at triage increases the time taken, and should be based on clinical criteria and the workload determined by staffing levels. The proportion of time absent from triage could be markedly improved by support from porters or other non-qualified staff, as well as by proceduralised handovers from triage to the main clinical area. Triage productivity could be improved by all staff by becoming aware of the effect of

Internal and external environmental factors affecting the performance of hospital-based home nursing care.

PubMed

Noh, J-W; Kwon, Y-D; Yoon, S-J; Hwang, J-I

2011-06-01

Numerous studies on HNC services have been carried out by signifying their needs, efficiency and effectiveness. However, no study has ever been performed to determine the critical factors associated with HNC's positive results despite the deluge of positive studies on the service. This study included all of the 89 training hospitals that were practising HNC service in Korea as of November 2006. The input factors affecting the performance were classified as either internal or external environmental factors. This analysis was conducted to understand the impact that the corresponding factors had on performance. Data were analysed by using multiple linear regressions. The internal and external environment variables affected the performance of HNC based on univariate analysis. The meaningful variables were internal environmental factors. Specifically, managerial resource (the number of operating beds and the outpatient/inpatient ratio) were meaningful when the multiple linear regression analysis was performed. Indeed, the importance of organizational culture (the passion of HNC nurses) was significant. This study, considering the limited market size of Korea, illustrates that the critical factor for the development of hospital-led HNC lies with internal environmental factors rather than external ones. Among the internal environmental factors, the hospitals' managerial resource-related factors (specifically, the passion of nurses) were the most important contributing element. © 2011 The Authors. International Nursing Review © 2011 International Council of Nurses.

An Investigation of Relationships between Internal and External Factors Affecting Technology Integration in Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hur, Jung Won; Shannon, David; Wolf, Sara

2016-01-01

Various factors affecting technology integration have been identified, but little research has examined the relationships between factors, especially internal and external ones, and whether they directly or indirectly influenced each other. To fill this research gap, this study examined the significance and relationships of five factors…

Agility in Team Sports: Testing, Training and Factors Affecting Performance.

PubMed

Paul, Darren J; Gabbett, Tim J; Nassis, George P

2016-03-01

Agility is an important characteristic of team sports athletes. There is a growing interest in the factors that influence agility performance as well as appropriate testing protocols and training strategies to assess and improve this quality. The objective of this systematic review was to (1) evaluate the reliability and validity of agility tests in team sports, (2) detail factors that may influence agility performance, and (3) identify the effects of different interventions on agility performance. The review was undertaken in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We conducted a search of PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and SPORTDiscus databases. We assessed the methodological quality of intervention studies using a customized checklist of assessment criteria. Intraclass correlation coefficient values were 0.80-0.91, 0.10-0.81, and 0.81-0.99 for test time using light, video, and human stimuli. A low-level reliability was reported for youth athletes using the video stimulus (0.10-0.30). Higher-level participants were shown to be, on average, 7.5% faster than their lower level counterparts. Reaction time and accuracy, foot placement, and in-line lunge movement have been shown to be related to agility performance. The contribution of strength remains unclear. Efficacy of interventions on agility performance ranged from 1% (vibration training) to 7.5% (small-sided games training). Agility tests generally offer good reliability, although this may be compromised in younger participants responding to various scenarios. A human and/or video stimulus seems the most appropriate method to discriminate between standard of playing ability. Decision-making and perceptual factors are often propositioned as discriminant factors; however, the underlying mechanisms are relatively unknown. Research has focused predominantly on the physical element of agility. Small-sided games and video training may offer effective

FACTORS AFFECTING SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE CORAL MONTASTRAEA FAVEOLATE TO BLACK-BAND DISEASE

EPA Science Inventory

Black-band disease affects many species of tropical reef-building corals, but it is unclear what factors contribute to the disease-susceptibility of individual corals or how the disease is transmitted between colonies. Studies have suggested that the ability of black-band disease...

Factors Affecting the Identification of Research Problems in Educational Administration Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yalçin, Mikail; Bektas, Fatih; Öztekin, Özge; Karadag, Engin

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to reveal the factors that affect the identification of research problems in educational administration studies. The study was designed using the case study method. Criterion sampling was used to determine the work group; the criterion used to select the participants was that of having a study in the field of…

System-Level Evaluation: Language and Other Background Factors Affecting Mathematics Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howie, Sarah

2005-01-01

The aim of this study is to describe and to explore the main factors affecting the performance of South African pupils in the mathematics test of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study-Repeat (TIMSS-R). The first objective was to describe the performance of the pupils in the mathematics test, the pupils' proficiency in English, as…

Factors affecting physicians' responses to patients' requests for antidepressants: focus group study.

PubMed

Tentler, Aleksey; Silberman, Jordan; Paterniti, Debora A; Kravitz, Richard L; Epstein, Ronald M

2008-01-01

The ways in which patients' requests for antidepressants affect physicians' prescribing behavior are poorly understood. To describe physicians' affective and cognitive responses to standardized patients' (SPs) requests for antidepressants, as well as the attitudinal and contextual factors influencing prescribing behavior. Focus group interviews and brief demographic questionnaires. Twenty-two primary care physicians in 6 focus groups; all had participated in a prior RCT of the influence of patients' requests on physicians' prescribing. Iterative review of interview transcripts, involving qualitative coding and thematic analysis. Physicians participating in the focus groups were frequently unaware of and denied the degree to which their thinking was biased by patient requests, but were able to recognize such biases after facilitated reflection. Common affective responses included annoyance and empathy. Common cognitive reactions resulted in further diagnostic inquiry or in acquiescing to the patient's demands to save time or build the patient-clinician relationship. Patients' requests for medication prompted the participants to err on the side of overtreating versus careful review of clinical indications. Lack of time and participants' attitudes--toward the role of the patient and the pharmaceutical ads--also influenced their responses, prompting them to interpret patient requests as diagnostic clues or opportunities for efficiency. This study provides a taxonomy of affective and cognitive responses to patients' requests for medications and the underlying attitudes and contextual factors influencing them. Improved capacity for moment-to-moment self-awareness during clinical reasoning processes may increase the appropriateness of prescribing.

Patient and disease factors affecting the choice and adherence to active surveillance.

PubMed

Dall'Era, Marc A

2015-05-01

Treatment decisions for low-risk prostate cancer are arguably some of the most challenging in oncology. Active surveillance has emerged as an important option for many men with tumors estimated to have a low metastatic potential. Multiple complex patient and physician factors affect the recommendation, selection, and adherence to active surveillance. While baseline clinical criteria are used to identify candidates for this approach, it is important to identify and understand other forces that may influence the management of prostate cancer with active surveillance. Patient perceptions and acceptance of active surveillance have improved over time. Treatment decisions for prostate cancer are strongly associated with physician recommendations, and a high-quality relationship between the patient and his healthcare system is critical to successful active surveillance. Patient understanding of prostate cancer and consistency of information received from separate physicians can affect a decision to pursue active surveillance. Psychological symptoms, most notably regarding anxiety and distress, can affect adherence to active surveillance over time. In general, anxiety for men on active surveillance is low, and lifestyle interventions and self-management strategies may be helpful for increasing quality of life and limiting abandonment of active surveillance in the absence of disease progression. Multiple factors may affect the decision for and adherence to active surveillance for prostate cancer. It is important for both physicians and patients to be aware of these issues and work towards individualized approaches and interventions as needed to increase adoption of active surveillance in the future.