14 CFR 23.1326 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 23.1326 Section 23.1326 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION... Instruments: Installation § 23.1326 Pitot heat indication systems. If a flight instrument pitot heating system...

14 CFR 23.1326 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 23.1326 Section 23.1326 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION... Instruments: Installation § 23.1326 Pitot heat indication systems. If a flight instrument pitot heating system...

14 CFR 23.1326 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 23.1326 Section 23.1326 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION... Instruments: Installation § 23.1326 Pitot heat indication systems. If a flight instrument pitot heating system...

14 CFR 23.1326 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 23.1326 Section 23.1326 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION... Instruments: Installation § 23.1326 Pitot heat indication systems. If a flight instrument pitot heating system...

14 CFR 23.1326 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 23.1326 Section 23.1326 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION... Instruments: Installation § 23.1326 Pitot heat indication systems. If a flight instrument pitot heating system...

In-Flight Simulator for IFR Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, L. C.

1986-01-01

Computer-controlled unit feeds navigation signals to airplane instruments. Electronic training system allows students to learn to fly according to instrument flight rules (IFR) in uncrowded airspace. New system self-contained IFR simulator carried aboard training plane. Generates signals and commands for standard instruments on airplane, including navigational receiver, distance-measuring equipment, automatic direction finder, a marker-beacon receiver, altimeter, airspeed indicator, and heading indicator.

10 CFR 35.61 - Calibration of survey instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Calibration of survey instruments. 35.61 Section 35.61... § 35.61 Calibration of survey instruments. (a) A licensee shall calibrate the survey instruments used... of calibration. (b) A licensee may not use survey instruments if the difference between the indicated...

10 CFR 35.61 - Calibration of survey instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Calibration of survey instruments. 35.61 Section 35.61... § 35.61 Calibration of survey instruments. (a) A licensee shall calibrate the survey instruments used... of calibration. (b) A licensee may not use survey instruments if the difference between the indicated...

10 CFR 35.61 - Calibration of survey instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Calibration of survey instruments. 35.61 Section 35.61... § 35.61 Calibration of survey instruments. (a) A licensee shall calibrate the survey instruments used... of calibration. (b) A licensee may not use survey instruments if the difference between the indicated...

10 CFR 35.61 - Calibration of survey instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Calibration of survey instruments. 35.61 Section 35.61... § 35.61 Calibration of survey instruments. (a) A licensee shall calibrate the survey instruments used... of calibration. (b) A licensee may not use survey instruments if the difference between the indicated...

14 CFR 23.1303 - Flight and navigation instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... navigation instruments. (c) A magnetic direction indicator. ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight and navigation instruments. 23.1303... General § 23.1303 Flight and navigation instruments. Link to an amendment published at 76 FR 75760...

14 CFR 25.1303 - Flight and navigation instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... indicator (nonstabilized magnetic compass). (b) The following flight and navigation instruments must be... (gyroscopically stabilized, magnetic or nonmagnetic). (c) The following flight and navigation instruments are... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight and navigation instruments. 25.1303...

14 CFR 25.1303 - Flight and navigation instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... indicator (nonstabilized magnetic compass). (b) The following flight and navigation instruments must be... (gyroscopically stabilized, magnetic or nonmagnetic). (c) The following flight and navigation instruments are... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight and navigation instruments. 25.1303...

24 CFR 213.252 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... indicated. (a) Contract of Insurance means the agreement evidenced by endorsement of the credit instrument... been insured by the endorsement of the credit instrument by the Commissioner. (c) Mortgage means such a... is located, together with the credit instrument or instruments, if any, secured thereby. In any...

[An instrument for assessing clinical aptitude in cervicovaginitis in the family medicine practice].

PubMed

Arrieta-Pérez, Raúl Tomás; Lona-Calixto, Beatriz

2011-01-01

the cervicovaginitis is one of the first twelve causes on demand at primary care medicine thus the family physician must be able to identify and treat it. The objective was to validate a constructed instrument for measuring the clinical aptitude on cervicovaginitis. cross-sectional, descriptive, prolective study was carried out. An instrument with five clinical cases was done. It has seven indicators, whose answers were true, false and I do not know. The validity content was done by three family physicians and a Gynecologist, with experience in education. The trustworthiness was determined by means of the test of Kuder-Richardson formula 20 with the results obtained in a pilot test in 50 family medicine residents. the instrument was constituted by five clinical cases with 140 Items distributed in seven indicators with 20 items for each indicator and a total of 70 true answers and 70 false answers; seven categories for the degree of clinical aptitude settled down. The trustworthiness of the instrument was 0.81. the instrument is valid and reliable to identify the clinical aptitude of the family physician on cervicovaginitis.

Instrumental Landing Using Audio Indication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burlak, E. A.; Nabatchikov, A. M.; Korsun, O. N.

2018-02-01

The paper proposes an audio indication method for presenting to a pilot the information regarding the relative positions of an aircraft in the tasks of precision piloting. The implementation of the method is presented, the use of such parameters of audio signal as loudness, frequency and modulation are discussed. To confirm the operability of the audio indication channel the experiments using modern aircraft simulation facility were carried out. The simulated performed the instrument landing using the proposed audio method to indicate the aircraft deviations in relation to the slide path. The results proved compatible with the simulated instrumental landings using the traditional glidescope pointers. It inspires to develop the method in order to solve other precision piloting tasks.

14 CFR 29.1303 - Flight and navigation instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight and navigation instruments. 29.1303... navigation instruments. The following are required flight and navigational instruments: (a) An airspeed... sensitive altimeter. (c) A magnetic direction indicator. (d) A clock displaying hours, minutes, and seconds...

14 CFR 23.1311 - Electronic display instrument systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Electronic display instrument systems. 23... Equipment Instruments: Installation § 23.1311 Electronic display instrument systems. Link to an amendment published at 76 FR 75760, December 2, 2011. (a) Electronic display indicators, including those with features...

Initial Validation of a Comprehensive Assessment Instrument for Bereavement-Related Grief Symptoms and Risk of Complications: The Indicator of Bereavement Adaptation—Cruse Scotland (IBACS)

PubMed Central

Schut, Henk; Stroebe, Margaret S.; Wilson, Stewart; Birrell, John

2016-01-01

Objective This study assessed the validity of the Indicator of Bereavement Adaptation Cruse Scotland (IBACS). Designed for use in clinical and non-clinical settings, the IBACS measures severity of grief symptoms and risk of developing complications. Method N = 196 (44 male, 152 female) help-seeking, bereaved Scottish adults participated at two timepoints: T1 (baseline) and T2 (after 18 months). Four validated assessment instruments were administered: CORE-R, ICG-R, IES-R, SCL-90-R. Discriminative ability was assessed using ROC curve analysis. Concurrent validity was tested through correlation analysis at T1. Predictive validity was assessed using correlation analyses and ROC curve analysis. Optimal IBACS cutoff values were obtained by calculating a maximal Youden index J in ROC curve analysis. Clinical implications were compared across instruments. Results ROC curve analysis results (AUC = .84, p < .01, 95% CI between .77 and .90) indicated the IBACS is a good diagnostic instrument for assessing complicated grief. Positive correlations (p < .01, 2-tailed) with all four instruments at T1 demonstrated the IBACS' concurrent validity, strongest with complicated grief measures (r = .82). Predictive validity was shown to be fair in T2 ROC curve analysis results (n = 67, AUC = .78, 95% CI between .65 and .92; p < .01). Predictive validity was also supported by stable positive correlations between IBACS and other instruments at T2. Clinical indications were found not to differ across instruments. Conclusions The IBACS offers effective grief symptom and risk assessment for use by non-clinicians. Indications are sufficient to support intake assessment for a stepped model of bereavement intervention. PMID:27741246

Format Effects of Empirically Derived Multiple-Choice versus Free-Response Instruments When Assessing Graphing Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berg, Craig; Boote, Stacy

2017-01-01

Prior graphing research has demonstrated that clinical interviews and free-response instruments produce very different results than multiple-choice instruments, indicating potential validity problems when using multiple-choice instruments to assess graphing skills (Berg & Smith in "Science Education," 78(6), 527-554, 1994). Extending…

Design criteria monograph for actuators and operators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

Instrumentation for actuators and operators includes electrical position-indicating switches, potentiometers, and transducers and pressure-indicating switches and transducers. Monograph is based on critical evaluation of experiences and practices in design, test, and use of these control devices and instruments in operational space vehicles.

14 CFR 23.1311 - Electronic display instrument systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Continued Airworthiness required by § 23.1529. (3) Not inhibit the primary display of attitude, airspeed... indicator, and attitude instrument or individual electronic display indicators for the altitude, airspeed, and attitude that are independent from the airplane's primary electrical power system. These secondary...

The development of a survey instrument for community health improvement.

PubMed Central

Bazos, D A; Weeks, W B; Fisher, E S; DeBlois, H A; Hamilton, E; Young, M J

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To develop a survey instrument that could be used both to guide and evaluate community health improvement efforts. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: A randomized telephone survey was administered to a sample of about 250 residents in two communities in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania in the fall of 1997. METHODS: The survey instrument was developed by health professionals representing diverse health care organizations. This group worked collaboratively over a period of two years to (1) select a conceptual model of health as a foundation for the survey; (2) review relevant literature to identify indicators that adequately measured the health constructs within the chosen model; (3) develop new indicators where important constructs lacked specific measures; and (4) pilot test the final survey to assess the reliability and validity of the instrument. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The Evans and Stoddart Field Model of the Determinants of Health and Well-Being was chosen as the conceptual model within which to develop the survey. The Field Model depicts nine domains important to the origins and production of health and provides a comprehensive framework from which to launch community health improvement efforts. From more than 500 potential indicators we identified 118 survey questions that reflected the multiple determinants of health as conceptualized by this model. Sources from which indicators were selected include the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, the National Health Interview Survey, the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Survey, and the SF-12 Summary Scales. The work group developed 27 new survey questions for constructs for which we could not locate adequate indicators. Twenty-five questions in the final instrument can be compared to nationally published norms or benchmarks. The final instrument was pilot tested in 1997 in two communities. Administration time averaged 22 minutes with a response rate of 66 percent. Reliability of new survey questions was adequate. Face validity was supported by previous findings from qualitative and quantitative studies. CONCLUSIONS: We developed, pilot tested, and validated a survey instrument designed to provide more comprehensive and timely data to communities for community health assessments. This instrument allows communities to identify and measure critical domains of health that have previously not been captured in a single instrument. PMID:11508639

47 CFR 73.258 - Indicating instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Indicating instruments. 73.258 Section 73.258 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES FM....3549 may be filed with the FCC, Attention: Audio Division, Media Bureau, in Washington, DC for such...

Instrument Psychometrics: Parental Satisfaction and Quality Indicators of Perinatal Palliative Care.

PubMed

Wool, Charlotte

2015-10-01

Despite a life-limiting fetal diagnosis, prenatal attachment often occurs in varying degrees resulting in role identification by an individual as a parent. Parents recognize quality care and report their satisfaction when interfacing with health care providers. The aim was to test an instrument measuring parental satisfaction and quality indicators with parents electing to continue a pregnancy after learning of a life-limiting fetal diagnosis. A cross sectional survey design gathered data using a computer-mediated platform. Subjects were parents (n=405) who opted to continue a pregnancy affected by a life-limiting diagnosis. Factor analysis using principal component analysis with Varimax rotation was used to validate the instrument, evaluate components, and summarize the explained variance achieved among quality indicator items. The Prenatal Scale was reduced to 37 items with a three-component solution explaining 66.19% of the variance and internal consistency reliability of 0.98. The Intrapartum Scale included 37 items with a four-component solution explaining 66.93% of the variance and a Cronbach α of 0.977. The Postnatal Scale was reduced to 44 items with a six-component solution explaining 67.48% of the variance. Internal consistency reliability was 0.975. The Parental Satisfaction and Quality Indicators of Perinatal Palliative Care Instrument is a valid and reliable measure for parent-reported quality care and satisfaction. Use of this instrument will enable clinicians and researchers to measure quality indicators and parental satisfaction. The instrument is useful for assessing, analyzing, and reporting data on quality for care delivered during the prenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal periods.

Instrumental and Reactive Functions and Overt and Relational Forms of Aggression: Developmental Trajectories and Prospective Associations during Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ojanen, Tiina; Kiefer, Sarah

2013-01-01

This study examined the development of adolescent self-reported instrumental-overt, instrumental-relational, reactive-overt, and reactive-relational aggression during middle school ("N" = 384; 12-14 years; 53% boys). Growth modeling indicated average increases in instrumental-relational aggression, and decreases in reactive-overt and…

GMT/local-time conversion chart

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Creveling, C. J.

1968-01-01

GMT/local-time conversion is made by a longitude pocket instrument that automatically indicates desired information by simply manipulating the moveable portion of the instrument in accordance with a set of simple instructions imprinted on the reverse side of the instrument.

A Survey of Modes of Student Response Indicative of Musical Learning in Elementary Instrumental Music.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Molly A.

This master's thesis reports on a study of the frequency and modes of student responses that demonstrate musical learning in the elementary instrumental music class. Some advances must be made toward more definitive evaluation practices in elementary school instrumental music if instrumental programs are to be justified in terms of improved…

Improved effectiveness of performance monitoring in amateur instrumental musicians☆

PubMed Central

Jentzsch, Ines; Mkrtchian, Anahit; Kansal, Nayantara

2014-01-01

Here we report a cross-sectional study investigating the influence of instrumental music practice on the ability to monitor for and respond to processing conflicts and performance errors. Behavioural and electrophysiological indicators of response monitoring in amateur musicians with various skill levels were collected using simple conflict tasks. The results show that instrumental musicians are better able than non-musicians to detect conflicts and errors as indicated by systematic increases in the amplitude of the error-related negativity and the N200 with increasing levels of instrumental practice. Also, high levels of musical training were associated with more efficient and less reactive responses after experience of conflicts and errors as indicated by reduced post-error interference and post-conflict processing adjustments. Together, the present findings suggest that playing a musical instrument might improve the ability to monitor our behavior and adjust our responses effectively when needed. As these processes are amongst the first to be affected by cognitive aging, our evidence could promote musical activity as a realistic intervention to slow or even prevent age-related decline in frontal cortex mediated executive functioning. PMID:24056298

14 CFR 25.1331 - Instruments using a power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS STANDARDS: TRANSPORT CATEGORY AIRPLANES Equipment Instruments: Installation § 25... may be accomplished automatically or by manual means. (3) If an instrument presenting navigation data... gyroscopic direction indicator that includes a magnetic sensing element, a gyroscopic unit, an amplifier and...

Design and validation of the INICIARE instrument, for the assessment of dependency level in acutely ill hospitalised patients.

PubMed

Morales-Asencio, José Miguel; Porcel-Gálvez, Ana María; Oliveros-Valenzuela, Rosa; Rodríguez-Gómez, Susana; Sánchez-Extremera, Lucrecia; Serrano-López, Francisco Andrés; Aranda-Gallardo, Marta; Canca-Sánchez, José Carlos; Barrientos-Trigo, Sergio

2015-03-01

The aim of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of an instrument (Inventario del NIvel de Cuidados mediante IndicAdores de clasificación de Resultados de Enfermería) used to assess the dependency level in acutely hospitalised patients. This instrument is novel, and it is based on the Nursing Outcomes Classification. Multiple existing instruments for needs assessment have been poorly validated and based predominately on interventions. Standardised Nursing Languages offer an ideal framework to develop nursing sensitive instruments. A cross-sectional validation study in two acute care hospitals in Spain. This study was implemented in two phases. First, the research team developed the instrument to be validated. In the second phase, the validation process was performed by experts, and the data analysis was conducted to establish the psychometric properties of the instrument. Seven hundred and sixty-one patient ratings performed by nurses were collected during the course of the research study. Data analysis yielded a Cronbach's alpha of 0·91. An exploratory factorial analysis identified three factors (Physiological, Instrumental and Cognitive-behavioural), which explained 74% of the variance. Inventario del NIvel de Cuidados mediante IndicAdores de clasificación de Resultados de Enfermería was demonstrated to be a valid and reliable instrument based on its use in acutely hospitalised patients to assess the level of dependency. Inventario del NIvel de Cuidados mediante IndicAdores de clasificación de Resultados de Enfermería can be used as an assessment tool in hospitalised patients during the nursing process throughout the entire hospitalisation period. It contributes information to support decisions on nursing diagnoses, interventions and outcomes. It also enables data codification in large databases. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

New instrument expanding individual tree stem analysis

Treesearch

Neil A. Clark

2001-01-01

Forest health, vitality, and productivity are interrelated and are maintained by using sound forest management. There are some standard indicators that are measured to assess the extent and severity of damage inflicted by biotic and abiotic agents. Assessment of these indicators using affordable methods is a subjective process. A video rangefinder instrument is...

