[Quality Management and Quality Specifications of Laboratory Tests in Clinical Studies--Challenges in Pre-Analytical Processes in Clinical Laboratories].

PubMed

Ishibashi, Midori

2015-01-01

The cost, speed, and quality are the three important factors recently indicated by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for the purpose of accelerating clinical studies. Based on this background, the importance of laboratory tests is increasing, especially in the evaluation of clinical study participants' entry and safety, and drug efficacy. To assure the quality of laboratory tests, providing high-quality laboratory tests is mandatory. For providing adequate quality assurance in laboratory tests, quality control in the three fields of pre-analytical, analytical, and post-analytical processes is extremely important. There are, however, no detailed written requirements concerning specimen collection, handling, preparation, storage, and shipping. Most laboratory tests for clinical studies are performed onsite in a local laboratory; however, a part of laboratory tests is done in offsite central laboratories after specimen shipping. As factors affecting laboratory tests, individual and inter-individual variations are well-known. Besides these factors, standardizing the factors of specimen collection, handling, preparation, storage, and shipping, may improve and maintain the high quality of clinical studies in general. Furthermore, the analytical method, units, and reference interval are also important factors. It is concluded that, to overcome the problems derived from pre-analytical processes, it is necessary to standardize specimen handling in a broad sense.

Soliton compression to few-cycle pulses with a high quality factor by engineering cascaded quadratic nonlinearities.

PubMed

Zeng, Xianglong; Guo, Hairun; Zhou, Binbin; Bache, Morten

2012-11-19

We propose an efficient approach to improve few-cycle soliton compression with cascaded quadratic nonlinearities by using an engineered multi-section structure of the nonlinear crystal. By exploiting engineering of the cascaded quadratic nonlinearities, in each section soliton compression with a low effective order is realized, and high-quality few-cycle pulses with large compression factors are feasible. Each subsequent section is designed so that the compressed pulse exiting the previous section experiences an overall effective self-defocusing cubic nonlinearity corresponding to a modest soliton order, which is kept larger than unity to ensure further compression. This is done by increasing the cascaded quadratic nonlinearity in the new section with an engineered reduced residual phase mismatch. The low soliton orders in each section ensure excellent pulse quality and high efficiency. Numerical results show that compressed pulses with less than three-cycle duration can be achieved even when the compression factor is very large, and in contrast to standard soliton compression, these compressed pulses have minimal pedestal and high quality factor.

Factors associated with health-related quality of life among operating engineers.

PubMed

Choi, Seung Hee; Redman, Richard W; Terrell, Jeffrey E; Pohl, Joanne M; Duffy, Sonia A

2012-11-01

Because health-related quality of life among blue-collar workers has not been well studied, the purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with health-related quality of life among Operating Engineers. With cross-sectional data from a convenience sample of 498 Operating Engineers, personal and health behavioral factors associated with health-related quality of life were examined. Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that personal factors (older age, being married, more medical comorbidities, and depression) and behavioral factors (smoking, low fruit and vegetable intake, low physical activity, high body mass index, and low sleep quality) were associated with poor health-related quality of life. Operating Engineers are at risk for poor health-related quality of life. Underlying medical comorbidities and depression should be well managed. Worksite wellness programs addressing poor health behaviors may be beneficial.

High quality factor surface Fabry-Perot cavity of acoustic waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yuntao; Fu, Wei; Zou, Chang-ling; Shen, Zhen; Tang, Hong X.

2018-02-01

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators are critical components in wireless communications and many sensing applications. They have also recently emerged as a subject of study in quantum acoustics at the single phonon level. Acoustic loss reduction and mode confinement are key performance factors in SAW resonators. Here, we report the design and experimental realization of high quality factor Fabry-Perot SAW resonators formed in between the tapered phononic crystal mirrors patterned on a GaN-on-sapphire material platform. The fabricated SAW resonators are characterized by both an electrical network analyzer and an optical heterodyne vibrometer. We observed standing Rayleigh waves inside the cavity, with an intrinsic quality factor exceeding 1.3 × 104 at ambient conditions.

Software Quality Metrics Enhancements. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-04-01

the mathematical relationships which relate metrics to ratings of the various quality factors) for factors which were not validated previously were...function, provides a mathematical relationship between the metrics and the quality factors. (3) Validation of these normalization functions was performed by...samples, further research is needed before a high degree of confidence can be placed on the mathematical relationships established to date l (3.3.3) 6

The relationship between the content and the form of metaphorical statements.

PubMed

Xu, Xu

2010-04-01

Recent research suggests that the quality of a metaphorical topic-vehicle pairing should be the determinant to the choice of a proper grammatical form, nominal metaphor versus simile. Two studies examined the relationship between the quality of the content of a metaphorical statement and its grammatical form. Study 1 showed that the two grammatical forms did not differ in aptness when the quality of topic-vehicle pairs and the conventionality of vehicles, a factor associated with the quality of metaphorical expressions, were controlled. With an online comprehension measure, Study 2 found that high quality metaphorical pairings were easier to process than low quality metaphorical pairings in both the metaphor form and the simile form. For high quality metaphorical pairings, information related to both the topics and the vehicles was highly activated at an early stage of processing. The relations among factors involved in the interpretive process of metaphorical language are discussed.

Photonic Crystal Microchip Laser.

PubMed

Gailevicius, Darius; Koliadenko, Volodymyr; Purlys, Vytautas; Peckus, Martynas; Taranenko, Victor; Staliunas, Kestutis

2016-09-29

The microchip lasers, being very compact and efficient sources of coherent light, suffer from one serious drawback: low spatial quality of the beam strongly reducing the brightness of emitted radiation. Attempts to improve the beam quality, such as pump-beam guiding, external feedback, either strongly reduce the emission power, or drastically increase the size and complexity of the lasers. Here it is proposed that specially designed photonic crystal in the cavity of a microchip laser, can significantly improve the beam quality. Experiments show that a microchip laser, due to spatial filtering functionality of intracavity photonic crystal, improves the beam quality factor M 2 reducing it by a factor of 2, and increase the brightness of radiation by a factor of 3. This comprises a new kind of laser, the "photonic crystal microchip laser", a very compact and efficient light source emitting high spatial quality high brightness radiation.

To the theory of high-power gyrotrons with uptapered resonators

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

Dumbrajs, O.; Nusinovich, G. S.

In high-power gyrotrons it is desirable to combine an optimal resonator length with the optimal value of the resonator quality factor. In resonators with the constant radius of the central part, the possibilities of this combination are limited because the quality factor of the resonator sharply increases with its length. Therefore the attempts to increase the length for maximizing the efficiency leads to such increase in the quality factor which makes the optimal current too small. Resonators with slightly uptapered profiles offer more flexibility in this regard. In such resonators, one can separate optimization of the interaction length from optimizationmore » of the quality factor because the quality factor determined by diffractive losses can be reduced by increasing the angle of uptapering. In the present paper, these issues are analyzed by studying as a typical high-power 17 GHz gyrotron which is currently under development in Europe for ITER (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER). The effect of a slight uptapering of the resonator wall on the efficiency enhancement and the purity of the radiation spectrum in the process of the gyrotron start-up and power modulation are studied. Results show that optimal modification of the shape of a slightly uptapered resonator may result in increasing the gyrotron power from 1052 to 1360 kW.« less

The Impact of Soft Factors on Quality Improvement in Manufacturing Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Shiau Wei; Fauzi Ahmad, Md; Kong, Mei Wan

2017-08-01

Nowadays, soft factors have become the key factors of success in quality improvement of an organisation. Many organisations have neglected the importance of soft factors, this may influence the organisational performance. Hence, the purpose of this research is to examine the impact of soft factors on quality improvement in manufacturing industries. Six hypotheses were examined while considering six dimensions of soft factors including management commitment, customer focus, supplier relationship, employee involvement, training and education, and reward and recognition that have a positive impact on quality improvement. In this study, eighty one managers from the quality department were randomly selected in the manufacturing industry in Batu Pahat, Johor. The questionnaires were distributed to them. The researcher analysed the quantitatively collected data using descriptive analysis and correlation analysis. The findings of this study revealed that all soft factors are correlated to the quality improvement in an organisation with a high significant value but the regression analysis shows that the supplier relationship and employee involvement has more significant impact on quality improvement as compared to other soft factors which contributes of this study.

Select Novice Elementary Teachers' Perceived Knowledge and Implementation of High-Quality Reading Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bumstead, Stacey

2012-01-01

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine select novice teachers' perceived knowledge of high-quality reading instruction, explore the extent that select novice teachers implemented high-quality reading instruction into their own classrooms, and to investigate any factors that explain the similarities and differences between…

Molybdenum-rhenium alloy based high-Q superconducting microwave resonators

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

Singh, Vibhor, E-mail: v.singh@tudelft.nl; Schneider, Ben H.; Bosman, Sal J.

2014-12-01

Superconducting microwave resonators (SMRs) with high quality factors have become an important technology in a wide range of applications. Molybdenum-Rhenium (MoRe) is a disordered superconducting alloy with a noble surface chemistry and a relatively high transition temperature. These properties make it attractive for SMR applications, but characterization of MoRe SMR has not yet been reported. Here, we present the fabrication and characterization of SMR fabricated with a MoRe 60–40 alloy. At low drive powers, we observe internal quality-factors as high as 700 000. Temperature and power dependence of the internal quality-factors suggest the presence of the two level systems from themore » dielectric substrate dominating the internal loss at low temperatures. We further test the compatibility of these resonators with high temperature processes, such as for carbon nanotube chemical vapor deposition growth, and their performance in the magnetic field, an important characterization for hybrid systems.« less

Key factors for a high-quality VR experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Champel, Mary-Luc; Doré, Renaud; Mollet, Nicolas

2017-09-01

For many years, Virtual Reality has been presented as a promising technology that could deliver a truly new experience to users. The media and entertainment industry is now investigating the possibility to offer a video-based VR 360 experience. Nevertheless, there is a substantial risk that VR 360 could have the same fate as 3DTV if it cannot offer more than just being the next fad. The present paper aims at presenting the various quality factors required for a high-quality VR experience. More specifically, this paper will focus on the main three VR quality pillars: visual, audio and immersion.

Ultra-high quality factors in superconducting niobium cavities in ambient magnetic fields up to 190 mG

DOE PAGES

Romanenko, A.; Grassellino, A.; Crawford, A. C.; ...

2014-12-10

Ambient magnetic field, if trapped in the penetration depth, leads to the residual resistance and therefore sets the limit for the achievable quality factors in superconducting niobium resonators for particle accelerators. Here, we show that a complete expulsion of the magnetic flux can be performed and leads to: (1) record quality factors Q > 2 x 10¹¹ up to accelerating gradient of 22 MV/m; (2) Q ~ 3 x 10¹⁰ at 2 K and 16 MV/m in up to 190 mG magnetic fields. This is achieved by large thermal gradients at the normal/superconducting phase front during the cooldown. Our findingsmore » open up a way to ultra-high quality factors at low temperatures and show an alternative to the sophisticated magnetic shielding implemented in modern superconducting accelerators.« less

Correlation of neonatal intensive care unit performance across multiple measures of quality of care.

PubMed

Profit, Jochen; Zupancic, John A F; Gould, Jeffrey B; Pietz, Kenneth; Kowalkowski, Marc A; Draper, David; Hysong, Sylvia J; Petersen, Laura A

2013-01-01

To examine whether high performance on one measure of quality is associated with high performance on others and to develop a data-driven explanatory model of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) performance. We conducted a cross-sectional data analysis of a statewide perinatal care database. Risk-adjusted NICU ranks were computed for each of 8 measures of quality selected based on expert input. Correlations across measures were tested using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine whether underlying factors were driving the correlations. Twenty-two regional NICUs in California. In total, 5445 very low-birth-weight infants cared for between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2007. Pneumothorax, growth velocity, health care-associated infection, antenatal corticosteroid use, hypothermia during the first hour of life, chronic lung disease, mortality in the NICU, and discharge on any human breast milk. The NICUs varied substantially in their clinical performance across measures of quality. Of 28 unit-level correlations, 6 were significant (ρ < .05). Correlations between pairs of measures of quality of care were strong (ρ ≥ .5) for 1 pair, moderate (range, ρ ≥ .3 to ρ < .5) for 8 pairs, weak (range, ρ ≥ .1 to ρ < .3) for 5 pairs, and negligible (ρ < .1) for 14 pairs. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 4 underlying factors of quality in this sample. Pneumothorax, mortality in the NICU, and antenatal corticosteroid use loaded on factor 1; growth velocity and health care-associated infection loaded on factor 2; chronic lung disease loaded on factor 3; and discharge on any human breast milk loaded on factor 4. In this sample, the ability of individual measures of quality to explain overall quality of neonatal intensive care was modest.

Correlation of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Performance Across Multiple Measures of Quality of Care

PubMed Central

Profit, J; Zupancic, JAF; Gould, JB; Pietz, K; Kowalkowski, MA; Draper, D; Hysong, SJ; Petersen, LA

2014-01-01

Objectives To examine whether high performance on one measure of quality is associated with high performance on others and to develop a data-driven explanatory model of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) performance. Design We conducted a cross-sectional data analysis of a statewide perinatal care database. Risk-adjusted NICU ranks were computed for each of 8 measures of quality selected based on expert input. Correlations across measures were tested using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine whether underlying factors were driving the correlations. Setting Twenty-two regional NICUs in California. Patients In total, 5445 very low-birth-weight infants cared for between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2007. Main Outcomes Measures Pneumothorax, growth velocity, health care–associated infection, antenatal corticosteroid use, hypothermia during the first hour of life, chronic lung disease, mortality in the NICU, and discharge on any human breast milk. Results The NICUs varied substantially in their clinical performance across measures of quality. Of 28 unit-level correlations only 6 were significant (P < .05). Correlations between pairs of quality measures were strong (ρ > .5) for 1 pair, moderate (.3 < |ρ| < .5) for 8 pairs, weak (.1 < |ρ| < .3) for 5 pairs and negligible (|ρ| < .1) for 14 pairs. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 4 underlying factors of quality in this sample. Pneumothorax, mortality in the NICU, and antenatal corticosteroid use loaded on factor 1; growth velocity and health care–associated infection loaded on factor 2; chronic lung disease loaded on factor 3; and discharge on any human breast milk loaded on factor 4. Conclusion In this sample, the ability of individual measures of quality to explain overall quality of neonatal intensive care was modest. PMID:23403539

Estimation of gas hydrate saturation using isotropic and anisotropic models at the location selected after measurement of seismic quality factor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mundhra, A.; Sain, K.; Shankar, U.

2012-12-01

The Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition (NGHP) 01 discovered gas hydrate in unconsolidated sediments at several drilling sites along the continental margins of Krishna-Godavari Basin, India. Presence of gas hydrate reduces the attenuation of travelling seismic waves which can be measured by estimation of seismic quality factor (Dasgupta and Clark, 1998). Here, we use log spectral ratio method (Sain et al, 2009) to compute quality factor at three locations, among which two have strong and one has no bottom simulating reflector (BSR), along seismic cross-line near one of the drilling site. Interval quality factor for three submarine sedimentary layers bounded by seafloor, BSR, one reflector above and another reflector below the BSR has been measured. To compute quality factor, unprocessed pre-stack seismic data has been used to avoid any influence of processing sequence. We have estimated that interval quality factor lies within 200-220 in the interval having BSR while it varies within 90-100 in other intervals. Thereby, high interval quality factor ascertains that observed BSR is due to presence of gas hydrates. We have performed rock physics modelling by using isotropic and anisotropic models, to quantitatively estimate gas hydrate saturation at one of the location where an interval has high quality factor. Abruptly high measured resistivity and high P-wave velocity in the interval, leads to towering hydrate saturation (Archie,1942 and Helegrud et al, 1999) in comparison to lower gas hydrate saturations estimated by pressure core and chlorinity measurements. Overestimation of saturation is attributed to presence of near vertical fractures that are identified from logging-while-drilling resistivity images. We have carried out anisotropic modeling (Kennedy and Herrick, 2004 and Lee,2009) by incorporating fracture volume and fracture porosity to estimate hydrate saturation and have observed that modeled gas hydrate saturations agree with the lower gas hydrate saturations obtained from pressure core and chlorinity measurements. Therefore, we find that 1) quality factor is significantly higher in the interval bearing gas hydrates and is a useful tool to discover hydrate deposits, 2) anisotropy due to presence of near vertical hydrate filled fractures translates into elevated saturation because of high measured resistivity and velocity and 3) anisotropic model greatly corrects the saturation estimates in fractured medium. References: Archie, G.E., 1942. Petroleum Transactions of AIME, 146, 54-62. Dasgupta, R., Clark, R.A., 1998. Geophysics 63, 2120-2128. Kennedy, W.D., Herrick, D.C., 2004. Petrophysics 45, 38-58. Lee, M.W., 2009. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5141, 13. Sain, K., Singh, A.K., Thakur, N.K., Khanna, R.K., 2009.Marine Geophysical Researches 30, 137-145.

Active tuning of high-Q dielectric metasurfaces

DOE PAGES

Parry, Matthew; Komar, Andrei; Hopkins, Ben; ...

2017-08-02

Here, we demonstrate the active tuning of all-dielectric metasurfaces exhibiting high-quality factor (high-Q) resonances. The active control is provided by embedding the asymmetric silicon meta-atoms with liquid crystals, which allows the relative index of refraction to be controlled through heating. It is found that high quality factor resonances (Q = 270 ± 30) can be tuned over more than three resonance widths. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using all-dielectric metasurfaces to construct tunable narrow-band filters.

Quality factor and dose equivalent investigations aboard the Soviet Space Station Mir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouisset, P.; Nguyen, V. D.; Parmentier, N.; Akatov, Ia. A.; Arkhangel'Skii, V. V.; Vorozhtsov, A. S.; Petrov, V. M.; Kovalev, E. E.; Siegrist, M.

1992-07-01

Since Dec 1988, date of the French-Soviet joint space mission 'ARAGATZ', the CIRCE device, had recorded dose equivalent and quality factor values inside the Mir station (380-410 km, 51.5 deg). After the initial gas filling two years ago, the low pressure tissue equivalent proportional counter is still in good working conditions. Some results of three periods are presented. The average dose equivalent rates measured are respectively 0.6, 0.8 and 0.6 mSv/day with a quality factor equal to 1.9. Some detailed measurements show the increasing of the dose equivalent rates through the SAA and near polar horns. The real time determination of the quality factors allows to point out high linear energy transfer events with quality factors in the range 10-20.

Curriculum enactment patterns and associated factors from teachers' perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Son, Ji-Won; Kim, Ok-Kyeong

2016-12-01

As part of a larger effort to improve teacher capacity for high-quality mathematics instruction, we investigated the factors that are associated with different enactment patterns at three levels: contextual (e.g., type and quality of textbook), individual (e.g., teacher knowledge), and teachers' opportunity-to-learn (e.g., professional development experiences). Analysis of 183 teachers' self-reports on their practices revealed three notable findings. First, the factors at the three levels were all found to be significantly related to the different patterns of enacted curriculum. However, the use of quality textbooks and the alignment of teachers' views and instructional goals with curriculum goals were found to be the two factors that are most strongly associated with the enactment pattern of high-level problems and high-level teacher questions in instruction. Furthermore, teachers with the enactment pattern of increasing lower cognitive demand of problems into higher ones tended to rate their curriculum knowledge higher than teachers with the enactment pattern of using low-level problems and teacher questions in their teaching. In particular, deviation from and dissatisfaction with their assigned low-quality textbooks were found to be critical factors that are associated with the enactment pattern of increasing lower cognitive demands of problems in instruction.

Photonic Crystal Microchip Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gailevicius, Darius; Koliadenko, Volodymyr; Purlys, Vytautas; Peckus, Martynas; Taranenko, Victor; Staliunas, Kestutis

2016-09-01

The microchip lasers, being very compact and efficient sources of coherent light, suffer from one serious drawback: low spatial quality of the beam strongly reducing the brightness of emitted radiation. Attempts to improve the beam quality, such as pump-beam guiding, external feedback, either strongly reduce the emission power, or drastically increase the size and complexity of the lasers. Here it is proposed that specially designed photonic crystal in the cavity of a microchip laser, can significantly improve the beam quality. Experiments show that a microchip laser, due to spatial filtering functionality of intracavity photonic crystal, improves the beam quality factor M2 reducing it by a factor of 2, and increase the brightness of radiation by a factor of 3. This comprises a new kind of laser, the “photonic crystal microchip laser”, a very compact and efficient light source emitting high spatial quality high brightness radiation.

Photonic Crystal Microchip Laser

PubMed Central

Gailevicius, Darius; Koliadenko, Volodymyr; Purlys, Vytautas; Peckus, Martynas; Taranenko, Victor; Staliunas, Kestutis

2016-01-01

The microchip lasers, being very compact and efficient sources of coherent light, suffer from one serious drawback: low spatial quality of the beam strongly reducing the brightness of emitted radiation. Attempts to improve the beam quality, such as pump-beam guiding, external feedback, either strongly reduce the emission power, or drastically increase the size and complexity of the lasers. Here it is proposed that specially designed photonic crystal in the cavity of a microchip laser, can significantly improve the beam quality. Experiments show that a microchip laser, due to spatial filtering functionality of intracavity photonic crystal, improves the beam quality factor M2 reducing it by a factor of 2, and increase the brightness of radiation by a factor of 3. This comprises a new kind of laser, the “photonic crystal microchip laser”, a very compact and efficient light source emitting high spatial quality high brightness radiation. PMID:27683066

High-quality JPEG compression history detection for fake uncompressed images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Rong; Wang, Rang-Ding; Guo, Li-Jun; Jiang, Bao-Chuan

2017-05-01

Authenticity is one of the most important evaluation factors of images for photography competitions or journalism. Unusual compression history of an image often implies the illicit intent of its author. Our work aims at distinguishing real uncompressed images from fake uncompressed images that are saved in uncompressed formats but have been previously compressed. To detect the potential image JPEG compression, we analyze the JPEG compression artifacts based on the tetrolet covering, which corresponds to the local image geometrical structure. Since the compression can alter the structure information, the tetrolet covering indexes may be changed if a compression is performed on the test image. Such changes can provide valuable clues about the image compression history. To be specific, the test image is first compressed with different quality factors to generate a set of temporary images. Then, the test image is compared with each temporary image block-by-block to investigate whether the tetrolet covering index of each 4×4 block is different between them. The percentages of the changed tetrolet covering indexes corresponding to the quality factors (from low to high) are computed and used to form the p-curve, the local minimum of which may indicate the potential compression. Our experimental results demonstrate the advantage of our method to detect JPEG compressions of high quality, even the highest quality factors such as 98, 99, or 100 of the standard JPEG compression, from uncompressed-format images. At the same time, our detection algorithm can accurately identify the corresponding compression quality factor.

The use of citation indicators to identify and support high-quality research in Poland.

PubMed

Pilc, Andrzej

2008-01-01

In large, mostly English-speaking countries, where the "critical mass" of scientists working in different subfields of science is achieved, the peer review system may be sufficient to assess the quality of scientific research. However, in smaller countries, outside the Anglo-American circle, it is important to introduce different systems to identify research of high quality. In Poland, a parametric system for assessing the quality of research has been introduced. It was largely based on the impact factor of scientific journals. While the use of this indicator to assess research quality is highly questionable, the implementation of the system in the Polish reality is even worse. Therefore it is important to change and improve the system currently used by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education to both evaluate and, more importantly, finance science in Poland. Here, a system based on three factors, i.e. the impact factor, the institutional h-index, and the institutional number of citations, is proposed. The scientific quality of institutions in Division VI: Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences were evaluated and the results were compared with the existing system. Moreover, a method to identify high-quality researchers and institutions at the national level based on the quantity of highly cited papers is shown. Additionally, an attempt to identify the highest quality Polish research on an international level is proposed. This is based on the number of individual citations, the individual h-index, the number of publications, and the priority of the discovery.

Evanescent Microwave Probes on High-Resistivity Silicon and its Application in Characterization of Semiconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tabib-Azar, M.; Akinwande, D.; Ponchak, George E.; LeClair, S. R.

1999-01-01

In this article we report the design, fabrication, and characterization of very high quality factor 10 GHz microstrip resonators on high-resistivity (high-rho) silicon substrates. Our experiments show that an external quality factor of over 13 000 can be achieved on microstripline resonators on high-rho silicon substrates. Such a high Q factor enables integration of arrays of previously reported evanescent microwave probe (EMP) on silicon cantilever beams. We also demonstrate that electron-hole pair recombination and generation lifetimes of silicon can be conveniently measured by illuminating the resonator using a pulsed light. Alternatively, the EMP was also used to nondestructively monitor excess carrier generation and recombination process in a semiconductor placed near the two-dimensional resonator.

High quality factor GaAs microcavity with buried bullseye defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winkler, K.; Gregersen, N.; Häyrynen, T.; Bradel, B.; Schade, A.; Emmerling, M.; Kamp, M.; Höfling, S.; Schneider, C.

2018-05-01

The development of high quality factor solid-state microcavities with low mode volumes has paved the way towards on-chip cavity quantum electrodynamics experiments and the development of high-performance nanophotonic devices. Here, we report on the implementation of a new kind of solid-state vertical microcavity, which allows for confinement of the electromagnetic field in the lateral direction without deep etching. The confinement originates from a local elongation of the cavity layer imprinted in a shallow etch and epitaxial overgrowth technique. We show that it is possible to improve the quality factor of such microcavities by a specific in-plane bullseye geometry consisting of a set of concentric rings with subwavelength dimensions. This design results in a smooth effective lateral photonic potential and therefore in a reduction of lateral scattering losses, which makes it highly appealing for experiments in the framework of exciton-polariton physics demanding tight spatial confinement.

On the potential impact of the newly proposed quality factors on space radiation protection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, John W.; Townsend, Lawrence W.; Cucinotta, Francis A.

1987-01-01

The recently proposed changes in the defined quality factor hold great potential for easing some of the protection requirements from electrons and protons in the near-Earth environment. At the same time, the high Linear Energy Transfer (LET) components play an even more important role which must be further evaluated. Several recommendations are made which need to be addressed before these new quality factors can be implemented into space radiation potection practice.

Research-Based Options for Education Policymaking: Preschool Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathis, William

2012-01-01

Publicly supported, high-quality preschool education is among the most successful and well-documented of education reforms. There is near-universal agreement that high-quality preschool programs more than pay for themselves in economic and social benefits. Program quality is absolutely critical. While no one factor can be considered determinative,…

Factors associated with high-quality/low-cost hospital performance.

PubMed

Jiang, H Joanna; Friedman, Bernard; Begun, James W

2006-01-01

This study explores organizational and market characteristics associated with superior hospital performance in both quality and cost of care, using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases for ten states in 1997 and 2001. After controlling for a variety of patient factors, we found that for-profit ownership, hospital competition, and the number of HMOs were positively associated with the likelihood of attaining high-quality/low-cost performance. Furthermore, we examined interactions between organizational and market characteristics and identified a number of significant interactions. For example, the positive likelihood associated with for-profit hospitals diminished in markets with high HMO penetration.

Promoting High Quality Teacher-Child Interactions: Examining the Role of Teachers' Depression, Perceptions of Children's Peer Relationships, and Contextual Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Granger, Kristen

2017-01-01

The overall goal of this dissertation was to examine teacher characteristics, teachers' beliefs, and contextual factors that may motivate teachers' decisions to engage in high quality teacher-child interactions. I use two complementary studies to meet this goal. These two studies provide insight into several aspects of early childhood teachers'…

Occupation Choices of High School and College Students with Special Reference to Teaching and Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dastidar, Ananya G.; Sikdar, Soumyen

2015-01-01

As India's higher education sector is poised to grow at a tremendous pace, one of its main challenges would be provision of quality education. Teacher quality has been identified as one of the most critical factors affecting educational quality. As such, the immense importance of attracting high-quality entrants into the teaching profession cannot…

Comprehensive Performance Study of Magneto Cantilevers as a Candidate Model for Biological Sensors used in Lab-on-a-Chip Applications

PubMed Central

Saberkari, Hamidreza; Ghavifekr, Habib Badri; Shamsi, Mousa

2015-01-01

In recent years, demand for biological sensors which are capable of fast and accurate detection of minor amounts of pathogens in real-time form has been intensified. Acoustic wave (AW) devices whose performance is determined by mass sensitivity parameters and quality factor are used in biological sensors as platforms with high quality. Yet, current AW devices are facing many challenges such as the low value of their quality factor in practical applications and also their difficulty to use in liquids. The main focus of this article is to study on the magnetostrictive sensors which include milli/microcantilever (MSMC) type. In comparison with AW devices, MSMC has a lot of advantages; (1) its actuation and sensing unit is wirelessly controlled. (2) Its fabrication process is easy. (3) It works well in liquids. (4) It has a high-quality factor (in the air > 500). Simulation results demonstrate that the amount of quality factor depends on environment properties (density and viscosity), MSMC geometry, and its resonant behavior of harmonic modes. PMID:26120566

Photonic crystal microchip laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gailevicius, D.; Koliadenko, V.; Purlys, V.; Peckus, M.; Taranenko, V.; Staliunas, K.

2017-02-01

The microchip lasers, being sources of coherent light, suffer from one serious drawback: low spatial quality of the beam, strongly reducing the brightness of emitted radiation. Attempts to improve the beam quality, such as pump-beam guiding, external feedback, either strongly reduce the emission power, or drastically increase the size and complexity of the lasers. Here we propose that specially designed photonic crystal in the cavity of a microchip laser, can significantly improve the beam quality. We experimentally show that a microchip laser, due to spatial filtering functionality of intracavity photonic crystal, improves the beam quality factor M2 reducing it by factor of 2, and thus increase the brightness of radiation by a factor of 4. This comprises a new kind of laser, the "photonic crystal microchip laser", a very compact and efficient light source emitting high spatial high brightness radiation.

Marital Quality, Gender, and Markers of Inflammation in the MIDUS Cohort

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donoho, Carrie J.; Crimmins, Eileen M.; Seeman, Teresa E.

2013-01-01

Marital quality is an important factor for understanding the relationship between marriage and health. Low-quality relationships may not have the same health benefits as high-quality relationships. To understand the association between marital quality and health, we examined associations between two indicators of marital quality (marital support…

Risk factors for neck and upper extremity disorders among computers users and the effect of interventions: an overview of systematic reviews.

PubMed

Andersen, Johan H; Fallentin, Nils; Thomsen, Jane F; Mikkelsen, Sigurd

2011-05-12

To summarize systematic reviews that 1) assessed the evidence for causal relationships between computer work and the occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) or upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UEMSDs), or 2) reported on intervention studies among computer users/or office workers. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched for reviews published between 1999 and 2010. Additional publications were provided by content area experts. The primary author extracted all data using a purpose-built form, while two of the authors evaluated the quality of the reviews using recommended standard criteria from AMSTAR; disagreements were resolved by discussion. The quality of evidence syntheses in the included reviews was assessed qualitatively for each outcome and for the interventions. Altogether, 1,349 review titles were identified, 47 reviews were retrieved for full text relevance assessment, and 17 reviews were finally included as being relevant and of sufficient quality. The degrees of focus and rigorousness of these 17 reviews were highly variable. Three reviews on risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome were rated moderate to high quality, 8 reviews on risk factors for UEMSDs ranged from low to moderate/high quality, and 6 reviews on intervention studies were of moderate to high quality. The quality of the evidence for computer use as a risk factor for CTS was insufficient, while the evidence for computer use and UEMSDs was moderate regarding pain complaints and limited for specific musculoskeletal disorders. From the reviews on intervention studies no strong evidence based recommendations could be given. Computer use is associated with pain complaints, but it is still not very clear if this association is causal. The evidence for specific disorders or diseases is limited. No effective interventions have yet been documented.

Key Factors for a High-Quality Peritoneal Dialysis Program — The Role of the PD Team and Continuous Quality Improvement

PubMed Central

Fang, Wei; Ni, Zhaohui; Qian, Jiaqi

2014-01-01

The proportion of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) has increased very fast in China over the last decade. Renji Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, is a recognized high-quality PD unit with a high PD utilization rate, excellent patient and technique survival (1-year and 5-year patient survival rate of 93% and 71%, and 1-year and 5-year technique survival of 96% and 82%, respectively), low peritonitis rate and a well-documented good quality of life of the treated patients. We believe that a dedicated and experienced PD team, a structured patient training program, continuous patient support, establishing and utilizing standardized protocols, starting PD with low dialysis dose, monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs), and continuous quality improvement (CQI) are the key factors underlying this successful PD program. PMID:24962961

Numerical analysis of the output waveguide design for 1.55 μm square microcavity lasers directly grown on GaAs substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Xing; Wang, Jun; Cheng, Zhuo; Yang, Zeyuan; Hu, Haiyang; Wang, Wei; Yin, Haiying; Huang, Yongqing; Ren, Xiaomin

2018-07-01

We report a structure design of 1.55 μm square microcavity lasers monolithically integrated on GaAs substrates. The mode characteristics of the microcavity lasers are numerically investigated by three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. The dependences of the high-quality factor modes on the side length of the microcavity, the width of the output waveguide and the etching depth are investigated in detail. The results demonstrate, for the microcavity structure with the side length of 12 μm, the output waveguide width of 1.0 μm and the etching depth of 3.55 μm, it is optimal to excite high-quality factor modes around wavelength of 1.55 μm. The mode wavelength and the mode quality factor are 1547.46 nm and 2416.28, respectively. The quality factor degrades rapidly with the waveguide width increasing, and increases with increasing etching depth.

Quality assessment of economic evaluation studies in pediatric surgery: a systematic review.

PubMed

Fotso Kamdem, Arnaud; Nerich, Virginie; Auber, Frederic; Jantchou, Prévost; Ecarnot, Fiona; Woronoff-Lemsi, Marie-Christine

2015-04-01

To assess economic evaluation studies (EES) in pediatric surgery and to identify potential factors associated with high-quality studies. A systematic review of the literature using PubMed and Cochrane databases was conducted to identify EES in pediatric surgery published between 1 June 1993 and 30 June 2013. Assessment criteria are derived from the Drummond checklist. A high quality study was defined as a Drummond score ≥7. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with high quality studies. 119 studies were included. 43.7% (n=52) of studies were full EES. Cost-effectiveness analysis was the most frequent (61.5%) type of full EES. Only 31.6% of studies had a Drummond score ≥7 and 73% of these were full EES. The factors associated with high quality were identification of costs (OR: 14.08; 95% CI: 3.38-100; p<0.001), estimation of utility value (OR: 8.13; 95% CI: 2.02-43.47; p=0.005) and study funding (OR: 3.50; 95% CI: 1.27-10.10; p=0.02). This review shows that the number and the quality of EES are low despite the increasing number of studies published in recent years. In the current context of budget constraints, our results should encourage pediatric surgeons to focus more on EES. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Recent progress in opto-electronic oscillator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maleki, Lute

2005-01-01

The optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) is a unique device based on photonics techniques to generate highly spectrally pure microwave signals [1]. The development of the OEO was motivated by the need for high performance oscillators in the frequency range larger than 10 GHz, where conventional electronic oscillators have a number of limitations. These limitations typically stem from the product of fQ, where f is the oscillator frequency and Q is the quality factor of the resonator in the oscillator. In conventional resonators, whether electromagnetic or piezoelectric, this product is usually a constant. Thus, as the oscillator frequency is pushed higher, the quality factor degrades, resulting in degradation of the phase noise of the oscillator. An approach to mitigate the problem is to start with a very high quality signal in the 5 to 100 MHz range generated by a quartz oscillator and multiply the frequency to achieve the desired microwave signal. Here again, frequency multiplication also results in an increase of the phase noise by a factor of 2010gN, where N is the multiplication factor.

Association between social factors and performance during Functional Capacity Evaluations: a systematic review.

PubMed

Ansuategui Echeita, Jone; van Holland, Berry J; Gross, Douglas P; Kool, Jan; Oesch, Peter; Trippolini, Maurizio A; Reneman, Michiel F

2018-03-09

Determine the association of different social factors with Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) performance in adults. A systematic literature search was performed in MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO electronic databases. Studies were eligible if they studied social factor's association with the performance of adults undergoing FCE. Studies were assessed on methodological quality and quality of evidence. The review was performed using best-evidence synthesis methods. Thirteen studies were eligible and 11 social factors were studied. Considerable heterogeneity regarding measurements, populations, and methods existed among the studies. High quality of evidence was found for the association of FCE performance with the country of FCE and examiner's fear behavior; moderate quality of evidence with previous job salary; and low or very low quality of evidence with compensation status, litigation status, type of instruction, time of day (workday), primary or mother language, and ethnicity. Other social factors were not studied. Evidence for associations of various social factors with FCE performance was found, but robust conclusions about the strength of the associations cannot be made. Quality of evidence ranged from high to very low. Further research on social factors, also within a biopsychosocial context, is necessary to provide a better understanding of FCE performance. Implications for Rehabilitation Research on Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) performance and its association with biopsychosocial factors have scarcely addressed the impact of social factors, limiting full understanding of FCE results. The social factors, healthcare (examiner's fear behavior and type of instruction), personal or cultural systems (country of FCE, primary or mother language, and ethnicity), workplace system (previous job salary, time of day (workday)), and legislative and insurance system (compensation and litigation status), have a bearing in FCE performance. Better understanding of factors associating with functional capacity provide insights in FCE, allowing clinicians to improve the evaluations and interpretations of the assessment and better design the rehabilitation program. Better understanding of factors that influence FCE performance, and of unstudied factors, will allow researchers guidance to further investigate the construct of functional capacity.

Child-care quality moderates the association between maternal depression and children's behavioural outcome.

PubMed

Charrois, Justine; Côté, Sylvana M; Japel, Christa; Séguin, Jean R; Paquin, Stéphane; Tremblay, Richard E; Herba, Catherine M

2017-11-01

Maternal depression is a risk factor for adverse outcomes in the child, including emotional and behavioural difficulties. There is evidence that child care attendance during the preschool years may moderate associations between familial risk factors and child outcome. However, the possibility that high-quality child care provides protection for children exposed to maternal depression or that low-quality child care provides additional risk has not been investigated. We study whether child-care quality moderates the association between probable history of maternal depression (PMD) and child behavioural and emotional outcomes over the preschool period. Within a longitudinal study, we examined PMD (no depression; clinical PMD before the child's birth; subclinical PMD from 0 to 5 years; clinical PMD from 0 to 5 years), child-care quality and child emotional and behavioural difficulties at the ages of 2, 3 and 4 years. Child-care quality was evaluated in settings, and trajectories were calculated to reflect (a) global quality and (b) two quality subfactors: 'Teaching and interactions' and 'Provision for learning'. Data were analysed for 264 families. Significant interactions emerged between clinical PMD and global quality of child care for children's externalising behaviour (b = -.185, p = .008), more specifically hyperactivity/inattention (b = -.237, p = .002). In the context of clinical PMD, children attending high-quality child care presented fewer difficulties than those attending a low-quality care. Child-care quality was not associated with outcomes for children whose mothers did not report a PMD or a PMD before their birth. In the context of PMD, high-quality child care was associated with fewer behavioural problems and may thus constitute a protective factor. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Comparison of CIGS solar cells made with different structures and fabrication techniques

DOE PAGES

Mansfield, Lorelle M.; Garris, Rebekah L.; Counts, Kahl D.; ...

2016-11-03

Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS)-based solar cells from six fabricators were characterized and compared. The devices had differing substrates, absorber deposition processes, buffer materials, and contact materials. The effective bandgaps of devices varied from 1.05 to 1.22 eV, with the lowest optical bandgaps occurring in those with metal-precursor absorber processes. Devices with Zn(O, S) or thin CdS buffers had quantum efficiencies above 90% down to 400 nm. Most voltages were 250-300 mV below the Shockley-Queisser limit for their bandgap. Electroluminescence intensity tracked well with the respective voltage deficits. Fill factor (FF) was as high as 95% of the maximum for each device'smore » respective current and voltage, with higher FF corresponding to lower diode quality factors (~1.3). An in-depth analysis of FF losses determined that diode quality reflected in the quality factor, voltage-dependent photocurrent, and, to a lesser extent, the parasitic resistances are the limiting factors. As a result, different absorber processes and device structures led to a range of electrical and physical characteristics, yet this investigation showed that multiple fabrication pathways could lead to high-quality and high-efficiency solar cells.« less

Comparison of CIGS solar cells made with different structures and fabrication techniques

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

Mansfield, Lorelle M.; Garris, Rebekah L.; Counts, Kahl D.

Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS)-based solar cells from six fabricators were characterized and compared. The devices had differing substrates, absorber deposition processes, buffer materials, and contact materials. The effective bandgaps of devices varied from 1.05 to 1.22 eV, with the lowest optical bandgaps occurring in those with metal-precursor absorber processes. Devices with Zn(O, S) or thin CdS buffers had quantum efficiencies above 90% down to 400 nm. Most voltages were 250-300 mV below the Shockley-Queisser limit for their bandgap. Electroluminescence intensity tracked well with the respective voltage deficits. Fill factor (FF) was as high as 95% of the maximum for each device'smore » respective current and voltage, with higher FF corresponding to lower diode quality factors (~1.3). An in-depth analysis of FF losses determined that diode quality reflected in the quality factor, voltage-dependent photocurrent, and, to a lesser extent, the parasitic resistances are the limiting factors. As a result, different absorber processes and device structures led to a range of electrical and physical characteristics, yet this investigation showed that multiple fabrication pathways could lead to high-quality and high-efficiency solar cells.« less

All-dielectric metasurface analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency [High Quality Factor Fano-Resonant All-Dielectric Metamaterials

DOE PAGES

Yang, Yuanmu; Kravchenko, Ivan I.; Briggs, Dayrl P.; ...

2014-12-16

Fano-resonant plasmonic metamaterials and nanostructures have become a major focus of the nanophotonics fields over the past several years due their ability to produce high quality factor (Q-factor) resonances. The origin of such resonances is the interference between a broad and narrow resonance, ultimately allowing suppression of radiative damping. However, Fano-resonant plasmonic structures still suffer non-radiative damping due to Ohmic loss, ultimately limiting the achievable Q-factors to values less than ~10. Here, we report experimental demonstration of Fano-resonant silicon-based metamaterials that have a response that mimics the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) found in atomic systems. Due to extremely low absorptionmore » loss, a record-high quality factor (Q-factor) of 306 was experimentally observed. Furthermore, the unit cell of the metamaterial was designed with a feed-gap which results in strong local field enhancement in the surrounding medium resulting in strong light-matter interaction. This allows the metamaterial to serve as a refractive index sensor with a figure-of-merit (FOM) of 101, far exceeding the performance of previously demonstrated localized surface plasmon resonance sensors.« less

Demographic and socioeconomic disparity in nutrition: application of a novel Correlated Component Regression approach

PubMed Central

Alkerwi, Ala'a; Vernier, Céderic; Sauvageot, Nicolas; Crichton, Georgina E; Elias, Merrill F

2015-01-01

Objectives This study aimed to examine the most important demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with diet quality, evaluated in terms of compliance with national dietary recommendations, selection of healthy and unhealthy food choices, energy density and food variety. We hypothesised that different demographic and socioeconomic factors may show disparate associations with diet quality. Study design A nationwide, cross-sectional, population-based study. Participants A total of 1352 apparently healthy and non-institutionalised subjects, aged 18–69 years, participated in the Observation of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Luxembourg (ORISCAV-LUX) study in 2007–2008. The participants attended the nearest study centre after a telephone appointment, and were interviewed by trained research staff. Outcome measures Diet quality as measured by 5 dietary indicators, namely, recommendation compliance index (RCI), recommended foods score (RFS), non-recommended foods score (non-RFS), energy density score (EDS), and dietary diversity score (DDS). The novel Correlated Component Regression (CCR) technique was used to determine the importance and magnitude of the association of each socioeconomic factor with diet quality, in a global analytic approach. Results Increasing age, being male and living below the poverty threshold were predominant factors associated with eating a high energy density diet. Education level was an important factor associated with healthy and adequate food choices, whereas economic resources were predominant factors associated with food diversity and energy density. Conclusions Multiple demographic and socioeconomic circumstances were associated with different diet quality indicators. Efforts to improve diet quality for high-risk groups need an important public health focus. PMID:25967988

Low intake of vegetables, high intake of confectionary, and unhealthy eating habits are associated with poor sleep quality among middle-aged female Japanese workers.

PubMed

Katagiri, Ryoko; Asakura, Keiko; Kobayashi, Satomi; Suga, Hitomi; Sasaki, Satoshi

2014-01-01

Although workers with poor sleep quality are reported to have problems with work performance, few studies have assessed the association between dietary factors and sleep quality using validated indexes. Here, we examined this association using information acquired from validated questionnaires. A total of 3,129 female workers aged 34 to 65 years were analyzed. Dietary intake was assessed using a self-administered diet history questionnaire (DHQ), and subjective sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The relationship between the intake of several food groups and nutrients and sleep quality was examined using multivariable logistic regression models. The effect of eating habits on sleep quality was also examined. Poor sleep quality was associated with low intake of vegetables (p for trend 0.002) and fish (p for trend 0.04) and high intake of confectionary (p for trend 0.004) and noodles (p for trend 0.03) after adjustment for potential confounding factors (age, body mass index, physical activity, depression score, employment status, alcohol intake and smoking status). Poor sleep quality was also significantly and positively associated with consumption of energy drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages, skipping breakfast, and eating irregularly. In addition, poor sleep quality was significantly associated with high carbohydrate intake (p for trend 0.03). A low intake of vegetables and fish, high intake of confectionary and noodles and unhealthy eating habits were independently associated with poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality was also associated with high carbohydrate intake in free-living Japanese middle-aged female workers.

Determination of quality factors by microdosimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Affan, I. A. M.; Watt, D. E.

1987-03-01

The application of microdose parameters for the specification of a revised scale of quality factors which would be applicable at low doses and dose rates is examined in terms of an original proposal by Rossi. Two important modifications are suggested to enable an absolute scale of quality factors to be constructed. Allowance should be made to allow for the dependence of the saturation threshold of lineal energy on the type of heavy charged particle. Also, an artificial saturation threshold should be introduced for electron tracks as a mean of modifying the measurements made in the microdosimeter to the more realistic site sizes of nanometer dimensions. The proposed absolute scale of quality factors nicely encompasses the high RBEs of around 3 observed at low doses for tritium β rays and is consistent with the recent recommendation of the ICRP that the quality factor for fast neutrons be increased by a factor of two, assuming that there is no biological repair for the reference radiation.

Distortion in the thermal noise spectrum and quality factor of nanomechanical devices due to finite frequency resolution with applications to the atomic force microscope.

PubMed

Sader, John E; Sanelli, Julian; Hughes, Barry D; Monty, Jason P; Bieske, Evan J

2011-09-01

The thermal noise spectrum of nanomechanical devices is commonly used to characterize their mechanical properties and energy dissipation. This spectrum is measured from finite time series of Brownian motion of the device, which is windowed and Fourier transformed. Here, we present a theoretical and experimental investigation of the effect of such finite sampling on the measured device quality factor. We prove that if no spectral window is used, the thermal noise spectrum retains its original Lorentzian distribution but with a reduced quality factor, indicating an apparent enhancement in energy dissipation. A simple analytical formula is derived connecting the true and measured quality factors - this enables extraction of the true device quality factor from measured data. Common windows used to reduce spectral leakage are found to distort the (true) Lorentzian shape, potentially making fitting problematic. These findings are expected to be of particular importance for devices with high quality factors, where spectral resolution can be limited in practice. Comparison and validation using measurements on atomic force microscope cantilevers are presented. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Subgroups of Dutch homeless young adults based on risk- and protective factors for quality of life: Results of a latent class analysis.

PubMed

Altena, Astrid M; Beijersbergen, Mariëlle D; Vermunt, Jeroen K; Wolf, Judith R L M

2018-04-17

It is important to gain more insight into specific subgroups of homeless young adults (HYA) to enable the development of tailored interventions that adequately meet their diverse needs and to improve their quality of life. Within a heterogeneous sample of HYA, we investigated whether subgroups are distinguishable based on risk- and protective factors for quality of life. In addition, differences between subgroups were examined regarding the socio-demographic characteristics, the use of cognitive coping strategies and quality of life. A total of 393 HYA using shelter facilities in the Netherlands were approached to participate, between December 2011 and March 2013. Structured face-to-face interviews were administered approximately 2 weeks after shelter admission by trained research assistants. A latent class analysis was conducted to empirically distinguish 251 HYA in subgroups based on common risk factors (former abuse, victimisation, psychological symptoms and substance use) and protective factors (resilience, family and social support and perceived health status). Additional analysis of variance and chi-square tests were used to compare subgroups on socio-demographic characteristics, the use of cognitive coping strategies and quality of life. The latent class analysis yielded four highly interpretable subgroups: the at-risk subgroup, the high-risk and least protected subgroup, the low-risk subgroup and the higher functioning and protected subgroup. Subgroups of HYA with lower scores in risk factors showed higher scores in protective factors, the adaptive cognitive coping strategies and quality of life. Our findings confirm the need for targeted and tailored interventions for specific subgroups of HYA. Social workers need to be attentive to the pattern of risk- and protective factors in each individual to determine which risk factors are prominent and need to be targeted and which protective factors need to be enhanced to improve the quality of life of HYA. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Effect of occupational stress and effort-reward imbalance on sleep quality of people's policeman].

PubMed

Wu, Hui; Gu, Guizhen; Yu, Shanfa

2014-04-01

To explore the effect of occupational stress and effort-reward imbalance on sleep quality of people's police. A cluster sampling survey of sleep quality and occupational stress correlated factors was conducted on 287 police from a city public security bureau by questionnaires in May, 2011; the relationship between sleep quality and occupational stress correlated factors was analyzed by one-way ANOVA and multivariate non-conditional logistic regression using effort-reward imbalance model (ERI) and demand-control-support model (DCS). And the subjects were divided into high tension group and low tension group using the 1.0 of ERI and DCS coefficients as the boundary. The sleep quality score of shift work police was higher than day work police (11.95 ± 6.54 vs 9.52 ± 6.43, t = 2.77, P < 0.05).In ERI model, the sleep quality score in high tension group was higher than low tension group (14.50 ± 6.41 vs 8.60 ± 5.53, t = -5.32, P < 0.01), and in DCS model, the sleep quality score in high tension group was also higher than low tension group (13.71 ± 6.62 vs 9.46 ± 6.04, t = -3.71, P < 0.01).For the regression analysis of ERI model as an argument, sex (OR = 3.0, 95%CI:1.16-7.73) , age for 30-39 years (OR = 3.48, 95%CI:1.32-9.16) , intrinsic effort (OR = 2.30, 95%CI:1.10-4.81) and daily hassles (OR = 2.15, 95%CI:1.06-4.33) were risk factors of low sleep quality, and reward (OR = 0.26, 95%CI:0.12-0.52) was the protective factor.For the regression analysis of DCS model as an argument , age for 30-39 years (OR = 2.55, 95%CI:1.02-6.37) , depressive symptom (OR = 2.10, 95%CI:1.14-3.89) and daily hassles (OR = 3.25, 95%CI:1.70-6.19) were risk factors of low sleep quality.While the ERI model and the DCS model were analyzed simultaneously, sex (OR = 3.03, 95%CI:1.15-7.98) , age for 30-39 years (OR = 3.71, 95%CI:1.38-9.98) and daily hassles (OR = 2.09, 95%CI:1.01-4.30) were the risk factors of low sleep quality, and reward (OR = 0.22, 95%CI:0.10-0.48) was the protective factor. Occupational stress and effort-reward imbalance affected the sleep quality to people's policeman.

Prognostic factors of whiplash-associated disorders: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies.

PubMed

Scholten-Peeters, Gwendolijne G M; Verhagen, Arianne P; Bekkering, Geertruida E; van der Windt, Daniëlle A W M; Barnsley, Les; Oostendorp, Rob A B; Hendriks, Erik J M

2003-07-01

We present a systematic review of prospective cohort studies. Our aim was to assess prognostic factors associated with functional recovery of patients with whiplash injuries. The failure of some patients to recover following whiplash injury has been linked to a number of prognostic factors. However, there is some inconsistency in the literature and there have been no systematic attempts to analyze the level of evidence for prognostic factors in whiplash recovery. Studies were selected for inclusion following a comprehensive search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the database of the Dutch Institute of Allied Health Professions up until April 2002 and hand searches of the reference lists of retrieved articles. Studies were selected if the objective was to assess prognostic factors associated with recovery; the design was a prospective cohort study; the study population included at least an identifiable subgroup of patients suffering from a whiplash injury; and the paper was a full report published in English, German, French or Dutch. The methodological quality was independently assessed by two reviewers. A study was considered to be of 'high quality' if it satisfied at least 50% of the maximum available quality score. Two independent reviewers extracted data and the association between prognostic factors and functional recovery was calculated in terms of risk estimates. Fifty papers reporting on twenty-nine cohorts were included in the review. Twelve cohorts were considered to be of 'high quality'. Because of the heterogeneity of patient selection, type of prognostic factors and outcome measures, no statistical pooling was able to be performed. Strong evidence was found for high initial pain intensity being an adverse prognostic factor. There was strong evidence that for older age, female gender, high acute psychological response, angular deformity of the neck, rear-end collision, and compensation not being associated with an adverse prognosis. Several physical (e.g. restricted range of motion, high number of complaints), psychosocial (previous psychological problems), neuropsychosocial factors (nervousness), crash related (e.g. accident on highway) and treatment related factors (need to resume physiotherapy) showed limited prognostic value for functional recovery. High initial pain intensity is an important predictor for delayed functional recovery for patients with whiplash injury. Often mentioned factors like age, gender and compensation do not seem to be of prognostic value. Scientific information about prognostic factors can guide physicians or other care providers to direct treatment and to probably prevent chronicity.

Bio-implantable passive on-chip RF-MEMS strain sensing resonators for orthopaedic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melik, Rohat; Kosku Perkgoz, Nihan; Unal, Emre; Puttlitz, Christian; Demir, Hilmi Volkan

2008-11-01

One out of ten bone fractures does not heal properly due to improper load distribution and strain profiles during the healing process. To provide implantable tools for the assessment of bone fractures, we have designed novel, bio-implantable, passive, on-chip, RF-MEMS strain sensors that rely on the resonance frequency shift with mechanical deformation. For this purpose, we modeled, fabricated and experimentally characterized two on-chip sensors with high quality factors for in vivo implantation. One of the sensors has an area of ~0.12 mm2 with a quality factor of ~60 and the other has an area of ~0.07 mm2 with a quality factor of ~70. To monitor the mechanical deformation by measuring the change in the resonance frequencies with the applied load, we employed a controllable, point load applying experimental setup designed and constructed for in vitro characterization. In the case of the sensor with the larger area, when we apply a load of 3920 N, we obtain a frequency shift of ~330 MHz and a quality factor of ~76. For the smaller sensor, the frequency shift and the quality factor are increased to 360 MHz and 95, respectively. These data demonstrate that our sensor chips have the capacity to withstand relatively high physiologic loads, and that the concomitant and very large resonant frequency shift with the applied load is achieved while maintaining a high signal quality factor. These experiments demonstrate that these novel sensors have the capacity for producing high sensitivity strain readout, even when the total device area is considerably small. Also, we have demonstrated that our bio-implantable, passive sensors deliver a telemetric, real-time readout of the strain on a chip. Placing two more resonators on the sides of the sensor to serve as transmitter and receiver antennas, we achieved to transfer contactless power and read out loads in the absence of direct wiring to the sensor. With this model, where telemetric measurements become simpler due to the fact that all sensor system is built on the same chip, we obtain a frequency shift of ~190 MHz with an increase in the quality factor from ~38 to ~46 when a load of 3920 N is applied. Therefore, as a first proof of concept, we have demonstrated the feasibility of our on-chip strain sensors for monitoring the mechanical deformation using telemetry-based systems.

High-performance flexible microwave passives on plastic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Zhenqiang; Seo, Jung-Hun; Cho, Sang June; Zhou, Weidong

2014-06-01

We report the demonstration of bendable inductors, capacitors and switches fabricated on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate that can operate at high microwave frequencies. By employing bendable dielectric and single crystalline semiconductor materials, spiral inductors and metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors with high quality factors and high resonance frequencies and single-pole, single-throw (SPST) switches were archived. The effects of mechanical bending on the performance of inductors, capacitors and switches were also measured and analyzed. We further investigated the highest possible resonance frequencies and quality factors of inductors and capacitors and, high frequency responses and insertion loss. These demonstrations will lead to flexible radio-frequency and microwave systems in the future.

Psychosocial Factors Associated with Diet Quality in a Working Adult Population

PubMed Central

Dunbar, Sandra B.; Higgins, Melinda; Dai, Jun; Ziegler, Thomas R.; Frediani, Jennifer K.; Reilly, Carolyn; Brigham, Kenneth L.

2014-01-01

The associations between specific intra- and inter-personal psychosocial factors and dietary patterns were explored in a healthy, working adult population. Participants (N= 640) were enrolled in a prospective predictive health study and characterized by a mean age of 48(SD = 11) years, 67% women, and 30% minority. Baseline psychosocial measures of perceived stress, depressive symptoms, social support, and family functioning were examined for their relationships with three diet quality indices - AHEI, DASH, and the Mediterranean. Dietary intake was of moderate quality in this high income, well-educated, psychosocially healthy population. Social support was positively associated with better diet quality for all three indices (p< .01). Further research should focus on socio-environmental factors associated with diet quality. PMID:23408456

High quality factor indium oxide mechanical microresonators

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

Bartolomé, Javier, E-mail: j.bartolome@fis.ucm.es; Cremades, Ana; Piqueras, Javier

2015-11-09

The mechanical resonance behavior of as-grown In{sub 2}O{sub 3} microrods has been studied in this work by in-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) electrically induced mechanical oscillations. Indium oxide microrods grown by a vapor–solid method are naturally clamped to an aluminum oxide ceramic substrate, showing a high quality factor due to reduced energy losses during mechanical vibrations. Quality factors of more than 10{sup 5} and minimum detectable forces of the order of 10{sup −16} N/Hz{sup 1/2} demonstrate their potential as mechanical microresonators for real applications. Measurements at low-vacuum using the SEM environmental operation mode were performed to study the effect ofmore » extrinsic damping on the resonators behavior. The damping coefficient has been determined as a function of pressure.« less

High-Q, in-plane modes of nanomechanical resonators operated in air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waggoner, Philip S.; Tan, Christine P.; Bellan, Leon; Craighead, Harold G.

2009-05-01

Nanomechanical resonators have traditionally been limited to use in vacuum due to low quality factors that come as a result of viscous damping effects in air or liquid. We have fabricated arrays of 90 nm thick trampoline-shaped resonators, studied their resonant frequency spectrum as a function of pressure, and found that some high frequency modes exhibit quality factors over 2000 at atmospheric pressure. We have excited the in-plane resonances of these devices, verified their identities both experimentally and with finite element modeling, and demonstrated their advantageous characteristics for ambient sensing. Even after deposition of a relatively thick polymer layer, the in-plane resonant modes still boast quality factors on the order of 2000. These results show promise for the use of nanomechanical resonant sensors in real-time atmospheric sensing applications.

Health-related quality of life and associated factors in Jordanian cancer patients: A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Mosleh, Sultan M

2018-06-04

Understanding the factors associated with patients' health-related quality of life along with their social networks can help identify who may benefit from supportive programmes. This study sought to evaluate the impact of a cancer diagnosis on Jordanian cancer patients' health-related quality of life and its relationship with social support and emotional status. A descriptive design was utilized, and 226 clients were participated. Participants completed European Organization for Research and Treatment of cancer quality of life questionnaire (EORTC-version 3), the Hospice Comfort Questionnaire, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. The results revealed that participants demonstrated unsatisfactory quality of life and many complained of fatigue. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that social support, hospitalization readmission and being a nonsmoker were significant predictors for poor global quality of life score. In addition, a high educational level, less rehospitalization and high anxiety and depression scores were significant predictors for comfort level. In conclusion, patients with cancer are at an elevated risk of impaired physical functioning and report unsatisfactory quality of life, particularly if they are anxious, depressed and lack social support. The associated factors with decreased quality of life or low comfort level could be amenable to change with appropriate interventions. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Creating High-Quality Health Care Workplaces. A Background Paper for Canadian Policy Research Networks' National Roundtable (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, October 29, 2001). CPRN Work Network Discussion Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koehoorn, Mieke; Lowe, Graham S.; Rondeau, Kent V.; Schellenberg, Grant; Wagar, Terry H.

Insights from a variety of research streams were synthesized to identify the key ingredients of a high-quality work environment in Canada's health care sector and ways of achieving high-quality workplaces in the sector. The following sets of interacting factors were considered: (1) the work environment and the human resource practices that shape…

Teacher Salaries and the Shortage of High-Quality Teachers in China's Rural Primary and Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xuehui, An

2018-01-01

Teacher salary level and structure are not only important factors affecting the supply of primary and secondary school teachers, but they are also crucial to attracting, training, and retaining high-quality teachers, thereby impacting the overall quality of education and teaching in schools. The reform of China's basic education management system…

Apparatus and process for passivating an SRF cavity

DOEpatents

Myneni, Ganapati Rao; Wallace, John P

2014-12-02

An apparatus and process for the production of a niobium cavity exhibiting high quality factors at high gradients is provided. The apparatus comprises a first chamber positioned within a second chamber, an RF generator and vacuum pumping systems. The process comprises placing the niobium cavity in a first chamber of the apparatus; thermally treating the cavity by high temperature in the first chamber while maintaining high vacuum in the first and second chambers; and applying a passivating thin film layer to a surface of the cavity in the presence of a gaseous mixture and an RF field. Further a niobium cavity exhibiting high quality factors at high gradients produced by the method of the invention is provided.

Trampoline Resonator Fabrication for Tests of Quantum Mechanics at High Mass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, Matthew; Pepper, Brian; Sonin, Petro; Eerkens, Hedwig; Buters, Frank; de Man, Sven; Bouwmeester, Dirk

2014-03-01

There has been much interest recently in optomechanical devices that can reach the ground state. Two requirements for achieving ground state cooling are high optical finesse in the cavity and high mechanical quality factor. We present a set of trampoline resonator devices using high stress silicon nitride and superpolishing of mirrors with sufficient finesse (as high as 60,000) and quality factor (as high as 480,000) for ground state cooling in a dilution refrigerator. These devices have a higher mass, between 80 and 100 ng, and lower frequency, between 200 and 500 kHz, than other devices that have been cooled to the ground state, enabling tests of quantum mechanics at a larger mass scale.

Factors Affecting School Quality in Florida

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thornton, Barry; Arbogast, Gordon

2014-01-01

This paper examines the factors that are theorized to be determinants of school quality in the 67 counties of Florida from 2000 to 2011. The model constructed for this purpose is comprised of a mix of independent variables that include county educational attainment (number of high school graduates and State University System enrollees) and…

Factors Influencing Older Worker Quality of Life and Intent to Continue to Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spokus, Diane

2008-01-01

High turnover has been a major problem in healthcare organizations. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among job characteristics, social support, and organizational characteristics on quality of the working life. Subsequently, the intent was to examine how those factors collectively influence turnover intention. A…

Quality of Mental Health Care for Nursing Home Residents: A Literature Review

PubMed Central

Grabowski, David C.; Aschbrenner, Kelly A.; Rome, Vincent F.; Bartels, Stephen J.

2010-01-01

Because of the high proportion of nursing home residents with a mental illness other than dementia, the quality of mental health care in nursing homes is a major clinical and policy issue. The authors apply Donabedian's framework for assessing quality of care based on the triad of structure, process, and outcome-based measures in reviewing the literature on the quality of mental health care in nursing homes. Quality measures used within the literature include mental health consultations and hospitalizations, inappropriate use of medications, and mental health survey deficiencies. Factors related to the resident's welfare (nurse staffing), provider norms (locality), and financial factors (payer mix) were associated with the quality of mental health care. Although future research is necessary, the extant literature suggests that persons with mental illness are frequently admitted to nursing homes and their care is often of poor quality and related to a series of resident and facility factors. PMID:20223943

Predicting Software Suitability Using a Bayesian Belief Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaver, Justin M.; Schiavone, Guy A.; Berrios, Joseph S.

2005-01-01

The ability to reliably predict the end quality of software under development presents a significant advantage for a development team. It provides an opportunity to address high risk components earlier in the development life cycle, when their impact is minimized. This research proposes a model that captures the evolution of the quality of a software product, and provides reliable forecasts of the end quality of the software being developed in terms of product suitability. Development team skill, software process maturity, and software problem complexity are hypothesized as driving factors of software product quality. The cause-effect relationships between these factors and the elements of software suitability are modeled using Bayesian Belief Networks, a machine learning method. This research presents a Bayesian Network for software quality, and the techniques used to quantify the factors that influence and represent software quality. The developed model is found to be effective in predicting the end product quality of small-scale software development efforts.

A Study of Quality of Service Communication for High-Speed Packet-Switching Computer Sub-Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cui, Zhenqian

1999-01-01

In this thesis, we analyze various factors that affect quality of service (QoS) communication in high-speed, packet-switching sub-networks. We hypothesize that sub-network-wide bandwidth reservation and guaranteed CPU processing power at endpoint systems for handling data traffic are indispensable to achieving hard end-to-end quality of service. Different bandwidth reservation strategies, traffic characterization schemes, and scheduling algorithms affect the network resources and CPU usage as well as the extent that QoS can be achieved. In order to analyze those factors, we design and implement a communication layer. Our experimental analysis supports our research hypothesis. The Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP) is designed to realize resource reservation. Our analysis of RSVP shows that using RSVP solely is insufficient to provide hard end-to-end quality of service in a high-speed sub-network. Analysis of the IEEE 802.lp protocol also supports the research hypothesis.

High quality factor whispering gallery modes from self-assembled hexagonal GaN rods grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy.

PubMed

Tessarek, C; Sarau, G; Kiometzis, M; Christiansen, S

2013-02-11

Self-assembled GaN rods were grown on sapphire by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy using a simple two-step method that relies first on a nitridation step followed by GaN epitaxy. The mask-free rods formed without any additional catalyst. Most of the vertically aligned rods exhibit a regular hexagonal shape with sharp edges and smooth sidewall facets. Cathodo- and microphotoluminescence investigations were carried out on single GaN rods. Whispering gallery modes with quality factors greater than 4000 were measured demonstrating the high morphological and optical quality of the self-assembled GaN rods.

An assessment system for rating scientific journals in the field of ergonomics and human factors.

PubMed

Dul, Jan; Karwowski, Waldemar

2004-05-01

A method for selecting and rating scientific and professional journals representing the discipline of ergonomics and human factors is proposed. The method is based upon the journal list, impact factors and citations provided by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI), and the journal list published in the Ergonomics Abstracts. Three groups of journals were distinguished. The 'ergonomics journals' focus exclusively on ergonomics and human factors. The 'related journals' focus on other disciplines than ergonomics and human factors, but regularly publish ergonomics/human factors papers. The 'basic journals' focus on other technical, medical or social sciences than ergonomics, but are important for the development of ergonomics/human factors. Journal quality was rated using a maximum of four categories: top quality (A-level), high quality (B-level), good quality (C-level)) and professional (P-level). The above methods were applied to develop the Ergonomics Journal List 2004. A total of 25 'ergonomics journals', 58 'related journals' and 142 'basic journals' were classified.

[Influence of stress factors and socio-demographic characteristics on the sleep quality of nursing students].

PubMed

Benavente, Sonia Betzabeth Ticona; Silva, Rodrigo Marques da; Higashi, Aline Baraldi; Guido, Laura de Azevedo; Costa, Ana Lucia Siqueira

2014-06-01

To analyze the influence of stress factors and socio-demographic characteristics on the sleep quality of nursing students. An analytical cross-sectional and quantitative study, conducted with 151 nursing students in São Paulo between March and April of 2012. A form for socio-demographic characteristics, the Instrument to Evaluate Stress in Nursing Students and the Pittsburgh Sleep Index were applied. High levels of stress was predominant for Time Management (27.8%) and Professional Training (30.5%) and low sleep quality (78.8%). The Professional Communication, Professional Training and Theoretical Activity are positively correlated to sleep quality. Work activity, academic year and time for daily studies contributed to a low quality of sleep. Few stress factors from the academic environment and some socio-demographic characteristics contributed to the reduction of sleep quality in students.

Microcrystalline diamond cylindrical resonators with quality-factor up to 0.5 million

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Daisuke; Yang, Chen; Heidari, Amir; Najar, Hadi; Lin, Liwei; Horsley, David A.

2016-02-01

We demonstrate high quality-factor 1.5 mm diameter batch-fabricated microcrystalline diamond cylindrical resonators (CR) with quality-factors limited by thermoelastic damping (TED) and surface loss. Resonators were fabricated 2.6 and 5.3 μm thick in-situ boron-doped microcrystalline diamond films deposited using hot filament chemical vapor deposition. The quality-factor (Q) of as-fabricated CR's was found to increase with the resonator diameter and diamond thickness. Annealing the CRs at 700 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere led to a three-fold increase in Q, a result we attribute to thinning of the diamond layer via reaction with residual O2 in the annealing furnace. Post-anneal Q exceeding 0.5 million (528 000) was measured at the 19 kHz elliptical wineglass modes, producing a ring-down time of 8.9 s. A model for Q versus diamond thickness and resonance frequency is developed including the effects of TED and surface loss. Measured quality factors are shown to agree with the predictions of this model.

Taste phenotype associates with cardiovascular disease risk factors via diet quality in multivariate modeling.

PubMed

Sharafi, Mastaneh; Rawal, Shristi; Fernandez, Maria Luz; Huedo-Medina, Tania B; Duffy, Valerie B

2018-05-08

Sensations from foods and beverages drive dietary choices, which in turn, affect risk of diet-related diseases. Perception of these sensation varies with environmental and genetic influences. This observational study aimed to examine associations between chemosensory phenotype, diet and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Reportedly healthy women (n = 110, average age 45 ± 9 years) participated in laboratory-based measures of chemosensory phenotype (taste and smell function, propylthiouracil (PROP) bitterness) and CVD risk factors (waist circumference, blood pressure, serum lipids). Diet variables included preference and intake of sweet/high-fat foods, dietary restraint, and diet quality based on reported preference (Healthy Eating Preference Index-HEPI) and intake (Healthy Eating Index-HEI). We found that females who reported high preference yet low consumption of sweet/high-fat foods had the highest dietary restraint and depressed quinine taste function. PROP nontasters were more likely to report lower diet quality; PROP supertasters more likely to consume but not like a healthy diet. Multivariate structural models were fitted to identify predictors of CVD risk factors. Reliable latent taste (quinine taste function, PROP tasting) and smell (odor intensity) variables were identified, with taste explaining more variance in the CVD risk factors. Lower bitter taste perception was associated with elevated risk. In multivariate models, the HEPI completely mediated the taste-adiposity and taste-HDL associations and partially mediated the taste-triglyceride or taste-systolic blood pressure associations. The taste-LDL pathway was significant and direct. The HEI could not replace HEPI in adequate models. However, using a latent diet quality variable with HEPI and HEI, increased the strength of association between diet quality and adiposity or CVD risk factors. In conclusion, bitter taste phenotype was associated with CVD risk factors via diet quality, particularly when assessed by level of food liking/disliking. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Thickness and Quality factor of a Double Paddle Oscillator at Room Temperature.

PubMed

Shakeel, Hamza; Metcalf, Thomas H; Pomeroy, J M

2016-01-01

In this paper, we evaluate the quality (Q) factor and the resonance frequency of a double paddle oscillator (DPO) with different thickness using analytical, computational and experimental methods. The study is carried out for the 2 nd anti-symmetric resonance mode that provides extremely high experimental Q factors on the order of 10 5 . The results show that both the Q factor and the resonance frequency of a DPO increase with the thickness at room temperature.

Risk Factors for Neck and Upper Extremity Disorders among Computers Users and the Effect of Interventions: An Overview of Systematic Reviews

PubMed Central

Andersen, Johan H.; Fallentin, Nils; Thomsen, Jane F.; Mikkelsen, Sigurd

2011-01-01

Background To summarize systematic reviews that 1) assessed the evidence for causal relationships between computer work and the occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) or upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (UEMSDs), or 2) reported on intervention studies among computer users/or office workers. Methodology/Principal Findings PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched for reviews published between 1999 and 2010. Additional publications were provided by content area experts. The primary author extracted all data using a purpose-built form, while two of the authors evaluated the quality of the reviews using recommended standard criteria from AMSTAR; disagreements were resolved by discussion. The quality of evidence syntheses in the included reviews was assessed qualitatively for each outcome and for the interventions. Altogether, 1,349 review titles were identified, 47 reviews were retrieved for full text relevance assessment, and 17 reviews were finally included as being relevant and of sufficient quality. The degrees of focus and rigorousness of these 17 reviews were highly variable. Three reviews on risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome were rated moderate to high quality, 8 reviews on risk factors for UEMSDs ranged from low to moderate/high quality, and 6 reviews on intervention studies were of moderate to high quality. The quality of the evidence for computer use as a risk factor for CTS was insufficient, while the evidence for computer use and UEMSDs was moderate regarding pain complaints and limited for specific musculoskeletal disorders. From the reviews on intervention studies no strong evidence based recommendations could be given. Conclusions/Significance Computer use is associated with pain complaints, but it is still not very clear if this association is causal. The evidence for specific disorders or diseases is limited. No effective interventions have yet been documented. PMID:21589875

Risk Factor Assessment Branch (RFAB)

Cancer.gov

The Risk Factor Assessment Branch (RFAB) focuses on the development, evaluation, and dissemination of high-quality risk factor metrics, methods, tools, technologies, and resources for use across the cancer research continuum, and the assessment of cancer-related risk factors in the population.

BIOTA-SEDIMENT ACCUMULATION FACTORS FOR POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS, DIBENZO-P-DIOXINS, AND DIBENZOFURANS IN SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN LAKE TROUT (SALVELINUS NAMAYCUSH)

EPA Science Inventory

A set of high-quality, age-specific biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) have been determined from concentrations measured with high-resolution gas chroma tography/high-resolution ma...

Sociodemographic factors associated with sleep quality and sleep duration in adolescents from Santa Catarina, Brazil: what changed between 2001 and 2011?

PubMed

Hoefelmann, Luana Peter; Lopes, Adair da Silva; da Silva, Kelly Samara; Moritz, Pablo; Nahas, Markus Vinicius

2013-10-01

We aimed to identify and compare the sociodemographic and economic factors associated with perceived sleep quality and sleep duration in high school students from Santa Catarina, Brazil (2001 and 2011). Our study used a school-based, cross-sectional survey administered in 2001 and 2011 to high school students aged 15-19 years (n=5028 in 2001; n=6529 in 2011) enrolled in public schools in Santa Catarina, Brazil. The students responded to a questionnaire that asked about the number of hours slept on school days (insufficient, <8 h; sufficient, > or = 8 h), perceived sleep quality (adequate or poor), sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, and area), economic factors (work and family income), and school-related variables (grade and shift). The prevalence of poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep increased by 31.2% and 45.9%, respectively, between 2001 and 2011. Remunerated employment, urban environment, male gender, and high family income were strongly associated with these outcomes. There was a notable increase in insufficient sleep and the perception of poor sleep quality among the students in Santa Catarina in the last decade. Public policies are needed to ameliorate this situation, which has disastrous consequences for the health of adolescents. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of poor sleep quality, sleepiness and obstructive sleep apnoea risk factors in athletes.

PubMed

Swinbourne, Richard; Gill, Nicholas; Vaile, Joanna; Smart, Daniel

2016-10-01

Despite the perceived importance of sleep for athletes, little is known regarding athlete sleep quality, their prevalence of daytime sleepiness or risk factors for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) such as snoring and witnessed apnoeic episodes. The purpose of the present study was to characterise normative sleep quality among highly trained team sport athletes. 175 elite or highly trained rugby sevens, rugby union and cricket athletes completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Score (ESS) and Quality of Life questionnaires and an OSA risk factor screen. On average, athletes reported 7.9 ± 1.3 h of sleep per night. The average PSQI score was 5.9 ± 2.6, and 50% of athletes were found to be poor sleepers (PSQI > 5). Daytime sleepiness was prevalent throughout the population (average global score of 8.5) and clinically significant (ESS score of ≥10) in 28% of athletes. OSA may be an important clinical consideration within athletic populations, as a considerable number of athletes (38%) defined themselves as snorers and 8% reported having a witnessed apnoeic episode. The relationship between self-rated sleep quality and actual PSQI score was strong (Pearson correlation of 0.4 ± 0.1, 90% confidence limits). These findings suggest that this cohort of team sport athletes suffer a preponderance of poor sleep quality, with associated high levels of daytime sleepiness. Athletes should receive education about how to improve sleep wake schedules, extend total sleep time and improve sleep quality.

A low-threshold high-index-contrast grating (HCG)-based organic VCSEL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shayesteh, Mohammad Reza; Darvish, Ghafar; Ahmadi, Vahid

2015-12-01

We propose a low-threshold high-index-contrast grating (HCG)-based organic vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (OVCSEL). The device has the feasibility to apply both electrical and optical excitation. The microcavity of the laser is a hybrid photonic crystal (HPC) in which the top distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) is replaced by a sub-wavelength high-contrast-grating layer, and provides a high-quality factor. The simulated quality factor of the microcavity is shown to be as high as 282,000. We also investigate the threshold behavior and the dynamics of the OVCSEL optically pumped with sub-picosecond pulses. Results from numerical simulation show that lasing threshold is 75 nJ/cm2.

Oral direct thrombin inhibitors or oral factor Xa inhibitors for the treatment of pulmonary embolism.

PubMed

Robertson, Lindsay; Kesteven, Patrick; McCaslin, James E

2015-12-04

Pulmonary embolism is a potentially life-threatening condition in which a clot can travel from the deep veins, most commonly in the leg, up to the lungs. Previously, a pulmonary embolism was treated with the anticoagulants heparin and vitamin K antagonists. Recently, however, two forms of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been developed: oral direct thrombin inhibitors (DTI) and oral factor Xa inhibitors. The new drugs have characteristics that may be favourable over conventional treatment, including oral administration, a predictable effect, lack of frequent monitoring or re-dosing and few known drug interactions. To date, no Cochrane review has measured the effectiveness and safety of these drugs in the long-term treatment (minimum duration of three months) of pulmonary embolism. To assess the effectiveness of oral DTIs and oral factor Xa inhibitors for the long-term treatment of pulmonary embolism. The Cochrane Vascular Trials Search Co-ordinator searched the Specialised Register (last searched January 2015) and the Cochrane Register of Studies (last searched January 2015). Clinical trials databases were also searched for details of ongoing or unpublished studies. We searched the reference lists of relevant articles retrieved by electronic searches for additional citations. We included randomised controlled trials in which patients with a pulmonary embolism confirmed by standard imaging techniques were allocated to receive an oral DTI or an oral factor Xa inhibitor for the long-term (minimum duration three months) treatment of pulmonary embolism. Two review authors (LR, JM) independently extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias in the trials. Any disagreements were resolved by discussion with the third author (PK). We used meta-analyses when we considered heterogeneity low. The two primary outcomes were recurrent venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism. Other outcomes included all-cause mortality and major bleeding. We calculated all outcomes using an odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). We included five randomised controlled trials with a total of 7897 participants. Two studies tested oral DTIs (dabigatran) and three studies tested oral factor Xa inhibitors (one rivaroxaban, one edoxaban and one apixaban).Analysis showed no difference in the effectiveness of oral DTIs and standard anticoagulation in preventing recurrent pulmonary embolism (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.50 to 2.04; two studies; 1602 participants; high quality evidence), recurrent venous thromboembolism (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.52 to 1.66; two studies; 1602 participants; high quality evidence), deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.29 to 2.13; two studies; 1602 participants; high quality evidence) and major bleeding (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.15 to 1.68; two studies; 1527 participants; high quality evidence).For oral factor Xa inhibitors, when we combined the three included studies together in meta-analyses, there was significant heterogeneity for recurrent pulmonary embolism (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.46 to 2.56; two studies; 4509 participants; I(2) = 58%; moderate quality evidence). The oral factor Xa inhibitors were no more or less effective in the prevention of recurrent venous thromboembolism (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.15; three studies; 6295 participants; high quality evidence), DVT (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.39 to 1.32; two studies; 4509 participants; high quality evidence), all-cause mortality (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.70; one study; 4817 participants; moderate quality evidence) or major bleeding (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.59 to 1.62; two studies; 4507 participants; high quality evidence). None of the studies measured quality of life. Moderate to high quality evidence suggests that there are no differences between DOACs and standard anticoagulation for the long-term treatment of pulmonary embolism, for the outcomes recurrent pulmonary embolism, recurrent venous thromboembolism, DVT, all-cause mortality and major bleeding.

Influence of fundamental mode fill factor on disk laser output power and laser beam quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Zhiyong; Yang, Zhuo; Shao, Xichun; Li, Wei; Zhu, Mengzhen

2017-11-01

An three-dimensional numerical model based on finite element method and Fox-Li method with angular spectrum diffraction theoy is developed to calculate the output power and power density distribution of Yb:YAG disk laser. We invest the influence of fundamental mode fill factor(the ratio of fundamental mode size and pump spot size) on the output power and laser beam quality. Due to aspherical aberration and soft aperture effect in laser disk, high beam quality can be achieve with relative lower efficiency. The highest output power of fundamental laser mode is influenced by the fundamental mode fill factor. Besides we find that optimal mode fill factor increase with pump spot size.

30 CFR 256.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., conditions, and quality of the marine ecosystem, including the waters of the high seas, the contiguous zone..., conditions, and factors which interactively determine the productivity, state, conditions, and quality of the... determine the state, condition, and quality of living conditions, employment, and health of those affected...

30 CFR 256.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... productivity, state, conditions, and quality of the marine ecosystem, including the waters of the high seas..., conditions, and quality of the terrestrial ecosystem from the shoreline inward to the boundaries of the... factors which interactively determine the state, condition, and quality of living conditions, employment...

[Comprehensive and competition-oriented quality management in social medicine expert services].

PubMed

Seger, W

1996-05-01

In free competition expert services in Social Medicine must supply their expertise with high quality in a short time and at low cost. The demands by customers in respect of motivation of the staff and innovative organisation are as important competitive factors as high quality standards for expertise production. These guiding principles completed by "Kaizen" and "Lean production" are necessary requirements for the further existence of the enterprise in competition. Quality assurance must be promoted in a process looking to the future in active quality management.

Improvement of insertion loss and quality factor of flexural plate-wave-based alpha-fetoprotein biosensor using groove-type reflective grating structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Chang-Yu; Huang, I.-Yu; Lan, Je-Wei

2013-01-01

Conventional flexural plate-wave (FPW) transducers have limited applications in biomedical sensing due to their disadvantages such as high insertion loss and low quality factor. To overcome these shortcomings, we propose a FPW transducer on a low phase velocity insulator membrane (5-μm-thick SiO2) with a novel groove-type reflective grating structure design. Additionally, a cystamine self-assembly monolayer and a glutaraldehyde cross-linking layer are implemented on the backside of the FPW device to immobilize alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) antibody. A FPW-based AFP biosensor with low detection limit (5 ng/mL) can be achieved and used to measure the extreme low concentration of AFP antigen in human serum for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. The proposed FPW-based AFP biosensor also demonstrates a very high quality factor (206), low insertion loss (-40.854 dB), low operating frequency (6.388 MHz), and high sensing linearity (90.7%).

Extremely Low Loss Phonon-Trapping Cryogenic Acoustic Cavities for Future Physical Experiments

PubMed Central

Galliou, Serge; Goryachev, Maxim; Bourquin, Roger; Abbé, Philippe; Aubry, Jean Pierre; Tobar, Michael E.

2013-01-01

Low loss Bulk Acoustic Wave devices are considered from the point of view of the solid state approach as phonon-confining cavities. We demonstrate effective design of such acoustic cavities with phonon-trapping techniques exhibiting extremely high quality factors for trapped longitudinally-polarized phonons of various wavelengths. Quality factors of observed modes exceed 1 billion, with a maximum Q-factor of 8 billion and Q × f product of 1.6 · 1018 at liquid helium temperatures. Such high sensitivities allow analysis of intrinsic material losses in resonant phonon systems. Various mechanisms of phonon losses are discussed and estimated. PMID:23823569

Patient experience and process measures of quality of care at home health agencies: Factors associated with high performance.

PubMed

Smith, Laura M; Anderson, Wayne L; Lines, Lisa M; Pronier, Cristalle; Thornburg, Vanessa; Butler, Janelle P; Teichman, Lori; Dean-Whittaker, Debra; Goldstein, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

We examined the effects of provider characteristics on home health agency performance on patient experience of care (Home Health CAHPS) and process (OASIS) measures. Descriptive, multivariate, and factor analyses were used. While agencies score high on both domains, factor analyses showed that the underlying items represent separate constructs. Freestanding and Visiting Nurse Association agencies, higher number of home health aides per 100 episodes, and urban location were statistically significant predictors of lower performance. Lack of variation in composite measures potentially led to counterintuitive results for effects of organizational characteristics. This exploratory study showed the value of having separate quality domains.

Capacity building and predictors of success for HIV-1 drug resistance testing in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa

PubMed Central

Land, Sally; Zhou, Julian; Cunningham, Philip; Sohn, Annette H; Singtoroj, Thida; Katzenstein, David; Mann, Marita; Sayer, David; Kantor, Rami

2013-01-01

Background The TREAT Asia Quality Assessment Scheme (TAQAS) was developed as a quality assessment programme through expert education and training, for laboratories in the Asia-Pacific and Africa that perform HIV drug-resistance (HIVDR) genotyping. We evaluated the programme performance and factors associated with high-quality HIVDR genotyping. Methods Laboratories used their standard protocols to test panels of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive plasma samples or electropherograms. Protocols were documented and performance was evaluated according to a newly developed scoring system, agreement with panel-specific consensus sequence, and detection of drug-resistance mutations (DRMs) and mixtures of wild-type and resistant virus (mixtures). High-quality performance was defined as detection of ≥95% DRMs. Results Over 4.5 years, 23 participating laboratories in 13 countries tested 45 samples (30 HIV-1 subtype B; 15 non-B subtypes) in nine panels. Median detection of DRMs was 88–98% in plasma panels and 90–97% in electropherogram panels. Laboratories were supported to amend and improve their test outcomes as appropriate. Three laboratories that detected <80% DRMs in early panels demonstrated subsequent improvement. Sample complexity factors – number of DRMs (p<0.001) and number of DRMs as mixtures (p<0.001); and laboratory performance factors – detection of mixtures (p<0.001) and agreement with consensus sequence (p<0.001), were associated with high performance; sample format (plasma or electropherogram), subtype and genotyping protocol were not. Conclusion High-quality HIVDR genotyping was achieved in the TAQAS collaborative laboratory network. Sample complexity and detection of mixtures were associated with performance quality. Laboratories conducting HIVDR genotyping are encouraged to participate in quality assessment programmes. PMID:23845227

DATA COLLECTED IN THE EPA'S NATIONAL EXPOSURE RESEARCH LABORATORY'S FIELD MEASUREMENT STUDIES TO EVALUATE AGGREGATE EXPOSURE

EPA Science Inventory

The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 requires children's risk assessments to be conducted using high quality and high quantity data. Currently, data on children's exposures and exposure factors are limited and insufficient to address risk assessments that do not rely heavil...

Picker vs. stripper harvesting in the Texas High Plains: Agronomic implications

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Many changes have occurred during the last decade in the Texas High Plains which have resulted in increased cotton yields and improved fiber quality. The main factors associated with both higher lint yield and quality include a shift in varieties planted, with virtually no "storm-proof stripper type...

Success factors in technology development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preston, John T.

1995-01-01

Universities in the U.S. have a significant impact on business through the transfer of technology. This paper describes goals and philosophy of the Technology Licensing Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This paper also relates the critical factors for susscessful technology transfer, particularly relating to new business formation. These critical factors include the quality of the technology, the quality of the management, the quality of the investor, the passion for success, and the image of the company. Descriptions of three different levels of investment are also given and the most successful level of investment for starting a new company is reviewed. Licensing to large companies is also briefly reviewed, as this type of licensing requires some different strategies than that of licensing to start-up companies. High quality critical factors and intelligent investment create rewards for the parties and successful ventures.

Diet quality, inflammation, and the ankle brachial index in adults with or without cardiometabolic conditions.

PubMed

Mattei, Josiemer; Sotres-Alvarez, Daniela; Gellman, Marc; Castañeda, Sheila F; Hu, Frank B; Tucker, Katherine L; Siega-Riz, Anna Maria; Kaplan, Robert C

2018-08-01

Diet quality may influence non-traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors - namely, C-reactive protein (CRP) and the ankle-brachial index (ABI). Pre-existing traditional cardiometabolic conditions may confound this association. We aimed to determine whether diet quality was associated with high-risk CRP or ABI, independently from traditional cardiometabolic risk factors. Baseline data were analyzed from US-Hispanics/Latinos aged 18-74 y without previously-diagnosed CVD participating in the population-based Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos cohort. Included were 14,623 participants with CRP data, and 7892 participants (≥45 y) with ABI data. Diet quality was measured with the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI). Nearly 35% of Hispanics/Latinos had high-risk CRP concentration and 6.3% had high-risk ABI (peripheral artery disease (PAD): 4.2%; arterial stiffness: 2.1%). After adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity, the odds (95% confidence interval) of having high-risk ABI were 37% (5, 44%) lower per 10-unit increase in AHEI (p = 0.018). The association was marginally significant for PAD (0.77 (0.58, 1.00); p = 0.05), and non-significant for arterial stiffness (p = 0.16). Each 10-unit increase in AHEI was associated with 21% (10, 30%) lower odds of high-risk CRP (p = 0.0002) after similar adjustments. There were no significant interactions between AHEI and age, sex, ethnicity, smoking, or pre-existing cardiometabolic conditions for associations with ABI. The association between AHEI and high-risk CRP was stronger for those with diabetes (p-interaction < 0.0001), obesity (p-interaction = 0.005), or ages 45-74 y (p-interaction = 0.011). Higher diet quality is associated with lower inflammation and less adverse ABI among Hispanics/Latinos, independently from traditional cardiometabolic risk factors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Effects of early life factors on the health and quality of life of older adults.

PubMed

Yilmaz, Fikriye; N Tekin, Rukiye

2018-01-01

Few studies on the effects of early life factors on the health and quality of life of adults have been conducted in Turkey. We aimed to investigate the effects of early life factors on the health and quality of life of older adults. We administered a questionnaire to 350 adults, aged 50-89 years, living in Cankaya, Ankara. The questionnaire covered sociodemographic characteristics, early life characteristics, health status, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Ageing scale. Data were analyzed using χ 2 tests, independent samples t-tests, one-way anova, and binary logistic regression analysis. The analyses showed that the most important risk factors for chronic disease were being ≥65 years (odds ratio (OR) = 2.34), having a chronic health problem before 18 years of age (OR = 2.48), experiencing prolonged hospitalization or bed rest before 18 years of age (OR = 2.65), and experiencing parental unconcern during early life (OR = 2.13) (P < 0.05). In addition, having a high school education or less includes people who have primary or secondary or high school diploma (OR = 1.65), having lived in a village (OR = 1.65), having a low family economic status (OR = 2.40), and having experienced one negative event (OR = 1.41) or two or more negative events (OR = 1.39) during their early lives were identified as important risk factors for low quality of life (P < 0.05). Early life factors are among the important determinants of the health and quality of life of older adults in Turkey. © 2017 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Do preoperative fear avoidance model factors predict outcomes after lumbar disc herniation surgery? A systematic review.

PubMed

Alodaibi, Faris A; Minick, Kate I; Fritz, Julie M

2013-11-18

Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) surgery is usually recommended when conservative treatments fail to manage patients' symptoms. However, many patients undergoing LDH surgery continue to report pain and disability. Preoperative psychological factors have shown to be predictive for postoperative outcomes. Our aim was to systematically review studies that prospectively examined the prognostic value of factors in the Fear Avoidance Model (FAM), including back pain, leg pain, catastrophizing, anxiety, fear-avoidance, depression, physical activity and disability, to predict postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing LDH surgery. We performed a systematic literature review of prospective studies that measured any FAM factors preoperatively to predict postoperative outcomes for patients undergoing LDH surgery. Our search databases included PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. We assessed the quality of each included study using a certain quality assessment list. Degree of agreement between reviewers on quality assessment was examined. Results related to FAM factors in the included studies were summarized. Thirteen prospective studies met our inclusion criteria. Most studies were considered high quality. Heterogeneity was present between the included studies in many aspects. The most common FAM factors examinered were baseline pain, disability and depression. In, general, depression, fear-avoidance behaviors, passive pain coping, and anxiety FAM factors appeared to have negative influence on LDH surgical outcome. Baseline back pain and leg pain appeared to have differing prognostic value on LDH surgical outcomes. FAM factors seem to influence LDH surgical outcomes. Patients with high levels of depression, anxiety and fear-avoidance behaviors are more likely to have poor outcomes following LDH surgery. Conversely, high levels of leg pain, but not back pain seem to be predictor for favorable LDH surgery outcome. More research is needed to determine the exact role of FAM factors on LDH surgical outcome and the value for screening for these factors.

Bullying as a risk for poor sleep quality among high school students in China.

PubMed

Zhou, Ying; Guo, Lan; Lu, Ci-yong; Deng, Jian-xiong; He, Yuan; Huang, Jing-hui; Huang, Guo-liang; Deng, Xue-qing; Gao, Xue

2015-01-01

To determine whether involvement in bullying as a bully, victim, or bully-victim was associated with a higher risk of poor sleep quality among high school students in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 23,877 high school students were surveyed in six cities in Guangdong Province. All students were asked to complete the adolescent health status questionnaire, which included the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and bullying involvement. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate sleep quality and the prevalence of school bullying. Multi-level logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between being victimized and bullying others with sleep quality. Among the 23,877 students, 6,127 (25.66%) reported having poor sleep quality, and 10.89% reported being involved in bullying behaviors. Of the respondents, 1,410 (5.91%) were pure victims of bullying, 401 (1.68%) were bullies and 784 (3.28%) were bully-victims. Frequently being involved in bullying behaviors (being bullied or bullying others) was related to increased risks of poor sleep quality compared with adolescents who were not involved in bullying behaviors. After adjusting for age, sex, and other confounding factors, the students who were being bullied (OR=2.05, 95%CI=1.81-2.32), bullied others (OR=2.30, 95%CI=1.85-2.86) or both (OR=2.58, 95%CI=2.20-3.03) were at a higher risk for poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality among high school students is highly prevalent, and school bullying is prevalent among adolescents in China. The present results suggested that being involved in school bullying might be a risk factor for poor sleep quality among adolescents.

Bullying as a Risk for Poor Sleep Quality among High School Students in China

PubMed Central

Lu, Ci-yong; Deng, Jian-xiong; Huang, Jing-hui; Huang, Guo-liang; Deng, Xue-qing; Gao, Xue

2015-01-01

Objective To determine whether involvement in bullying as a bully, victim, or bully-victim was associated with a higher risk of poor sleep quality among high school students in China. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 23,877 high school students were surveyed in six cities in Guangdong Province. All students were asked to complete the adolescent health status questionnaire, which included the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and bullying involvement. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate sleep quality and the prevalence of school bullying. Multi-level logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between being victimized and bullying others with sleep quality. Results Among the 23,877 students, 6,127 (25.66%) reported having poor sleep quality, and 10.89% reported being involved in bullying behaviors. Of the respondents, 1,410 (5.91%) were pure victims of bullying, 401 (1.68%) were bullies and 784 (3.28%) were bully-victims. Frequently being involved in bullying behaviors (being bullied or bullying others) was related to increased risks of poor sleep quality compared with adolescents who were not involved in bullying behaviors. After adjusting for age, sex, and other confounding factors, the students who were being bullied (OR=2.05, 95%CI=1.81-2.32), bullied others (OR=2.30, 95%CI=1.85-2.86) or both (OR=2.58, 95%CI=2.20-3.03) were at a higher risk for poor sleep quality. Conclusions Poor sleep quality among high school students is highly prevalent, and school bullying is prevalent among adolescents in China. The present results suggested that being involved in school bullying might be a risk factor for poor sleep quality among adolescents. PMID:25811479

Trait-specific responses of wild bee communities to landscape composition, configuration and local factors.

PubMed

Hopfenmüller, Sebastian; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Holzschuh, Andrea

2014-01-01

Land-use intensification and loss of semi-natural habitats have induced a severe decline of bee diversity in agricultural landscapes. Semi-natural habitats like calcareous grasslands are among the most important bee habitats in central Europe, but they are threatened by decreasing habitat area and quality, and by homogenization of the surrounding landscape affecting both landscape composition and configuration. In this study we tested the importance of habitat area, quality and connectivity as well as landscape composition and configuration on wild bees in calcareous grasslands. We made detailed trait-specific analyses as bees with different traits might differ in their response to the tested factors. Species richness and abundance of wild bees were surveyed on 23 calcareous grassland patches in Southern Germany with independent gradients in local and landscape factors. Total wild bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration, large habitat area and high habitat quality (i.e. steep slopes). Cuckoo bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration and large habitat area whereas habitat specialists were only affected by the local factors habitat area and habitat quality. Small social generalists were positively influenced by habitat area whereas large social generalists (bumblebees) were positively affected by landscape composition (high percentage of semi-natural habitats). Our results emphasize a strong dependence of habitat specialists on local habitat characteristics, whereas cuckoo bees and bumblebees are more likely affected by the surrounding landscape. We conclude that a combination of large high-quality patches and heterogeneous landscapes maintains high bee species richness and communities with diverse trait composition. Such diverse communities might stabilize pollination services provided to crops and wild plants on local and landscape scales.

Trait-Specific Responses of Wild Bee Communities to Landscape Composition, Configuration and Local Factors

PubMed Central

Hopfenmüller, Sebastian; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Holzschuh, Andrea

2014-01-01

Land-use intensification and loss of semi-natural habitats have induced a severe decline of bee diversity in agricultural landscapes. Semi-natural habitats like calcareous grasslands are among the most important bee habitats in central Europe, but they are threatened by decreasing habitat area and quality, and by homogenization of the surrounding landscape affecting both landscape composition and configuration. In this study we tested the importance of habitat area, quality and connectivity as well as landscape composition and configuration on wild bees in calcareous grasslands. We made detailed trait-specific analyses as bees with different traits might differ in their response to the tested factors. Species richness and abundance of wild bees were surveyed on 23 calcareous grassland patches in Southern Germany with independent gradients in local and landscape factors. Total wild bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration, large habitat area and high habitat quality (i.e. steep slopes). Cuckoo bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration and large habitat area whereas habitat specialists were only affected by the local factors habitat area and habitat quality. Small social generalists were positively influenced by habitat area whereas large social generalists (bumblebees) were positively affected by landscape composition (high percentage of semi-natural habitats). Our results emphasize a strong dependence of habitat specialists on local habitat characteristics, whereas cuckoo bees and bumblebees are more likely affected by the surrounding landscape. We conclude that a combination of large high-quality patches and heterogeneous landscapes maintains high bee species richness and communities with diverse trait composition. Such diverse communities might stabilize pollination services provided to crops and wild plants on local and landscape scales. PMID:25137311

High quality factor manganese-doped aluminum lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors sensitive to frequencies below 100 GHz

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

Jones, G.; Johnson, B. R.; Abitbol, M. H.

Aluminum lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) sensitive to millimeter-wave photons have been shown to exhibit high quality factors, making them highly sensitive and multiplexable. The superconducting gap of aluminum limits aluminum LEKIDs to photon frequencies above 100 GHz. Manganese-doped aluminum (Al-Mn) has a tunable critical temperature and could therefore be an attractive material for LEKIDs sensitive to frequencies below 100 GHz if the internal quality factor remains sufficiently high when manganese is added to the film. To investigate, we measured some of the key properties of Al-Mn LEKIDs. A prototype eight-element LEKID array was fabricated using a 40 nm thickmore » film of Al-Mn deposited on a 500 μm thick high-resistivity, float-zone silicon substrate. The manganese content was 900 ppm, the measured T c = 694 ± 1mK, and the resonance frequencies were near 150 MHz. Using measurements of the forward scattering parameter S 21 at various bath temperatures between 65 and 250 mK, we determined that the Al-Mn LEKIDs we fabricated have internal quality factors greater than 2 × 10 5, which is high enough for millimeter-wave astrophysical observations. In the dark conditions under which these devices were measured, the fractional frequency noise spectrum shows a shallow slope that depends on bath temperature and probe tone amplitude, which could be two-level system noise. In conclusion, the anticipated white photon noise should dominate this level of low-frequency noise when the detectors are illuminated with millimeter-waves in future measurements. The LEKIDs responded to light pulses from a 1550 nm light-emitting diode, and we used these light pulses to determine that the quasiparticle lifetime is 60 μs.« less

High quality factor manganese-doped aluminum lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors sensitive to frequencies below 100 GHz

DOE PAGES

Jones, G.; Johnson, B. R.; Abitbol, M. H.; ...

2017-05-29

Aluminum lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) sensitive to millimeter-wave photons have been shown to exhibit high quality factors, making them highly sensitive and multiplexable. The superconducting gap of aluminum limits aluminum LEKIDs to photon frequencies above 100 GHz. Manganese-doped aluminum (Al-Mn) has a tunable critical temperature and could therefore be an attractive material for LEKIDs sensitive to frequencies below 100 GHz if the internal quality factor remains sufficiently high when manganese is added to the film. To investigate, we measured some of the key properties of Al-Mn LEKIDs. A prototype eight-element LEKID array was fabricated using a 40 nm thickmore » film of Al-Mn deposited on a 500 μm thick high-resistivity, float-zone silicon substrate. The manganese content was 900 ppm, the measured T c = 694 ± 1mK, and the resonance frequencies were near 150 MHz. Using measurements of the forward scattering parameter S 21 at various bath temperatures between 65 and 250 mK, we determined that the Al-Mn LEKIDs we fabricated have internal quality factors greater than 2 × 10 5, which is high enough for millimeter-wave astrophysical observations. In the dark conditions under which these devices were measured, the fractional frequency noise spectrum shows a shallow slope that depends on bath temperature and probe tone amplitude, which could be two-level system noise. In conclusion, the anticipated white photon noise should dominate this level of low-frequency noise when the detectors are illuminated with millimeter-waves in future measurements. The LEKIDs responded to light pulses from a 1550 nm light-emitting diode, and we used these light pulses to determine that the quasiparticle lifetime is 60 μs.« less

Superconducting RF R&D | Technical Division

Science.gov Websites

Doping Contact: Anna Grassellino annag High quality factors (Q) are extremely important to accelerators with high duty factor, due to the infrastructure and operating costs of the cryogenic plant. In 2012, a process was discovered at FNAL to achieve unprecedented Q values by treating them in a high temperature

Assessment of medical care by elderly people: general satisfaction and physician quality.

PubMed Central

Lee, Y; Kasper, J D

1998-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To identify personal characteristics and factors related to health and patterns of healthcare utilization associated with the elderly people's satisfaction with medical care. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Data from the 1991 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) on 8,859 persons age 65 and over living in the community. STUDY DESIGN: Items reflecting general satisfaction with care and views of physician quality are examined and, based on factor analysis, grouped in dimensions of two (global quality, access) and three (technical skills, interpersonal manner, information-giving), respectively. The relationship of high levels of satisfaction in each dimension to personal characteristics of elderly people, and to measures of access and utilization, is assessed using logistic regression. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: While satisfaction is high, with over 90 percent surveyed expressing some satisfaction, there is substantial variation with less likelihood of high satisfaction among those 80 or older, with less education and income and in poorer health. Longer waiting time at visits and less frequent visits are factors in lower satisfaction as well. A favorable perception of physician quality, especially regarding technical skills, appears to play a significant role in satisfaction with global quality of care. CONCLUSIONS: Studies of patient satisfaction in elderly people are rare. Some factors expected to be related to positive assessment based on earlier studies, were, e.g., better health and shorter waiting time, while others were not, e.g., increasing age. Elderly people appear to place greater importance on physician technical skills, as opposed to interpersonal dimensions, in assessing global quality. These findings suggest the need for a better understanding of how elderly people evaluate care and what they value in interactions with the healthcare system. Images Figure 1 PMID:9460484

Weighing in on the Teacher Merit Pay Debate. Notes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Froese-Germain, Bernie

2011-01-01

First the good news. There's a growing consensus that the quality of teachers and teaching is a major factor--some would say the most important school-based factor--in the quality of student learning. In sum (and this comes as no surprise to the teaching profession), good teaching matters. The bad news is that, in this highly charged climate of…

Evaluating Journal Quality: Is the H-Index a Better Measure than Impact Factors?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodge, David R.; Lacasse, Jeffrey R.

2011-01-01

Objectives: This study evaluates the utility of a new measure--the h-index--that may provide a more valid approach to evaluating journal quality in the social work profession. Method: H-index values are compared with Thomson ISI 5-year impact factors and expert opinion. Results: As hypothesized, the h-index correlates highly with ISI 5-year impact…

Psychosocial work environment factors and weight change: a prospective study among Danish health care workers.

PubMed

Gram Quist, Helle; Christensen, Ulla; Christensen, Karl Bang; Aust, Birgit; Borg, Vilhelm; Bjorner, Jakob B

2013-01-17

Lifestyle variables may serve as important intermediate factors between psychosocial work environment and health outcomes. Previous studies, focussing on work stress models have shown mixed and weak results in relation to weight change. This study aims to investigate psychosocial factors outside the classical work stress models as potential predictors of change in body mass index (BMI) in a population of health care workers. A cohort study, with three years follow-up, was conducted among Danish health care workers (3982 women and 152 men). Logistic regression analyses examined change in BMI (more than +/- 2 kg/m(2)) as predicted by baseline psychosocial work factors (work pace, workload, quality of leadership, influence at work, meaning of work, predictability, commitment, role clarity, and role conflicts) and five covariates (age, cohabitation, physical work demands, type of work position and seniority). Among women, high role conflicts predicted weight gain, while high role clarity predicted both weight gain and weight loss. Living alone also predicted weight gain among women, while older age decreased the odds of weight gain. High leadership quality predicted weight loss among men. Associations were generally weak, with the exception of quality of leadership, age, and cohabitation. This study of a single occupational group suggested a few new risk factors for weight change outside the traditional work stress models.

Moderating Factors of Natural Mentoring Relationships, Problem Behaviors, and Emotional Well-Being

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitney, Stephen D.; Hendricker, Elise N.; Offutt, Cheryl A.

2011-01-01

This study examines naturally occurring mentors by the quality and presence of a mentor (no mentor, low quality, high quality), type of mentors (adult mentors vs. peer mentors), and mentor quality within mentor type. A sub-sample of adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent-Health is used. Results indicate the effect of…

Microcrystalline diamond cylindrical resonators with quality-factor up to 0.5 million

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

Saito, Daisuke; Yang, Chen; Lin, Liwei

2016-02-01

We demonstrate high quality-factor 1.5 mm diameter batch-fabricated microcrystalline diamond cylindrical resonators (CR) with quality-factors limited by thermoelastic damping (TED) and surface loss. Resonators were fabricated 2.6 and 5.3 μm thick in-situ boron-doped microcrystalline diamond films deposited using hot filament chemical vapor deposition. The quality-factor (Q) of as-fabricated CR's was found to increase with the resonator diameter and diamond thickness. Annealing the CRs at 700 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere led to a three-fold increase in Q, a result we attribute to thinning of the diamond layer via reaction with residual O{sub 2} in the annealing furnace. Post-anneal Q exceeding 0.5 million (528 000)more » was measured at the 19 kHz elliptical wineglass modes, producing a ring-down time of 8.9 s. A model for Q versus diamond thickness and resonance frequency is developed including the effects of TED and surface loss. Measured quality factors are shown to agree with the predictions of this model.« less

[Development of an evaluation instrument for service quality in nursing homes].

PubMed

Lee, Jia; Ji, Eun Sun

2011-08-01

The purposes of this study were to identify the factors influencing service quality in nursing homes, and to develop an evaluation instrument for service quality. A three-phase process was employed for the study. 1) The important factors to evaluate the service quality in nursing homes were identified through a literature review, panel discussion and focus group interview, 2) the evaluation instrument was developed, and 3) validity and reliability of the study instrument were tested by factor analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient, Cronbach's α and Cohen's Kappa. Factor analysis showed that the factors influencing service quality in nursing homes were healthcare, diet/assistance, therapy, environment and staff. To improve objectivity of the instrument, quantitative as well as qualitative evaluation approaches were adopted. The study instrument was developed with 30 items and showed acceptable construct validity. The criterion-related validity was a Pearson correlation coefficient of .85 in 151 care facilities. The internal consistency was Cronbach's α=.95. The instrument has acceptable validity and a high degree of reliability. Staff in nursing homes can continuously improve and manage their services using the results of the evaluation instrument.

Local extinction of dragonfly and damselfly populations in low- and high-quality habitat patches.

PubMed

Suhonen, Jukka; Hilli-Lukkarinen, Milla; Korkeamäki, Esa; Kuitunen, Markku; Kullas, Johanna; Penttinen, Jouni; Salmela, Jukka

2010-08-01

Understanding the risk of extinction of a single population is an important problem in both theoretical and applied ecology. Local extinction risk depends on several factors, including population size, demographic or environmental stochasticity, natural catastrophe, or the loss of genetic diversity. The probability of local extinction may also be higher in low-quality sink habitats than in high-quality source habitats. We tested this hypothesis by comparing local extinction rates of 15 species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) between 1930-1975 and 1995-2003 in central Finland. Local extinction rates were higher in low-quality than in high-quality habitats. Nevertheless, for the three most common species there were no differences in extinction rates between low- and high-quality habitats. Our results suggest that a good understanding of habitat quality is crucial for the conservation of species in heterogeneous landscapes.

Wind resource quality affected by high levels of renewables

DOE PAGES

Diakov, Victor

2015-06-17

For solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind resources, the capacity factor is an important parameter describing the quality of the resource. As the share of variable renewable resources (such as PV and wind) on the electric system is increasing, so does curtailment (and the fraction of time when it cannot be avoided). At high levels of renewable generation, curtailments effectively change the practical measure of resource quality from capacity factor to the incremental capacity factor. The latter accounts only for generation during hours of no curtailment and is directly connected with the marginal capital cost of renewable generators for a givenmore » level of renewable generation during the year. The Western U.S. wind generation is analyzed hourly for a system with 75% of annual generation from wind, and it is found that the value for the system of resources with equal capacity factors can vary by a factor of 2, which highlights the importance of using the incremental capacity factor instead. Finally, the effect is expected to be more pronounced in smaller geographic areas (or when transmission limitations imposed) and less pronounced at lower levels of renewable energy in the system with less curtailment.« less

Evaluating the beam quality of double-cladding fiber lasers in applications.

PubMed

Yan, Ping; Wang, Xuejiao; Gong, Mali; Xiao, Qirong

2016-08-10

We put forward a new β_FL factor, which is used exclusively in fiber lasers and is suitable to assess beam quality and choose the LP₀₁ mode as the new suitable ideal beam. We present a new simple measurement method and verify the reasonability of the β_FL factor in experiment in a 20/400 μm fiber laser. Furthermore, we use the β_FL factor to evaluate the beam quality of a 3-kW-level fiber laser. It can be concluded that β_FL is a key factor not only for assessing the performance of the high-power fiber laser that is our main focus, but also for the simple measurement.

Combination of preservation factors applied to minimal processing of foods.

PubMed

Tapia de Daza, M S; Alzamora, S M; Chanes, J W

1996-07-01

Innovative technologies for producing minimally processed (MP) foods that apply the concept of combination of preservation factors are addressed in this article with special emphasis on a new combined approach that has been successfully applied in several Latin American countries for MP high-moisture fruit products (HMFP). HMFP can be regarded as a different approach to the commercially available and widely accepted MP concept for fruits and vegetables (even if developed for the same purpose of obtaining freshlike high-quality products with an extended shelf life) that is better adapted to Latin American countries in terms of independence of the chill chain and the use of simple and energy-efficient technologies. The continuous refrigeration hurdle associated with MP refrigerated fruits is not included in the preservation system of HMFP because a different combination of hurdles must be overcome to enhance the shelf stability of nonrespiring vegetable tissues while preserving freshlike character. Guidelines to obtain safe and high-quality MP fruit products are proposed. Other products preserved by combined factors technology are also discussed, as well as some other classical and new preservation factors whose application could enhance the quality of HMFP.

Mid-infrared ZGP OPO with divergence compensation and high beam quality.

PubMed

Schellhorn, Martin; Spindler, Gerhard; Eichhorn, Marc

2018-01-22

Divergence compensation, optimization of the optical-to-optical efficiency, and high beam quality of signal and idler beams of a high-energy mid-infrared ZnGeP 2 (ZGP) optical parametric oscillator (OPO) have been demonstrated by use of a Galilean telescope inside the nonplanar fractional-image-rotation enhancement (FIRE) ring resonator. With a small variation of the distance between the lenses of the telescope, the divergences of signal and idler beams could be adjusted. Up to 36 mJ of mid-infrared pulse energy in the 3-5 µm wavelength range is obtained with 92 mJ of pump energy on crystal. The beam quality factors M 2 are < 1.5 for the resonant signal beam and the non-resonant idler beam, respectively. Actually, this is an improvement of the beam quality by a factor 3 for the signal and ~2.7 for the idler beam compared without using a telescope inside the FIRE ring resonator.

Promotion Factors For Enlisted Infantry Marines

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

description , billet accomplishments, mission accomplishment, individual character, leadership, intellect and wisdom, fulfillment of evaluation , RS...staff sergeant. To assess which ranks proportionally promote more high-quality Marines, we compare two performance evaluation methods: proficiency and...adverse fitness reports. From the two performance evaluation methods we find that the Marine Corps promotes proportionally more high-quality Marines

Low index contrast heterostructure photonic crystal cavities with high quality factors and vertical radiation coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Xiaochen; Minkov, Momchil; Fan, Shanhui; Li, Xiuling; Zhou, Weidong

2018-04-01

We report here design and experimental demonstration of heterostructure photonic crystal cavities resonating near the Γ point with simultaneous strong lateral confinement and highly directional vertical radiation patterns. The lateral confinement is provided by a mode gap originating from a gradual modulation of the hole radii. High quality factor resonance is realized with a low index contrast between silicon nitride and quartz. The near surface-normal directional emission is preserved when the size of the core region is scaled down. The influence of the cavity size parameters on the resonant modes is also investigated theoretically and experimentally.

The resonant body transistor.

PubMed

Weinstein, Dana; Bhave, Sunil A

2010-04-14

This paper introduces the resonant body transistor (RBT), a silicon-based dielectrically transduced nanoelectromechanical (NEM) resonator embedding a sense transistor directly into the resonator body. Combining the benefits of FET sensing with the frequency scaling capabilities and high quality factors (Q) of internal dielectrically transduced bar resonators, the resonant body transistor achieves >10 GHz frequencies and can be integrated into a standard CMOS process for on-chip clock generation, high-Q microwave circuits, fundamental quantum-state preparation and observation, and high-sensitivity measurements. An 11.7 GHz bulk-mode RBT is demonstrated with a quality factor Q of 1830, marking the highest frequency acoustic resonance measured to date on a silicon wafer.

Factors influencing the perceived quality of clinical supervision of occupational therapists in a large Australian state.

PubMed

Martin, Priya; Kumar, Saravana; Lizarondo, Lucylynn; Tyack, Zephanie

2016-10-01

Clinical supervision is important for effective health service delivery, professional development and practice. Despite its importance there is a lack of evidence regarding the factors that improve its quality. This study aimed to investigate the factors that influence the quality of clinical supervision of occupational therapists employed in a large public sector health service covering mental health, paediatrics, adult physical and other practice areas. A mixed method, sequential explanatory study design was used consisting of two phases. This article reports the quantitative phase (Phase One) which involved administration of the Manchester Clinical Supervision Scale (MCSS-26) to 207 occupational therapists. Frequency of supervision sessions, choice of supervisor and the type of supervision were found to be the predictor variables with a positive and significant influence on the quality of clinical supervision. Factors such as age, length of supervision and the area of practice were found to be the predictor variables with a negative and significant influence on the quality of clinical supervision. Factors that influence the perceived quality of clinical supervision among occupational therapists have been identified. High quality clinical supervision is an important component of clinical governance and has been shown to be beneficial to practitioners, patients and the organisation. Information on factors that make clinical supervision effective identified in this study can be added to existing supervision training and practices to improve the quality of clinical supervision. © 2016 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Application of quality by design (QbD) to formulation and processing of naproxen pellets by extrusion-spheronization.

PubMed

Wang, Junlin; Kan, Shuling; Chen, Tong; Liu, Jianping

2015-03-01

The aim of this research was to apply quality by design (QbD) to the development of naproxen loaded core pellets which can be used as the potential core for colon-specific pellets. In the early stages of this study, prior knowledge and preliminary studies were systematically incorporated into the risk assessment using failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) and fishbone diagram. Then Plackett-Burman design was used to screen eight potential high risk factors (spheronization speed, spheronization time, extrusion speed, drying method, CCMC-Na concentration, lactose concentration, water concentration and Tween 80 concentration) obtained from the above risk assessment. It was discovered that out of the eight potential high risk factors only three factors (spheronization speed, extrusion speed and CCMC-Na concentration) had significant effects on the quality of the pellets. This allowed the use of Box-Behnken design (BBD) to fully elucidate the relationship between the variables and critical quality attribute (CQA). Finally, the final control space was established within which the quality of the pellets can meet the requirement of colon-specific drug delivery system. This study demonstrated that naproxen loaded core pellets were successfully designed using QbD principle.

Nutrition and physical activity for the prevention and treatment of age-related sarcopenia.

PubMed

Bosaeus, Ingvar; Rothenberg, Elisabet

2016-05-01

Sarcopenia, defined as loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, is associated with adverse outcomes such as physical disability, impaired quality of life and increased mortality. Several mechanisms are involved in the development of sarcopenia. Potentially modifiable factors include nutrition and physical activity. Protein metabolism is central to the nutritional issues, along with other potentially modifying nutritional factors as energy balance and vitamin D status. An increasing but still incomplete knowledge base has generated recent recommendations on an increased protein intake in the elderly. Several factors beyond the total amount of protein consumed emerge as potentially important in this context. A recent summit examined three hypotheses: (1) A meal threshold; habitually consuming 25-30 g protein at breakfast, lunch and dinner provides sufficient protein to effectively stimulate muscle protein anabolism; (2) Protein quality; including high-quality protein at each meal improves postprandial muscle protein synthesis; and (3) performing physical activity in close temporal proximity to a high-quality protein meal enhances muscle anabolism. Optimising the potential for muscle protein anabolism by consuming an adequate amount of high-quality protein at each meal, in combination with physical activity, appears as a promising strategy to prevent or delay the onset of sarcopenia. However, results of interventions are inconsistent, and well-designed, standardised studies evaluating exercise or nutrition interventions are needed before guidelines can be developed for the prevention and treatment of age-related sarcopenia.

Assessing Community Quality of Health Care.

PubMed

Herrin, Jeph; Kenward, Kevin; Joshi, Maulik S; Audet, Anne-Marie J; Hines, Stephen J

2016-02-01

To determine the agreement of measures of care in different settings-hospitals, nursing homes (NHs), and home health agencies (HHAs)-and identify communities with high-quality care in all settings. Publicly available quality measures for hospitals, NHs, and HHAs, linked to hospital service areas (HSAs). We constructed composite quality measures for hospitals, HHAs, and nursing homes. We used these measures to identify HSAs with exceptionally high- or low-quality of care across all settings, or only high hospital quality, and compared these with respect to sociodemographic and health system factors. We identified three dimensions of hospital quality, four HHA dimensions, and two NH dimensions; these were poorly correlated across the three care settings. HSAs that ranked high on all dimensions had more general practitioners per capita, and fewer specialists per capita, than HSAs that ranked highly on only the hospital measures. Higher quality hospital, HHA, and NH care are not correlated at the regional level; regions where all dimensions of care are high differ systematically from regions which score well on only hospital measures and from those which score well on none. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Extracting Information about the Electronic Quality of Organic Solar-Cell Absorbers from Fill Factor and Thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaienburg, Pascal; Rau, Uwe; Kirchartz, Thomas

2016-08-01

Understanding the fill factor in organic solar cells remains challenging due to its complex dependence on a multitude of parameters. By means of drift-diffusion simulations, we thoroughly analyze the fill factor of such low-mobility systems and demonstrate its dependence on a collection coefficient defined in this work. We systematically discuss the effect of different recombination mechanisms, space-charge regions, and contact properties. Based on these findings, we are able to interpret the thickness dependence of the fill factor for different experimental studies from the literature. The presented model provides a facile method to extract the photoactive layer's electronic quality which is of particular importance for the fill factor. We illustrate that over the past 15 years, the electronic quality has not been continuously improved, although organic solar-cell efficiencies increased steadily over the same period of time. Only recent reports show the synthesis of polymers for semiconducting films of high electronic quality that are able to produce new efficiency records.

Guinea pig for meat production: A systematic review of factors affecting the production, carcass and meat quality.

PubMed

Sánchez-Macías, Davinia; Barba-Maggi, Lida; Morales-delaNuez, Antonio; Palmay-Paredes, Julio

2018-09-01

In developing countries, interest in guinea pig farming is growing exponentially because it provides a regular source of high quality animal protein for domestic consumption. Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) are prolific animals, grow and are capable of reproduction on a flexible diet, and are adaptable to a wide range of climates. This article mainly reviews findings on guinea pig meat production, including factors affecting raising guinea pigs, carcass and meat quality. We also present some studies that describe biological and pathologic effects on carcass component composition. During the last decades no standard procedure has been established for guinea pig carcass evaluation, which makes very difficult any comparison of results with other studies around the world. Herein we highlight a variety of factors that significantly affect carcass and meat quality. Some of these factors are production systems, environmental and genetic factors, management systems, the diet and health status, age, sex and reproductive management. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contrast-enhanced Spectral Mammography: Modality-Specific Artifacts and Other Factors Which May Interfere with Image Quality.

PubMed

Bhimani, Chandni; Li, Luna; Liao, Lydia; Roth, Robyn G; Tinney, Elizabeth; Germaine, Pauline

2017-01-01

Contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) uses full field digital mammography with the added benefit of intravenous contrast administration to significantly reduce false-positive and false-negative results and improve specificity while maintaining high sensitivity. For CESM to fulfill its purpose, one should be aware of possible artifacts and other factors which may interfere with image quality, and attention should be taken to minimize these factors. This pictorial demonstration will depict types of artifacts detected and other factors that interfere with image acquisition in our practice since CESM implementation. Many of the artifacts and other factors we have encountered while using CESM have simple solutions to resolve them. The illustrated artifacts and other factors interfering with image quality will serve as a useful reference to anyone using CESM. Copyright © 2017 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of an integrated high-quality-factor (high-Q) optofluidic sensor by femtosecond laser micromachining.

PubMed

Song, Jiangxin; Lin, Jintian; Tang, Jialei; Liao, Yang; He, Fei; Wang, Zhaohui; Qiao, Lingling; Sugioka, Koji; Cheng, Ya

2014-06-16

We report on fabrication of a microtoroid resonator of a high-quality factor (i.e., Q-factor of ~3.24 × 10(6) measured under the critical coupling condition) integrated in a microfluidic channel using femtosecond laser three-dimensional (3D) micromachining. Coupling of light into and out of the microresonator has been realized with a fiber taper that is reliably assembled with the microtoroid. The assembly of the fiber to the microtoroid is achieved by welding the fiber taper onto the sidewall of the microtoroid using CO2 laser irradiation. The integrated microresonator maintains a high Q-factor of 3.21 × 10(5) as measured in air, which should still be sufficient for many sensing applications. We test the functionality of the integrated optofluidic sensor by performing bulk refractive index sensing of purified water doped with tiny amount of salt. It is shown that a detection limit of ~1.2 × 10(-4) refractive index unit can be achieved. Our result showcases the capability of integration of high-Q microresonators with complex microfluidic systems using femtosecond laser 3D micromachining.

High beam quality and high energy short-pulse laser with MOPA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Quanwei; Pang, Yu; Jiang, JianFeng; Tan, Liang; Cui, Lingling; Wei, Bin; Sun, Yinhong; Tang, Chun

2018-03-01

A high energy, high beam quality short-pulse diode-pumped Nd:YAG master oscillator power-amplifier (MOPA) laser with two amplifier stages is demonstrated. The two-rod birefringence compensation was used as beam quality controlling methods, which presents a short-pulse energy of 40 mJ with a beam quality value of M2 = 1.2 at a repetition rate of 400Hz. The MOPA system delivers a short-pulse energy of 712.5 mJ with a pulse width of 12.4 ns.The method of spherical aberration compensation is improved the beam quality, a M2 factor of 2.3 and an optical-to-optical efficiency of 27.7% is obtained at the maximum laser out power.The laser obtained 1.4J out energy with polarization integration.

[Influence of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics on the quality of life].

PubMed

Grbić, Gordana; Djokić, Dragoljub; Kocić, Sanja; Mitrašinović, Dejan; Rakić, Ljiljana; Prelević, Rade; Krivokapić, Žarko; Miljković, Snežana

2011-01-01

The quality of life is a multidimensional concept, which is best expressed by the subjective well-being. Evaluation of the quality of life is the basis for measuring the well-being, and the determination of factors that determine the quality of life quality is the basis for its improvement. To evaluate and assess the determinants of the perceived quality of life of group distinguishing features which characterize demographic and socioeconomic factors. This was a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of the population in Serbia aged over 20 years (9479 examinees). The quality of life was expressed by the perception of well-being (pleasure of life). Data on the examinees (demographic and socioeconomic characteristics) were collected by using a questionnaire for adults of each household. To process, analyze and present the data, we used the methods of parametric descriptive statistics (mean value, standard deviation, coefficient of variation), variance analysis and factor analysis. Although men evaluated the quality of life with a slightly higher grading, there was no statistically significant difference in the evaluation of the quality of life in relation to the examinee's gender (p > 0.005). Among the examinees there was a high statistically significant difference in grading the quality of life depending on age, level of education, marital status and type of job (p < 0.001). In relation to the number of children, there was no statistically significant difference in he grading of the quality of life (p > 0.005). The quality of life is influenced by numerous factors that characterize each person (demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of individual). Determining factors of the quality of life are numerous and diverse, and the manner and the strength of their influence are variable.

The quality of risk factor screening during antenatal consultations in Niger.

PubMed

Prual, A; Toure, A; Huguet, D; Laurent, Y

2000-03-01

A decade after the first International Conference on Safe Motherhood, maternal mortality remains very high in most West African countries, even in capital cities. The detection of high risk pregnancies, known as the risk approach, during antenatal consultations has been the basis of most maternal and child health programmes over the last decade. The effectiveness of antenatal care as a tool to prevent or predict obstetric complications is being questioned more and more. In addition to the scarcity of reliable data about the predictivity of most risk factors, the quality of the screening must be questioned. The goal of this study was to assess the frequency of risk factors among a sample of pregnant women attending antenatal care in Niger and to assess the quality of the screening of those risk factors. Overall, 330 pregnant women were enrolled in the study. Each woman was examined twice: the first time by a midwife, the second time by one of the authors but without knowledge of the results of the first consultation. Fifty-five percent of pregnant women had at least one risk factor, 31% had more than one. Ninety-one percent of the risk factors were detected at interview. The following risk factors were not systematically searched for by midwives: height (48.5%), blood pressure (43.6%), glycosuria (40.6%), vaginal bleeding (38.2%), oedema (37.3%), parity (17%), age (16%), previous caesarean section (15.2%), previous stillbirth (15.2%) and previous miscarriages (14.8%). This study has shown that, in Niger, the quality of screening for risk factors during antenatal consultation is poor. In the urban settings where this study took place, lack of personnel, lack of equipment, lack of time and poor compliance by women cannot be made responsible for this situation. While screening of these risk factors continues as policy, the quality of screening must be dramatically improved.

Association of journal quality indicators with methodological quality of clinical research articles.

PubMed

Lee, Kirby P; Schotland, Marieka; Bacchetti, Peter; Bero, Lisa A

2002-06-05

The ability to identify scientific journals that publish high-quality research would help clinicians, scientists, and health-policy analysts to select the most up-to-date medical literature to review. To assess whether journal characteristics of (1) peer-review status, (2) citation rate, (3) impact factor, (4) circulation, (5) manuscript acceptance rate, (6) MEDLINE indexing, and (7) Brandon/Hill Library List indexing are predictors of methodological quality of research articles, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 243 original research articles involving human subjects published in general internal medical journals. The mean (SD) quality score of the 243 articles was 1.37 (0.22). All journals reported a peer-review process and were indexed on MEDLINE. In models that controlled for article type (randomized controlled trial [RCT] or non-RCT), journal citation rate was the most statistically significant predictor (0.051 increase per doubling; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.037-0.065; P<.001). In separate analyses by article type, acceptance rate was the strongest predictor for RCT quality (-0.113 per doubling; 95% CI, -0.148 to -0.078; P<.001), while journal citation rate was the most predictive factor for non-RCT quality (0.051 per doubling; 95% CI, 0.044-0.059; P<.001). High citation rates, impact factors, and circulation rates, and low manuscript acceptance rates and indexing on Brandon/Hill Library List appear to be predictive of higher methodological quality scores for journal articles.

Effective Use of Discovery Learning to Improve Understanding of Factors That Affect Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mukherjee, Arup

2015-01-01

Undergraduate business majors are required to take a course in operations management. In this course, a great deal of emphasis is put on developing a good understanding of quality because this is likely to be the only required course that covers this important topic. Quality of output exhibits a great deal of variation. To produce high quality on…

Cardiac Vagal Control and Depressive Symptoms: The Moderating Role of Sleep Quality

PubMed Central

Werner, Gabriela G.; Ford, Brett Q.; Mauss, Iris B.; Schabus, Manuel; Blechert, Jens; Wilhelm, Frank H.

2017-01-01

Lower cardiac vagal control (CVC) has been linked to greater depression. However, this link has not been consistently demonstrated, suggesting the presence of key moderators. Sleep plausibly is one such factor. Therefore, we investigated whether sleep quality moderates the link between CVC (quantified by high-frequency heart rate variability, HF-HRV) and depressive symptoms (assessed using established questionnaires) in 29 healthy women. Results revealed a significant interaction between HF-HRV and sleep quality in predicting depressive symptoms: participants with lower HF-HRV reported elevated depressive symptoms only when sleep quality was also low. In contrast, HF-HRV was not associated with depressive symptoms when sleep quality was high, suggesting a protective function of high sleep quality in the context of lower CVC. PMID:27149648

Drinking water: a risk factor for high incidence of esophageal cancer in Anyang, China.

PubMed

Cao, Wenbo; Han, Jianying; Yuan, Yi; Xu, Zhixiang; Yang, Shengli; He, Weixin

2016-06-01

Anyang is known to be a high-incidence area of esophageal cancer (EC) in China. Among a long list of risk factors, the quality of drinking water was evaluated. We have selected 3806 individuals and collected 550 drinking water samples correspondent with this not-matched case-control survey. There are 531 EC patients included based on Population Cancer Registry from 92 townships, of which 3275 controls with long-lived aged over 90 years and free from EC are used as controls in the same regions. Our result suggests that the quality of drinking water is a highly associated risk factor for EC. The residential ecological environment and the quality of water resource positively link with each other. The analysis of water samples also demonstrated that the concentrations of methyl ethylamine, morpholine, N-methylbenzylamine, nitrate and chloride in water from springs and rivers are higher than those in well and tap water (P = 0.001). Micronuclei formation tests show that well water and tap water in these regions have no mutagenicity.

Spatial and Temporal Variations of Water Quality and Trophic Status in Xili Reservoir: a Subtropics Drinking Water Reservoir of Southeast China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yunlong, Song; Zhang, Jinsong; Zhu, Jia; Li, Wang; Chang, Aimin; Yi, Tao

2017-12-01

Controlling of water quality pollution and eutrophication of reservoirs has become a very important research topic in urban drinking water field. Xili reservoir is an important water source of drinking water in Shenzhen. And its water quality has played an important role to the city’s drinking water security. A fifteen-month’s field observation was conducted from April 2013 to June 2014 in Xili reservoir, in order to analyze the temporal and spatial distribution of water quality factors and seasonal variation of trophic states. Xili reservoir was seriously polluted by nitrogen. Judged by TN most of the samples were no better than grade VI. Other water quality factor including WT, SD, pH, DO, COD, TOC, TP, Fe, silicate, turbidity, chlorophyll-a were pretty good. One-way ANOVA showed that significant difference was found in water quality factors on month (p<0.005). The spatial heterogeneity of water quality was obvious (p<0.05). The successions of water quality factors y were similar and the mainly pattern was Pre-rainy period > Latter rainy period > High temperature and rain free period > Temperature jump period > Winter drought period. Two-way ANOVA showed that months rather than locations were the key influencing factors of water quality factors succession.TLI (Σ) were about 35~52, suggesting Xili reservoir was in mycotrophic trophic states. As a result of runoff pollution, water quality at sampling sites 1 and 10 was poor. In the rainy season, near sampling sites 1 and 10, water appeared to be Light-eutrophic. The phytoplankton biomass of Xili reservoir was low. Water temperature was the main driving factor of phytoplankton succession.The 14 water quality factors were divided into five groups by factor analysis. The total interpretation rate was about 70.82%. F1 represents the climatic change represented by water temperature and organic pollution. F2 represents the concentration of nitrogen. F3 represents the phytoplankton biomass. F4 represents the sensory indexes of water body, such as turbidity, transparency.

A Nationwide Survey on Quality of Life and Associated Factors of Adults with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamio, Yoko; Inada, Naoko; Koyama, Tomonori

2013-01-01

The psychosocial outcomes of individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) appear to be diverse and are often poor relative to their intellectual or language level. To identify predictive variables that are potentially ameliorable by therapeutic intervention, this study investigated self-reported psychosocial quality of life…

Evaluating and Selecting Online Magazines for Children. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lu, Mei-Yu

This Digest provides an overview of children's online magazines, also known as e-zines. It begins with a brief review of factors that contribute to the popularity of these publications, followed by a list of criteria for selecting high-quality online magazines for children. Samples of high-quality children's e-zines are also included in this…

Indoor air quality of everyday use spaces dedicated to specific purposes-a review.

PubMed

Marć, Mariusz; Śmiełowska, Monika; Namieśnik, Jacek; Zabiegała, Bożena

2018-01-01

According to literature data, some of the main factors which significantly affect the quality of the indoor environment in residential households or apartments are human activities such as cooking, smoking, cleaning, and indoor exercising. The paper presents a literature overview related to air quality in everyday use spaces dedicated to specific purposes which are integral parts of residential buildings, such as kitchens, basements, and individual garages. Some aspects of air quality in large-scale car parks, as a specific type of indoor environment, are also discussed. All those areas are characterized by relatively short time use. On the other hand, high and very high concentration levels of xenobiotics can be observed, resulting in higher exposure risk. The main compounds or group of chemical compounds are presented and discussed. The main factors influencing the type and amount of chemical pollutants present in the air of such areas are indicated.

Journal impact factor and methodological quality of surgical randomized controlled trials: an empirical study.

PubMed

Ahmed Ali, Usama; Reiber, Beata M M; Ten Hove, Joren R; van der Sluis, Pieter C; Gooszen, Hein G; Boermeester, Marja A; Besselink, Marc G

2017-11-01

The journal impact factor (IF) is often used as a surrogate marker for methodological quality. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relation between the journal IF and methodological quality of surgical randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Surgical RCTs published in PubMed in 1999 and 2009 were identified. According to IF, RCTs were divided into groups of low (<2), median (2-3) and high IF (>3), as well as into top-10 vs all other journals. Methodological quality characteristics and factors concerning funding, ethical approval and statistical significance of outcomes were extracted and compared between the IF groups. Additionally, a multivariate regression was performed. The median IF was 2.2 (IQR 2.37). The percentage of 'low-risk of bias' RCTs was 13% for top-10 journals vs 4% for other journals in 1999 (P < 0.02), and 30 vs 12% in 2009 (P < 0.02). Similar results were observed for high vs low IF groups. The presence of sample-size calculation, adequate generation of allocation and intention-to-treat analysis were independently associated with publication in higher IF journals; as were multicentre trials and multiple authors. Publication of RCTs in high IF journals is associated with moderate improvement in methodological quality compared to RCTs published in lower IF journals. RCTs with adequate sample-size calculation, generation of allocation or intention-to-treat analysis were associated with publication in a high IF journal. On the other hand, reporting a statistically significant outcome and being industry funded were not independently associated with publication in a higher IF journal.

Factors Affecting Quality of Laboratory Services in Public and Private Health Facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

PubMed

Mesfin, Eyob Abera; Taye, Binyam; Belay, Getachew; Ashenafi, Aytenew; Girma, Veronica

2017-10-01

Quality laboratory service is an essential component of health care system but in Sub-Saharan Africa such as Ethiopia, laboratories quality system remains weak due to several factors and it needs more attention to strengthen its capacity and quality system. A cross sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire to assess factors affecting the quality of laboratory service at private and public health institutions in Addis Ababa. A total of 213 laboratory professionals participated in the study and 131 (61.5%) participants had bachelor degree. Majority, 133 (62.4%), of the professionals did not attend any work related training. Seventy five (35.2%) respondents believed that their laboratories did not provide quality laboratory services and the major reported factors affecting provision of quality services were shortage of resources (64.3%), poor management support (57.3%), poor equipment quality (53.4%), high workload (41.1%), lack of equipment calibration (38.3%) and lack of knowledge (23.3%). Moreover logistic regression analysis showed that provision of quality laboratory service was significantly associated with result verification (AOR=9.21, 95% CI=2.26, 37.48), internal quality control (AOR= 6.11, 95% CI=2.11, 17.70), turnaround time (AOR=5.11, 95% CI=1.94, 13.46), shortage of equipment (AOR=7.76, 95% CI=2.55, 23.66), communication with clinicians (AOR=3.24, 95% CI=1.25, 8.41) and lack of job description (AOR=3.67, 95% CI=1.319, 10.22). In conclusion, the major factors that affecting the quality of laboratory service were associated with poor human resource management, poor resources provision, poor management commitment, ineffective communication system and lack of well-established quality management system.