Application of nondestructive testing in cyclic fatigue evaluation of endodontic Ni-Ti rotary instruments.

PubMed

Li, Uei-Ming; Shin, Chow-Shing; Lan, Wan-Hong; Lin, Chun-Pin

2006-06-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the application of nondestructive testing in cyclic fatigue evaluation of endodontic ProFile nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments. As-received ProFile instruments were made to rotate freely in sloped metal blocks by a contra-angle handpiece mounted on a testing machine. Rotation was interrupted periodically, and the instrument removed and engaged onto a device to monitor its stiffness by using two strain gauges in four different directions. This monitoring method has the potential to be developed into a convenient, nondestructive turnkey system that allows in situ assessment of the integrity of NiTi instruments in the clinic. Upon fracture, which was indicated by a change in instrument stiffness, the fractured surface would be examined under a scanning electron microscope. Microscopic evaluation indicated a small area of fatigue fracture with a large area of final ductile fracture, whereby the latter was the major cyclic failure mode. Based on the results of this study, we concluded that a potential nondestructive integrity assessment method for NiTi rotary instruments was developed.

Gender, Expressiveness, Instrumentality, and Group Social Environment as Predictors of Self-Disclosure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kunkle, Suzanne; Gerrity, Deborah A.

1997-01-01

Explores the relationship among self-disclosure, discloser gender, expressiveness, instrumentality, and group social environment in personal growth classes. Focuses on individual personality and group social environment characteristics in an established group. Results indicate that expressiveness, instrumentality, and the relationship dimension of…

47 CFR 2.1505 - Test instrumentation and equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Test instrumentation and equipment. 2.1505... Position Indicating Radiobeacons (EPIRBs) General § 2.1505 Test instrumentation and equipment. (a) Receiver... peak measurements with a bandwidth of 100 kHz. (b) Spectrum analyzer. Spectral measurements are to be...

Factor Analysis Methods and Validity Evidence: A Systematic Review of Instrument Development across the Continuum of Medical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wetzel, Angela Payne

2011-01-01

Previous systematic reviews indicate a lack of reporting of reliability and validity evidence in subsets of the medical education literature. Psychology and general education reviews of factor analysis also indicate gaps between current and best practices; yet, a comprehensive review of exploratory factor analysis in instrument development across…

New type of measuring and intelligent instrument for curing tobacco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Chui-Jie; Huang, Xieqing; Chen, Tianning; Xia, Hong

1993-09-01

A new type of measuring intelligent instrument for cured tobacco is presented in this paper. Based on fuzzy linguistic control principles the instrument is used to controlling the temperature and humidity during cured tobacco taking 803 1 singlechip computer as a center controller. By using methods of fuzzy weighted factors the cross coupling in curing procedures is decoupled. Results that the instrument has producted indicate the fuzzy controller in the instrument has perfect performance for process of cured tobacco as shown in figure

Interpersonal Interactions in Instrumental Lessons: Teacher/Student Verbal and Non-Verbal Behaviours

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhukov, Katie

2013-01-01

This study examined verbal and non-verbal teacher/student interpersonal interactions in higher education instrumental music lessons. Twenty-four lessons were videotaped and teacher/student behaviours were analysed using a researcher-designed instrument. The findings indicate predominance of student and teacher joke among the verbal behaviours with…

Design and Development of the Aircraft Instrument Comprehension Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higgins, Norman C.

The Aircraft Instrument Comprehension (AIC) Program is a self-instructional program designed to teach undergraduate student pilots to read instruments that indicate the position of the aircraft in flight, based on sequential instructional stages of information, prompted practice, and unprompted practice. The program includes a 36-item multiple…

Return on investment in healthcare leadership development programs.

PubMed

Jeyaraman, Maya M; Qadar, Sheikh Muhammad Zeeshan; Wierzbowski, Aleksandra; Farshidfar, Farnaz; Lys, Justin; Dickson, Graham; Grimes, Kelly; Phillips, Leah A; Mitchell, Jonathan I; Van Aerde, John; Johnson, Dave; Krupka, Frank; Zarychanski, Ryan; Abou-Setta, Ahmed M

2018-02-05

Purpose Strong leadership has been shown to foster change, including loyalty, improved performance and decreased error rates, but there is a dearth of evidence on effectiveness of leadership development programs. To ensure a return on the huge investments made, evidence-based approaches are needed to assess the impact of leadership on health-care establishments. As a part of a pan-Canadian initiative to design an effective evaluative instrument, the purpose of this paper was to identify and summarize evidence on health-care outcomes/return on investment (ROI) indicators and metrics associated with leadership quality, leadership development programs and existing evaluative instruments. Design/methodology/approach The authors performed a scoping review using the Arksey and O'Malley framework, searching eight databases from 2006 through June 2016. Findings Of 11,868 citations screened, the authors included 223 studies reporting on health-care outcomes/ROI indicators and metrics associated with leadership quality (73 studies), leadership development programs (138 studies) and existing evaluative instruments (12 studies). The extracted ROI indicators and metrics have been summarized in detail. Originality/value This review provides a snapshot in time of the current evidence on ROI indicators and metrics associated with leadership. Summarized ROI indicators and metrics can be used to design an effective evaluative instrument to assess the impact of leadership on health-care organizations.

Inflight IFR procedures simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, L. C. (Inventor)

1984-01-01

An inflight IFR procedures simulator for generating signals and commands to conventional instruments provided in an airplane is described. The simulator includes a signal synthesizer which generates predetermined simulated signals corresponding to signals normally received from remote sources upon being activated. A computer is connected to the signal synthesizer and causes the signal synthesizer to produce simulated signals responsive to programs fed into the computer. A switching network is connected to the signal synthesizer, the antenna of the aircraft, and navigational instruments and communication devices for selectively connecting instruments and devices to the synthesizer and disconnecting the antenna from the navigational instruments and communication device. Pressure transducers are connected to the altimeter and speed indicator for supplying electrical signals to the computer indicating the altitude and speed of the aircraft. A compass is connected for supply electrical signals for the computer indicating the heading of the airplane. The computer upon receiving signals from the pressure transducer and compass, computes the signals that are fed to the signal synthesizer which, in turn, generates simulated navigational signals.

Development of a monitoring instrument to assess the performance of the Swiss primary care system.

PubMed

Ebert, Sonja T; Pittet, Valérie; Cornuz, Jacques; Senn, Nicolas

2017-11-29

The Swiss health system is customer-driven with fee-for-service paiement scheme and universal coverage. It is highly performing but expensive and health information systems are scarcely implemented. The Swiss Primary Care Active Monitoring (SPAM) program aims to develop an instrument able to describe the performance and effectiveness of the Swiss PC system. Based on a Literature review we developed a conceptual framework and selected indicators according to their ability to reflect the Swiss PC system. A two round modified RAND method with 24 inter-/national experts took place to select primary/secondary indicators (validity, clarity, agreement). A limited set of priority indicators was selected (importance, priority) in a third round. A conceptual framework covering three domains (structure, process, outcome) subdivided into twelve sections (funding, access, organisation/ workflow of resources, (Para-)Medical training, management of knowledge, clinical-/interpersonal care, health status, satisfaction of PC providers/ consumers, equity) was generated. 365 indicators were pre-selected and 335 were finally retained. 56 were kept as priority indicators.- Among the remaining, 199 were identified as primary and 80 as secondary indicators. All domains and sections are represented. The development of the SPAM program allowed the construction of a consensual instrument in a traditionally unregulated health system through a modified RAND method. The selected 56 priority indicators render the SPAM instrument a comprehensive tool supporting a better understanding of the Swiss PC system's performance and effectiveness as well as in identifying potential ways to improve quality of care. Further challenges will be to update indicators regularly and to assess validity and sensitivity-to-change over time.

Patterns relationships of student’s creativity with its indicators in learning optical instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sukarmin; Dhian, T. E. V.; Nonoh, S. A.; Delisma, W. A.

2017-01-01

This study aims to identify patterns relationships of student’s creativity with its indicators in Learning Optical Instrument. The study was conducted at SMPN 2 Sawo. SMPN 1 Jetis, SMPIT Darut Taqwa, SMPN 1 Dander, Bojonegoro and SMPN 3 Plus Al-Fatima. Data analysis used descriptive analysis using the Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Creativity test instruments used have been tested parameters. Creativity indicators used are personal (self-confidence, perseverance), press (spirit, unyielding), process (preparation, incubation illumination, verification) and the product (knowledge, skills). Research Result shows that perseverance and incubation are the highest capabilities and verification capabilities of the lowest. All indicators on student creativity can still be improved. The relationship between creativity with the indicators grouped into a strong, moderate, weak and no relation. Indicators that have a strong relationship (r ≥ 0.50), namely are personal (self-confidence, perseverance), process (illumination). Indicators that have a connection was (0.3 ≤ r ≤ 0.49) are press (spirit), process (verification). Indicators which have a very low correlation (r ≤ 0.1 ≤ 0.29) are press (unyielding), process (preparation), process (incubation), product (skills) as shown in Figure 1. Indicators that do not have a relationship between the creativity of the students with the indicator that is, product (knowledge).

Social and emotional wellbeing assessment instruments for use with Indigenous Australians: A critical review.

PubMed

Le Grande, M; Ski, C F; Thompson, D R; Scuffham, P; Kularatna, S; Jackson, A C; Brown, A

2017-08-01

There is growing recognition that in addition to universally recognised domains and indicators of wellbeing (such as population health and life expectancy), additional frameworks are required to fully explain and measure Indigenous wellbeing. In particular, Indigenous Australian wellbeing is largely determined by colonisation, historical trauma, grief, loss, and ongoing social marginalisation. Dominant mainstream indicators of wellbeing based on the biomedical model may therefore be inadequate and not entirely relevant in the Indigenous context. It is possible that "standard" wellbeing instruments fail to adequately assess indicators of health and wellbeing within societies that have a more holistic view of health. The aim of this critical review was to identify, document, and evaluate the use of social and emotional wellbeing measures within the Australian Indigenous community. The instruments were systematically described regarding their intrinsic properties (e.g., generic v. disease-specific, domains assessed, extent of cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric characteristics) and their purpose of utilisation in studies (e.g., study setting, intervention, clinical purpose or survey). We included 33 studies, in which 22 distinct instruments were used. Three major categories of social and emotional wellbeing instruments were identified: unmodified standard instruments (10), cross-culturally adapted standard instruments (6), and Indigenous developed measures (6). Recommendations are made for researchers and practitioners who assess social and emotional wellbeing in Indigenous Australians, which may also be applicable to other minority groups where a more holistic framework of wellbeing is applied. It is advised that standard instruments only be used if they have been subject to a formal cross-cultural adaptation process, and Indigenous developed measures continue to be developed, refined, and validated within a diverse range of research and clinical settings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Assessment Instrument of Critical Thinking in Physics at Senior High School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugiarti, T.; Kaniawati, I.; Aviyanti, L.

2017-02-01

The result of preliminary study shows that the assessment of physics in school did not train students’ critical thinking skill. The assessment instrument just measured low cognitive aspects. Supposedly, critical thinking skill is trained in the assessment activity. The study aims to determine the characteristics and the quality of critical thinking skill instrument. It employs descriptive-qualitative method with research and development as the research design. The research participants are 35 students involved in the limited trial and 188 students in the wider trial from three public senior high school in Ciamis which in high level school. The data was collected through expert validation, tests and interviews. The results indicate that the characteristics of the assessment instrument of critical thinking skill is open-ended. The instrument fulfills some indicators namely analyzing argument, deduction, induction, and display information in the form of scenario, text, graphic and table. In addition, the data processing through V4 Anates program shows that the instrument reliability achieves 0.67 with high interpretation of 0.67 and the validity is 0.47 with enough interpretation. Thus, the assessment instrument of critical thinking skill in the form of open-ended essay meets the criteria of quality test, so it can use as instrument of assessment critical thinking skill.

Continuous Calibration Improvement in Solar Reflective Bands: Landsat 5 Through Landsat 8

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mishra, Nischal; Helder, Dennis; Barsi, Julia; Markham, Brian

2016-01-01

Launched in February 2013, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on-board Landsat 8 continues to perform exceedingly well and provides high science quality data globally. Several design enhancements have been made in the OLI instrument relative to prior Landsat instruments: pushbroom imaging which provides substantially improved Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), spectral bandpasses refinement to avoid atmospheric absorption features, 12 bit data resolution to provide a larger dynamic range that limits the saturation level, a set of well-designed onboard calibrators to monitor the stability of the sensor. Some of these changes such as refinements in spectral bandpasses compared to earlier Landsats and well-designed on-board calibrator have a direct impact on the improved radiometric calibration performance of the instrument from both the stability of the response and the ability to track the changes. The on-board calibrator lamps and diffusers indicate that the instrument drift is generally less than 0.1% per year across the bands. The refined bandpasses of the OLI indicate that temporal uncertainty of better than 0.5% is possible when the instrument is trended over vicarious targets such as Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS), a level of precision that was never achieved with the earlier Landsat instruments. The stability measurements indicated by on-board calibrators and PICS agree much better compared to the earlier Landsats, which is very encouraging and bodes well for the future Landsat missions too.

CONTINUOUS CALIBRATION IMPROVEMENT: LANDSAT 5 THROUGH LANDSAT 8

PubMed Central

Mishra, Nischal; Helder, Dennis; Barsi, Julia; Markham, Brian

2018-01-01

Launched in February 2013, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on-board Landsat 8 continues to perform exceedingly well and provides high science quality data globally. Several design enhancements have been made in the OLI instrument relative to prior Landsat instruments: pushbroom imaging which provides substantially improved Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), spectral bandpasses refinement to avoid atmospheric absorption features, 12 bit data resolution to provide a larger dynamic range that limits the saturation level, a set of well-designed onboard calibrators to monitor the stability of the sensor. Some of these changes such as refinements in spectral bandpasses compared to earlier Landsats and well-designed on-board calibrator have a direct impact on the improved radiometric calibration performance of the instrument from both the stability of the response and the ability to track the changes. The on-board calibrator lamps and diffusers indicate that the instrument drift is generally less than 0.1% per year across the bands. The refined bandpasses of the OLI indicate that temporal uncertainty of better than 0.5% is possible when the instrument is trended over vicarious targets such as Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites (PICS), a level of precision that was never achieved with the earlier Landsat instruments. The stability measurements indicated by on-board calibrators and PICS agree much better compared to the earlier Landsats, which is very encouraging and bodes well for the future Landsat missions too. PMID:29449747

Cross-cultural validation of instruments measuring health beliefs about colorectal cancer screening among Korean Americans.

PubMed

Lee, Shin-Young; Lee, Eunice E

2015-02-01

The purpose of this study was to report the instrument modification and validation processes to make existing health belief model scales culturally appropriate for Korean Americans (KAs) regarding colorectal cancer (CRC) screening utilization. Instrument translation, individual interviews using cognitive interviewing, and expert reviews were conducted during the instrument modification phase, and a pilot test and a cross-sectional survey were conducted during the instrument validation phase. Data analyses of the cross-sectional survey included internal consistency and construct validity using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The main issues identified during the instrument modification phase were (a) cultural and linguistic translation issues and (b) newly developed items reflecting Korean cultural barriers. Cross-sectional survey analyses during the instrument validation phase revealed that all scales demonstrate good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha=.72~.88). Exploratory factor analysis showed that susceptibility and severity loaded on the same factor, which may indicate a threat variable. Items with low factor loadings in the confirmatory factor analysis may relate to (a) lack of knowledge about fecal occult blood testing and (b) multiple dimensions of the subscales. Methodological, sequential processes of instrument modification and validation, including translation, individual interviews, expert reviews, pilot testing and a cross-sectional survey, were provided in this study. The findings indicate that existing instruments need to be examined for CRC screening research involving KAs.

Initial Results of Instrument-Flying Trials Conducted In A Single-Rotor Helicopter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crim, Almer D; Reeder, John P; Whitten, James B

1953-01-01

Instrument-flying trials have been conducted in a single-rotor helicopter, the maneuver stability of which could be changed from satisfactory to unsatisfactory. The results indicated that existing longitudinal flying-qualities requirements based on contact flight were adequate for instrument flight at speeds above that for minimum power. However, lateral-directional problems were encountered at low speeds and during precision maneuvers. The adequacy, for helicopter use, of standard airplane instruments was also investigated, and the conclusion was reached that special instruments would be desirable under all conditions, and necessary for sustained low-speed instrument flight.