Factors Affecting Quality of Laboratory Services in Public and Private Health Facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Taye, Binyam; Belay, Getachew; Ashenafi, Aytenew; Girma, Veronica

2017-01-01

Background Quality laboratory service is an essential component of health care system but in Sub-Saharan Africa such as Ethiopia, laboratories quality system remains weak due to several factors and it needs more attention to strengthen its capacity and quality system. Methodology A cross sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire to assess factors affecting the quality of laboratory service at private and public health institutions in Addis Ababa. Results A total of 213 laboratory professionals participated in the study and 131 (61.5%) participants had bachelor degree. Majority, 133 (62.4%), of the professionals did not attend any work related training. Seventy five (35.2%) respondents believed that their laboratories did not provide quality laboratory services and the major reported factors affecting provision of quality services were shortage of resources (64.3%), poor management support (57.3%), poor equipment quality (53.4%), high workload (41.1%), lack of equipment calibration (38.3%) and lack of knowledge (23.3%). Moreover logistic regression analysis showed that provision of quality laboratory service was significantly associated with result verification (AOR=9.21, 95% CI=2.26, 37.48), internal quality control (AOR= 6.11, 95% CI=2.11, 17.70), turnaround time (AOR=5.11, 95% CI=1.94, 13.46), shortage of equipment (AOR=7.76, 95% CI=2.55, 23.66), communication with clinicians (AOR=3.24, 95% CI=1.25, 8.41) and lack of job description (AOR=3.67, 95% CI=1.319, 10.22). Conclusion In conclusion, the major factors that affecting the quality of laboratory service were associated with poor human resource management, poor resources provision, poor management commitment, ineffective communication system and lack of well-established quality management system. PMID:29075171

Constructing a consumption model of fine dining from the perspective of behavioral economics

PubMed Central

Tsai, Sang-Bing

2018-01-01

Numerous factors affect how people choose a fine dining restaurant, including food quality, service quality, food safety, and hedonic value. A conceptual framework for evaluating restaurant selection behavior has not yet been developed. This study surveyed 150 individuals with fine dining experience and proposed the use of mental accounting and axiomatic design to construct a consumer economic behavior model. Linear and logistic regressions were employed to determine model correlations and the probability of each factor affecting behavior. The most crucial factor was food quality, followed by service and dining motivation, particularly regarding family dining. Safe ingredients, high cooking standards, and menu innovation all increased the likelihood of consumers choosing fine dining restaurants. PMID:29641554

Constructing a consumption model of fine dining from the perspective of behavioral economics.

PubMed

Hsu, Sheng-Hsun; Hsiao, Cheng-Fu; Tsai, Sang-Bing

2018-01-01

Numerous factors affect how people choose a fine dining restaurant, including food quality, service quality, food safety, and hedonic value. A conceptual framework for evaluating restaurant selection behavior has not yet been developed. This study surveyed 150 individuals with fine dining experience and proposed the use of mental accounting and axiomatic design to construct a consumer economic behavior model. Linear and logistic regressions were employed to determine model correlations and the probability of each factor affecting behavior. The most crucial factor was food quality, followed by service and dining motivation, particularly regarding family dining. Safe ingredients, high cooking standards, and menu innovation all increased the likelihood of consumers choosing fine dining restaurants.

Estimation of Image Sensor Fill Factor Using a Single Arbitrary Image

PubMed Central

Wen, Wei; Khatibi, Siamak

2017-01-01

Achieving a high fill factor is a bottleneck problem for capturing high-quality images. There are hardware and software solutions to overcome this problem. In the solutions, the fill factor is known. However, this is an industrial secrecy by most image sensor manufacturers due to its direct effect on the assessment of the sensor quality. In this paper, we propose a method to estimate the fill factor of a camera sensor from an arbitrary single image. The virtual response function of the imaging process and sensor irradiance are estimated from the generation of virtual images. Then the global intensity values of the virtual images are obtained, which are the result of fusing the virtual images into a single, high dynamic range radiance map. A non-linear function is inferred from the original and global intensity values of the virtual images. The fill factor is estimated by the conditional minimum of the inferred function. The method is verified using images of two datasets. The results show that our method estimates the fill factor correctly with significant stability and accuracy from one single arbitrary image according to the low standard deviation of the estimated fill factors from each of images and for each camera. PMID:28335459

High-Q microwave photonic filter with a tuned modulator.

PubMed

Capmany, J; Mora, J; Ortega, B; Pastor, D

2005-09-01

We propose the use of tuned electro-optic or electroabsorption external modulators to implement high-quality (high-Q) factor, single-bandpass photonic filters for microwave signals. Using this approach, we experimentally demonstrate a transversal finite impulse response with a Q factor of 237. This is to our knowledge the highest value ever reported for a passive finite impulse-response microwave photonic filter.

Adoption of high technology medical imaging and hospital quality and efficiency: Towards a conceptual framework.

PubMed

Sandoval, Guillermo A; Brown, Adalsteinn D; Wodchis, Walter P; Anderson, Geoffrey M

2018-05-17

Measuring the value of medical imaging is challenging, in part, due to the lack of conceptual frameworks underlying potential mechanisms where value may be assessed. To address this gap, this article proposes a framework that builds on the large body of literature on quality of hospital care and the classic structure-process-outcome paradigm. The framework was also informed by the literature on adoption of technological innovations and introduces 2 distinct though related aspects of imaging technology not previously addressed specifically in the literature on quality of hospital care: adoption (a structural hospital characteristic) and use (an attribute of the process of care). The framework hypothesizes a 2-part causality where adoption is proposed to be a central, linking factor between hospital structural characteristics, market factors, and hospital outcomes (ie, quality and efficiency). The first part indicates that hospital structural characteristics and market factors influence or facilitate the adoption of high technology medical imaging within an institution. The presence of this technology, in turn, is hypothesized to improve the ability of the hospital to deliver high quality and efficient care. The second part describes this ability throughout 3 main mechanisms pointing to the importance of imaging use on patients, to the presence of staff and qualified care providers, and to some elements of organizational capacity capturing an enhanced clinical environment. The framework has the potential to assist empirical investigations of the value of adoption and use of medical imaging, and to advance understanding of the mechanisms that produce quality and efficiency in hospitals. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Risk factors for musculoskeletal injury in preprofessional dancers: a systematic review.

PubMed

Kenny, Sarah J; Whittaker, Jackie L; Emery, Carolyn A

2016-08-01

Preprofessional dancers partake in rigorous training and have high injury prevalence. Attempts to identify risk factors for dance injuries have focused on a diversity of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. To identify and evaluate the evidence examining risk factors for musculoskeletal injury in preprofessional ballet and modern dancers. Fifteen electronic databases were systematically searched to October 2015. Studies selected met a priori inclusion criteria and investigated musculoskeletal injury risk factors in preprofessional (elite adolescent, student, young adult) ballet and modern dancers. Two reviewers independently assessed the quality and level of evidence using the Downs and Black (DB) criteria and a modified Oxford Centre of Evidence-Based Medicine 2009 model, respectively. Of 1364 potentially relevant studies, 47 were included and scored. Inconsistent injury definition and methodology precluded meta-analysis. The most common modifiable risk factors investigated were anthropometrics (ie, body mass index, adiposity), joint range of motion (ie, lower extremity), dance exposure (ie, years training, exposure hours) and age. The median DB score across studies was 8/33 (range 2-16). The majority of studies were classified as level 3 evidence and few considered risk factor inter-relationships. There is some level 2 evidence that previous injury and poor psychological coping skills are associated with increased injury risk. Because of the lack of high-quality studies, consensus regarding risk factors for musculoskeletal injury in preprofessional dancers remains difficult. There is a need for injury definition consensus and high-quality prospective studies examining the multifactorial relationship between risk factors and injury in preprofessional dance. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Sleep, recovery, and performance: the new frontier in high-performance athletics.

PubMed

Samuels, Charles

2008-02-01

The relationship of sleep to post-exercise recovery (PER) and athletic performance is a topic of great interest because of the growing body of scientific evidence confirming a link between critical sleep factors, cognitive processes, and metabolic function. Sleep restriction (sleep deprivation), sleep disturbance (poor sleep quality), and circadian rhythm disturbance (jet lag) are the key sleep factors that affect the overall restorative quality of the sleep state. This article discusses these theoretic concepts, presents relevant clinical cases, and reviews pilot data exploring the prevalence of sleep disturbance in two groups of high-performance athletes.

Analysis of nonreciprocal noise based on mode splitting in a high-Q optical microresonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zhaohua; Xiao, Yarong; Huo, Jiayan; Shao, Hui

2018-01-01

The whispering gallery mode optical microresonator offers a high quality factor, which enables it to act as the core component of a high sensitivity resonator optic gyro; however, nonreciprocal noise limits its precision. Considering the Sagnac effect, i.e. mode splitting in high-quality optical micro-resonators, we derive the explicit expression for the angular velocity versus the splitting amount, and verify the sensing mechanism by simulation using finite element method. Remarkably, the accuracy of the angular velocity measurement in the whispering gallery mode optical microresonator with a quality factor of 108 is 106 °/s. We obtain the optimal coupling position of the novel angular velocity sensing system by detecting the output transmittance spectra of different vertical coupling distances and axial coupling positions. In addition, the reason for the nonreciprocal phenomenon is determined by theoretical analysis of the evanescent distribution of a tapered fiber. These results will provide an effective method and a theoretical basis for suppression of the nonreciprocal noise.

Millimeter-Wave Voltage-Controlled Oscillators in 0.13-micrometer CMOS Technology

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

controlled oscillators. Varactor , transistor, and in- ductor designs are optimized to reduce the parasitic capacitances. An investigation of tradeoff between...quality factor and tuning range for MOS varactors at 24 GHz has shown that the polysilicon gate lengths between 0.18 and 0.24 m result both good...millimeter wave, MOS varactor , quality factor, transmission line, voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). I. INTRODUCTION WITH THE RAPID advance of high

CMOS compatible fabrication process of MEMS resonator for timing reference and sensing application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huynh, Duc H.; Nguyen, Phuong D.; Nguyen, Thanh C.; Skafidas, Stan; Evans, Robin

2015-12-01

Frequency reference and timing control devices are ubiquitous in electronic applications. There is at least one resonator required for each of this device. Currently electromechanical resonators such as crystal resonator, ceramic resonator are the ultimate choices. This tendency will probably keep going for many more years. However, current market demands for small size, low power consumption, cheap and reliable products, has divulged many limitations of this type of resonators. They cannot be integrated into standard CMOS (Complement metaloxide- semiconductor) IC (Integrated Circuit) due to material and fabrication process incompatibility. Currently, these devices are off-chip and they require external circuitries to interface with the ICs. This configuration significantly increases the overall size and cost of the entire electronic system. In addition, extra external connection, especially at high frequency, will potentially create negative impacts on the performance of the entire system due to signal degradation and parasitic effects. Furthermore, due to off-chip packaging nature, these devices are quite expensive, particularly for high frequency and high quality factor devices. To address these issues, researchers have been intensively studying on an alternative for type of resonator by utilizing the new emerging MEMS (Micro-electro-mechanical systems) technology. Recent progress in this field has demonstrated a MEMS resonator with resonant frequency of 2.97 GHz and quality factor (measured in vacuum) of 42900. Despite this great achievement, this prototype is still far from being fully integrated into CMOS system due to incompatibility in fabrication process and its high series motional impedance. On the other hand, fully integrated MEMS resonator had been demonstrated but at lower frequency and quality factor. We propose a design and fabrication process for a low cost, high frequency and a high quality MEMS resonator, which can be integrated into a standard CMOS IC. This device is expected to operate in hundreds of Mhz frequency range; quality factor surpasses 10000 and series motional impedance low enough that could be matching into conventional system without enormous effort. This MEMS resonator can be used in the design of many blocks in wireless and RF (Radio Frequency) systems such as low phase noise oscillator, band pass filter, power amplifier and in many sensing application.

Morning-evening type and burnout level as factors influencing sleep quality of shift nurses: a questionnaire study

PubMed Central

Demir Zencirci, Ayten; Arslan, Sümeyye

2011-01-01

Aim To assess the relationship between sleep quality and demographic variables, morning-evening type, and burnout in nurses who work shifts. Methods We carried out a cross-sectional self-administered study with forced choice and open-ended structured questionnaires – Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, Morningness-eveningness Questionnaire, and Maslach Burnout Inventory. The study was carried out at Gazi University Medicine Faculty Hospital of Ankara on 524 invited nurses from July to September 2008, with a response rate of 89.94% (n = 483). Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to determine the risk factors of poor sleep quality. Results Most socio-demographic variables did not affect sleep quality. Participants with poor sleep quality had quite high burnout levels. Most nurses who belonged to a type that is neither morning nor evening had poor sleep quality. Nurses who experienced an incident worsening their sleep patterns (P < 0.001) and needlestick or sharp object injuries (P = 0.010) in the last month had poor sleep quality. The subjective sleep quality and sleep latency points of evening types within created models for the effect of burnout dimensions were high. Conclusions Nurses working consistently either in the morning or at night had better sleep quality than those working rotating shifts. Further studies are still needed to develop interventions that improve sleep quality and decrease burnout in nurses working shifts. PMID:21853548

The effect of thermal de-phasing on the beam quality of a high-power single-pass second harmonic generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadat Hashemi, Somayeh; Ghavami Sabouri, Saeed; Khorsandi, Alireza

2018-04-01

We present a theoretical model in order to study the effect of a thermally loaded crystal on the quality of a second-harmonic (SH) beam generated in a high-power pumping regime. The model is provided based on using a particular structure of oven considered for MgO:PPsLT nonlinear crystal to compensate for the thermal de-phasing effect that as the pumping power reaches up to 50 W degrades the conversion efficiency and beam quality of the interacting beams. Hereupon, the quality of fundamental beam is involved in the modeling to investigate the final effect on the beam quality of generated SH beam. Beam quality evaluation is subsequently simulated using Hermite-Gaussian modal decomposition approach for a range of fundamental beam qualities varied from 1 to 3 and for different levels of input powers. To provide a meaningful comparison numerical simulation is correlated with real data deduced from a high-power SH generation (SHG) experimental device. It is found that when using the open-top oven scheme and fixing the fundamental M 2-factor at nearly 1, for a range of input powers changing from 15 to 30 W, the M 2-factor of SHG beam is degraded from 9% to 24%, respectively, confirming very good consistency with the reported experimental results.

Association between socioeconomic factors and sleep quality in an urban population-based sample in Germany.

PubMed

Anders, Markus P; Breckenkamp, Jürgen; Blettner, Maria; Schlehofer, Brigitte; Berg-Beckhoff, Gabriele

2014-12-01

Good sleep quality is essential for recovery. The risk factors of sleep disorders have been extensively investigated, but there is sparse information on the association of socioeconomic factors with a person's sleep quality. The aim of the present analysis is to investigate this association, taking particularly the effect of health confounders into consideration. The data were extracted from the cross-sectional QUEBEB Study. In total, the study sample consisted of 3281 participants (1817 women and 1464 men, aged 16-72 years). Here socioeconomic status (SES) was collected from the baseline survey taken in 2004. Sleep quality for the same participants was measured with in-depth personal interviews in 2006 using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, together with other relevant characteristics (e.g. anxiety, depression and health status). Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. People living in an urban environment with a high or medium SES have a greater probability of good sleep quality (odds ratio 1.65, 95% confidence interval 1.27-2.14; odds ratio 1.40, 95% confidence interval 1.16-1.69) than persons with a low SES. Anxiety and depression, but also health status, are also associated with sleep quality and can influence in part the socioeconomic levels seen in sleep quality. SES and sleep quality are associated. However, there are important additional determinants that influence the level of association between SES and sleep quality. Several factors, such as anxiety, depression and health status, are associated with poorer sleep quality, but at the same time, these factors occur more often within lower social classes. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with musculoskeletal complaints among users of mobile handheld devices: A systematic review.

PubMed

Xie, Yanfei; Szeto, Grace; Dai, Jie

2017-03-01

This systematic review aimed at evaluating the prevalence and risk factors for musculoskeletal complaints associated with mobile handheld device use. Pubmed, Medline, Web of Science, CINAHL and Embase were searched. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed. Strength of evidence for risk factors was determined based on study designs, methodological quality and consistency of results. Five high-quality, eight acceptable-quality and two low-quality peer-reviewed articles were included. This review demonstrates that the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints among mobile device users ranges from 1.0% to 67.8% and neck complaints have the highest prevalence rates ranging from 17.3% to 67.8%. This study also finds some evidence for neck flexion, frequency of phone calls, texting and gaming in relation to musculoskeletal complaints among mobile device users. Inconclusive evidence is shown for other risk factors such as duration of use and human-device interaction techniques due to inconsistent results or a limited number of studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular beam epitaxial growth and structural characterization of ZnS on (001) GaAs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benz, R. G., II; Huang, P. C.; Stock, S. R.; Summers, C. J.

1988-01-01

The effect of surface nucleation processes on the quality of ZnS layers grown on (001) GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy is reported. Reflection high energy electron diffraction indicated that nucleation at high temperatures produced more planar surfaces than nucleation at low temperatures, but the crystalline quality as assessed by X-ray double crystal diffractometry is relatively independent of nucleation temperature. A critical factor in layer quality was the initial roughness of the GaAs surfaces.

Modeling of High-Quality Factor XNOR Gate Using Quantum-Dot Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers at 1 Tb/s

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotb, Amer

2015-06-01

The modeling of all-optical logic XNOR gate is realized by a series combination of XOR and INVERT gates. This Boolean function is simulated by using Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) utilizing quantum-dots semiconductor optical amplifiers (QDs-SOAs). The study is carried out when the effect of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is included. The dependence of the output quality factor ( Q-factor) on signals and QDs-SOAs' parameters is also investigated and discussed. The simulation is conducted under a repetition rate of ˜1 Tb/s.

Factors influencing microinjection molding replication quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vera, Julie; Brulez, Anne-Catherine; Contraires, Elise; Larochette, Mathieu; Trannoy-Orban, Nathalie; Pignon, Maxime; Mauclair, Cyril; Valette, Stéphane; Benayoun, Stéphane

2018-01-01

In recent years, there has been increased interest in producing and providing high-precision plastic parts that can be manufactured by microinjection molding: gears, pumps, optical grating elements, and so on. For all of these applications, the replication quality is essential. This study has two goals: (1) fabrication of high-precision parts using the conventional injection molding machine; (2) identification of robust parameters that ensure production quality. Thus, different technological solutions have been used: cavity vacuuming and the use of a mold coated with DLC or CrN deposits. AFM and SEM analyses were carried out to characterize the replication profile. The replication quality was studied in terms of the process parameters, coated and uncoated molds and crystallinity of the polymer. Specific studies were processed to quantify the replicability of injection molded parts (ABS, PC and PP). Analysis of the Taguchi experimental designs permits prioritization of the impact of each parameter on the replication quality. A discussion taking into account these new parameters and the thermal and spreading properties on the coatings is proposed. It appeared that, in general, increasing the mold temperature improves the molten polymer fill in submicron features except for the steel insert (for which the presence of a vacuum is the most important factor). Moreover, the DLC coating was the best coating to increase the quality of the replication. This result could be explained by the lower thermal diffusivity of this coating. We noted that the viscosity of the polymers is not a primordial factor of the replication quality.

Factors affecting quality of life in Hungarian adults with epilepsy: A comparison of four psychiatric instruments.

PubMed

Kováts, Daniella; Császár, Noémi; Haller, József; Juhos, Vera; Sallay, Viola; Békés, Judit; Kelemen, Anna; Fabó, Dániel; Rásonyi, György; Folyovich, András; Kurimay, Tamás

2017-09-01

We investigated the impact of 19 factors on life quality in Hungarian patients with epilepsy. Wellbeing was evaluated by several inventories to investigate the impact of factors in more detail. A cross-sectional study was performed in 170 patients. Wellbeing was evaluated with the WHO-5 Well-being Index (WHOQOL-5), Diener Satisfaction with Life Scale (SwLS), and the Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31 Questionnaire (Qolie-31). We investigated their association with demographic characteristics, general health status, epilepsy, and its treatment. The impact of these factors on illness perception (Illness Perception Questionnaire, IPQ) was also studied. The four measures correlated highly significantly. In addition, the predictive power of factors was comparable with the four inventories as evaluated by Multiple Regression. Factors explained 52%, 41%, 63% and 46% in the variance of WHOQOL-5, SwLS, Qolie-31, and IPQ scores, respectively. However, associations with particular factors were instrument-specific. The WHOQOL-5 was associated with factors indicative of general health. SwLS scores were associated with health-related and several demographic factors. Neither showed associations with epilepsy-related factors. All four categories of factors were associated with Qolie-31 and IPQ scores. Factors had an additive impact on IPQ, but not on Qolie-31. Our findings reveal interactions between the method of life quality assessment and the factors that are identified as influencing life quality. This appears to be the first study that analyses the factors that influence illness perception in epilepsy patients, and suggests that the IPQ may become a valuable tool in epilepsy research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Potential roles of research in enhancing the performance of management in securing high quality visitor experiences in wilderness

Treesearch

Stephen F. McCool

2012-01-01

Does research help managers provide opportunities for visitors to have high quality experiences in wilderness? Difficulties in applying visitor experience research result from several factors: the nature of wilderness itself, the character of the wilderness visitor experience challenge as a research and management topic, and the paradigm of research applications...

Television watching, diet quality, and physical activity and diabetes among three ethnicities in the United States.

PubMed

Huffman, Fatma G; Vaccaro, Joan A; Exebio, Joel C; Zarini, Gustavo G; Katz, Timothy; Dixon, Zisca

2012-01-01

Diabetes is a world-wide epidemic associated with multiple environmental factors. Prolonged television viewing (TV) time has been related to increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes in several studies. TV viewing has been positively associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors, lower energy expenditure, over-eating high-calorie and high-fat foods. The objective of this study was to assess the associations of hours of TV viewing with dietary quality, obesity and physical activity for three ethnic minorities with and without type 2 diabetes. Diet quality and physical activity were inversely related to prolonged TV viewing. African Americans and participants with type 2 diabetes were more likely to watch more than 4 hours of TV per day as compared to their counterparts. Diet quality was inversely associated with physical activity level. Future studies are needed to establish the risk factors of prolonged TV watching in adult populations for the development of diabetes or diabetes-related complications. Although strategies to reduce TV watching have been proven effective among children, few trials have been conducted in adults. Intervention trials aimed at reducing TV viewing targeting people with type 2 diabetes may be beneficial to improve dietary quality and physical activity, which may reduce diabetes complications.

Linking quality and performance. Quality orientation can be a competitive strategy for health care providers.

PubMed

Rapert, M I; Babakus, E

1996-01-01

Many organizations are not convinced a quality orientation pays off and are looking for ways to link quality with performance. The authors' exploratory study found that a quality orientation is a differentiating factor between low-performing and high-performing general service hospitals. They also developed a quality scale to assess the performance implications of quality-based strategies in the health care industry. Successful health care organizations (1) develop a strategic quality orientation at the management level, (2) support the pursuit of quality at the contact level, and (3) monitor external customers' perceptions of quality.

Relation Between Selected Water-Quality Variables, Climatic Factors, and Lake Levels in Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon, 1990-2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morace, Jennifer L.

2007-01-01

Growth and decomposition of dense blooms of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae in Upper Klamath Lake frequently cause extreme water-quality conditions that have led to critical fishery concerns for the region, including the listing of two species of endemic suckers as endangered. The Bureau of Reclamation has asked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to examine water-quality data collected by the Klamath Tribes for relations with lake level. This analysis evaluates a 17-year dataset (1990-2006) and updates a previous USGS analysis of a 5-year dataset (1990-94). Both univariate hypothesis testing and multivariable analyses evaluated using an information-theoretic approach revealed the same results-no one overarching factor emerged from the data. No single factor could be relegated from consideration either. The lack of statistically significant, strong correlations between water-quality conditions, lake level, and climatic factors does not necessarily show that these factors do not influence water-quality conditions; it is more likely that these conditions work in conjunction with each other to affect water quality. A few different conclusions could be drawn from the larger dataset than from the smaller dataset examined in 1996, but for the most part, the outcome was the same. Using an observational dataset that may not capture all variation in water-quality conditions (samples were collected on a two-week interval) and that has a limited range of conditions for evaluation (confined to the operation of lake) may have confounded the exploration of explanatory factors. In the end, all years experienced some variation in poor water-quality conditions, either in timing of occurrence of the poor conditions or in their duration. The dataset of 17 years simply provided 17 different patterns of lake level, cumulative degree-days, timing of the bloom onset, and poor water-quality conditions, with no overriding causal factor emerging from the variations. Water-quality conditions were evaluated for their potential to be harmful to the endangered sucker species on the basis of high-stress thresholds-water temperature values greater than 28 degrees Celsius, dissolved-oxygen concentrations less than 4 milligrams per liter, and pH values greater than 9.7. Few water temperatures were greater than 28 degrees Celsius, and dissolved-oxygen concentrations less than 4 milligrams per liter generally were recorded in mid to late summer. In contrast, high pH values were more frequent, occurring earlier in the season and parallel with growth in the algal bloom. The 10 hypotheses relating water-quality variables, lake level, and climatic factors from the earlier USGS study were tested in this analysis for the larger 1990-2006 dataset. These hypotheses proposed relations between lake level and chlorophyll-a, pH, dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, and water temperature. As in the previous study, no evidence was found in the larger dataset for any of these relations based on a seasonal (May-October) distribution. When analyzing only the June data, the previous 5-year study did find evidence for three hypotheses relating lake level to the onset of the bloom, chlorophyll-a concentrations, and the frequency of high pH values in June. These hypotheses were not supported by the 1990-2006 dataset, but the two hypotheses related to cumulative degree-days from the previous study were: chlorophyll-a concentrations were lower and onset of the algal bloom was delayed when spring air temperatures were cooler. Other relations between water-quality variables and cumulative degree-days were not significant. In an attempt to identify interrelations among variables not detected by univariate analysis, multiple regressions were performed between lakewide measures of low dissolved-oxygen concentrations or high pH values in July and August and six physical and biological variables (peak chlorophyll-a concentrations, degree-days, water temperature, median October-May discharg

Determinants of Quality of Interview and Impact on Risk Estimates in a Case-Control Study of Bladder Cancer

PubMed Central

Silverman, Debra T.; Malats, Núria; Tardon, Adonina; Garcia-Closas, Reina; Serra, Consol; Carrato, Alfredo; Fortuny, Joan; Rothman, Nathaniel; Dosemeci, Mustafa; Kogevinas, Manolis

2009-01-01

The authors evaluated potential determinants of the quality of the interview in a case-control study of bladder cancer and assessed the effect of the interview quality on the risk estimates. The analysis included 1,219 incident bladder cancer cases and 1,271 controls recruited in Spain in 1998–2001. Information on etiologic factors for bladder cancer was collected through personal interviews, which were scored as unsatisfactory, questionable, reliable, or high quality by the interviewers. Eight percent of the interviews were unsatisfactory or questionable. Increasing age, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer self-perceived health led to higher proportions of questionable or unreliable interviews. The odds ratio for cigarette smoking, the main risk factor for bladder cancer, was 6.18 (95% confidence interval: 4.56, 8.39) overall, 3.20 (95% confidence interval: 1.13, 9.04) among unsatisfactory or questionable interviews, 6.86 (95% confidence interval: 4.80, 9.82) among reliable interviews, and 7.70 (95% confidence interval: 3.64, 16.30) among high-quality interviews. Similar trends were observed for employment in high-risk occupations, drinking water containing elevated levels of trihalomethanes, and use of analgesics. Higher quality interviews led to stronger associations compared with risk estimation that did not take the quality of interview into account. The collection of quality of interview scores and the exclusion of unreliable interviews probably reduce misclassification of exposure in observational studies. PMID:19478234

Measuring Educational Quality by Appraising Theses and Dissertations: Pitfalls and Remedies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Patti; Johnson, Robert; Poudrier, Chelsey

2010-01-01

In this paper, we argue that, as indicators of the educational quality of graduate degree programs, student theses and dissertations are best used in specific contexts. High-quality theses and dissertations, that is, may be the result of factors such as verbal skills students already possessed at admission or of complex interactions between…

Improvement of mechanical performance for vibratory microgyroscope based on sense mode closed-loop control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Dingbang; Su, Jianbin; Chen, Zhihua; Hou, Zhanqiang; Wang, Xinghua; Wu, Xuezhong

2013-04-01

In order to improve its structural sensitivity, a vibratory microgyroscope is commonly sealed in high vacuum to increase the drive mode quality factor. The sense mode quality factor of the microgyroscope will also increase simultaneously after vacuum sealing, which will lead to a long decay time of free response and even self-oscillation of the sense mode. As a result, the mechanical performance of the microgyroscope will be seriously degraded. In order to solve this problem, a closed-loop control technique is presented to adjust and optimize the sense mode quality factor. A velocity feedback loop was designed to increase the electric damping of the sense mode vibration. A circuit was fabricated based on this technique, and experimental results indicate that the sense mode quality factor of the microgyroscope was adjusted from 8052 to 428. The decay time of the sense mode free response was shortened from 3 to 0.5 s, and the vibration-rejecting ability of the microgyroscope was improved obviously without sensitivity degradation.

Oxytocin, Social Support and Sleep Quality In Low Income Minority Women Living with HIV

PubMed Central

Fekete, Erin M.; Seay, Julia; Antoni, Michael H.; Mendez, Armando J.; Fletcher, Mary Ann; Szeto, Angela; Schneiderman, Neil

2013-01-01

Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in women with HIV and few studies examine potential protective factors that may reduce risk for sleep disturbances in this high-risk population. We predicted that HIV-specific social support from various sources (i.e., friends, family, spouses), as well as oxytocin (OT), would explain sleep quality in 71 low income minority women living with HIV. Social support from family members was associated with better sleep quality in women. For women with high OT, support from friends was associated with better sleep quality, while for women with low OT, support from friends was associated with poorer sleep quality. Women with low OT may not effectively interpret and utilize available support resources, which may be associated with sleep disturbances. PMID:23799864

An Automated Treatment Plan Quality Control Tool for Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Using a Voxel-Weighting Factor-Based Re-Optimization Algorithm.

PubMed

Song, Ting; Li, Nan; Zarepisheh, Masoud; Li, Yongbao; Gautier, Quentin; Zhou, Linghong; Mell, Loren; Jiang, Steve; Cerviño, Laura

2016-01-01

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) currently plays an important role in radiotherapy, but its treatment plan quality can vary significantly among institutions and planners. Treatment plan quality control (QC) is a necessary component for individual clinics to ensure that patients receive treatments with high therapeutic gain ratios. The voxel-weighting factor-based plan re-optimization mechanism has been proved able to explore a larger Pareto surface (solution domain) and therefore increase the possibility of finding an optimal treatment plan. In this study, we incorporated additional modules into an in-house developed voxel weighting factor-based re-optimization algorithm, which was enhanced as a highly automated and accurate IMRT plan QC tool (TPS-QC tool). After importing an under-assessment plan, the TPS-QC tool was able to generate a QC report within 2 minutes. This QC report contains the plan quality determination as well as information supporting the determination. Finally, the IMRT plan quality can be controlled by approving quality-passed plans and replacing quality-failed plans using the TPS-QC tool. The feasibility and accuracy of the proposed TPS-QC tool were evaluated using 25 clinically approved cervical cancer patient IMRT plans and 5 manually created poor-quality IMRT plans. The results showed high consistency between the QC report quality determinations and the actual plan quality. In the 25 clinically approved cases that the TPS-QC tool identified as passed, a greater difference could be observed for dosimetric endpoints for organs at risk (OAR) than for planning target volume (PTV), implying that better dose sparing could be achieved in OAR than in PTV. In addition, the dose-volume histogram (DVH) curves of the TPS-QC tool re-optimized plans satisfied the dosimetric criteria more frequently than did the under-assessment plans. In addition, the criteria for unsatisfied dosimetric endpoints in the 5 poor-quality plans could typically be satisfied when the TPS-QC tool generated re-optimized plans without sacrificing other dosimetric endpoints. In addition to its feasibility and accuracy, the proposed TPS-QC tool is also user-friendly and easy to operate, both of which are necessary characteristics for clinical use.

Physical and sensory quality of Java Arabica green coffee beans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sunarharum, W. B.; Yuwono, S. S.; Pangestu, N. B. S. W.; Nadhiroh, H.

2018-03-01

Demand on high quality coffee for consumption is continually increasing not only in the consuming countries (importers) but also in the producing countries (exporters). Coffee quality could be affected by several factors from farm to cup including the post-harvest processing methods. This research aimed to investigate the influence of different post-harvest processing methods on physical and sensory quality of Java Arabica green coffee beans. The two factors being evaluated were three different post-harvest processing methods to produce green coffee beans (natural/dry, semi-washed and fully-washed processing) under sun drying. Physical quality evaluation was based on The Indonesian National Standard (SNI 01-2907-2008) while sensory quality was evaluated by five expert judges. The result shows that less defects observed in wet processed coffee as compared to the dry processing. The mechanical drying was also proven to yield a higher quality green coffee beans and minimise losses.

Seismic High Attenuation Beneath Southern New England Indicates High Asthenospheric Temperature and No Melt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, M. T.; Menke, W. H.

2017-12-01

Seismic attenuation exhibits strong geographic variability in northeastern North America, with the highest values associated with the previously-recognized Northern Appalachian Anomaly (NAA) in southern New England. The shear wave quality factor at 100 km depth is 14s<25, the ratio of P-wave and S-wave quality factors is QP/Qs=1.2±0.03, and the frequency dependence parameter is α=0.39±0.025. The high values of Qp/Qs and α are compatible with laboratory measurements of unmelted rock and incompatible with widespread melting. The low Qs (high shear attenuation) implies high mantle temperatures ( 1550-1650°C) at 100 km depth (assuming no melt). Small-scale variations in attenuation suggests structural heterogeneity within the NAA, possibly due to lithospheric delamination caused by directional asthenospheric flow.

Impact of Environmental Factors on Differences in Quality of Medication Use: An Insight for the Medicare Star Rating System.

PubMed

Desai, Vibha; Nau, David; Conklin, Mark; Heaton, Pamela C

2016-07-01

The Medicare star ratings system incentivizes health plan sponsors based on their performance across a measurement system that contains quality measures related to medication use. As health plan sponsors seek to further engage their network providers, specifically network pharmacies, to improve performance on these measures, it is important to consider the effect of environmental factors on the performance of network pharmacies. To determine the effect of environmental factors on pharmacy quality as measured by (a) medication adherence for noninsulin diabetes medications, (b) medication adherence for renin angiotensin receptor antagonists (RASA), (c) medication adherence for cholesterol medications (statins), and (d) use of high-risk medications (HRM) in the elderly. The EQuIPP database, which contains performance information for pharmacies for a nationwide sample of Medicare beneficiaries, was used for this analysis. Environmental factors included regions or characteristics of a community or county. County-level data was obtained from the Area Health Resource Files, a resource product available from the Health Resources & Service Administration. A logistic regression model was developed with performance as the dependent variable and regions and environmental factors as independent variables. Performance and county characteristics, such as proportion of patients in an age group, race, income, or number of outpatient visits, were classified as high and low based on a median cutoff of nationwide performance scores. A total of 28,950 pharmacies were included in this analysis. For most measures, the proportion of low-performing pharmacies was significantly higher in the East South Central, Mid-Atlantic, Mountain, Pacific, and West South Central regions. Pharmacies in counties with high median income, high proportion of elderly population (aged > 84 years), high proportion of elderly patients who were white or Hispanic, high proportion of elderly males, and high proportion of elderly urban patients were less likely to have low performance, whereas those with high proportion of elderly African Americans and high density of independent pharmacies were more likely to have low performance (P < 0.05-0.0001). This study found that environmental characteristics of a region, including pharmacy and sociodemographic characteristics, explained regional variation in quality measures related to medication use for patient populations served by pharmacies. This evaluation serves to further inform the discussion regarding case-mix adjustment of quality measures and provides information that may be important to further refine intervention strategies for pharmacies and pharmacists who serve certain regional populations. Additionally, pharmacies in greatest need of support for quality improvement may be those who serve populations that are predominantly low income and elderly African American. Desai's postdoctoral fellowship was funded by Pharmacy Quality Solutions for conducting this study and writing the manuscript. Nau and Conklin are employed by Pharmacy Quality Solutions. An earlier version of this research was presented as a poster at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy; San Diego, CA; April 7-10, 2015. Study concept and design were contributed by Conklin, Nau, Desai, and Heaton. Desai and Conklin took the lead in data collection, assisted by Nau and Heaton. The manuscript was primarily written by Desai and Heaton, with assistance from Conklin and Nau. All authors contributed to data interpretation and manuscript revision.

Occupational Noise and Ischemic Heart Disease: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Dzhambov, Angel M; Dimitrova, Donka D

2016-01-01

Noise exposure might be a risk factor for ischemic heart disease (IHD). Unlike residential exposure, however, evidence for occupational noise is limited. Given that high-quality quantitative synthesis of existing data is highly warranted for occupational safety and policy, we aimed at conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of the risks of IHD morbidity and mortality because of occupational noise exposure. We carried out a systematic search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and on the Internet since April 2, 2015, in English, Spanish, Russian, and Bulgarian. A quality-scoring checklist was developed a priori to assess different sources of methodological bias. A qualitative data synthesis was performed. Conservative assumptions were applied when appropriate. A meta-analysis was not feasible because of unresolvable methodological discrepancies between the studies. On the basis of five studies, there was some evidence to suggest higher risk of IHD among workers exposed to objectively assessed noise >75–80 dB for <20 years (supported by one high, one moderate, and one low quality study, opposed by one high and one moderate quality study). Three moderate and two low quality studies out of six found self-rated exposure to be associated with higher risk of IHD, and only one moderate quality study found no effect. Out of four studies, a higher mortality risk was suggested by one moderate quality study relying on self-rated exposure and one of high-quality study using objective exposure. Sensitivity analyses showed that at higher exposures and in some vulnerable subgroups, such as women, the adverse effects were considerably stronger. Despite methodological discrepancies and limitations of the included studies, occupational noise appeared to be a risk factor for IHD morbidity. Results suggested higher risk for IHD mortality only among vulnerable subgroups. Workers exposed to high occupational noise should be considered at higher overall risk of IHD. PMID:27569404

Spatial, Temporal, and Density-Dependent Components of Habitat Quality for a Desert Owl

PubMed Central

Flesch, Aaron D.; Hutto, Richard L.; van Leeuwen, Willem J. D.; Hartfield, Kyle; Jacobs, Sky

2015-01-01

Spatial variation in resources is a fundamental driver of habitat quality but the realized value of resources at any point in space may depend on the effects of conspecifics and stochastic factors, such as weather, which vary through time. We evaluated the relative and combined effects of habitat resources, weather, and conspecifics on habitat quality for ferruginous pygmy-owls (Glaucidium brasilianum) in the Sonoran Desert of northwest Mexico by monitoring reproductive output and conspecific abundance over 10 years in and around 107 territory patches. Variation in reproductive output was much greater across space than time, and although habitat resources explained a much greater proportion of that variation (0.70) than weather (0.17) or conspecifics (0.13), evidence for interactions among each of these components of the environment was strong. Relative to habitat that was persistently low in quality, high-quality habitat buffered the negative effects of conspecifics and amplified the benefits of favorable weather, but did not buffer the disadvantages of harsh weather. Moreover, the positive effects of favorable weather at low conspecific densities were offset by intraspecific competition at high densities. Although realized habitat quality declined with increasing conspecific density suggesting interference mechanisms associated with an Ideal Free Distribution, broad spatial heterogeneity in habitat quality persisted. Factors linked to food resources had positive effects on reproductive output but only where nest cavities were sufficiently abundant to mitigate the negative effects of heterospecific enemies. Annual precipitation and brooding-season temperature had strong multiplicative effects on reproductive output, which declined at increasing rates as drought and temperature increased, reflecting conditions predicted to become more frequent with climate change. Because the collective environment influences habitat quality in complex ways, integrated approaches that consider habitat resources, stochastic factors, and conspecifics are necessary to accurately assess habitat quality. PMID:25786257

Modelling and analysis of ozone concentration by artificial intelligent techniques for estimating air quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylan, Osman

2017-02-01

High ozone concentration is an important cause of air pollution mainly due to its role in the greenhouse gas emission. Ozone is produced by photochemical processes which contain nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the lower atmospheric level. Therefore, monitoring and controlling the quality of air in the urban environment is very important due to the public health care. However, air quality prediction is a highly complex and non-linear process; usually several attributes have to be considered. Artificial intelligent (AI) techniques can be employed to monitor and evaluate the ozone concentration level. The aim of this study is to develop an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy inference approach (ANFIS) to determine the influence of peripheral factors on air quality and pollution which is an arising problem due to ozone level in Jeddah city. The concentration of ozone level was considered as a factor to predict the Air Quality (AQ) under the atmospheric conditions. Using Air Quality Standards of Saudi Arabia, ozone concentration level was modelled by employing certain factors such as; nitrogen oxide (NOx), atmospheric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. Hence, an ANFIS model was developed to observe the ozone concentration level and the model performance was assessed by testing data obtained from the monitoring stations established by the General Authority of Meteorology and Environment Protection of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The outcomes of ANFIS model were re-assessed by fuzzy quality charts using quality specification and control limits based on US-EPA air quality standards. The results of present study show that the ANFIS model is a comprehensive approach for the estimation and assessment of ozone level and is a reliable approach to produce more genuine outcomes.

Spatial, temporal, and density-dependent components of habitat quality for a desert owl.

PubMed

Flesch, Aaron D; Hutto, Richard L; van Leeuwen, Willem J D; Hartfield, Kyle; Jacobs, Sky

2015-01-01

Spatial variation in resources is a fundamental driver of habitat quality but the realized value of resources at any point in space may depend on the effects of conspecifics and stochastic factors, such as weather, which vary through time. We evaluated the relative and combined effects of habitat resources, weather, and conspecifics on habitat quality for ferruginous pygmy-owls (Glaucidium brasilianum) in the Sonoran Desert of northwest Mexico by monitoring reproductive output and conspecific abundance over 10 years in and around 107 territory patches. Variation in reproductive output was much greater across space than time, and although habitat resources explained a much greater proportion of that variation (0.70) than weather (0.17) or conspecifics (0.13), evidence for interactions among each of these components of the environment was strong. Relative to habitat that was persistently low in quality, high-quality habitat buffered the negative effects of conspecifics and amplified the benefits of favorable weather, but did not buffer the disadvantages of harsh weather. Moreover, the positive effects of favorable weather at low conspecific densities were offset by intraspecific competition at high densities. Although realized habitat quality declined with increasing conspecific density suggesting interference mechanisms associated with an Ideal Free Distribution, broad spatial heterogeneity in habitat quality persisted. Factors linked to food resources had positive effects on reproductive output but only where nest cavities were sufficiently abundant to mitigate the negative effects of heterospecific enemies. Annual precipitation and brooding-season temperature had strong multiplicative effects on reproductive output, which declined at increasing rates as drought and temperature increased, reflecting conditions predicted to become more frequent with climate change. Because the collective environment influences habitat quality in complex ways, integrated approaches that consider habitat resources, stochastic factors, and conspecifics are necessary to accurately assess habitat quality.

[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.

Local environmental quality positively predicts breastfeeding in the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study

PubMed Central

Sear, Rebecca

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives: Breastfeeding is an important form of parental investment with clear health benefits. Despite this, rates remain low in the UK; understanding variation can therefore help improve interventions. Life history theory suggests that environmental quality may pattern maternal investment, including breastfeeding. We analyse a nationally representative dataset to test two predictions: (i) higher local environmental quality predicts higher likelihood of breastfeeding initiation and longer duration; (ii) higher socioeconomic status (SES) provides a buffer against the adverse influences of low local environmental quality. Methodology: We ran factor analysis on a wide range of local-level environmental variables. Two summary measures of local environmental quality were generated by this analysis—one ‘objective’ (based on an independent assessor’s neighbourhood scores) and one ‘subjective’ (based on respondent’s scores). We used mixed-effects regression techniques to test our hypotheses. Results: Higher objective, but not subjective, local environmental quality predicts higher likelihood of starting and maintaining breastfeeding over and above individual SES and area-level measures of environmental quality. Higher individual SES is protective, with women from high-income households having relatively high breastfeeding initiation rates and those with high status jobs being more likely to maintain breastfeeding, even in poor environmental conditions. Conclusions and Implications: Environmental quality is often vaguely measured; here we present a thorough investigation of environmental quality at the local level, controlling for individual- and area-level measures. Our findings support a shift in focus away from individual factors and towards altering the landscape of women’s decision making contexts when considering behaviours relevant to public health. PMID:29354262

Local environmental quality positively predicts breastfeeding in the UK's Millennium Cohort Study.

PubMed

Brown, Laura J; Sear, Rebecca

2017-01-01

Background and Objectives: Breastfeeding is an important form of parental investment with clear health benefits. Despite this, rates remain low in the UK; understanding variation can therefore help improve interventions. Life history theory suggests that environmental quality may pattern maternal investment, including breastfeeding. We analyse a nationally representative dataset to test two predictions: (i) higher local environmental quality predicts higher likelihood of breastfeeding initiation and longer duration; (ii) higher socioeconomic status (SES) provides a buffer against the adverse influences of low local environmental quality. Methodology: We ran factor analysis on a wide range of local-level environmental variables. Two summary measures of local environmental quality were generated by this analysis-one 'objective' (based on an independent assessor's neighbourhood scores) and one 'subjective' (based on respondent's scores). We used mixed-effects regression techniques to test our hypotheses. Results: Higher objective, but not subjective, local environmental quality predicts higher likelihood of starting and maintaining breastfeeding over and above individual SES and area-level measures of environmental quality. Higher individual SES is protective, with women from high-income households having relatively high breastfeeding initiation rates and those with high status jobs being more likely to maintain breastfeeding, even in poor environmental conditions. Conclusions and Implications: Environmental quality is often vaguely measured; here we present a thorough investigation of environmental quality at the local level, controlling for individual- and area-level measures. Our findings support a shift in focus away from individual factors and towards altering the landscape of women's decision making contexts when considering behaviours relevant to public health.

A qualitative study explaining nurses' perceptions of quality care for older people in long-term care settings in Ireland.

PubMed

Murphy, Kathy

2007-03-01

The aim of this research was to explore nurses' perceptions of the attributes of quality care and the factors that facilitate or hinder high-quality nursing care in long-term care. The quality of care for older people living in long-term care has been identified as an issue of concern in many nursing research studies. While many factors have been identified, it is difficult to determine key factors from current research. The study was a qualitative exploration of nurses' perceptions of quality care for older people and the factors that facilitate or hinder quality care. It involved 20 interviews with nurses. Respondents were asked to illustrate their accounts with examples from practice. This phase of the research was guided by the principles of hermeneutic phenomenology and the analysis process by Van Manen. The findings indicated that nurses perceived quality care for older people in Ireland as holistic, individualized and focused on promoting independence and choice. The research revealed, however, that care in many practice areas was not individualized, patient choice and involvement in decision making was limited and some areas engendered dependency. While staffing was identified as a factor which had an impact on the provision of patient choice, other issues, such as the motivation of staff, the role of the ward manager and the dominance of routine were also highlighted. There is a need to review organizational approaches to care, develop patient centred approaches to care and provide educational support for managers. This research focuses on care for older people; it helps practitioners identify key factors in the provision of quality care for older people living in long-term care.

Determinants of seafarers' fatigue: a systematic review and quality assessment.

PubMed

Dohrmann, Solveig Boeggild; Leppin, Anja

2017-01-01

Fatigue jeopardizes seafarer's health and safety. Thus, knowledge on determinants of fatigue is of great importance to facilitate its prevention. However, a systematic analysis and quality assessment of all empirical evidence specifically for fatigue are still lacking. The aim of the present article was therefore to systematically detect, analyze and assess the quality of this evidence. Systematic searches in ten databases were performed. Searches considered articles published in scholarly journals from 1980 to April 15, 2016. Nineteen out of 98 eligible studies were included in the review. The main reason for exclusion was fatigue not being the outcome variable. Most evidence was available for work time-related factors suggesting that working nights was most fatiguing, that fatigue levels were higher toward the end of watch or shift, and that the 6-h on-6-h off watch system was the most fatiguing. Specific work demands and particularly the psychosocial work environment have received little attention, but preliminary evidence suggests that stress may be an important factor. A majority of 12 studies were evaluated as potentially having a high risk of bias. Realistic countermeasures ought to be established, e.g., in terms of shared or split night shifts. As internal as well as external validity of many study findings was limited, the range of factors investigated was insufficient and few studies investigated more complex interactions between different factors, knowledge derived from studies of high methodological quality investigating different factors, including psychosocial work environments, are needed to support future preventive programs.

The central electrode correction factor for high-Z electrodes in small ionization chambers.

PubMed

Muir, B R; Rogers, D W O

2011-02-01

Recent Monte Carlo calculations of beam quality conversion factors for ion chambers that use high-Z electrodes [B. R. Muir and D. W. O. Rogers, Med. Phys. 37, 5939-5950 (2010)] have shown large deviations of kQ values from values calculated using the same techniques as the TG-51 and TRS-398 protocols. This report investigates the central electrode correction factor, Pcel, for these chambers. Ionization chambers are modeled and Pcel is calculated using the EGSnrc user code egs_chamber for three cases: in photon and electron beams under reference conditions; as a function of distance from an iridium-192 point source in a water phantom; and as a function of depth in a water phantom on which a 200 kVp x-ray source or 6 MV beam is incident. In photon beams, differences of up to 3% between Pcel calculations for a chamber with a high-Z electrode and those used by TG-51 for a 1 mm diameter aluminum electrode are observed. The central electrode correction factor for a given value of the beam quality specifier is different depending on the amount of filtration of the photon beam. However, in an unfiltered 6 MV beam, Pcel, varies by only 0.3% for a chamber with a high-Z electrode as the depth is varied from 1 to 20 cm in water. The difference between Pcel calculations for chambers with high-Z electrodes and TG-51 values for a chamber with an aluminum electrode is up to 0.45% in electron beams. The central electrode correction, which is roughly proportional to the chambers absorbed dose sensitivity, is found to be large and variable as a function of distance for chambers with high-Z and aluminum electrodes in low-energy photon fields. In this work, ionization chambers that employ high-Z electrodes have been shown to be problematic in various situations. For beam quality conversion factors, the ratio of Pcel in a beam quality Q to that in a Co-60 beam is required; for some chambers, kQ is significantly different from current dosimetry protocol values because of central electrode effects. It would be best for manufacturers to avoid producing ion chambers that use high-Z electrodes.

Integrating cognitive and peripheral factors in predicting hearing-aid processing effectiveness

PubMed Central

Kates, James M.; Arehart, Kathryn H.; Souza, Pamela E.

2013-01-01

Individual factors beyond the audiogram, such as age and cognitive abilities, can influence speech intelligibility and speech quality judgments. This paper develops a neural network framework for combining multiple subject factors into a single model that predicts speech intelligibility and quality for a nonlinear hearing-aid processing strategy. The nonlinear processing approach used in the paper is frequency compression, which is intended to improve the audibility of high-frequency speech sounds by shifting them to lower frequency regions where listeners with high-frequency loss have better hearing thresholds. An ensemble averaging approach is used for the neural network to avoid the problems associated with overfitting. Models are developed for two subject groups, one having nearly normal hearing and the other mild-to-moderate sloping losses. PMID:25669257

Medical information on the internet: a tool for measuring consumer perception of quality aspects.

PubMed

Dubowicz, Arthur; Schulz, Peter J

2015-03-30

Most of adult Internet users have searched for health information on the Internet. The Internet has become one of the most important sources for health information and treatment advice. In most cases, the information found is not verified with a medical doctor, but judged by the "online-diagnosers" independently. Facing this situation, public health authorities raise concern over the quality of medical information laypersons can find on the Internet. The objective of the study was aimed at developing a measure to evaluate the credibility of websites that offer medical advice and information. The measure was tested in a quasi-experimental study on two sleeping-disorder websites of different quality. There were 45 survey items for rating the credibility of websites that were tested in a quasi-experimental study with a random assignment of 454 participants to either a high- or a low-quality website exposure. Using principal component analysis, the original items were reduced to 13 and sorted into the factors: trustworthiness, textual deficits of the content, interferences (external links on the Web site), and advertisements. The first two factors focus more on the provided content itself, while the other two describe the embedding of the content into the website. The 45 survey items had been designed previously using exploratory observations and literature research. The final scale showed adequate power and reliability for all factors. The loadings of the principal component analysis ranged satisfactorily (.644 to .854). Significant differences at P<.001 were found between the low- and high-quality groups. Advertisements on the website were rated as disturbing in both experimental conditions, meaning that they do not differentiate between good and bad information. The scale reliably distinguished high- and low-quality of medical advice given on websites.

The Effects of Argument Quality and Involvement Type on Attitude Formation and Attitude Change: A Test of Dual-Process and Social Judgment Predictions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Hee Sun; Levine, Timothy R.; Kingsley Westerman, Catherine Y.; Orfgen, Tierney; Foregger, Sarah

2007-01-01

Involvement has long been theoretically specified as a crucial factor determining the persuasive impact of messages. In social judgment theory, ego-involvement makes people more resistant to persuasion, whereas in dual-process models, high-involvement people are susceptible to persuasion when argument quality is high. It is argued that these…

Complete Genome Sequence of Bacillus subtilis Strain DKU_NT_03, Isolated from a Traditional Korean Food Using Soybean (Chung-gook-jang) for High-Quality Nattokinase Activity.

PubMed

Jeong, Hee-Won; Bang, Man-Seok; Lee, Yea-Jin; Lee, Su Ji; Lee, Sang-Cheol; Shin, Jang-In; Oh, Chung-Hun

2018-06-21

We present here the complete genome sequence of Bacillus subtilis strain DKU_NT_03 isolated from the traditional Korean food chung-gook-jang, which is made from soybeans. This strain was chosen to identify genetic factors with high-quality nattokinase activity. Copyright © 2018 Jeong et al.

A strategy for human factors/ergonomics: developing the discipline and profession.

PubMed

Dul, Jan; Bruder, Ralph; Buckle, Peter; Carayon, Pascale; Falzon, Pierre; Marras, William S; Wilson, John R; van der Doelen, Bas

2012-01-01

Human factors/ergonomics (HFE) has great potential to contribute to the design of all kinds of systems with people (work systems, product/service systems), but faces challenges in the readiness of its market and in the supply of high-quality applications. HFE has a unique combination of three fundamental characteristics: (1) it takes a systems approach (2) it is design driven and (3) it focuses on two closely related outcomes: performance and well-being. In order to contribute to future system design, HFE must demonstrate its value more successfully to the main stakeholders of system design. HFE already has a strong value proposition (mainly well-being) and interactivity with the stakeholder group of 'system actors' (employees and product/service users). However, the value proposition (mainly performance) and relationships with the stakeholder groups of 'system experts' (experts fromtechnical and social sciences involved in system design), and 'system decision makers' (managers and other decision makers involved in system design, purchase, implementation and use), who have a strong power to influence system design, need to be developed. Therefore, the first main strategic direction is to strengthen the demand for high-quality HFE by increasing awareness among powerful stakeholders of the value of high-quality HFE by communicating with stakeholders, by building partnerships and by educating stakeholders. The second main strategic direction is to strengthen the application of high-quality HFE by promoting the education of HFE specialists, by ensuring high-quality standards of HFE applications and HFE specialists, and by promoting HFE research excellence at universities and other organisations. This strategy requires cooperation between the HFE community at large, consisting of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), local (national and regional) HFE societies, and HFE specialists. We propose a joint world-wide HFE development plan, in which the IEA takes a leadership role. Human factors/ergonomics (HFE) has much to offer by addressing major business and societal challenges regarding work and product/service systems. HFE potential, however, is underexploited. This paper presents a strategy for the HFE community to strengthen demand and application of high-quality HFE, emphasising its key elements: systems approach, design driven, and performance and well-being goals.

Porous silicon ring resonator for compact, high sensitivity biosensing applications

DOE PAGES

Rodriguez, Gilberto A.; Hu, Shuren; Weiss, Sharon M.

2015-01-01

A ring resonator is patterned on a porous silicon slab waveguide to produce a compact, high quality factor biosensor with a large internal surface area available for enhanced recognition of biological and chemical molecules. The porous nature of the ring resonator allows molecules to directly interact with the guided mode. Quality factors near 10,000 were measured for porous silicon ring resonators with a radius of 25 μm. A bulk detection sensitivity of 380 nm/RIU was measured upon exposure to salt water solutions. Specific detection of nucleic acid molecules was demonstrated with a surface detection sensitivity of 4 pm/nM.

Risk factors for fatigue in patients with epilepsy.

PubMed

Yan, Song; Wu, Yuanbin; Deng, Yanchun; Liu, Yonghong; Zhao, Jingjing; Ma, Lei

2016-11-01

Fatigue is highly prevalent in patients with epilepsy and has a major impact on quality of life, but little data is available on its effects and management in epilepsy. To identify the incidence and risk factors of fatigue in patients with epilepsy, 105 epilepsy patients (45 women and 60 men) were enrolled in our study. Demographic and clinical data were collected and psychological variables including fatigue, sleep quality, excess daytime sleepiness, anxiety, and depression were measured by Fatigue Severity Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, respectively. Of 105 patients, 29.5% exhibited fatigue (FSS score ⩾4). We found no correlation between the occurrence of fatigue and any of our demographic or clinical variables. Fatigue is correlated with low sleep quality, anxiety, and depression, but not with excess daytime sleepiness. Thus, we concluded that fatigue is highly prevalent in patients with epilepsy, and that low sleep quality, anxiety, and depression are significantly correlated with fatigue in epileptics, while excess daytime sleepiness not. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Transitions From Hospitals to Skilled Nursing Facilities for Persons With Dementia: A Challenging Convergence of Patient and System-Level Needs.

PubMed

Gilmore-Bykovskyi, Andrea L; Roberts, Tonya J; King, Barbara J; Kennelty, Korey A; Kind, Amy J H

2017-10-01

To describe skilled nursing facility (SNF) nurses' perspectives on the experiences and needs of persons with dementia (PwD) during hospital-to-SNF transitions and to identify factors related to the quality of these transitions. Grounded dimensional analysis study using individual and focus group interviews with nurses (N = 40) from 11 SNFs. Hospital-to-SNF transitions were largely described as distressing for PwD and their caregivers and dominated by dementia-related behavioral symptoms that were perceived as being purposely under-communicated by hospital personnel in discharge communications. SNF nurses described PwD as having unique transitional care needs, which primarily involved needing additional discharge preplanning to enable preparation of a tailored behavioral/social care plan and physical environment prior to transfer. SNF nurses identified inaccurate/limited hospital discharge communication regarding behavioral symptoms, short discharge timeframes, and limited nursing control over SNF admission decisions as factors that contributed to poorer-quality transitions producing increased risk for resident harm, rehospitalization, and negative resident/caregiver experiences. Engaged caregivers throughout the transition and the presence of high-quality discharge communication were identified as factors that improved the quality of transitions for PwD. Findings from this study provide important insight into factors that may influence transitional care quality during this highly vulnerable transition. Additional research is needed to explore the association between these factors and transitional care outcomes such as rehospitalization and caregiver stress. Future work should also explore strategies to improve inter-setting communication and care coordination for PwD exhibiting challenging behavioral symptoms. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gerontological Society of America 2016.

2.1 μm high-power laser diode beam combining(Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berrou, Antoine P. C.; Elder, Ian F.; Lamb, Robert A.; Esser, M. J. Daniel

2016-10-01

Laser power and brightness scaling, in "eye safe" atmospheric transmission windows, is driving laser system research and development. High power lasers with good beam quality, at wavelength around 2.1 µm, are necessary for optical countermeasure applications. For such applications, focusing on efficiency and compactness of the system is mandatory. In order to cope with these requirements, one must consider the use of laser diodes which emit directly in the desired spectral region. The challenge for these diodes is to maintain a good beam quality factor as the output power increases. 2 µm diodes with excellent beam quality in both axes are available with output powers of 100 mW. Therefore, in order to reach multi-watt of average output power, broad-area single emitters and beam combining becomes relevant. Different solutions have been implemented in the 1.9 to 2 µm wavelength range, one of which is to stack multiple emitter bars reaching more than one hundred watt, while another is a fibre coupled diode module. The beam propagation factor of these systems is too high for long atmospheric propagation applications. Here we describe preliminary results on non-coherent beam combining of 2.1 µm high power Fabry-Perot GaSb laser diodes supplied by Brolis Semiconductors Ltd. First we evaluated single mode diodes (143 mW) with good beam quality (M2 < 1.5 for slow axis and < 1.1 for fast axis). Then we characterized broad-area single emitter diodes (808 mW) with an electrical-to-optical efficiency of 19 %. The emitter width was 90 µm with a cavity length of 1.5 mm. In our experiments we found that the slow axis multimode output beam consisted of two symmetric lobes with a total full width at half maximum (FWHM) divergence angle of 25 degrees, corresponding to a calculated beam quality factor of M2 = 25. The fast axis divergence was specified to be 44 degrees, with an expected beam quality factor close to the diffraction limit, which informed our selection of collimation lenses used in the experiment. We evaluated two broadband (1.8 - 3 µm) AR coated Geltech aspheric lenses with focal lengths of 1.87 mm and 4 mm, with numerical apertures of 0.85 and 0.56, respectively, as an initial collimation lens, followed by an additional cylindrical lens of focal length 100 mm for fully collimating the slow axis. Using D-shaped gold-coated mirrors, multiple single emitter beams are stacked in the fast axis direction with the objective that the combined beam has a beam propagation factor in the stacking direction close to the beam propagation factor of the slow axis of a single emitter, e.g. M2 of 20 to 25 in both axes. We further found that the output beam of a single emitter is highly linearly polarized along the slow axis, making it feasible to implement polarization beam combining techniques to increase the beam power by a factor two while maintaining the same beam quality. Along with full beam characterization, a power scaling strategy towards a multi-watt output power beam combining laser system will be presented.

A cross-cultural study of organizational factors on safety: Japanese vs. Taiwanese oil refinery plants.

PubMed

Hsu, Shang Hwa; Lee, Chun-Chia; Wu, Muh-Cherng; Takano, Kenichi

2008-01-01

This study attempts to identify idiosyncrasies of organizational factors on safety and their influence mechanisms in Taiwan and Japan. Data were collected from employees of Taiwanese and Japanese oil refinery plants. Results show that organizational factors on safety differ in the two countries. Organizational characteristics in Taiwanese plants are highlighted as: higher level of management commitment to safety, harmonious interpersonal relationship, more emphasis on safety activities, higher devotion to supervision, and higher safety self-efficacy, as well as high quality of safety performance. Organizational characteristics in Japanese plants are highlighted as: higher level of employee empowerment and attitude towards continuous improvement, more emphasis on systematic safety management approach, efficient reporting system and teamwork, and high quality of safety performance. The casual relationships between organizational factors and workers' safety performance were investigated using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicate that the influence mechanisms of organizational factors in Taiwan and Japan are different. These findings provide insights into areas of safety improvement in emerging countries and developed countries respectively.

[Informatics data quality and management].

PubMed

Feng, Rung-Chuang

2009-06-01

While the quality of data affects every aspect of business, it is frequently overlooked in terms of customer data integration, data warehousing, business intelligence and enterprise applications. Regardless of which data terms are used, a high level of data quality is a critical base condition essential to satisfy user needs and facilitate the development of effective applications. In this paper, the author introduces methods, a management framework and the major factors involved in data quality assessment. Author also integrates expert opinions to develop data quality assessment tools.

Image Quality Assessment of High-Resolution Satellite Images with Mtf-Based Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Z.; Luo, Z.; Zhang, Y.; Guo, F.; He, L.

2018-04-01

A Modulation Transfer Function (MTF)-based fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was proposed in this paper for the purpose of evaluating high-resolution satellite image quality. To establish the factor set, two MTF features and seven radiant features were extracted from the knife-edge region of image patch, which included Nyquist, MTF0.5, entropy, peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), average difference, edge intensity, average gradient, contrast and ground spatial distance (GSD). After analyzing the statistical distribution of above features, a fuzzy evaluation threshold table and fuzzy evaluation membership functions was established. The experiments for comprehensive quality assessment of different natural and artificial objects was done with GF2 image patches. The results showed that the calibration field image has the highest quality scores. The water image has closest image quality to the calibration field, quality of building image is a little poor than water image, but much higher than farmland image. In order to test the influence of different features on quality evaluation, the experiment with different weights were tested on GF2 and SPOT7 images. The results showed that different weights correspond different evaluating effectiveness. In the case of setting up the weights of edge features and GSD, the image quality of GF2 is better than SPOT7. However, when setting MTF and PSNR as main factor, the image quality of SPOT7 is better than GF2.

Air Quality and Heart Health: Managing an Emerging Cardiovascular Risk Factor

EPA Science Inventory

Dr. Cascio will share with a broad range of federal agencies current understanding of the links between air quality and cardiovascular health. The key facts include that air pollution contributes a high attributable health burden. That certain well-defined vulnerable subpopulat...

A systematic review of prognostic factors for return to work following work-related traumatic hand injury.

PubMed

Shi, Qiyun; Sinden, Kathryn; MacDermid, Joy C; Walton, David; Grewal, Ruby

2014-01-01

Systematic review. Traumatic hand injuries are frequent cause of work related injuries and can result in prolonged durations of time loss from work. To systematically review available evidence to determine which prognostic factors predict return-to-work (RTW) following work-related traumatic hand injuries. We searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsycINFO from 1980 to September 2013 and reference lists of articles. Studies investigating any prognostic factors of RTW after traumatic hand injury were included. Two reviewers performed study selection, assessment of methodological quality and data extraction independently of each other. Identified factors were grouped into conceptual prognostic factor categories. We assessed 8 studies, which addressed 11 potential prognostic factors (i.e., sociodemographic factors, occupation, work compensation status, treatment related factors, impairment severity, location of injury, etc.). The quality of the studies was low to moderate. Across all included studies, RTW (original or modified work) occurred in over 60% of individuals by 6 months. There was consistent low-moderate quality evidence that individuals with more severe impairments and lower pre-injury income were less likely to RTW, and low-moderate quality evidence that age, gender and level of education had no impact on RTW. Evidence on other commonly cited prognostic factors were limited in the literature. Impairment severity and lower pre-injury income showed a consistent association with RTW following occupational hand injury, while other factors demonstrated no or variable effects across studies. Additional high-quality studies are warranted toward improving our understanding of the complex factors that mediate RTW following a traumatic work-related hand injury. 2a. Copyright © 2014 Hanley & Belfus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimization of Shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) butter quality using screw expeller extraction.

PubMed

Gezahegn, Yonas A; Emire, Shimelis A; Asfaw, Sisay F

2016-11-01

The quality of Shea butter is highly affected by processing factors. Hence, the aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of conditioning duration (CD), moisture content (MC), and die temperature (DT) of screw expeller on Shea butter quality. A combination of 3 3 full factorial design and response surface methodology was used for this investigation. Response variables were refractive index, acid value, and peroxide value. The model enabled to identify the optimum operating settings (CD = 28-30 min, MC = 3-5 g/100 g, and DT = 65-70°C) for maximize refractive index and minimum acid value. For minimum peroxide value 0 min CD, 10 g/100 g MC, and 30°C were discovered. In all-over optimization, optimal values of 30 min CD, 9.7 g/100 g MC, and 70°C DT were found. Hence, the processing factors must be at their optimal values to achieve high butter quality and consistence.

Smooth and flat phase-locked Kerr frequency comb generation by higher order mode suppression

PubMed Central

Huang, S.-W.; Liu, H.; Yang, J.; Yu, M.; Kwong, D.-L.; Wong, C. W.

2016-01-01

High-Q microresonator is perceived as a promising platform for optical frequency comb generation, via dissipative soliton formation. In order to achieve a higher quality factor and obtain the necessary anomalous dispersion, multi-mode waveguides were previously implemented in Si3N4 microresonators. However, coupling between different transverse mode families in multi-mode waveguides results in periodic disruption of dispersion and quality factor, and consequently causes perturbation to dissipative soliton formation and amplitude modulation to the corresponding spectrum. Careful choice of pump wavelength to avoid the mode crossing region is thus critical in conventional Si3N4 microresonators. Here, we report a novel design of Si3N4 microresonator in which single-mode operation, high quality factor, and anomalous dispersion are attained simultaneously. The novel microresonator is consisted of uniform single-mode waveguides in the semi-circle region, to eliminate bending induced mode coupling, and adiabatically tapered waveguides in the straight region, to avoid excitation of higher order modes. The intrinsic quality factor of the microresonator reaches 1.36 × 106 while the group velocity dispersion remains to be anomalous at −50 fs2/mm. With this novel microresonator, we demonstrate that broadband phase-locked Kerr frequency combs with flat and smooth spectra can be generated by pumping at any resonances in the optical C-band. PMID:27181420

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

PubMed

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

2018-05-03

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

Logistic regression analysis of factors associated with avascular necrosis of the femoral head following femoral neck fractures in middle-aged and elderly patients.

PubMed

Ai, Zi-Sheng; Gao, You-Shui; Sun, Yuan; Liu, Yue; Zhang, Chang-Qing; Jiang, Cheng-Hua

2013-03-01

Risk factors for femoral neck fracture-induced avascular necrosis of the femoral head have not been elucidated clearly in middle-aged and elderly patients. Moreover, the high incidence of screw removal in China and its effect on the fate of the involved femoral head require statistical methods to reflect their intrinsic relationship. Ninety-nine patients older than 45 years with femoral neck fracture were treated by internal fixation between May 1999 and April 2004. Descriptive analysis, interaction analysis between associated factors, single factor logistic regression, multivariate logistic regression, and detailed interaction analysis were employed to explore potential relationships among associated factors. Avascular necrosis of the femoral head was found in 15 cases (15.2 %). Age × the status of implants (removal vs. maintenance) and gender × the timing of reduction were interactive according to two-factor interactive analysis. Age, the displacement of fractures, the quality of reduction, and the status of implants were found to be significant factors in single factor logistic regression analysis. Age, age × the status of implants, and the quality of reduction were found to be significant factors in multivariate logistic regression analysis. In fine interaction analysis after multivariate logistic regression analysis, implant removal was the most important risk factor for avascular necrosis in 56-to-85-year-old patients, with a risk ratio of 26.00 (95 % CI = 3.076-219.747). The middle-aged and elderly have less incidence of avascular necrosis of the femoral head following femoral neck fractures treated by cannulated screws. The removal of cannulated screws can induce a significantly high incidence of avascular necrosis of the femoral head in elderly patients, while a high-quality reduction is helpful to reduce avascular necrosis.

Prenatal Stress as a Risk-and an Opportunity-Factor.

PubMed

Hartman, Sarah; Freeman, Sara M; Bales, Karen L; Belsky, Jay

2018-04-01

Two separate lines of research indicate (a) that prenatal stress is associated with heightened behavioral and physiological reactivity and (b) that these postnatal phenotypes are associated with increased susceptibility to both positive and negative developmental experiences. Therefore, prenatal stress may increase sensitivity to the rearing environment. We tested this hypothesis by manipulating prenatal stress and rearing-environment quality, using a cross-fostering paradigm, in prairie voles. Results showed that prenatally stressed voles, as adults, displayed the highest behavioral and physiological reactivity when cross-fostered to low-contact (i.e., low-quality) rearing but the lowest behavioral and physiological reactivity when cross-fostered to high-contact (i.e., high-quality) rearing; non-prenatally stressed voles showed no effect of rearing condition. Additionally, while neither prenatal stress nor rearing condition affected oxytocin receptor binding, prenatally stressed voles cross-fostered to high-contact rearing showed the highest vasopressin-1a receptor binding in the amygdala. Results indicate that prenatal stress induces greater environmental sensitivity, making it both a risk and an opportunity factor.

An empirical assessment of high-performing medical groups: results from a national study.

PubMed

Shortell, Stephen M; Schmittdiel, Julie; Wang, Margaret C; Li, Rui; Gillies, Robin R; Casalino, Lawrence P; Bodenheimer, Thomas; Rundall, Thomas G

2005-08-01

The performance of medical groups is receiving increased attention. Relatively little conceptual or empirical work exists that examines the various dimensions of medical group performance. Using a national database of 693 medical groups, this article develops a scorecard approach to assessing group performance and presents a theory-driven framework for differentiating between high-performing versus low-performing medical groups. The clinical quality of care, financial performance, and organizational learning capability of medical groups are assessed in relation to environmental forces, resource acquisition and resource deployment factors, and a quality-centered culture. Findings support the utility of the performance scorecard approach and identification of a number of key factors differentiating high-performing from low-performing groups including, in particular, the importance of a quality-centered culture and the requirement of outside reporting from third party organizations. The findings hold a number of important implications for policy and practice, and the framework presented provides a foundation for future research.

Consumers' expected quality and intention to purchase high quality pork meat.

PubMed

Papanagiotou, P; Tzimitra-Kalogianni, I; Melfou, K

2013-03-01

Expected quality is believed to be one of the most important factors that influence consumers' intention to purchase food. The present study seeks to explore the concept of pork meat expected quality and compare it with self-stated consumer intention to purchase pork meat. The aim is attempted by means of a field research conducted in Greece, following a conjoint analytic procedure. Results show that quality expectations comply with intention to buy pork, in many aspects. However, several differences have been identified. More specifically, country of origin and marbling appear to be more important for respondents' purchase decisions than they are for their quality evaluations, while the opposite appears to be true for price. Finally, socio-demographic factors such as gender, level of education, place of purchase and consumption habits seem to influence perceptions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High field Q slope and the effect of low-temperature baking at 3 GHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciovati, G.; Eremeev, G.; Hannon, F.

2018-01-01

A strong degradation of the unloaded quality factor with field, called high field Q slope, is commonly observed above Bp ≅100 mT in elliptical superconducting niobium cavities at 1.3 and 1.5 GHz. In the present experiments several 3 GHz niobium cavities were measured up to and above Bp ≅100 mT . The measurements show that a high field Q slope phenomenon limits the field reach at this frequency, that the high field Q slope onset field depends weakly on the frequency, and that the high field Q slope can be removed by the typical empirical solution of electropolishing followed by heating to 120°C for 48 hrs. In addition, one of the cavities reached a quench field of 174 mT and its field dependence of the quality factor was compared against global heating predicted by a thermal feedback model.

[Associations between dormitory environment/other factors and sleep quality of medical students].

PubMed

Zheng, Bang; Wang, Kailu; Pan, Ziqi; Li, Man; Pan, Yuting; Liu, Ting; Xu, Dan; Lyu, Jun

2016-03-01

To investigate the sleep quality and related factors among medical students in China, understand the association between dormitory environment and sleep quality, and provide evidence and recommendations for sleep hygiene intervention. A total of 555 undergraduate students were selected from a medical school of an university in Beijing through stratified-cluster random-sampling to conduct a questionnaire survey by using Chinese version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and self-designed questionnaire. Analyses were performed by using multiple logistic regression model as well as multilevel linear regression model. The prevalence of sleep disorder was 29.1%(149/512), and 39.1%(200/512) of the students reported that the sleep quality was influenced by dormitory environment. PSQI score was negatively correlated with self-reported rating of dormitory environment (γs=-0.310, P<0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed the related factors of sleep disorder included grade, sleep regularity, self-rated health status, pressures of school work and employment, as well as dormitory environment. RESULTS of multilevel regression analysis also indicated that perception on dormitory environment (individual level) was associated with sleep quality with the dormitory level random effects under control (b=-0.619, P<0.001). The prevalence of sleep disorder was high in medical students, which was associated with multiple factors. Dormitory environment should be taken into consideration when the interventions are taken to improve the sleep quality of students.

High-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

PubMed

Nolan, Jerry P

2014-06-01

The quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) impacts on outcome after cardiac arrest. This review will explore the factors that contribute to high-quality CPR and the metrics that can be used to monitor performance. A recent consensus statement from North America defined five key components of high-quality CPR: minimizing interruptions in chest compressions, providing compressions of adequate rate and depth, avoiding leaning on the chest between compressions, and avoiding excessive ventilation. Studies have shown that real-time feedback devices improve the quality of CPR and, in one before-and-after study, outcome from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. There is evidence for increasing survival rates following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and this is associated with increasing rates of bystander CPR. The quality of CPR provided by healthcare professionals can be improved with real-time feedback devices. The components of high-quality CPR and the metrics that can be measured and fed back to healthcare professionals have been defined by expert consensus. In the future, real-time feedback based on the physiological responses to CPR may prove more effective.

Factors that contribute to Hispanic English Language Learners' high academic performance in high school science in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas: A multicase study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elizondo, Antonio

The purpose of this multicase study was to discover factors that contribute to Hispanic English language learners' (ELL) high academic performance in high school science in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Participants were high school seniors enrolled in college-level classes who had scored commended on the science exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills and ranked toward the top of their class. One student from each of four different high schools in south Texas were selected to participate. Schools identified students meeting the participant criteria and provided consent documents. In this qualitative research study, students were interviewed on three different dates. Administrators and science teachers were also interviewed for triangulation. Significant findings showed that intrinsic qualities were mainly responsible for factors contributing to high academic performance. Hispanic ELL students need meaningful responsibilities to internalize self-esteem and self-efficacy to realize high academic performance. Self-motivation, a contributing factor, provides students with a positive outlook on high academic performance and the ability to defer more immediate undermining rewards. Students expect to contribute to society by helping others. This helps their self-esteem as well as their self-worth and supports high academic performance. Parental and teacher support are critical for high academic performance. Low socioeconomic status alone is not a causal factor for poor academic performance. School administrations should assign willing and enthusiastic teachers as mentors to target students and provide skills to parents that promote, inspire, and motivate students' intrinsic qualities. Future studies should examine different leadership styles that maximize teachers' ability to influence students' high academic performance. Finally, students should be given guidance in setting career goals and demonstrating that high academic achievement is attainable and beneficial for all students.

The Polish version of Skindex-29: psychometric properties of an instrument to measure quality of life in dermatology.

PubMed

Janowski, Konrad; Steuden, Stanisława; Bereza, Bernarda

2014-02-01

Skin conditions have a negative impact on quality of life and it is necessary to quantify this impact. Skindex-29 is a self-report questionnaire developed to measure dermatology-specific quality of life. The objective of this study is to adapt this questionnaire to Polish conditions. The adaptation procedure involved the works on the linguistic content of the items and testing psychometric properties of the Polish version of Skindex-29, including item characteristics, factorial structure, aspects of reliability and validity. Two-hundred and ninety patients (63.4% women and 35.2% men) suffering from a range of skin conditions were recruited from several dermatological out-patient and in-patient clinics in Poland. Quality of life was measured using Skindex-29 and appropriate clinical data were collected. The global score of Skindex-29 showed the normal distribution. Cronbach's α reliability coefficients were found to be high to very high for all Skindex-29 indexes. Factor analysis yielded four factors, in contrast to the original version of the questionnaire, for which a three-factor solution had been reported. Skindex-29 validity was demonstrated by showing the differences in the quality of life scores across different diagnostic categories, and between in-patients and out-patients. Skindex-29 global scores were found to be significantly predicted by the localization of the skin lesions on legs, anogenital areas and palms. The findings of this study support reliability and validity of the Polish version of Skindex-29, but they also raise questions to its three-factor structure.

Global sensitivity analysis for urban water quality modelling: Terminology, convergence and comparison of different methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanrolleghem, Peter A.; Mannina, Giorgio; Cosenza, Alida; Neumann, Marc B.

2015-03-01

Sensitivity analysis represents an important step in improving the understanding and use of environmental models. Indeed, by means of global sensitivity analysis (GSA), modellers may identify both important (factor prioritisation) and non-influential (factor fixing) model factors. No general rule has yet been defined for verifying the convergence of the GSA methods. In order to fill this gap this paper presents a convergence analysis of three widely used GSA methods (SRC, Extended FAST and Morris screening) for an urban drainage stormwater quality-quantity model. After the convergence was achieved the results of each method were compared. In particular, a discussion on peculiarities, applicability, and reliability of the three methods is presented. Moreover, a graphical Venn diagram based classification scheme and a precise terminology for better identifying important, interacting and non-influential factors for each method is proposed. In terms of convergence, it was shown that sensitivity indices related to factors of the quantity model achieve convergence faster. Results for the Morris screening method deviated considerably from the other methods. Factors related to the quality model require a much higher number of simulations than the number suggested in literature for achieving convergence with this method. In fact, the results have shown that the term "screening" is improperly used as the method may exclude important factors from further analysis. Moreover, for the presented application the convergence analysis shows more stable sensitivity coefficients for the Extended-FAST method compared to SRC and Morris screening. Substantial agreement in terms of factor fixing was found between the Morris screening and Extended FAST methods. In general, the water quality related factors exhibited more important interactions than factors related to water quantity. Furthermore, in contrast to water quantity model outputs, water quality model outputs were found to be characterised by high non-linearity.

Burden of reduced work productivity among people with chronic knee pain: a systematic review.

PubMed

Agaliotis, Maria; Mackey, Martin G; Jan, Stephen; Fransen, Marlene

2014-09-01

The aims of this systematic review were to determine the prevalence of reduced work productivity among people with chronic knee pain as well as specifically categorise determinants of work productivity losses into individual, disease and work-related factors, conduct an evaluation of study methodological quality and present a best-evidence synthesis. We searched the literature using combinations of key words such as knee pain, knee osteoarthritis, absenteeism (days taken off work) and presenteeism (reduced productivity while at work) for observational studies published in English. Methodological quality appraisal and a best-evidence synthesis were used to pool the study findings. The studies were conducted exclusively in high income countries of North America, Western Europe and Hong Kong. 17 studies were included in the review, 10 measuring absenteeism and six measuring presenteeism. Of the 10 studies reporting absenteeism, seven found a 12-month absenteeism prevalence ranging from 5% to 22%. Only two studies evaluated presenteeism prevalence and reported a range from 66% to 71%. Using best-evidence synthesis: three high quality cohort studies and three cross-sectional studies provided strong evidence that knee pain or knee osteoarthritis was associated with absenteeism; two high quality cross-sectional studies and one cohort study provided limited evidence for an association with presenteeism; one cross-sectional study provided limited evidence for an association among age, high job demands and low coworker support and absenteeism among nurses with knee pain. No studies examined individual or work-related factors associated with presenteeism. A number of high quality studies consistently demonstrated that chronic knee pain or knee osteoarthritis is associated with absenteeism. However, data are lacking regarding presenteeism and individual or work-related risk factors for reduced work productivity among older workers with chronic knee pain. PROSPERO registry number: CRD42013004137. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Evaluating quantity and quality of literature focusing on health economics and pharmacoeconomics in Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

PubMed

Eljilany, Islam; El-Dahiyat, Faris; Curley, Louise Elizabeth; Babar, Zaheer-Ud-Din

2018-05-30

The importance of pharmacoeconomics and health economics has been augmented. It has the potential to provide evidence to aid in optimal decision-making in the funding of cost-effective medicines and services in Gulf Cooperation Council countries (G.C.C). To evaluate the quality and quantity of health economic researches published until the end of 2017 in G.C.C. and to identify the factors that affect the quality of studies. Studies were included according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The quantity was recorded, and the quality was assessed using the Quality of Health Economic Studies (QHES) instrument. Forty-nine studies were included. The mean (SD) quality score of all studies was 57.83 (25.05), and a high number of reviewed studies (47%) were evaluated as either poor or extremely poor quality. The factors that affect the quality of studies with statistical significance were, the type and method of economic evaluation, the economic outcome was the objective of the research, author`s background, the perspective of the study, health intervention and source of funding. The use of economic evaluation studies in G.C.C was limited. Different factors that affect the quality of articles such as performing a full economic evaluation and choosing societal perspective were identified. Strategies to improve the quality of future studies were recommended.

Nonstarch polysaccharides in wheat flour wire-cut cookie making.

PubMed

Guttieri, Mary J; Souza, Edward J; Sneller, Clay

2008-11-26

Nonstarch polysaccharides in wheat flour have significant capacity to affect the processing quality of wheat flour dough and the finished quality of wheat flour products. Most research has focused on the effects of arabinoxylans (AX) in bread making. This study found that water-extractable AX and arabinogalactan peptides can predict variation in pastry wheat quality as captured by the wire-cut cookie model system. The sum of water-extractable AX plus arabinogalactan was highly predictive of cookie spread factor. The combination of cookie spread factor and the ratio of water-extractable arabinose to xylose predicted peak force of the three-point bend test of cookie texture.

Off-Line Quality Control In Integrated Circuit Fabrication Using Experimental Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phadke, M. S.; Kackar, R. N.; Speeney, D. V.; Grieco, M. J.

1987-04-01

Off-line quality control is a systematic method of optimizing production processes and product designs. It is widely used in Japan to produce high quality products at low cost. The method was introduced to us by Professor Genichi Taguchi who is a Deming-award winner and a former Director of the Japanese Academy of Quality. In this paper we will i) describe the off-line quality control method, and ii) document our efforts to optimize the process for forming contact windows in 3.5 Aim CMOS circuits fabricated in the Murray Hill Integrated Circuit Design Capability Laboratory. In the fabrication of integrated circuits it is critically important to produce contact windows of size very near the target dimension. Windows which are too small or too large lead to loss of yield. The off-line quality control method has improved both the process quality and productivity. The variance of the window size has been reduced by a factor of four. Also, processing time for window photolithography has been substantially reduced. The key steps of off-line quality control are: i) Identify important manipulatable process factors and their potential working levels. ii) Perform fractional factorial experiments on the process using orthogonal array designs. iii) Analyze the resulting data to determine the optimum operating levels of the factors. Both the process mean and the process variance are considered in this analysis. iv) Conduct an additional experiment to verify that the new factor levels indeed give an improvement.

Moderate-to-high normal levels of thyrotropin is a risk factor for urinary incontinence and an unsuitable quality of life in women over 65 years.

PubMed

Cuevas-Romero, Estela; Sánchez-Cardiel, Angélica; Zamora-Gallegos, Angélica M; Cruz-Lumbreras, Rosalía; Corona-Quintanilla, Dora L; Castelán, Francisco; Martínez-Gómez, Margarita

2017-12-01

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between normal serum concentrations of thyrotropin (TSH) and urinary incontinence (IU), urinary infections, and quality of life in old women. Euthyroid post-menopausal women without sarcopenia, estrogen replacement, emotional illness, and/or cancer were enrolled as participants. Anthropometric indicators, serum glucose and estradiol, and thyroid profile were measured. Sociodemographic, clinical, physical activity, and quality of life (SF-36) surveys were applied. One-hour pad test and International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ-SF) were used to determine UI. Urinalysis was also done. In agreement with results from the pad test (cut-off point ≥1.4 g), the ICIQ-SF reveled approximately 50% of incontinent women. A high percentage of women had moderate-high bacteriuria and urinary infections. Logistic regression analysis showed that age is a risk factor for both UI and urinary infection. Diabetes, number of pregnancies or childbirths, urinary infections, and bacteriuria did not influence the presence of UI. To allocate women into four groups according to their age (<65 or ≥65 years old) and TSH concentrations (0.3-1.9 or 2-10 μUI/mL), we found that moderate-to-high normal levels of TSH is a risk factor for UI and a worse quality of life in the oldest women. Our results highlight the profit of measuring TSH concentrations in post-menopausal women. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Feasibility of using of a simplified question in assessing diet quality of adolescents.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Paulo Rogério Melo; Gonçalves-Silva, Regina Maria Veras; Ferreira, Márcia Gonçalves; Pereira, Rosangela Alves

2017-05-01

This study aims to analyze the applicability of a simplified question in assessing diet quality of adolescents in a cross-sectional school-based study carried out in a sample of high school students. Diet quality self-perception was obtained when the participant was inquired about own diet considering "excellent", "good", "fair" or "poor" responses. We evaluated meals habits and food intake through food frequency questionnaire. The revised version of the Brazilian Healthy Eating Index (BHEI-R) was estimated and we identified three dietary patterns using factor analysis. "Good" self-perceived diet quality was reported by 56% of adolescents and was associated with regular consumption of fruits and vegetables, meal profile and high healthy eating index scores. However, consumption of foods harmful to health was not perceived as characteristic that affects diet quality. The evaluated question showed sensitivity of 28% to detect good quality diets and specificity of 79% to identify low nutritional value diets. The use of a simplified question to assess dietary habits of adolescents is limited, since the consumption of high-fat, high-sugar and high-sodium food was not recognized as an indicator of low quality diet.

Health and Social Factors Associated with Nutrition Risk: Results from Life and Living in Advanced Age: A Cohort Study in New Zealand (LiLACS NZ).

PubMed

Wham, C A; Teh, R; Moyes, S; Dyall, L; Kepa, M; Hayman, K; Kerse, N

2015-06-01

To establish the prevalence of high nutrition risk and associated health and social risk factors for New Zealand Māori and non-Māori in advanced age. A cross sectional analysis of inception cohorts to LiLACS NZ. Bay of Plenty and Lakes region of the North Island, New Zealand. 255 Māori and 400 non- Māori octogenarians. Nutrition risk was assessed using a validated questionnaire Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition (SCREEN II). Demographic, social, physical and health characteristics were established using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Health related quality of life (HRQOL) was assessed with the SF-12, depressive symptoms using the GDS-15. Half (49%) of Māori and 38% of non-Māori participants were at high nutrition risk (SCREEN II score <49). Independent risk factors were for Māori younger age (p=0.04), lower education (p=0.03), living alone (p<0.001), depressive symptoms (p=0.01). For non- Māori high nutrition risk was associated with female gender (p=0.005), living alone (p=0.002), a lower physical health related quality of life (p=0.02) and depressive symptoms (p=0.002). Traditional risk factors apply to both Māori and non-Māori whilst education as indicative of low socioeconomic status is an additional risk factor for Māori. High nutrition risk impacts health related quality of life for non-Māori. Interventions which socially facilitate eating are especially important for women and for Māori to maintain cultural practices and could be initiated by routine screening.

Violence risks in nursing--results from the European 'NEXT' Study.

PubMed

Estryn-Behar, Madeleine; van der Heijden, Beatrice; Camerino, Donatella; Fry, Clementine; Le Nezet, Olivier; Conway, Paul Maurice; Hasselhorn, Hans-Martin

2008-03-01

Recent research suggests that violence in health care is increasing and that it strongly influences the recruitment and retention of nurses as well as sick leave and burnout levels. To identify the prevalence of violence in nursing and to provide a basis for appropriate interventions. Nurses from 10 European countries answered to a questionnaire and to a follow-up assessment. Stepwise adjusted multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association between frequency of violence, factors related to teamwork and other work-related factors and outcomes, such as burnout, intention to leave nursing and intention to change institution. A total of 39,894 nurses responded to the baseline questionnaire (51% response rate). After adjustment for age, gender and other risk factors, quality of teamwork appeared to be a major factor with odds ratio (OR) 1.35 (1.24-1.48) for medium quality and 1.52 (1.33-1.74) for low quality. Uncertainty regarding patients' treatments was linked with violence, with a clear gradient (OR 1.59, 1.47-1.72 for medium uncertainty and 2.13, 1.88-2.41 for high uncertainty). Working only night shift was at high risk (OR 2.17, 1.76-2.67). High levels of time pressure and physical load were associated with violence OR 1.45 (1.24-1.69) and 1.84 (1.66-2.04), respectively. High and medium frequency of violence was associated with higher levels of burnout, intent to leave nursing and intent to change institution. A 1-year follow-up assessment indicated stability in the relationships between outcomes. This study supports efforts aimed at improving teamwork-related factors as they are associated with a decrease in violence against nurses.

[Spatial Variability Characteristics of Water Quality and Its Driving Forces in Honghu Lake During High Water-level Period].

PubMed

Li, Kun; Wang, Ling; Li, Zhao-hua; Wang, Xiang-rong; Chen, Hong-bing; Wu, Zhong; Zhu, Peng

2015-04-01

Based on the high-density analysis of 139 monitoring points and samples in water of honghu lake with different degrees of eutrophication during the high water-level period, we could get the figures of spatial variability characteristics of pollution factors, the biomass of aquatic plants and water quality in Honghu Lake using the GIS interpolation methods. The result showed that the concentrations of TN, TP, NH4(+) -N, permanganate index gradually increased from south to north during this period, the trend of water pollution degree in Honghu Lake was the region of inflowing rivers > enclosure culture area > open water area > the lake protection area > region of the Yangtze river into the lake; and the contribution rate of water quality parameters was in the order of TN > TP > permanganate index > NH4(+), -N > DO; under the influence of industrial sewage, agricultural sewage, domestic sewage, bait, aquatic plants and water exchange, 59% of TN, 35.2% of TP, 13.7% of permanganate index, 4.3% of NH4(+)-N exceeded the water quality targets, respectively, accordingly, 66.2% of the water quality also exceeded the water quality target. Nonetheless, DO reached the water quality target due to the influences of monsoon climate and other environment factors. The spatial variation analysis could directly reflect the mutual interaction among human activity, land-use types and environment factors which had an enormous impact on Honghu Lake water environment. In order to ensure that the lake water environment is beneficial for human productions and livings, it is necessary for us to control the discharge of industrial sewage, agricultural sewage and domestic sewage, as well as the expanding area of aquaculture, all the above measures would be significant for gradually resuming the self-purification capacity of water body and finally achieving the ecological sustainable development of Honghu Lake water environment.

Effects of virtual reality for stroke individuals based on the International Classification of Functioning and Health: a systematic review.

PubMed

Palma, Gisele Carla Dos Santos; Freitas, Tatiana Beline; Bonuzzi, Giordano Márcio Gatinho; Soares, Marcos Antonio Arlindo; Leite, Paulo Henrique Wong; Mazzini, Natália Araújo; Almeida, Murilo Ruas Groschitz; Pompeu, José Eduardo; Torriani-Pasin, Camila

2017-05-01

This review determines the effects of virtual reality interventions for stroke subjects based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability,and Health (ICF) framework. Virtual reality is a promising tool for therapy for stroke rehabilitation, but the effects of virtual reality interventions on post-stroke patients based on the specific ICF domains (Body Structures, Body Functions, Activity, and Participation) have not been investigated. A systematic review was conducted, including trials with adults with a clinical diagnosis of a chronic, subacute, or acute stroke. Eligible trials had to include studies with an intervention protocol and follow-up, with a focus on upper limbs and/or lower limbs and/or balance. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) was used to assess the methodological quality of randomized controlled trials. Each trial was separated according to methodological quality into a high-quality trial (PEDro ≥ 6) and a low-quality trial (PEDro ≤ 6). Only high-quality trials were analyzed specifically based on the outcome of these trials. In total, 54 trials involving 1811 participants were included. Of the papers included and considered high quality, 14 trials evaluated areas of the Body Structures component, 20 trials of the Body Functions domain, 17 trials of the Activity component, and 8 trials of the Participation domain. In relation to ICF Part 2, four trials evaluated areas of the Personal Factors component and one trial evaluated domains of the Environmental Factors component. The effects of virtual reality on stroke rehabilitation based on the ICF framework are positive in Body Function and Body Structure. However, the results in the domains Activity and Participation are inconclusive. More high-quality clinical trials are needed to confirm the effectiveness of virtual reality in the domains of Activity and Participation.

Predicting sport and occupational lower extremity injury risk through movement quality screening: a systematic review.

PubMed

Whittaker, Jackie L; Booysen, Nadine; de la Motte, Sarah; Dennett, Liz; Lewis, Cara L; Wilson, Dave; McKay, Carly; Warner, Martin; Padua, Darin; Emery, Carolyn A; Stokes, Maria

2017-04-01

Identification of risk factors for lower extremity (LE) injury in sport and military/first-responder occupations is required to inform injury prevention strategies. To determine if poor movement quality is associated with LE injury in sport and military/first-responder occupations. 5 electronic databases were systematically searched. Studies selected included original data; analytic design; movement quality outcome (qualitative rating of functional compensation, asymmetry, impairment or efficiency of movement control); LE injury sustained with sport or military/first-responder occupation. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. 2 independent authors assessed the quality (Downs and Black (DB) criteria) and level of evidence (Oxford Centre of Evidence-Based Medicine model). Of 4361 potential studies, 17 were included. The majority were low-quality cohort studies (level 4 evidence). Median DB score was 11/33 (range 3-15). Heterogeneity in methodology and injury definition precluded meta-analyses. The Functional Movement Screen was the most common outcome investigated (15/17 studies). 4 studies considered inter-relationships between risk factors, 7 reported diagnostic accuracy and none tested an intervention programme targeting individuals identified as high risk. There is inconsistent evidence that poor movement quality is associated with increased risk of LE injury in sport and military/first-responder occupations. Future research should focus on high-quality cohort studies to identify the most relevant movement quality outcomes for predicting injury risk followed by developing and evaluating preparticipation screening and LE injury prevention programmes through high-quality randomised controlled trials targeting individuals at greater risk of injury based on screening tests with validated test properties. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The methodological quality of systematic reviews published in high-impact nursing journals: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Pölkki, Tarja; Kanste, Outi; Kääriäinen, Maria; Elo, Satu; Kyngäs, Helvi

2014-02-01

To analyse systematic review articles published in the top 10 nursing journals to determine the quality of the methods employed within them. Systematic review is defined as a scientific research method that synthesises high-quality scientific knowledge on a given topic. The number of such reviews in nursing science has increased dramatically during recent years, but their methodological quality has not previously been assessed. A review of the literature using a narrative approach. Ranked impact factor scores for nursing journals were obtained from the Journal Citation Report database of the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI Web of Knowledge). All issues from the years 2009 and 2010 of the top 10 ranked journals were included. CINAHL and MEDLINE databases were searched to locate studies using the search terms 'systematic review' and 'systematic literature review'. A total of 39 eligible studies were identified. Their methodological quality was evaluated through the specific criteria of quality assessment, description of synthesis and strengths and weaknesses reported in the included studies. Most of the eligible systematic reviews included several different designs or types of quantitative study. The majority included a quality assessment, and a total of 17 different criteria were identified. The method of synthesis was mentioned in about half of the reviews, the most common being narrative synthesis. The weaknesses of reviews were discussed, while strengths were rarely highlighted. The methodological quality of the systematic reviews examined varied considerably, although they were all published in nursing journals with a high-impact factor. Despite the fact that systematic reviews are considered the most robust source of research evidence, they vary in methodological quality. This point is important to consider in clinical practice when applying the results to patient care. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Predicting Sport and Occupational Lower Extremity Injury Risk through Movement Quality Screening: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Whittaker, Jackie L; Booysen, Nadine; de la Motte, Sarah; Dennett, Liz; Lewis, Cara L.; Wilson, Dave; McKay, Carly; Warner, Martin; Padua, Darin; Emery, Carolyn A; Stokes, Maria

2017-01-01

Background Identification of risk factors for lower extremity (LE) injury in sport and military/first-responder occupations is required to inform injury prevention strategies. Objective To determine if poor movement quality is associated with LE injury in sport and military/first-responder occupations. Material and methods Five electronic databases were systematically searched. Studies selected included: original data; analytic design; movement quality outcome (qualitative rating of functional compensation, asymmetry, impairment or efficiency of movement control); LE injury sustained with sport or military/first-responder occupation. The PRISMA guidelines were followed. Two independent authors assessed the quality [Downs and Black (DB) criteria] and level of evidence (Oxford Centre of Evidence-Based Medicine model). Results Of 4361 potential studies, 17 were included. The majority were low quality cohort studies (level 4 evidence). Median DB score was 11/33 (range 3–15). Heterogeneity in methodology and injury definition precluded meta-analyses. The Functional Movement Screen was the most common outcome investigated (15/17 studies). Four studies considered interrelationships between risk factors, seven reported diagnostic accuracy and none tested an intervention program targeting individuals identified as high-risk. There is inconsistent evidence that poor movement quality is associated with increased risk of LE injury in sport and military/first-responder occupations. Conclusions Future research should focus on high quality cohort studies to identify the most relevant movement quality outcomes for predicting injury risk followed by developing and evaluating pre-participation screening and LE injury prevention programs through high quality randomized controlled trials targeting individuals at greater risk of injury based upon screening tests with validated test properties. PMID:27935483

Maternal Depression and Parenting in Early Childhood: Contextual Influence of Marital Quality and Social Support in Two Samples

PubMed Central

Taraban, Lindsay; Shaw, Daniel S.; Leve, Leslie D.; Wilson, Melvin N.; Dishion, Thomas J.; Natsuaki, Misaki N.; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.; Reiss, David

2016-01-01

Marital quality and social support satisfaction were tested as moderators of the association between maternal depressive symptoms and parenting during early childhood (18-36 months) among two large, divergent, longitudinal samples (n = 526; n = 570). Unexpectedly, in both samples the association between maternal depressive symptoms and reduced parenting quality was strongest in the context of high marital quality and high social support, and largely non-significant in the context of low marital quality and low social support. Possible explanations for these surprising findings are discussed. Results point to the importance of accounting for factors in the broader family context in predicting the association between depressive symptoms and maternal parenting. PMID:28230401

Development of Water Quality Forecasting Models Based on the SOM-ANN on TMDL Unit Watershed in Nakdong River

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

KIM, M.; Kim, J.; Baek, J.; Kim, C.; Shin, H.

2013-12-01

It has being happened as flush flood or red/green tide in various natural phenomena due to climate change and indiscreet development of river or land. Especially, water being very important to man should be protected and managed from water quality pollution, and in water resources management, real-time watershed monitoring system is being operated with the purpose of keeping watch and managing on rivers. It is especially important to monitor and forecast water quality in watershed. A study area selected Nak_K as one site among TMDL unit watershed in Nakdong River. This study is to develop a water quality forecasting model connected with making full use of observed data of 8 day interval from Nakdong River Environment Research Center. When forecasting models for each of the BOD, DO, COD, and chlorophyll-a are established considering correlation of various water quality factors, it is needed to select water quality factors showing highly considerable correlation with each water quality factor which is BOD, DO, COD, and chlorophyll-a. For analyzing the correlation of the factors (reservoir discharge, precipitation, air temperature, DO, BOD, COD, Tw, TN, TP, chlorophyll-a), in this study, self-organizing map was used and cross correlation analysis method was also used for comparing results drawn. Based on the results, each forecasting model for BOD, DO, COD, and chlorophyll-a was developed during the short period as 8, 16, 24, 32 days at 8 day interval. The each forecasting model is based on neural network with back propagation algorithm. That is, the study is connected with self-organizing map for analyzing correlation among various factors and neural network model for forecasting of water quality. It is considerably effective to manage the water quality in plenty of rivers, then, it specially is possible to monitor a variety of accidents in water quality. It will work well to protect water quality and to prevent destruction of the environment becoming more and more serious before occurring.

Risk factors for pressure ulcer development in critically Ill patients: a conceptual model to guide research.

PubMed

Benoit, Richard; Mion, Lorraine

2012-08-01

This paper presents a proposed conceptual model to guide research on pressure ulcer risk in critically ill patients, who are at high risk for pressure ulcer development. However, no conceptual model exists that guides risk assessment in this population. Results from a review of prospective studies were evaluated for design quality and level of statistical reporting. Multivariate findings from studies having high or medium design quality by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence standards were conceptually grouped. The conceptual groupings were integrated into Braden and Bergstrom's (Braden and Bergstrom [1987] Rehabilitation Nursing, 12, 8-12, 16) conceptual model, retaining their original constructs and augmenting their concept of intrinsic factors for tissue tolerance. The model could enhance consistency in research on pressure ulcer risk factors. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Risk factors for injury in sport climbing and bouldering: a systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Woollings, Kaikanani Y; McKay, Carly D; Emery, Carolyn A

2015-09-01

Rock climbing is an increasingly popular sport worldwide, as a recreational activity and a competitive sport. Several disciplines including sport climbing and bouldering have developed, each employing specific movements and techniques, leading to specific injuries. To examine risk factors and prevention measures for injury in sport climbing and bouldering, and to assess the methodological quality of existing studies. 12 electronic databases and several other sources were searched systematically using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Eligible articles were peer-reviewed, based on primary research using original data; outcome measures included injury, morbidity or mortality in rock climbing, and included one or more potential risk factor or injury prevention strategy. Two independent reviewers assessed the methodology of research in each study using the Downs and Black Quality Index. The data extracted is summarised, and appraisals of the articles are presented with respect to the quality of evidence presented. 19 studies met the inclusion criteria, and introduced 35 possible risk factors or injury prevention measures in climbing. Age, increasing years of climbing experience, highest climbing grade achieved (skill level), high climbing intensity score (CIS) and participating in lead climbing are potential risk factors. Results regarding injury prevention measures remain inconclusive. This field is relatively new and, as such, the data are not as robust as for more established sports with a larger research foundation. The key need is establishing modifiable risk factors using prospective studies and high quality methodology, such that injury prevention strategies can be developed. The CIS may be a useful measure in this field of research. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Validating the German Version of the Quality of Relationship Inventory: Confirming the Three-Factor Structure and Report of Psychometric Properties

PubMed Central

Reiner, Iris; Beutel, Manfred; Skaletz, Christian; Brähler, Elmar; Stöbel-Richter, Yve

2012-01-01

Research on psychosocial influences such as relationship characteristics has received increased attention in the clinical as well as social-psychological field. Several studies demonstrated that the quality of relationships, in particular with respect to the perceived support within intimate relationships, profoundly affects individuals' mental and physical health. There is, however, a limited choice of valid and internationally known assessments of relationship quality in Germany. We report the validation of the German version of the Quality of Relationships Inventory (QRI). First, we evaluated its factor structure in a representative German sample of 1.494 participants by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Our findings support the previously proposed three-factor structure. Second, importance and satisfaction with different relationship domains (family/children and relationship/sexuality) were linked with the QRI scales, demonstrating high construct validity. Finally, we report sex and age differences regarding the perceived relationship support, conflict and depth in our German sample. In conclusion, the QRI is a reliable and valid measurement to assess social support in romantic relationships in the German population. PMID:22662151

Choice in School: Its Importance and Scope

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yagnamurthy, Sreekanth

2013-01-01

The author reviews various factors defining school choice, and school curricula. A key assumption behind the rhetoric logic of school choice is the notion that parents actually choose from schools of varying quality. If parents choose from high-quality schools, choice policy will enhance educational opportunities. If, however, the considered…

77 FR 74392 - Direct Grant Programs and Definitions That Apply to Department Regulations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-14

... criterion ``Quality of the Project Design''; 6. Authorize program offices to consider the effectiveness of... service providers is often an important factor in designing a project and submitting a high-quality... assisted in designing the applicant's evaluation plan. Formal competition requirements also inhibit the...

Allele-Specific Transcription Factor Binding in Pig Calpastatin Promoter Regions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The identification of predictive DNA markers for pork quality would allow U.S. pork producers and breeders to more quickly and efficiently select genetically superior animals for production of consistent, high quality meat. Genome scans have identified QTL for tenderness on pig chromosome 2 which ha...

Successful Leadership in High Poverty, Urban Schools. Implications from UCEA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobson, Stephen; Terry Orr, M.; Young, Michelle D.

2008-01-01

Research shows that leadership matters in improving student achievement. In fact, among school-related factors over which policy makers have some control, effective leadership practices rank second only to the quality of teaching in influencing student learning (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson & Wahlstrom, 2004). Quality leadership is particularly…

[Influence of environmental noise on sleep quality and sleeping disorders-implications for health].

PubMed

Kohlhuber, M; Bolte, G

2011-12-01

Environmental noise is a well-known risk factor influencing sleep-wake behavior and sleep quality. Epidemiologic studies have shown that environmental noise is regarded as the most annoying environmental factor. Noise causes modifications in physiologic and mental functions and may result in health outcomes like elevated blood pressure and ischemic heart disease. Reactions to high sound levels during sleep are decreased sleep intensity, arousals, and increased stress hormone secretion. Effects of poor sleep quality are reduced cognitive performance, tiredness, and psychosomatic symptoms. Long-term consequences of recurrent sleep loss due to environmental noise may be heart disease and increased medication intake. Arousals occur especially due to single noise events and intermittent noise. Laboratory and field studies showed no habituation of physiologic parameters to high sound levels. Sleep is especially sensitive to noise; therefore, sound levels during nighttime should be much lower than during daytime.

Factors Associated With Higher Caregiver Burden Among Family Caregivers of Elderly Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Ge, Lixia; Mordiffi, Siti Zubaidah

Caring for elderly cancer patients may cause multidimensional burden on family caregivers. Recognition of factors associated with caregiver burden is important for providing proactive support to caregivers at risk. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with high caregiver burden among family caregivers of elderly cancer patients. A systematic search of 7 electronic databases was conducted from database inception to October 2014. The identified studies were screened, and full text was further assessed. The quality of included studies was assessed using a checklist, and relevant data were extracted using a predeveloped data extraction form. Best-evidence synthesis model was used for data synthesis. The search yielded a total of 3339 studies, and 7 studies involving 1233 family caregivers were included after screening and full assessment of 116 studies. Moderate evidence supported that younger caregivers, solid tumors, and assistance with patient's activities of daily living were significantly associated with high caregiver burden. Eighteen factors were supported by limited evidence, and 1 was a conflicting factor. The scientific literature to date proved that caregiver burden was commonly experienced by family caregivers of elderly cancer patients. The evidence indicated that family caregivers who were at younger age, caring for solid tumor patients, and providing assistance with patient's activities of daily living reported high caregiver burden. The data provide evidence in identifying family caregivers at high risk of high caregiver burden. More high-quality studies are needed to clarify and determine the estimates of the effects of individual factors.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with dry eye syndrome among senior high school students in a county of Shandong Province, China.

PubMed

Zhang, Ying; Chen, Hongmei; Wu, Xinyi

2012-08-01

To determine the prevalence and risk factors for dry eye syndrome (DES) among senior high school students in Shouguang, a county of Shandong Province, China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in July 2010, and 1902 senior high school students were selected by multi-stage sampling to answer a questionnaire assessing the prevalence and risk factors for DES. DES was defined as the presence of a previous clinical diagnosis of DES or severe symptoms (both dryness and irritation constantly or often). Risk factors associated with DES were evaluated with a χ(2) test and logistic regression analyses. The prevalence of DES was 23.7%. In univariate analysis, myopia (P < 0.0001), contact lens wear (P = 0.020), inadequate refractive correction (P < 0.0001), frequent self-administered topical ophthalmic medications (P < 0.0001), and poor sleep quality (P = 0.007) were significantly associated with DES. In multivariate analysis, inadequate refractive correction (P < 0.0001, odds ratio, OR 1.980; 95% confidence interval, CI 1.577-2.488), frequent self-administered topical ophthalmic medications (P < 0.0001, OR 1.838; 95% CI 1.399-2.410), and poor sleep quality (P = 0.001, OR 1.342; 95% CI 1.054-1.709) were significant risk factors for DES. Senior high school students are a neglected population with a high prevalence of DES. Preventive measures directed against risks factors for DES among senior high school students may help reduce the prevalence and provide a positive impact on students' health.

Piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers with low thermoelastic dissipation and high quality factor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xuying; Liu, Xinxin; Wang, Tao; Le, Xianhao; Ma, Fangyi; Lee, Chengkuo; Xie, Jin

2018-05-01

Thermoelastic dissipation is one of the main dissipative mechanisms in piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs). In this paper, we firstly propose pMUTs with etching holes to decrease thermoelastic dissipation and enhance quality factor (Q). The etching holes effectively disturb heat flow, and thus reduce thermoelastic loss. Working mechanism based on the Zener’s model is interpreted. The experiment results show that the Q of pMUT with three rows of holes is increased by 139% from 2050 to 4909 compared with the traditional one. Temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) and vibration performance are also improved. The enhanced pMUT can be widely used in measurement of Doppler shift and relative high power applications.

Glass-embedded two-dimensional silicon photonic crystal devices with a broad bandwidth waveguide and a high quality nanocavity.

PubMed

Jeon, Seung-Woo; Han, Jin-Kyu; Song, Bong-Shik; Noda, Susumu

2010-08-30

To enhance the mechanical stability of a two-dimensional photonic crystal slab structure and maintain its excellent performance, we designed a glass-embedded silicon photonic crystal device consisting of a broad bandwidth waveguide and a nanocavity with a high quality (Q) factor, and then fabricated the structure using spin-on glass (SOG). Furthermore, we showed that the refractive index of the SOG could be tuned from 1.37 to 1.57 by varying the curing temperature of the SOG. Finally, we demonstrated a glass-embedded heterostructured cavity with an ultrahigh Q factor of 160,000 by adjusting the refractive index of the SOG.

Selected highly charged ions as prospective candidates for optical clocks with quality factors larger than 1015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Yan-mei; Sahoo, B. K.

2018-04-01

The Ni12 +, Cu13 +, Pd12 +, and Ag13 + highly charged ions (HCIs) are proposed for making very accurate optical clocks with the fractional uncertainties below 10-19 level. These HCIs have simple atomic energy levels, clock transitions with quality factors larger than 1015, and optical magnetic-dipole (M 1 ) transitions that can be used for laser cooling and detecting quantum jumps on the clock transitions by the shelving method. To demonstrate the projected fractional uncertainties, we estimate orders of magnitude of the Zeeman, Stark, blackbody radiation, and electric quadrupole shifts of the clock transitions by performing calculations of the relevant atomic properties in the above HCIs.

Measuring Authoritative Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ertesvag, Sigrun K.

2011-01-01

High quality measurements are important to evaluate interventions. The study reports on the development of a measurement to investigate authoritative teaching understood as a two-dimensional construct of warmth and control. Through the application of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) the factor structure…

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses on psoriasis: role of funding sources, conflict of interest and bibliometric indices as predictors of methodological quality.

PubMed

Gómez-García, F; Ruano, J; Aguilar-Luque, M; Gay-Mimbrera, J; Maestre-Lopez, B; Sanz-Cabanillas, J L; Carmona-Fernández, P J; González-Padilla, M; Vélez García-Nieto, A; Isla-Tejera, B

2017-06-01

The quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease that severely impairs quality of life and is associated with high costs, remains unknown. To assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews published on psoriasis. After a comprehensive search in MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Database (PROSPERO: CDR42016041611), the quality of studies was assessed by two raters using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) tool. Article metadata and journal-related bibliometric indices were also obtained. Systematic reviews were classified as low (0-4), moderate (5-8) or high (9-11) quality. A prediction model for methodological quality was fitted using principal component and multivariate ordinal logistic regression analyses. We classified 220 studies as high (17·2%), moderate (55·0%) or low (27·8%) quality. Lower compliance rates were found for AMSTAR question (Q)5 (list of studies provided, 11·4%), Q10 (publication bias assessed, 27·7%), Q4 (status of publication included, 39·5%) and Q1 (a priori design provided, 40·9%). Factors such as meta-analysis inclusion [odds ratio (OR) 6·22; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2·78-14·86], funding by academic institutions (OR 2·90, 95% CI 1·11-7·89), Article Influence score (OR 2·14, 95% CI 1·05-6·67), 5-year impact factor (OR 1·34, 95% CI 1·02-1·40) and article page count (OR 1·08, 95% CI 1·02-1·15) significantly predicted higher quality. A high number of authors with a conflict of interest (OR 0·90, 95% CI 0·82-0·99) was significantly associated with lower quality. The methodological quality of systematic reviews published about psoriasis remains suboptimal. The type of funding sources and author conflicts may compromise study quality, increasing the risk of bias. © 2017 British Association of Dermatologists.

Factors affecting family satisfaction with inpatient end-of-life care.

PubMed

Sadler, Erin; Hales, Brigette; Henry, Blair; Xiong, Wei; Myers, Jeff; Wynnychuk, Lesia; Taggar, Ru; Heyland, Daren; Fowler, Robert

2014-01-01

Little data exists addressing satisfaction with end-of-life care among hospitalized patients, as they and their family members are systematically excluded from routine satisfaction surveys. It is imperative that we closely examine patient and institution factors associated with quality end-of-life care and determine high-priority target areas for quality improvement. Between September 1, 2010 and January 1, 2012 the Canadian Health care Evaluation Project (CANHELP) Bereavement Questionnaire was mailed to the next-of-kin of recently deceased inpatients to seek factors associated with satisfaction with end-of-life care. The primary outcome was the global rating of satisfaction. Secondary outcomes included rates of actual versus preferred location of death, associations between demographic factors and global satisfaction, and identification of targets for quality improvement. Response rate was 33% among 275 valid addresses. Overall, 67.4% of respondents were very or completely satisfied with the overall quality of care their relative received. However, 71.4% of respondents who thought their relative did not die in their preferred location favoured an out-of-hospital location of death. A common location of death was the intensive care unit (45.7%); however, this was not the preferred location of death for 47.6% of such patients. Multivariate Poisson regression analysis showed respondents who believed their relative died in their preferred location were 1.7 times more likely to be satisfied with the end-of-life care that was provided (p = 0.001). Items identified as high-priority targets for improvement included: relationships with, and characteristics of health care professionals; illness management; communication; and end-of-life decision-making. Nearly three-quarters of recently deceased inpatients would have preferred an out-of-hospital death. Intensive care units were a common, but not preferred, location of in-hospital deaths. Family satisfaction with end-of-life care was strongly associated with their relative dying in their preferred location. Improved communication regarding end-of-life care preferences should be a high-priority quality improvement target.

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH INDISCRIMINATE FRIENDLINESS IN HIGH-RISK CHILDREN.

PubMed

Love, Leighanne; Minnis, Helen; O'connor, Suzy

2015-01-01

Indiscriminate friendliness (IF) refers to a lack of reticence with strangers and is well-documented in neglected children. This risky behavior is distinct from attachment insecurity, and persists when parenting/caregiving improves. A previous review has suggested that caregiving quality is not associated with IF. This review aimed to explore factors associated with IF and whether quality of caregiving is important. Ten articles were reviewed using the S.H. Downs and N. Black (1998) Checklist for randomized and nonrandomized studies. Overall quality was high. Results showed that IF is present in fostered populations and postinstitutionalized children. Attachment security was not associated with IF. Length of time in institution and inhibitory control were associated with IF. Inhibitory control moderated the association between IF and number of caregivers. Genetic factors predispose children to IF and may impact on persistence. Quality of caregiving was associated with IF. Emotional availability (i.e., the degree to which carer and child are able to respond to each other's emotional signals) predicted IF. Limitations across studies included heterogeneity in IF measurement and unreliable measures of preadoptive care. Parenting may be a useful target for intervention. Future research should focus on developing a standardized measure of IF as well as evaluating a parental intervention. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

An Automated Treatment Plan Quality Control Tool for Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Using a Voxel-Weighting Factor-Based Re-Optimization Algorithm

PubMed Central

Song, Ting; Li, Nan; Zarepisheh, Masoud; Li, Yongbao; Gautier, Quentin; Zhou, Linghong; Mell, Loren; Jiang, Steve; Cerviño, Laura

2016-01-01

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) currently plays an important role in radiotherapy, but its treatment plan quality can vary significantly among institutions and planners. Treatment plan quality control (QC) is a necessary component for individual clinics to ensure that patients receive treatments with high therapeutic gain ratios. The voxel-weighting factor-based plan re-optimization mechanism has been proved able to explore a larger Pareto surface (solution domain) and therefore increase the possibility of finding an optimal treatment plan. In this study, we incorporated additional modules into an in-house developed voxel weighting factor-based re-optimization algorithm, which was enhanced as a highly automated and accurate IMRT plan QC tool (TPS-QC tool). After importing an under-assessment plan, the TPS-QC tool was able to generate a QC report within 2 minutes. This QC report contains the plan quality determination as well as information supporting the determination. Finally, the IMRT plan quality can be controlled by approving quality-passed plans and replacing quality-failed plans using the TPS-QC tool. The feasibility and accuracy of the proposed TPS-QC tool were evaluated using 25 clinically approved cervical cancer patient IMRT plans and 5 manually created poor-quality IMRT plans. The results showed high consistency between the QC report quality determinations and the actual plan quality. In the 25 clinically approved cases that the TPS-QC tool identified as passed, a greater difference could be observed for dosimetric endpoints for organs at risk (OAR) than for planning target volume (PTV), implying that better dose sparing could be achieved in OAR than in PTV. In addition, the dose-volume histogram (DVH) curves of the TPS-QC tool re-optimized plans satisfied the dosimetric criteria more frequently than did the under-assessment plans. In addition, the criteria for unsatisfied dosimetric endpoints in the 5 poor-quality plans could typically be satisfied when the TPS-QC tool generated re-optimized plans without sacrificing other dosimetric endpoints. In addition to its feasibility and accuracy, the proposed TPS-QC tool is also user-friendly and easy to operate, both of which are necessary characteristics for clinical use. PMID:26930204

Concern about falling in older women with a history of falls: associations with health, functional ability, physical activity and quality of life.

PubMed

Patil, Radhika; Uusi-Rasi, Kirsti; Kannus, Pekka; Karinkanta, Saija; Sievänen, Harri

2014-01-01

Fear of falling has been linked to activity restriction, functional decline, decreased quality of life and increased risk of falling. Factors that distinguish persons with a high concern about falling from those with low concern have not been systematically studied. This study aimed to expose potential health-related, functional and psychosocial factors that correlate with fear of falling among independently living older women who had fallen in the past year. Baseline data of 409 women aged 70-80 years recruited to a randomised falls prevention trial (DEX) (NCT00986466) were used. Participants were classified according to their level of concern about falling using the Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to explore associations between health-related variables, functional performance tests, amount of physical activity, quality of life and FES-I scores. 68% of the participants reported a moderate to high concern (FES-I ≥ 20) about falls. Multinomial logistic regression showed that highly concerned women were significantly more likely to have poorer health and quality of life and lower functional ability. Reported difficulties in instrumental activities of daily living, balance, outdoor mobility and poorer quality of life contributed independently to a greater concern about falling. Concern about falling was highly prevalent in our sample of community-living older women. In particular, poor perceived general health and mobility constraints contributed independently to the difference between high and low concern of falling. Knowledge of these associations may help in developing interventions to reduce fear of falling and activity avoidance in old age.

Psychological distress, iron deficiency, active disease and female gender are independent risk factors for fatigue in patients with ulcerative colitis

PubMed Central

Jonefjäll, Börje; Simrén, Magnus; Lasson, Anders; Öhman, Lena; Strid, Hans

2017-01-01

Background Patients with ulcerative colitis often report fatigue. Objectives To investigate prevalence of and risk factors for fatigue in patients with ulcerative colitis with active disease and during deep remission. Methods In this cross-sectional study, disease activity was evaluated with endoscopy and calprotectin, and patients were classified as having active disease (n = 133) or being in deep remission (n = 155). Blood samples were analysed to assess anaemia, iron deficiency and systemic immune activity. Patients completed questionnaires to assess fatigue, psychological distress, gastrointestinal symptoms and quality of life. Results The prevalence of high fatigue (general fatigue ≥ 13, Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory) was 40% in the full study population. Among patients with high fatigue, female gender and iron deficiency were more prevalent, and these patients had more severe disease activity and reported higher levels of anxiety, depression and decreased quality of life compared with patients with no/mild fatigue. A logistic regression analysis identified probable psychiatric disorder (odds ratio (OR) (confidence interval) 6.1 (3.1–12.2)), iron deficiency (OR 2.5 (1.2–5.1)), active disease (OR 2.2 (1.2–3.9)) and female gender (OR 2.1 (1.1–3.7)) as independent risk factors for high fatigue. Similar results were found concerning psychological distress, gender and quality of life, but immune markers did not differ in patients in deep remission with high vs. no/mild fatigue. Conclusions Probable psychiatric disorder, iron deficiency, active disease and female gender are independent risk factors for high fatigue in patients with ulcerative colitis. Low-grade immune activity does not seem to be the cause of fatigue among patients in deep remission. PMID:29435325

Poor sleep quality is associated with increased arterial stiffness in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Osonoi, Yusuke; Mita, Tomoya; Osonoi, Takeshi; Saito, Miyoko; Tamasawa, Atsuko; Nakayama, Shiho; Someya, Yuki; Ishida, Hidenori; Kanazawa, Akio; Gosho, Masahiko; Fujitani, Yoshio; Watada, Hirotaka

2015-06-18

While poor sleep quality can worsen cardiovascular risk factors such as glucose and lipid profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the relationship between sleep quality and atherosclerosis remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to examine this relationship. The study participants comprised 724 Japanese T2DM outpatients free of history of cardiovascular diseases. The relationships between sleep quality (assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)) and various clinical and laboratory parameters were investigated. The mean PSQI was 5.1 ± 3.0 (±SD). Patients were divided into three groups based on the total PSQI score; subjects with good sleep quality (n = 462), average sleep quality (n = 185), and poor sleep quality (n = 77). In the age/gender-adjusted model, patients with poor sleep quality tended to be obese, evening type and depressed. However, other lifestyles showed no significant trends. Alanine aminotransferase, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, systolic blood pressure, urinary albumin excretion, and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) tended to be higher in patients with poor sleep quality. High baPWV was the only parameter that correlated with poor sleep in a model adjusted for several other lifestyle factors. Our study indicates that poor sleep quality in T2DM patients correlates with increased arterial wall stiffness, a marker of atherosclerosis and a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

Stochastic Packet Loss Model to Evaluate QoE Impairments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hohlfeld, Oliver

With provisioning of broadband access for mass market—even in wireless and mobile networks—multimedia content, especially real-time streaming of high-quality audio and video, is extensively viewed and exchanged over the Internet. Quality of Experience (QoE) aspects, describing the service quality perceived by the user, is a vital factor in ensuring customer satisfaction in today's communication networks. Frameworks for accessing quality degradations in streamed video currently are investigated as a complex multi-layered research topic, involving network traffic load, codec functions and measures of user perception of video quality.

A high-quality factor of 267 000 micromechanical silicon resonator utilizing TED-free torsional vibration mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, K.; Naito, Y.; Onishi, K.; Kawakatsu, H.

2012-12-01

In industrial applications of a micromechanical silicon resonator as a physical sensor, a high-quality factor Q and a low-temperature coefficient of Q (TCQ) are required for high sensitivity in a wide temperature range. Although the newly developed thin film encapsulation technique enables a beam to operate with low viscous damping in a vacuum cavity, the Q of a flexural vibration mode is limited by thermo-elastic damping (TED). We proposed a torsional beam resonator which features both a high Q and a low TCQ because theoretically the torsional vibration mode does not suffer from TED. From experiments, Q of 267 000 and TCQ of 1.4 for the 20 MHz torsional vibration mode were observed which were superior to those of the flexural mode. The pressure of the residual gas in the cavity of only 20 pl volume, which is one of the energy loss factors limiting the Q, was successfully estimated to be 1-14 Pa. Finally, the possibilities of improving the Q and the difference of the measured TCQ from a theoretical value were discussed.

Typical and Individual Doctoral Processes and Lifecourses: The Types of Narratives of The Project Manager, The Survivor and The Seeker

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maunula, Minna

2015-01-01

One task of the doctoral education is, globally as well as nationally, to produce and renew the highest expertise and knowledge in a high quality and efficient way. Even though in this global time the high-quality knowledge and skills are a competition factor which the success of the societies is expected to be able to lean on, also the doctoral…

Psychological predictors for health-related quality of life and disability in persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

PubMed

Mewes, Ricarda; Rief, Winfried; Kenn, Klaus; Ried, Jens; Stenzel, Nikola

2016-01-01

Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibit low physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQL) and high susceptibility to disability. We investigated the influence of psychological factors on HRQL and disability in COPD individuals recruited from the general population. In line with Leventhal's common sense model, we expected psychological factors to be associated with HRQL and disability even after controlling for medical status. Individuals with COPD (n = 502; 59.7 years old; GOLD grades were I: 3%, II: 17%, III: 34%, IV: 46%) were assessed through an online survey administered via COPD patient organisations in Germany. Individuals filled in the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), COPD Assessment Test, Patient Health Questionnaire (modules: GAD-2, PHQ-15, PHQ-9), Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, a questionnaire that assesses causal illness attributions, and the internal illness-related locus of control scale of the 'KKG questionnaire for the assessment of control beliefs about illness and health'. Multiple linear regressions were calculated. The investigated factors explained high variances (disability = 56%, physical HRQL = 28%, mental HRQL = 63%, p ≤ .001). Better mental health, more optimistic illness perceptions, attribution to psychological causes, and stronger internal locus of control were associated with lower disability and better HRQL. Comorbid somatic symptoms contributed to high disability and low quality of life. Psychological factors, such as illness perception, attribution and internal locus of control, were associated with disability and HRQL. These factors should be considered when designing treatments for individuals with COPD, and adequate interventions should be provided to enhance illness understanding and self-management skills.

Factors that influence minority use of high-volume hospitals for colorectal cancer care.

PubMed

Huang, Lyen C; Tran, Thuy B; Ma, Yifei; Ngo, Justine V; Rhoads, Kim F

2015-05-01

Previous studies suggest that minorities cluster in low-quality hospitals despite living close to better performing hospitals. This may contribute to persistent disparities in cancer outcomes. The purpose of this work was to examine how travel distance, insurance status, and neighborhood socioeconomic factors influenced minority underuse of high-volume hospitals for colorectal cancer. The study was a retrospective, cross-sectional, population-based study. All hospitals in California from 1996 to 2006 were included. Patients with colorectal cancer diagnosed and treated in California between 1996 and 2006 were identified using California Cancer Registry data. Multivariable logistic regression models predicting high-volume hospital use were adjusted for age, sex, race, stage, comorbidities, insurance status, and neighborhood socioeconomic factors. A total of 79,231 patients treated in 417 hospitals were included in the study. High-volume hospitals were independently associated with an 8% decrease in the hazard of death compared with other settings. A lower proportion of minorities used high-volume hospitals despite a higher proportion living nearby. Although insurance status and socioeconomic factors were independently associated with high-volume hospital use, only socioeconomic factors attenuated differences in high-volume hospital use of black and Hispanic patients compared with white patients. The use of cross-sectional data and racial and ethnic misclassifications were limitations in this study. Minority patients do not use high-volume hospitals despite improved outcomes and geographic access. Low socioeconomic status predicts low use of high-volume settings in select minority groups. Our results provide a roadmap for developing interventions to increase the use of and access to higher quality care and outcomes. Increasing minority use of high-volume hospitals may require community outreach programs and changes in physician referral practices.

Impact of antinutritional factors in food proteins on the digestibility of protein and the bioavailability of amino acids and on protein quality.

PubMed

Sarwar Gilani, G; Wu Xiao, Chao; Cockell, Kevin A

2012-08-01

Dietary antinutritional factors have been reported to adversely affect the digestibility of protein, bioavailability of amino acids and protein quality of foods. Published data on these negative effects of major dietary antinutritional factors are summarized in this manuscript. Digestibility and the quality of mixed diets in developing countries are considerably lower than of those in developed regions. For example, the digestibility of protein in traditional diets from developing countries such as India, Guatemala and Brazil is considerably lower compared to that of protein in typical North American diets (54-78 versus 88-94 %). Poor digestibility of protein in the diets of developing countries, which are based on less refined cereals and grain legumes as major sources of protein, is due to the presence of less digestible protein fractions, high levels of insoluble fibre, and/or high concentrations of antinutritional factors present endogenously or formed during processing. Examples of naturally occurring antinutritional factors include glucosinolates in mustard and canola protein products, trypsin inhibitors and haemagglutinins in legumes, tannins in legumes and cereals, gossypol in cottonseed protein products, and uricogenic nucleobases in yeast protein products. Heat/alkaline treatments of protein products may yield Maillard reaction compounds, oxidized forms of sulphur amino acids, D-amino acids and lysinoalanine (LAL, an unnatural nephrotoxic amino acid derivative). Among common food and feed protein products, soyabeans are the most concentrated source of trypsin inhibitors. The presence of high levels of dietary trypsin inhibitors from soyabeans, kidney beans or other grain legumes have been reported to cause substantial reductions in protein and amino acid digestibility (up to 50 %) and protein quality (up to 100 %) in rats and/or pigs. Similarly, the presence of high levels of tannins in sorghum and other cereals, fababean and other grain legumes can cause significant reductions (up to 23 %) in protein and amino acid digestibility in rats, poultry, and pigs. Normally encountered levels of phytates in cereals and legumes can reduce protein and amino acid digestibility by up to 10 %. D-amino acids and LAL formed during alkaline/heat treatment of lactalbumin, casein, soya protein or wheat protein are poorly digestible (less than 40 %), and their presence can reduce protein digestibility by up to 28 % in rats and pigs, and can cause a drastic reduction (100 %) in protein quality, as measured by rat growth methods. The adverse effects of antinutritional factors on protein digestibility and protein quality have been reported to be more pronounced in elderly rats (20-months old) compared to young (5-weeks old) rats, suggesting the use of old rats as a model for assessing the protein digestibility of products intended for the elderly.

Seismic High Attenuation Region Observed Beneath Southern New England From Teleseismic Body Wave Spectra: Evidence for High Asthenospheric Temperature Without Melt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Mingduo T.; Menke, William H.

2017-11-01

Seismic attenuation exhibits strong geographic variability in northeastern North America, with the highest values associated with the previously recognized Northern Appalachian Anomaly (NAA) in southern New England. The shear wave quality factor at 100 km depth is 14 < QS < 25, the ratio of P wave and S wave quality factors is QP/QS = 1.2 ± 0.03 (95%), and the frequency dependence parameter is α = 0.39 ± 0.025 (95%). The high values of QP/QS and α are compatible with laboratory measurements of unmelted rock and, in the case of α, incompatible with widespread melting. The low QS implies high mantle temperatures ( 1,550-1,650°C) at 100 km depth (assuming no melt). Small-scale variations in attenuation suggest structural heterogeneity within the NAA, possibly due to lithospheric delamination caused by asthenospheric flow.

Differentiated Instruction: Understanding the Personal Factors and Organizational Conditions that Facilitate Differentiated Instruction in Elementary Mathematics Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abbati, Diana Guglielmo

2012-01-01

Differentiated instruction is a widely held practice used by teachers to provide diverse learners with complex learning opportunities in the area of mathematics. Research on differentiated instruction shows a multitude of factors that support high quality instruction in mixed-ability elementary classrooms. These factors include small-class size,…

Dosimetry for Small and Nonstandard Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junell, Stephanie L.

The proposed small and non-standard field dosimetry protocol from the joint International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and American Association of Physicist in Medicine working group introduces new reference field conditions for ionization chamber based reference dosimetry. Absorbed dose beam quality conversion factors (kQ factors) corresponding to this formalism were determined for three different models of ionization chambers: a Farmer-type ionization chamber, a thimble ionization chamber, and a small volume ionization chamber. Beam quality correction factor measurements were made in a specially developed cylindrical polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) phantom and a water phantom using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and alanine dosimeters to determine dose to water. The TLD system for absorbed dose to water determination in high energy photon and electron beams was fully characterized as part of this dissertation. The behavior of the beam quality correction factor was observed as it transfers the calibration coefficient from the University of Wisconsin Accredited Dosimetry Calibration Laboratory (UWADCL) 60Co reference beam to the small field calibration conditions of the small field formalism. TLD-determined beam quality correction factors for the calibration conditions investigated ranged from 0.97 to 1.30 and had associated standard deviations from 1% to 3%. The alanine-determined beam quality correction factors ranged from 0.996 to 1.293. Volume averaging effects were observed with the Farmer-type ionization chamber in the small static field conditions. The proposed small and non-standard field dosimetry protocols new composite-field reference condition demonstrated its potential to reduce or remove ionization chamber volume dependancies, but the measured beam quality correction factors were not equal to the standard CoP's kQ, indicating a change in beam quality in the small and non-standard field dosimetry protocols new composite-field reference condition relative to the standard broad beam reference conditions. The TLD- and alanine-determined beam quality correction factors in the composite-field reference conditions were approximately 3% greater and differed by more than one standard deviation from the published TG-51 kQ values for all three chambers.

The impact of flying qualities on helicopter operational agility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Padfield, Gareth D.; Lappos, Nick; Hodgkinson, John

1993-01-01

Flying qualities standards are formally set to ensure safe flight and therefore reflect minimum, rather than optimum, requirements. Agility is a flying quality but relates to operations at high, if not maximum, performance. While the quality metrics and test procedures for flying, as covered for example in ADS33C, may provide an adequate structure to encompass agility, they do not currently address flight at high performance. This is also true in the fixed-wing world and a current concern in both communities is the absence of substantiated agility criteria and possible conflicts between flying qualities and high performance. AGARD is sponsoring a working group (WG19) title 'Operational Agility' that deals with these and a range of related issues. This paper is condensed from contributions by the three authors to WG19, relating to flying qualities. Novel perspectives on the subject are presented including the agility factor, that quantifies performance margins in flying qualities terms; a new parameter, based on maneuver acceleration is introduced as a potential candidate for defining upper limits to flying qualities. Finally, a probabilistic analysis of pilot handling qualities ratings is presented that suggests a powerful relationship between inherent airframe flying qualities and operational agility.

Photodiode area effect on performance of X-ray CMOS active pixel sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, M. S.; Kim, Y.; Kim, G.; Lim, K. T.; Cho, G.; Kim, D.