A Meta-Intervention to Increase Completion of an HIV-Prevention Intervention: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial in the State of Florida

PubMed Central

Albarracín, Dolores; Wilson, Kristina; Durantini, Marta R.; Sunderrajan, Aashna; Livingood, William

2016-01-01

Objective A randomized control trial with 722 eligible clients from a health department in the State of Florida was conducted to identify a simple, effective meta-intervention to increase completion of an HIV-prevention counseling program. Method The overall design involved two factors representing an empowering and instrumental message, as well as an additional factor indicating presence or absence of expectations about the counseling. Completion of the three-session counseling was determined by recording attendance. Results A logistic regression analysis with the three factors of empowering message, instrumental message, and presence of mediator measures, as well as all interactions, revealed significant interactions between instrumental and empowering messages and between instrumental messages and presence of mediator measures. Results indicated that (a) the instrumental message alone produced most completion than any other message, and (b) when mediators were not measured, including the instrumental message led to greater completion. Conclusions The overall gains in completion as a result of the instrumental message were 16%, implying success in the intended facilitation of counseling completion. The measures of mediators did not detect any experimental effects, probably because the effects were happening without much conscious awareness. PMID:27786499

A Boresight Adjustment Mechanism for use on Laser Altimeters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hakun, Claef; Budinoff, Jason; Brown, Gary; Parong, Fil; Morell, Armando

2004-01-01

This paper describes the development of the Boresight Adjustment Mechanism (BAM) for the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) Instrument. The BAM was developed late in the integration and test phase of the GLAS instrument flight program. Thermal vacuum tests of the GLAS instrument indicated that the instrument boresight alignment stability over temperature may be marginal. To reduce the risk that GLAS may not be able to meet the boresight alignment requirements, an intensive effort was started to develop a BAM. Observatory-level testing and further evaluation of the boresight alignment data indicated that sufficient margin could be obtained utilizing existing instrument resources and therefore the BAM was never integrated onto the GLAS Instrument. However, the BAM was designed fabricated and fully qualified over a 4 month timeframe to be capable of precisely steering (< 1 arcsec over 300 arcsec) the output of three independent lasers to ensure the alignment between the transmit and receive paths of the GLAS instrument. The short timeline for the development of the mechanism resulted in several interesting design solutions. This paper discusses the requirement definition, design, and testing processes of the BAM development effort, how the design was affected by the extremely tight development schedule, and the lessons learned throughout the process.

Comparing the Psychometric Properties of Two Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Instruments in Urban, Adolescent Girls: Validity, Measurement Invariance, and Reliability

PubMed Central

Voskuil, Vicki R.; Pierce, Steven J.; Robbins, Lorraine B.

2017-01-01

Aims: This study compared the psychometric properties of two self-efficacy instruments related to physical activity. Factorial validity, cross-group and longitudinal invariance, and composite reliability were examined. Methods: Secondary analysis was conducted on data from a group randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of a 17-week intervention on increasing moderate to vigorous physical activity among 5th–8th grade girls (N = 1,012). Participants completed a 6-item Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Scale (PASE) and a 7-item Self-Efficacy for Exercise Behaviors Scale (SEEB) at baseline and post-intervention. Confirmatory factor analyses for intervention and control groups were conducted with Mplus Version 7.4 using robust weighted least squares estimation. Model fit was evaluated with the chi-square index, comparative fit index, and root mean square error of approximation. Composite reliability for latent factors with ordinal indicators was computed from Mplus output using SAS 9.3. Results: Mean age of the girls was 12.2 years (SD = 0.96). One-third of the girls were obese. Girls represented a diverse sample with over 50% indicating black race and an additional 19% identifying as mixed or other race. Both instruments demonstrated configural invariance for simultaneous analysis of cross-group and longitudinal invariance based on alternative fit indices. However, simultaneous metric invariance was not met for the PASE or the SEEB instruments. Partial metric invariance for the simultaneous analysis was achieved for the PASE with one factor loading identified as non-invariant. Partial metric invariance was not met for the SEEB. Longitudinal scalar invariance was achieved for both instruments in the control group but not the intervention group. Composite reliability for the PASE ranged from 0.772 to 0.842. Reliability for the SEEB ranged from 0.719 to 0.800 indicating higher reliability for the PASE. Reliability was more stable over time in the control group for both instruments. Conclusions: Results suggest that the intervention influenced how girls responded to indicator items. Neither of the instruments achieved simultaneous metric invariance making it difficult to assess mean differences in PA self-efficacy between groups. PMID:28824487

Check-off logs for routine equipment maintenance.

PubMed

Brewster, M A; Carver, P H; Randolph, B

1995-12-01

The regulatory requirement for appropriate routine instrument maintenance documentation is approached by laboratories in numerous ways. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) may refer to maintenance listed in instrument manuals, may indicate "periodic" performance of an action, or may indicate specific tasks to be performed at certain frequencies. The Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) task of assuring the performance of these indicated maintenance tasks can be extremely laborious if these records are merged with other analysis records. Further, the lack of written maintenance schedules often leads to omission of infrequently performed tasks. We recommend creation of routine maintenance check-off logs for instruments with tasks grouped by frequency of expected performance. Usage of such logs should result in better laboratory compliance with SOPs and the compliance can be readily monitored by QAU or by regulatory agencies.

A Simplified Instrument for Recording and Indicating Frequency and Intensity of Icing Conditions Encountered in Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perkins, Porter J; Mccullough, Stuart; Lewis, Ralph D

1951-01-01

An instrument for recording and indicating the frequency and intensity of aircraft icing conditions encountered in flight has been developed by the NACA Lewis Laboratory to obtain statistical icing data over world-wide air routes during routine airline operations. The operation of the instrument is based on the creation of a differential pressure between an ice-free total-pressure system and a total-pressure system in which small total-pressure holes vented to static pressure are allowed to plug with ice accretion. The simplicity of this operating principle permits automatic operation, and provides relative freedom from maintenance and operating problems. The complete unit weighing only 18 pounds records icing rate, airspeed, and altitude on photographic film and provides visual indications of icing intensity to the pilot.

14 CFR 29.1303 - Flight and navigation instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... on rotorcraft with a third attitude instrument system that— (1) Is usable through flight attitudes of... failure of the electrical generating system; (4) Operates independently of any other attitude indicating...

High-performance 4x4-inch AMLCD for avionic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syroid, Daniel D.; Hansen, Glenn A.; Boling, Ed

1996-05-01

There is a need for high performance flat panel displays to replace and upgrade the electromechanical flight indicators and CRT based displays used in the cockpits of many older aircraft that are in active service today. The need for replacement of these older generation instruments is well known in the industry and was discussed in a previous paper by Duane Grave of Rockwell Collins. Furthermore, because of the limited activity in new aircraft development today, the need to upgrade existing aircraft avionics is accelerating. Many of the electromechanical instruments currently provide flight indications to the pilot and include horizontal situation (HSI) and attitude director indicators (ADI). These instruments are used on both military and commercial aircraft. The indicators are typically housed in a 5ATI case that slides into a 5 inch square opening in the cockpit. Image Quest has developed a 4 by 4 inch active area, flight quality, high resolution, full color, high luminance, wide temperature range display module based on active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) technology that has excellent contrast in full sunlight. The display module is well suited for use in electronic instruments to replace or upgrade the electro-mechanical 5ATI flight indicators. THe AMLCD based display offers greatly improved display format flexibility, operating reliability and display contrast in all ambient lighting conditions as well as significant short and long term cost of ownership advantages.

Construction and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Taiwanese Elementary Students' Attitudes toward Their Science Class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Tzu-Ling; Berlin, Donna

2010-12-01

The main purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the attitudes toward science class of fourth- and fifth-grade students in an Asian school culture. Specifically, the development focused on three science attitude constructs-science enjoyment, science confidence, and importance of science as related to science class experiences. A total of 265 elementary school students in Taiwan responded to the instrument developed. Data analysis indicated that the instrument exhibited satisfactory validity and reliability with the Taiwan population used. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.93 for the entire instrument indicating a satisfactory level of internal consistency. However, both principal component analysis and parallel analysis showed that the three attitude scales were not unique and should be combined and used as a general "attitudes toward science class" scale. The analysis also showed that there were no gender or grade-level differences in students' overall attitudes toward science class.

14 CFR 25.1331 - Instruments using a power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... may be accomplished automatically or by manual means. (3) If an instrument presenting navigation data... gyroscopic direction indicator that includes a magnetic sensing element, a gyroscopic unit, an amplifier and...

78 FR 69931 - Ford Motor Company, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-21

... indicator within the instrument cluster instead of the word ``BRAKE'' as required in FMVSS No. 101 and FMVSS No. 135. Ford stated its belief that although the instrument cluster telltale symbols are displayed... instrument cluster noting that an important message is stored and can be re-accessed by requesting a System...

Choosing Assessment Instruments for Depression Outcome Research with School-Age Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muller, Brooke E.; Erford, Bradley T.

2012-01-01

Using effect size results from Erford et al.'s (2011) meta-analysis for treatment of depression in school-age youth, the authors analyzed 6 commonly used instruments for practical and technical strengths and weaknesses. Effect size estimates from these 6 instruments were compared to indicate likely results when used in future depression outcome…

Measuring the Teaching Self-Efficacy of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Graduate Teaching Assistants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeChenne, Sue Ellen; Enochs, Larry

2010-01-01

An instrument to measure the teaching self-efficacy of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) GTAs is adapted from a general college teaching instrument (Prieto Navarro, 2005) for the specific teaching environment of the STEM GTAs. The construct and content validity and reliability of the final instrument are indicated. The final…

A Review of Methods and Instruments Used in State and Local School Readiness Evaluations. Issues & Answers. REL 2007-No. 004

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Glyn; Scott-Little, Catherine; Amwake, Lynn; Wynn, Lucy

2007-01-01

The report provides detailed information about the methods and instruments used to evaluate school readiness initiatives, discusses important considerations in selecting instruments, and provides resources and recommendations that may be helpful to those who are designing and implementing school readiness evaluations. Study results indicate that…

Aeronautic instruments. Section I : general classification of instruments and problems including bibliography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hersey, Mayo D

1923-01-01

This report is intended as a technical introduction to the series of reports on aeronautic instruments. It presents a discussion of those subjects which are common to all instruments. First, a general classification is given, embracing all types of instruments used in aeronautics. Finally, a classification is given of the various problems confronted by the instrument expert and investigator. In this way the following groups of problems are brought up for consideration: problems of mechanical design, human factor, manufacturing problems, supply and selection of instruments, problems concerning the technique of testing, problems of installation, problems concerning the use of instruments, problems of maintenance, and physical research problems. This enumeration of problems which are common to instruments in general serves to indicate the different points of view which should be kept in mind in approaching the study of any particular instrument.

Electric-Field Instrument With Ac-Biased Corona Point

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markson, R.; Anderson, B.; Govaert, J.

1993-01-01

Measurements indicative of incipient lightning yield additional information. New instrument gives reliable readings. High-voltage ac bias applied to needle point through high-resistance capacitance network provides corona discharge at all times, enabling more-slowly-varying component of electrostatic potential of needle to come to equilibrium with surrounding air. High resistance of high-voltage coupling makes instrument insensitive to wind. Improved corona-point instrument expected to yield additional information assisting in safety-oriented forecasting of lighting.

Assessment of Customer Service in Academic Health Care Libraries (ACSAHL): an instrument for measuring customer service*†

PubMed Central

Crossno, Jon E.; Berkins, Brenda; Gotcher, Nancy; Hill, Judith L.; McConoughey, Michelle; Walters, Mitchel

2001-01-01

Objectives: In a pilot study, the library had good results using SERVQUAL, a respected and often-used instrument for measuring customer satisfaction. The SERVQUAL instrument itself, however, received some serious and well-founded criticism from the respondents to our survey. The purpose of this study was to test the comparability of the results of SERVQUAL with a revised and shortened instrument modeled on SERVQUAL. The revised instrument, the Assessment of Customer Service in Academic Health Care Libraries (ACSAHL), was designed to better assess customer service in academic health care libraries. Methods: Surveys were sent to clients who had used the document delivery services at three academic medical libraries in Texas over the previous twelve to eighteen months. ACSAHL surveys were sent exclusively to clients at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern, while the client pools at the two other institutions were randomly divided and provided either SERVQUAL or ACSAHL surveys. Results: Results indicated that more respondents preferred the shorter ACSAHL instrument to the longer and more complex SERVQUAL instrument. Also, comparing the scores from both surveys indicated that ACSAHL elicited comparable results. Conclusions: ACSAHL appears to measure the same type of data in similar settings, but additional testing is recommended both to confirm the survey's results through data replication and to investigate whether the instrument applies to different service areas. PMID:11337948

Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the pressure ulcer prevention knowledge assessment instrument.

PubMed

Tulek, Zeliha; Polat, Cansu; Ozkan, Ilknur; Theofanidis, Dimitris; Togrol, Rifat Erdem

2016-11-01

Sound knowledge of pressure ulcers is important to enable good prevention. There are limited instruments assessing pressure ulcer knowledge. The Pressure Ulcer Prevention Knowledge Assessment Instrument is among the scales of which psychometric properties have been studied rigorously and reflects the latest evidence. This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Knowledge Assessment Instrument (PUPKAI-T), an instrument that assesses knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention by using multiple-choice questions. Linguistic validity was verified through front-to-back translation. Psychometric properties of the instrument were studied on a sample of 150 nurses working in a tertiary hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. The content validity index of the translated instrument was 0.94, intra-class correlation coefficients were between 0.37 and 0.80, item difficulty indices were between 0.21 and 0.88, discrimination indices were 0.20-0.78, and the Kuder Richardson for the internal consistency was 0.803. The PUPKAI-T was found to be a valid and reliable tool to evaluate nurses' knowledge on pressure ulcer prevention. The PUPKAI-T may be a useful tool for determining educational needs of nurses on pressure ulcer prevention. Copyright © 2016 Tissue Viability Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Instrument Failure, Stress, and Spatial Disorientation Leading to a Fatal Crash With a Large Aircraft.

PubMed

Tribukait, Arne; Eiken, Ola

2017-11-01

An aircraft's orientation relative to the ground cannot be perceived via the sense of balance or the somatosensory system. When devoid of external visual references, the pilot must rely on instruments. A sudden unexpected instrument indication is a challenge to the pilot, who might have to question the instrument instead of responding with the controls. In this case report we analyze, from a human-factors perspective, how a limited instrument failure led to a fatal accident. During straight-ahead level flight in darkness, at 33,000 ft, the commander of a civil cargo airplane was suddenly confronted by an erroneous pitch-up indication on his primary flight display. He responded by pushing the control column forward, making a bunt maneuver with reduced/negative Gz during approximately 15 s. The pilots did not communicate rationally or cross-check instruments. Recordings of elevator and aileron positions suggest that the commander made intense efforts to correct for several extreme and erroneous roll and pitch indications. Gz displayed an increasing trend with rapid fluctuations and peaks of approximately 3 G. After 50 s the aircraft entered a turn with decreasing radius and finally hit the ground in an inverted attitude. A precipitate maneuvring response can, even if occurring in a large aircraft at high altitude, result in a seemingly inexorable course of events, ending with a crash. In the present case both pilots were probably incapacitated by acute psychological stress and spatial disorientation. Intense variations in Gz may have impaired the copilot's reading of the functioning primary flight display.Tribukait A, Eiken O. Instrument failure, stress, and spatial disorientation leading to a fatal crash with a large aircraft. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(11):1043-1048.

14 CFR 23.1321 - Arrangement and visibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... so that any pilot seated at the controls can monitor the airplane's flight path and these instruments... effectively indicates the attitude must be on the panel in the top center position; (2) The instrument that...

Two-laser optical distance-measuring instrument that corrects for the atmospheric index of refraction.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Earnshaw, K. B.; Hernandez, E. N.

1972-01-01

The Wave Propagation Laboratory of the Environmental Research Laboratories of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been engaged in the development of dual-wavelength, optical distance-measuring instruments. Recently a new generation of this type of high-accuracy instrument has been completed. Preliminary testing of the new instrument indicates that the original goal of the project, accuracy of better than one part in a million over distances of 5-10 km using averaging times of less than 1 min, is being met. This paper describes the instrument and preliminary test results.

Real-Time Assessment of Robot Performance during Remote Exploration Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

degraded instruments (i.e., instrument performance) and to improve plant performance (e.g., increase thermal efficiency). Such degraded instrument...activities. Lidar is used for 3D terrain mapping. During reconnaissance, the rover acquires multiple scans to construct a panorama at specified...Metric Interpretation Operational Use Panorama in Progress Should be true while taking a panorama RO: indicates whether Lidar is functioning

Development and Validation of Scores from an Instrument Measuring Student Test-Taking Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eklof, Hanna

2006-01-01

Using the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation as a basis, this study's purpose is to develop, apply, and validate scores from a self-report instrument measuring student test-taking motivation. Sampled evidence of construct validity for the present sample indicates that a number of the items in the instrument could be used as an…

Measuring first-line nurse manager work: instrument: development and testing.

PubMed

Cadmus, Edna; Wisniewska, Edyta K

2013-12-01

The objective of this study was to develop and test a 1st-line nurse manager (FLNM) work instrument to measure categories of work and frequency of activities. First-line nurse managers have been demonstrated to be key contributors in meeting organizational outcomes and patient and nurse satisfaction. Identifying the work of FLNMs is essential to help in the development of prioritization and sequence. The need for an instrument that can measure and categorize the work of FLNMs is indicated. The author-developed instrument was administered as a pilot study to 173 FLNMs in New Jersey. Descriptive statistics were analyzed, and validity and reliability were measured. Content validity was established through 2 focus groups using 10 FLNMs and conducting a survey of 5 chief nursing officers. Reliability was assessed by 13 of 16 FLNM participants using the test/retest method and quantified using percent agreement within a 10-day period. Those items with 70% agreement or more were identified as reliable and retained on the instrument. The content validity of the instrument is strong; further refinement and testing of the tool are indicated to improve the reliability and generalizability across multiple populations of leaders and settings.

Measuring emotional intelligence of medical school applicants.

PubMed

Carrothers, R M; Gregory, S W; Gallagher, T J

2000-05-01

To discuss the development, pilot testing, and analysis of a 34-item semantic differential instrument for measuring medical school applicants' emotional intelligence (the EI instrument). The authors analyzed data from the admission interviews of 147 1997 applicants to a six-year BS/MD program that is composed of three consortium universities. They compared the applicants' scores on traditional admission criteria (e.g., GPA and traditional interview assessments) with their scores on the EI instrument (which comprised five dimensions of emotional intelligence), breaking the data out by consortium university (each of which has its own educational ethos) and gender. They assessed the EI instrument's reliability and validity for assessing noncognitive personal and interpersonal qualities of medical school applicants. The five dimensions of emotional intelligence (maturity, compassion, morality, sociability, and calm disposition) indicated fair to excellent internal consistency: reliability coefficients were .66 to .95. Emotional intelligence as measured by the instrument was related to both being female and matriculating at the consortium university that has an educational ethos that values the social sciences and humanities. Based on this pilot study, the 34-item EI instrument demonstrates the ability to measure attributes that indicate desirable personal and interpersonal skills in medical school applicants.

Post launch performance of the Meteor-3/TOMS instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaross, Glen; Ahmad, Zia; Cebula, Richard P.; Krueger, Arlin J.

1994-01-01

The Meteor-3/TOMS instrument is the second in a series of Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometers (TOMS) following the 1978 launch of Nimbus-7/TOMS. TOMS instruments are designed to measure total ozone amounts over the entire earth on a daily basis, and have been the cornerstone of ozone trend monitoring. Consequently, calibration is a critical issue, and is receiving much attention on both instruments. Performance and calibration data obtained by monitoring systems aboard the Meteor-3 instrument have been analyzed through the first full year of operation, and indicate that the instrument is performing quite well. A new system for monitoring instrument sensitivity employing multiple diffusers has been used successfully and is providing encouraging results. The 3-diffuser system has monitored changes in instrument sensitivity of a few percent despite decreases in diffuser reflectivity approaching 50 percent since launch.

14 CFR 25.1303 - Flight and navigation instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... a slip-skid indicator is required on large airplanes with a third attitude instrument system useable through flight attitudes of 360° of pitch and roll and installed in accordance with § 121.305(k) of this...

Development and evaluation of a prototype in-flight instrument flight rules (IFR) procedures trainer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aaron, J. B., Jr.; Morris, G. G.

1981-01-01

An in-flight instrument flight rules (IFR) procedures trainer capable of providing simulated indications of instrument flight in a typical general aviation aircraft independent of ground based navigation aids was developed. The IFR navaid related instruments and circuits from an ATC 610J table top simulator were installed in a Cessna 172 aircraft and connected to its electrical power and pitot static systems. The benefits expected from this hybridization concept include increased safety by reducing the number of general aviation aircraft conducting IFR training flights in congested terminal areas, and reduced fuel use and instruction costs by lessening the need to fly to and from navaid equipped airports and by increased efficiency of the required in-flight training. Technical feasibility was demonstrated and the operational feasibility of the concept was evaluated. Results indicated that the in-flight simulator is an effective training device for teaching IFR procedural skills.

A comparative assessment of economic-incentive and command-and-control instruments for air pollution and CO2 control in China's iron and steel sector.

PubMed

Liu, Zhaoyang; Mao, Xianqiang; Tu, Jianjun; Jaccard, Mark

2014-11-01

China's iron and steel sector is faced with increasing pressure to control both local air pollutants and CO2 simultaneously. Additional policy instruments are needed to co-control these emissions in this sector. This study quantitatively evaluates and compares two categories of emission reduction instruments, namely the economic-incentive (EI) instrument of a carbon tax, and the command-and-control (CAC) instrument of mandatory application of end-of-pipe emission control measures for CO2, SO2 and NOx. The comparative evaluation tool is an integrated assessment model, which combines a top-down computable general equilibrium sub-model and a bottom-up technology-based sub-model through a soft-linkage. The simulation results indicate that the carbon tax can co-control multiple pollutants, but the emission reduction rates are limited under the tax rates examined in this study. In comparison, the CAC instruments are found to have excellent effects on controlling different pollutants separately, but not jointly. Such results indicate that no single EI or CAC instrument is overwhelmingly superior. The environmental and economic effectiveness of an instrument highly depends on its specific attributes, and cannot be predicted by the general policy category. These findings highlight the necessity of clearer identification of policy target priorities, and detail-oriented and integrated policy-making among different governmental departments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of non-destructive impedance-based monitoring technique for cyclic fatigue evaluation of endodontic nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

PubMed

Chang, Yau-Zen; Liu, Mou-Chuan; Pai, Che-An; Lin, Chun-Li; Yen, Kuang-I

2011-06-01

This study investigates the application of non-destructive testing based on the impedance theory in the cyclic fatigue evaluation of endodontic Ni-Ti rotary instruments. Fifty Ni-Ti ProTaper instruments were divided into five groups (n=10 in Groups A to E). Groups A to D were subjected to cyclic fatigue within an artificial canal (Group E was the control group). The mean value of the total life limit (TLL), defined as the instrument being rotated until fracture occurred was found to be 104 s in Group A. Each rotary instrument in Groups B, C and D were rotated until the tested instruments reached 80% (84 s), 60% (62 s) and 40% (42 s) of the TLL. After fatigue testing, each rotary instrument was mounted onto a custom-developed non-destructive testing device to give the tip of the instrument a progressive sideways bend in four mutually perpendicular directions to measure the corresponding impedance value (including the resistance and the reactance). The results indicated that the impedance value showed the same trend as the resistance, implying that the impedance was primarily affected by the resistance. The impedance value for the instruments in the 80% and 60% TLL groups increased by about 6 mΩ (about 7.5%) more than that of the instruments in the intact and 40% TLL groups. The SEM analysis result showed that crack striations were only found at the tip of the thread on the cracked surface of the instrument, consistent with the impedance measurements that found the impedance value of the cracked surface to be significantly different from those in other surfaces. These findings indicate that the impedance value may represent an effective parameter for evaluating the micro-structural status of Ni-Ti rotary instruments subjected to fatigue loading. Copyright © 2010 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cyclic fatigue testing of nickel-titanium endodontic instruments.

PubMed

Pruett, J P; Clement, D J; Carnes, D L

1997-02-01

Cyclic fatigue of nickel-titanium, engine-driven instruments was studied by determining the effect of canal curvature and operating speed on the breakage of Lightspeed instruments. A new method of canal curvature evaluation that addressed both angle and abruptness of curvature was introduced. Canal curvature was simulated by constructing six curved stainless-steel guide tubes with angles of curvature of 30, 45, or 60 degrees, and radii of curvature of 2 or 5 mm. Size #30 and #40 Light-speed instruments were placed through the guide tubes and the heads secured in the collet of a Mangtrol Dynamometer. A simulated operating load of 10 g-cm was applied. Instruments were able to rotate freely in the test apparatus at speeds of 750, 1300, or 2000 rpm until separation occurred. Cycles to failure were determined. Cycles to failure were not affected by rpm. Instruments did not separate at the head, but rather at the point of maximum flexure of the shaft, corresponding to the midpoint of curvature within the guide tube. The instruments with larger diameter shafts, #40, failed after significantly fewer cycles than did #30 instruments under identical test conditions. Multivariable analysis of variance indicated that cycles to failure significantly decreased as the radius of curvature decreased from 5 mm to 2 mm and as the angle of curvature increased greater than 30 degrees (p < 0.05, power = 0.9). Scanning electron microscopic evaluation revealed ductile fracture as the fatigue failure mode. These results indicate that, for nickel-titanium, engine-driven rotary instruments, the radius of curvature, angle of curvature, and instrument size are more important than operating speed for predicting separation. This study supports engineering concepts of cyclic fatigue failure and suggests that standardized fatigue tests of nickel-titanium rotary instruments should include dynamic operation in a flexed state. The results also suggest that the effect of the radius of curvature as an independent variable should be considered when evaluating studies of root canal instrumentation.

Ultrasonics in Dentistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walmsley, A. D.

Ultrasonic instruments have been used in dentistry since the 1950's. Initially they were used to cut teeth but very quickly they became established as an ultrasonic scaler which was used to remove deposits from the hard tissues of the tooth. This enabled the soft tissues around the tooth to return to health. The ultrasonic vibrations are generated in a thin metal probe and it is the working tip that is the active component of the instrument. Scanning laser vibrometry has shown that there is much variability in their movement which is related to the shape and cross sectional shape of the probe. The working instrument will also generate cavitation and microstreaming in the associated cooling water. This can be mapped out along the length of the instrument indicating which are the active areas. Ultrasonics has also found use for cleaning often inaccessible or different surfaces including root canal treatment and dental titanium implants. The use of ultrasonics to cut bone during different surgical techniques shows considerable promise. More research is indicated to determine how to maximize the efficiency of such instruments so that they are more clinically effective.

Reliability and validity of a Tutorial Group Effectiveness Instrument.

PubMed

Singaram, Veena S; Van Der Vleuten, Cees P M; Van Berkel, Henk; Dolmans, Diana H J M

2010-01-01

Tutorial group effectiveness is essential for the success of learning in problem-based learning (PBL). Less effective and dysfunctional groups compromise the quality of students learning in PBL. This article aims to report on the reliability and validity of an instrument aimed at measuring tutorial group effectiveness in PBL. The items within the instrument are clustered around motivational and cognitive factors based on Slavin's theoretical framework. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to estimate the validity of the instrument. Furthermore, generalizability studies were conducted and alpha coefficients were computed to determine the reliability and homogeneity of each factor. The CFA indicated that a three-factor model comprising 19 items showed a good fit with the data. Alpha coefficients per factor were high. The findings of the generalizability studies indicated that at least 9-10 student responses are needed in order to obtain reliable data at the tutorial group level. The instrument validated in this study has the potential to provide faculty and students with diagnostic information and feedback about student behaviors that enhance and hinder tutorial group effectiveness.

Development Scaffolding for Construction of Evaluation Instrument Training Program on The Cognitive Domain For Senior High School Physics Teachers and The Same Level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arif, W.; Suhandi, A.; Kaniawati, I.; Setiawan, A.

2017-02-01

The development of scaffolding for evaluation instrument construction training program on the cognitive domain for senior high school physics teacher and the same level that is specified in the test instrument has been done. This development was motivated by the low ability of the majority of physics teachers in constructing the physics learning achievement test. This situation not in accordance with the demands of Permendiknas RI no. 16 tahun 2007 concerning the standard of academic qualifications and competence of teachers, stating that teachers should have a good ability to develop instruments for assessment and evaluation of process and learning outcomes. Based on the preliminary study results, it can be seen that the main cause of the inability of teachers in developing physics achievement test is because they do not good understand of the indicators for each aspect of cognitive domains. Scaffolding development is done by using the research and development methods formulated by Thiagarajan which includes define, design and develope steps. Develop step includes build the scaffolding, validation of scaffolding by experts and the limited pilot implementations on the training activities. From the build scaffolding step, resulted the scaffolding for the construction of test instruments training program which include the process steps; description of indicators, operationalization of indicators, construction the itemsframework (items scenarios), construction the items stem, construction the items and checking the items. The results of the validation by three validator indicates that the built scaffolding are suitable for use in the construction of physics achievement test training program, especially for novice. The limited pilot implementation of the built scaffolding conducted in training activities attended by 10 senior high school physics teachers in Garut district. The results of the limited pilot implementation shows that the built scaffolding have a medium effectiveness in improving the ability of senior high school physics teachers in constructing the physic achievement test instrument that is characterized by more than 70% of trainees achieve scores of test instruments construction of about 80 or more.

Comparison of different methods for eliciting exercise-to-music for clients with Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Cevasco, Andrea M; Grant, Roy E

2003-01-01

Many of the noted problems associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) sometimes can be delayed, retarded, or even reversed with proper exercise and interaction with the environment. An overwhelming body of research efforts has revealed that music activity brings about the greatest degree of responsiveness, including exercise, in clients with AD; yet, specific techniques which elicit the greatest amount of physical responses during the music activities remain unidentified. The purpose of this study was two-fold: comparing two methods of intervention and comparing responses to vocal versus instrumental music during exercise and exercise with instruments. In Experiment 1 the authors compared 2 treatment conditions to facilitate exercise during music activities: (a) verbalizing the movement for each task once, one beat before commencing, followed by visual cueing for the remainder of the task; (b) verbal and visual cueing for each revolution or change in rhythm for the duration of the task. Data collection over 38 sessions consisted of recording the participation of each client at 30-second intervals for the duration of each treatment condition, indicating at each interval whether the client was participating in the designated movement (difficult), participating in exercise approximating the designated movement (easy), or not participating. Results indicated that the continuous verbal cueing/easy treatment elicited significantly greater participation than one verbal cue/difficult treatment, p <.05. Furthermore, the approximation/precise response (easy) resulted in significantly greater responses than the precise response (difficult), p < .001. In Experiment 2 the responses to types of music, vocal versus instrumental, during types of activities, exercise with and without instruments, were examined. Data were collected over 26 sessions, 52 activities, in the same 2 assisted living facilities as those in Experiment 1, but one year later Results indicated that both the type of activity and the type of music had some effect on participation. Also, data indicated participation in exercise to instrumental music was significantly greater than exercise with instruments to vocal music, p <.05.

Aircraft Power-Plant Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sontag, Harcourt; Brombacher, W G

1934-01-01

This report supersedes NACA-TR-129 which is now obsolete. Aircraft power-plant instruments include tachometers, engine thermometers, pressure gages, fuel-quantity gages, fuel flow meters and indicators, and manifold pressure gages. The report includes a description of the commonly used types and some others, the underlying principle utilized in the design, and some design data. The inherent errors of the instrument, the methods of making laboratory tests, descriptions of the test apparatus, and data in considerable detail in the performance of commonly used instruments are presented. Standard instruments and, in cases where it appears to be of interest, those used as secondary standards are described. A bibliography of important articles is included.

Tiltmeter Indicates Sense of Slope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lonborg, J. O.

1985-01-01

Tiltmeter indicates sense and magnitude of slope used in locations where incline not visible to operator. Use of direct rather than alternating current greatly simplifies design of instrument capable of indicating sense of slope.

Landsat-7 ETM+ On-Orbit Reflective-Band Radiometric Stability and Absolute Calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Markham, Brian L.; Thome, Kurtis J.; Barsi, Julia A.; Kaita, Ed; Helder, Dennis L.; Barker, John L.

2003-01-01

The Landsat-7 spacecraft carries the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) instrument. This instrument images the Earth land surface in eight parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, termed spectral bands. These spectral images are used to monitor changes in the land surface, so a consistent relationship, i.e., calibration, between the image data and the Earth surface brightness, is required. The ETM+ has several on- board calibration devices that are used to monitor this calibration. The best on-board calibration source employs a flat white painted reference panel and has indicated changes of between 0.5% to 2% per year in the ETM+ response, depending on the spectral band. However, most of these changes are believed to be caused by changes in the reference panel, as opposed to changes in the instrument's sensitivity. This belief is based partially on on-orbit calibrations using instrumented ground sites and observations of "invariant sites", hyper-arid sites of the Sahara and Arabia. Changes determined from these data sets indicate are 0.1% - 0.6% per year. Tests and comparisons to other sensors also indicate that the uncertainty of the calibration is at the 5% level.

Instrument to collect fogwater for chemical analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacob, Daniel J.; Waldman, Jed M.; Haghi, Mehrdad; Hoffmann, Michael R.; Flagan, Richard C.

1985-06-01

An instrument is presented which collects large samples of ambient fogwater by impaction of droplets on a screen. The collection efficiency of the instrument is determined as a function of droplet size, and it is shown that fog droplets in the range 3-100-μm diameter are efficiently collected. No significant evaporation or condensation occurs at any stage of the collection process. Field testing indicates that samples collected are representative of the ambient fogwater. The instrument may easily be automated, and is suitable for use in routine air quality monitoring programs.