2018-02-01

Compared to conventional TFT-based X-ray imaging devices, CMOS-based X-ray imaging sensors are considered next generation because they can be manufactured in very small pixel pitches and can acquire high-speed images. In addition, CMOS-based sensors have the advantage of integration of various functional circuits within the sensor. The image quality can also be improved by the high fill-factor in large pixels. If the size of the subject is small, the size of the pixel must be reduced as a consequence. In addition, the fill factor must be reduced to aggregate various functional circuits within the pixel. In this study, 3T-APS (active pixel sensor) with photodiodes of four different sizes were fabricated and evaluated. It is well known that a larger photodiode leads to improved overall performance. Nonetheless, if the size of the photodiode is > 1000 μm2, the degree to which the sensor performance increases as the photodiode size increases, is reduced. As a result, considering the fill factor, pixel-pitch > 32 μm is not necessary to achieve high-efficiency image quality. In addition, poor image quality is to be expected unless special sensor-design techniques are included for sensors with a pixel pitch of 25 μm or less.

Evaluating signal and noise spectral density of a qPlus sensor with an active feedback control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Manhee; An, Sangmin; Jhe, Wonho

2018-05-01

Q-control technique enables to actively change the quality factor of the probe oscillation in dynamic atomic force microscopy. The Q-control is realized by adding a self-feedback loop into the original actuation-detection system, in which a damping force with controllable damping coefficient in magnitude and sign is applied to the oscillating probe. While the applied force alters the total damping interaction and thus the overall `signal' of the probe motion, the added feedback system changes the `noise' of the motion as well. Here, we systematically investigate the signal, the noise, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the qPlus sensor under the active Q-control. We quantify the noise of the qPlus motion by measuring the noise spectral density, which is reproduced by a harmonic oscillator model including the thermal and the measurement noises. We show that the noise signal increases with the quality factor controlled, scaling as the square root of the quality factor. Because the overall signal is linearly proportional to the quality factor, the signal-to-noise ratio scales as the square root of the quality factor. The Q-controlled qPlus with a highly enhanced Q, up to 10,000 in air, leads to the minimum detectable force gradient of 0.001 N/m, which would enhance the capability of the qPlus sensor for atomic force microscopy and spectroscopy.

Impact of flying qualities on mission effectiveness for helicopter air combat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, T. M.; Beerman, D. A.; Bivens, C. C.

1984-01-01

Battlefield nap-of-the-earth (NOE) helicopter operations are vital for a use of the helicopter in a high-threat environment. As the pilot's workload in this flight regime is very high, the helicopter's handling qualities become an important factor. The present investigation is concerned with overall mission effectiveness, flying qualities, and their interaction with other parameters. A description is presented of a study which generated a significant amount of date relating the importance of flying qualities to the ability to perform several specific mission tasks. It was found that flying qualities do have a major impact on the ability to perform a specific mission. The impact of flying qualities on Scout helicopter mission effectiveness is mainly related to the probability of being detected. The flying qualities effect most critical to the Scout mission was found to be precision of hover control.

Protection layers on a superconducting microwave resonator toward a hybrid quantum system

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

Lee, Jongmin, E-mail: jongmin.lee@sandia.gov; Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123; Park, Dong Hun, E-mail: leomac@umd.edu

2015-10-07

We propose a protection scheme of a superconducting microwave resonator to realize a hybrid quantum system, where cold neutral atoms are coupled with a single microwave photon through magnetic dipole interaction at an interface inductor. The evanescent field atom trap, such as a waveguide/nanofiber atom trap, brings both surface-scattered photons and absorption-induced broadband blackbody radiation which result in quasiparticles and a low quality factor at the resonator. A proposed multiband protection layer consists of pairs of two dielectric layers and a thin nanogrid conductive dielectric layer above the interface inductor. We show numerical simulations of quality factors and reflection/absorption spectra,more » indicating that the proposed multilayer structure can protect a lumped-element microwave resonator from optical photons and blackbody radiation while maintaining a reasonably high quality factor.« less

Physics and material science of ultra-high quality factor superconducting resonator

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

Vostrikov, Alexander

2015-08-01

The nitrogen doping into niobium superconducting radio frequency cavity walls aiming to improve the fundamental mode quality factor is the subject of the research in the given work. Quantitative nitrogen diffusion into niobium model calculating the concentration profile was developed. The model estimations were confirmed with secondary ion mass spectrometry technique measurements. The model made controlled nitrogen doping recipe optimization possible. As a result the robust reproducible recipe for SRF cavity walls treatment with nitrogen doping was developed. The cavities produced with optimized recipe met LCLS–II requirements on quality factor of 2.7 ∙ 10 10 at acceleration field of 16more » MV/m. The microscopic effects of nitrogen doping on superconducting niobium properties were studied with low energy muon spin rotation technique and magnetometer measurements. No significant effect of nitrogen on the following features was found: electron mean free path, magnetic field penetration depth, and upper and surface critical magnetic fields. It was detected that for nitrogen doped niobium samples magnetic flux starts to penetrate inside the superconductor at lower external magnetic field value compared to the low temperature baked niobium ones. This explains lower quench field of SRF cavities treated with nitrogen. Quality factor improvement of fundamental mode forced to analyze the high order mode (HOM) impact on the particle beam dynamics. Both resonant and cumulative effects caused by monopole and dipole HOMs respectively are found to be negligible within the requirements for LCLS–II.« less

Burden of psychosocial adversity and vulnerability in middle age: associations with biobehavioral risk factors and quality of life.

PubMed

Steptoe, Andrew; Marmot, Michael

2003-01-01

Numerous psychosocial factors are associated with disease risk. This study investigated the possibility that a combination of chronic stress from exposure to multiple sources and absence of protective psychosocial resources would be related to heightened emotional distress, health risk behavior, biological risk factors, and impaired quality of life, independently of socioeconomic position (SEP). Data were analyzed from 227 men and women aged 47 to 59 years from the Whitehall II epidemiological cohort. A psychosocial adversity and vulnerability index (PAVIX) was constructed from high scores on measures of job demands, neighborhood stress, and financial strain, low emotional support, limited social networks, low active coping, and low sense of control. The measures making up the PAVIX were relatively independent of one another. Scores on the PAVIX were greater in lower SEP participants, and in single, separated, or divorced than married participants. The PAVIX was positively associated with psychological distress, depression, hopelessness, sleep problems, hostility, low self-esteem and loneliness, independently of age, sex, SEP, and marital status. There were no associations with health behaviors, but relationships were observed with glycohemoglobin, plasma fibrinogen, plasma viscosity, and body mass (women), that were again independent of covariates. Individuals with high PAVIX scores also reported impaired health-related quality of life. The accumulated burden of life stress coupled with limited protective psychosocial resources is associated with adverse psychological, biological, and quality of life outcomes. This integrated approach to the investigation of psychosocial factors may prove valuable in understanding etiological processes.

An exploration of quality of life and related factors among female flight attendants.

PubMed

Chung, Chi-Ti; Chung, Ue-Lin

2009-09-01

Quality of life is currently an important issue in the medical industry. Many studies have found that shift work affects health and life quality. However, data on quality of life related to female flight attendants are lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore quality of life and related factors such as demographic data, work status, fatigue, sleep quality, and family function as they relate to female flight attendants working on international routes. The study used a cross-sectional research design. A purposive sample of 207 participants was recruited from the Aviation Medical Center. The questionnaire distributed to participants incorporated the Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue, the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Family Apgar Index, and the Taiwanese version of the WHOQOL-BREF. The mean score for holistic quality of life among participants was 54.49 (SD = 6.48), which ranks at a high-intermediate level. The physical health domain earned the highest mean score and the psychological domain earned the lowest. Results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis using the enter method showed that eight predictors, including religion, drug use, employment status, job stress, job passion, fatigue, sleep quality, and family function, explained 34.2% of variance in holistic quality of life. After controlling for demographics, analysis showed that three variables--fatigue, sleep quality, and family function--accounted for 21.3% of variance in holistic quality of life. Healthcare providers should consider fatigue, sleep quality, and family function factors when planning related health promotion and disease prevention programs for female flight attendants in the future.

Predator-Prey Interactions are Context Dependent in a Grassland Plant-Grasshopper-Wolf Spider Food Chain.

PubMed

Laws, Angela N; Joern, Anthony

2015-06-01

Species interactions are often context dependent, where outcomes vary in response to one or more environmental factors. It remains unclear how abiotic conditions like temperature combine with biotic factors such as consumer density or food quality to affect resource availability or influence species interactions. Using the large grasshopper Melanoplus bivittatus (Say) and a common wolf spider [Rabidosa rabida (Walkenaer)], we conducted manipulative field experiments in tallgrass prairie to examine how spider-grasshopper interactions respond to manipulations of temperature, grasshopper density, and food quality. Grasshopper survival was density dependent, as were the effects of spider presence and food quality in context-dependent ways. In high grasshopper density treatments, predation resulted in increased grasshopper survival, likely as a result of reduced intraspecific competition in the presence of spiders. Spiders had no effect on grasshopper survival when grasshoppers were stocked at low densities. Effects of the experimental treatments were often interdependent so that effects were only observed when examined together with other treatments. The occurrence of trophic cascades was context dependent, where the effects of food quality and spider presence varied with temperature under high-density treatments. Temperature weakly affected the impact of spider presence on M. bivittatus survivorship when all treatments were considered simultaneously, but different context-dependent responses to spider presence and food quality were observed among the three temperature treatments under high-density conditions. Our results indicate that context-dependent species interactions are common and highlight the importance of understanding how key biotic and abiotic factors combine to influence species interactions. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Association between nutritional awareness and diet quality: evidence from the observation of cardiovascular risk factors in Luxembourg (ORISCAV-LUX) study.

PubMed

Alkerwi, Ala'a; Sauvageot, Nicolas; Malan, Leoné; Shivappa, Nitin; Hébert, James R

2015-04-14

This study examined the association between nutritional awareness and diet quality, as indicated by energy density, dietary diversity and adequacy to achieve dietary recommendations, while considering the potentially important role of socioeconomic status (SES). Data were derived from 1351 subjects, aged 18-69 years and enrolled in the ORISCAV-LUX study. Energy density score (EDS), dietary diversity score (DDS) and Recommendation Compliance Index (RCI) were calculated based on data derived from a food frequency questionnaire. Nutritional awareness was defined as self-perception of the importance assigned to eating balanced meals, and classified as high, moderate, or of little importance. Initially, a General Linear Model was fit that adjusted for age, sex, country of birth, and body mass index (BMI). Furthermore, simultaneous contributions to diet quality of individual-level socioeconomic factors, education, and household income were examined across levels of nutritional awareness. Attributing high importance was associated inversely with energy density (p = 0.02), positively with both dietary diversity (p < 0.0001), and adequacy to dietary recommendations (p < 0.0001), independent of demographic factors, weight status and SES. Further adjustment for household income in the EDS-related multivariable model, reduced the β coefficient by 47% for the "moderate importance" category and 36% for the "high importance" category. Likewise, the β coefficient decreased by 13.6% and 10.7% in the DDS-related model, and by 12.5%, and 7.1% in the RCI-related model, respectively, across awareness categories. Nutritional awareness has a direct effect on diet quality, with a minor component of variance explained by improved income. The impact of nutritional awareness on diet quality seems to be a promising area for both health promotion and health policy research.

Managing Chronic Disease in Ontario Primary Care: The Impact of Organizational Factors

PubMed Central

Russell, Grant M.; Dahrouge, Simone; Hogg, William; Geneau, Robert; Muldoon, Laura; Tuna, Meltem

2009-01-01

PURPOSE New approaches to chronic disease management emphasize the need to improve the delivery of primary care services to meet the needs of chronically ill patients. This study (1) assessed whether chronic disease management differed among 4 models of primary health care delivery and (2) identified which practice organizational factors were independently associated with high-quality care. METHODS We undertook a cross-sectional survey with nested qualitative case studies (2 practices per model) in 137 randomly selected primary care practices from 4 delivery models in Ontario Canada: fee for service, capitation, blended payment, and community health centers (CHCs). Practice and clinician surveys were based on the Primary Care Assessment Tool. A chart audit assessed evidence-based care delivery for patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease. Intermediate outcomes were calculated for patients with diabetes and hypertension. Multiple linear regression identified those organizational factors independently associated with chronic disease management. RESULTS Chronic disease management was superior in CHCs. Clinicians in CHCs found it easier than those in the other models to promote high-quality care through longer consultations and interprofessional collaboration. Across the whole sample and independent of model, high-quality chronic disease management was associated with the presence of a nurse-practitioner. It was also associated with lower patient-family physician ratios and when practices had 4 or fewer full-time-equivalent family physicians. CONCLUSIONS The study adds to the literature supporting the value of nurse-practitioners within primary care teams and validates the contributions of Ontario’s CHCs. Our observation that quality of care decreased in larger, busier practices suggests that moves toward larger practices and greater patient-physician ratios may have unanticipated negative effects on processes of care quality. PMID:19597168

Knowledge management systems success in healthcare: Leadership matters.

PubMed

Ali, Nor'ashikin; Tretiakov, Alexei; Whiddett, Dick; Hunter, Inga

2017-01-01

To deliver high-quality healthcare doctors need to access, interpret, and share appropriate and localised medical knowledge. Information technology is widely used to facilitate the management of this knowledge in healthcare organisations. The purpose of this study is to develop a knowledge management systems success model for healthcare organisations. A model was formulated by extending an existing generic knowledge management systems success model by including organisational and system factors relevant to healthcare. It was tested by using data obtained from 263 doctors working within two district health boards in New Zealand. Of the system factors, knowledge content quality was found to be particularly important for knowledge management systems success. Of the organisational factors, leadership was the most important, and more important than incentives. Leadership promoted knowledge management systems success primarily by positively affecting knowledge content quality. Leadership also promoted knowledge management use for retrieval, which should lead to the use of that better quality knowledge by the doctors, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Determinants of judgment and decision making quality: the interplay between information processing style and situational factors

PubMed Central

Ayal, Shahar; Rusou, Zohar; Zakay, Dan; Hochman, Guy

2015-01-01

A framework is presented to better characterize the role of individual differences in information processing style and their interplay with contextual factors in determining decision making quality. In Experiment 1, we show that individual differences in information processing style are flexible and can be modified by situational factors. Specifically, a situational manipulation that induced an analytical mode of thought improved decision quality. In Experiment 2, we show that this improvement in decision quality is highly contingent on the compatibility between the dominant thinking mode and the nature of the task. That is, encouraging an intuitive mode of thought led to better performance on an intuitive task but hampered performance on an analytical task. The reverse pattern was obtained when an analytical mode of thought was encouraged. We discuss the implications of these results for the assessment of decision making competence, and suggest practical directions to help individuals better adjust their information processing style to the situation at hand and make optimal decisions. PMID:26284011

Enhanced quality factors and force sensitivity by attaching magnetic beads to cantilevers for atomic force microscopy in liquid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoof, Sebastian; Nand Gosvami, Nitya; Hoogenboom, Bart W.

2012-12-01

Dynamic-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) in liquid remains complicated due to the strong viscous damping of the cantilever resonance. Here, we show that a high-quality resonance (Q >20) can be achieved in aqueous solution by attaching a microgram-bead at the end of the nanogram-cantilever. The resulting increase in cantilever mass causes the resonance frequency to drop significantly. However, the force sensitivity—as expressed via the minimum detectable force gradient—is hardly affected, because of the enhanced quality factor. Through the enhancement of the quality factor, the attached bead also reduces the relative importance of noise in the deflection detector. It can thus yield an improved signal-to-noise ratio when this detector noise is significant. We describe and analyze these effects for a set-up that includes magnetic actuation of the cantilevers and that can be easily implemented in any AFM system that is compatible with an inverted optical microscope.

Interaction between bacterial outer membrane proteins and periplasmic quality control factors: a kinetic partitioning mechanism.

PubMed

Wu, Si; Ge, Xi; Lv, Zhixin; Zhi, Zeyong; Chang, Zengyi; Zhao, Xin Sheng

2011-09-15

The OMPs (outer membrane proteins) of Gram-negative bacteria have to be translocated through the periplasmic space before reaching their final destination. The aqueous environment of the periplasmic space and high permeability of the outer membrane engender such a translocation process inevitably challenging. In Escherichia coli, although SurA, Skp and DegP have been identified to function in translocating OMPs across the periplasm, their precise roles and their relationship remain to be elucidated. In the present paper, by using fluorescence resonance energy transfer and single-molecule detection, we have studied the interaction between the OMP OmpC and these periplasmic quality control factors. The results of the present study reveal that the binding rate of OmpC to SurA or Skp is much faster than that to DegP, which may lead to sequential interaction between OMPs and different quality control factors. Such a kinetic partitioning mechanism for the chaperone-substrate interaction may be essential for the quality control of the biogenesis of OMPs.

Determinants of judgment and decision making quality: the interplay between information processing style and situational factors.

PubMed

Ayal, Shahar; Rusou, Zohar; Zakay, Dan; Hochman, Guy

2015-01-01

A framework is presented to better characterize the role of individual differences in information processing style and their interplay with contextual factors in determining decision making quality. In Experiment 1, we show that individual differences in information processing style are flexible and can be modified by situational factors. Specifically, a situational manipulation that induced an analytical mode of thought improved decision quality. In Experiment 2, we show that this improvement in decision quality is highly contingent on the compatibility between the dominant thinking mode and the nature of the task. That is, encouraging an intuitive mode of thought led to better performance on an intuitive task but hampered performance on an analytical task. The reverse pattern was obtained when an analytical mode of thought was encouraged. We discuss the implications of these results for the assessment of decision making competence, and suggest practical directions to help individuals better adjust their information processing style to the situation at hand and make optimal decisions.

Determining the active role of microscopists in community awareness-raising activities for malaria prevention: a cross-sectional study in Palawan, the Philippines

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Malaria remains one of the most prevalent and fatal diseases among the inhabitants of Palawan in the Philippines. Palawan, where healthcare services remain limited, has the highest malaria endemicity in the country. To eliminate malaria, effective prevention measures should be conducted alongside early diagnosis and prompt treatment, which are the major tasks of the trained microscopists in Palawan. However, while the microscopists have implemented community awareness-raising activities aimed at preventing transmission of malaria, the nature and quality of these activities have not been evaluated. The present study identified the factors associated with the strengthening of community awareness-raising activities for malaria prevention implemented by microscopists in Palawan. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 127 microscopists in Palawan. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires from November 2010 to February 2011. For data analysis, structural equation modelling was conducted, based on the questionnaire results, to identify the impact of factors associated with the number of community malaria awareness-raising activities implemented by microscopists using the following assessment indicators: (1) place of assignment; (2) annual parasite index; (3) microscopists’ capacity (service quality, knowledge on malaria, and ability in malaria microscopy); (4) self-preventive measures against malaria; and (5) job satisfaction. Results High microscopists’ capacity was found to be a significant factor for a greater number of community awareness-raising activities for malaria prevention. High microscopists’ capacity was significantly explained by its two sub-components: high service quality (active detection, diagnosis and treatment, prescription of anti-malarial, and follow-up) and high ability in malaria microscopy (preparation and documentation, slide preparation and observation, safe handling and disposal, and knowledge on the morphology of infected red blood cells). Conclusions Microscopists’ capacity was identified as a significant factor in community awareness-raising activities for malaria prevention. Thus, the strengthening of service quality and ability in malaria microscopy should be of the highest priority. PMID:24175934

Renal magnetic resonance angiography at 3.0 Tesla using a 32-element phased-array coil system and parallel imaging in 2 directions.

PubMed

Fenchel, Michael; Nael, Kambiz; Deshpande, Vibhas S; Finn, J Paul; Kramer, Ulrich; Miller, Stephan; Ruehm, Stefan; Laub, Gerhard

2006-09-01

The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility of renal magnetic resonance angiography at 3.0 T using a phased-array coil system with 32-coil elements. Specifically, high parallel imaging factors were used for an increased spatial resolution and anatomic coverage of the whole abdomen. Signal-to-noise values and the g-factor distribution of the 32 element coil were examined in phantom studies for the magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) sequence. Eleven volunteers (6 men, median age of 30.0 years) were examined on a 3.0-T MR scanner (Magnetom Trio, Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA) using a 32-element phased-array coil (prototype from In vivo Corp.). Contrast-enhanced 3D-MRA (TR 2.95 milliseconds, TE 1.12 milliseconds, flip angle 25-30 degrees , bandwidth 650 Hz/pixel) was acquired with integrated generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisition (GRAPPA), in both phase- and slice-encoding direction. Images were assessed by 2 independent observers with regard to image quality, noise and presence of artifacts. Signal-to-noise levels of 22.2 +/- 22.0 and 57.9 +/- 49.0 were measured with (GRAPPAx6) and without parallel-imaging, respectively. The mean g-factor of the 32-element coil for GRAPPA with an acceleration of 3 and 2 in the phase-encoding and slice-encoding direction, respectively, was 1.61. High image quality was found in 9 of 11 volunteers (2.6 +/- 0.8) with good overall interobserver agreement (k = 0.87). Relatively low image quality with higher noise levels were encountered in 2 volunteers. MRA at 3.0 T using a 32-element phased-array coil is feasible in healthy volunteers. High diagnostic image quality and extended anatomic coverage could be achieved with application of high parallel imaging factors.

Measuring quality in community based housing support - the QPC-H instrument.

PubMed

Lundqvist, Lars-Olov; Rask, Mikael; Brunt, David; Ivarsson, Ann-Britt; Schröder, Agneta

2016-04-18

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to test the psychometric properties and dimensionality of the instrument Quality in Psychiatric Care-Housing (QPC-H) and briefly describe the residents' perception of quality of housing support. Design/methodology/approach - A sample of 174 residents from 22 housing support services in nine Swedish municipalities participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that the QPC-H consisted of six dimensions and had a factor structure largely corresponding to that found among other instruments in the Quality in Psychiatric Care (QPC) family of instruments. Findings - CFA revealed that the QPC-H consisted of six dimensions and had a factor structure largely corresponding to that found among other instruments in the QPC family of instruments. The internal consistency of the factors was acceptable except in the case of secure and secluded environment, probably due to few numbers of items. With this exception, the QPC-H shows adequate psychometric properties. Social implications - The residents' ratings of quality of housing service were generally high; the highest rating was for secluded environment and the lowest for participation. This dimension would thus seem to indicate an important area for improvement. Originality/value - The QPC-H includes important aspects of residents' assessment of quality of housing service and offers a simple and inexpensive way to evaluate housing support services from the residents' perspective.

Sleep Duration and Quality in Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China.

PubMed

Xu, Xianglong; Liu, Dengyuan; Zhang, Zhangyi; Sharma, Manoj; Zhao, Yong

2017-07-20

Objectives: Good maternal health and fetal development require sufficient and good quality of sleep during pregnancy. This study investigated sleep duration and quality in pregnant women, assessing factors with possibly influence on sleep. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on pregnant women between June and August in 2015 in 16 hospitals in five provinces in China. A total of 2345 pregnant women aged 18 years and older were surveyed. Insufficient sleeping duration was defined as sleeping of less than 7 h per day. Excessive sleep duration was defined as sleeping of more than 9 h per day. Results: A total of 561 (23.9%) participants reported insufficient sleeping duration, whereas 485 (20.9%) claimed excessive sleep duration. A total of 358 (15.2%) of pregnant women reported problems regarding sleep quality. Compared to pregnant women with sufficient sleeping duration, those with insufficient sleeping duration were prone to have poor sleep quality, whereas those with excessive sleeping duration featured low possibility of poor sleep quality. High-risk groups of insufficient sleep duration include women of Han nationality, with siblings, in their first trimester of pregnancy, receiving care in low-capacity/quality hospital settings, and with daily or 1-3 days of secondhand smoke exposure. High-risk groups of excessive sleep duration include women living in rural areas, unemployed, in their third trimester of pregnancy, and receiving care in medium-capacity/quality hospital settings. High-risk groups of poor sleep quality include women of non-Han nationality, low income level, in their third trimester of pregnancy, and with insufficient sleep duration. Conclusions: Insufficient/excessive sleep duration and poor sleep quality commonly occur during pregnancy in China. Findings provide a better understanding of the influencing factors of insufficient/excessive sleep duration and poor quality of sleep. These findings have some implications for future interventions on sleep among pregnant women.

Sleep Duration and Quality in Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China

PubMed Central

Liu, Dengyuan; Zhang, Zhangyi; Zhao, Yong

2017-01-01

Objectives: Good maternal health and fetal development require sufficient and good quality of sleep during pregnancy. This study investigated sleep duration and quality in pregnant women, assessing factors with possibly influence on sleep. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on pregnant women between June and August in 2015 in 16 hospitals in five provinces in China. A total of 2345 pregnant women aged 18 years and older were surveyed. Insufficient sleeping duration was defined as sleeping of less than 7 h per day. Excessive sleep duration was defined as sleeping of more than 9 h per day. Results: A total of 561 (23.9%) participants reported insufficient sleeping duration, whereas 485 (20.9%) claimed excessive sleep duration. A total of 358 (15.2%) of pregnant women reported problems regarding sleep quality. Compared to pregnant women with sufficient sleeping duration, those with insufficient sleeping duration were prone to have poor sleep quality, whereas those with excessive sleeping duration featured low possibility of poor sleep quality. High-risk groups of insufficient sleep duration include women of Han nationality, with siblings, in their first trimester of pregnancy, receiving care in low-capacity/quality hospital settings, and with daily or 1–3 days of secondhand smoke exposure. High-risk groups of excessive sleep duration include women living in rural areas, unemployed, in their third trimester of pregnancy, and receiving care in medium-capacity/quality hospital settings. High-risk groups of poor sleep quality include women of non-Han nationality, low income level, in their third trimester of pregnancy, and with insufficient sleep duration. Conclusions: Insufficient/excessive sleep duration and poor sleep quality commonly occur during pregnancy in China. Findings provide a better understanding of the influencing factors of insufficient/excessive sleep duration and poor quality of sleep. These findings have some implications for future interventions on sleep among pregnant women. PMID:28726747

Acoustic Quality Levels of Mosques in Batu Pahat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azizah Adnan, Nor; Nafida Raja Shahminan, Raja; Khair Ibrahim, Fawazul; Tami, Hannifah; Yusuff, M. Rizal M.; Murniwaty Samsudin, Emedya; Ismail, Isham

2018-04-01

Every Friday, Muslims has been required to perform a special prayer known as the Friday prayers which involve the delivery of a brief lecture (Khutbah). Speech intelligibility in oral communications presented by the preacher affected all the congregation and determined the level of acoustic quality in the interior of the mosque. Therefore, this study intended to assess the level of acoustic quality of three public mosques in Batu Pahat. Good acoustic quality is essential in contributing towards appreciation in prayers and increasing khusyu’ during the worship, which is closely related to the speech intelligibility corresponding to the actual function of the mosque according to Islam. Acoustic parameters measured includes noise criteria (NC), reverberation time (RT) and speech transmission index (STI), and was performed using the sound level meter and sound measurement instruments. This test is carried out through the physical observation with the consideration of space and volume design as a factor affecting acoustic parameters. Results from all 3 mosques as the showed that the acoustic quality level inside these buildings are slightly poor which is at below 0.45 coefficients based on the standard. Among the factors that influencing the low acoustical quality are location, building materials, installation of sound absorption material and the number of occupants inside the mosque. As conclusion, the acoustic quality level of a mosque is highly depends on physical factors of the mosque such as the architectural design and space volume besides other factors as been identified by this study.

The pathways of high school science teachers and policy efforts to alter the pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sass, Tim

2012-03-01

There is currently much interest in improving the quality of science education in K-12 schools and encouraging more students, particularly minorities and women, to pursue careers in STEM fields. Two interrelated issues are at the forefront: the quality of science teachers and the supply of science teachers. Education research in general finds that the single most important school-based factor affecting student achievement is teacher quality. While there is little evidence that teacher credentials matter for student achievement in the lower grades, there is at least some evidence that content knowledge is an important determinant of teacher quality in middle and secondary schools. However, little is known about the pre-service preparation of high school science teachers and how the training of science teachers affects their performance in the classroom. While there are many efforts underway to increase the supply of science teachers, little is known about the supply of science teachers from different pathways and the factors that lead science teachers to leave the profession. In this presentation I discuss recent work on the supply of teachers from alternative pathways, focusing on high school science teachers. I also summarize the literature on teacher quality and attrition, emphasizing the current state of knowledge on secondary school teachers. Finally, I present current policy initiatives and discuss the likelihood of their success given current research findings.

The role of fine-grained annotations in supervised recognition of risk factors for heart disease from EHRs.

PubMed

Roberts, Kirk; Shooshan, Sonya E; Rodriguez, Laritza; Abhyankar, Swapna; Kilicoglu, Halil; Demner-Fushman, Dina

2015-12-01

This paper describes a supervised machine learning approach for identifying heart disease risk factors in clinical text, and assessing the impact of annotation granularity and quality on the system's ability to recognize these risk factors. We utilize a series of support vector machine models in conjunction with manually built lexicons to classify triggers specific to each risk factor. The features used for classification were quite simple, utilizing only lexical information and ignoring higher-level linguistic information such as syntax and semantics. Instead, we incorporated high-quality data to train the models by annotating additional information on top of a standard corpus. Despite the relative simplicity of the system, it achieves the highest scores (micro- and macro-F1, and micro- and macro-recall) out of the 20 participants in the 2014 i2b2/UTHealth Shared Task. This system obtains a micro- (macro-) precision of 0.8951 (0.8965), recall of 0.9625 (0.9611), and F1-measure of 0.9276 (0.9277). Additionally, we perform a series of experiments to assess the value of the annotated data we created. These experiments show how manually-labeled negative annotations can improve information extraction performance, demonstrating the importance of high-quality, fine-grained natural language annotations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of Electrical Discharge Machining on Stress Concentration in Titanium Alloy Holes

PubMed Central

Hsu, Wei-Hsuan; Chien, Wan-Ting

2016-01-01

Titanium alloys have several advantages, such as a high strength-to-weight ratio. However, the machinability of titanium alloys is not as good as its mechanical properties. Many machining processes have been used to fabricate titanium alloys. Among these machining processes, electrical discharge machining (EDM) has the advantage of processing efficiency. EDM is based on thermoelectric energy between a workpiece and an electrode. A pulse discharge occurs in a small gap between the workpiece and electrode. Then, the material from the workpiece is removed through melting and vaporization. However, defects such as cracks and notches are often detected at the boundary of holes fabricated using EDM and the irregular profile of EDM holes reduces product quality. In this study, an innovative method was proposed to estimate the effect of EDM parameters on the surface quality of the holes. The method combining the finite element method and image processing can rapidly evaluate the stress concentration factor of a workpiece. The stress concentration factor was assumed as an index of EDM process performance for estimating the surface quality of EDM holes. In EDM manufacturing processes, Ti-6Al-4V was used as an experimental material and, as process parameters, pulse current and pulse on-time were taken into account. The results showed that finite element simulations can effectively analyze stress concentration in EDM holes. Using high energy during EDM leads to poor hole quality, and the stress concentration factor of a workpiece is correlated to hole quality. The maximum stress concentration factor for an EDM hole was more than four times that for the same diameter of the undamaged hole. PMID:28774078

Effect of Electrical Discharge Machining on Stress Concentration in Titanium Alloy Holes.

PubMed

Hsu, Wei-Hsuan; Chien, Wan-Ting

2016-11-24

Titanium alloys have several advantages, such as a high strength-to-weight ratio. However, the machinability of titanium alloys is not as good as its mechanical properties. Many machining processes have been used to fabricate titanium alloys. Among these machining processes, electrical discharge machining (EDM) has the advantage of processing efficiency. EDM is based on thermoelectric energy between a workpiece and an electrode. A pulse discharge occurs in a small gap between the workpiece and electrode. Then, the material from the workpiece is removed through melting and vaporization. However, defects such as cracks and notches are often detected at the boundary of holes fabricated using EDM and the irregular profile of EDM holes reduces product quality. In this study, an innovative method was proposed to estimate the effect of EDM parameters on the surface quality of the holes. The method combining the finite element method and image processing can rapidly evaluate the stress concentration factor of a workpiece. The stress concentration factor was assumed as an index of EDM process performance for estimating the surface quality of EDM holes. In EDM manufacturing processes, Ti-6Al-4V was used as an experimental material and, as process parameters, pulse current and pulse on-time were taken into account. The results showed that finite element simulations can effectively analyze stress concentration in EDM holes. Using high energy during EDM leads to poor hole quality, and the stress concentration factor of a workpiece is correlated to hole quality. The maximum stress concentration factor for an EDM hole was more than four times that for the same diameter of the undamaged hole.

School Quality and the Development of Cognitive Skills between Age Four and Six

PubMed Central

Borghans, Lex; Golsteyn, Bart H. H.; Zölitz, Ulf

2015-01-01

This paper studies the extent to which young children develop their cognitive ability in high and low quality schools. We use a representative panel data set containing cognitive test scores of 4-6 year olds in Dutch schools. School quality is measured by the school’s average achievement test score at age 12. Our results indicate that children in high-quality schools develop their skills substantially faster than those in low-quality schools. The results remain robust to the inclusion of initial ability, parental background, and neighborhood controls. Moreover, using proximity to higher-achieving schools as an instrument for school choice corroborates the results. The robustness of the results points toward a causal interpretation, although it is not possible to erase all doubt about unobserved confounding factors. PMID:26182123

Maternal depression and parenting in early childhood: Contextual influence of marital quality and social support in two samples.

PubMed

Taraban, Lindsay; Shaw, Daniel S; Leve, Leslie D; Wilson, Melvin N; Dishion, Thomas J; Natsuaki, Misaki N; Neiderhiser, Jenae M; Reiss, David

2017-03-01

Marital quality and social support satisfaction were tested as moderators of the association between maternal depressive symptoms and parenting during early childhood (18-36 months) among 2 large, divergent, longitudinal samples (n = 526; n = 570). Unexpectedly, in both samples the association between maternal depressive symptoms and reduced parenting quality was strongest in the context of high marital quality and high social support, and largely nonsignificant in the context of low marital quality and low social support. Possible explanations for these surprising findings are discussed. Results point to the importance of accounting for factors in the broader family context in predicting the association between depressive symptoms and maternal parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Identifying Consistent and Coherent Dimensions of Nursing Home Quality: Exploratory Factor Analysis of Quality Indicators.

PubMed

Xu, Dongjuan; Kane, Robert L; Shippee, Tetyana; Lewis, Teresa M

2016-12-01

There is a general belief that the markers of nursing home quality do not aggregate easily. Identifying consistent and coherent dimensions of quality that usefully summarize the multiplicity of nursing home quality measures is an important goal. It would simplify interpretation and help consumers, their families and advocates to choose nursing facilities. This study uses quality indicators (QIs) from a state nursing home report card to explore the dimensionality of quality in nursing homes and to determine whether aggregation at the resident versus facility level yields the same underlying dimensions. Cross-sectional study. 382 Medicare- and/or Medicaid-certified nursing homes in Minnesota. Residents admitted to the nursing homes during 2011-2012. 16 QIs obtained from the Minimum Data Set 3.0 assessment instrument between 2011 and 2012 were used in the exploratory factor analysis. Factor analysis results suggest four main factors or dimensions to characterize facility performance: continence care (including 4 QIs), restraints and behavioral symptoms (including 3 QIs), care for specific conditions (including 6 QIs), and physical functioning (including 3 QIs). The resident-level and facility-level results generally agreed for 11 QIs. Nursing home quality of care can be captured in summary measures, which can be used by consumers, providers and researchers. Reporting at the resident or facility level will depend on the purpose. These summary measures can be used by policy-makers to identify and reward high-performing facilities and by families to choose nursing facilities for care. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

Quality controls in cellular immunotherapies: rapid assessment of clinical grade dendritic cells by gene expression profiling.

PubMed

Castiello, Luciano; Sabatino, Marianna; Zhao, Yingdong; Tumaini, Barbara; Ren, Jiaqiang; Ping, Jin; Wang, Ena; Wood, Lauren V; Marincola, Francesco M; Puri, Raj K; Stroncek, David F

2013-02-01

Cell-based immunotherapies are among the most promising approaches for developing effective and targeted immune response. However, their clinical usefulness and the evaluation of their efficacy rely heavily on complex quality control assessment. Therefore, rapid systematic methods are urgently needed for the in-depth characterization of relevant factors affecting newly developed cell product consistency and the identification of reliable markers for quality control. Using dendritic cells (DCs) as a model, we present a strategy to comprehensively characterize manufactured cellular products in order to define factors affecting their variability, quality and function. After generating clinical grade human monocyte-derived mature DCs (mDCs), we tested by gene expression profiling the degrees of product consistency related to the manufacturing process and variability due to intra- and interdonor factors, and how each factor affects single gene variation. Then, by calculating for each gene an index of variation we selected candidate markers for identity testing, and defined a set of genes that may be useful comparability and potency markers. Subsequently, we confirmed the observed gene index of variation in a larger clinical data set. In conclusion, using high-throughput technology we developed a method for the characterization of cellular therapies and the discovery of novel candidate quality assurance markers.

Positive predictors of quality of life for postpartum mothers with a history of childhood maltreatment.

PubMed

Irwin, Jessica L; Beeghly, Marjorie; Rosenblum, Katherine L; Muzik, Maria

2016-12-01

The postpartum period brings a host of biopsychosocial, familial, and economic changes, which may be challenging for new mothers, especially those with trauma histories. Trauma-exposed women are at heightened risk for psychiatric symptomatology and reduced quality of life. The current study sought to evaluate whether a set of hypothesized promotive factors assessed during the first 18 months postpartum (positive parenting, family cohesion, and maternal resilience) are associated with life satisfaction in this population, after controlling for income and postpartum psychiatric symptoms. Analyses were based on data collected for 266 mother-infant dyads from a longitudinal cohort study, Maternal Anxiety during the Childbearing Years (MACY), of women oversampled for childhood maltreatment history. Hierarchical linear regression was used to evaluate the study hypotheses. Consistent with prior work, greater postpartum psychiatric symptoms and less income predicted poor perceptions of life quality. In hierarchical regressions controlling for income and psychiatric symptoms, positive parenting and family cohesion predicted unique variance in mothers' positive perceptions of life quality, and resilience was predictive beyond all other factors. Factors from multiple levels of analysis (maternal, dyadic, and familial) may serve as promotive factors predicting positive perceptions of life quality among women with childhood trauma histories, even those struggling with high levels of psychiatric or economic distress.

Reimbursement decisions of the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group: influence of policy and clinical and economic factors.

PubMed

Linley, Warren G; Hughes, Dyfrig A

2012-09-01

There have been several explorations of factors influencing the reimbursement decisions of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) but not of other UK-based health technology assessment (HTA) organizations. This study aimed to explore the factors influencing the recommendations of the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) on the use of new medicines in Wales. Based on public data, logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the influence of cost effectiveness, the quality and quantity of clinical evidence, disease characteristics (including rarity), budget impact, and a range of other factors on the recommendations of AWMSG and its subcommittee, the New Medicines Group (NMG). Multivariate analyses of 47 AWMSG appraisals between 2007-9 correctly predicted 87% of decisions. The results are suggestive of a positive influence on recommendations of the presence of probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSAs) but, counter-intuitively, a statistically significant negative influence of evidence from high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) [odds ratio 0.059; 95% CI 0.005, 0.699]. This latter observation may be attributed to our strict definition of high quality, which excluded the use of surrogate endpoints. Putative explanatory variables, including cost effectiveness, budget impact, underlying disease characteristics and 'ultra'-orphan drug status were not statistically significant predictors of final AWMSG decisions based on our dataset. Univariate analyses indicate that medicines with negative recommendations had significantly higher incremental cost-effectiveness ratios than those with positive recommendations, consistent with the pursuit of economic efficiency. There is also evidence that AWMSG considers equity issues via an ultra-orphan drugs policy. Consideration of decision uncertainty via PSA appears to positively influence the reimbursement decisions of AWMSG. The significant negative impact of the presence of high-quality RCTs, and the lack of a significant positive impact of other expected factors, may reflect issues in the plausibility of supporting evidence for medicines that received negative recommendations. Furthermore, it serves to emphasize the difficulties in applying the usual hierarchies of evidence to the HTA process, and in particular to the appraisal of high-cost specialist medicines close to market launch.

Non-destructive measurements of cottonseed nutritional trait diversity in the US National Cotton Germplasm Collection

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Recent studies have suggested that cottonseed (Gossypium spp.) has the potential to contribute to the effort against world hunger, particularly by providing a high quality protein source. This report analyzed the diversity in protein content and other seed quality factors in the US National Cotton ...

Non-destructive measurements of cottonseed nutritional trait diversity in the US National Cotton Germplasm Collection

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Recent studies have suggested that cottonseed (Gossypium spp.) has the potential to contribute to the effort against world hunger, particularly by providing a high-quality protein source. This report analyzed the diversity in protein content and other seed quality factors in the U.S. National Cotton...

Optimal Item Pool Design for a Highly Constrained Computerized Adaptive Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

He, Wei

2010-01-01

Item pool quality has been regarded as one important factor to help realize enhanced measurement quality for the computerized adaptive test (CAT) (e.g., Flaugher, 2000; Jensema, 1977; McBride & Wise, 1976; Reckase, 1976; 2003; van der Linden, Ariel, & Veldkamp, 2006; Veldkamp & van der Linden, 2000; Xing & Hambleton, 2004). However, studies are…

Public emergency department: the psychosocial impact on the physical domain of quality of life of nursing professionals

PubMed Central

Kogien, Moisés; Cedaro, José Juliano

2014-01-01

Objectives to determine the psychosocial factors of work related to harm caused in the physical domain of the quality of life of nursing professionals working in a public emergency department. Method cross-sectional, descriptive study addressing 189 nursing professionals. The Job Stress Scale and the short version of an instrument from the World Health Organization to assess quality of life were used to collect data. Robert Karasek's Demand-Control Model was the reference for the analysis of the psychosocial configuration. The risk for damage was computed with a confidence interval of 95%. Results In regard to the psychosocial environment, the largest proportion of workers reported low psychological demands (66.1%) and low social support (52.4%), while 60.9% of the professionals experienced work situations with a greater potential for harm: high demand job (22.8%) and passive work (38.1%). Conclusions low intellectual discernment, low social support and experiencing a high demand job or a passive job were the main risk factors for damage in the physical domain of quality of life. PMID:24553703

Public emergency department: the psychosocial impact on the physical domain of quality of life of nursing professionals.

PubMed

Kogien, Moisés; Cedaro, José Juliano

2014-01-01

to determine the psychosocial factors of work related to harm caused in the physical domain of the quality of life of nursing professionals working in a public emergency department. cross-sectional, descriptive study addressing 189 nursing professionals. The Job Stress Scale and the short version of an instrument from the World Health Organization to assess quality of life were used to collect data. Robert Karasek's Demand-Control Model was the reference for the analysis of the psychosocial configuration. The risk for damage was computed with a confidence interval of 95%. In regard to the psychosocial environment, the largest proportion of workers reported low psychological demands (66.1%) and low social support (52.4%), while 60.9% of the professionals experienced work situations with a greater potential for harm: high demand job (22.8%) and passive work (38.1%). low intellectual discernment, low social support and experiencing a high demand job or a passive job were the main risk factors for damage in the physical domain of quality of life.

Trends of microwave dielectric materials for antenna application

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

Sulong, T. A. T., E-mail: tuanamirahtuansulong@gmail.com; Osman, R. A. M., E-mail: rozana@unimap.edu.my; Idris, M. S., E-mail: sobri@unimap.edu.my

Rapid development of a modern microwave communication system requires a high quality microwave dielectric ceramic material to be used as mobile and satellite communication. High permittivity of dielectric ceramics leads to fabrication of compact device for electronic components. Dielectric ceramics which used for microwave applications required three important parameters such as high or appropriate permittivity (ε{sub r}), high quality factor (Q {sub f} ≥ 5000 GH z) and good temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ{sub f}). This paper review of various dielectric ceramic materials used as microwave dielectric materials and related parameters for antenna applications.

Associations between poor sleep quality and psychosocial stress with obesity in reproductive-age women of lower socioeconomic status.

PubMed

Tom, Sarah E; Berenson, Abbey B

2013-01-01

Prior studies have not examined the role of psychosocial stress in the relationship between poor sleep quality and obesity among women of lower socioeconomic status (SES). We tested the following hypotheses in a sample of reproductive-age women of lower SES: 1) Poor sleep quality is related to increased risk of obesity, and 2) psychosocial stress confounds this association between poor sleep quality and obesity. A total of 927 women age 16 to 40 years attending public health clinics in Southeastern Texas provided information on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and sociodemographic and health characteristics, including the Perceived Stress Scale. Height, weight, and waist circumference (WC) were measured in clinic. A series of models examined the associations between sleep disturbance, perceived stress, and weight outcomes, accounting for potential confounding factors. Nearly 30% of women were overweight, and 35% were obese. Half of women had a WC of greater than 35 inches. Most women had poor sleep quality and high levels of stress. Sleep quality and perceived stress were not related to body mass index category or WC in models that adjusted for age and race/ethnicity. Adjusting for potential confounding factors did not alter results. Perceived stress did not modify the association between sleep quality and weight outcomes. Poor sleep quality and psychosocial stress were not related to weight in reproductive-aged women of lower SES. However, poor sleep quality, high stress, overweight, and obesity were common in this group. Copyright © 2013 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biological effectiveness of nuclear fragments produced by high-energy protons interacting in tissues near the bone- soft tissue interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shavers, Mark Randall

1999-12-01

High-energy protons in the galactic cosmic rays (GCR)-or generated by nuclear interactions of GCR heavy-ions with material-are capable of penetrating great thicknesses of shielding to irradiate humans in spacecraft or in lunar or Martian habitats. As protons interact with the nuclei of the elemental constituents of soft tissue and bone, low energy nuclei-target fragments-are emitted into the cells responsible for bone development and maintenance and for hematopoiesis. Leukemogenesis is the principal endpoint of concern because it is the most likely deleterious effect, and it has a short latency period and comparatively low survival rate, although other myelo- proliferative disorders and osteosarcoma also may be induced. A one-dimensional proton-target fragment transport model was used to calculate the energy spectra of fragments produced in bone and soft tissue, and present in marrow cavities at distances from a bone interface. In terms of dose equivalent, the target fragments are as significant as the incident protons. An average radiation quality factor was found to be between 1.8 and 2.6. Biological response to the highly non- uniform energy deposition of the target fragments is such that an alternative approach to conventional predictive risk assessment is needed. Alternative procedures are presented. In vitro cell response and relative biological effectiveness were calculated from the radial dose distribution of each fragment produced by 1-GeV protons using parameters of a modified Ion-Gamma- Kill (IGK) model of radiation action. The modelled endpoints were survival of C3H10t 1/2 and V79 cells, neoplastic transformation of C3H10t1/2 cells, and mutation of the X-linked hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) locus in V79 cells. The dose equivalent and cell responses increased by 10% or less near the interface. Since RBE increases with decreasing dose in the IGK model, comparisons with quality factors were made at dose levels 0.01 <= D [Gy] <= 2. Applying average quality factors derived herein to GCR exposures results in a <= 5% increase of in average quality. Calculated RBEs indicate that accepted quality factors for high-energy protons may be too low due to the relatively high effectiveness of the low-charged target fragments. Derived RBEs for target fragments increase the calculated biological effectiveness of GCR by 20% to 180%.

Out Drinking the Joneses: Neighborhood Factors Moderating the Effects of Drinking on Relationship Quality over the First Four Years of Marriage.

PubMed

Crasta, Dev; Funk, Janette L; Lee, Soonhee; Rogge, Ronald D

2017-12-27

Neighborhood quality has been cross-sectionally linked to both relationship behaviors and relationship well-being. Consistent with the Vulnerability Stress-Adaptation model of relationship functioning (Karney & Bradbury, 1995), we hypothesized that associations between social behaviors (e.g., drinking) and relationship quality could be moderated by neighborhood factors. Specifically, we characterized neighborhoods along multiple dimensions using multiple methods (self-report, census) to investigate how neighborhood factors might clarify ambiguous effects of alcohol use on marital functioning. A nationally recruited sample of 303 newlywed couples completed a baseline assessment around the time of marriage and was then assessed yearly across the first 4 years of marriage (94% retention). Three level HLM slope-intercept models were used to model changes in relationship satisfaction across the first 4 years of marriage. Results suggested that, for couples living in highly disordered neighborhoods, positive shifts in overall levels of drinking within specific waves of assessment were associated with corresponding negative shifts in satisfaction whereas in neighborhoods without perceived disorder, this effect was reversed. For couples living in neighborhoods with low levels of domestic structures (high census rates of single renters without children), within-couple discrepancies favoring higher rates of husband drinking in specific waves predicted poorer relationship quality for both partners in those same waves whereas those same discrepancies predicted higher satisfaction in high domesticity neighborhoods (high census rates of married homeowners with children). The findings provide insight into the different roles of alcohol use in relationship maintenance and highlight the importance of using external context to understand intradyadic processes. © 2017 Family Process Institute.

Identification af explosive power factors as predictors of player quality in young female volleyball players.

PubMed

Grgantov, Zoran; Milić, Mirjana; Katić, Ratko

2013-05-01

With the purpose of determining the factor structure of explosive power, as well as the influence of each factor on situational efficiency, 56 young female volleyball players were tested using 14 tests for assessing nonspecific and specific explosive power. By factor analysis, 4 significant factors were isolated which explained the total of over 80% of the common variability in young female volleyball players. The first factor was defined as volleyball-specific jumping, the second factor as nonspecific jumping and sprinting, the third factor as throwing explosive power, while the fourth factor was interpreted as volleyball-specific throwing and spiking speed from the ground. Results obtained by regression analysis in the latent space of explosive power indicate that the identified factors are good predictors of player quality in young female volleyball players. The fourth factor defined as throwing and spiking speed from the ground had the largest influence on player quality, followed by volleyball-specific jumping and nonspecific jumping and sprinting, and to a much lesser extent, by throwing explosive power The results obtained in this age group bring to the fore the ability of spiking and serving a ball of high speed, which hinders the opponents from playing those balls in serve reception and field defence. This ability, combined with a high standing vertical jump reach and spike approach vertical jump reach (which is the basis of the 1st varimax factor) enables successful performance of all volleyball elements by which points are won in complex 1 (spike) and complex 2 (serve and block). Even though the 2nd factor (nonspecific jumping and sprinting) has a slightly smaller impact on situational efficiency in young players, this ability provides preconditions i.e. preparation for successful realisation of all volleyball elements, so greater attention must be paid to perfecting it in young female volleyball players.

Cost-utility analyses of drug therapies in breast cancer: a systematic review.

PubMed

Nerich, Virginie; Saing, Sopany; Gamper, Eva Maria; Kemmler, Georg; Daval, Franck; Pivot, Xavier; Holzner, Bernhard

2016-10-01

The economic evaluation (EE) of health care products has become a necessity. Their quality must be high in order to trust the results and make informed decisions. While cost-utility analyses (CUAs) should be preferred to cost-effectiveness analyses in the oncology area, the quality of breast cancer (BC)-related CUA has been given little attention so far. Thus, firstly, a systematic review of published CUA related to drug therapies for BC, gene expression profiling, and HER2 status testing was performed. Secondly, the quality of selected CUA was assessed and the factors associated with a high-quality CUA identified. The systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, MEDLINE/EMBASE, and Cochrane to identify published CUA between 2000 and 2014. After screening and data extraction, the quality of each selected CUA was assessed by two independent reviewers, using the checklist proposed by Drummond et al. The analysis of factors associated with a high-quality CUA (defined as a Drummond score ≥7) was performed using a two-step approach. Our systematic review was based on 140 CUAs and showed a wide variety of methodological approaches, including differences in the perspective adopted, the time horizon, measurement of cost and effectiveness, and more specially health-state utility values (HSUVs). The median Drummond score was 7 [range 3-10]. Only one in two of the CUA (n = 74) had a Drummond score ≥7, synonymous of "high quality." The statistically significant predictors of a high-quality CUA were article with "gene expression profiling" topic (p = 0.001), consulting or pharmaceutical company as main location of first author (p = 0.004), and articles with both incremental cost-utility ratio and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio as outcomes of EE (p = 0.02). Our systematic review identified only 140 CUAs published over the past 15 years with one in two of high quality. It showed a wide variety of methodological approaches, especially focused on HSUVs. A critical appraisal of utility values is necessary to better understand one of the main difficulties encountered by authors and propose areas for improvement to increase the quality of CUA. Since the last 5 years, there is a tendency toward an improvement in the quality of these studies, probably coupled with economic context, a better and widely spreading of recommendations and thus appropriation by medical practitioners. That being said, there is an urgent need for mandatory use of European and international recommendations to ensure quality of such approaches and to allow easy comparison.

Student Perception of Academic Achievement Factors at High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahar, Mustafa

2016-01-01

Measuring the quality of the "product" is elemental in education, and most studies depend on observational data about student achievement factors, focusing overwhelmingly on quantitative data namely achievement scores, school data like attendance, facilities, expenditure class size, etc. But there is little evidence of learner…

Safety considerations in providing allergen immunotherapy in the office.

PubMed

Mattos, Jose L; Lee, Stella

2016-06-01

This review highlights the risks of allergy immunotherapy, methods to improve the quality and safety of allergy treatment, the current status of allergy quality metrics, and the future of quality measurement. In the current healthcare environment, the emphasis on outcomes measurement is increasing, and providers must be better equipped in the development, measurement, and reporting of safety and quality measures. Immunotherapy offers the only potential cure for allergic disease and asthma. Although well tolerated and effective, immunotherapy can be associated with serious consequence, including anaphylaxis and death. Many predisposing factors and errors that lead to serious systemic reactions are preventable, and the evaluation and implementation of quality measures are crucial to developing a safe immunotherapy practice. Although quality metrics for immunotherapy are in their infancy, they will become increasingly sophisticated, and providers will face increased pressure to deliver safe, high-quality, patient-centered, evidence-based, and efficient allergy care. The establishment of safety in the allergy office involves recognition of potential risk factors for anaphylaxis, the development and measurement of quality metrics, and changing systems-wide practices if needed. Quality improvement is a continuous process, and although national allergy-specific quality metrics do not yet exist, they are in development.

Factors associated with physical therapists' implementation of physical activity interventions in The Netherlands.

PubMed

Huijg, Johanna M; Dusseldorp, Elise; Gebhardt, Winifred A; Verheijden, Marieke W; van der Zouwe, Nicolette; Middelkoop, Barend J C; Duijzer, Geerke; Crone, Mathilde R

2015-04-01

Physical therapists play an important role in the promotion of physical activity (PA) and the effectiveness of PA interventions. However, little is known about the extent to which they implement PA interventions following the intervention protocol and about the factors influencing their implementation behaviors. The study objective was to investigate physical therapists' implementation fidelity regarding PA interventions, including completeness and quality of delivery, and influencing factors with a Theoretical Domains Framework-based questionnaire. The study was based on a cross-sectional design. A total of 268 physical therapists completed the Determinants of Implementation Behavior Questionnaire. Questions about completeness and quality of delivery were based on components and tasks of PA interventions as described by the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy. Multilevel regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with completeness and quality of delivery. High implementation fidelity was found for the physical therapists, with higher scores for completeness of delivery than for quality of delivery. Physical therapists' knowledge, skills, beliefs about capabilities and consequences, positive emotions, behavioral regulation, and the automaticity of PA intervention delivery were the most important predictors of implementation fidelity. Together, the Theoretical Domains Framework accounted for 23% of the variance in both total completeness and total quality scores. The cross-sectional design precluded the determination of causal relationships. Also, the use of a self-report measure to assess implementation fidelity could have led to socially desirable responses, possibly resulting in more favorable ratings for completeness and quality. This study enhances the understanding of how physical therapists implement PA interventions and which factors influence their behaviors. Knowledge about these factors may assist in the development of strategies to improve physical therapists' implementation behaviors. © 2015 American Physical Therapy Association.

Quality indicators for colorectal cancer surgery and care according to patient-, tumor-, and hospital-related factors.

PubMed

Mathoulin-Pélissier, Simone; Bécouarn, Yves; Belleannée, Geneviève; Pinon, Elodie; Jaffré, Anne; Coureau, Gaëlle; Auby, Dominique; Renaud-Salis, Jean-Louis; Rullier, Eric

2012-07-19

Colorectal cancer (CRC) care has improved considerably, particularly since the implementation of a quality of care program centered on national evidence-based guidelines. Formal quality assessment is however still needed. The aim of this research was to identify factors associated with practice variation in CRC patient care. CRC patients identified from all cancer centers in South-West France were included. We investigated variations in practices (from diagnosis to surgery), and compliance with recommended guidelines for colon and rectal cancer. We identified factors associated with three colon cancer practice variations potentially linked to better survival: examination of ≥ 12 lymph nodes (LN), non-use and use of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II and stage III patients, respectively. We included 1,206 patients, 825 (68%) with colon and 381 (32%) with rectal cancer, from 53 hospitals. Compliance was high for resection, pathology report, LN examination, and chemotherapy use for stage III patients. In colon cancer, 26% of stage II patients received adjuvant chemotherapy and 71% of stage III patients. 84% of stage US T3T4 rectal cancer patients received pre-operative radiotherapy. In colon cancer, factors associated with examination of ≥ 12 LNs were: lower ECOG score, advanced stage and larger hospital volume; factors negatively associated were: left sided tumor location and one hospital district. Use of chemotherapy in stage II patients was associated with younger age, advanced stage, emergency setting and care structure (private and location); whereas under-use in stage III patients was associated with advanced age, presence of comorbidities and private hospitals. Although some changes in practices may have occurred since this observational study, these findings represent the most recent report on practices in CRC in this region, and offer a useful methodological approach for assessing quality of care. Guideline compliance was high, although some organizational factors such as hospital size or location influence practice variation. These factors should be the focus of any future guideline implementation.

Reporting and methodological quality of meta-analyses in urological literature.

PubMed

Xia, Leilei; Xu, Jing; Guzzo, Thomas J

2017-01-01

To assess the overall quality of published urological meta-analyses and identify predictive factors for high quality. We systematically searched PubMed to identify meta-analyses published from January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2015 in 10 predetermined major paper-based urology journals. The characteristics of the included meta-analyses were collected, and their reporting and methodological qualities were assessed by the PRISMA checklist (27 items) and AMSTAR tool (11 items), respectively. Descriptive statistics were used for individual items as a measure of overall compliance, and PRISMA and AMSTAR scores were calculated as the sum of adequately reported domains. Logistic regression was used to identify predictive factors for high qualities. A total of 183 meta-analyses were included. The mean PRISMA and AMSTAR scores were 22.74 ± 2.04 and 7.57 ± 1.41, respectively. PRISMA item 5, protocol and registration, items 15 and 22, risk of bias across studies, items 16 and 23, additional analysis had less than 50% adherence. AMSTAR item 1, " a priori " design, item 5, list of studies and item 10, publication bias had less than 50% adherence. Logistic regression analyses showed that funding support and " a priori " design were associated with superior reporting quality, following PRISMA guideline and " a priori " design were associated with superior methodological quality. Reporting and methodological qualities of recently published meta-analyses in major paper-based urology journals are generally good. Further improvement could potentially be achieved by strictly adhering to PRISMA guideline and having " a priori " protocol.

What information is used in treatment decision aids? A systematic review of the types of evidence populating health decision aids.

PubMed

Clifford, Amanda M; Ryan, Jean; Walsh, Cathal; McCurtin, Arlene

2017-02-23

Patient decision aids (DAs) are support tools designed to provide patients with relevant information to help them make informed decisions about their healthcare. While DAs can be effective in improving patient knowledge and decision quality, it is unknown what types of information and evidence are used to populate such decision tools. Systematic methods were used to identify and appraise the relevant literature and patient DAs published between 2006 and 2015. Six databases (Academic Search Complete, AMED, CINAHL, Biomedical Reference Collection, General Sciences and MEDLINE) and reference list searching were used. Articles evaluating the effectiveness of the DAs were appraised using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. The content, quality and sources of evidence in the decision aids were evaluated using the IPDASi-SF and a novel classification system. Findings were synthesised and a narrative analysis was performed on the results. Thirteen studies representing ten DAs met the inclusion criteria. The IPDASI-SF score ranged from 9 to 16 indicating many of the studies met the majority of quality criteria. Sources of evidence were described but reports were sometimes generic or missing important information. The majority of DAs incorporated high quality research evidence including systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Patient and practice evidence was less commonly employed, with only a third of included DAs using these to populate decision aid content. The quality of practice and patient evidence ranged from high to low. Contextual factors were addressed across all DAs to varying degrees and covered a range of factors. This is an initial study examining the information and evidence used to populate DAs. While research evidence and contextual factors are well represented in included DAs, consideration should be given to incorporating high quality information representing all four pillars of evidence based practice when developing DAs. Further, patient and expert practice evidence should be acquired rigorously and DAs should report the means by which such evidence is obtained with citations clearly provided.

Highly Integrated Quality Assurance – An Empirical Case

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

Drake Kirkham; Amy Powell; Lucas Rich

2011-02-01

Highly Integrated Quality Assurance – An Empirical Case Drake Kirkham1, Amy Powell2, Lucas Rich3 1Quality Manager, Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Program, Idaho National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1625 M/S 6122, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-6122 2Quality Engineer, RPS Program, Idaho National Laboratory 3Quality Engineer, RPS Program, Idaho National Laboratory Contact: Voice: (208) 533-7550 Email: Drake.Kirkham@inl.gov Abstract. The Radioisotope Power Systems Program of the Idaho National Laboratory makes an empirical case for a highly integrated Quality Assurance function pertaining to the preparation, assembly, testing, storage and transportation of 238Pu fueled radioisotope thermoelectric generators. Case data represents multiple campaigns including the Pluto/New Horizons mission,more » the Mars Science Laboratory mission in progress, and other related projects. Traditional Quality Assurance models would attempt to reduce cost by minimizing the role of dedicated Quality Assurance personnel in favor of either functional tasking or peer-based implementations. Highly integrated Quality Assurance adds value by placing trained quality inspectors on the production floor side-by-side with nuclear facility operators to enhance team dynamics, reduce inspection wait time, and provide for immediate, independent feedback. Value is also added by maintaining dedicated Quality Engineers to provide for rapid identification and resolution of corrective action, enhanced and expedited supply chain interfaces, improved bonded storage capabilities, and technical resources for requirements management including data package development and Certificates of Inspection. A broad examination of cost-benefit indicates highly integrated Quality Assurance can reduce cost through the mitigation of risk and reducing administrative burden thereby allowing engineers to be engineers, nuclear operators to be nuclear operators, and the cross-functional team to operate more efficiently. Applicability of this case extends to any high-value, long-term project where traceability and accountability are determining factors.« less

Optical microresonator for application to an opto-electronic oscillator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yu-Mei; Vivien, Laurent; Cassan, Eric; Luong, Vu Hai Nam; Nguyen, Lam Duy; Journet, Bernard

2010-02-01

Optoelectronic oscillators are classically based on a feedback fiber loop acting as a delay line for high spectral purity. One of the problems due to long fiber loops is the size and the requirement of temperature control. Going toward integrated solutions requires the introduction of optical resonators with a very high quality factor. A structure based on silicon on insulator material has been designed for application to an oscillator working at 8 GHz. The micro-resonator has a stadium shape with a ridge of 30 nm height, 1 μm width, a millimetric radius and a gap of some microns in agreement with the required free spectral range. A quality factor of 500000 can be achieved leading to an equivalent fiber loop of 2 km.

High field Q slope and the effect of low-temperature baking at 3 GHz

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

Ciovati, G.; Eremeev, G.; Hannon, F.

Here, a strong degradation of the unloaded quality factor with field, called high field Q-slope, is commonly observed above Bmore » $$_{p}$$ $$\\cong$$ 100 mT in elliptical superconducting niobium cavities at 1.3 GHz and 1.5 GHz. In the present experiments several 3 GHz niobium cavities were measured up to and above B$$_{p}$$ $$\\cong$$100 mT. The measurements show that a high field Q-slope phenomenon limits the field reach at this frequency, that the high field Q-slope onset field depends weakly on the frequency, and that the high field Q-slope can be removed by the typical empirical solution of electropolishing followed by heating to 120 $$^{\\circ}$$C for 48 hrs. In addition, one of the cavities reached a quench field of 174~mT and its field dependence of the quality factor was compared against global heating predicted by a thermal feedback model.« less

High field Q slope and the effect of low-temperature baking at 3 GHz

DOE PAGES

Ciovati, G.; Eremeev, G.; Hannon, F.

2018-01-29

Here, a strong degradation of the unloaded quality factor with field, called high field Q-slope, is commonly observed above Bmore » $$_{p}$$ $$\\cong$$ 100 mT in elliptical superconducting niobium cavities at 1.3 GHz and 1.5 GHz. In the present experiments several 3 GHz niobium cavities were measured up to and above B$$_{p}$$ $$\\cong$$100 mT. The measurements show that a high field Q-slope phenomenon limits the field reach at this frequency, that the high field Q-slope onset field depends weakly on the frequency, and that the high field Q-slope can be removed by the typical empirical solution of electropolishing followed by heating to 120 $$^{\\circ}$$C for 48 hrs. In addition, one of the cavities reached a quench field of 174~mT and its field dependence of the quality factor was compared against global heating predicted by a thermal feedback model.« less

Stillbirths: the way forward in high-income countries.

PubMed

Flenady, Vicki; Middleton, Philippa; Smith, Gordon C; Duke, Wes; Erwich, Jan Jaap; Khong, T Yee; Neilson, Jim; Ezzati, Majid; Koopmans, Laura; Ellwood, David; Fretts, Ruth; Frøen, J Frederik

2011-05-14

Stillbirth rates in high-income countries declined dramatically from about 1940, but this decline has slowed or stalled over recent times. The present variation in stillbirth rates across and within high-income countries indicates that further reduction in stillbirth is possible. Large disparities (linked to disadvantage such as poverty) in stillbirth rates need to be addressed by providing more educational opportunities and improving living conditions for women. Placental pathologies and infection associated with preterm birth are linked to a substantial proportion of stillbirths. The proportion of unexplained stillbirths associated with under investigation continues to impede efforts in stillbirth prevention. Overweight, obesity, and smoking are important modifiable risk factors for stillbirth, and advanced maternal age is also an increasingly prevalent risk factor. Intensified efforts are needed to ameliorate the effects of these factors on stillbirth rates. Culturally appropriate preconception care and quality antenatal care that is accessible to all women has the potential to reduce stillbirth rates in high-income countries. Implementation of national perinatal mortality audit programmes aimed at improving the quality of care could substantially reduce stillbirths. Better data on numbers and causes of stillbirth are needed, and international consensus on definition and classification related to stillbirth is a priority. All parents should be offered a thorough investigation including a high-quality autopsy and placental histopathology. Parent organisations are powerful change agents and could have an important role in raising awareness to prevent stillbirth. Future research must focus on screening and interventions to reduce antepartum stillbirth as a result of placental dysfunction. Identification of ways to reduce maternal overweight and obesity is a high priority for high-income countries. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Product quality as the main factor of increase of competitiveness (on the example of JSC “Kazan helicopter plant”)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khafizov, I. I.; Nurullin, I. G.

2017-09-01

Planning for effective development, and timely research perspectives and opportunities, States, markets, regulations, competition and competitiveness of its production, helps to achieve the stable business success in the market. The relevance of the study of the production of high quality products is that the quality of goods and services should always comply with the requirements established in state regulations, standards, regulations or conditions.

Predictors for work participation in individuals with an Autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review.

PubMed

Holwerda, Anja; van der Klink, Jac J L; Groothoff, Johan W; Brouwer, Sandra

2012-09-01

Research shows that only about 25% of people with autism are employed. We conducted a systematic review on factors facilitating or hindering work participation of people with autism in longitudinal studies. An extensive search in biomedical and psychological databases yielded 204 articles and 18 satisfied all inclusion criteria. We assessed the methodological quality of included studies using an established criteria list. Seventeen factors were identified and categorized as disease-related factors, personal factors or external factors. Limited cognitive ability was the only significant predictor consistently found for work outcome. Functional independence and institutionalization were both reported by one study to be significantly related to work outcome. Inconsistent findings or non significant findings were reported for the other fourteen factors. These findings emphasize the need for more high quality cohort studies focussing on work participation as the main outcome among people with Autism.

Cancer patient autonomy and quality of dying-a prospective nationwide survey in Taiwan.

PubMed

Cheng, Shao-Yi; Lin, Wen-Yuan; Cheng, Ya-Hui; Huang, Chien Hsiun; Chen, Ching-Yu; Hwang, Shinn-Jang; Tsai, Shih-Tzu; Chiu, Tai-Yuan

2016-02-01

Patient autonomy is an essential factor in the measurement of quality of dying. We aimed to conduct a study to investigate the factors affecting the autonomy of advanced cancer patients in Taiwan. We conducted a prospective, multicenter study and recruited 574 advanced cancer patients from four inpatient hospice wards in Taiwan; their quality of dying was measured using the validated good death scale and the audit scale. Physician-assessed autonomy and the other scales were measured in a team conference by the primary care physician and the team 1 week after the patient had passed away. The good death scale was measured twice, once at admission and then after the patient had passed away for comparison. We measured factors affecting the improvement in quality of dying of these patients initially by applying multiple linear regression analysis. Then, taking physician-assessed autonomy as a dependent variable, we identified the factors that affected this variable. The good death score at admission, clear consciousness, number of admission days beyond 7, better physical care, higher physician-assessed autonomy, better emotional support, better communication, better continuity of life, and physician-reported rate of closure were factors affecting the quality of dying. Further analysis identified age (p = 0.031), consciousness (p = 0.01), and total good death scale score at death (p < 0.001) as determinants of physician-assessed autonomy. We concluded that physician-assessed autonomy would affect a good death and was highly correlated with age, consciousness level, and quality of dying at the end for advanced cancer patients in Taiwan. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Optimized adipose tissue engineering strategy based on a neo-mechanical processing method.

PubMed

He, Yunfan; Lin, Maohui; Wang, Xuecen; Guan, Jingyan; Dong, Ziqing; Feng, Lu; Xing, Malcolm; Feng, Chuanbo; Li, Xiaojian

2018-05-26

Decellularized adipose tissue (DAT) represents a promising scaffold for adipose tissue engineering. However, the unique and prolonged lipid removal process required for adipose tissue can damage extracellular matrix (ECM) constituents. Moreover, inadequate vascularization limits the recellularization of DAT in vivo. We proposed a neo-mechanical protocol for rapidly breaking adipocytes and removing lipid content from adipose tissue. The lipid-depleted adipose tissue was then subjected to a fast and mild decellularization to fabricate high-quality DAT (M-DAT). Adipose liquid extract (ALE) derived from this mechanical process was collected and incorporated into M-DAT to further optimize in vivo recellularization. Ordinary DAT was fabricated and served as a control. This developed strategy was evaluated based on decellularization efficiency, ECM quality, and recellularization efficiency. Angiogenic factor components and angiogenic potential of ALE were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. M-DAT achieved the same decellularization efficiency, but exhibited better retention of ECM components and recellularization, compared to those with ordinary DAT. Protein quantification revealed considerable levels of angiogenic factors (basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor-β1, and vascular endothelial growth factor) in ALE. ALE promoted tube formation in vitro and induced intense angiogenesis in M-DAT in vivo; furthermore, higher expression of the adipogenic factor PPARγ and greater numbers of adipocytes were evident following ALE treatment, compared to those in the M-DAT group. Mechanical processing of adipose tissue led to the production of high-quality M-DAT and angiogenic factor-enriched ALE. The combination of ALE and M-DAT could be a promising strategy for engineered adipose tissue construction. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2018 by the Wound Healing Society.

Effects of argument quality, source credibility and self-reported diabetes knowledge on message attitudes: an experiment using diabetes related messages.

PubMed

Lin, Tung-Cheng; Hwang, Lih-Lian; Lai, Yung-Jye

2017-05-17

Previous studies have reported that credibility and content (argument quality) are the most critical factors affecting the quality of health information and its acceptance and use; however, this causal relationship merits further investigation in the context of health education. Moreover, message recipients' prior knowledge may moderate these relationships. This study used the elaboration likelihood model to determine the main effects of argument quality, source credibility and the moderating effect of self-reported diabetes knowledge on message attitudes. A between-subjects experimental design using an educational message concerning diabetes for manipulation was applied to validate the effects empirically. A total of 181 participants without diabetes were recruited from the Department of Health, Taipei City Government. Four group messages were manipulated in terms of argument quality (high and low) × source credibility (high and low). Argument quality and source credibility of health information significantly influenced the attitude of message recipients. The participants with high self-reported knowledge participants exhibited significant disapproval for messages with low argument quality. Effective health information should provide objective descriptions and cite reliable sources; in addition, it should provide accurate, customised messages for recipients who have high background knowledge level and ability to discern message quality. © 2017 Health Libraries Group Health Information & Libraries Journal.

High Plains regional ground-water study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennehy, Kevin F.

2000-01-01

Over the last 25 years, industry and government have made large financial investments aimed at improving water quality across the Nation. Significant progress has been made; however, many water-quality concerns remain. In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began implementing a full-scale National Water-Quality Assessment Program to provide consistent and scientifically sound information for managing the Nation's water resources. The goals of the NAWQA Program are to (1) describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams and aquifers, (2) describe how water quality is changing over time, and (3) improve our understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting water quality. Assessing the quality of water in every location in the Nation would not be practical; therefore, NAWQA Program studies are conducted within a set of areas called study units (fig. 1). These study units are composed of more than 50 important river and aquifer systems that represent the diverse geography, water resources, and land and water uses of the Nation. The High Plains Regional Ground-Water Study is one such study area, designed to address issues relevant to the High Plains Aquifer system while supplementing water-quality information collected in other study units across the Nation. Implementation of the NAWQA Program for the High Plains Regional Ground-Water Study area began in 1998.

Boar management and semen handling factors affect the quality of boar extended semen.

PubMed

Lopez Rodriguez, Alfonso; Van Soom, Ann; Arsenakis, Ioannis; Maes, Dominiek

2017-01-01

Artificial insemination (AI) is the preferred method for reproduction in the majority of the intensive pig production systems Worldwide. To this end, fresh extended ready-to-use semen doses are either purchased from AI-centres or produced by boars kept on-farm. For profitable semen production, it is necessary to obtain a maximum amount of high quality semen from each boar. This paper reviews current knowledge on factors that may affect semen quality by influencing the boar or the semen during processing. Genetic markers could be used for early detection of boars with the highest fertility potential. Genetic selection for fast growth might jeopardize semen quality. Early detection of boars no longer fit for semen production might be possible by ultrasonography of the testes. Seasonal variation in sperm quality could be associated with changes in photoperiod and heat stress during summer. Comfortable housing, with appropiate bedding material to avoid locomotion problems is essential. In some areas, cooling systems may be necessary to avoid heat stress. The sperm quality can be manipulated by feeding strategies aiming, for instance, to increase sperm resistance to oxidative stress and extend storage duration. High collection frequency will negatively influence sperm quality. Also, if collection is not hygienically performed it will result in bacterial contamination of the semen doses. The concern over bacterial contamination has risen not only because of its negative effect on semen quality but also due to the detection of antimicrobial resistance in isolates from extended semen. Moreover, bacterial and viral pathogens must be monitored because they affect semen production and quality and constitute a risk of herd infection. During processing, boar sperm are submitted to many stress factors that can cause oxidative stress and capacitation-like changes potentially reducing their fertility potential. Dilution rate or dilution temperature affects the quality of the semen doses. Some packaging might preserve semen better than others and some plastic components might be toxic for sperm. Standard operation procedures and quality assurance systems in AI centres are needed.

Nurse-perceived quality of care in intensive care units and associations with work environment characteristics: a multicentre survey study.

PubMed

Stalpers, Dewi; Van Der Linden, Dimitri; Kaljouw, Marian J; Schuurmans, Marieke J

2017-06-01

To examine nurse-perceived quality of care, controlling for overall job satisfaction among critical care nurses and to explore associations with work environment characteristics. Nurse-perceived quality of care and job satisfaction have been positively linked to quality outcomes for nurses and patients. Much evidence exists on factors contributing to job satisfaction. Understanding specific factors that affect nurse-perceived quality potentially enables for improvements of nursing care quality. A multicentre survey study was conducted in three Dutch intensive care units. The Dutch version of the Essentials of Magnetism II questionnaire was used; including the single-item indicators: (i) nurse-perceived quality of care; (ii) overall job satisfaction; and (iii) 58 statements on work environments. Data were collected between October 2013 - June 2014. The majority of 123 responding nurses (response rate 45%) were more than satisfied with quality of care (55%) and with their job (66%). No associations were found with nurse characteristics, besides differences in job satisfaction between the units. After controlling for job satisfaction, nurse-perceived quality was positively associated with the work environment characteristics: adequacy of staffing, patient-centeredness, competent peers and support for education. Patient-centeredness and autonomy were the most important predictors for overall job satisfaction. Factors that contribute to nurse-perceived quality of care in intensive care units, independent from the effects of overall job satisfaction, were identified. Hereby, offering opportunities to maximize high quality of care to critically ill patients. Research in a larger sample is needed to confirm our findings. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Young Children's Sibling Relationship Quality: Distal and Proximal Correlates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kretschmer, Tina; Pike, Alison

2009-01-01

Background: Relationships within families are interdependent and related to distal environmental factors. Low socioeconomic status (SES) and high household chaos (distal factors) have been linked to less positive marital and parent-child relationships, but have not yet been examined with regard to young children's sibling relationships. The…

Factors related to intention to stay in the current workplace among long-term care nurses: A nationwide survey.

PubMed

Eltaybani, Sameh; Noguchi-Watanabe, Maiko; Igarashi, Ayumi; Saito, Yumiko; Yamamoto-Mitani, Noriko

2018-04-01

Keeping long-term care nurses employed is necessary to sustain the current and future demand for high-quality long-term care services. Understanding the factors relating to intention to stay among long-term care nurses is limited by the scarcity of studies in long-term care settings, lack of investigation of multiple factors, and the weakness of existing explanatory models. To identify the factors associated with long-term care nurses' intention to stay in their current workplace. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Two hundred and fifty-seven hospitals with long-term care wards across Japan. A total of 3128 staff nurses and 257 nurse managers from the long-term care wards of the participating hospitals. The questionnaire assessed nurses' intention to continue working in the current workplace as well as potential related factors, including individual factors (demographic data, reason for choosing current workplace, burnout, work engagement, somatic symptom burden) and unit factors (unit size, nurse-manager-related data, patients' medical acuity, average number of overtime hours, recreational activities, social support, perceived quality of care process, educational opportunities, feeling of loneliness, and ability to request days off). Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to determine which variables best explained nurses' intention to stay in their workplace. Only 40.1% of the respondents reported wanting to continue working at their current workplace. The regression analysis revealed that long-term care nurses' intention to stay was positively associated with nurses' age (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.02 [1.01-1.03]), work engagement (1.24 [1.14-1.35]), getting appropriate support from nurse managers (2.78 [1.60-4.82]), perceived quality of care process (1.04 [1.01-1.06]), educational opportunities (1.06 [1.0-1.13]), and various specific reasons for choosing their workplace (e.g., a good workplace atmosphere, being interested in gerontological nursing, and a high salary). By contrast, intention to stay was negatively associated with emotional exhaustion (0.93 [0.91-0.95]) and depersonalization (0.91 [0.89-0.93]). Intention to stay was associated with neither nurses' qualifications nor patient medical acuity. Reason for choosing the workplace, work engagement, getting support from the nurse manager, and perceived quality of care process are significant predictors of long-term care nurses' intention to stay in the workplace. Promoting such nurses' work engagement, provision of high-quality care, and access to educational opportunities might augment long-term care nurses' intention to stay. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cancer-Specific Stress and Mood Disturbance: Implications for Symptom Perception, Quality of Life, and Immune Response in Women Shortly after Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

PubMed Central

Kang, Duck-Hee; Park, Na-Jin; McArdle, Traci

2012-01-01

Purpose. To determine the levels of cancer-specific stress and mood disturbance in women shortly after diagnosis of breast cancer and to assess their associations with symptom perception, quality of life, and immune response. Design. Descriptive and correlational. Sample and Setting. One hundred women with newly diagnosed breast cancer were recruited from interdisciplinary breast clinics. Methods. Baseline data were collected using standardized questionnaires and established bioassay prior to the initiation of cancer adjuvant therapy. Blood samples were collected about the same time of day. Results. High cancer-specific stress was significantly correlated with high mood disturbance, which, in turn, was correlated with high symptom perception, poor quality of life, and an immune profile indicating high neutrophils and low lymphocytes. Conclusions. High cancer-specific stress and related mood disturbance show extensive negative relationships with multiple behavioral, clinical, and biological factors. Implications for Nursing. Routine screening for cancer-related stress and mood disturbance should be incorporated into nursing practice for all patients diagnosed with cancer. Given broad negative associations with other biobehavioral factors, early identification of patients at risk and provision and evaluation of stress and mood management programs may have a beneficial effect on subsequent health outcomes over time. PMID:23316388

Frequency dependent Lg attenuation in south-central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

McNamara, D.E.

2000-01-01

The characteristics of seismic energy attenuation are determined using high frequency Lg waves from 27 crustal earthquakes, in south-central Alaska. Lg time-domain amplitudes are measured in five pass-bands and inverted to determine a frequency-dependent quality factor, Q(f), model for south-central Alaska. The inversion in this study yields the frequency-dependent quality factor, in the form of a power law: Q(f) = Q0fη = 220(±30) f0.66(±0.09) (0.75≤f≤12Hz). The results from this study are remarkably consistent with frequency dependent quality factor estimates, using local S-wave coda, in south-central Alaska. The consistency between S-coda Q(f) and Lg Q(f) enables constraints to be placed on the mechanism of crustal attenuation in south-central Alaska. For the range of frequencies considered in this study both scattering and intrinsic attenuation mechanisms likely play an equal role.

Reducing support loss in micromechanical ring resonators using phononic band-gap structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Feng-Chia; Hsu, Jin-Chen; Huang, Tsun-Che; Wang, Chin-Hung; Chang, Pin

2011-09-01

In micromechanical resonators, energy loss via supports into the substrates may lead to a low quality factor. To eliminate the support loss, in this paper a phononic band-gap structure is employed. We demonstrate a design of phononic-crystal (PC) strips used to support extensional wine-glass mode ring resonators to increase the quality factor. The PC strips are introduced to stop elastic-wave propagation by the band-gap and deaf-band effects. Analyses of resonant characteristics of the ring resonators and the dispersion relations, eigenmodes, and transmission properties of the PC strips are presented. With the proposed resonator architecture, the finite-element simulations show that the leaky power is effectively reduced and the stored energy inside the resonators is enhanced simultaneously as the operating frequencies of the resonators are within the band gap or deaf bands. Realization of a high quality factor micromechanical ring resonator with minimized support loss is expected.

Hope, Coping, and Quality of Life in Adults with Myasthenia Gravis.

PubMed

Koopman, Wilma J; LeBlanc, Nicole; Fowler, Sue; Nicolle, Michael W; Hulley, Denise

2016-01-01

Myasthenia gravis significantly impacts quality of life. However, the relationship between hope, coping, and quality of life (QOL)in myasthenia patients has not been studied (Kulkantrakorn & Jarungkiatkul, 2009; Raggi et al., 2010). The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between hope, coping, and quality of life in adults with myasthenia gravis. Subjects with MG (n = 100) completed six questionnaires, including a demographic profile, the Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living Scale (MG-ADL), Herth Hope Index (HHI), Jalowiec Coping Scale (JCS), Myasthenia Gravis Quality-of-Life Scale (MG-QOL15), and Short Form Health Survey (SF-36v2). Mean hope scores indicated a high level of hope. An optimistic coping style was the most common and effective coping strategy identified by subjects. Positive thinking and humour were also frequently used strategies. Participants identified quality of life as good tolerability, above general population mental well-being, and below general populationphysical well-being. Participants who identified good quality of life had low scores on the MG-QOL15 scale and high scores on the SF36v2. Hope and independence for activities of daily living were found to correlate with improved quality of life and mental well-being(p < 0.001). Age and length of illness were not significant factors. There was no mediation by well-being or quality of life in the relationship between hope and coping. Hope and coping were not important factors for well-being or quality of life. Nurses caring for adults with myasthenia gravis should use interventions that continue to support hope, quality of life, and coping throughout the unpredictable and chronic course of MG.

Systems and processes that ensure high quality care.

PubMed

Bassett, Sally; Westmore, Kathryn

2012-10-01

This is the second in a series of articles examining the components of good corporate governance. It considers how the structures and processes for quality governance can affect an organisation's ability to be assured about the quality of care. Complex information systems and procedures can lead to poor quality care, but sound structures and processes alone are insufficient to ensure good governance, and behavioural factors play a significant part in making sure that staff are enabled to provide good quality care. The next article in this series looks at how the information reporting of an organisation can affect its governance.

Validity and reliability of the Malay version of sleep apnea quality of life index – preliminary results

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The objective of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the Malay translated Sleep Apnea Quality of Life Index (SAQLI) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods In this cross sectional study, the Malay version of SAQLI was administered to 82 OSA patients seen at the OSA Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia prior to their treatment. Additionally, the patients were asked to complete the Malay version of Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36). Twenty-three patients completed the Malay version of SAQLI again after 1–2 weeks to assess its reliability. Results Initial factor analysis of the 40-item Malay version of SAQLI resulted in four factors with eigenvalues >1. All items had factor loadings >0.5 but one of the factors was unstable with only two items. However, both items were maintained due to their high communalities and the analysis was repeated with a forced three factor solution. Variance accounted by the three factors was 78.17% with 9–18 items per factor. All items had primary loadings over 0.5 although the loadings were inconsistent with the proposed construct. The Cronbach’s alpha values were very high for all domains, >0.90. The instrument was able to discriminate between patients with mild or moderate and severe OSA. The Malay version of SAQLI correlated positively with the SF-36. The intraclass correlation coefficients for all domains were >0.90. Conclusions In light of these preliminary observations, we concluded that the Malay version of SAQLI has a high degree of internal consistency and concurrent validity albeit demonstrating a slightly different construct than the original version. The responsiveness of the questionnaire to changes in health-related quality of life following OSA treatment is yet to be determined. PMID:23786866

Health-related quality of life and satisfaction with case management in cancer survivors.

PubMed

Hsu, Ya-Hui; Chai, Hsiu-Ying; Lin, Yu-Fen; Wang, Chao-Hui; Chen, Shu-Ching

2017-12-01

To (i) investigate the characteristics of health-related quality of life and satisfaction with case management and (ii) to identify factors associated with health-related quality of life in cancer survivors. The level of health-related quality of life can reflect treatment efficacy and satisfaction with cancer care. A cross-sectional study design was adopted. Subjects from the outpatient setting of a cancer centre in northern Taiwan were recruited by consecutive sampling. A set of questionnaires were employed, including a background information form, case management service satisfaction survey (CMSS) and The European Quality of Life Scale (EQ-5D). Descriptive statistics were used to examine levels of health-related quality of life and satisfaction with case management. Pearson's correlation was used to identify relationships between treatment characteristics, satisfaction with case management and health-related quality of life. Multiple stepwise regression was used to identify factors associated with health-related quality of life. A total of 252 cancer patients were recruited. The three lowest scores for items of health-related quality of life were mobility, self-care and usual activities. Cancer survivors with higher mobility, less pain and discomfort, and lower anxiety and depression were more likely to have better health-related quality of life. Mobility, pain and discomfort, and anxiety and depression are important predictive factors of high health-related quality of life in cancer survivors. In clinical care, patients' physical mobility, pain and discomfort, and anxiety and depression are important indicators of health-related quality of life. Case managers should include self-care and symptom management into survivorship care plans to improve health-related quality of life during survival after treatment concludes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the Klamath Mountains study unit, 2010: California GAMA Priority Basin Project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bennett, George L.; Fram, Miranda S.; Belitz, Kenneth

2014-01-01

Groundwater quality in the Klamath Mountains (KLAM) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study unit is located in Del Norte, Humboldt, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties. The GAMA Priority Basin Project is being conducted by the California State Water Resources Control Board in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The GAMA Priority Basin Project was designed to provide a spatially unbiased, statistically robust assessment of the quality of untreated (raw) groundwater in the primary aquifer system. The assessment is based on water-quality data and explanatory factors for groundwater samples collected in 2010 by the USGS from 39 sites and on water-quality data from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) water-quality database. The primary aquifer system was defined by the depth intervals of the wells listed in the CDPH water-quality database for the KLAM study unit. The quality of groundwater in the primary aquifer system may be different from that in the shallower or deeper water-bearing zones; shallow groundwater may be more vulnerable to surficial contamination. This study included two types of assessments: (1) a status assessment, which characterized the status of the current quality of the groundwater resource by using data from samples analyzed for volatile organic compounds, pesticides, and naturally occurring inorganic constituents, such as major ions and trace elements, and (2) an understanding assessment, which evaluated the natural and human factors potentially affecting the groundwater quality. The assessments were intended to characterize the quality of groundwater resources in the primary aquifer system of the KLAM study unit, not the quality of treated drinking water delivered to consumers by water purveyors. Relative-concentrations (sample concentrations divided by the health- or aesthetic-based benchmark concentrations) were used for evaluating groundwater quality for those constituents that have Federal or California regulatory or non-regulatory benchmarks for drinking-water quality. A relative-concentration greater than (>) 1.0 indicates a concentration greater than a benchmark, and a relative-concentration less than or equal to (≤) 1.0 indicates a concentration less than or equal to a benchmark. Relative-concentrations of organic constituents were classified as “high” (relative-concentration > 1.0), “moderate” (0.1 Aquifer-scale proportion was used in the status assessment as the primary metric for evaluating regional-scale groundwater quality. High aquifer-scale proportion is defined as the percentage of the area of the primary aquifer system with a relative-concentration greater than 1.0 for a particular constituent or class of constituents; percentage is based on an areal rather than a volumetric basis. Moderate and low aquifer-scale proportions were defined as the percentages of the primary aquifer system with moderate and low relative-concentrations, respectively. The KLAM study unit includes more than 8,800 square miles (mi2), but only those areas near the sampling sites, about 920 mi2, are included in the areal assessment of the study unit. Two statistical approaches—grid-based and spatially weighted—were used to evaluate aquifer-scale proportions for individual constituents and classes of constituents. To confirm this methodology, 90 percent confidence intervals were calculated for the grid-based high aquifer-scale proportions and were compared to the spatially weighted results, which were found to be within these confidence intervals in all cases. Grid-based results were selected for use in the status assessment unless, as was observed in a few cases, a grid-based result was zero and the spatially weighted result was not zero, in which case, the spatially weighted result was used. The status assessment showed that inorganic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high relative-concentrations in 2.6 percent of the primary aquifer system and at moderate relative-concentrations in 10 percent of the system. The high aquifer-scale proportion for inorganic constituents mainly reflected the high aquifer-scale proportions of boron. Inorganic constituents with secondary maximum contaminant levels were detected at high relative-concentrations in 13 percent of the primary aquifer system and at moderate relative-concentrations in 10 percent of the system. The constituents present at high relative-concentrations included iron and manganese. Organic constituents with human-health benchmarks were not detected at high relative-concentrations, but were detected at moderate relative-concentrations in 1.9 percent of the primary aquifer system. The 1.9 percent reflected a spatially weighted moderate aquifer-scale proportion for the gasoline additive methyl tert-butyl ether. Of the 148 organic constituents analyzed, 14 constituents were detected. Only one organic constituent had a detection frequency of greater than 10 percent—the trihalomethane, chloroform. The second component of this study, the understanding assessment, identified the natural and human factors that may have affected the groundwater quality in the KLAM study unit by evaluating statistical correlations between water-quality constituents and potential explanatory factors. The potential explanatory factors evaluated were aquifer lithology, land use, hydrologic conditions, depth, groundwater age, and geochemical conditions. Results of the statistical evaluations were used to explain the occurrence and distribution of constituents in the KLAM study unit. Groundwater age distribution (modern, mixed, or pre-modern), redox class (oxic, mixed, or anoxic), and dissolved oxygen concentration were the explanatory factors that best explained occurrence patterns of the inorganic constituents. High concentrations of boron were found to be associated with groundwater classified as mixed or pre-modern with respect to groundwater age. Boron was also negatively correlated to dissolved oxygen and positively correlated to specific conductance. Iron and manganese concentrations were strongly associated with low dissolved oxygen concentrations, anoxic and mixed redox classifications, and pre-modern groundwater. Specific conductance concentrations were found to be related to pre-modern groundwater, low dissolved oxygen concentrations, and high pH. Chloroform was selected for additional evaluation in the understanding assessment because it was detected in more than 10 percent of wells sampled in the KLAM study unit. Septic tank density was the only explanatory factor that was found to relate to chloroform concentrations.

Incidence and risk factors of workplace violence against nurses in a Chinese top-level teaching hospital: A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Chen, Xiaoming; Lv, Ming; Wang, Min; Wang, Xiufeng; Liu, Junyan; Zheng, Nan; Liu, Chunlan

2018-04-01

To investigate the incidence of workplace violence involving nurses and to identify related risk factors in a high-quality Chinese teaching hospital. A cross-sectional study design was used. The final sample comprised responses from 1831 registered nurses collected with a whole-hospital survey from June 1 to June 15, 2016. The demographic characteristics of the nurses who had experienced any form of violence were collected, and logistic regression analysis was applied to evaluate the risk factors for nurses related to workplace violence. Out of the total number of nurses surveyed, 904 (49.4%) nurses reported having experienced any type of violence in the past year. The frequencies of exposure to physical and non-physical violence were 6.3% (116) and 49.0% (897), respectively. All the incidence rates of violence were lower than those of other studies based on regional hospitals in China and were at the same level found in developed countries and districts. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that nurses at levels 2 to 4 and female nurses in clinical departments were the most vulnerable to non-physical violence. For physical violence, the two independent risk factors were working in an emergency department and having 6-10 years of work experience. Workplace violence directly threatens nurses from high-quality Chinese teaching hospitals. However, the incidence of WPV against nurses in this teaching hospital was better than that in regional hospitals. This study also provides reference material to identify areas where nurses encounter relatively high levels of workplace violence in high-quality Chinese teaching hospitals. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ultra-High Q Acoustic Resonance in Superfluid ^4He

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Lorenzo, L. A.; Schwab, K. C.

2017-02-01

We report the measurement of the acoustic quality factor of a gram-scale, kilohertz-frequency superfluid resonator, detected through the parametric coupling to a superconducting niobium microwave cavity. For temperatures between 400 mK and 50 mK, we observe a T^{-4} temperature dependence of the quality factor, consistent with a 3-phonon dissipation mechanism. We observe Q factors up to 1.4× 10^8, consistent with the dissipation due to dilute ^3He impurities, and expect that significant further improvements are possible. These experiments are relevant to exploring quantum behavior and decoherence of massive macroscopic objects, the laboratory detection of continuous gravitational waves from pulsars, and the probing of possible limits to physical length scales.

Sci-Thur PM: YIS - 07: Monte Carlo simulations to obtain several parameters required for electron beam dosimetry.

PubMed

Muir, B; Rogers, D; McEwen, M

2012-07-01

When current dosimetry protocols were written, electron beam data were limited and had uncertainties that were unacceptable for reference dosimetry. Protocols for high-energy reference dosimetry are currently being updated leading to considerable interest in accurate electron beam data. To this end, Monte Carlo simulations using the EGSnrc user-code egs_chamber are performed to extract relevant data for reference beam dosimetry. Calculations of the absorbed dose to water and the absorbed dose to the gas in realistic ion chamber models are performed as a function of depth in water for cobalt-60 and high-energy electron beams between 4 and 22 MeV. These calculations are used to extract several of the parameters required for electron beam dosimetry - the beam quality specifier, R 50 , beam quality conversion factors, k Q and k R50 , the electron quality conversion factor, k' R50 , the photon-electron conversion factor, k ecal , and ion chamber perturbation factors, P Q . The method used has the advantage that many important parameters can be extracted as a function of depth instead of determination at only the reference depth as has typically been done. Results obtained here are in good agreement with measured and other calculated results. The photon-electron conversion factors obtained for a Farmer-type NE2571 and plane-parallel PTW Roos, IBA NACP-02 and Exradin A11 chambers are 0.903, 0.896, 0.894 and 0.906, respectively. These typically differ by less than 0.7% from the contentious TG-51 values but have much smaller systematic uncertainties. These results are valuable for reference dosimetry of high-energy electron beams. © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Suleika and Hatem Revisited: Uncovering the Material Advantages of Identifying as a Male Composer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Legg, Robert; Jeffery, David

2018-01-01

Persuasive arguments have been made for the existence of pedagogical discourses that invoke gender as a factor in the ascription of quality to musical compositions, and previous research has shown that some music teachers ascribe "maleness" to the characteristics that they regard as markers of high quality. Drawing upon Lucy Green's…

Impact of Training and Education for Caregivers of Infants and Toddlers. Research-to-Policy Connections No. 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kreader, J. Lee; Ferguson, Daniel; Lawrence, Sharmila

2005-01-01

Training and education of infant and toddler caregivers is one important factor associated with the quality of child care they provide. In response to research showing that high-quality care supports positive development in young children, policymakers have established training and education requirements for licensed providers and launched…

"Vergara" and the Complexities of Teacher Employment Policies. ECS Education Policy Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowland, Julie

2015-01-01

Teaching quality is a crucial factor in student success, contributing to students' short- and long-term learning opportunities. High-quality teaching not only contributes to the improvement of student test scores and graduation rates but also gives students a "strong foundation from which to advance and achieve" in the future. Long term,…

Pre-Service Science Teacher Education System in South Korea: Prospects and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Im, Sungmin; Yoon, Hye-Gyoung; Cha, Jeongho

2016-01-01

While much is known about the high academic but low affective achievement of Korean students on international comparative studies, little is known about science teacher education in Korea. As the quality of science teachers is an important factor determining the quality of science education, gaining an understanding of science education in Korea…

Modification of spermatozoa quality in mature small ruminants.

PubMed

Martin, G B; de St Jorre, T Jorre; Al Mohsen, F A; Malecki, I A

2011-01-01

This review is based largely, but not entirely, on the assumption that gamete quality is directly linked to sperm output and thus testicular mass, an approach made necessary by the absence of a large body of data on factors that affect gamete quality in ruminants. On the other hand, there is a change in the efficiency of sperm production per gram of testicular tissue when the testis is growing or shrinking, a clear indicator of changes in the rates of cell loss during the process of spermatogenesis, probably through apoptosis. We therefore postulate that the spermatozoa that do survive when the testis is shrinking are of a lower quality than those that are produced when the testis is growing and the rate of sperm survival is increasing. In adult small ruminants in particular, testicular mass and sperm production are highly labile and can be manipulated by management of photoperiod (melatonin), nutrition, genetics and behaviour ('mating pressure'). Importantly, these factors do not act independently of each other - rather, the outcomes in terms of sperm production are dictated by interactions. It therefore seems likely that spermatozoa quality will be affected by these same factors, but definitive answers await detailed studies.

Use of surrogate indicators for the evaluation of potential health risks due to poor urban water quality: A Bayesian Network approach.

PubMed

Wijesiri, Buddhi; Deilami, Kaveh; McGree, James; Goonetilleke, Ashantha

2018-02-01

Urban water pollution poses risks of waterborne infectious diseases. Therefore, in order to improve urban liveability, effective pollution mitigation strategies are required underpinned by predictions generated using water quality models. However, the lack of reliability in current modelling practices detrimentally impacts planning and management decision making. This research study adopted a novel approach in the form of Bayesian Networks to model urban water quality to better investigate the factors that influence risks to human health. The application of Bayesian Networks was found to enhance the integration of quantitative and qualitative spatially distributed data for analysing the influence of environmental and anthropogenic factors using three surrogate indicators of human health risk, namely, turbidity, total nitrogen and fats/oils. Expert knowledge was found to be of critical importance in assessing the interdependent relationships between health risk indicators and influential factors. The spatial variability maps of health risk indicators developed enabled the initial identification of high risk areas in which flooding was found to be the most significant influential factor in relation to human health risk. Surprisingly, population density was found to be less significant in influencing health risk indicators. These high risk areas in turn can be subjected to more in-depth investigations instead of the entire region, saving time and resources. It was evident that decision making in relation to the design of pollution mitigation strategies needs to account for the impact of landscape characteristics on water quality, which can be related to risk to human health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dietary intake and risk factors for poor diet quality among children in Nova Scotia.

PubMed

Veugelers, Paul J; Fitzgerald, Angela L; Johnston, Elizabeth

2005-01-01

Public health policies promote healthy nutrition but evaluations of children's adherence to dietary recommendations and studies of risk factors of poor nutrition are scarce, despite the importance of diet for the temporal increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity. Here we examine dietary intake and risk factors for poor diet quality among children in Nova Scotia to provide direction for health policies and prevention initiatives. In 2003, we surveyed 5,200 grade five students from 282 public schools in Nova Scotia, as well as their parents. We assessed students' dietary intake (Harvard's Youth Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire) and compared this with Canadian food group and nutrient recommendations. We summarized diet quality using the Diet Quality Index International, and used multilevel regression methods to evaluate potential child, parental and school risk factors for poor diet quality. In Nova Scotia, 42.3% of children did not meet recommendations for milk products nor did they meet recommendations for the food groups 'Vegetables and fruit' (49.9%), 'Grain products' (54.4%) and 'Meat and alternatives' (73.7%). Children adequately met nutrient requirements with the exception of calcium and fibre, of which intakes were low, and dietary fat and sodium, of which intakes were high. Skipping meals and purchasing meals at school or fast-food restaurants were statistically significant determinants of poor diet. Parents' assessment of their own eating habits was positively associated with the quality of their children's diets. Dietary intake among children in Nova Scotia is relatively poor. Explicit public health policies and prevention initiatives targeting children, their parents and schools may improve diet quality and prevent obesity.

Experienced quality factors: qualitative evaluation approach to audiovisual quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jumisko-Pyykkö, Satu; Häkkinen, Jukka; Nyman, Göte

2007-02-01

Subjective evaluation is used to identify impairment factors of multimedia quality. The final quality is often formulated via quantitative experiments, but this approach has its constraints, as subject's quality interpretations, experiences and quality evaluation criteria are disregarded. To identify these quality evaluation factors, this study examined qualitatively the criteria participants used to evaluate audiovisual video quality. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 60 participants after a subjective audiovisual quality evaluation experiment. The assessment compared several, relatively low audio-video bitrate ratios with five different television contents on mobile device. In the analysis, methodological triangulation (grounded theory, Bayesian networks and correspondence analysis) was applied to approach the qualitative quality. The results showed that the most important evaluation criteria were the factors of visual quality, contents, factors of audio quality, usefulness - followability and audiovisual interaction. Several relations between the quality factors and the similarities between the contents were identified. As a research methodological recommendation, the focus on content and usage related factors need to be further examined to improve the quality evaluation experiments.

Modelling of beef sensory quality for a better prediction of palatability.

PubMed

Hocquette, Jean-François; Van Wezemael, Lynn; Chriki, Sghaier; Legrand, Isabelle; Verbeke, Wim; Farmer, Linda; Scollan, Nigel D; Polkinghorne, Rod; Rødbotten, Rune; Allen, Paul; Pethick, David W

2014-07-01

Despite efforts by the industry to control the eating quality of beef, there remains a high level of variability in palatability, which is one reason for consumer dissatisfaction. In Europe, there is still no reliable on-line tool to predict beef quality and deliver consistent quality beef to consumers. Beef quality traits depend in part on the physical and chemical properties of the muscles. The determination of these properties (known as muscle profiling) will allow for more informed decisions to be made in the selection of individual muscles for the production of value-added products. Therefore, scientists and professional partners of the ProSafeBeef project have brought together all the data they have accumulated over 20 years. The resulting BIF-Beef (Integrated and Functional Biology of Beef) data warehouse contains available data of animal growth, carcass composition, muscle tissue characteristics and beef quality traits. This database is useful to determine the most important muscle characteristics associated with a high tenderness, a high flavour or generally a high quality. Another more consumer driven modelling tool was developed in Australia: the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading scheme that predicts beef quality for each individual muscle×specific cooking method combination using various information on the corresponding animals and post-slaughter processing factors. This system has also the potential to detect variability in quality within muscles. The MSA system proved to be effective in predicting beef palatability not only in Australia but also in many other countries. The results of the work conducted in Europe within the ProSafeBeef project indicate that it would be possible to manage a grading system in Europe similar to the MSA system. The combination of the different modelling approaches (namely muscle biochemistry and a MSA-like meat grading system adapted to the European market) is a promising area of research to improve the prediction of beef quality. In both approaches, the volume of data available not only provides statistically sound correlations between various factors and beef quality traits but also a better understanding of the variability of beef quality according to various criteria (breed, age, sex, pH, marbling etc.). © 2013 The American Meat Science Association. All rights reserved.

A quantitative method to analyze the quality of EIA information in wind energy development and avian/bat assessments

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

Chang, Tony, E-mail: tc282@nau.edu; Nielsen, Erik, E-mail: erik.nielsen@nau.edu; Auberle, William, E-mail: william.auberle@nau.edu

2013-01-15

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been a tool for decision makers since the enactment of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Since that time, few analyses have been performed to verify the quality of information and content within EIAs. High quality information within assessments is vital in order for decision makers, stake holders, and the public to understand the potential impact of proposed actions on the ecosystem and wildlife species. Low quality information has been a major cause for litigation and economic loss. Since 1999, wind energy development has seen an exponential growth with unknown levels of impact onmore » wildlife species, in particular bird and bat species. The purpose of this article is to: (1) develop, validate, and apply a quantitative index to review avian/bat assessment quality for wind energy EIAs; and (2) assess the trends and status of avian/bat assessment quality in a sample of wind energy EIAs. This research presents the development and testing of the Avian and Bat Assessment Quality Index (ABAQI), a new approach to quantify information quality of ecological assessments within wind energy development EIAs in relation to avian and bat species based on review areas and factors derived from 23 state wind/wildlife siting guidance documents. The ABAQI was tested through a review of 49 publicly available EIA documents and validated by identifying high variation in avian and bat assessments quality for wind energy developments. Of all the reviewed EIAs, 66% failed to provide high levels of preconstruction avian and bat survey information, compared to recommended factors from state guidelines. This suggests the need for greater consistency from recommended guidelines by state, and mandatory compliance by EIA preparers to avoid possible habitat and species loss, wind energy development shut down, and future lawsuits. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We developed, validated, and applied a quantitative index to review avian/bat assessment quality for wind energy EIAs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We assessed the trends and status of avian/bat assessment quality in a sample of wind energy EIAs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Applied index to 49 EIA documents and identified high variation in assessment quality for wind energy developments. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer For the reviewed EIAs, 66% provided inadequate preconstruction avian and bat survey information.« less

Influence of spatial and temporal spot distribution on the ocular surface quality and maximum ablation depth after photoablation with a 1050 Hz excimer laser system.

PubMed

Mrochen, Michael; Schelling, Urs; Wuellner, Christian; Donitzky, Christof

2009-02-01

To investigate the effect of temporal and spatial distributions of laser spots (scan sequences) on the corneal surface quality after ablation and the maximum ablation of a given refractive correction after photoablation with a high-repetition-rate scanning-spot laser. IROC AG, Zurich, Switzerland, and WaveLight AG, Erlangen, Germany. Bovine corneas and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) plates were photoablated using a 1050 Hz excimer laser prototype for corneal laser surgery. Four temporal and spatial spot distributions (scan sequences) with different temporal overlapping factors were created for 3 myopic, 3 hyperopic, and 3 phototherapeutic keratectomy ablation profiles. Surface quality and maximum ablation depth were measured using a surface profiling system. The surface quality factor increased (rough surfaces) as the amount of temporal overlapping in the scan sequence and the amount of correction increased. The rise in surface quality factor was less for bovine corneas than for PMMA. The scan sequence might cause systematic substructures at the surface of the ablated material depending on the overlapping factor. The maximum ablation varied within the scan sequence. The temporal and spatial distribution of the laser spots (scan sequence) during a corneal laser procedure affected the surface quality and maximum ablation depth of the ablation profile. Corneal laser surgery could theoretically benefit from smaller spot sizes and higher repetition rates. The temporal and spatial spot distributions are relevant to achieving these aims.

Ultrasensitive sensing with three-dimensional terahertz metamaterial absorber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Siyu; Yan, Fengping; Wang, Wei; Zhou, Hong; Hou, Yafei

2018-05-01

Planar metasurfaces and metamaterial absorbers have shown great promise for label-free sensing applications at microwaves, optical and terahertz frequencies. The realization of high-quality-factor resonance in these structures is of significant interest to enhance the sensing sensitivities to detect minute frequency shifts. We propose and demonstrate in this manuscript an ultrasensitive terahertz metamaterial absorber sensor based on a three-dimensional split ring resonator absorber with a high quality factor of 60.09. The sensing performance of the proposed absorber sensor was systematically investigated through detailed numerical calculations and a maximum refractive index sensitivity of 34.40% RIU‑1 was obtained. Furthermore, the absorber sensor can maintain a high sensitivity for a wide range of incidence angles up to 60° under TM polarization incidence. These findings would improve the design flexibility of the absorber sensors and further open up new avenues to achieve ultrasensitive sensing in the terahertz regime.

The mechanical properties of high speed GTAW weld and factors of nonlinear multiple regression model under external transverse magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Lin; Chang, Yunlong; Li, Yingmin; He, Youyou

2013-05-01

A transverse magnetic field was introduced to the arc plasma in the process of welding stainless steel tubes by high-speed Tungsten Inert Gas Arc Welding (TIG for short) without filler wire. The influence of external magnetic field on welding quality was investigated. 9 sets of parameters were designed by the means of orthogonal experiment. The welding joint tensile strength and form factor of weld were regarded as the main standards of welding quality. A binary quadratic nonlinear regression equation was established with the conditions of magnetic induction and flow rate of Ar gas. The residual standard deviation was calculated to adjust the accuracy of regression model. The results showed that, the regression model was correct and effective in calculating the tensile strength and aspect ratio of weld. Two 3D regression models were designed respectively, and then the impact law of magnetic induction on welding quality was researched.

Angle-resolved reflection spectroscopy of high-quality PMMA opal crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemtsev, Ivan V.; Tambasov, Igor A.; Ivanenko, Alexander A.; Zyryanov, Victor Ya.

2018-02-01

PMMA opal crystal was prepared by a simple hybrid method, which includes sedimentation, meniscus formation and evaporation. We investigated three surfaces of this crystal by angle-resolved reflective light spectroscopy and SEM study. The angle-resolved reflective measurements were carried out in the 400-1100 nm range. We have determined the high-quality ordered surface of the crystal region. Narrow particle size distribution of the surface has been revealed. The average particle diameter obtained with SEM was nearly 361 nm. The most interesting result was that reflectivity of the surface turned out up to 98% at normal light incidence. Using a fit of dependences of the maximum reflectivity wavelength from an angle based on the Bragg-Snell law, the wavelength of maximum 0° reflectivity, the particle diameter and the fill factor have been determined. For the best surface maximum reflectivity wavelength of a 0° angle was estimated to be 869 nm. The particle diameter and fill factor were calculated as 372 nm and 0.8715, respectively. The diameter obtained by fitting is in excellent agreement with the particle diameter obtained with SEM. The reflectivity maximum is assumed to increase significantly when increasing the fill factor. We believe that using our simple approach to manufacture PMMA opal crystals will significantly increase the fabrication of high-quality photonic crystal templates and thin films.

Study on fibre laser machining quality of plain woven CFRP laminates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Maojun; Li, Shuo; Yang, Xujing; Zhang, Yi; Liang, Zhichao

2018-03-01

Laser cutting is suitable for large-scale and high-efficiency production with relatively high cutting speed, while machining of CFRP composite using lasers is challenging with severe thermal damage due to different material properties and sensitivity to heat. In this paper, surface morphology of cutting plain woven carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CFRP) by fibre laser and the influence of cutting parameters on machined quality were investigated. A full factorial experimental design was employed involving three variable factors, which included laser pulse frequency at three levels together with laser power and cutting speed at two levels. Heat-affected zone (HAZ), kerf depth and kerf angle were quantified to understand the interactions with cutting parameters. Observations of machined surface were analysed relating to various damages using optical microscope and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which included HAZ, matrix recession, fibre protruding, striations, fibre-end swelling, collapses, cavities and delamination. Based on ANOVA analysis, it was found that both cutting speed and laser power were significant factors for HAZ and kerf depth, while laser power was the only significant factor for kerf angle. Besides, HAZ and the kerf depth showed similar sensitivity to the pulse energy and energy per unit length, which was opposite for kerf angle. This paper presented the feasibility and experimental results of cutting CFRP laminates using fibre laser, which is possibly the efficient and high-quality process to promote the development of CFRPs.

Using software metrics and software reliability models to attain acceptable quality software for flight and ground support software for avionic systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawrence, Stella

1992-01-01

This paper is concerned with methods of measuring and developing quality software. Reliable flight and ground support software is a highly important factor in the successful operation of the space shuttle program. Reliability is probably the most important of the characteristics inherent in the concept of 'software quality'. It is the probability of failure free operation of a computer program for a specified time and environment.

Selecting islands and shoals for conservation based on biological and aesthetic criteria

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knutson, M.G.; Leopold, D.J.; Smardon, R.C.

1993-01-01

Consideration of biological quality has long been an important component of rating areas for conservation. Often these same areas are highly valued by people for aesthetic reasons, creating demands for housing and recreation that may conflict with protection plans for these habitats. Most methods of selecting land for conservation purposes use biological factors alone. For some land areas, analysis of aesthetic qualities is also important in describing the scenic value of undisturbed land. A method for prioritizing small islands and shoals based on both biological and visual quality factors is presented here. The study included 169 undeveloped islands and shoals a??0.8 ha in the Thousand Islands Region of the St. Lawrence River, New York. Criteria such as critical habitat for uncommon plant and animal species were considered together with visual quality and incorporated into a rating system that ranked the islands and shoals according to their priority for conservation management and protection from development. Biological factors were determined based on previous research and a field survey. Visual quality was determined by visual diagnostic criteria developed from public responses to photographs of a sample of islands. Variables such as elevation, soil depth, and type of plant community can be used to classify islands into different categories of visual quality but are unsuccessful in classifying islands into categories of overall biological quality.

Effect of Principal Managerial Leadership and Compensation towards Physics Teacher Performance in Senior High School in Baguala District-Ambon

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wenno, Izaak Hendrik

2017-01-01

The performance of teachers is an important factor that must be considered in efforts to improve the quality of education. Teacher's performance is affected by many factors. Factors that affect the performance of teachers are principals' managerial leadership and compensation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of principals'…

Combined effects of sleep quality and depression on quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Zhang, Pan; Lou, Peian; Chang, Guiqiu; Chen, Peipei; Zhang, Lei; Li, Ting; Qiao, Cheng

2016-04-05

Poor sleep quality and depression negatively impact the health-related quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes, but the combined effect of the two factors is unknown. This study aimed to assess the interactive effects of poor sleep quality and depression on the quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 944) completed the Diabetes Specificity Quality of Life scale (DSQL) and questionnaires on sleep quality and depression. The products of poor sleep quality and depression were added to the logistic regression model to evaluate their multiplicative interactions, which were expressed as the relative excess risk of interaction (RERI), the attributable proportion (AP) of interaction, and the synergy index (S). Poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms both increased DSQL scores. The co-presence of poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms significantly reduced DSQL scores by a factor of 3.96 on biological interaction measures. The relative excess risk of interaction was 1.08. The combined effect of poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms was observed only in women. Patients with both depressive symptoms and poor sleep quality are at an increased risk of reduction in diabetes-related quality of life, and this risk is particularly high for women due to the interaction effect. Clinicians should screen for and treat sleep difficulties and depressive symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes.

A method of groundwater quality assessment based on fuzzy network-CANFIS and geographic information system (GIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gholami, V.; Khaleghi, M. R.; Sebghati, M.

2017-11-01

The process of water quality testing is money/time-consuming, quite important and difficult stage for routine measurements. Therefore, use of models has become commonplace in simulating water quality. In this study, the coactive neuro-fuzzy inference system (CANFIS) was used to simulate groundwater quality. Further, geographic information system (GIS) was used as the pre-processor and post-processor tool to demonstrate spatial variation of groundwater quality. All important factors were quantified and groundwater quality index (GWQI) was developed. The proposed model was trained and validated by taking a case study of Mazandaran Plain located in northern part of Iran. The factors affecting groundwater quality were the input variables for the simulation, whereas GWQI index was the output. The developed model was validated to simulate groundwater quality. Network validation was performed via comparison between the estimated and actual GWQI values. In GIS, the study area was separated to raster format in the pixel dimensions of 1 km and also by incorporation of input data layers of the Fuzzy Network-CANFIS model; the geo-referenced layers of the effective factors in groundwater quality were earned. Therefore, numeric values of each pixel with geographical coordinates were entered to the Fuzzy Network-CANFIS model and thus simulation of groundwater quality was accessed in the study area. Finally, the simulated GWQI indices using the Fuzzy Network-CANFIS model were entered into GIS, and hence groundwater quality map (raster layer) based on the results of the network simulation was earned. The study's results confirm the high efficiency of incorporation of neuro-fuzzy techniques and GIS. It is also worth noting that the general quality of the groundwater in the most studied plain is fairly low.

The influence of steaming and a ratio of grated coconut to water on the yield and quality of virgin coconut oil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmah, N. L.; Istikoma, R.; Kumalaningsih, S.

2018-03-01

The quality of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) is determined by the quality of coconut milk. High quality of coconut milk can be obtained by proper handling of grated coconut as raw material. When coconut was shredded, the lipases are exposed which can hydrolyse the oil resulting free fatty acid (FFA).Steaming is a technique to inactivate lipases. In addition, a ratio of grated coconut to water and steaming duration are important factor to the VCO extraction. Therefore, this study aimed to obtain the best combination of steaming duration and suitable ratio of grated coconut to water in order to produce high quality VCO. The research design was Factorial Randomized Block Design consisted of 2 factors: steaming duration (5; 10; and 15 minutes) and grated coconut to water ratio (1:0; 1:1; 1:2; 1:3; and 1:4 w/v),each treatment was repeated twice. Parameters analyzed were FFA, moisture content, and yield values. The result showed that the best treatment was a treatment with 15 minutes steaming of grated coconut and 1:4 ratio of grated coconut to water. The best treatment VCO had characteristic as follows: FFA 0.054 %, moisture content 0.129 % and yield 17.563 %.

Cow's milk quality and energy value during different lactation stages.

PubMed

Salamończyk, Ewa

2013-01-01

The quality of dairy products, raw milk in particular, depends on many factors. Low bacterial and somatic cell counts are basic determinants of the appropriate raw milk quality. The objective of the work was to assess the effect of selected factors, that is, the age of cows and their daily milk performance, on cytological quality (somatic cell count) and energy value of milk produced at individual stages of lactation. Somatic cell count and energy value of cow's milk were assessed. A total of 229 792 milk samples were examined. Data for analysis were taken from milk records of 350 dairy herds. It was demonstrated that, of all the lactations studied, the fi rst lactation (from calving to the 100th day of lactation) was characterised by the highest daily milk performance (25.1 kg) and the lowest somatic cell count (356 thous./1 ml), fat, protein and dry matter contents (4.06, 2.96 and 12.41%, respectively) and milk calorific value (732 kcal/kg). The highest energy value was recorded in cow's milk produced towards the end of lactation, that is from day 300 till the end of lactation (842 kcal/kg). High milk calorific value in late lactation and high fat and protein contents were accompanied by low raw milk quality.

[Quality management (TQM) in public health-care (PHC): principles for cost-performance calculations and cost reductions with better quality].

PubMed

Bergholz, W

2008-11-01

In many high-tech industries, quality management (QM) has enabled improvements of quality by a factor of 100 or more, in combination with significant cost reductions. Compared to this, the application of QM methods in health care is in its initial stages. It is anticipated that stringent process management, embedded in an effective QM system will lead to significant improvements in health care in general and in the German public health service in particular. Process management is an ideal platform for controlling in the health care sector, and it will significantly improve the leverage of controlling to bring down costs. Best practice sharing in industry has led to quantum leap improvements. Process management will enable best practice sharing also in the public health service, in spite of the highly diverse portfolio of services that the public health service offers in different German regions. Finally, it is emphasised that "technical" QM, e.g., on the basis of the ISO 9001 standard is not sufficient to reach excellence. It is necessary to integrate soft factors, such as patient or employee satisfaction, and leadership quality into the system. The EFQM model for excellence can serve as proven tool to reach this goal.

Social and financial resources and high-risk alcohol consumption among older adults.

PubMed

Moos, Rudolf H; Brennan, Penny L; Schutte, Kathleen K; Moos, Bernice S

2010-04-01

This study examined long-term mutual predictive associations between social and financial resources and high-risk alcohol consumption in later life. A sample of 55- to 65-year-old older adults (n = 719) was surveyed at baseline and 10 years and 20 years later. At each contact point, participants completed an inventory that assessed social and financial resources and alcohol consumption. Over the 20-year interval, there was evidence of both social causation and social selection processes in relation to high-risk alcohol consumption. In support of a social causation perspective, higher levels of some social resources, such as participation in social activities, friends' approval of drinking, quality of relationship with spouse, and financial resources, were associated with a subsequent increased likelihood of high-risk alcohol consumption. Conversely, indicating the presence of social selection, high-risk alcohol consumption was associated with subsequent higher levels of friends' approval of drinking and quality of the spousal relationship, but lower quality of relationships with extended family members. These findings reflect mutual influence processes in which older adults' social resources and high-risk alcohol consumption can alter each other. Older adults may benefit from information about how social factors can affect their drinking habits; accordingly, information about social causation effects could be used to guide effective prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing the risk that late-life social factors may amplify their excessive alcohol consumption.

Analysis on the spatiotemporal characteristics of water quality and trophic states in Tiegang Reservoir: A public drinking water supply reservoir in South China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Yun-long; Zhu, Jia; Li, Wang; Tao, Yi; Zhang, Jin-song

2017-08-01

Shenzhen is the most densely populated city in China and with a severe shortage of water. The per capita water resource is less than 200 m3, which is approximately 1/12 of the national average level. In 2016, nearly 90% of Shenzhen’s drinking water needed to be imported from the Pearl River. After arrived at Shenzhen, overseas water was firstly stockpiled in local reservoirs and then was supplied to nearby water works. Tiegang Reservoir is the largest drinking water supply reservoir and its water quality has played an important role to the city’s drinking water security. A fifteen-month’s field observation was conducted from April 2013 to June 2014 in Tiegang Reservoir, in order to analyze the temporal and spatial distribution of water quality factors and seasonal variation of trophic states. One-way ANOVA showed that significant difference was found in water quality factors on month (p<0.005). The spatial heterogeneity of water quality was obvious (p<0.05). The distribution pattern of WT, TOC, Silicate, NO3 --N, TN and Fe was pre-rainy period > latter rainy period > high temperature and rain free period > temperature jump period > winter drought period, while SD showed the contrary. Two-way ANOVA showed that months rather than locations were the key influencing factors of water quality factors succession. Tiegang reservoir was seriously polluted by TN, as a result WQI were at IV∼V level. If TN was not taken into account, WQI were atI∼III level. TLI (Σ) were about 35∼60, suggesting Tiegang reservoir was in mesotrophic and light-eutrophic trophic states. The WQI and TLI (Σ) in sampling sites 9 and 10 were poorer than that of other sites. The 14 water quality factors were divided into 5 groups by factor analysis (FA). The total interpretation rate was 73.54%. F1 represents the climatic change represented by water temperature. F2 and F4 represent the concentration of nutrients. F3 and F5 represent the sensory indexes of water body, such as turbidity, transparency. The FA results indicated that water quality potential risk factors was total nitrogen (TN), and potential risk factors also include chlorophyll-a and nitrate nitrogen (NO3 --N).

Isolation of high quality RNA from pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) and other woody plants high in secondary metabolites.

PubMed

Moazzam Jazi, Maryam; Rajaei, Saideh; Seyedi, Seyed Mahdi

2015-10-01

The quality and quantity of RNA are critical for successful downstream transcriptome-based studies such as microarrays and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). RNA isolation from woody plants, such as Pistacia vera, with very high amounts of polyphenols and polysaccharides is an enormous challenge. Here, we describe a highly efficient protocol that overcomes the limitations posed by poor quality and low yield of isolated RNA from pistachio and various recalcitrant woody plants. The key factors that resulted in a yield of 150 μg of high quality RNA per 200 mg of plant tissue include the elimination of phenol from the extraction buffer, raising the concentration of β-mercaptoethanol, long time incubation at 65 °C, and nucleic acid precipitation with optimized volume of NaCl and isopropyl alcohol. Also, the A260/A280 and A260/A230 of extracted RNA were about 1.9-2.1and 2.2-2.3, respectively, revealing the high purity. Since the isolated RNA passed highly stringent quality control standards for sensitive reactions, including RNA sequencing and real-time PCR, it can be considered as a reliable and cost-effective method for RNA extraction from woody plants.

Unusually high soil nitrogen oxide emissions influence air quality in a high-temperature agricultural region

PubMed Central

Oikawa, P. Y.; Ge, C.; Wang, J.; Eberwein, J. R.; Liang, L. L.; Allsman, L. A.; Grantz, D. A.; Jenerette, G. D.

2015-01-01

Fertilized soils have large potential for production of soil nitrogen oxide (NOx=NO+NO2), however these emissions are difficult to predict in high-temperature environments. Understanding these emissions may improve air quality modelling as NOx contributes to formation of tropospheric ozone (O3), a powerful air pollutant. Here we identify the environmental and management factors that regulate soil NOx emissions in a high-temperature agricultural region of California. We also investigate whether soil NOx emissions are capable of influencing regional air quality. We report some of the highest soil NOx emissions ever observed. Emissions vary nonlinearly with fertilization, temperature and soil moisture. We find that a regional air chemistry model often underestimates soil NOx emissions and NOx at the surface and in the troposphere. Adjusting the model to match NOx observations leads to elevated tropospheric O3. Our results suggest management can greatly reduce soil NOx emissions, thereby improving air quality. PMID:26556236

Signs of the Times: Sources of Professional Challenge and Sustenance for Veteran African American Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Dean D., IV

2017-01-01

Recruitment and retention of high-quality educators remains problematic throughout our public school systems. This is particularly so for teachers of minority-identifications and in high-poverty, high-minority urban schools and districts. Recent research concerning teacher longevity has typically focused on large-scale investigations of factors of…

Patients' perception of postoperative pain management: validation of the International Pain Outcomes (IPO) questionnaire.

PubMed

Rothaug, Judith; Zaslansky, Ruth; Schwenkglenks, Matthias; Komann, Marcus; Allvin, Renée; Backström, Ragnar; Brill, Silviu; Buchholz, Ingo; Engel, Christoph; Fletcher, Dominique; Fodor, Lucian; Funk, Peter; Gerbershagen, Hans J; Gordon, Debra B; Konrad, Christoph; Kopf, Andreas; Leykin, Yigal; Pogatzki-Zahn, Esther; Puig, Margarita; Rawal, Narinder; Taylor, Rod S; Ullrich, Kristin; Volk, Thomas; Yahiaoui-Doktor, Maryam; Meissner, Winfried

2013-11-01

PAIN OUT is a European Commission-funded project aiming at improving postoperative pain management. It combines a registry that can be useful for quality improvement and research using treatment and patient-reported outcome measures. The core of the project is a patient questionnaire-the International Pain Outcomes questionnaire-that comprises key patient-level outcomes of postoperative pain management, including pain intensity, physical and emotional functional interference, side effects, and perceptions of care. Its psychometric quality after translation and adaptation to European patients is the subject of this validation study. The questionnaire was administered to 9,727 patients in 10 languages in 8 European countries and Israel. Construct validity was assessed using factor analysis. Discriminant validity assessment used Mann-Whitney U tests to detect mean group differences between 2 surgical disciplines. Internal consistency reliability was calculated as Cronbach's alpha. Factor analysis resulted in a 3-factor structure explaining 53.6% of variance. Cronbach's alpha at overall scale level was high (.86), and for the 3 subscales was low, moderate, or high (range, .53-.89). Significant mean group differences between general and orthopedic surgery patients confirmed discriminant validity. The psychometric quality of the International Pain Outcomes questionnaire can be regarded as satisfactory. The International Pain Outcomes questionnaire provides an instrument for postoperative pain assessment and improvement of quality of care, which demonstrated good psychometric quality when translated into a variety of languages in a large European and Israeli patient population. This measure provides the basis for the first comprehensive postoperative pain registry in Europe and other countries. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Influence of Personal Factors on Sound Perception and Overall Experience in Urban Green Areas. A Case Study of a Cycling Path Highly Exposed to Road Traffic Noise.

PubMed

Aletta, Francesco; Van Renterghem, Timothy; Botteldooren, Dick

2018-05-30

In contemporary urban design, green public areas play a vital role. They have great societal value, but if exposed to undue environmental noise their restorative potential might be compromised. On the other hand, research has shown that the presence of greenery can moderate noise annoyance in areas with high sound levels, while personal factors are expected to play an important role too. A cycling path bordered by vegetation, but highly exposed to road traffic noise, was here considered as a case study. A sound perception survey was submitted to participants on site and they were subsequently sorted into groups according to their noise sensitivity, visual attention and attitude towards greenery. The aim of this study was testing whether these three personal factors could affect their noise perception and overall experience of the place. Results showed that people highly sensitive to noise and more sceptical towards greenery's potential as an environmental moderator reported worse soundscape quality, while visually attentive people reported better quality. These three personal factors were found to be statistically independent. This study shows that several person-related factors impact the assessment of the sound environment in green areas. Although the majority of the respondents benefit from the presence of visual green, policy-makers and planners should be aware that for a significant subset of the population, it should be accompanied by a tranquil soundscape to be fully appreciated.

[Analysis of dietary pattern and diabetes mellitus influencing factors identified by classification tree model in adults of Fujian].

PubMed

Yu, F L; Ye, Y; Yan, Y S

2017-05-10

Objective: To find out the dietary patterns and explore the relationship between environmental factors (especially dietary patterns) and diabetes mellitus in the adults of Fujian. Methods: Multi-stage sampling method were used to survey residents aged ≥18 years by questionnaire, physical examination and laboratory detection in 10 disease surveillance points in Fujian. Factor analysis was used to identify the dietary patterns, while logistic regression model was applied to analyze relationship between dietary patterns and diabetes mellitus, and classification tree model was adopted to identify the influencing factors for diabetes mellitus. Results: There were four dietary patterns in the population, including meat, plant, high-quality protein, and fried food and beverages patterns. The result of logistic analysis showed that plant pattern, which has higher factor loading of fresh fruit-vegetables and cereal-tubers, was a protective factor for non-diabetes mellitus. The risk of diabetes mellitus in the population at T2 and T3 levels of factor score were 0.727 (95 %CI: 0.561-0.943) times and 0.736 (95 %CI : 0.573-0.944) times higher, respectively, than those whose factor score was in lowest quartile. Thirteen influencing factors and eleven group at high-risk for diabetes mellitus were identified by classification tree model. The influencing factors were dyslipidemia, age, family history of diabetes, hypertension, physical activity, career, sex, sedentary time, abdominal adiposity, BMI, marital status, sleep time and high-quality protein pattern. Conclusion: There is a close association between dietary patterns and diabetes mellitus. It is necessary to promote healthy and reasonable diet, strengthen the monitoring and control of blood lipids, blood pressure and body weight, and have good lifestyle for the prevention and control of diabetes mellitus.

Surface-emitting circular DFB, disk- and ring- Bragg resonator lasers with chirped gratings: a unified theory and comparative study.

PubMed

Sun, Xiankai; Yariv, Amnon

2008-06-09

We have developed a theory that unifies the analysis of the modal properties of surface-emitting chirped circular grating lasers. This theory is based on solving the resonance conditions which involve two types of reflectivities of chirped circular gratings. This approach is shown to be in agreement with previous derivations which use the characteristic equations. Utilizing this unified analysis, we obtain the modal properties of circular DFB, disk-, and ring- Bragg resonator lasers. We also compare the threshold gain, single mode range, quality factor, emission efficiency, and modal area of these types of circular grating lasers. It is demonstrated that, under similar conditions, disk Bragg resonator lasers have the highest quality factor, the highest emission efficiency, and the smallest modal area, indicating their suitability in low-threshold, high-efficiency, ultracompact laser design, while ring Bragg resonator lasers have a large single mode range, high emission efficiency, and large modal area, indicating their suitability for high-efficiency, large-area, high-power applications.

Predicting Influential Factors of Secondary Career and Technical Education Teachers' Intent to Stay in the Profession

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dainty, Julie D.

2012-01-01

Retaining highly qualified career and technical education teachers is important in maintaining and growing quality secondary career and technical education programs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify factors contributing to teacher retention specifically in the area of career and technical education (CTE) and determine…

Rolled-up TiO₂ optical microcavities for telecom and visible photonics.

PubMed

Madani, Abbas; Böttner, Stefan; Jorgensen, Matthew R; Schmidt, Oliver G

2014-01-15

The fabrication of high-quality-factor polycrystalline TiO₂ vertically rolled-up microcavities (VRUMs) by the controlled release of differentially strained TiO₂ bilayered nanomembranes, operating at both telecom and visible wavelengths, is reported. Optical characterization of these resonators reveals quality factors as high as 3.8×10³ in the telecom wavelength range (1520-1570 nm) by interfacing a TiO₂ VRUMs with a tapered optical fiber. In addition, a splitting in the fundamental modes is experimentally observed due to the broken rotational symmetry in our resonators. This mode splitting indicates coupling between clockwise and counterclockwise traveling whispering gallery modes of the VRUMs. Moreover, we show that our biocompatible rolled-up TiO₂ resonators function at several positions along the tube, making them promising candidates for multiplexing and biosensing applications.

Simulated response of a multi-element thick gas electron multiplier-based microdosimeter to high energy neutrons.

PubMed

Moslehi, Amir; Raisali, Gholamreza

2018-07-01

The response of a microdosimeter for neutrons above 14 MeV is investigated. The mean quality factors and dose-equivalents are determined using lineal energy distributions calculated by Monte Carlo simulations (Geant4 toolkit). From 14 MeV to 5 GeV, the mean quality factors were found to vary between 6.00 and 9.30 and the dose-equivalents were in agreement with the true ambient dose-equivalent at the depth of 10 mm inside the ICRU sphere, H * (10). An energy-independent dose-equivalent response around a median value of 0.86 within 22% uncertainty was obtained. Therefore, the microdosimeter is appropriate for dose-equivalent measurement of high-energy neutrons. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"This clinic is number one": a qualitative study of factors that contribute toward "successful" care at a South African Pediatric HIV/AIDS clinic.

PubMed

Watermeyer, Jennifer

2012-09-01

HIV/AIDS has significantly affected health care practices. The need for high adherence and regular clinic visits places pressure on health care providers and patients. Poor quality of care has been described in many contexts, but some clinics have achieved excellent treatment results. Using a success case approach, this study aimed to understand factors which contribute to successful care at a South African pediatric HIV/AIDS clinic with documented high patient adherence and follow-up rates. Data included over 50 hours of ethnographic observations and interviews with a total of 35 clinic staff and caregivers. Thematic analysis highlighted strong congruence between caregiver and staff perceptions. Factors which seemed to contribute to successful care included organizational routines, staff-patient relationships, communication, teamwork, leadership, job commitment, caregivers' negative experiences at other clinics, and faith in the "life-saving" care at this clinic. Results suggest the need for all factors to be present in order to promote quality of care. Recommendations for other clinic settings are discussed.

Factor analysis in optimization of formulation of high content uniformity tablets containing low dose active substance.

PubMed

Lukášová, Ivana; Muselík, Jan; Franc, Aleš; Goněc, Roman; Mika, Filip; Vetchý, David

2017-11-15

Warfarin is intensively discussed drug with narrow therapeutic range. There have been cases of bleeding attributed to varying content or altered quality of the active substance. Factor analysis is useful for finding suitable technological parameters leading to high content uniformity of tablets containing low amount of active substance. The composition of tabletting blend and technological procedure were set with respect to factor analysis of previously published results. The correctness of set parameters was checked by manufacturing and evaluation of tablets containing 1-10mg of warfarin sodium. The robustness of suggested technology was checked by using "worst case scenario" and statistical evaluation of European Pharmacopoeia (EP) content uniformity limits with respect to Bergum division and process capability index (Cpk). To evaluate the quality of active substance and tablets, dissolution method was developed (water; EP apparatus II; 25rpm), allowing for statistical comparison of dissolution profiles. Obtained results prove the suitability of factor analysis to optimize the composition with respect to batches manufactured previously and thus the use of metaanalysis under industrial conditions is feasible. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reporting and methodological quality of meta-analyses in urological literature

PubMed Central

Xu, Jing

2017-01-01

Purpose To assess the overall quality of published urological meta-analyses and identify predictive factors for high quality. Materials and Methods We systematically searched PubMed to identify meta-analyses published from January 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2015 in 10 predetermined major paper-based urology journals. The characteristics of the included meta-analyses were collected, and their reporting and methodological qualities were assessed by the PRISMA checklist (27 items) and AMSTAR tool (11 items), respectively. Descriptive statistics were used for individual items as a measure of overall compliance, and PRISMA and AMSTAR scores were calculated as the sum of adequately reported domains. Logistic regression was used to identify predictive factors for high qualities. Results A total of 183 meta-analyses were included. The mean PRISMA and AMSTAR scores were 22.74 ± 2.04 and 7.57 ± 1.41, respectively. PRISMA item 5, protocol and registration, items 15 and 22, risk of bias across studies, items 16 and 23, additional analysis had less than 50% adherence. AMSTAR item 1, “a priori” design, item 5, list of studies and item 10, publication bias had less than 50% adherence. Logistic regression analyses showed that funding support and “a priori” design were associated with superior reporting quality, following PRISMA guideline and “a priori” design were associated with superior methodological quality. Conclusions Reporting and methodological qualities of recently published meta-analyses in major paper-based urology journals are generally good. Further improvement could potentially be achieved by strictly adhering to PRISMA guideline and having “a priori” protocol. PMID:28439452

Illuminating Anaerobic Microbial Community and Cooccurrence Patterns across a Quality Gradient in Chinese Liquor Fermentation Pit Muds

PubMed Central

Hu, Xiaolong; Du, Hai; Ren, Cong

2016-01-01

Fermentation pit mud, an important reservoir of diverse anaerobic microorganisms, is essential for Chinese strong-aroma liquor production. Pit mud quality, according to its sensory characteristics, can be divided into three grades: degraded, normal, and high quality. However, the relationship between pit mud microbial community and pit mud quality is poorly understood, as are microbial associations within the pit mud ecosystem. Here, microbial communities at these grades were compared using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the variable region V4 of the 16S rRNA gene. Our results revealed that the pit mud microbial community was correlated with its quality and environmental factors. Species richness, biodiversity, and relative and/or absolute abundances of Clostridia, Clostridium kluyveri, Bacteroidia, and Methanobacteria significantly increased, with corresponding increases in levels of pH, NH4+, and available phosphorus, from degraded to high-quality pit muds, while levels of Lactobacillus, dissolved organic carbon, and lactate significantly decreased, with normal samples in between. Furthermore, 271 pairs of significant and robust correlations (cooccurrence and negative) were identified from 76 genera using network analysis. Thirteen hubs of cooccurrence patterns, mainly under the Clostridia, Bacteroidia, Methanobacteria, and Methanomicrobia, may play important roles in pit mud ecosystem stability, which may be destroyed with rapidly increased levels of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, and Streptococcus). This study may help clarify the relationships among microbial community, environmental conditions, and pit mud quality, allow the improvement of pit mud quality by using bioaugmentation and controlling environmental factors, and shed more light on the ecological rules guiding community assembly in pit mud. PMID:26896127

Quality of care in Norwegian nursing homes - typology of family perceptions.