Documentation of Sensory Information in the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-01

spercepton.s.a. msmatch.between.vsual.and.vestbular.or.proproceptve. stmul.(Reed,.1977) . Advantages and disadvantages of sensory Modes G...and that are approved for IFR operations, a third attitude instrument must be provided that: (i) Is powered from a source independent of the...indicator, if the aircraft has a retractable landing gear. … B-17 (d) Instrument flight rules. For IFR flight, the following instruments and equipment

2014 ICHLNRRA intercomparison of radon/thoron gas and radon short-lived decay products measuring instruments in the NRPI Prague.

PubMed

Jílek, K; Timková, J

2015-06-01

During the Eighth International Conference on High Levels of Natural Radiation and Radon Areas held in autumn 2014 at Prague, the third intercomparison of radon/thoron gas and radon short-lived decay products measurement instruments was organised by and held at the Natural Radiation Division of the National Radiation Protection Institute (NRPI; SÚRO v.v.i.) in Prague. The intercomparison was newly focussed also on continuous monitors with active sampling adapters capable to distinguish radon/thoron gas in their mix field.The results of radon gas measurements carried out in the big NRPI radon chamber indicated very well an average deviation of up to 5 % from the reference NRPI value for 80 % of all the exposed instruments. The results of equilibrium equivalent concentration continuous monitors indicated an average deviation of up to 5 % from the reference NRPI value for 40 % of all the exposed instruments and their ~8-10 % shift compared with the NRPI. The results of investigated ambient conditions upon response of exposed continuous monitors indicated influence of aerosol changes upon response of radon monitors with an active air sampling adapters through the filter, only. The exposures of both radon/thoron gas discriminative continuous monitors and passive detectors have been indicated inconsistent results: on one hand, their excellent agreement up to several per cent for both the gases, and on the other hand, systematic unsatisfactory differences up to 40 %. Additional radon/thoron exercises are recommended to improve both the instruments themselves and quality of their operators. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Pressure ulcers: development and psychometric evaluation of the attitude towards pressure ulcer prevention instrument (APuP).

PubMed

Beeckman, D; Defloor, T; Demarré, L; Van Hecke, A; Vanderwee, K

2010-11-01

Pressure ulcers continue to be a significant problem in hospitals, nursing homes and community care settings. Pressure ulcer incidence is widely accepted as an indicator for the quality of care. Negative attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention may result in suboptimal preventive care. A reliable and valid instrument to assess attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention is lacking. Development and psychometric evaluation of the Attitude towards Pressure ulcer Prevention instrument (APuP). Prospective psychometric instrument validation study. A literature review was performed to design the instrument. Content validity was evaluated by nine European pressure ulcer experts and five experts in psychometric instrument validation in a double Delphi procedure. A convenience sample of 258 nurses and 291 nursing students from Belgium and The Netherlands participated in order to evaluate construct validity and stability reliability of the instrument. The data were collected between February and May 2008. A factor analysis indicated the construct of a 13 item instrument in a five factor solution: (1) attitude towards personal competency to prevent pressure ulcers (three items); (2) attitude towards the priority of pressure ulcer prevention (three items); (3) attitude towards the impact of pressure ulcers (three items); (4) attitude towards personal responsibility in pressure ulcer prevention (two items); and (5) attitude towards confidence in the effectiveness of prevention (two items). This five factor solution accounted for 61.4% of the variance in responses related to attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention. All items demonstrated factor loadings over 0.60. The instrument produced similar results during stability testing [ICC=0.88 (95% CI=0.84-0.91, P<0.001)]. For the total instrument, the internal consistency (Cronbachs alpha) was 0.79. The APuP is a psychometrically sound instrument that can be used to effectively assess attitudes towards pressure ulcer prevention in patient care, education, and research. In further research, the association between attitude, knowledge and clinical performance should be explored. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validation of the diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia (DHL) knowledge instrument in Malaysia

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Patient's knowledge on diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia and its medications can be used as one of the outcome measures to assess the effectiveness of educational intervention. To date, no such instrument has been validated in Malaysia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Diabetes, Hypertension and Hyperlipidemia (DHL) knowledge instrument for assessing the knowledge of patients with type 2 diabetes in Malaysia. Methods A 28-item instrument which comprised of 5 domains: diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, medications and general issues was designed and tested. One point was given for every correct answer, whilst zero was given for incorrect answers. Scores ranged from 0 to 28, which were then converted into percentage. This was administered to 77 patients with type 2 diabetes in a tertiary hospital, who were on medication(s) for diabetes and who could understand English (patient group), and to 40 pharmacists (professional group). The DHL knowledge instrument was administered again to the patient group after one month. Excluded were patients less than 18 years old. Results Flesch reading ease was 60, which is satisfactory, while the mean difficulty factor(SD) was 0.74(0.21), indicating that DHL knowledge instrument was moderately easy. Internal consistency of the instrument was good, with Cronbach's α = 0.791. The test-retest scores showed no significant difference for 26 out of the 28 items, indicating that the questionnaire has achieved stable reliability. The overall mean(SD) knowledge scores was significantly different between the patient and professional groups [74.35(14.88) versus 93.84(6.47), p < 0.001]. This means that the DHL knowledge instrument could differentiate the knowledge levels of participants. The DHL knowledge instrument shows similar psychometric properties as other validated questionnaires. Conclusions The DHL knowledge instrument shows good promise to be adopted as an instrument for assessing diabetic patients' knowledge concerning their disease conditions and medications in Malaysia. PMID:22361093

Evaluation of Gust and Draft Velocities from Flights of P-61C Airplanes within Thunderstorms August 21, 1946 to August 22, 1946 at Orlando, Florida

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tolefson, H. B.

1946-01-01

Tables I and II of this report summarize the gust and draft velocity data for thunderstorm flights 25 and 26 of August 21, 1946 and August 22, 1946, respectively. These dta were evaluated from records of NACA instruments installed in P-61C airplanes and are of the type presented in reference 1 for previous flights. Table III summarizes the readings of a milliammeter which was used in conjunction with other equipment to indicate ambient air temperature during thunderstorm surveys. These data were read from motion-picture records of the instrument and include all cases in which variations in the instrument indications were noted during the present flights.

Evaluation of Gust and Draft Velocities from Flights of P-61C Airplanes within Thunderstorms: September 5, 1946 to September 10, 1946 at Orlando, Florida

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tolefson, H. B.

1947-01-01

Tables I and II of this report summarize the gust and draft velocity data for thunderstorm flights 31, 32, and 33 of September 5, 1946, September 6, 1946, and September 10, 1946, respectively. These data were evaluated from records of NACA instruments installed in P-61C airplanes and are of the type presented for previous flights. Table III summarizes the readings of a milliammeter which was used in conjunction with other equipment to indicate ambient air temperature during thunderstorm surveys. These data were read from motion-picture records of the instrument and include all cases in which variations in the instrument indications were noted for the present flights.

Flight investigation of manual and automatic VTOL decelerating instrument approaches and landings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, J. R.; Niessen, F. R.; Thibodeaux, J. J.; Yenni, K. R.; Garren, J. F., Jr.

1974-01-01

A flight investigation was undertaken to study the problems associated with manual and automatic control of steep, decelerating instrument approaches and landings under simulated instrument conditions. The study was conducted with a research helicopter equipped with a three-cue flight-director indicator. The scope of the investigation included variations in the flight-director control laws, glide-path angle, deceleration profile, and control response characteristics. Investigation of the automatic-control problem resulted in the first automated approach and landing to a predetermined spot ever accomplished with a helicopter. Although well-controlled approaches and landings could be performed manually with the flight-director concept, pilot comments indicated the need for a better display which would more effectively integrate command and situation information.

Experimental and numerical validation for the novel configuration of an arthroscopic indentation instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korhonen, Rami K.; Saarakkala, Simo; Töyräs, Juha; Laasanen, Mikko S.; Kiviranta, Ilkka; Jurvelin, Jukka S.

2003-06-01

Softening of articular cartilage, mainly attributable to deterioration of superficial collagen network and depletion of proteoglycans, is a sign of incipient osteoarthrosis. Early diagnosis of osteoarthrosis is essential to prevent the further destruction of the tissue. During the past decade, a few arthroscopic instruments have been introduced for the measurement of cartilage stiffness; these can be used to provide a sensitive measure of cartilage status. Ease of use, accuracy and reproducibility of the measurements as well as a low risk of damaging cartilage are the main qualities needed in any clinically applicable instrument. In this study, we have modified a commercially available arthroscopic indentation instrument to better fulfil these requirements when measuring cartilage stiffness in joints with thin cartilage. Our novel configuration was validated by experimental testing as well as by finite element (FE) modelling. Experimental and numerical tests indicated that it would be better to use a smaller reference plate and a lower pressing force (3 N) than those used in the original instrument (7-10 N). The reproducibility (CV = 5.0%) of the in situ indentation measurements was improved over that of the original instrument (CV = 7.6%), and the effect of material thickness on the indentation response was smaller than that obtained with the original instrument. The novel configuration showed a significant linear correlation between the indenter force and the reference dynamic modulus of cartilage in unconfined compression, especially in soft tissue (r = 0.893, p < 0.001, n = 16). FE analyses with a transversely isotropic poroelastic model indicated that the instrument was suitable for detecting the degeneration of superficial cartilage. In summary, the instrument presented in this study allows easy and reproducible measurement of cartilage stiffness, also in thin cartilage, and therefore represents a technical improvement for the early diagnosis of osteoarthrosis during arthroscopy.

A comparison of root surface instrumentation using manual, ultrasonic and rotary instruments: an in vitro study using scanning electron microscopy.

PubMed

Marda, Preeti; Prakash, Shobha; Devaraj, C G; Vastardis, S

2012-01-01

The commonly accepted idea concerning root planing is that excessive removal of cementum is not necessary for removal of endotoxins. The ideal instrument should enable the removal of all extraneous substances from the root surfaces, without causing any iatrogenic effects. To compare the remaining calculus, loss of tooth substance, and roughness of root surface after root planing with Gracey curette, ultrasonic instrument (Slimline insert FSI-SLI-10S), and DesmoClean rotary bur. The efficiency of calculus removal, the amount of lost tooth substance, and root surface roughness resulting from the use of hand curette, ultrasonic instrument, and rotary bur on 36 extracted mandibular incisors were examined by SEM. We used three indices to measure the changes: Remaining calculus index (RCI), Loss of tooth substance index (LTSI), and Roughness loss of tooth substance index (RLTSI). Twelve samples were treated with each instrument. The time required for instrumentation was also noted. Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA was used for multiple group comparisons and the Mann-Whitney test for group-wise comparisons. Analysis was carried out with SPSS software (version 13). The RCI and LTSI showed nonsignificant differences between the three groups. RLTSI showed a significant difference between Slimline and hand curette as well as Slimline and Desmo-Clean. Slimline showed the least mean scores for RCI, LTSI, and RLTSI. Thus, even though the difference was not statistically significant, Slimline insert was shown to be better than the other methods as assessed by the indices scores and the instrumentation time.

Experimental Investigation of the Short-Period Requirements of MIL-F-8785C. Volume 2.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-11-01

instrument displays featuring an Attitude Direction Indicator (WDI) and a Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) as the primary instruments. The...34 + 2. w s + wi- eg sp sp The primary experiment matrix consisted of three short period fre- quency configurations at three values of (n/a). The points...radians per second. The cost fuction for each match was: NPTS cost= 11 [(AG i) 1 + W (AP)] where AGu X GainHo S - GainLOS [dB] Api = PhaseHOS _ PhaseLOS

Development and Validation of a Practical Instrument for Injury Prevention: The Occupational Safety and Health Monitoring and Assessment Tool (OSH-MAT).

PubMed

Sun, Yi; Arning, Martin; Bochmann, Frank; Börger, Jutta; Heitmann, Thomas

2018-06-01

The Occupational Safety and Health Monitoring and Assessment Tool (OSH-MAT) is a practical instrument that is currently used in the German woodworking and metalworking industries to monitor safety conditions at workplaces. The 12-item scoring system has three subscales rating technical, organizational, and personnel-related conditions in a company. Each item has a rating value ranging from 1 to 9, with higher values indicating higher standard of safety conditions. The reliability of this instrument was evaluated in a cross-sectional survey among 128 companies and its validity among 30,514 companies. The inter-rater reliability of the instrument was examined independently and simultaneously by two well-trained safety engineers. Agreement between the double ratings was quantified by the intraclass correlation coefficient and absolute agreement of the rating values. The content validity of the OSH-MAT was evaluated by quantifying the association between OSH-MAT values and 5-year average injury rates by Poisson regression analysis adjusted for the size of the companies and industrial sectors. The construct validity of OSH-MAT was examined by principle component factor analysis. Our analysis indicated good to very good inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.64-0.74) of OSH-MAT values with an absolute agreement of between 72% and 81%. Factor analysis identified three component subscales that met exactly the structure theory of this instrument. The Poisson regression analysis demonstrated a statistically significant exposure-response relationship between OSH-MAT values and the 5-year average injury rates. These analyses indicate that OSH-MAT is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used effectively to monitor safety conditions at workplaces.

Measuring Nurses' Value, Implementation, and Knowledge of Evidence-Based Practice: Further Psychometric Testing of the Quick-EBP-VIK Survey.

PubMed

Connor, Linda; Paul, Fiona; McCabe, Margaret; Ziniel, Sonja

2017-02-01

The Quick-EBP-VIK is a new instrument for measuring nurses' value, implementation, and knowledge of EBP. Psychometric testing was conducted in two parts. Part 1 describes the tool development and validity testing which resulted in the development of a 25-item survey after receiving ≥0.80 Item-Level Content Validity Index for both clarity and relevance. Part 2 describes psychometric testing was necessary to assess additional types of validity and reliability. The purpose of this paper is to further describe the psychometric testing of the Quick-EBP-VIK survey instrument. This descriptive study was designed to assess test-retest reliability, internal consistency and construct validity via a web-based survey. The survey instrument was e-mailed to all nurses at the study hospital. Nurses who responded to the first survey (Wave 1) received another e-mail invitation to complete the survey instrument again (Wave 2) for the purpose of assessing the test-retest reliability of the instrument. A total of 1,177 deliverable e-mails were sent to all nursing staff at one free standing pediatric hospital with Magnet ® designation in the northeast. A total of 382 nurses returned completed surveys, indicating a 32.5% response rate for Wave 1. A total of 131 nurses responded to Wave 2 indicating a response rate of 34.3%. The intraclass correlation coefficients for the items included in the final instrument ranged from 0.43 to 0.80 and were deemed sufficient. These represent a sufficient intraclass correlation coefficient. The Cronbach's Alpha values for each of the three domains are all higher than 0.7 indicating that the items of each of the measurement dimension are internally consistent. However, the composite reliability of the third domain was slightly lower than 0.7 when using Raykov's Rho. The Quick-EBP-VIK instrument has gone through rigorous comprehensive testing and has demonstrated good psychometric properties. © 2016 Sigma Theta Tau International.

A Multirater Instrument for the Assessment of Simulated Pediatric Crises

PubMed Central

Calhoun, Aaron W; Boone, Megan; Miller, Karen H; Taulbee, Rebecca L; Montgomery, Vicki L; Boland, Kimberly

2011-01-01

Background Few validated instruments exist to measure pediatric code team skills. The goal of this study was to develop an instrument for the assessment of resuscitation competency and self-appraisal using multirater and gap analysis methodologies. Methods Multirater assessment with gap analysis is a robust methodology that enables the measurement of self-appraisal as well as competency, offering faculty the ability to provide enhanced feedback. The Team Performance during Simulated Crises Instrument (TPDSCI) was grounded in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies. The instrument contains 5 competencies, each assessed by a series of descriptive rubrics. It was piloted during a series of simulation-based interdisciplinary pediatric crisis resource management education sessions. Course faculty assessed participants, who also did self-assessments. Internal consistency and interrater reliability were analyzed using Cronbach α and intraclass correlation (ICC) statistics. Gap analysis results were examined descriptively. Results Cronbach α for the instrument was between 0.72 and 0.69. The overall ICC was 0.82. ICC values for the medical knowledge, clinical skills, communication skills, and systems-based practice were between 0.87 and 0.72. The ICC for the professionalism domain was 0.22. Further examination of the professionalism competency revealed a positive skew, 43 simulated sessions (98%) had significant gaps for at least one of the competencies, 38 sessions (86%) had gaps indicating self-overappraisal, and 15 sessions (34%) had gaps indicating self-underappraisal. Conclusions The TPDSCI possesses good measures of internal consistency and interrater reliability with respect to medical knowledge, clinical skills, communication skills, systems-based practice, and overall competence in the context of simulated interdisciplinary pediatric medical crises. Professionalism remains difficult to assess. These results provide an encouraging first step toward instrument validation. Gap analysis reveals disparities between faculty and self-assessments that indicate inadequate participant self-reflection. Identifying self-overappraisal can facilitate focused interventions. PMID:22379528

Factor analysis methods and validity evidence: A systematic review of instrument development across the continuum of medical education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wetzel, Angela Payne

Previous systematic reviews indicate a lack of reporting of reliability and validity evidence in subsets of the medical education literature. Psychology and general education reviews of factor analysis also indicate gaps between current and best practices; yet, a comprehensive review of exploratory factor analysis in instrument development across the continuum of medical education had not been previously identified. Therefore, the purpose for this study was critical review of instrument development articles employing exploratory factor or principal component analysis published in medical education (2006--2010) to describe and assess the reporting of methods and validity evidence based on the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing and factor analysis best practices. Data extraction of 64 articles measuring a variety of constructs that have been published throughout the peer-reviewed medical education literature indicate significant errors in the translation of exploratory factor analysis best practices to current practice. Further, techniques for establishing validity evidence tend to derive from a limited scope of methods including reliability statistics to support internal structure and support for test content. Instruments reviewed for this study lacked supporting evidence based on relationships with other variables and response process, and evidence based on consequences of testing was not evident. Findings suggest a need for further professional development within the medical education researcher community related to (1) appropriate factor analysis methodology and reporting and (2) the importance of pursuing multiple sources of reliability and validity evidence to construct a well-supported argument for the inferences made from the instrument. Medical education researchers and educators should be cautious in adopting instruments from the literature and carefully review available evidence. Finally, editors and reviewers are encouraged to recognize this gap in best practices and subsequently to promote instrument development research that is more consistent through the peer-review process.