PubMed

Vinsnes, Anne G; Nakrem, Sigrid; Harkless, Gene E; Seim, Arnfinn

2012-01-01

This study aimed to elucidate the understandings and beliefs about quality held by family members of residents of Norwegian nursing homes. The objective reported in the study considers how family member judge factors that enhance or hamper high care quality. The percentage of those who will require care in a nursing home some time before the end of their lives will increase dramatically in the next 20 years. Therefore, anticipating this pressure to expand nursing home availability, it is urgent that these services are developed from a keen understanding of what creates the best value. Care quality from the family's perspective is just one piece of the nursing home experience that must be understood for optimal value in care to be realised. Qualitative methodology. Three focus group interviews; purposive sampling was used to recruit the 16 family members of residents in nursing homes. Three domains emerged that served as anchors for a typology of family perceptions of the quality care continuum: resident contentment, suitability of staff and environmental context. Each domain was developed with categories describing high- to low-quality markers, which were then clarified by enhancing and hindering factors. This typology provides a family perspective framework that may be useful to nursing leadership at all levels of the nursing home organisation to identify important quality of care strengths as well as markers of poor care. Overall, the typology is offered to expand nurses' understanding of quality, both practically and conceptually, to provide the best value in nursing care. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Psychological Factors Associated With Painful Versus Non-Painful HIV-Associated Sensory Neuropathy.

PubMed

Pillay, Prinisha; Wadley, Antonia L; Cherry, Catherine L; Karstaedt, Alan S; Kamerman, Peter R

2018-05-01

HIV-associated sensory neuropathy (HIV-SN) is a common, and frequently painful complication of HIV, but factors that determine the presence of pain are unresolved. We investigated: (i) if psychological factors associated with painful (n = 125) versus non-painful HIV-SN (n = 72), and (ii) if pain and psychological factors affected quality of life (QoL). We assessed anxiety and depression using the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25. Pain catastrophizing and QoL were assessed using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale and Euroqol-5D, respectively. Presence of neuropathy was detected using the Brief Neuropathy Screening Tool, and pain was characterised using the Wisconsin Brief Pain Questionnaire. Overall, there was a high burden of pain, depression and anxiety in the cohort. None of the psychological variables associated with having painful HIV-SN. Greater depressive symptoms and presence of pain were independently associated with lower QoL. In those participants with painful HIV-SN, greater depressive symptom scores were associated with increased pain intensity. In conclusion, in a cohort with high background levels of psychological dysfunction, psychological factors do not predict the presence of pain, but both depression and presence of pain are associated with poor quality of life.

Large deflection angle, high-power adaptive fiber optics collimator with preserved near-diffraction-limited beam quality.

PubMed

Zhi, Dong; Ma, Yanxing; Chen, Zilun; Wang, Xiaolin; Zhou, Pu; Si, Lei

2016-05-15

We report on the development of a monolithic adaptive fiber optics collimator, with a large deflection angle and preserved near-diffraction-limited beam quality, that has been tested at a maximal output power at the 300 W level. Additionally, a new measurement method of beam quality (M² factor) is developed. Experimental results show that the deflection angle of the collimated beam is in the range of 0-0.27 mrad in the X direction and 0-0.19 mrad in the Y direction. The effective working frequency of the device is about 710 Hz. By employing the new measurement method of the M² factor, we calculate that the beam quality is Mx2=1.35 and My2=1.24, which is in agreement with the result from the beam propagation analyzer and is preserved well with the increasing output power.

Investigating the CO 2 laser cutting parameters of MDF wood composite material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eltawahni, H. A.; Olabi, A. G.; Benyounis, K. Y.

2011-04-01

Laser cutting of medium density fibreboard (MDF) is a complicated process and the selection of the process parameters combinations is essential to get the highest quality cut section. This paper presents a means for selecting the process parameters for laser cutting of MDF based on the design of experiments (DOE) approach. A CO 2 laser was used to cut three thicknesses, 4, 6 and 9 mm, of MDF panels. The process factors investigated are: laser power, cutting speed, air pressure and focal point position. In this work, cutting quality was evaluated by measuring the upper kerf width, the lower kerf width, the ratio between the upper kerf width to the lower kerf width, the cut section roughness and the operating cost. The effect of each factor on the quality measures was determined. The optimal cutting combinations were presented in favours of high quality process output and in favours of low cutting cost.

Measuring the qualities of nurses: development and testing of the Qualities of Nurses Scale.

PubMed

Johnson, Maree; Cowin, Leanne

2013-01-01

This paper reports on the creation, development and testing of a new instrument to measure qualities of nurses, known as the Qualities of Nurses (QON) scale, applicable to student nurses. High attrition rates within nursing programs and during early postgraduate years are an international phenomena. Mismatches between idealized perceptions of nursing and the realities of education and clinical experiences have been identified as contributing factors. A survey method was used to elicit responses to scale items from 678 first-year nursing students at a large university. A one-factor 12-item solution explaining 47 percent of variance in the construct was demonstrated. The QON can assist in the initial assessment and ongoing monitoring of changes in students' perceptions of nurses. Using the QON, researchers and educators can identify initial student nurses' perceptions and any changes associated in educational or other events that ultimately could be manipulated to reduce attrition.

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.

Human factors and safety in emergency medicine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaefer, H. G.; Helmreich, R. L.; Scheidegger, D.

1994-01-01

A model based on an input process and outcome conceptualisation is suggested to address safety-relevant factors in emergency medicine. As shown in other dynamic and demanding environments, human factors play a decisive role in attaining high quality service. Attitudes held by health-care providers, organisational shells and work-cultural parameters determine communication, conflict resolution and workload distribution within and between teams. These factors should be taken into account to improve outcomes such as operational integrity, job satisfaction and morale.

Quality of working life: perceptions of professional nurses at Phramongkutklao Hospital.

PubMed

Boonrod, Wallapa

2009-02-01

The 10th National Economic and Social Developmental Plan considered quality of human. Quality of human life was affected by quality of working life (QWL). Professional nurses had responsibility for patients' quality of life. Thus, professional nurses should have a quality of working life more effectively before they could help patients. Personal factors have relationships with the quality of working life. Thus, the present study was to describe the level of the QWL, to examine the relationships between job characteristics, organizational climate, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction with the QWL and to predict the QWL among professional nurses at Phramongkutklao Hospital. Two hundred and thirty-one professional nurses, who had worked for at least 3 years, were selected by stratified random sampling from 12 departments at Phramongkutklao Hospital. The questionnaires were developed, consisting of personal factors, job characteristics, organizational climate and commitment, job satisfaction and QWL. Content validity was examined by 9 experts. Reliability was obtained at 0.97 by means of Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The over all mean score of the level of quality of working life among professional nurses was at a moderate level (mean = 3.412, SD = 0.459). Personal factors were age, status, education, position, experience, salary and wards were no relationships with the QWL. Job satisfaction was positive and related at a high level, while organizational commitment, organizational climate, and job characteristics were positive and related at a moderate level to the QWL significantly at 0.001 level (r = 0.724, 0.694, 0.640, and 0.334). Multiple regression analysis factors affecting QWL indicated that professional nurses associated negative factors with job characteristics and positive factors with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational climate at 62.10 percent (R2 = 0.621). QWL = 0.762 + 0.336 Job satisfaction + 0.265 Organizational climate + 0.250 Organizational commitment - 0.118 Job characteristics. In order to develop the QWL among professional nurses at Phramongkutklao hospital, nursing administrators should promote their job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational climate, and job characteristics. Professional nurses who have better QWL, are more likely to stay in their positions and provide better nursing care.

Anatomy and dry weight yields of two Populus clones grown under intensive culture.

Treesearch

John B. Crist; David H. Dawson

1975-01-01

Two Populus clones grown for short rotations at three dense planting spacings produced some extremely high yields of material of acceptable quality. However, variation in yields and quality illustrates that selection of genetic material and the cultured regime under which a species is growth are significant factors that must be determined in maximum-yield systems....

Academic Language and the Quality of Written Arguments and Explanations of Chilean 8th Graders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Figueroa, Javiera; Meneses, Alejandra; Chandia, Eugenio

2018-01-01

Writing is a task that entails high cognitive and linguistic efforts, especially when producing academic texts. Academic language might be one of the factors influencing the quality of written texts, given that prior research has shown its impact on reading comprehension. The purpose of this study is to examine the contribution of Spanish Core…

High-Quality Interactions with Infants: Relationships with Early-Childhood Practitioners' Interpretations and Qualification Levels in Play and Routine Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Degotardi, Sheila

2010-01-01

This study investigated factors related to the quality of early-childhood practitioners' interactions with infants in play and routine contexts. Participants were 24 practitioners working with 9-20-month-old infants in long day-care infant programmes. Video-recordings of their interactions with a nominated infant during play and in routine…

Quality of Work-Life Programs in U.S. Medical Schools: Review and Case Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Otto, Ann; Bourguet, Claire

2006-01-01

Quality of work life is being recognized more and more as a driving factor in the recruitment and retention of highly qualified employees. Before Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine began development of its QWL initiative, it surveyed other medical schools across the U.S. to determine benchmarks of best practices in these programs.…

Quality of Life of Adolescents and Young Adults Born at High Risk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahan-Oliel, Noemi; Majnemer, Annette; Mazer, Barbara

2011-01-01

Research on quality of life (QoL) of adolescents and young adults born preterm and those with congenital heart disease (CHD) was systematically reviewed, and factors associated with QoL were identified. Forty-five studies met the inclusion criteria for review. Although the majority of studies found that self-reported QoL of adolescents and young…

Stability of Maternal Discipline Practices and the Quality of Mother-Child Interaction during Toddlerhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Keng-Yen; Caughy, Margaret O'Brien; Lee, Li-Ching; Miller, Therese; Genevro, Janice

2008-01-01

This study examined the stability of maternal punitive/high-power discipline (PD) and inductive/authoritative discipline (ID) over the second and third years of life and the effect of maternal discipline on quality of mother-child interactions. Data from a longitudinal sample with 179 mother-toddler dyads were analyzed, and selected factors (i.e.,…

Teacher Education in Finland: A Review of a National Effort for Preparing Teachers for the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malinen, Olli-Pekka; Vaisanen, Pertti; Savolainen, Hannu

2012-01-01

The quality of teachers is one of the most frequently cited factors explaining the quality of an education system. This article discusses the nature and role teacher education plays as a part of the Finnish education system. Teacher education in Finland is a highly competitive field of masters' degree university studies and is provided in…

Factors Challenging and Supporting Scholarly Activity for Academic Staff in a Regional Australian University Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurley, John; Bowling, Alison; Griffiths, Jean; Blair, Duncan

2015-01-01

With expectations of academic staff to achieve high quality teaching and research outputs as performance measures it is timely to explore how staff perceive they are being supported to meet these ends. This article presents findings of a multi-method study that explored influences impacting on the quality and quantity of scholarly activity being…

Organizational Governance and the Production of Academic Quality: Lessons from Two Top U.S. Research Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thoenig, Jean-Claude; Paradeise, Catherine

2014-01-01

Does organizational governance contribute to academic quality? Two top research universities are observed in-depth: Berkeley and the MIT. Three key factors are listed that help generate consistent and lasting high performance. Priority is allocated to self-evaluation and to the development of talent. Values and norms such as community membership,…

Water Quality in Surface Water: A Preliminary Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination of the Mashavera River, Georgia

PubMed Central

Urushadze, Teo

2018-01-01

Water quality contamination by heavy metal pollution has severe effects on public health. In the Mashavera River Basin, an important agricultural area for the national food system in Georgia (e.g., vegetable, dairy and wine production), water contamination has multiple influences on the regional and country-wide health. With new industrial activities in the region, sediment extraction, and discharge of untreated wastewater into the river, its tributaries and irrigation canals, a comprehensive study of water quality was greatly needed. This study examined sediment and water samples from 17 sampling sites in the Mashavera River Basin during the high and low precipitation seasons. The results were characterized utilizing the Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), Enrichment Factor (EF), Pollution Load index (PLI), Contamination Factor (CF) and Metal Index (MI). According to the CFs, Cu > Cd > Zn > Pb > Fe > Mn > Ni > Cr > Hg is the descending order for the content of all observed heavy metals in sediments collected in both seasons. Fe and As were additionally examined in water samples. Overall, As, Cd and Pb, all highly toxic elements, were found in high concentrations in downstream sample sites. According to these results, comprehensive monitoring with narrow intervals between sampling dates, more sample sites along all waterways, and proximate observation of multiple trace metal elements are highly recommended. Moreover, as the part of the water quality governance system, an immediate and sustainable collective action by all stakeholders to control the pollution level is highly recommended, as this issue is linked to the security of the national food system and poses a local public health risk. PMID:29597320

High power broadband all fiber super-fluorescent source with linear polarization and near diffraction-limited beam quality.

PubMed

Ma, Pengfei; Huang, Long; Wang, Xiaolin; Zhou, Pu; Liu, Zejin

2016-01-25

In this manuscript, a high power broadband superfluorescent source (SFS) with linear polarization and near-diffraction-limited beam quality is achieved based on an ytterbium-doped (Yb-doped), all fiberized and polarization-maintained master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) configuration. The MOPA structure generates a linearly polarized output power of 1427 W with a slope efficiency of 80% and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 11 nm, which is power scaled by an order of magnitude compared with the previously reported SFSs with linear polarization. In the experiment, both the polarization extinction ratio (PER) and beam quality (M(2) factor) are degraded little during the power scaling process. At maximal output power, the PER and M(2) factor are measured to be 19.1dB and 1.14, respectively. The root-mean-square (RMS) and peak-vale (PV) values of the power fluctuation at maximal output power are just 0.48% and within 3%, respectively. Further power scaling of the whole system is limited by the available pump sources. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of kilowatt level broadband SFS with linear polarization and near-diffraction-limited beam quality.

Socio-economic factors influencing the spread of drinking water diseases in rural Africa: case study of Bondo sub-county, Kenya.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Anthony Joachim; Oyoo, Wandiga Shem; Odundo, Francis O; Wambu, Enos W

2015-06-01

Socio-economic and medical information on Bondo sub-county community was studied to help establish the relationship between the water quality challenges, community health and water rights conditions. Health challenges have been linked to water quality and household income. A total of 1,510 households/respondents were studied by means of a questionnaire. About 69% of the households have no access to treated water. Although 92% of the respondents appear to be aware that treatment of water prevents waterborne diseases, the lowest income group and children share a high burden of waterborne diseases requiring hospitalization and causing mortality. Open defecation (12.3%) in these study areas contributes to a high incidence of waterborne diseases. The community's constitutional rights to quality water in adequate quantities are greatly infringed. The source of low-quality water is not a significant determinant of waterborne disease. The differences in poverty level in the sub-county are statistically insignificant and contribute less than other factors. Increased investment in water provision across regions, improved sanitation and availability of affordable point-of-use water purification systems will have major positive impacts on the health and economic well-being of the community.

Quality metrics in high-dimensional data visualization: an overview and systematization.

PubMed

Bertini, Enrico; Tatu, Andrada; Keim, Daniel

2011-12-01

In this paper, we present a systematization of techniques that use quality metrics to help in the visual exploration of meaningful patterns in high-dimensional data. In a number of recent papers, different quality metrics are proposed to automate the demanding search through large spaces of alternative visualizations (e.g., alternative projections or ordering), allowing the user to concentrate on the most promising visualizations suggested by the quality metrics. Over the last decade, this approach has witnessed a remarkable development but few reflections exist on how these methods are related to each other and how the approach can be developed further. For this purpose, we provide an overview of approaches that use quality metrics in high-dimensional data visualization and propose a systematization based on a thorough literature review. We carefully analyze the papers and derive a set of factors for discriminating the quality metrics, visualization techniques, and the process itself. The process is described through a reworked version of the well-known information visualization pipeline. We demonstrate the usefulness of our model by applying it to several existing approaches that use quality metrics, and we provide reflections on implications of our model for future research. © 2010 IEEE

Management of source and drinking-water quality in Pakistan.

PubMed

Aziz, J A

2005-01-01

Drinking-water quality in both urban and rural areas of Pakistan is not being managed properly. Results of various investigations provide evidence that most of the drinking-water supplies are faecally contaminated. At places groundwater quality is deteriorating due to the naturally occurring subsoil contaminants or to anthropogenic activities. The poor bacteriological quality of drinking-water has frequently resulted in high incidence of waterborne diseases while subsoil contaminants have caused other ailments to consumers. This paper presents a detailed review of drinking-water quality in the country and the consequent health impacts. It identifies various factors contributing to poor water quality and proposes key actions required to ensure safe drinking-water supplies to consumers.

Nutrient dynamics in shallow lakes of Northern Greece.

PubMed

Petaloti, Christina; Voutsa, Dimitra; Samara, Constantini; Sofoniou, Mihalis; Stratis, Ioannis; Kouimtzis, Themistocles

2004-01-01

GOAL, SCOPE, BACKGROUND: Shallow lakes display a number of features that set them apart from the more frequently studied deeper systems. The majority of lakes in Northern Greece are small to moderate in size with a relatively low depth and are considered as sites of high value of the wetland habitat. However, the water quality of these lakes has only been evaluated segmentally and occasionally. The objectives of this study were to thoroughly investigate nitrogen and phosphorus speciation in lakes of a high ecological significance located in N. Greece, in order to evaluate their eutrophication status and possible nutrient limitation factors, and to investigate the main factors/sources that affect the water quality of these systems. An extensive survey was carried out during the period from 1998-1999. Water samples were collected on a monthly basis from lakes Koronia, Volvi, Doirani, Mikri Prespa and Megali Prespa located in N. Greece. Water quality parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity), organic indices (COD, BOD5), and N- and P-species (NO3(-), NO2(-), NH4(+), and PO4(3-), Kieldahl nitrogen and acid-hydrolysable phosphorus) were determined according to standard methods for surface water. Statistical treatment of the data was employed. The physicochemical parameters determined in the lakes studied revealed a high temporal variation. The trophic state of the lakes ranged from meso- to hypertrophic. The nutrient limiting factor varied among lakes suggesting either P-limitation conditions or mixed conditions changing from P- to N-limitation throughout the year. Urban/industrial activities and agricultural runoff are the major factors affecting all lakes, although with a varying contribution. This lake-specific research offers valuable information about water quality and nutrient dynamics in lakes of significant ecological value located in N. Greece that can be useful for an effective pollution control/management of these systems. Due to the large intra-annual variability of certain physicochemical parameters, a properly designed monitoring program of lake water is recommended.

Comparison of good- and bad-quality cork: application of high-throughput sequencing of phellogenic tissue.

PubMed

Teixeira, Rita Teresa; Fortes, Ana Margarida; Pinheiro, Carla; Pereira, Helena

2014-09-01

Cork is one of the most valuable non-wood forest products and plays an important role in Mediterranean economies. The production of high-quality cork is dependent on both genome and environment, posing constraints on the industry because an ever-growing amount of bad-quality cork (BQC) development has been observed. In order to identify genes responsible for production of cork of superior quality we performed a comparative analysis using the 454 pyrosequencing approach on phellogenic tissue of good- and bad-quality samples. The transcriptional profiling showed a high number of genes differentially expressed (8.48%) from which 78.8% displayed annotation. Genes more highly represented in BQC are involved in DNA synthesis, RNA processing, proteolysis, and transcription factors related to the abiotic stress response. Putative stomatal/lenticular-associated genes which may be responsible for the disadvantageous higher number of lenticular channels in BQC are also more highly represented. BQC also showed an elevated content of free phenolics. On the other hand, good-quality cork (GQC) can be distinguished by highly expressed genes encoding heat-shock proteins. Together the results provide valuable new information about the molecular events leading to cork formation and provide putative biomarkers associated with cork quality that can be useful in breeding programmes. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Risk Analysis of Underestimate Cost Offer to The Project Quality in Aceh Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rani, Hafnidar A.

2016-11-01

The possibility of errors in the process of offer price determination could be enormous, so it can affect the possibility of project underestimate cost which can impact and reduce the profit if being implementing. Government Equipment/Service Procurement Policy Institution (LKPP) assesses that the practices of cheaper price in the government equipment/service procurement are still highly found and can be potential to decrease the project quality. This study aimed to analyze the most dominant factors happened in underestimate cost offer practice, to analyze the relationship of underestimate cost offer risk factors to road construction project quality in Aceh Province and to analyze the most potential factors of underestimate cost offer risk affecting road construction project quality in Aceh Province. Road construction projects observed the projects which have been implemented in Aceh Province since 2013 - 2015. This study conducted by interviewing Government Budget Authority (KPA), and distributing the questionnaire to the road construction contractors with the qualification of K1, K2, K3, M1, M2 and B1. Based on the data from Construction Service Development Institution (LPJK) of Aceh Province on 2016, the populations obtained are 2,717 constructors. By using Slovin Equation, the research samples obtained are 97 contractors. The most dominant factors in underestimate cost offer risk of the road construction projects in Aceh Province is Contingency Cost Factor which the mean is 4.374.

1030 nm high power polarization maintained fiber laser with narrow linewidth and near-diffraction-limited beam quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Qiuhui; Zhao, Pengfei; Li, Chengyu; Wang, Bopeng; Lin, Honghuan; Guo, Chao; Liu, Yu; Jing, Feng; Tang, Chuanxiang

2018-03-01

A high power 1030 nm ytterbium-doped polarization maintained fiber laser with optimized parameters is presented in this paper. The master oscillator power amplifier system with counter-pumped amplifier is established. The output power is 900 W, along with a light-to-light efficiency of 64.2%. The amplified spontaneous emission suppression ratio of spectrum reaches to 40 dB with 3 dB linewidth of 0.14 nm. The polarization extinction ratio is 12 dB, and the beam quality factor is M2x=1.07, M2y=1.12. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of 1030 nm high power fiber laser with narrow linewidth, near linear polarization, and neardiffraction-limited beam quality

Professional failure to thrive: a threat to high-quality care?

PubMed

Stamler, Lynnette Leeseberg; Gabriel, Aaron M

2010-03-01

The term professional failure to thrive arose from descriptions of non-organic failure to thrive in infants and observations of nurses' behaviours. First coined by Stamler in 1997, subsequent unrelated research results have supported the theoretical construct. In an era when patient safety and high-quality care have never been more important, and nursing retention has reached heretofore unknown levels of global concern, critical examination of factors that may alleviate professional issues and support high-quality healthcare is especially useful. In this paper, we suggest theoretical causes for professional failure to thrive (PFTT) and associated behaviours exhibited by nurses, and draw links to current research to support the theory. Given the theoretical support, PFTT represents an additional avenue that should be considered and explored through research studies.

Water Quality Monitoring in Developing Countries; Can Microbial Fuel Cells be the Answer?

PubMed Central

Chouler, Jon; Di Lorenzo, Mirella

2015-01-01

The provision of safe water and adequate sanitation in developing countries is a must. A range of chemical and biological methods are currently used to ensure the safety of water for consumption. These methods however suffer from high costs, complexity of use and inability to function onsite and in real time. The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology has great potential for the rapid and simple testing of the quality of water sources. MFCs have the advantages of high simplicity and possibility for onsite and real time monitoring. Depending on the choice of manufacturing materials, this technology can also be highly cost effective. This review covers the state-of-the-art research on MFC sensors for water quality monitoring, and explores enabling factors for their use in developing countries. PMID:26193327

Water Quality Monitoring in Developing Countries; Can Microbial Fuel Cells be the Answer?

PubMed

Chouler, Jon; Di Lorenzo, Mirella

2015-07-16

The provision of safe water and adequate sanitation in developing countries is a must. A range of chemical and biological methods are currently used to ensure the safety of water for consumption. These methods however suffer from high costs, complexity of use and inability to function onsite and in real time. The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology has great potential for the rapid and simple testing of the quality of water sources. MFCs have the advantages of high simplicity and possibility for onsite and real time monitoring. Depending on the choice of manufacturing materials, this technology can also be highly cost effective. This review covers the state-of-the-art research on MFC sensors for water quality monitoring, and explores enabling factors for their use in developing countries.

Risk factors for adverse outcomes in older adults with blunt chest trauma: A systematic review.

PubMed

Sawa, Jake; Green, Robert S; Thoma, Brent; Erdogan, Mete; Davis, Philip J

2017-08-11

The objective of this study was to systematically review the published literature for risk factors associated with adverse outcomes in older adults sustaining blunt chest trauma. EMBASE and MEDLINE were searched from inception until March 2017 for prognostic factors associated with adverse outcomes in older adults sustaining blunt chest trauma using a pre-specified search strategy. References were independently screened for inclusion by two reviewers. Study quality was assessed using the Quality in Prognostic Studies tool. Where appropriate, descriptive statistics were used to evaluate study characteristics and predictors of adverse outcomes. Thirteen cohort studies representing 79,313 patients satisfied our selection criteria. Overall, 26 prognostic factors were examined across studies and were reported for morbidity (8 studies), length of stay (7 studies), mortality (6 studies), and loss of independence (1 study). No studies examined patient quality of life or emergency department recidivism. Prognostic factors associated with morbidity and mortality included age, number of rib fractures, and injury severity score. Although age and rib fractures were found to be associated with adverse outcomes in more than 3 studies, meta-analysis was not performed due to heterogeneity amongst included studies in how these variables were measured. While blunt chest wall trauma in older adults is relatively common, the literature on prognostic factors for adverse outcomes in this patient population remains inadequate due to a paucity of high quality studies and lack of consistent reporting standards.

Sleep quality in long haul truck drivers: A study on Iranian national data.

PubMed

Sadeghniiat-Haghighi, Khosro; Yazdi, Zohreh; Kazemifar, Amir-Mohammad

2016-08-01

Iran has a high rate of road traffic accidents. Poor quality of sleep brings about loss of attention, which is an important cause of road traffic accidents particularly in monotonous roads. The causes of poor quality of sleep in occupational drivers are multifactorial. The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of poor sleep quality among occupational drivers with rotating work schedules and analyze its different risk factors. 2200 professional long-haul truck drivers who had been referred to the Occupational Health Clinic for routine education course were invited. We obtained data from eight provinces from various parts of Iran during 2012-2013. Data were collected using a questionnaire including questions about demographic and job characteristics. Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess drivers' sleep quality. Mean working (driving) time was (9.3±2.5) hours daily and (55.5 ± 18.29) hours weekly. About 23.5% of the drivers reported history of smoking, 14.5% had low job satisfaction and 60% had irregular work schedule. 16.4% of drivers had an accidents leading to injury during the past five years. The mean PSQI score was 4.2 ± 2.7; 54% had a PSQI>5 (poor quality of sleep). Multivariate logistic regression showed that smoking, job satisfaction, history of accidents, shift work and work hours per day were the most important risk factors for poor sleep quality. Results obtained from the current study showed a high prevalence of poor quality of sleep among professional drivers. It warrants more attention to this significant problem using some measures to improve working conditions in professional drivers, as well as health promotion interventions.

Disparities in liver transplantation: the association between donor quality and recipient race/ethnicity and sex.

PubMed

Mathur, Amit K; Schaubel, Douglas E; Zhang, Hui; Guidinger, Mary K; Merion, Robert M

2014-04-27

We aimed to examine the association between recipient race/ethnicity and sex, donor liver quality, and liver transplant graft survival. Adult non-status 1 liver recipients transplanted between March 1, 2002, and December 31, 2008, were identified using Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients data. The factors of interest were recipient race/ethnicity and sex. Donor risk index (DRI) was used as a donor quality measure. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between race/ethnicity and sex in relation to the transplantation of low-quality (high DRI) or high-quality (low DRI) livers. Cox regression was used to assess the association between race/ethnicity and sex and liver graft failure risk, accounting for DRI. Hispanics were 21% more likely to receive low-quality grafts compared to whites (odds ratio [OR]=1.21, P=0.002). Women had greater odds of receiving a low-quality graft compared to men (OR=1.24, P<0.0001). Despite adjustment for donor quality, African American recipients still had higher graft failure rates compared to whites (hazard ratio [HR]=1.28, P<0.001). Hispanics (HR=0.89, P=0.023) had significantly lower graft failure rates compared to whites despite higher odds of receiving a higher DRI graft. Using an interaction model of DRI and race/ethnicity, we found that the impact of DRI on graft failure rates was significantly reduced for African Americans compared to whites (P=0.02). This study shows that while liver graft quality differed significantly by recipient race/ethnicity and sex, donor selection practices do not seem to be the dominant factor responsible for worse liver transplant outcomes for minority recipients.

Studies on kinetics of water quality factors to establish water transparency model in Neijiang River, China.

PubMed

Li, Ronghui; Pan, Wei; Guo, Jinchuan; Pang, Yong; Wu, Jianqiang; Li, Yiping; Pan, Baozhu; Ji, Yong; Ding, Ling

2014-05-01

The basis for submerged plant restoration in surface water is to research the complicated dynamic mechanism of water transparency. In this paper, through the impact factor analysis of water transparency, the suspended sediment, dissolved organic matter, algae were determined as three main impactfactors for water transparency of Neijiang River in Eastern China. And the multiple regression equation of water transparency and sediment concentration, permanganate index, chlorophyll-a concentration was developed. Considering the complicated transport and transformation of suspended sediment, dissolved organic matter and algae, numerical model of them were developed respectively for simulating the dynamic process. Water transparency numerical model was finally developed by coupling the sediment, water quality, and algae model. These results showed that suspended sediment was a key factor influencing water transparency of Neijiang River, the influence of water quality indicated by chemical oxygen demand and algal concentration indicated by chlorophyll a were indeterminate when their concentrations were lower, the influence was more obvious when high concentrations are available, such three factors showed direct influence on water transparency.

Quench-induced degradation of the quality factor in superconducting resonators

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

Checchin, M.; Martinello, M.; Romanenko, A.

Quench of superconducting radio-frequency cavities frequently leads to the lowered quality factor Q 0, which had been attributed to the additional trapped magnetic flux. Here we demonstrate that the origin of this magnetic flux is purely extrinsic to the cavity by showing no extra dissipation (unchanged Q 0) after quenching in zero magnetic field, which allows us to rule out intrinsic mechanisms of flux trapping such as generation of thermal currents or trapping of the rf field. We also show the clear relation of dissipation introduced by quenching to the orientation of the applied magnetic field and the possibility tomore » fully recover the quality factor by requenching in the compensated field. We discover that for larger values of the ambient field, the Q-factor degradation may become irreversible by this technique, likely due to the outward flux migration beyond the normal zone opening during quench. Lastly, our findings are of special practical importance for accelerators based on low- and medium-beta accelerating structures residing close to focusing magnets, as well as for all high-Q cavity-based accelerators.« less

Quench-induced degradation of the quality factor in superconducting resonators

DOE PAGES

Checchin, M.; Martinello, M.; Romanenko, A.; ...

2016-04-28

Quench of superconducting radio-frequency cavities frequently leads to the lowered quality factor Q 0, which had been attributed to the additional trapped magnetic flux. Here we demonstrate that the origin of this magnetic flux is purely extrinsic to the cavity by showing no extra dissipation (unchanged Q 0) after quenching in zero magnetic field, which allows us to rule out intrinsic mechanisms of flux trapping such as generation of thermal currents or trapping of the rf field. We also show the clear relation of dissipation introduced by quenching to the orientation of the applied magnetic field and the possibility tomore » fully recover the quality factor by requenching in the compensated field. We discover that for larger values of the ambient field, the Q-factor degradation may become irreversible by this technique, likely due to the outward flux migration beyond the normal zone opening during quench. Lastly, our findings are of special practical importance for accelerators based on low- and medium-beta accelerating structures residing close to focusing magnets, as well as for all high-Q cavity-based accelerators.« less

Quench-Induced Degradation of the Quality Factor in Superconducting Resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Checchin, M.; Martinello, M.; Romanenko, A.; Grassellino, A.; Sergatskov, D. A.; Posen, S.; Melnychuk, O.; Zasadzinski, J. F.

2016-04-01

Quench of superconducting radio-frequency cavities frequently leads to the lowered quality factor Q0 , which had been attributed to the additional trapped magnetic flux. Here we demonstrate that the origin of this magnetic flux is purely extrinsic to the cavity by showing no extra dissipation (unchanged Q0) after quenching in zero magnetic field, which allows us to rule out intrinsic mechanisms of flux trapping such as generation of thermal currents or trapping of the rf field. We also show the clear relation of dissipation introduced by quenching to the orientation of the applied magnetic field and the possibility to fully recover the quality factor by requenching in the compensated field. We discover that for larger values of the ambient field, the Q -factor degradation may become irreversible by this technique, likely due to the outward flux migration beyond the normal zone opening during quench. Our findings are of special practical importance for accelerators based on low- and medium-β accelerating structures residing close to focusing magnets, as well as for all high-Q cavity-based accelerators.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and sleep quality in hypertensive patients.

PubMed

Bacci, Marcelo Rodrigues; Emboz, Jonathan Naim Mora; Alves, Beatriz da Costa Aguiar; Veiga, Glaucia Luciano da; Murad, Neif; Meneghini, Adriano; Chagas, Antonio Carlos P; Fonseca, Fernando Luiz Affonso

2017-12-01

Obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is one of the developmental factors of high blood pressure (HBP), a relevant global public health problem. OSAHS is characterized by the reduction or complete cessation of respiratory airflow due to intermittent airway collapse. Additionally, significant changes in sleep rhythm and pattern are observed in these patients. To evaluate the association between OSAHS and sleep quality in essential and resistant hypertensives. A cross-sectional, observational study evaluated 43 hypertensive patients treated at the outpatient clinics of the Faculdade de Medicina do ABC (FMABC) who were medicated with two or more antihypertensive drugs and divided into nonresistant or resistant to treatment. Group I (using up to two antihypertensive agents - 60.47% of the sample) presented mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 127.5±6.4 mmHg, mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 79.6±5.2 mmHg, mean body mass index (BMI) of 27.2±5.3 kg/m2 and mean age of 51.2±15.1 years. Group II (using more than two antihypertensive drugs - 37.2% of the sample) presented mean SBP of 132.1±9.3 mmHg, mean DBP of 84.5±5.8 mmHg, mean BMI of 27.2±7.2 kg/m2 and mean age of 55.5±13.4 years. The patients presented low quality of sleep/sleep disorder evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which represents a preponderant factor for OSAHS. Patients at high risk for OSAHS had poor sleep quality and high levels of DBP, suggesting a causal relation between these parameters. However, they did not present a higher prevalence of resistant high blood pressure (RHBP).

Trajectories of health-related quality of life in children with epilepsy: a cohort study.

PubMed

Ferro, Mark A; Camfield, Carol S; Levin, Simon D; Smith, Mary Lou; Wiebe, Samuel; Zou, Guangyong; Speechley, Kathy N

2013-11-01

Little is known about subgroups of children with epilepsy who may experience less favorable outcomes over time. The objectives of this study were to document trajectories of health-related quality of life (HRQL) and to identify predictors of the trajectory group in children with new-onset epilepsy. Data were obtained from the Health Related Quality of Life in Children with Epilepsy Study, a prospective multisite study of children 4-12 years old with new-onset epilepsy followed for 24 months. Health-related quality of life was measured using the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy questionnaire. Trajectories of HRQL were investigated using latent class trajectory modeling. Multinomial logistic regression was used to identify child, parent, and family predictors of HRQL trajectories. A total of 374 families responded at baseline and 283 (76%) completed the study. Five HRQL trajectories were observed: low-increasing (4%), moderate-decreasing (12%), moderate-increasing (22%), high-increasing (32%), and high-stable (30%). Many children in the low-increasing, moderate-increasing, high-increasing, and high-stable had clinically meaningful improvements in HRQL: 82%, 47%, 63%, and 44%, respectively. In contrast, the majority of children in the moderate-decreasing group (56%) experienced clinically meaningful declines in their HRQL. Factors predicting trajectories were number of antiepileptic drugs prescribed, presence of comorbid behavior or cognitive problems, parent depression, and family functioning and demands. Results suggested that children with epilepsy are not homogenous but rather consist of groups with different trajectories and unique predictors of HRQL. Problems associated with child behavior and cognition were the strongest predictors identified. Given that several risk factors are modifiable, it is important to examine these as potential targets within a family-centered framework to improve HRQL of children with new-onset epilepsy. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2013 International League Against Epilepsy.

Nutritional limitations to increased production on pasture-based systems.

PubMed

Kolver, Eric S

2003-05-01

The constraints to high levels of milk production imposed by a high-quality-pasture diet, and development of feeding strategies to overcome these limitations, were examined by modelling the nutritional status of New Zealand Friesian and North American Holstein-Friesian dairy cows grazing high-quality pasture. The Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) was used to predict sensitivity of milk production to a 10% change in the composition of pasture nutrients. The rate at which fibre and protein were degraded in the rumen and the value given to effective fibre and lignin content significantly affected the supply of metabolisable energy and protein, and the profile of amino acid supply. The first limiting factor in milk production when only high-quality pasture was fed was metabolisable energy supply, while specific amino acids, particularly methionine and lysine, limited milk production when > 20 g/kg diet consisted of a grain supplement. Compared with cows fed a total mixed ration in confinement, North American Holstein-Friesians grazing all pasture produced less milk (29.6 v. 44.1 kg/d). Of the difference in milk production 61% could be attributed to a lower DM intake (19 kg/d v. 23.4 kg/d). Predictions using the CNCPS indicated that supply of metabolisable energy was the first-limiting factor for milk production from high-quality pasture (251 g crude protein (N x 6.25)/kg, 432 g neutral-detergent fibre/kg, 77% in vitro DM digestibility), rather than metabolisable protein or amino acids. In addition, these nutritional limitations imposed by pasture diets will be greater for dairy cow genotypes that have not been selected for high performance within a pasture system.

Methods for slow axis beam quality improvement of high power broad area diode lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Haiyan; Xiong, Yihan; Jiang, Ching-Long J.; Schmidt, Berthold; Treusch, Georg

2014-03-01

For high brightness direct diode laser systems, it is of fundamental importance to improve the slow axis beam quality of the incorporated laser diodes regardless what beam combining technology is applied. To further advance our products in terms of increased brightness at a high power level, we must optimize the slow axis beam quality despite the far field blooming at high current levels. The later is caused predominantly by the built-in index step in combination with the thermal lens effect. Most of the methods for beam quality improvements reported in publications sacrifice the device efficiency and reliable output power. In order to improve the beam quality as well as maintain the efficiency and reliable output power, we investigated methods of influencing local heat generation to reduce the thermal gradient across the slow axis direction, optimizing the built-in index step and discriminating high order modes. Based on our findings, we have combined different methods in our new device design. Subsequently, the beam parameter product (BPP) of a 10% fill factor bar has improved by approximately 30% at 7 W/emitter without efficiency penalty. This technology has enabled fiber coupled high brightness multi-kilowatt direct diode laser systems. In this paper, we will elaborate on the methods used as well as the results achieved.

45 CFR 1388.1 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... resources and funding sources, and their institutional history. These factors converge to create a network.... State-of-the-art means that UAP activities are of high quality (using the latest technology), worthy of...

How to measure experiences of healthcare quality in Denmark among patients with heart disease? The development and psychometric evaluation of a patient-reported instrument.

PubMed

Zinckernagel, Line; Schneekloth, Nanna; Zwisler, Ann-Dorthe Olsen; Ersbøll, Annette Kjær; Rod, Morten Hulvej; Jensen, Poul Dengsøe; Timm, Helle; Holmberg, Teresa

2017-10-30

Measuring the quality of care as experienced by patients is increasingly recognised as a way of improving healthcare services. However, disease-specific measures that take the patient journey into account are needed. This paper presents the development of such a measure for patients with heart disease and details the psychometric evaluation. The questionnaire was developed based on a literature review, qualitative interviews and a pilot-test. The psychometric evaluation of the measure was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Cronbach's alpha coefficient and differential item functioning analysis with data from a population-based survey. Denmark in 2013-2014. Nineteen heart patients, four relatives and eight health professionals participated in qualitative interviews in the development phase, and 15 patients participated in the pilot-test. The questionnaire was subsequently sent to a random sample of 5000 heart patients who were diagnosed in 2013. The comprehensive development phase and pilot-testing contributed to high content validity of the questionnaire. Eligible questionnaire responses were received from 2496 patients. EFA indicated a nine-factor model: communication at the hospital, communication with the general practitioner, information on disease and treatment, information on psychosocial aspects, rehabilitation/support, organisation, medication, involvement of relatives and consideration of comorbidity. CFA confirmed the proposed factor structure (eg, goodness-of-fit index=0.88, adjusted goodness-of-fit index=0.86, root mean square error of approximation=0.05), and Cronbach's alpha coefficient revealed good internal consistency of the factors (range: 0.69-0.93). The results suggest that this disease-specific patient-reported experience measure is of good quality when measuring the quality of care among heart patients. The inclusion of patients in the development phase contributed to high content validity, and subsequent psychometric evaluation found high construct validity and internal consistency. This measure may be especially relevant when seeking information about which aspects of care require improvement and the impact on health outcomes. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Core journals that publish clinical trials of physical therapy interventions.

PubMed

Costa, Leonardo Oliveira Pena; Moseley, Anne M; Sherrington, Catherine; Maher, Christopher G; Herbert, Robert D; Elkins, Mark R

2010-11-01

The objective of this study was to identify core journals in physical therapy by identifying those that publish the most randomized controlled trials of physical therapy interventions, provide the highest-quality reports of randomized controlled trials, and have the highest journal impact factors. This study was an audit of a bibliographic database. All trials indexed in the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) were analyzed. Journals that had published at least 80 trials were selected. The journals were ranked in 4 ways: number of trials published; mean total PEDro score of the trials published in the journal, regardless of publication year; mean total PEDro score of the trials published in the journal from 2000 to 2009; and 2008 journal impact factor. The top 5 core journals in physical therapy, ranked by the total number of trials published, were Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Clinical Rehabilitation, Spine, British Medical Journal (BMJ), and Chest. When the mean total PEDro score was used as the ranking criterion, the top 5 journals were Journal of Physiotherapy, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Stroke, Spine, and Clinical Rehabilitation. When the mean total PEDro score of the trials published from 2000 to 2009 was used as the ranking criterion, the top 5 journals were Journal of Physiotherapy, JAMA, Lancet, BMJ, and Pain. The most highly ranked physical therapy-specific journals were Physical Therapy (ranked eighth on the basis of the number of trials published) and Journal of Physiotherapy (ranked first on the basis of the quality of trials). Finally, when the 2008 impact factor was used for ranking, the top 5 journals were JAMA, Lancet, BMJ, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, and Thorax. There were no significant relationships among the rankings on the basis of trial quality, number of trials, or journal impact factor. Physical therapists who are trying to keep up-to-date by reading the best available evidence on the effects of physical therapy interventions have to read more broadly than just physical therapy-specific journals. Readers of articles on physical therapy trials should be aware that high-quality trials are not necessarily published in journals with high impact factors.

Listening to parents: The role of symptom perception in pediatric palliative home care.

PubMed

Vollenbroich, René; Borasio, Gian Domenico; Duroux, Ayda; Grasser, Monika; Brandstätter, Monika; Führer, Monika

2016-02-01

This study analyzes symptom perception by parents and healthcare professionals and the quality of symptom management in a pediatric palliative home care setting and identifies which factors contribute to a high quality of palliative and end-of-life care for children. In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, parents were surveyed at the earliest three months after their child's death. All children were cared for by a specialized home pediatric palliative care team that provides a 24/7 medical on-call service. Questionnaires assessed symptom prevalence and intensity during the child's last month of life as perceived by parents, symptom perception, and treatment by medical staff. The responses were correlated with essential palliative care outcome measures (e.g., satisfaction with the care provided, quality-of-life of affected children and parents, and peacefulness of the dying phase). Thirty-eight parent dyads participated (return rate 84%; 35% oncological disorders). According to parental report, dyspnea (61%) and pain (58%) were the dominant symptoms with an overall high symptom load (83%). Pain, agitation, and seizures could be treated more successfully than other symptoms. Successful symptom perception was achieved in most cases and predicted the quality of symptom treatment (R 2, 0.612). Concordant assessment of symptom severity between parents and healthcare professionals (HCPs) improved the satisfaction with the care provided (p = 0.037) as well as the parental quality-of-life (p = 0.041). Even in cases with unsuccessful symptom control, parents were very satisfied with the SHPPC team's care (median 10; numeric rating scale 0-10) and rated the child's death as highly peaceful (median 9). Significance of the results: The quality and the concordance of symptom perception between parents and HCPs essentially influence parental quality-of-life as well as parental satisfaction and constitute a predictive factor for the quality of symptom treatment and palliative care.

High-dimensional nested analysis of variance to assess the effect of production season, quality grade and steam pasteurization on the phenolic composition of fermented rooibos herbal tea.

PubMed

Stanimirova, I; Kazura, M; de Beer, D; Joubert, E; Schulze, A E; Beelders, T; de Villiers, A; Walczak, B

2013-10-15

A nested analysis of variance combined with simultaneous component analysis, ASCA, was proposed to model high-dimensional chromatographic data. The data were obtained from an experiment designed to investigate the effect of production season, quality grade and post-production processing (steam pasteurization) on the phenolic content of the infusion of the popular herbal tea, rooibos, at 'cup-of-tea' strength. Specifically, a four-way analysis of variance where the experimental design involves nesting in two of the three crossed factors was considered. For the purpose of the study, batches of fermented rooibos plant material were sampled from each of four quality grades during three production seasons (2009, 2010 and 2011) and a sub-sample of each batch was steam-pasteurized. The phenolic content of each rooibos infusion was characterized by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detection (DAD). In contrast to previous studies, the complete HPLC-DAD signals were used in the chemometric analysis in order to take into account the entire phenolic profile. All factors had a significant effect on the phenolic content of a 'cup-of-tea' strength rooibos infusion. In particular, infusions prepared from the grade A (highest quality) samples contained a higher content of almost all phenolic compounds than the lower quality plant material. The variations of the content of isoorientin and orientin in the different quality grade infusions over production seasons are larger than the variations in the content of aspalathin and quercetin-3-O-robinobioside. Ferulic acid can be used as an indicator of the quality of rooibos tea as its content generally decreases with increasing tea quality. Steam pasteurization decreased the content of the majority of phenolic compounds in a 'cup-of-tea' strength rooibos infusion. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Perseverative Cognition as an Explanatory Mechanism in the Relation Between Job Demands and Sleep Quality.

PubMed

Van Laethem, Michelle; Beckers, Debby G J; Geurts, Sabine A E; Garefelt, Johanna; Magnusson Hanson, Linda L; Leineweber, Constanze

2018-04-01

The aim of this longitudinal three-wave study was to examine (i) reciprocal associations among job demands, work-related perseverative cognition (PC), and sleep quality; (ii) PC as a mediator in-between job demands and sleep quality; and (iii) continuous high job demands in relation to sleep quality and work-related PC over time. A representative sample of the Swedish working population was approached in 2010, 2012, and 2014, and 2316 respondents were included in this longitudinal full-panel survey study. Structural equation modelling was performed to analyse the temporal relations between job demands, work-related PC, and sleep quality. Additionally, a subsample (N = 1149) consisting of individuals who reported the same level of exposure to job demands during all three waves (i.e. stable high, stable moderate, or stable low job demands) was examined in relation to PC and sleep quality over time. Analyses showed that job demands, PC, and poor sleep quality were positively and reciprocally related. Work-related PC mediated the normal and reversed, direct across-wave relations between job demands and sleep quality. Individuals with continuous high job demands reported significantly lower sleep quality and higher work-related PC, compared to individuals with continuous moderate/low job demands. This study substantiated reciprocal relations between job demands, work-related PC, and sleep quality and supported work-related PC as an underlying mechanism of the reciprocal job demands-sleep relationship. Moreover, this study showed that chronically high job demands are a risk factor for low sleep quality.

Use of watershed factors to predict consumer surfactant risk, water quality, and habitat quality in the upper Trinity River, Texas.

PubMed

Atkinson, S F; Johnson, D R; Venables, B J; Slye, J L; Kennedy, J R; Dyer, S D; Price, B B; Ciarlo, M; Stanton, K; Sanderson, H; Nielsen, A

2009-06-15

Surfactants are high production volume chemicals that are used in a wide assortment of "down-the-drain" consumer products. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) generally remove 85 to more than 99% of all surfactants from influents, but residual concentrations are discharged into receiving waters via wastewater treatment plant effluents. The Trinity River that flows through the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, Texas, is an ideal study site for surfactants due to the high ratio of wastewater treatment plant effluent to river flow (>95%) during late summer months, providing an interesting scenario for surfactant loading into the environment. The objective of this project was to determine whether surfactant concentrations, expressed as toxic units, in-stream water quality, and aquatic habitat in the upper Trinity River could be predicted based on easily accessible watershed characteristics. Surface water and pore water samples were collected in late summer 2005 at 11 sites on the Trinity River in and around the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Effluents of 4 major waste water treatment plants that discharge effluents into the Trinity River were also sampled. General chemistries and individual surfactant concentrations were determined, and total surfactant toxic units were calculated. GIS models of geospatial, anthropogenic factors (e.g., population density) and natural factors (e.g., soil organic matter) were collected and analyzed according to subwatersheds. Multiple regression analyses using the stepwise maximum R(2) improvement method were performed to develop prediction models of surfactant risk, water quality, and aquatic habitat (dependent variables) using the geospatial parameters (independent variables) that characterized the upper Trinity River watershed. We show that GIS modeling has the potential to be a reliable and inexpensive method of predicting water and habitat quality in the upper Trinity River watershed and perhaps other highly urbanized watersheds in semi-arid regions.

The Thai anesthesia incident monitoring study (Thai AIMS): an analysis of perioperative myocardial ischemia/infarction.

PubMed

Ngamprasertwong, Pornswan; Kositanurit, Inthiporn; Yokanit, Preechayuth; Wattanavinit, Rhuthai; Atichat, Sunida; Lapisatepun, Worawut

2008-11-01

To analyze the clinical course, outcome, contributing factors and factors minimizing the incidents of perioperative myocardial ischemia or infarction (PMI) from Thai AIMS study. The present study was a prospective multicenter study. Data was collected from 51 hospitals in Thailand during a six-month period. The participating anesthesia provider completed the standardized incident report form of the Thai AIMS as soon as they found the PMI incident. Each incident was reviewed by three peer reviewers for clinical courses, contributing factors, outcome and minimizing factors of PMI. From the Thai AIMS incident report, the authors found 25 suspected PMI cases which was 0.9% of the 2,669 incidents reported in the present study. Most of the PMI occurred in elective cases (84%) and orthopedic procedures (56%). The majority of PMI was reported from the patients undergoing general anesthesia (72%). Suspected PMI occurred mostly during operations (56%). New ST-T segment change was detected in 92% of these patients. The most common immediate outcome of PMI was major physiological change (88%). The most common management effect of PMI was unplanned ICU admission (64%); the others were prolonged ventilatory support (12%) and prolonged hospital stay (16%). Four patients (16%) died after the suspected PMI. Most of the events occurred spontaneously and were unpreventable (80%). Patient factors (100%), anesthesia factors (72%), surgical factors (32%) and system factors (8%) were all judged as a precipitating factor for PMI. Human factors were the most common contributing factors which included poor preoperative evaluation, inexperience and improper decision. The three most common factors minimizing the adverse incidents included prior experienced, high awareness and experienced assistance. The recommended corrective strategies were guideline practice, quality assurance activity, improvement of supervision and additional training. Perioperative myocardial ischemia/infarction was infrequent but may be lethal. Patient factors were the most common precipitating cause. The morbidity and mortality could be reduced by high quality preoperative evaluation and preparation, early detection and appropriate treatment. Guideline practice, quality assurance activity, improvement of supervision and additional training were suggested corrective strategies.

[Thinking on designation of sham acupuncture in clinical research].

PubMed

Pan, Li-Jia; Chen, Bo; Zhao, Xue; Guo, Yi

2014-01-01

Randomized controlled trials (RCT) is the source of the raw data of evidence-based medicine. Blind method is adopted in most of the high-quality RCT. Sham acupuncture is the main form of blinded in acupuncture clinical trial. In order to improve the quality of acupuncture clinical trail, based on the necessity of sham acupuncture in clinical research, the current situation as well as the existing problems of sham acupuncture, suggestions were put forward from the aspects of new way and new designation method which can be adopted as reference, and factors which have to be considered during the process of implementing. Various subjective and objective factors involving in the process of trial should be considered, and used of the current international standards, try to be quantification, and carry out strict quality monitoring.

Bulk crystalline optomechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renninger, W. H.; Kharel, P.; Behunin, R. O.; Rakich, P. T.

2018-06-01

Control of long-lived, high-frequency phonons using light offers a path towards creating robust quantum links, and could lead to tools for precision metrology with applications to quantum information processing. Optomechanical systems based on bulk acoustic-wave resonators are well suited for this goal in light of their high quality factors, and because they do not suffer from surface interactions as much as their microscale counterparts. However, so far these phonons have been accessible only electromechanically, using piezoelectric interactions. Here, we demonstrate customizable optomechanical coupling to macroscopic phonon modes of a bulk acoustic-wave resonator at cryogenic temperatures. These phonon modes, which are formed by shaping the surfaces of a crystal into a plano-convex phononic resonator, yield appreciable optomechanical coupling rates, providing access to high acoustic quality factors (4.2 × 107) at high phonon frequencies (13 GHz). This simple approach, which uses bulk properties rather than nanostructural control, is appealing for the ability to engineer optomechanical systems at high frequencies that are robust against thermal decoherence. Moreover, we show that this optomechanical system yields a unique form of dispersive symmetry-breaking that enables phonon heating or cooling without an optical cavity.

Exploring Physician Perspectives of Residency Holdover Handoffs: A Qualitative Study to Understand an Increasingly Important Type of Handoff.

PubMed

Duong, Jonathan A; Jensen, Trevor P; Morduchowicz, Sasha; Mourad, Michelle; Harrison, James D; Ranji, Sumant R

2017-06-01

The term "holdover admissions" refers to patients admitted by an overnight physician and whose care is then transferred to a new primary team the next morning. Descriptions of the holdover process in internal medicine are sparse. To identify important factors affecting the quality of holdover handoffs at an internal medicine (IM) residency program and to compare them to previously identified factors for other handoffs. We undertook a qualitative study using structured focus groups and interviews. We analyzed data using qualitative content analysis. IM residents, IM program directors, and hospitalists at a large academic medical center. A nine-question open-ended interview guide. We identified 13 factors describing holdover handoffs. Five factors-physical space, standardization, task accountability, closed-loop verification, and resilience-were similar to those described in prior handoff literature in other specialties. Eight factors were new concepts that may uniquely affect the quality of the holdover handoff in IM. These included electronic health record access, redundancy, unwritten thoughts, different clinician needs, diagnostic uncertainty, anchoring, teaching, and feedback. These factors were organized into five overarching themes: physical environment, information transfer, responsibility, clinical reasoning, and education. The holdover handoff in IM is complex and has unique considerations for achieving high quality. Further exploration of safe, efficient, and educational holdover handoff practices is necessary.

The impacts of reactive terpene emissions from plants on air quality in Las Vegas, Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papiez, Maria R.; Potosnak, Mark J.; Goliff, Wendy S.; Guenther, Alex B.; Matsunaga, Sou N.; Stockwell, William R.

A three-part study was conducted to quantify the impact of landscaped vegetation on air quality in a rapidly expanding urban area in the arid southeastern United States. The study combines in situ, plant-level measurements, a spatial emissions inventory, and a photochemical box model. Maximum plant-level basal emission rates were moderate: 18.1 μgC gdw -1 h -1 ( Washingtonia spp., palms) for isoprene and 9.56 μgC gdw -1 h -1 ( Fraxinus velutina, Arizona ash) for monoterpenes. Sesquiterpene emission rates were low for plant species selected in this study, with no measurement exceeding 0.1 μgC gdw -1 h -1. The high ambient temperatures combined with moderate plant-level emission factors resulted in landscape emission factors that were low (250-640 μgC m -2 h -1) compared to more mesic environments (e.g., the southeastern United States). The Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (RACM) was modified to include a new reaction pathway for ocimene. Using measured concentrations of anthropogenic hydrocarbons and other reactive air pollutants (NO x, ozone), the box model employing the RACM mechanism revealed that these modest emissions could have a significant impact on air quality. For a suburban location that was downwind of the urban core (high NO x; low anthropogenic hydrocarbons), biogenic terpenes increased time-dependent ozone production rates by a factor of 50. Our study demonstrates that low-biomass density landscapes emit sufficient biogenic terpenes to have a significant impact on regional air quality.

Shallow ground-water quality beneath cropland in the Red River of the North Basin, Minnesota and North Dakota, 1993-95

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cowdery, Timothy K.

1997-01-01

Land-use factors that increased nitrate and herbicide concentrations were greater tilled area, chemical application, irrigation, and cropland contiguity. Hydrogeological factors that increased these concentrations were a deeper watertable (higher oxygen concentration and less organic carbon), larger grain-size and degree of sorting of aquifer material (shorter time in the soil zone and aquifer), and fewer sulfur-containing minerals (lignite and pyrite) composing the aquifer. High rainfall, just before sampling of the Sheyenne Delta aquifer, contributed to the relatively low nitrate and pesticide concentrations in the shallow ground water of this aquifer by raising the water table higher into the soil zone, increasing ponded water (increasing biodegradation), preventing some chemical application (flooded fields), and leaching and then displacing nitrate-rich water downward, beneath new recharge. The shallow ground-water quality measured beneath cropland in these land-use study areas covers a large range. The land-use, hydrogeological, and rainfall factors controlling this quality also control shallow ground-water quality in other surficial aquifers in the Red River of the North Basin. Although not used for drinking water, 43% of the shallow ground water from the Otter Tail outwash aquifer was above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's nitrate maximum contaminant level of 10 mg/L-N, reducing its potential uses. These high nitrate concentrations do not threaten the Otter Tail outwash aquifer's surface-water bodies with eutrophication however, because significant denitrification occurs beneath riparian wetlands before ground water discharges to surface waters.

Methodological quality of systematic reviews on influenza vaccination.

PubMed

Remschmidt, Cornelius; Wichmann, Ole; Harder, Thomas

2014-03-26

There is a growing body of evidence on the risks and benefits of influenza vaccination in various target groups. Systematic reviews are of particular importance for policy decisions. However, their methodological quality can vary considerably. To investigate the methodological quality of systematic reviews on influenza vaccination (efficacy, effectiveness, safety) and to identify influencing factors. A systematic literature search on systematic reviews on influenza vaccination was performed, using MEDLINE, EMBASE and three additional databases (1990-2013). Review characteristics were extracted and the methodological quality of the reviews was evaluated using the assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR) tool. U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, chi-square test, and multivariable linear regression analysis were used to assess the influence of review characteristics on AMSTAR-score. Fourty-six systematic reviews fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Average methodological quality was high (median AMSTAR-score: 8), but variability was large (AMSTAR range: 0-11). Quality did not differ significantly according to vaccination target group. Cochrane reviews had higher methodological quality than non-Cochrane reviews (p=0.001). Detailed analysis showed that this was due to better study selection and data extraction, inclusion of unpublished studies, and better reporting of study characteristics (all p<0.05). In the adjusted analysis, no other factor, including industry sponsorship or journal impact factor had an influence on AMSTAR score. Systematic reviews on influenza vaccination showed large differences regarding their methodological quality. Reviews conducted by the Cochrane collaboration were of higher quality than others. When using systematic reviews to guide the development of vaccination recommendations, the methodological quality of a review in addition to its content should be considered. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Eutrophication in the Yunnan Plateau lakes: the influence of lake morphology, watershed land use, and socioeconomic factors.

PubMed

Liu, Wenzhi; Li, Siyue; Bu, Hongmei; Zhang, Quanfa; Liu, Guihua

2012-03-01

Lakes play an important role in socioeconomic development and ecological balance in China, but their water quality has deteriorated considerably in recent decades. In this study, we investigated the spatial-temporal variations of eutrophication parameters (secchi depth, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand, chlorophyll-a, trophic level index, and trophic state index) and their relationships with lake morphology, watershed land use, and socioeconomic factors in the Yunnan Plateau lakes. Results indicated that about 77.8% of lakes were eutrophic according to trophic state index. The plateau lakes showed spatial variations in water quality and could be classified into high-nutrient and low-nutrient groups. However, because watersheds were dominated by vegetation, all eutrophication parameters except chlorophyll-a showed no significant differences between the wet and dry seasons. Lake depth, water residence time, volume, and percentage of built-up land were significantly related to several eutrophication parameters. Agricultural land use and social-economic factors had no significant correlation with all eutrophication parameters. Stepwise regression analyses demonstrated that lake depth and water residence time accounted for 73.8% to 87.6% of the spatial variation of single water quality variables, respectively. Redundancy analyses indicated that lake morphology, watershed land use, and socioeconomic factors together explained 74.3% of the spatial variation in overall water quality. The results imply that water quality degradation in the plateau lakes may be mainly due to the domestic and industrial wastewaters. This study will improve our understanding of the determinants of lake water quality and help to design efficient strategies for controlling eutrophication in the plateau region.

Silage review: Unique challenges of silages made in hot and cold regions.

PubMed

Bernardes, T F; Daniel, J L P; Adesogan, A T; McAllister, T A; Drouin, P; Nussio, L G; Huhtanen, P; Tremblay, G F; Bélanger, G; Cai, Y

2018-05-01

Silage making can be conveniently divided into field, ensiling, storage, and feed-out phases. In all of these stages, controllable and uncontrollable components can affect silage quality. For instance, silages produced in hot or cold regions are strongly influenced by uncontrollable climate-related factors. In hot regions, crops for silage are influenced by (1) high temperatures negatively affecting corn yield (whole-crop and grain) and nutritive value, (2) butyric and alcoholic fermentations in warm-season grasses (Panicum, Brachiaria, and Pennisetum genera) and sugarcane, respectively, and (3) accelerated aerobic deterioration of silages. Ensiling expertise and economic factors that limit mechanization also impair silage production and utilization in hot environments. In cold regions, a short and cool growing season often limits the use of crops sensitive to cool temperature, such as corn. The fermentation triggered by epiphytic and inoculated microorganisms can also be functionally impaired at lower temperature. Although the use of silage inoculants has increased in Northern Europe, acid-based additives are still a good option in difficult weather conditions to ensure good fermentation quality, nutritive value, and high intake potential of silages. Acid-based additives have enhanced the quality of round bale silage, which has become a common method of forage preservation in Northern Europe. Although all abiotic factors can affect silage quality, the ambient temperature is a factor that influences all stages of silage making from production in the field to utilization at the feed bunk. This review identifies challenges and obstacles to producing silages under hot and cold conditions and discusses strategies for addressing these challenges. Copyright © 2018 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Symptomatic spinal metastasis: A systematic literature review of the preoperative prognostic factors for survival, neurological, functional and quality of life in surgically treated patients and methodological recommendations for prognostic studies

PubMed Central

Nater, Anick; Martin, Allan R.; Sahgal, Arjun; Choi, David

2017-01-01

Purpose While several clinical prediction rules (CPRs) of survival exist for patients with symptomatic spinal metastasis (SSM), these have variable prognostic ability and there is no recognized CPR for health related quality of life (HRQoL). We undertook a critical appraisal of the literature to identify key preoperative prognostic factors of clinical outcomes in patients with SSM who were treated surgically. The results of this study could be used to modify existing or develop new CPRs. Methods Seven electronic databases were searched (1990–2015), without language restriction, to identify studies that performed multivariate analysis of preoperative predictors of survival, neurological, functional and HRQoL outcomes in surgical patients with SSM. Individual studies were assessed for class of evidence. The strength of the overall body of evidence was evaluated using GRADE for each predictor. Results Among 4,818 unique citations, 17 were included; all were in English, rated Class III and focused on survival, revealing a total of 46 predictors. The strength of the overall body of evidence was very low for 39 and low for 7 predictors. Due to considerable heterogeneity in patient samples and prognostic factors investigated as well as several methodological issues, our results had a moderately high risk of bias and were difficult to interpret. Conclusions The quality of evidence for predictors of survival was, at best, low. We failed to identify studies that evaluated preoperative prognostic factors for neurological, functional, or HRQoL outcomes in surgical patients with SSM. We formulated methodological recommendations for prognostic studies to promote acquiring high-quality evidence to better estimate predictor effect sizes to improve patient education, surgical decision-making and development of CPRs. PMID:28225772

Multiple response optimization of the coagulation process for upgrading the quality of effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Na; Hu, Yi; Lu, Yong-Ze; Zeng, Raymond J.; Sheng, Guo-Ping

2016-05-01

To meet the high quality standard of receiving water, the coagulation process using polyferric chloride (PFC) was used to further improve the water quality of effluent from wastewater treatment plants. Uniform design (UD) coupled with response surface methodology (RSM) was adopted to assess the effects of the main influence factors: coagulant dosage, pH and basicity, on the removal of total organic carbon (TOC), NH4+-N and PO43--P. A desirability function approach was used to effectively optimize the coagulation process for the comprehensive removal of TOC, NH4+-N and PO43--P to upgrade the effluent quality in practical application. The optimized operating conditions were: dosage 28 mg/L, pH 8.5 and basicity 0.001. The corresponding removal efficiencies for TOC, NH4+-N and PO43--P were 77.2%, 94.6% and 20.8%, respectively. More importantly, the effluent quality could upgrade to surface water Class V of China through coagulation under optimal region. In addition, grey relational analysis (GRA) prioritized these three factors as: pH > basicity > dosage (for TOC), basicity > dosage > pH (for NH4+-N), pH > dosage > basicity (for PO43--P), which would help identify the most important factor to control the treatment efficiency of various effluent quality indexes by PFC coagulation.

Predictors of mental health and quality of life in male tortured refugees.

PubMed

Carlsson, Jessica M; Mortensen, Erik L; Kastrup, Marianne

2006-01-01

Some of the most frequently reported mental health problems in traumatized refugees are depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of this paper is to describe a group of tortured refugees referred to the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT) and to study the importance of past trauma/torture and post-migratory factors for the present symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety and for health-related quality of life. The sample comprises 63 male tortured refugees admitted to a pre-treatment assessment at RCT. Data on personal background, trauma, present situation in Denmark, symptoms of depression, anxiety (Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25, HSCL-25, and Hamilton Depression Scale, HDS), PTSD (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, HTQ), and on health-related quality of life (WHO Quality of life-Bref, WHOQOL-Bref) were collected through self-administered questionnaires and structured and semi-structured interviews. The scores in the questionnaires measuring emotional distress were high. Previous torture and trauma, lower education, fewer social contacts, no occupation and pain were identified as significant predictors of emotional distress. Few social contacts was a significant predictor of a lower health-related quality of life. Even after many years, past torture is significantly associated with emotional distress. Post-migratory factors are also significantly associated with emotional distress and health-related quality of life, and potentially modifiable factors, such as social relations and occupation, are of special interest.

Factors Associated With Marital Satisfaction in Infertile Couple: A Comprehensive Literature Review

PubMed Central

Samadaee-Gelehkolaee, Keshvar; McCarthy, Barry W; Khalilian, Alireza; Hamzehgardeshi, Zeinab; Peyvandi, Sepideh; Elyasi, Forouza; Shahidi, Maryam

2016-01-01

Background: Many factors impact on marital satisfaction. Related factors include demographic factors, assisted reproductive techniques, psychological health, quality of life, psychological, socioeconomic and family support, and sexual function. Methods: This study is a literature review of research studies conducted on factors associated with marital satisfaction in infertile couples. The current literature review search was undertaken using multiple databases selected from articles pertinent to the study. The selection of subjects was undertaken from1990 through 2015. The methodological quality was analyzed based on a checklist adopted from a systematic review. Quality assessment of full text studies was finally carried out by two reviewers. Results: The initial search yielded a list of 445 papers, and then reviewers studied titles and abstracts. Thereafter, 69 papers were incorporated, and researchers reviewed summaries of all of the searched articles. Finally, the researchers utilized the data gained from 64 full articles so as to compile this review paper. Reviewing the studies conducted on marital satisfaction, they classified related findings into 6 categories: demographic factors, using fertility assisting methods, psychological health, life quality, economic, social, and family support, and sexual function. Conclusion: The results of this review article depicted that various factors play role in creating marriage life satisfaction in an infertile couple, so that paying attention to them can play an important role in continuing their treatment. Thus, to identify such factors is considered essential in their treatment protocol highly based on culture. Of the drawbacks of this research is that it has tried at best to employ the studies belonging to diverse countries with different cultures. Also, the number of the papers was considerably limited. PMID:26652079

Linking nurses' perceptions of patient care quality to job satisfaction: the role of authentic leadership and empowering professional practice environments.

PubMed

Spence Laschinger, Heather K; Fida, Roberta

2015-05-01

A model linking authentic leadership, structural empowerment, and supportive professional practice environments to nurses' perceptions of patient care quality and job satisfaction was tested. Positive work environment characteristics are important for nurses' perceptions of patient care quality and job satisfaction (significant factors for retention). Few studies have examined the mechanism by which these characteristics operate to influence perceptions of patient care quality or job satisfaction. A cross-sectional provincial survey of 723 Canadian nurses was used to test the hypothesized models using structural equation modeling. The model was an acceptable fit and all paths were significant. Authentic leadership had a positive effect on structural empowerment, which had a positive effect on perceived support for professional practice and a negative effect on nurses' perceptions that inadequate unit staffing prevented them from providing high-quality patient care. These workplace conditions predicted job satisfaction. Authentic leaders play an important role in creating empowering professional practice environments that foster high-quality care and job satisfaction.

The relation of respiratory sinus arrhythmia to later shyness: Moderation by neighborhood quality.

PubMed

Zhang, Hui; Spinrad, Tracy L; Eisenberg, Nancy; Zhang, Linlin

2018-05-21

The purpose of the study was to predict young children's shyness from both internal/biological (i.e., resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) and external (i.e., neighborhood quality) factors. Participants were 180 children at 42 (Time 1; T1), 72 (T2), and 84 (T3) months of age. RSA data were obtained at T1 during a neutral film in the laboratory. Mothers reported perceived neighborhood quality at T2 and children's dispositional shyness at T1 and T3. Path analyses indicated that resting RSA interacted with neighborhood quality to predict T3 shyness, even after controlling for earlier family income and T1 shyness. Specifically, high levels of resting RSA predicted low levels of shyness in the context of high neighborhood quality. When neighborhood quality was low, resting RSA was positively related to later shyness. These findings indicate that children's shyness is predicted by more than biological processes and that consideration of the broader context is critical to understanding children's social behavior. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lives at Risk: High School Dropouts in the Northern Plains Region

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schumacher, Bruce Ralph

2012-01-01

Education is essential to personal welfare. As educational levels increase, personal income rises, the quality of life improves, and society benefits as criminality declines, tax income increases, and the cost of social programs decreases. Unfortunately, every year thousands of students leave high school without graduating. Various factors place…

A Monte Carlo study of the quality dependence factors of common TLD materials in photon and electron beams.

PubMed

Mobit, P N; Nahum, A E; Mayles, P

1998-08-01

A Monte Carlo simulation of the quality dependence of different TL materials, in the form of discs 3.61 mm in diameter and 0.9 mm thick, in radiotherapy photon beams relative to 60Co gamma-rays has been performed. The beam qualities ranged from 50 kV to 25 MV x-rays. The TL materials were: CaF2, CaSO4, LiF and Li2B4O7. The effects of the dopants on energy deposition in the TL material have also been determined for the highly sensitive LiF:Mg:Cu:P (TLD-100H) and for CaF2:Mn. It was found that there was a significant difference in the quality dependence factor derived from Monte Carlo simulations between LiF and LiF:Mg:Cu:P but not between CaF2 and CaF2:Mn. The quality dependence factors for Li2B4O7 varied from 0.990 +/- 0.008 (1 sd) for 25 MV x-rays to 0.940 +/- 0.009 (1 sd) for 50 kV x-rays relative to 60Co gamma-rays; Monte Carlo simulations were also performed for Li2B4O7 in megavoltage electron beams. For CaF2, the quality dependence factor varied from 0.927 +/- 0.008 (1 sd) for 25 MV x-rays to 10.561 +/- 0.008 (1 sd) for 50 kV x-rays. The figure for CaSO4 ranged from 0.943 +/- 0.008 (1 sd) for 25 MV x-rays to 9.010 +/- 0.008 (1 sd) for 50 kV x-rays. The quality dependence factor for CaF2 increases by up to 5% with depth and by up to 15% with field size for the kilovoltage x-ray beams. For LiF-TLD, however, there was no significant dependence on the field size or depth of irradiation in the kilovoltage energy range.

Implementing the LifeSkills Training drug prevention program: factors related to implementation fidelity.

PubMed

Mihalic, Sharon F; Fagan, Abigail A; Argamaso, Susanne

2008-01-18

Widespread replication of effective prevention programs is unlikely to affect the incidence of adolescent delinquency, violent crime, and substance use until the quality of implementation of these programs by community-based organizations can be assured. This paper presents the results of a process evaluation employing qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the extent to which 432 schools in 105 sites implemented the LifeSkills Training (LST) drug prevention program with fidelity. Regression analysis was used to examine factors influencing four dimensions of fidelity: adherence, dosage, quality of delivery, and student responsiveness. Although most sites faced common barriers, such as finding room in the school schedule for the program, gaining full support from key participants (i.e., site coordinators, principals, and LST teachers), ensuring teacher participation in training workshops, and classroom management difficulties, most schools involved in the project implemented LST with very high levels of fidelity. Across sites, 86% of program objectives and activities required in the three-year curriculum were delivered to students. Moreover, teachers were observed using all four recommended teaching practices, and 71% of instructors taught all the required LST lessons. Multivariate analyses found that highly rated LST program characteristics and better student behavior were significantly related to a greater proportion of material taught by teachers (adherence). Instructors who rated the LST program characteristics as ideal were more likely to teach all lessons (dosage). Student behavior and use of interactive teaching techniques (quality of delivery) were positively related. No variables were related to student participation (student responsiveness). Although difficult, high implementation fidelity by community-based organizations can be achieved. This study suggests some important factors that organizations should consider to ensure fidelity, such as selecting programs with features that minimize complexity while maximizing flexibility. Time constraints in the classroom should be considered when choosing a program. Student behavior also influences program delivery, so schools should train teachers in the use of classroom management skills. This project involved comprehensive program monitoring and technical assistance that likely facilitated the identification and resolution of problems and contributed to the overall high quality of implementation. Schools should recognize the importance of training and technical assistance to ensure quality program delivery.

Exploring the Buruli Ulcer Incidence across a socio-ecological landscape in Ghana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naithani, K. J.; Konzelman, C.; Tschakert, P.; Smithwick, E. A. H.

2016-12-01

The Buruli Ulcer (BU) disease is one of the most prevalent, but poorly understood mycobacterial infections in the world. Fundamental ecological aspects of the disease causing bacteria (Mycobacterium ulcerans) are not understood completely, but its emergence is attributed to unidentified thresholds in human and natural systems. We explored the network of these interactions across socio-ecological landscapes of Ghana to understand the movement of bacteria and the emergence of BU in response to climate, disturbance, social and economic factors. We chose five communities, three endemic and two control, and explored the correlations of disease incidence with climate, landscape disturbance, water quality and social factors using path analysis. Our results show that water quality is strongly linked to disease emergence with high alkalinity, PO43-, NH4+, F, Mn, S, Cd, Fe, Pb, and Se were associated with higher disease incidents and high Cu concentration was associated with low or healthy communities. Contrary to previous studies, arsenic concentration in water was not linked to higher disease incidence. Water quality was linked to climate, type of mining, and agricultural practices. Higher annual precipitation and lower air temperature were found linked to higher disease incidence across communities. Our exploratory work provides insight into how human land use, social practices, demographics, and climatic factors influence the BU disease spread.

Development and validation of a visual grading scale for assessing image quality of AP pelvis radiographic images.

PubMed

Mraity, Hussien A A B; England, Andrew; Cassidy, Simon; Eachus, Peter; Dominguez, Alejandro; Hogg, Peter

2016-01-01

The aim of this article was to apply psychometric theory to develop and validate a visual grading scale for assessing the visual perception of digital image quality anteroposterior (AP) pelvis. Psychometric theory was used to guide scale development. Seven phantom and seven cadaver images of visually and objectively predetermined quality were used to help assess scale reliability and validity. 151 volunteers scored phantom images, and 184 volunteers scored cadaver images. Factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha were used to assess scale validity and reliability. A 24-item scale was produced. Aggregated mean volunteer scores for each image correlated with the rank order of the visually and objectively predetermined image qualities. Scale items had good interitem correlation (≥0.2) and high factor loadings (≥0.3). Cronbach's alpha (reliability) revealed that the scale has acceptable levels of internal reliability for both phantom and cadaver images (α = 0.8 and 0.9, respectively). Factor analysis suggested that the scale is multidimensional (assessing multiple quality themes). This study represents the first full development and validation of a visual image quality scale using psychometric theory. It is likely that this scale will have clinical, training and research applications. This article presents data to create and validate visual grading scales for radiographic examinations. The visual grading scale, for AP pelvis examinations, can act as a validated tool for future research, teaching and clinical evaluations of image quality.

Development and validation of a visual grading scale for assessing image quality of AP pelvis radiographic images

PubMed Central

England, Andrew; Cassidy, Simon; Eachus, Peter; Dominguez, Alejandro; Hogg, Peter

2016-01-01

Objective: The aim of this article was to apply psychometric theory to develop and validate a visual grading scale for assessing the visual perception of digital image quality anteroposterior (AP) pelvis. Methods: Psychometric theory was used to guide scale development. Seven phantom and seven cadaver images of visually and objectively predetermined quality were used to help assess scale reliability and validity. 151 volunteers scored phantom images, and 184 volunteers scored cadaver images. Factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha were used to assess scale validity and reliability. Results: A 24-item scale was produced. Aggregated mean volunteer scores for each image correlated with the rank order of the visually and objectively predetermined image qualities. Scale items had good interitem correlation (≥0.2) and high factor loadings (≥0.3). Cronbach's alpha (reliability) revealed that the scale has acceptable levels of internal reliability for both phantom and cadaver images (α = 0.8 and 0.9, respectively). Factor analysis suggested that the scale is multidimensional (assessing multiple quality themes). Conclusion: This study represents the first full development and validation of a visual image quality scale using psychometric theory. It is likely that this scale will have clinical, training and research applications. Advances in knowledge: This article presents data to create and validate visual grading scales for radiographic examinations. The visual grading scale, for AP pelvis examinations, can act as a validated tool for future research, teaching and clinical evaluations of image quality. PMID:26943836

Quality of life in children with new-onset epilepsy

PubMed Central

Ferro, Mark A.; Camfield, Carol S.; Huang, Wenyi; Levin, Simon D.; Smith, Mary Lou; Wiebe, Samuel; Zou, Guangyong

2012-01-01

Objectives: To assess health-related quality of life (HRQL) over 2 years in children 4−12 years old with new-onset epilepsy and risk factors. Methods: Data are from a multicenter prospective cohort study, the Health-Related Quality of Life Study in Children with Epilepsy Study (HERQULES). Parents reported on children's HRQL and family factors and neurologists on clinical characteristics 4 times. Mean subscale and summary scores were computed for HRQL. Individual growth curve models identified trajectories of change in HRQL scores. Multiple regression identified baseline risk factors for HRQL 2 years later. Results: A total of 374 (82) questionnaires were returned postdiagnosis and 283 (62%) of eligible parents completed all 4. Growth rates for HRQL summary scores were most rapid during the first 6 months and then stabilized. About one-half experienced clinically meaningful improvements in HRQL, one-third maintained their same level, and one-fifth declined. Compared with the general population, at 2 years our sample scored significantly lower on one-third of CHQ subscales and the psychosocial summary. After controlling for baseline HRQL, cognitive problems, poor family functioning, and high family demands were risk factors for poor HRQL 2 years later. Conclusions: On average, HRQL was relatively good but with highly variable individual trajectories. At least one-half did not experience clinically meaningful improvements or declined over 2 years. Cognitive problems were the strongest risk factor for compromised HRQL 2 years after diagnosis and may be largely responsible for declines in the HRQL of children newly diagnosed with epilepsy. PMID:23019268

A Hearing-Based, Frequency Domain Sound Quality Model for Combined Aerodynamic and Power Transmission Response with Application to Rotorcraft Interior Noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sondkar, Pravin B.

The severity of combined aerodynamics and power transmission response in high-speed, high power density systems such as a rotorcraft is still a major cause of annoyance in spite of recent advancement in passive, semi-active and active control. With further increase in the capacity and power of this class of machinery systems, the acoustic noise levels are expected to increase even more. To achieve further improvements in sound quality, a more refined understanding of the factors and attributes controlling human perception is needed. In the case of rotorcraft systems, the perceived quality of the interior sound field is a major determining factor of passenger comfort. Traditionally, this sound quality factor is determined by measuring the response of a chosen set of juries who are asked to compare their qualitative reactions to two or more sounds based on their subjective impressions. This type of testing is very time-consuming, costly, often inconsistent, and not useful for practical design purposes. Furthermore, there is no known universal model for sound quality. The primary aim of this research is to achieve significant improvements in quantifying the sound quality of combined aerodynamic and power transmission response in high-speed, high power density machinery systems such as a rotorcraft by applying relevant objective measures related to the spectral characteristics of the sound field. Two models have been proposed in this dissertation research. First, a classical multivariate regression analysis model based on currently known sound quality metrics as well some new metrics derived in this study is presented. Even though the analysis resulted in the best possible multivariate model as a measure of the acoustic noise quality, it lacks incorporation of human judgment mechanism. The regression model can change depending on specific application, nature of the sounds and types of juries used in the study. Also, it predicts only the averaged preference scores and does not explain why two jury members differ in their judgment. To address the above shortcoming of applying regression analysis, a new human judgment model is proposed to further improve the ability to predict the degree of subjective annoyance. The human judgment model involves extraction of subjective attributes and their values using a proposed artificial jury processor. In this approach, a set of ear transfer functions are employed to compute the characteristics of sound pressure waves as perceived subjectively by human. The resulting basilar membrane displacement data from this proposed model is then applied to analyze the attribute values. Using this proposed human judgment model, the human judgment mechanism, which is highly sophisticated, will be examined. Since the human judgment model is essentially based on jury attributes that are not expected to change significantly with application or nature of the sound field, it gives a more common basis to evaluate sound quality. This model also attempts to explain the inter-juror differences in opinion, which is critical in understanding the variability in human response.

Factors Influencing Part-time Faculty Engagement With Online Nursing Programs.

PubMed

Reneau, Margaret; Wallace, Cara; Claywell, Lora; Price, Jill; Burdi, Melissa; Trybulski, Joanne

2018-03-28

This research investigated factors that influenced the engagement of part-time faculty teaching in online nursing programs with their institutions. Of the 257 part-time faculty surveyed, the most significant factor was being supported in decisions regarding student issues, followed by institutional commitment to quality online education. Compensation was moderately influential; a negative factor was requiring too frequent meetings. Understanding factors that influence the engagement of part-time faculty teaching in online nursing programs can help leaders of online programs attract and retain experienced, highly skilled faculty.

High-Frequency Amplification and Sound Quality in Listeners with Normal through Moderate Hearing Loss

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ricketts, Todd A.; Dittberner, Andrew B.; Johnson, Earl E.

2008-01-01

Purpose: One factor that has been shown to greatly affect sound quality is audible bandwidth. Provision of gain for frequencies above 4-6 kHz has not generally been supported for groups of hearing aid wearers. The purpose of this study was to determine if preference for bandwidth extension in hearing aid processed sounds was related to the…

Gathering Feedback for Teaching: Combining High-Quality Observations with Student Surveys and Achievement Gains. Policy and Practice Summary. MET Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2012

2012-01-01

Research has long been clear that teachers matter more to student learning than any other in-school factor. Improving the quality of teaching is critical to student success. Yet only recently have many states and districts begun to take seriously the importance of evaluating teacher performance and providing teachers with the feedback they need to…

Gathering Feedback for Teaching: Combining High-Quality Observations with Student Surveys and Achievement Gains. Policy and Practice Brief. MET Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kane, Thomas J.; Staiger, Douglas O.

2012-01-01

Research has long been clear that teachers matter more to student learning than any other in-school factor. Improving the quality of teaching is critical to student success. Yet only recently have many states and districts begun to take seriously the importance of evaluating teacher performance and providing teachers with the feedback they need to…

The Full Circle: Building a Coherent Teacher Preparation System. The Report of the NASBE Study Group on Coordination and Accountability in Teacher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Association of State Boards of Education, Alexandria, VA.

Research shows that teacher quality may be one of the most significant factors in student achievement. This report includes five chapters that focus on: (1) "Introduction and Executive Summary"; (2) "Coordinating K-12 and Higher Education to Support High-Quality Teacher Preparation" (e.g., coordinating teacher candidate experience in K-12 and…

Investing in Young Children: A Fact Sheet on Early Care and Education Participation, Access, and Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmit, Stephanie; Matthews, Hannah; Smith, Sheila; Robbins, Taylor

2013-01-01

Across the U.S., large numbers of young children are affected by one or more risk factors that have been linked to academic failure and poor health. High quality early care and education can play a critical role in promoting young children's early learning and success in life, while also supporting families' economic security. Young…

Interaction between pre- and post-migration factors on depressive symptoms in new migrants to Hong Kong from Mainland China.

PubMed

Chou, Kee-Lee; Wong, Winky K F; Chow, Nelson W S

2011-10-01

The goal of the current study is to examine the role of poor migration planning as a moderator for the effects of two post-migration factors, namely acculturation stress and quality of life, on symptoms of depression. Using a random sample of 347 Hong Kong new migrants from a 1-year longitudinal study, we used multiple regression analyses to examine both the direct and interaction effects of poorly planned migration, acculturation stress, and quality of life on depressive symptoms. Although poorly planned migration did not predict depressive symptoms at 1-year follow-up, it did exacerbate the detrimental effect of the two post-migration factors, namely high stress or low quality of life (both also measured at baseline) on depressive symptoms at this stage. Our results indicate that preventive measures must be developed for new immigrants in Hong Kong, especially for those who were not well prepared for migration.

Terahertz absorber based on Fano-like resonance of inverted quadrangular frustum pyramid metal grooves and sensor application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Yingying; Sun, Bo

2018-07-01

We investigate the multi-resonance coupling of inverted quadrangular frustum pyramid (IQFP) groove metal arrays at terahertz frequencies. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and groove resonance are induced, resulting in resonance coupling. The dipole of the groove resonance drives the quadrupole of the SPR and creates a sharp Fano-like resonance. The effects of geometry parameters including the width (at the bottom) and height are analyzed in detail. The results show that with the decrease in the sidewall slope of the groove, the confinement of the groove region on the electromagnetic field decreases, thereby increasing the resonance coupling. The Fano-like resonance is enhanced. The sensitivity and quality factor are discussed. The results show that the Fano-like resonance has high sensitivity and quality factor. With the increase in the sidewall slope of the groove, the sensitivity increases, and the quality factor decreases. The results show that the Fano-like resonance of IQFP groove metal arrays has a significant potential for biological monitoring and sensing.

Paediatric cerebrovascular CT angiography-towards better image quality.

PubMed

Thust, Stefanie C; Chong, Wui Khean Kling; Gunny, Roxana; Mazumder, Asif; Poitelea, Marius; Welsh, Anna; Ederies, Ash; Mankad, Kshitij

2014-12-01

Paediatric cerebrovascular CT angiography (CTA) can be challenging to perform due to variable cardiovascular physiology between different age groups and the risk of movement artefact. This analysis aimed to determine what proportion of CTA at our institution was of diagnostic quality and identify technical factors which could be improved. a retrospective analysis of 20 cases was performed at a national paediatric neurovascular centre assessing image quality with a subjective scoring system and Hounsfield Unit (HU) measurements. Demographic data, contrast dose, flow rate and triggering times were recorded for each patient. Using a qualitative scoring system, 75% of studies were found to be of diagnostic quality (n=9 'good', n=6 'satisfactory') and 25% (n=5) were 'poor'. Those judged subjectively to be poor had arterial contrast density measured at less than 250 HU. Increased arterial opacification was achieved for cases performed with an increased flow rate (2.5-4 mL/s) and higher intravenous contrast dose (2 mL/kg). Triggering was found to be well timed in nine cases, early in four cases and late in seven cases. Of the scans triggered early, 75% were poor. Of the scans triggered late, less (29%) were poor. High flow rates (>2.5 mL/s) were a key factor for achieving high quality paediatric cerebrovascular CTA imaging. However, appropriate triggering by starting the scan immediately on contrast opacification of the monitoring vessel plays an important role and could maintain image quality when flow rates were lower. Early triggering appeared more detrimental than late.

SU-E-T-204: Comparison of Absorbed-Dose to Water in High-Energy Photon Beams Based On Addendum AAPM TG-51, IAEA TRS-398, and JSMP 12

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

Kinoshita, N; Kita, A; Yoshioka, C

Purpose: Several clinical reference dosimetry protocols for absorbed-dose to water have recently been published: The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) published an Addendum to the AAPM’s TG-51 (Addendum TG-51) in April 2014, and the Japan Society of Medical Physics (JSMP) published the Japan Society of Medical Physics 12 (JSMP12), a clinical reference dosimetry protocol, in September 2012. This investigation compared and evaluated the absorbed-dose to water of high-energy photon beams according to Addendum TG-51, International Atomic Energy Agency Technical Report Series No. 398 (TRS-398), and JSMP12. Methods: Differences in the respective beam quality conversion factors with Addendum TG-51,more » TRS-398, and JSMP12 were analyzed and the absorbed-dose to water using 6- and 10-MV photon beams was measured according to the protocols recommended in Addendum TG-51, TRS-398, and JSMP12. The measurements were conducted using two Farmer-type ionization chambers, Exradin A12 and PTW 30013. Results: The beam quality conversion factors for both the 6- and 10-MV photon beams with Addendum TG-51 were within 0.6%, in agreement with the beam quality conversion factors with TRS-398 and JSMP12. The Exradin A12 provided an absorbed-dose to water ratio from 1.003 to 1.006 with TRS-398 / Addendum TG-51 and from 1.004 to 1.005 with JSMP 12 / Addendum TG-51, whereas the PTW 30013 provided a ratio of 1.001 with TRS-398 / Addendum TG-51 and a range from 0.997 to 0.999 with JSMP 12 / Addendum TG-51. Conclusion: Despite differences in the beam quality conversion factor, no major differences were seen in the absorbed-dose to water with Addendum TG-51, TRS-398, and JSMP12. However, Addendum TG-51 provides the most recent data for beam quality conversion factors based on Monte Carlo simulation and greater detail for the measurement protocol. Therefore, the absorbed-dose to water measured with Addendum TG-51 is an estimate with less uncertainty.« less

Premenstrual Syndrome in Turkish college students and its effects on life quality.

PubMed

Pinar, Gul; Colak, Meric; Oksuz, Ergun

2011-01-01

The purpose of this research is to analyze the frequency of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) in college students, the factors affecting Premenstrual Syndrome and the effect of Premenstrual Syndrome on life quality. The research was performed on 316 students who study at Medical Sciences Faculty of Başkent University and accepted to take part in the research. The data of the research was compiled by using "Questionnaire Form", "PMS Rating Scale" and "Life Quality Scale" developed by the researchers. In the analysis of the data; Percentage distribution, Chi-square test, One Way Anova test, Logistic regression, Multi nominal regression analysis were used. PMS was detected in 72.1% of the students. The most frequent symptoms are mainly low back pain, stress-discomfort, nervous-anger, distention and breast tenderness. PMS was found significantly high in those students who have menstrual irregularity, who have dysmenorrhea, who consume 2 cups of coffee or above per day and who smoke and drink alcohol (p<0.05). When the relation of PMS with life quality was evaluated, it was determined that the life quality decreases as PMS score average increases (p<0.05). PMS rate is high in college students and this adversely affects the life quality. It was revealed that the preventive, instructive and consultancy roles of the medical staff became more of an issue in reducing the effect of the factors causing and/or aggravating these symptoms in order to decrease PMS incidence and to improve the life quality of the students. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Geochemical characterisation of seepage and drainage water quality from two sulphide mine tailings impoundments: Acid mine drainage versus neutral mine drainage

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heikkinen, P.M.; Raisanen, M.L.; Johnson, R.H.

2009-01-01

Seepage water and drainage water geochemistry (pH, EC, O2, redox, alkalinity, dissolved cations and trace metals, major anions, total element concentrations) were studied at two active sulphide mine tailings impoundments in Finland (the Hitura Ni mine and Luikonlahti Cu mine/talc processing plant). The data were used to assess the factors influencing tailings seepage quality and to identify constraints for water treatment. Changes in seepage water quality after equilibration with atmospheric conditions were evaluated based on geochemical modelling. At Luikonlahti, annual and seasonal changes were also studied. Seepage quality was largely influenced by the tailings mineralogy, and the serpentine-rich, low sulphide Hitura tailings produced neutral mine drainage with high Ni. In contrast, drainage from the high sulphide, multi-metal tailings of Luikonlahti represented typical acid mine drainage with elevated contents of Zn, Ni, Cu, and Co. Other factors affecting the seepage quality included weathering of the tailings along the seepage flow path, process water input, local hydrological settings, and structural changes in the tailings impoundment. Geochemical modelling showed that pH increased and some heavy metals were adsorbed to Fe precipitates after net alkaline waters equilibrated with the atmosphere. In the net acidic waters, pH decreased and no adsorption occurred. A combination of aerobic and anaerobic treatments is proposed for Hitura seepages to decrease the sulphate and metal loading. For Luikonlahti, prolonged monitoring of the seepage quality is suggested instead of treatment, since the water quality is still adjusting to recent modifications to the tailings impoundment.

A High-Q AFM Sensor Using a Balanced Trolling Quartz Tuning Fork in the Liquid

PubMed Central

Li, Yingzi; Song, Zihang; Lin, Rui; Chen, Yifu; Qian, Jianqiang

2018-01-01

A quartz tuning fork (QTF) has been widely used as a force sensor of the frequency modulation atomic force microscope due to its ultrahigh stiffness, high quality factor and self-sensing nature. However, due to the bulky structure and exposed surface electrode arrangement, its application is limited, especially in liquid imaging of in situ biological samples, ionic liquids, electrochemical reaction, etc. Although the complication can be resolved by coating insulating materials on the QTF surface and then immersing the whole QTF into the liquid, it would result in a sharp drop of the quality factor, which will reduce the sensitivity of the QTF. To solve the problem, a novel method, called the balanced trolling quartz tuning fork (BT-QTF), is introduced here. In this method, two same probes are glued on both prongs of the QTF separately while only one probe immersed in the liquid. With the method, the hydrodynamic interaction can be reduced, thus the BT-QTF can retain a high quality factor and constant resonance frequency. The stable small vibration of the BT-QTF can be achieved in the liquid. Initially, a theoretical model is presented to analyze the sensing performance of the BT-QTF in the liquid. Then, the sensing performance analysis experiments of the BT-QTF have been performed. At last, the proposed method is applied to atomic force microscope imaging different samples in the liquid, which proves its feasibility. PMID:29783740

Pathways from childhood intelligence and socioeconomic status to late-life cardiovascular disease risk.

PubMed

Hagger-Johnson, Gareth; Mõttus, René; Craig, Leone C A; Starr, John M; Deary, Ian J

2012-07-01

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase marker of systemic inflammation and considered an established risk marker for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in old age. Previous studies have suggested that low childhood intelligence, lower socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood or in later life, unhealthy behaviors, poor wellbeing, and high body mass index (BMI) are associated with inflammation. Life course models that simultaneously incorporate all these risk factors can explain how CVD risks accumulate over time, from childhood to old age. Using the data from 1,091 Scottish adults (Lothian Birth Cohort Study, 1936), a path model was constructed to predict CRP at age 70 from concurrent health behaviors, self-perceived quality of life, and BMI and adulthood SES as mediating variables, and from parental SES and childhood intelligence as distal risk factors. A well-fitting path model (CFI = .92, SRMR = .05) demonstrated significant indirect effects from childhood intelligence and parental social class to inflammation via BMI, health behaviors and quality of life (all ps < .05). Low childhood intelligence, unhealthy behaviors, and higher BMI were also direct predictors of CRP. The life course model illustrated how CVD risks may accumulate over time, beginning in childhood and being both direct and transmitted indirectly via low adult SES, unhealthy behaviors, impaired quality of life, and high BMI. Knowledge on the childhood risk factors and their pathways to poor health can be used to identify high-risk individuals for more intensive and tailored behavior change interventions, and to develop effective public health policies.

Climatic factors directly impact the volatile organic compound fingerprint in green Arabica coffee bean as well as coffee beverage quality.

PubMed

Bertrand, B; Boulanger, R; Dussert, S; Ribeyre, F; Berthiot, L; Descroix, F; Joët, T

2012-12-15

Coffee grown at high elevations fetches a better price than that grown in lowland regions. This study was aimed at determining whether climatic conditions during bean development affected sensory perception of the coffee beverage and combinations of volatile compounds in green coffee. Green coffee samples from 16 plots representative of the broad range of climatic variations in Réunion Island were compared by sensory analysis. Volatiles were extracted by solid phase micro-extraction and the volatile compounds were analysed by GC-MS. The results revealed that, among the climatic factors, the mean air temperature during seed development greatly influenced the sensory profile. Positive quality attributes such as acidity, fruity character and flavour quality were correlated and typical of coffees produced at cool climates. Two volatile compounds (ethanal and acetone) were identified as indicators of these cool temperatures. Among detected volatiles, most of the alcohols, aldehydes, hydrocarbons and ketones appeared to be positively linked to elevated temperatures and high solar radiation, while the sensory profiles displayed major defects (i.e. green, earthy flavour). Two alcohols (butan-1,3-diol and butan-2,3-diol) were closely correlated with a reduction in aromatic quality, acidity and an increase in earthy and green flavours. We assumed that high temperatures induce accumulation of these compounds in green coffee, and would be detected as off-flavours, even after roasting. Climate change, which generally involves a substantial increase in average temperatures in mountainous tropical regions, could be expected to have a negative impact on coffee quality. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relations of parenting quality, interparental conflict, and overnights with mental health problems of children in divorcing families with high legal conflict.

PubMed

Sandler, Irwin N; Wheeler, Lorey A; Braver, Sanford L

2013-12-01

The current study examined the associations between child mental health problems and the quality of maternal and paternal parenting, and how these associations were moderated by three contextual factors: quality of parenting by the other parent, interparental conflict, and the number of overnights parents had with the child. Data for the current study came from a sample of divorcing families who are in high legal conflict over developing or maintaining a parenting plan following divorce. Analyses revealed that the associations between child mental health problems and positive maternal and paternal parenting were moderated by the quality of parenting provided by the other parent and by the number of overnights children spent with parents, but not by the level of interparental conflict. When parenting by the other parent and number of overnights were considered together in the same model, only number of overnights moderated the relations between parenting and child-behavior problems. The results support the proposition that the well-being of children in high-conflict divorcing families is better when they spend adequate time with at least one parent who provides high-quality parenting.

Relations of Parenting Quality, Interparental Conflict, and Overnights with Mental Health Problems of Children in Divorcing Families with High Legal Conflict

PubMed Central

Sandler, Irwin N.; Wheeler, Lorey A.; Braver, Sanford L.

2013-01-01

The current study examined the associations between child mental health problems and the quality of maternal and paternal parenting, and how these associations were moderated by three contextual factors, quality of parenting by the other parent, interparental conflict, and the number of overnights parents had with the child. Data for the current study come from a sample of divorcing families who are in high legal conflict over developing or maintaining a parenting plan following divorce. Analyses revealed that the associations between child mental health problems and positive maternal and paternal parenting were moderated by the quality of parenting provided by the other parent and by the number of overnights children spent with parents, but not by the level of interparental conflict. When both parenting by the other parent and number of overnights were considered in the same model, only number of overnights moderated the relations between parenting and child behavior problems. The results support the proposition that the well-being of children in high conflict divorcing families is better when they spend adequate time with at least one parent who provides high quality parenting. PMID:24098960

Mid-infrared ultra-high-Q resonators based on fluoride crystalline materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lecaplain, C.; Javerzac-Galy, C.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Kippenberg, T. J.

2016-11-01

The unavailability of highly transparent materials in the mid-infrared has been the main limitation in the development of ultra-sensitive molecular sensors or cavity-based spectroscopy applications. Whispering gallery mode microresonators have attained ultra-high-quality (Q) factor resonances in the near-infrared and visible. Here we report ultra-high Q factors in the mid-infrared using polished alkaline earth metal fluoride crystals. Using an uncoated chalcogenide tapered fibre as a high-ideality coupler in the mid-infrared, we study via cavity ringdown technique the losses of BaF2, CaF2, MgF2 and SrF2 microresonators. We show that MgF2 is limited by multiphonon absorption by studying the temperature dependence of the Q factor. In contrast, in SrF2 and BaF2 the lower multiphonon absorption leads to ultra-high Q factors at 4.5 μm. These values correspond to an optical finesse of , the highest value achieved for any type of mid-infrared resonator to date.

Mid-infrared ultra-high-Q resonators based on fluoride crystalline materials

PubMed Central

Lecaplain, C.; Javerzac-Galy, C.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Kippenberg, T. J.

2016-01-01

The unavailability of highly transparent materials in the mid-infrared has been the main limitation in the development of ultra-sensitive molecular sensors or cavity-based spectroscopy applications. Whispering gallery mode microresonators have attained ultra-high-quality (Q) factor resonances in the near-infrared and visible. Here we report ultra-high Q factors in the mid-infrared using polished alkaline earth metal fluoride crystals. Using an uncoated chalcogenide tapered fibre as a high-ideality coupler in the mid-infrared, we study via cavity ringdown technique the losses of BaF2, CaF2, MgF2 and SrF2 microresonators. We show that MgF2 is limited by multiphonon absorption by studying the temperature dependence of the Q factor. In contrast, in SrF2 and BaF2 the lower multiphonon absorption leads to ultra-high Q factors at 4.5 μm. These values correspond to an optical finesse of , the highest value achieved for any type of mid-infrared resonator to date. PMID:27869119

Mid-infrared ultra-high-Q resonators based on fluoride crystalline materials.

PubMed

Lecaplain, C; Javerzac-Galy, C; Gorodetsky, M L; Kippenberg, T J

2016-11-21

The unavailability of highly transparent materials in the mid-infrared has been the main limitation in the development of ultra-sensitive molecular sensors or cavity-based spectroscopy applications. Whispering gallery mode microresonators have attained ultra-high-quality (Q) factor resonances in the near-infrared and visible. Here we report ultra-high Q factors in the mid-infrared using polished alkaline earth metal fluoride crystals. Using an uncoated chalcogenide tapered fibre as a high-ideality coupler in the mid-infrared, we study via cavity ringdown technique the losses of BaF 2 , CaF 2 , MgF 2 and SrF 2 microresonators. We show that MgF 2 is limited by multiphonon absorption by studying the temperature dependence of the Q factor. In contrast, in SrF 2 and BaF 2 the lower multiphonon absorption leads to ultra-high Q factors at 4.5 μm. These values correspond to an optical finesse of , the highest value achieved for any type of mid-infrared resonator to date.

Correlation Between Residual Displacement and Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head Following Cannulated Screw Fixation of Femoral Neck Fractures.

PubMed

Wang, Chen; Xu, Gui-Jun; Han, Zhe; Jiang, Xuan; Zhang, Cheng-Bao; Dong, Qiang; Ma, Jian-Xiong; Ma, Xin-Long

2015-11-01

The aim of the study was to introduce a new method for measuring the residual displacement of the femoral head after internal fixation and explore the relationship between residual displacement and osteonecrosis with femoral head, and to evaluate the risk factors associated with osteonecrosis of the femoral head in patients with femoral neck fractures treated by closed reduction and percutaneous cannulated screw fixation.One hundred and fifty patients who sustained intracapsular femoral neck fractures between January 2011 and April 2013 were enrolled in the study. All were treated with closed reduction and percutaneous cannulated screw internal fixation. The residual displacement of the femoral head after surgery was measured by 3-dimensional reconstruction that evaluated the quality of the reduction. Other data that might affect prognosis were also obtained from outpatient follow-up, telephone calls, or case reviews. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the intrinsic relationship between the risk factors and the osteonecrosis of the femoral head.Osteonecrosis of the femoral head occurred in 27 patients (18%). Significant differences were observed regarding the residual displacement of the femoral head and the preoperative Garden classification. Moreover, we found more or less residual displacement of femoral head in all patients with high quality of reduction based on x-ray by the new technique. There was a close relationship between residual displacement and ONFH.There exists limitation to evaluate the quality of reduction by x-ray. Three-dimensional reconstruction and digital measurement, as a new method, is a more accurate method to assess the quality of reduction. Residual displacement of the femoral head and the preoperative Garden classification were risk factors for osteonecrosis of the femoral head. High-quality reduction was necessary to avoid complications.

The pattern space factor and quality factor of cylindrical source antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarem, John M.

1982-09-01

For the first time the quality factor of cylindrical source antennas is derived by a plane wave expansion. The evanescent energy (and therefore the quality factor) as defined by a plane wave expansion is shown to be different from Collin and Rothschild's [IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagation AP-12, 23 (1964)] quality factor.

The combination matters - distinct impact of lifestyle factors on sperm quality: a study on semen analysis of 1683 patients according to MSOME criteria

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Poor sperm quality can negatively affect embryonic development and IVF outcome. This study is aimed at investigating the influence of various lifestyle factors on semen quality according to MSOME (motile sperm organelle morphology examination) criteria. Methods 1683 male patients undergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in our clinic were surveyed about their age, BMI (body mass index), ejaculation frequency, nutrition, sports, sleeping habits and social behavior. Semen samples were collected and evaluation of semen parameters according to MSOME and WHO criteria was performed. Results were grouped and statistically analyzed. Results Although single parameters had minor effects on sperm parameter, the combination of age, BMI, coffee intake, ejaculatory frequency and duration of sexual abstinence were identified as factors having a negative effect on sperm motility. Additionally, we could demonstrate that MSOME quality was reduced. The negative impact of age, BMI and coffee intake on sperm quality could be compensated if patients had a high ejaculation frequency and shorter periods of sexual abstinence. Conclusions Combinations of adverse lifestyle factors could have a detrimental impact on sperm, not only in terms of motility and sperm count but also in terms of sperm head vacuolization. This negative impact was shown to be compensated by higher ejaculation frequency and a shorter period of sexual abstinence. The compensation is most likely due to a shorter storage time in the male gonads, thus reducing the duration of sperms’ exposure to reactive oxygen species (ROS). PMID:23265183

Decision Making on the Labor and Delivery Unit: An Investigation of Influencing Factors.

PubMed

Gregory, Megan E; Sonesh, Shirley C; Feitosa, Jennifer; Benishek, Lauren E; Hughes, Ashley M; Salas, Eduardo

2017-09-01

Objective The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between negative affect (NA), decision-making style, time stress, and decision quality in health care. Background Health care providers must often make swift, high-stakes decisions. Influencing factors of the decision-making process in this context have been understudied. Method Within a sample of labor and delivery nurses, physicians, and allied personnel, we used self-report measures to examine the impact of trait factors, including NA, decision-making style, and perceived time stress, on decision quality in a situational judgment test (Study 1). In Study 2, we observed the influence of state NA, state decision-making style, state time stress, and their relationship with decision quality on real clinical decisions. Results In Study 1, we found that trait NA significantly predicted avoidant decision-making style. Furthermore, those who were higher on trait time stress and trait avoidant decision-making style exhibited poorer decisions. In Study 2, we observed associations between state NA with state avoidant and analytical decision-making styles. We also observed that these decision-making styles, when considered in tandem with time stress, were influential in predicting clinical decision quality. Conclusion NA predicts some decision-making styles, and decision-making style can affect decision quality under time stress. This is particularly true for state factors. Application Individual differences, such as affect and decision-making style, should be considered during selection. Training to reduce time stress perceptions should be provided.

Seed Nutrition and Quality, Seed Coat Boron and Lignin Are Influenced by Delayed Harvest in Exotically-Derived Soybean Breeding Lines under High Heat.

PubMed

Bellaloui, Nacer; Smith, James R; Mengistu, Alemu

2017-01-01

The timing of harvest is a major factor affecting seed quality in soybean, particularly in Midsouthern USA, when rain during harvest period is not uncommon. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of time of harvest on soybean seed quality (seed composition, germination, seed coat boron, and lignin) in high germinability (HG) breeding lines (50% exotic) developed under high heat. The hypothesis was that seeds of HG lines possess physiological and genetic traits for a better seed quality at harvest maturity and delayed harvest. A 2-year field experiment was conducted under irrigated conditions. Results showed that, at harvest maturity, the exotic HG lines had higher seed protein, oleic acid, sugars, seed coat boron, and seed coat lignin, but lower seed oil compared with the non-exotic checks (Control), confirming our hypothesis. At 28 days after harvest maturity (delayed harvest), the content of seed protein, oleic acid, sugars, seed coat boron, and seed coat lignin were higher in some of the HG lines compared with the checks, indicating a possible involvement of these seed constituents, especially seed coat boron and seed coat lignin, in maintaining seed coat integrity and protecting seed coat against physical damage. Highly significant positive correlations were found between germination and seed protein, oleic acid, sugars, and seed coat boron and seed coat lignin. Highly significant negative correlation was found between germination and oil, linoleic acid, seed coat wrinkling, shattering, and hard seed. Yields of some HG lines were competitive with checks. This research demonstrated that time of harvesting is an important factor influencing seed protein and oil production. Also, since high oleic acid is desirable for oxidative stability, shelf-life and biodiesel properties, using HG lines could positively influence these important traits. This result should suggest to breeders of some of the advantages of selecting for high seed coat boron and lignin, and inform growers of the importance of timely harvest for maintaining high seed quality.

Nanogranular soft magnetic material and on-package integrated inductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Liangliang

2007-12-01

Integrated inductors used in electronic circuits are mainly spiral-shaped aluminum devices fabricated on Si chip. They have several disadvantages---large silicon area consumption, high DC resistance and high cost. An attractive approach to address these issues is directly integrating inductors into package substrates, which provide plenty of usage area, low resistance and low cost. The goals of this dissertation are designing and fabricating magnetic and air-core inductors with characteristic low resistance and high quality factor on package substrates. The research work includes three parts which are summarized below. First, the CoFeHfO nanogranular magnetic material developed on Si wafers and package substrates by pulsed DC reactive sputtering were investigated. On Si wafers, the optimized CoFeHfO film has soft magnetic properties. On printed circuit board (PCB) substrates, these magnetic properties degrade due to the rough surface. Surface planarization such as chemical-mechanical polishing can be applied on PCB substrates to reduce the surface roughness and hence improve these properties. Second, on-package inductors with small resistances and high quality factors were designed, fabricated, measured and analyzed. Air-core and magnetic inductors (20 design variations) were built on 8-inch PCB substrates. The DC resistances of these inductors are less than 12 mO, one of the lowest values ever reported. The maximum quality factors can be as large as ˜80 at around 1 GHz for the air-core inductors and ˜25 at 200 MHz for the magnetic inductors. Third, inductor simulation was carried out to study the effects of magnetic materials on the properties of inductors using the Ansoft HFSS software package. The measurement data for the permeability spectra of the CoFeHfO film and the tensor nature of the permeability were taken into account in the simulation. The simulation results matched the experimental data for the inductances, resistances and quality factors. This established an accurate method for modeling high-frequency magnetic devices. Using this method, an inductor with a closed magnetic core was studied by varying the geometry of the core and copper coil. It has been found that the inductance of this inductor depends strongly on whether the permeability of the magnetic core is isotropic or anisotropic.

Quality of life at sea in Polish seafarer's evaluation.

PubMed

Jeżewska, Maria; Grubman-Nowak, Marta; Moryś, Joanna

2015-01-01

Work at sea is highly burdening, hazardous and stressful. Environmental, physical, and psychosociological factors have a great impact on the seafarer's quality of life and work. The research is a part of a broader psychological project performed on people working at sea in Poland during a period of 2011-2014. This report presents the self-evaluation of life quality conducted by a total of 1,700 Polish seafarers who took part in the study. The average age of the group was 45. Following methods were used: WHOQOL-BREF and the "Survey for people working at sea". Polish seafarers gave the highest rates to their social relationships (16.27), then the psychological functioning (15.62), and environment (15.51). The physical domain gave the lowest rates (14.63). The results have shown that quality of life of Polish seafarers is quite high.

High School Assistant Principals' Perception of Factors Influencing High School Assistant Principal Attrition in a Georgia School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buff, Shannon Jonell

2017-01-01

Retention of quality high school assistant principals is a problem in a suburban Georgia school district, where 35% of administrators left their schools in a 3-year period. Researchers indicated that high turnover rates in school leadership influence student achievement and school climate. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore…

Nutritional quality of dietary patterns of children: are there differences inside and outside school?

PubMed

Vieira, Diva Aliete Dos Santos; Castro, Michelle Alessandra; Fisberg, Mauro; Fisberg, Regina Mara

To describe the dietary patterns of children inside and outside school and investigate their associations with sociodemographic factors and nutritional status. This was a multicenter cross-sectional study in which children of both sexes, aged 1-6 years, attending private and public daycare centers and preschools in Brazil, were evaluated (n=2979). Demographic, socioeconomic and dietary data (weighed food records and estimated food records) were collected. Dietary patterns were derived by factor analysis from 36 food groups. Four dietary patterns were identified inside school, and three outside. Inside school, the "traditional" pattern was associated to low income and presented high nutritional quality. The "dual" pattern was associated with low income and with high intake of added sugar and glycemic load. The "snack" pattern was associated with children enrolled at private schools and with high intake of added sugar and glycemic load. The "bread and butter" pattern was associated with high intake of added sugar and trans fat. Outside school, the "traditional" pattern was associated with high intake of saturated fat, trans fats, sodium, and total fiber. The "bread and butter" pattern was associated with high intake of trans fats and glycemic load, whereas the "snack" pattern was associated with overweight, private schools, high income, and high intake of trans fats, sodium, and total fiber. There are differences in the nutritional quality of dietary patterns inside and outside school, and heterogeneity in adherence to these patterns were observed across regions and socioeconomic classes. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Experimental investigation on the effects of cooling system on surface quality in high speed milling of an aluminium alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chirita, B.; Tampu, N. C.; Brabie, G.; Radu, M. C.

2016-08-01

Surface quality is often an important feature of industrial products, not only from the impact it has on the aesthetic aspect but also for the functional role of the parts. High quality surface increases corrosion resistance, assures a longer life cycle for the product and lowers the wear. For a machined part, surface quality is influenced by a series of factors such as the material of the part, the process type, tool geometry, cutting parameters or the cooling system. The choice of the cooling system is especially important, taking into account that the proper conditions will not only assure a superior surface quality, but will also lower the costs and reduce the environmental impact and health risks. The present study aims to investigate the performance of the cooling system and the effect of the cutting parameters on the characteristics of the surfaces resulted from high speed face milling of some parts made of Al 7050-T7451 aluminium alloy. Dry cutting conditions and minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) where used. The results were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Analysis of quality of life and influencing factors in 197 Chinese patients with port-wine stains

PubMed Central

Wang, Juan; Zhu, Yu-you; Wang, Zhong-ying; Yao, Xiu-hua; Zhang, Lan-fang; Lv, Hong; Zhang, Si-ping; Hu, Bai

2017-01-01

Abstract Port-wine stains (PWS) are congenital capillary malformations, usually occurring on the face, neck, and other exposed parts of the skin, that have serious psychological and social impact on the patient. Most researchers focus on the treatment of PWS, but the quality of life (QoL) of PWS patients is seldom researched. The objective of this study is to evaluate the QoL of patients with PWS on exposed parts and explore the factors influencing the QoL of PWS patients. The QoL of 197 cases with PWS on exposed parts were prospectively studied using the Dermatology Life Quality Index questionnaire (DLQI), and the factors influencing the patients’ QoL were analyzed by single-factor analysis and multiple-factor logistic regression analysis. The reliability and validity of the QoL of PWS patients were then assessed by DLQI. A total of 197 valid questionnaires were collected. The DLQI scores in PWS cases ranged from 2 to 16, with 2 to 5 in 52.29% (103/197), 6 to 10 in 42.13% (83/197), and 11 to 20 in 5.58% (11/197). The main score elements of the DLQI focused on symptoms and feelings, daily activities, and social entertainment. Single-factor analysis and multiple-factor logistic regression analysis showed that the main influencing factors were female sex, skin hypertrophy, and lesion area >30 cm2. The inter-item correlation averaged 47.46% and the Cronbach α was 0.740, indicating high internal consistency. Correlation of the 6 dimensions of the DLQI questionnaires with the total scores showed that the Spearman correlation coefficient r ranged from 0.550 to 0.782 (P < .001), with symptoms and feelings having a correlation coefficient of 0.782 and a high correlation with total scores. This study shows that PWS has mild to moderate influence on the QoL of most patients, mainly on daily activities, social entertainment, and feelings. PMID:29390578

Illuminating Anaerobic Microbial Community and Cooccurrence Patterns across a Quality Gradient in Chinese Liquor Fermentation Pit Muds.

PubMed

Hu, Xiaolong; Du, Hai; Ren, Cong; Xu, Yan

2016-04-01

Fermentation pit mud, an important reservoir of diverse anaerobic microorganisms, is essential for Chinese strong-aroma liquor production. Pit mud quality, according to its sensory characteristics, can be divided into three grades: degraded, normal, and high quality. However, the relationship between pit mud microbial community and pit mud quality is poorly understood, as are microbial associations within the pit mud ecosystem. Here, microbial communities at these grades were compared using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the variable region V4 of the 16S rRNA gene. Our results revealed that the pit mud microbial community was correlated with its quality and environmental factors. Species richness, biodiversity, and relative and/or absolute abundances of Clostridia,Clostridium kluyveri, Bacteroidia, and Methanobacteria significantly increased, with corresponding increases in levels of pH, NH4 (+), and available phosphorus, from degraded to high-quality pit muds, while levels of Lactobacillus, dissolved organic carbon, and lactate significantly decreased, with normal samples in between. Furthermore, 271 pairs of significant and robust correlations (cooccurrence and negative) were identified from 76 genera using network analysis. Thirteen hubs of cooccurrence patterns, mainly under the Clostridia,Bacteroidia,Methanobacteria, and Methanomicrobia, may play important roles in pit mud ecosystem stability, which may be destroyed with rapidly increased levels of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus,Pediococcus, and Streptococcus). This study may help clarify the relationships among microbial community, environmental conditions, and pit mud quality, allow the improvement of pit mud quality by using bioaugmentation and controlling environmental factors, and shed more light on the ecological rules guiding community assembly in pit mud. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

High Sensitivity and Specificity of Clinical Microscopy in Rural Health Facilities in Western Kenya Under an External Quality Assurance Program

PubMed Central

Wafula, Rebeccah; Sang, Edna; Cheruiyot, Olympia; Aboto, Angeline; Menya, Diana; O'Meara, Wendy Prudhomme

2014-01-01

Microscopic diagnosis of malaria is a well-established and inexpensive technique that has the potential to provide accurate diagnosis of malaria infection. However, it requires both training and experience. Although it is considered the gold standard in research settings, the sensitivity and specificity of routine microscopy for clinical care in the primary care setting has been reported to be unacceptably low. We established a monthly external quality assurance program to monitor the performance of clinical microscopy in 17 rural health centers in western Kenya. The average sensitivity over the 12-month period was 96% and the average specificity was 88%. We identified specific contextual factors that contributed to inadequate performance. Maintaining high-quality malaria diagnosis in high-volume, resource-constrained health facilities is possible. PMID:24935953

Review of NASA approach to space radiation risk assessments for Mars exploration.

PubMed

Cucinotta, Francis A

2015-02-01

Long duration space missions present unique radiation protection challenges due to the complexity of the space radiation environment, which includes high charge and energy particles and other highly ionizing radiation such as neutrons. Based on a recommendation by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, a 3% lifetime risk of exposure-induced death for cancer has been used as a basis for risk limitation by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for low-Earth orbit missions. NASA has developed a risk-based approach to radiation exposure limits that accounts for individual factors (age, gender, and smoking history) and assesses the uncertainties in risk estimates. New radiation quality factors with associated probability distribution functions to represent the quality factor's uncertainty have been developed based on track structure models and recent radiobiology data for high charge and energy particles. The current radiation dose limits are reviewed for spaceflight and the various qualitative and quantitative uncertainties that impact the risk of exposure-induced death estimates using the NASA Space Cancer Risk (NSCR) model. NSCR estimates of the number of "safe days" in deep space to be within exposure limits and risk estimates for a Mars exploration mission are described.

Quality of life during orthopaedic training and academic practice. Part 1: orthopaedic surgery residents and faculty.

PubMed

Sargent, M Catherine; Sotile, Wayne; Sotile, Mary O; Rubash, Harry; Barrack, Robert L

2009-10-01

A pilot study of two academic training programs revealed concerning levels of resident burnout and psychological dysfunction. The purpose of the present study was to determine the quality of life of orthopaedic residents and faculty on a national scale and to identify risk factors for decompensation. Three hundred and eighty-four orthopaedic residents and 264 full-time orthopaedic faculty members completed a voluntary, anonymous survey consisting of three validated instruments (the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the General Health Questionnaire-12, and the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale) and question sets assessing demographic information, relationship issues, stress reactions/management, and work/life balance. High levels of burnout were seen in 56% of the residents and 28% of the faculty members. Burnout risk was greatest among second-postgraduate-year residents and residents in training programs with six or more residents per postgraduate year. Sixteen percent of residents and 19% of faculty members reported symptoms of psychological distress. Sleep deprivation was common among the residents and correlated positively with every distress measure. Faculty reported greater levels of stress but greater satisfaction with work and work/life balance. A number of factors, such as making time for hobbies and limiting alcohol use, correlated with decreased dysfunction for both residents and faculty. Despite reporting high levels of job satisfaction, orthopaedic residents and faculty are at risk for burnout and distress. Identification of protective factors and risk factors may provide guidance to improve the quality of life of academic orthopaedic surgeons in training and beyond.

Theory and practice for measuring health care quality

PubMed Central

Berwick, Donald M.; Knapp, Marian Gilbert

1987-01-01

As competition, cost control, and new modes of delivery emerge in health care, there is a need to reexamine both the traditional definitions of health care quality and the methods by which it is measured. Industries other than health care have much to teach regarding the methods for obtaining, analyzing, and displaying data; techniques for problem identification, problem solving, and reassessment; and ideas about organizational factors that produce a high quality product or service. The Quality-of-Care Measurement Department at the Harvard Community Health Plan has built a program that draws from a distinguished health care quality assurance tradition and incorporates techniques that have been successful in other industries. PMID:10312319

Silicon nano-membrane based photonic crystal microcavities for high sensitivity bio-sensing.

PubMed

Lai, Wei-Cheng; Chakravarty, Swapnajit; Zou, Yi; Chen, Ray T

2012-04-01

We experimentally demonstrated photonic crystal microcavity based resonant sensors coupled to photonic crystal waveguides in silicon nano-membrane on insulator for chemical and bio-sensing. Linear L-type microcavities are considered. In contrast to cavities with small mode volumes, but low quality factors for bio-sensing, we showed increasing the length of the microcavity enhances the quality factor of the resonance by an order of magnitude and increases the resonance wavelength shift while retaining compact device characteristics. Q~26760 and sensitivity down to 15 ng/ml and ~110 pg/mm2 in bio-sensing was experimentally demonstrated on silicon-on-insulator devices.

Development of Scintillators in Nuclear Medicine.

PubMed

Khoshakhlagh, Mohammad; Islamian, Jalil Pirayesh; Abedi, Seyed Mohammad; Mahmoudian, Babak

2015-01-01

High-quality image is necessary for accurate diagnosis in nuclear medicine. There are many factors in creating a good image and detector is the most important one. In recent years, several detectors are studied to get a better picture. The aim of this paper is comparison of some type of these detectors such as thallium activated sodium iodide bismuth germinate cesium activated yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG: Ce) YAP: Ce "lutetium aluminum garnet activated by cerium" CRY018 "CRY019" lanthanum bromide and cadmium zinc telluride. We studied different properties of these crystals including density, energy resolution and decay times that are more important factors affecting the image quality.

Development of Scintillators in Nuclear Medicine

PubMed Central

Khoshakhlagh, Mohammad; Islamian, Jalil Pirayesh; Abedi, Seyed Mohammad; Mahmoudian, Babak

2015-01-01

High-quality image is necessary for accurate diagnosis in nuclear medicine. There are many factors in creating a good image and detector is the most important one. In recent years, several detectors are studied to get a better picture. The aim of this paper is comparison of some type of these detectors such as thallium activated sodium iodide bismuth germinate cesium activated yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG: Ce) YAP: Ce “lutetium aluminum garnet activated by cerium” CRY018 “CRY019” lanthanum bromide and cadmium zinc telluride. We studied different properties of these crystals including density, energy resolution and decay times that are more important factors affecting the image quality. PMID:26420984

[Study on the influencing factors related to suicide ideation among undergraduates in Anhui province].

PubMed

Fan, Yin-Guang; Xiao, Qin; Wang, Qian; Li, Wen-Xian; Dong, Ma-Xia; Ye, Dong-Qing

2008-03-01

To explore the relationships between quality of life, negative life events, social support and suicide ideation among undergraduates in colleges. 3517 undergraduates in colleges were recruited by multistage stratified random clustered sampling method. Factors associated with suicide ideation were analyzed with logistic regression by scores of Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation(BSSI), Generic Quality of Life Inventory (GQOLI), Adolescent Self-rate Life Events Checklist (ASLEC), Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) and a questionnaire on background information. The rate of suicide ideation within 7 days was 14.1%, especially in females (15.96%), with single parent (23.79%) and disabled undergraduates (25.00%). The primary risk factors for suicide ideation were with low psychological function, material life, family/social support, lower availability of support and more negative life events. The prevalence of suicide ideation among these undergraduates was high, appropriate measures focusing on these risk factors should be implemented.

Sociotechnical factors influencing unsafe use of hospital information systems: A qualitative study in Malaysian government hospitals.

PubMed

Salahuddin, Lizawati; Ismail, Zuraini; Hashim, Ummi Rabaah; Raja Ikram, Raja Rina; Ismail, Nor Haslinda; Naim Mohayat, Mohd Hariz

2018-03-01

The objective of this study is to identify factors influencing unsafe use of hospital information systems in Malaysian government hospitals. Semi-structured interviews with 31 medical doctors in three Malaysian government hospitals implementing total hospital information systems were conducted between March and May 2015. A thematic qualitative analysis was performed on the resultant data to deduce the relevant themes. A total of five themes emerged as the factors influencing unsafe use of a hospital information system: (1) knowledge, (2) system quality, (3) task stressor, (4) organization resources, and (5) teamwork. These qualitative findings highlight that factors influencing unsafe use of a hospital information system originate from multidimensional sociotechnical aspects. Unsafe use of a hospital information system could possibly lead to the incidence of errors and thus raises safety risks to the patients. Hence, multiple interventions (e.g. technology systems and teamwork) are required in shaping high-quality hospital information system use.

Does social support buffer the effects of occupational stress on sleep quality among paramedics? A daily diary study.

PubMed

Pow, Jessie; King, David B; Stephenson, Ellen; DeLongis, Anita

2017-01-01

Given evidence suggesting a detrimental effect of occupational stress on sleep, it is important to identify protective factors that may ameliorate this effect. We followed 87 paramedics upon waking and after work over 1 week using a daily diary methodology. Multilevel modeling was used to examine whether the detrimental effects of daily occupational stress on sleep quality were buffered by perceived social support availability. Paramedics who reported more support availability tended to report better quality sleep over the week. Additionally, perceived support availability buffered postworkday sleep from average occupational stress and days of especially high occupational stress. Perceived support availability also buffered off-workday sleep from the cumulative amount of occupational stress experienced over the previous workweek. Those with low levels of support displayed poor sleep quality in the face of high occupational stress; those high in support did not show significant effects of occupational stress on sleep. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

For Video Games, Bad News Is Good News: News Reporting of Violent Video Game Studies.

PubMed

Copenhaver, Allen; Mitrofan, Oana; Ferguson, Christopher J

2017-12-01

News coverage of video game violence studies has been critiqued for focusing mainly on studies supporting negative effects and failing to report studies that did not find evidence for such effects. These concerns were tested in a sample of 68 published studies using child and adolescent samples. Contrary to our hypotheses, study effect size was not a predictor of either newspaper coverage or publication in journals with a high-impact factor. However, a relationship between poorer study quality and newspaper coverage approached significance. High-impact journals were not found to publish studies with higher quality. Poorer quality studies, which tended to highlight negative findings, also received more citations in scholarly sources. Our findings suggest that negative effects of violent video games exposure in children and adolescents, rather than large effect size or high methodological quality, increase the likelihood of a study being cited in other academic publications and subsequently receiving news media coverage.

Scale effects on spatially varying relationships between urban landscape patterns and water quality.

PubMed

Sun, Yanwei; Guo, Qinghai; Liu, Jian; Wang, Run

2014-08-01

Scientific interpretation of the relationships between urban landscape patterns and water quality is important for sustainable urban planning and watershed environmental protection. This study applied the ordinary least squares regression model and the geographically weighted regression model to examine the spatially varying relationships between 12 explanatory variables (including three topographical factors, four land use parameters, and five landscape metrics) and 15 water quality indicators in watersheds of Yundang Lake, Maluan Bay, and Xinglin Bay with varying levels of urbanization in Xiamen City, China. A local and global investigation was carried out at the watershed-level, with 50 and 200 m riparian buffer scales. This study found that topographical features and landscape metrics are the dominant factors of water quality, while land uses are too weak to be considered as a strong influential factor on water quality. Such statistical results may be related with the characteristics of land use compositions in our study area. Water quality variations in the 50 m buffer were dominated by topographical variables. The impact of landscape metrics on water quality gradually strengthen with expanding buffer zones. The strongest relationships are obtained in entire watersheds, rather than in 50 and 200 m buffer zones. Spatially varying relationships and effective buffer zones were verified in this study. Spatially varying relationships between explanatory variables and water quality parameters are more diversified and complex in less urbanized areas than in highly urbanized areas. This study hypothesizes that all these varying relationships may be attributed to the heterogeneity of landscape patterns in different urban regions. Adjustment of landscape patterns in an entire watershed should be the key measure to successfully improving urban lake water quality.

Sources of practice knowledge among Australian fitness trainers.

PubMed

Bennie, Jason A; Wiesner, Glen H; van Uffelen, Jannique G Z; Harvey, Jack T; Biddle, Stuart J H

2017-12-01

Few studies have examined the sources of practice knowledge fitness trainers use to inform their training methods and update knowledge. This study aims to describe sources of practice knowledge among Australian fitness trainers. In July 2014, 9100 Australian fitness trainers were invited to complete an online survey. Respondents reported the frequency of use of eight sources of practice knowledge (e.g. fitness magazines, academic texts). In a separate survey, exercise science experts (n = 27) ranked each source as either (1) 'high-quality' or (2) 'low-quality'. Proportions of users of 'high-quality' sources were calculated across demographic (age, sex) and fitness industry-related characteristics (qualification, setting, role). A multivariate logistic regression analysis assessed the odds of being classified as a user of high-quality sources, adjusting for demographic and fitness industry-related factors. Out of 1185 fitness trainers (response rate = 13.0%), aged 17-72 years, 47.6% (95% CI, 44.7-50.4%) were classified as frequent users of high-quality sources of practice knowledge. In the adjusted analysis, compared to trainers aged 17-26 years, those aged ≥61 years (OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.05-4.38) and 40-50 years (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.02-2.31) were more likely to be classified as a user of high-quality sources. When compared to trainers working in large centres, those working in outdoor settings (OR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.23-2.65) and medium centres (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.12-2.29) were more likely to be classified as users of high-quality sources. Our findings suggest that efforts should be made to improve the quality of knowledge acquisition among Australian fitness trainers.

Low-cost, high-density sensor network for urban emission monitoring: BEACO2N

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, J.; Shusterman, A.; Lieschke, K.; Newman, C.; Cohen, R. C.

2017-12-01

In urban environments, air quality is spatially and temporally heterogeneous as diverse emission sources create a high degree of variability even at the neighborhood scale. Conventional air quality monitoring relies on continuous measurements with limited spatial resolution or passive sampling with high-density and low temporal resolution. Either approach averages the air quality information over space or time and hinders our attempts to understand emissions, chemistry, and human exposure in the near-field of emission sources. To better capture the true spatio-temporal heterogeneity of urban conditions, we have deployed a low-cost, high-density air quality monitoring network in San Francisco Bay Area distributed at 2km horizontal spacing. The BErkeley Atmospheric CO2 Observation Network (BEACO2N) consists of approximately 50 sensor nodes, measuring CO2, CO, NO, NO2, O­3, and aerosol. Here we describe field-based calibration approaches that are consistent with the low-cost strategy of the monitoring network. Observations that allow inference of emission factors and identification of specific local emission sources will also be presented.

Variability in stream chemistry in relation to urban development and biological condition in seven metropolitan areas of the United States, 1999-2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beaulieu, Karen M.; Bell, Amanda H.; Coles, James F.

2012-01-01

Beginning in 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program investigated the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems in nine metropolitan study areas across the United States. In seven of these study areas, stream-chemistry samples were collected every other month for 1 year at 6 to 10 sites. Within a study area, the sites collectively represented a gradient of urban development from minimally to highly developed watersheds, based on the percentage of urban land cover; depending on study area, the land cover before urban development was either forested or agricultural. The stream-chemistry factors measured in the samples were total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chloride, and pesticide toxicity. These data were used to characterize the stream-chemistry factors in four ways (hereafter referred to as characterizations)—seasonal high-flow value, seasonal low-flow value, the median value (representing a single integrated value of the factor over the year), and the standard deviation of values (representing the variation of the factor over the year). Aquatic macroinvertebrate communities were sampled at each site to infer the biological condition of the stream based on the relative sensitivity of the community to environmental stressors. A Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate relations between (1) urban development and each characterization of the stream-chemistry factors and (2) the biological condition of a stream and the different characterizations of chloride and pesticide toxicity. Overall, the study areas where the land cover before urban development was primarily forested had a greater number of moderate and strong relations compared with the study areas where the land cover before urban development was primarily agriculture; this was true when urban development was correlated with the stream-chemistry factors (except chloride) and when chloride and pesticide toxicity was correlated with the biological condition. Except for primarily phosphorus in two study areas, stream-chemistry factors generally increased with urban development, and among the different characterizations, the median value typically indicated the strongest relations. The variation in stream-chemistry factors throughout the year generally increased with urban development, indicating that water quality became less consistent as watersheds were developed. In study areas with high annual snow fall, the variation in chloride concentrations throughout the year was particularly strongly related to urban development, likely a result of road salt applications during the winter. The relations of the biological condition to chloride and pesticide toxicity were calculated irrespective of urban development, but the overall results indicated that the relations were still stronger in the study areas that had been forested before urban development. The weaker relations in the study areas that had been agricultural before urban development were likely the results of biological communities having been degraded from agricultural practices in the watersheds. Collectively, these results indicated that, compared with sampling a stream at a single point in time, sampling at regular intervals during a year may provide a more representative measure of water quality, especially in the areas of high urban development where water quality fluctuated more widely between samples. Furthermore, the use of "integrated" values of stream chemistry factors may be more appropriate when assessing relations to the biological condition of a stream because the taxa composition of a biological community typically reflects the water-quality conditions over time.

Efficient expulsion of magnetic flux in superconducting radiofrequency cavities for high Q 0 applications

DOE PAGES

Posen, S.; Checchin, M.; Crawford, A. C.; ...

2016-06-03

Even when cooled through its transition temperature in the presence of an external magnetic field, a superconductor can expel nearly all external magnetic flux. This Letter presents an experimental study to identify the parameters that most strongly influence flux trapping in high purity niobium during cooldown. This is critical to the operation of superconducting radiofrequency cavities, in which trapped flux degrades the quality factor and therefore cryogenic efficiency. Flux expulsion was measured on a large survey of 1.3 GHz cavities prepared in various ways. It is shown that both spatial thermal gradient and high temperature treatment are critical to expellingmore » external magnetic fields, while surface treatment has minimal effect. For the first time, it is shown that a cavity can be converted from poor expulsion behavior to strong expulsion behavior after furnace treatment, resulting in a substantial improvement in quality factor. In conclusion, future plans are described to build on this result in order to optimize treatment for future cavities.« less