Simple go/no-go test for subcritical damage in body armor panels

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

Fisher, Jason; Chimenti, D. E.

2011-06-23

The development of a simple test for subcritical damage in body armor panels using pressure-sensitive dye-indicator film has been performed and demonstrated effective. Measurements have shown that static indicator levels are accurately reproduced in dynamic loading events. Impacts from hard blunt impactors instrumented with an accelerometer and embedded force transducer were studied. Reliable correlations between the indicator film and instrumented impact force are shown for a range of impact energies. Force and acceleration waveforms with corresponding indicator film results are presented for impact events onto damaged and undamaged panels. We find that panel damage can occur at impact levels farmore » below the National Institute of Justice acceptance test standard.« less

Investigations related to evaluation of ultramicrofluorometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitcomb, B.

1981-01-01

High resolution emission and excitation fluorescent spectra were obtained for several samples in an effort to determine the optimum operational design for the instrument. The instrument was used to determine the required nature of a sample which could be detected, and in so doing, several different sample preparation techniques were considered. Numerous experiments were performed to determine the capabilities of the instrument with regard to the detection of suitably prepared virus specimens. Significant results were obtained in several areas. The fluorescent spectra indicated that substantial changes in the laser might be used advantageously to greatly improve the performance of the instrument. In the existing configuration, the instrument was shown to be capable of detecting the presence of suitably prepared virus samples.

Child Abuse and Neglect: Screening for Risks During the Perinatal Period

PubMed Central

Besier, T.; Pillhofer, M.; Botzenhart, S.; Ziegenhain, U.; Kindler, H.; Spangler, G.; Bovenschen, I.; Gabler, S.; Künster, A. K.

2012-01-01

Purpose: Currently, there is a claim for earlier interventions for families in order to prevent child maltreatment. Here, a screening instrument to assess risk indicators for child abuse and neglect already in the context of maternity clinics is introduced. The present study is the first report on the psychometric properties of this instrument, the “short questionnaire for risk indices around birth” (RIAB). Material and Methods: Data were collected in the context of three different studies conducted at Ulm University Hospital. To examine interrater reliability eight case vignettes were rated by n = 90 study participants (50 students and 40 experts working at a maternity clinic). Criterion validity was examined in two studies applying the German version of the child abuse potential inventory CAPI (n = 96 families at risk and n = 160 additional families). Results: Both laymen and experts were able to understand and use the screening instrument correctly, leading to a high agreement with the sample solutions given. A high concordance was found between parentsʼ and expertsʼ ratings: In case of no reported risk factors applying the screening instrument RIAB, parents themselves reported significantly less stressors and burdens, compared to those parents with an indication for a thorough examination as pointed out in the RIAB. Conclusion: In the context of maternity clinics the RIAB is a useful, broadly applicable instrument, screening for existing risk factors at the earliest and thus allowing for the initiation of specific interventions when needed. PMID:25298543

Self-contained instrument for measuring subterranean tunnel wall deflection

DOEpatents

Rasmussen, Donald Edgar; Hof, Jr., Peter John

1978-01-01

The deflection of a subterranean tunnel is measured with a rod-like, self-contained instrument that is adapted to be inserted into a radially extending bore of the tunnel adjacent an end of the tunnel where the tunnel is being dug. One end of the instrument is anchored at the end of the bore remote from the tunnel wall, while the other end of the intrument is anchored adjacent the end of the wall in proximity to the tunnel wall. The two ends of the instrument are linearly displaceable relative to each other; the displacement is measured by a transducer means mounted on the instrument. Included in the instrument is a data storage means including a paper tape recorder periodically responsive to a parallel binary signal indicative of the measured displacement.

A general-purpose balloon-borne pointing system for solar scientific instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Polites, M. E.

1990-01-01

A general purpose balloonborne pointing system for accommodating a wide variety of solar scientific instruments is described. It is designed for precise pointing, low cost, and quick launch. It offers the option of three-axis control, pitch-yaw-roll, or two-axis control, pitch-yaw, depending on the needs of the solar instrument. Simulation results are presented that indicate good pointing capability at Sun elevation angles ranging from 10 to 80 deg.

Academic Research Equipment in the Physical and Computer Sciences and Engineering. An Analysis of Findings from Phase I of the National Science Foundation's National Survey of Academic Research Instruments and Instrumentation Needs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burgdorf, Kenneth; White, Kristine

This report presents information from phase I of a survey designed to develop quantitative indicators of the current national stock, cost/investment, condition, obsolescence, utilization, and need for major research instruments in academic settings. Data for phase I (which focused on the physical and computer sciences and engineering) were…

The Forgiveness Reconciliation Inventory: An Instrument to Process through Issues of Forgiveness and Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balkin, Richard S.; Harris, Nephaterria A.; Freeman, Stephen J.; Huntington, Scott

2014-01-01

The Forgiveness Reconciliation Inventory is a theoretically derived instrument. Participants included individuals from clinical and nonclinical populations. Confirmatory factor analysis along with correlational designs and between-group comparisons indicate strong psychometric properties of the Forgiveness Reconciliation Inventory. The authors…

40 CFR 65.103 - Equipment identification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... this subpart are identified as a group, and the number of connectors subject is indicated. With respect...) Instrumentation systems. Identify instrumentation systems subject to the provisions of this subpart. Individual... per calendar year. Identify either by list, location (area or group), or other method, equipment in...

40 CFR 65.103 - Equipment identification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... this subpart are identified as a group, and the number of connectors subject is indicated. With respect...) Instrumentation systems. Identify instrumentation systems subject to the provisions of this subpart. Individual... per calendar year. Identify either by list, location (area or group), or other method, equipment in...

40 CFR 65.103 - Equipment identification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... this subpart are identified as a group, and the number of connectors subject is indicated. With respect...) Instrumentation systems. Identify instrumentation systems subject to the provisions of this subpart. Individual... per calendar year. Identify either by list, location (area or group), or other method, equipment in...

40 CFR 65.103 - Equipment identification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... this subpart are identified as a group, and the number of connectors subject is indicated. With respect...) Instrumentation systems. Identify instrumentation systems subject to the provisions of this subpart. Individual... per calendar year. Identify either by list, location (area or group), or other method, equipment in...

40 CFR 65.103 - Equipment identification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... this subpart are identified as a group, and the number of connectors subject is indicated. With respect...) Instrumentation systems. Identify instrumentation systems subject to the provisions of this subpart. Individual... per calendar year. Identify either by list, location (area or group), or other method, equipment in...

A Short-Form Measure of Dentists' Job Satisfaction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rabiner, Donna J.; And Others

1994-01-01

A 14-item instrument, the Dentist Satisfaction Survey-14, a form of a previously validated instrument, is described. Use with 522 dentists, and 29 in a follow-up, indicates that the short form is a parsimonious tool for general evaluation of dentists' job satisfaction. (SLD)

General Aviation Flight Test of Advanced Operations Enabled by Synthetic Vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glaab, Louis J.; Hughhes, Monica F.; Parrish, Russell V.; Takallu, Mohammad A.

2014-01-01

A flight test was performed to compare the use of three advanced primary flight and navigation display concepts to a baseline, round-dial concept to assess the potential for advanced operations. The displays were evaluated during visual and instrument approach procedures including an advanced instrument approach resembling a visual airport traffic pattern. Nineteen pilots from three pilot groups, reflecting the diverse piloting skills of the General Aviation pilot population, served as evaluation subjects. The experiment had two thrusts: 1) an examination of the capabilities of low-time (i.e., <400 hours), non-instrument-rated pilots to perform nominal instrument approaches, and 2) an exploration of potential advanced Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC)-like approaches in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). Within this context, advanced display concepts are considered to include integrated navigation and primary flight displays with either aircraft attitude flight directors or Highway In The Sky (HITS) guidance with and without a synthetic depiction of the external visuals (i.e., synthetic vision). Relative to the first thrust, the results indicate that using an advanced display concept, as tested herein, low-time, non-instrument-rated pilots can exhibit flight-technical performance, subjective workload and situation awareness ratings as good as or better than high-time Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)-rated pilots using Baseline Round Dials for a nominal IMC approach. For the second thrust, the results indicate advanced VMC-like approaches are feasible in IMC, for all pilot groups tested for only the Synthetic Vision System (SVS) advanced display concept.

Development of performance test instrument in the experiment of law of conservation mass using self and peer assessment’s technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siswaningsih, W.; Nahadi; Firmansyah, D. R.

2018-05-01

The purpose of this research is to develop the instrument of performance assessment of law of mass conservation using self and peer assessment technique that meet valid and reliable criteria. The instrument components consist of task and rubric. The method used is development and validation.Value of the instrument reliability obtained from twice observations that are at four and six students every group with three same observers. Cronbach alpha value for four and six students every group consecutively are 0.94 and 0.76, indicating that value shows that the instrument is reliable. Optimum amount of the students that can be observed are four students. The implementation of the instrument to limited group of students showed that All of the students give positive responses to the instrument used with the interpretation of questionnaire scores >90% that categorized as good.

Pitting corrosion resistance of nickel-titanium rotary instruments with different surface treatments in seventeen percent ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid and sodium chloride solutions.

PubMed

Bonaccorso, Antonio; Tripi, Teresa Roberta; Rondelli, Gianni; Condorelli, Guglielmo Guido; Cantatore, Giuseppe; Schäfer, Edgar

2008-02-01

This study evaluated the pitting corrosion resistance of nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments with different surface treatments in 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and NaCl solutions. Electropolished RaCe instruments were allocated to group A, non-electropolished RaCe instruments to group B, and physical vapor deposition (PVD)-coated Alpha files to group C (10 instruments per group). Electrochemical measurements were carried out by using a potentiostat for galvanic current measurements. On the basis of electrochemical tests, no localized corrosion problems are to be expected in EDTA. In NaCl, pitting potential occurred at higher values for the electropolished and PVD instruments, indicating an increased corrosion resistance. There appears to be a risk of corrosion for NiTi instruments without surface treatments in contact with NaCl. NiTi files with PVD and electropolishing surface treatments showed an increase corrosion resistance.

Transforaminal endoscopic treatment of lumbar radiculopathy after instrumented lumbar spine fusion.

PubMed

Telfeian, Albert E; Jasper, Gabriele P; Francisco, Gina M

2015-01-01

Transforaminal endoscopic discectomy and foraminotomy is a well-described minimally invasive technique for surgically treating lumbar radiculopathy caused by a herniated disc and foraminal narrowing. To describe the technique and feasibility of transforaminal foraminoplasty for the treatment of lumbar radiculopathy in patients who have already undergone instrumented spinal fusion. Retrospective study. Hospital and ambulatory surgery center After Institutional Review Board approval, charts from 18 consecutive patients with lumbar radiculopathy and instrumented spinal fusions who underwent endoscopic procedures between 2008 and 2013 were reviewed. The average pain relief one year postoperatively was reported to be 67.0%, good results as defined by MacNab. The average preoperative VAS score was 9.14, indicated in our questionnaire as severe and constant pain. The average one year postoperative VAS score was 3.00, indicated in our questionnaire as mild and intermittent pain. This is a retrospective study and only offers one year follow-up data for patients with instrumented fusions who have undergone endoscopic spine surgery. Transforaminal endoscopic discectomy and foraminotomy could be used as a safe, yet, minimally invasive and innovative technique for the treatment of lumbar radiculopathy in the setting of previous instrumented lumbar fusion. IRB approval: Meridian Health: IRB Study # 201206071J

The impact of sub-skills and item content on students' skills with regard to the control-of-variables strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwichow, Martin; Christoph, Simon; Boone, William J.; Härtig, Hendrik

2016-01-01

The so-called control-of-variables strategy (CVS) incorporates the important scientific reasoning skills of designing controlled experiments and interpreting experimental outcomes. As CVS is a prominent component of science standards appropriate assessment instruments are required to measure these scientific reasoning skills and to evaluate the impact of instruction on CVS development. A detailed review of existing CVS instruments suggests that they utilize different, and only a few of the four, critical CVS sub-skills in the item development. This study presents a new CVS assessment instrument (CVS Inventory, CVSI) and investigates the validity of student measures derived from this instrument utilizing Rasch analyses. The results indicate that the CVSI produces reliable and valid student measures with regard to CVS. Furthermore, the results show that the item difficulty depends on the CVS sub-skills utilized in item development, but not on the item content. Accordingly, previous instruments that are restricted to a few CVS sub-skills tend to over- or underestimate students' CVS skills. In addition, these results indicate that students are able to use CVS as a domain general strategy in multiple content areas. Consequences for science instruction and assessment are discussed.

Qualitative observation instrument to measure the quality of parent-child interactions in young children with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Nieuwesteeg, Anke; Hartman, Esther; Pouwer, Frans; Emons, Wilco; Aanstoot, Henk-Jan; Van Mil, Edgar; Van Bakel, Hedwig

2014-06-10

In young children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), parents have complete responsibility for the diabetes-management. In toddlers and (pre)schoolers, the tasks needed to achieve optimal blood glucose control may interfere with normal developmental processes and could negatively affect the quality of parent-child interaction. Several observational instruments are available to measure the quality of the parent-child interaction. However, no observational instrument for diabetes-specific situations is available. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop a qualitative observation instrument, to be able to assess parent-child interaction during diabetes-specific situations. First, in a pilot study (n = 15), the observation instrument was developed in four steps: (a) defining relevant diabetes-specific situations; (b) videotaping these situations; (c) describing all behaviors in a qualitative observation instrument; (d) evaluating usability and reliability. Next, we examined preliminary validity (total n = 77) by testing hypotheses about correlations between the observation instrument for diabetes-specific situations, a generic observation instrument and a behavioral questionnaire. The observation instrument to assess parent-child interaction during diabetes-specific situations, which consists of ten domains: "emotional involvement", "limit setting", "respect for autonomy", "quality of instruction", "negative behavior", "avoidance", "cooperative behavior", "child's response to injection", "emphasis on diabetes", and "mealtime structure", was developed for use during a mealtime situation (including glucose monitoring and insulin administration). The present study showed encouraging indications for the usability and inter-rater reliability (weighted kappa was 0.73) of the qualitative observation instrument. Furthermore, promising indications for the preliminary validity of the observation instrument for diabetes-specific situations were found (r ranged between |.24| and |.45| for significant correlations and between |.10| and |.23| for non-significant trends). This observation instrument could be used in future research to (a) test whether parent-child interactions are associated with outcomes (like HbA1c levels and psychosocial functioning), and (b) evaluate interventions, aimed at optimizing the quality of parent-child interactions in families with a young child with T1DM.

[Some critical remarks on standardised assessment instruments in nursing].

PubMed

Bartholomeyczik, Sabine

2007-08-01

The use of standardised instruments in nursing has rapidly grown and can be seen as a symptom of the necessary comprehensive nursing diagnostics. However, these instruments comprise the risk of misuse, if they are not critically evaluated. Published statements about tests of reliability and validity of an instrument are insufficient. First, the critical evaluation has to ask for the instrument's theoretical and content base: Is the instrument relevant for nursing, suitable for practice and leading to nursing actions? Two examples of well known instruments and different kinds of their utilization in nursing are discussed. Next, the instruments have to be questioned as "bodies with numbers". Studies on reliability and validity have to be as carefully evaluated as other empirical research. The sample, the suitability of agreement indicators (interraterreliability), kind and reason of tests have to be questioned. The same has to be done with tests of validity which comprise an even greater challenge. Methodological studies about these questions are missing; guidelines for test user qualifications need to be developed.

How discriminating are discriminative instruments?

PubMed

Hankins, Matthew

2008-05-27

The McMaster framework introduced by Kirshner & Guyatt is the dominant paradigm for the development of measures of health status and health-related quality of life (HRQL). The framework defines the functions of such instruments as evaluative, predictive or discriminative. Evaluative instruments are required to be sensitive to change (responsiveness), but there is no corresponding index of the degree to which discriminative instruments are sensitive to cross-sectional differences. This paper argues that indices of validity and reliability are not sufficient to demonstrate that a discriminative instrument performs its function of discriminating between individuals, and that the McMaster framework would be augmented by the addition of a separate index of discrimination. The coefficient proposed by Ferguson (Delta) is easily adapted to HRQL instruments and is a direct, non-parametric index of the degree to which an instrument distinguishes between individuals. While Delta should prove useful in the development and evaluation of discriminative instruments, further research is required to elucidate the relationship between the measurement properties of discrimination, reliability and responsiveness.

Using Jung More (and Etching Him in Stone Less).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, Roger T.

1985-01-01

Discusses aspects of Jungian typology: (1) three pairs of opposing attitudes or functions; (2) the training applications of Jung's psychological types; and (3) instruments measuring Jungian typology, including Myers-Briggs Type Indicators, Keirsey Temperament Sorter, Personal Style Inventory, Keegan Type Measuring Instrument, and Personal Style…

14 CFR 23.1323 - Airspeed indicating system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... instrument calibration error when the corresponding pitot and static pressures are applied. (b) Each airspeed... positive drainage of moisture from the pitot static plumbing. (d) If certification for instrument flight rules or flight in icing conditions is requested, each airspeed system must have a heated pitot tube or...

14 CFR 29.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... temperature indicator for each turbine engine; (12) A gas producer rotor tachometer for each turbine engine... free power turbine tachometer for each turbine engine; (16) A means, for each turbine engine, to indicate power for that engine; (17) For each turbine engine, an indicator to indicate the functioning of...

14 CFR 29.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... temperature indicator for each turbine engine; (12) A gas producer rotor tachometer for each turbine engine... free power turbine tachometer for each turbine engine; (16) A means, for each turbine engine, to indicate power for that engine; (17) For each turbine engine, an indicator to indicate the functioning of...

14 CFR 29.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... temperature indicator for each turbine engine; (12) A gas producer rotor tachometer for each turbine engine... free power turbine tachometer for each turbine engine; (16) A means, for each turbine engine, to indicate power for that engine; (17) For each turbine engine, an indicator to indicate the functioning of...

14 CFR 29.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... temperature indicator for each turbine engine; (12) A gas producer rotor tachometer for each turbine engine... free power turbine tachometer for each turbine engine; (16) A means, for each turbine engine, to indicate power for that engine; (17) For each turbine engine, an indicator to indicate the functioning of...

14 CFR 29.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... temperature indicator for each turbine engine; (12) A gas producer rotor tachometer for each turbine engine... free power turbine tachometer for each turbine engine; (16) A means, for each turbine engine, to indicate power for that engine; (17) For each turbine engine, an indicator to indicate the functioning of...

Push Tester For Laminated Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sugimura, Russell S.

1991-01-01

Small instrument used to measure brittleness of polymer film adhesively bonded to hard substrate. Penlike instrument has microball tip. Small pointer in slot on side of instrument used to calibrate and indicate spring force applied by point. Microball dents only small area of specimen. Such measurements used to measure rates of embrittlement in environmental tests of candidate laminated-film covers for photovoltaic modules. Not limited to transparent films; also used on opaque laminated films on back panels of photovoltaic modules.

Prototype ultrasonic instrument for quantitative testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lynnworth, L. C.; Dubois, J. L.; Kranz, P. R.

1972-01-01

A prototype ultrasonic instrument has been designed and developed for quantitative testing. The complete delivered instrument consists of a pulser/receiver which plugs into a standard oscilloscope, an rf power amplifier, a standard decade oscillator, and a set of broadband transducers for typical use at 1, 2, 5 and 10 MHz. The system provides for its own calibration, and on the oscilloscope, presents a quantitative (digital) indication of time base and sensitivity scale factors and some measurement data.

A validated methodology for determination of laboratory instrument computer interface efficacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1984-12-01

This report is intended to provide a methodology for determining when, and for which instruments, direct interfacing of laboratory instrument and laboratory computers is beneficial. This methodology has been developed to assist the Tri-Service Medical Information Systems Program Office in making future decisions regarding laboratory instrument interfaces. We have calculated the time savings required to reach a break-even point for a range of instrument interface prices and corresponding average annual costs. The break-even analyses used empirical data to estimate the number of data points run per day that are required to meet the break-even point. The results indicate, for example, that at a purchase price of $3,000, an instrument interface will be cost-effective if the instrument is utilized for at least 154 data points per day if operated in the continuous mode, or 216 points per day if operated in the discrete mode. Although this model can help to ensure that instrument interfaces are cost effective, additional information should be considered in making the interface decisions. A reduction in results transcription errors may be a major benefit of instrument interfacing.

Economic impact of laparoscopic instrumentation: a company perspective.

PubMed

Swem, T; Fazzalari, R

1995-01-01

This report represents findings concerning the economic impact of laparoscopic surgery. Specifically, the study addresses hospital costs, and not the hospital charges often given attention by studies in the literature. Hospital expenditures for the equipment and instrumentation required for laparoscopic surgery are important cost factors in laparoscopic surgery. Data for determining hospital costs was obtained from nine hospitals throughout the United States. At each hospital, a research team spent four to five days interviewing surgeons, OR staff, hospital administrators and other personnel as well as gathering data. Analysis of operating room equipment and supplies indicates that single-use laparoscopic instruments are a cost-effective alternative to reusable instruments. In addition, single-use instruments have many benefits that were not possible to quantify accurately in this study.

Canal wall planning by engine-driven nickel-titanium instruments, compared with stainless-steel hand instrumentation.

PubMed

Tucker, D M; Wenckus, C S; Bentkover, S K

1997-03-01

Twenty-two mesial roots of extracted human mandibular molars were divided into two groups based on root curvature and length. The mesiolingual canals were instrumented using either Flexofiles in a step-back anticurvature filing method, or they were instrumented with engine-driven 0.02 taper nickel-titanium files. Ground sections were prepared at 1-, 2.5-, and 5-mm levels from the working length. The mesiobuccal canal was used as an uninstrumented control for predentin character. Digitizing software was used to calculate the instrumented portion as a percentage of the total canal perimeter. The results indicated no significant difference in overall canal wall planning between the two groups and no significant difference at each of the three levels.

Assessment of Work Performance (AWP)--development of an instrument.

PubMed

Sandqvist, Jan L; Törnquist, Kristina B; Henriksson, Chris M

2006-01-01

Adequate work assessments are a matter of importance both for individuals and society [5,29,31,38,40,46,52]. However, there is a lack of adequate and reliable instruments for use in work rehabilitation [14,15,20,21,31,44]. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an observation instrument for assessing work performance, the AWP (Assessment of Work Performance). The purpose of the 14-item instrument is to assess the individual's observable working skills in three different areas: motor skills, process skills, and communication and interaction skills. This article describes the development and results of preliminary testing of the AWP. The testing indicates a satisfactory face validity and utility for the AWP and supports further research and testing of the instrument.

14 CFR 23.1321 - Arrangement and visibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...: Installation § 23.1321 Arrangement and visibility. (a) Each flight, navigation, and powerplant instrument for... most effectively indicates direction of flight, other than the magnetic direction indicator required by...

14 CFR 23.1321 - Arrangement and visibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...: Installation § 23.1321 Arrangement and visibility. (a) Each flight, navigation, and powerplant instrument for... most effectively indicates direction of flight, other than the magnetic direction indicator required by...

14 CFR 23.1321 - Arrangement and visibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...: Installation § 23.1321 Arrangement and visibility. (a) Each flight, navigation, and powerplant instrument for... most effectively indicates direction of flight, other than the magnetic direction indicator required by...

Design, Validation, and Use of an Evaluation Instrument for Monitoring Systemic Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scantlebury, Kathryn; Boone, William; Kahle, Jane Butler; Fraser, Barry J.

2001-01-01

Describes the design, development, validation, and use of an instrument that measures student attitudes and several environmental dimensions (i.e., standards-based teaching, home support, and peer support). Indicates that the classroom environment (standards-based teaching practices) was the strongest independent predictor of both achievement and…

Choosing Assessment Instruments for Anxiety Practice and Outcome Research with School-Aged Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erford, Bradley T.; Lutz, Julie A.

2015-01-01

Using effect size results from our meta-analysis for the treatment of anxiety in school-aged youth, the practical and technical aspects of five commonly used anxiety instruments were analyzed, and effect size estimates compared to indicate the best choices for use in anxiety outcome research.

Agreement between a Brief Autism Observational Instrument and Established ASD Measures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Samantha L.; Sullivan, Karen A.; Gilmore, Linda

2016-01-01

Objective: Limited time and resources necessitate the availability of accurate, inexpensive and rapid diagnostic aids for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The Autistic Behavioural Indicators Instrument (ABII) was developed for this purpose, but its psychometric properties have not yet been fully established. Method: The clinician-rated ABII, the…

Selling Futures: A New Image for Australian Universities?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Symes, Colin

1996-01-01

This article argues that as a result of the changes in Australian higher education, which emphasize economic accountability, a more instrumental university has emerged. This policy shift is reflected in university promotional material and marketing strategies that indicate the extent to which this instrumental ethos pervades higher education and…

Developing an Instrument to Assess Higher Education Leadership.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montez, Joni

An instrument was developed to assess the construct of higher education leadership from discrete innate (possessed) and extrinsic (directed toward others) points of view. Dimensions of the latent construct of higher education leadership were identified, and their content and the relationships between their indicators were "mapped" according to the…

Teacher Evaluations in Leisure Studies Programs: An Old Issue with a New Slant.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butts, Frank B.; Swearingen, Tommy

1994-01-01

This paper examines teacher evaluation practices in leisure studies programs, noting the perceived effectiveness of rating instruments. Surveys of leisure studies professors nationwide indicated many institutions used evaluation instruments and processes that were not statistically validated; key decisions were often made on the basis of these…

Criterion Referenced Measures of Technical Proficiency in Maintenance Activities. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foley, John P., Jr.

The paper concerns instruments used in the determination of task performance efficiency of mechanical and electronic maintenance men. Composite results of unvalidated knowledge tests, theory tests, school marks, and supervisors' ratings are presented which indicate that these measurement instruments have low empirical validity. The limitations of…

Analyzing Creative Products: Refinement and Test of a Judging Instrument.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Besemer, Susan; O'Quin, Karen

1986-01-01

The Creative Product Analysis Matrix was evaluated and refined by asking 133 undergraduate students to apply the questionnaire items in three areas (novelty, resolution, elaboration/synthesis) to two T-shirts, only one of predetermined creative design. Results indicated the instrument reliably assessed overall perceptions of the product. (DB)

The Practices of Existential Psychotherapists: Development and Application of an Observational Grid

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Correia, Edgar A.; Sartóris, Vítor; Fernandes, Tiago; Cooper, Mick; Berdondini, Lucia; Sousa, Daniel; Pires, Branca Sá; da Fonseca, João

2018-01-01

Within the major therapeutic paradigms, observational instruments have been developed to assess orientation-specific interventions or processes. However, to date, no such instrument exists to assess existential practices. Recent research indicates the key practices of existential therapists, and forms an empirical basis on which to develop an…

Diagnosing Secondary Students' Misconceptions of Photosynthesis and Respiration in Plants Using a Two-Tier Multiple Choice Instrument.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haslam, Filocha; Treagust, David F.

1987-01-01

Describes a multiple-choice instrument that reliably and validly diagnoses secondary students' understanding of photosynthesis and respiration in plants. Highlights the consistency of students' misconceptions across secondary levels and indicates a high percentage of students have misconceptions regarding plant physiology. (CW)

48 CFR 204.7003 - Basic PII number.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... procurement instrument is issued or awarded. (3) Position 9. Indicate the type of instrument by entering one...) Invitations for bids—B (iii) Contracts of all types except indefinite delivery contracts, sales contracts, and...—N (xv) Do not use—O (xvi) Purchase order—automated (assign V when numbering capacity of P is...

Respiratory function in wind instrument players.

PubMed

Zuskin, Eugenija; Mustajbegovic, Jadranka; Schachter, E N; Kern, Josipa; Vitale, Ksenija; Pucarin-Cvetkovic, Jasna; Chiarelli, A; Milosevic, M; Jelinic, Jagoda Doko

2009-01-01

The playing of wind instruments has been associated with changes in respiratory function. To investigate the effect of playing wind instruments on lung function and respiratory symptoms. The present study included 99 wind instrument players and a group of 41 string instrument players as a control from 3 major orchestras in Zagreb, Croatia. Data on chronic respiratory symptoms were recorded in all studied subjects. Lung function was measured in wind instrument players by recording maximum expiratory flow-volume curves. Wind instrument players demonstrated significantly higher prevalences of sinusitis, nasal catarrh and hoarseness compared to control musicians. One wind instrument player developed asthma associated with his work. Odds ratios for wind instrument players were significant for chronic cough, chronic phlegm and chronic bronchitis by smoking habit (p<0.05 or p<0.01) but not for length of employment. Ventilatory capacity data indicate that wind instrument players had significantly greater FEV1 (smokers and nonsmokers) as well as FEF50 (nonsmokers) (p<0.05) compared to predicted values. Regression analysis of pulmonary function tests in wind instrument players demonstrate a significant link between FEV1 and FEF50 and length of employment. Those wind instrument players with longer employment had the greatest increases in lung function. Our data suggest that musicians playing wind instruments may be susceptible to chronic upper airway symptoms. Interestingly wind instrument playing may be associated with higher than expected lung function parameters.

Performance Indicators: Theory and Practice. Coombe Lodge Report Volume 20, Number 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Theodossin, Ernest; Thomson, Craig

1987-01-01

Two papers on performance indicators are presented: (1) "Quality Control in Education: The Use of Performance Indicators," by Ernest Theodossin, and (2) "Developing and Using a Performance Indicator Instrument," by Theodossin and Craig Thomson. The first paper looks at the relationship between colleges and the manufacturing…

14 CFR 23.1327 - Magnetic direction indicator.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Magnetic direction indicator. 23.1327... Instruments: Installation § 23.1327 Magnetic direction indicator. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section— (1) Each magnetic direction indicator must be installed so that its accuracy is not...

Edward's sword? - A non-destructive study of a medieval king's sword

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segebade, Chr.

2013-04-01

Non-destructive and instrumental methods including photon activation analysis were applied in an examination of an ancient sword. It was tried to find indication of forgery or, if authentic, any later processing and alteration. Metal components of the hilt and the blade were analysed by instrumental photon activation. Non-destructive metallurgical studies (hardness measurements, microscopic microstructure analysis) are briefly described, too. The results of these investigations did not yield indication of non-authenticity. This stood in agreement with the results of stylistic and scientific studies by weapon experts.

Edward's sword? - A non-destructive study of a medieval king's sword

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

Segebade, Chr.

2013-04-19

Non-destructive and instrumental methods including photon activation analysis were applied in an examination of an ancient sword. It was tried to find indication of forgery or, if authentic, any later processing and alteration. Metal components of the hilt and the blade were analysed by instrumental photon activation. Non-destructive metallurgical studies (hardness measurements, microscopic microstructure analysis) are briefly described, too. The results of these investigations did not yield indication of non-authenticity. This stood in agreement with the results of stylistic and scientific studies by weapon experts.

RADIATION DETECTOR SYSTEM

DOEpatents

Gundlach, J.C.; Kelley, G.G.

1958-02-25

This patent relates to radiation detection devices and presents a unique detection system especialiy desirable for portable type instruments using a Geiger-Mueller for a high voltage battery, thereby reducing the size and weight of the instrument, by arranging a one-shot multivibrator to recharge a capacitance applying operating potential to tho Geiger-Mueller tube each time a nuclear particle is detected. When detection occurs, the multivibrator further delivers a pulse to an appropriate indicator doing away with the necessity for the pulse amplifier conventionally intermediate between the detector and indicator in pulse detection systems.

Postural Stability Assessment of University Marching Musicians Using Force Platform Measures.

PubMed

Magnotti, Trevor D; McElhiney, Danielle; Russell, Jeffrey A

2016-09-01

Lower extremity injury is prevalent in marching musicians, and poor postural stability is a possible risk factor for this. The external load of an instrument may predispose these performers to injury by decreasing postural stability. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between instrument load and static and dynamic postural stability in this population. Fourteen university marching musicians were recruited and completed a balance assessment protocol on a force platform with and without their instrument. Mean center of pressure (CoP) displacement was then calculated for each exercise in the anterior/posterior and medial/lateral planes. Mean anterior/posterior CoP displacement significantly increased in the instrument condition for the static surface, eyes closed, 2 feet condition (p≤0.005; d=0.89). No significant differences were found in the medial/lateral plane between non-instrument and instrument conditions. Significant differences were not found between test stance conditions independent of group. Comparisons between the non-instrument-loaded and instrument-loaded conditions revealed possible significance of instrument load on postural stability in the anterior/posterior plane. Mean differences indicated that an unstable surface created a greater destabilizing effect on postural stability than instrument load.

Lumbar stenosis surgery: Spine surgeons not insurance companies should decide when enough is better than too much.

PubMed

Epstein, Nancy E

2017-01-01

Lumbar surgery for spinal stenosis is the most common spine operation being performed in older patients. Nevertheless, every time we want to schedule surgery, we confront the insurance industry. More often than not they demand patients first undergo epidural steroid injections (ESI); clearly they are not aware of ESI's lack of long-term efficacy. Who put these insurance companies in charge anyway? We did. How? Through performing too many unnecessary or overly extensive spinal operations (e.g., interbody fusions and instrumented fusions) without sufficient clinical and/or radiographic indications. Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis with/without degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) are being offered decompressions alone and/or unnecessarily extensive interbody and/or instrumented fusions. Furthermore, a cursory review of the literature largely demonstrates comparable outcomes for decompressions alone vs. decompressions/in situ fusions vs. interbody/instrumented fusions. Too many older patients are being subjected to unnecessary lumbar spine surgery, some with additional interbody/non instrumented or instrumented fusions, without adequate clinical/neurodiagnostic indications. The decision to perform spine surgery for lumbar stenosis/DS, including decompression alone, decompression with non instrumented or instrumented fusion should be in the hands of competent spinal surgeons with their patients' best outcomes in mind. Presently, insurance companies have stepped into the "void" left by spinal surgeons' failing to regulate when, what type, and why spinal surgery is being offered to patients with spinal stenosis. Clearly, spine surgeons need to establish guidelines to maximize patient safety and outcomes for lumbar stenosis surgery. We need to remove insurance companies from their present roles as the "spinal police."

Development and validation of an instrument to assess imminent risk of homelessness among veterans.

PubMed

Montgomery, Ann Elizabeth; Fargo, Jamison D; Kane, Vincent; Culhane, Dennis P

2014-01-01

Veterans are overrepresented within the homeless population compared with their non-veteran counterparts, particularly when controlling for poverty. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) aims to prevent new episodes of homelessness by targeting households at greatest risk; however, there are no instruments that systematically assess veterans' risk of homelessness. We developed and tested a brief screening instrument to identify imminent risk of homelessness among veterans accessing VA health care. The study team developed initial assessment items, conducted cognitive interviews with veterans experiencing homelessness, refined pilot items based on veterans' and experts' feedback and results of psychometric analyses, and assigned weights to items in the final instrument to indicate a measure of homelessness risk. One-third of veterans who responded to the field instrument reported imminent risk of homelessness (i.e., housing instability in the previous 90 days or expected in the next 90 days). The reliability coefficient for the instrument was 0.85, indicating good internal consistency. Veterans who had a recent change in income, had unpaid housing expenses, were living temporarily with family and friends, needed help to get or keep housing, and had poor rental and credit histories were more likely to report a risk of homelessness than those who did not. This study provides the field with an instrument to identify individuals and households at risk of or experiencing homelessness, which is necessary to prevent and end homelessness. In addition, it supports VA's investment in homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing services for veterans who are experiencing or are at risk for homelessness.

Mapping products of Titan's surface

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stephan, Katrin; Jaumann, Ralf; Karkoschka, Erich; Barnes, Jason W.; Tomasko, Martin G.; Turtle, Elizabeth P.; Le Corre, Lucille; Langhans, Mirjam; Le Mouelic, Stephane; Lorenz, Ralf D.; Perry, Jason; Brown, Robert H.; Lebreton, Jean-Pierre

2009-01-01

Remote sensing instruments aboard the Cassini spacecraft have been observed the surface of Titan globally in the infrared and radar wavelength ranges as well as locally by the Huygens instruments revealing a wealth of new morphological features indicating a geologically active surface. We present a summary of mapping products of Titan's surface derived from data of the remote sensing instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft (ISS, VIMS, RADAR) as well as the Huygens probe (DISR) that were achieved during the nominal Cassini mission including an overview of Titan's recent nomenclature.

Impact of Professional Nursing Practices on Patient/Nurse Outcomes: Testing the Essential Professional Nursing Practices Instrument.

PubMed

Kramer, Marlene; Brewer, Barbara B; Halfer, Diana; Hnatiuk, Cynthia Nowicki; MacPhee, Maura; Duchscher, Judy Boychuk; Maguire, Pat; Coe, Thomas; Schmalenberg, Claudia

2017-05-01

Increasing patient and healthcare system complexity and the need to accurately measure the engagement of clinical nurses (CNs) in holistic, professional nursing practice indicates that an update to the Essentials of Magnetism instrument is needed. The purposes of this research were to critique and weight items, assess the value and psychometric properties of the newly constructed Essential Professional Nursing Practices (EPNP) instrument, and establish relationships between EPNPs and CN job, practice, and nurse-assessed patient satisfaction.

Ocean Observation Instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

The Airborne Ocean Color Imager (AOCI) was developed by Daedalus Enterprises, Inc. for Ames Research Center under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract as a simulator for an advanced oceanographic satellite instrument. The instrument measures water temperature and detects water color in nine wavelengths. Water color indicates chlorophyll content or phytoplankton. After EOCAP assistance and technical improvements, the AOCI was successfully commercialized by Daedalus Enterprises, Inc. One version provides commercial fishing fleets with information about fish locations, and the other is used for oceanographic research.

Confirmatory factor analysis of teaching and learning guiding principles instrument among teacher educators in higher education institutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masuwai, Azwani; Tajudin, Nor'ain Mohd; Saad, Noor Shah

2017-05-01

The purpose of this study is to develop and establish the validity and reliability of an instrument to generate teaching and learning guiding principles using Teaching and Learning Guiding Principles Instrument (TLGPI). Participants consisted of 171 Malaysian teacher educators. It is an essential instrument to reflect in generating the teaching and learning guiding principles in higher education level in Malaysia. Confirmatory Factor Analysis has validated all 19 items of TLGPI whereby all items indicated high reliability and internal consistency. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis also confirmed that a single factor model was used to generate teaching and learning guiding principles.

14 CFR 25.1331 - Instruments using a power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... or more physically separate units or components connected together (such as a remote indicating gyroscopic direction indicator that includes a magnetic sensing element, a gyroscopic unit, an amplifier and...

14 CFR 25.1331 - Instruments using a power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... or more physically separate units or components connected together (such as a remote indicating gyroscopic direction indicator that includes a magnetic sensing element, a gyroscopic unit, an amplifier and...

Evaluation of Gust and Draft Velocities from Flights of P-61c Airplanes within Thunderstorms. III - July 12, 1946 to July 18, 1946 at Orlando, Florida. Part 3; July 12, 1946 to July 18, 1946 at Orlando, Florida

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tolefson, H. B.

1946-01-01

The gust and draft velocities evaluated from acceleration and airspeed-altitude records taken by NACA instruments installed in P-61c airplanes participating in thunderstorm flights 9, 10, and 11 of July 12, 1946, July 17, 1946, and July 18, 1946, respectively, are presented in references 1 and 2 for previous flights. In accordance with a recent discussion with a member of the U.S. Weather Bureau staff, motion-picture records of the pilots' instrument panels for the present flights were inspected to note variations in the readings of a milliammeter used in conjunction with other equipment to indicate ambient air temperature. The inspection indicated that the instrument read zero throughout all traverses.

Experimental analysis of IMEP in a rotary combustion engine. [Indicated Mean Effective Pressure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schock, H. J.; Rice, W. J.; Meng, P. R.

1981-01-01

This experimental work demonstrates the use of a NASA designed, real time Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP) measurement system which will be used to judge proposed improvements in cycle efficiency of a rotary combustion engine. This is the first self-contained instrument that is capable of making real time measurements of IMEP in a rotary engine. Previous methods used require data recording and later processing using a digital computer. The unique features of this instrumentation include its ability to measure IMEP on a cycle by cycle, real time basis and the elimination of the need to differentiate the volume function in real time. Measurements at two engine speeds (2000 and 3000 RPM) and a full range of loads are presented, although the instrument was designed to operate to speeds of 9000 RPM.

Quality control in urinalysis.

PubMed

Takubo, T; Tatsumi, N

1999-01-01

Quality control (QC) has been introduced in laboratories, and QC surveys in urinalysis have been performed by College of American Pathologist, by Japanese Association of Medical Technologists, by Osaka Medical Association and by manufacturers. QC survey in urinalysis for synthetic urine by the reagent strip and instrument made in same manufacturer, and by an automated urine cell analyser provided satisfactory results among laboratories. QC survey in urinalysis for synthetic urine by the reagent strips and instruments made by various manufacturers indicated differences in the determination values among manufacturers, and between manual and automated methods because the reagent strips and instruments have different characteristics, respectively. QC photo survey in urinalysis on the microscopic photos of urine sediment constituents indicated differences in the identification of cells among laboratories. From the results, it is necessary to standardize a reagent strip method, manual and automated methods, and synthetic urine.

A comparison of modified versions of the Static-99 and the Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide.

PubMed

Nunes, Kevin L; Firestone, Philip; Bradford, John M; Greenberg, David M; Broom, Ian

2002-07-01

The predictive validity of 2 risk assessment instruments for sex offenders, modified versions of the Static-99 and the Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide, was examined and compared in a sample of 258 adult male sex offenders. In addition, the independent contributions to the prediction of recidivism made by each instrument and by various phallometric indices were explored. Both instruments demonstrated moderate levels of predictive accuracy for sexual and violent (including sexual) recidivism. They were not significantly different in terms of their predictive accuracy for sexual or violent recidivism, nor did they contribute independently to the prediction of sexual or violent recidivism. Of the phallometric indices examined, only the pedophile index added significantly to the prediction of sexual recidivism, but not violent recidivism, above the Static-99 alone.

Health- and vision-related quality of life in intellectually disabled children.

PubMed

Cui, Yu; Stapleton, Fiona; Suttle, Catherine; Bundy, Anita

2010-01-01

To investigate the psychometric properties of instruments for the assessment of self-reported functional vision performance and health-related quality of life in children with intellectual disabilities (IDs). Two instruments [Autoquestionnaire Enfant Image (AUQUEI), LV Prasad-Functional Vision Questionnaire (LVP-FVQ)] designed for the assessment of functional vision and health-related quality of life were adapted and administered to 168 school children with ID, aged 8 to 18 years. Rasch analysis was used to determine the appropriateness of the rating scales of these instruments and to identify any redundant items. Redundant items were excluded based on descriptive statistics and Rasch analysis, leaving 17 of 23 items in the revised AUQUEI and 16 of 22 in the LVP-FVQ. The AUQUEI items showed disordered thresholds on the rating scale. A modified step calibration (collapsed from four categories to three categories) resulted in ordered response thresholds for all items. The adjusted instrument produced an overall fit to the model (mean item infit = 1.06, SD = 0.32; mean item outfit = 1.11, SD = 0.35), indicating good construct validity. After Rasch analysis, the AUQUEI showed good content validity (person separation = 2.18; item reliability = 0.99; Cronbach alpha = 0.89). Increased similarity of person and item means and SDs on the logit scale after modification would indicate that the instrument was more applicable to the target population in its modified form. In contrast, the LVP-FVQ had a low person separation (1.35), suggesting that a more appropriate instrument is needed for assessment of vision-related quality of life in children with ID. The psychometric properties of two instruments were explored using Rasch analysis. By rescaling and reduction of items, the instruments were modified for use in a population of children with at least mild to moderate ID. However, an alternative instrument is needed for the assessment of vision-related quality of life in intellectually disabled children with normal vision or mild visual abnormalities.

C7 pars fracture subadjacent to C7 pedicle screw instrumentation at the caudal end of a posterior cervical instrumentation construct.

PubMed

Halim, Andrea; Grauer, Jonathan

2014-07-01

We report a case of a C7 pars fracture subadjacent to C7 pedicle screw instrumentation at the caudal end of posterior cervical instrumentation construct. To date, posterior cervical instrumentation has been "off label"; however, the US Food and Drug Administration is considering approving label indication of such instrumentation for this common surgical practice. Complications related to the techniques are reported to be relatively low. We know of no previous reports of pars fractures occurring subadjacent to such instrumentation. A 43-year-old man underwent posterior C5-C7 instrumented fusion. Postoperatively, the patient experienced cervical spine injury after a mechanical fall down stairs. Work-up detected bilateral C7 pars fractures subadjacent to the posterior instrumentation construct. After we treated the pars fracture with distal extension of the posterior fusion to the level of T2, the patient progressed to union and marked improvement of initial clinical symptoms that was maintained 2.5 years after posterior instrumentation. To our knowledge, a C7 pars fracture subadjacent to posterior cervical instrumentation construct has not been reported. We hypothesize that the pars may have been vulnerable to fracture because of excessive bone resection during foraminotomy or decortication. This complication was successfully treated by extending the fusion caudally.

Fatigue resistance of engine-driven rotary nickel-titanium instruments produced by new manufacturing methods.

PubMed

Gambarini, Gianluca; Grande, Nicola Maria; Plotino, Gianluca; Somma, Francesco; Garala, Manish; De Luca, Massimo; Testarelli, Luca

2008-08-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether cyclic fatigue resistance is increased for nickel-titanium instruments manufactured by using new processes. This was evaluated by comparing instruments produced by using the twisted method (TF; SybronEndo, Orange, CA) and those using the M-wire alloy (GTX; Dentsply Tulsa-Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK) with instruments produced by a traditional NiTi grinding process (K3, SybronEndo). Tests were performed with a specific cyclic fatigue device that evaluated cycles to failure of rotary instruments inside curved artificial canals. Results indicated that size 06-25 TF instruments showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the mean number of cycles to failure when compared with size 06-25 K3 files. Size 06-20 K3 instruments showed no significant increase (p > 0.05) in the mean number of cycles to failure when compared with size 06-20 GT series X instruments. The new manufacturing process produced nickel-titanium rotary files (TF) significantly more resistant to fatigue than instruments produced with the traditional NiTi grinding process. Instruments produced with M-wire (GTX) were not found to be more resistant to fatigue than instruments produced with the traditional NiTi grinding process.

Adapting the academic motivation scale for use in pre-tertiary mathematics classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Siew Yee; Chapman, Elaine

2015-09-01

The Academic Motivation Scale ( ams) is a comprehensive and widely used instrument for assessing motivation based on the self-determination theory. Currently, no such comprehensive instrument exists to assess the different domains of motivation (stipulated by the self-determination theory) in mathematics education at the pre-tertiary level (grades 11 and 12) in Asia. This study adapted the ams for this use and assessed the properties of the adapted instrument with 1610 students from Singapore. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated a five-factor structure for the modified instrument (the three original ams intrinsic subscales collapsed into a single factor). Additionally, the modified instrument exhibited good internal consistency (mean α = .88), and satisfactory test-retest reliability over a 1-month interval (mean r xx = .73). The validity of the modified ams was further demonstrated through correlational analyses among scores on its subscales, and with scores on other instruments measuring mathematics attitudes, anxiety and achievement.

Fatigue resistance of engine-driven rotary nickel-titanium endodontic instruments.

PubMed

Chaves Craveiro de Melo, Marta; Guiomar de Azevedo Bahia, Maria; Lopes Buono, Vicente Tadeu

2002-11-01

A comparative study of the fatigue resistance of engine-driven nickel-titanium endodontic instruments was performed, aiming to access the influence of the cutting flute design and of the size of the files that reach the working length in curved canal shaping. Geometrical conditions similar to those found in practice were used. Series 29 #5 ProFile, together with #6 and #8 Quantec instruments, were tested in artificial canals with a 45-degree angle of curvature and 5-mm radius of curvature. It was observed that the size of the instrument, which determines the maximum strain amplitude during cyclic deformation, is the most important factor controlling fatigue resistance. The effect of heat sterilization on the fatigue resistance of the instruments was also examined. The results obtained indicate that the application of five sterilization procedures in dry heat increases the average number of cycles to failure of unused instruments by approximately 70%.

Psychometric evaluation of a new instrument in Spanish to measure the wellness of university nursing faculty.

PubMed

Hurtado-Pardos, Barbara; Casas, Irma; Lluch-Canut, Teresa; Moreno-Arroyo, Carmen; Nebot-Bergua, Carlos; Roldán-Merino, Juan

2018-01-02

The aim of this study was to design and validate an instrument to measure the wellness among university nursing faculty. The study was performed in two phases. Phase I consisted of the development of the instrument with discussion groups and participant consensus. We designed an instrument including the 21 items or psychosocial risk factors identified and estimated an index by evaluating the frequency and intensity of each item. The items were grouped into 3 dimensions: teaching work demands, curricular demands, and organizational difficulties. Phase II, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the tool in a sample of 263 participants. Exploratory factor analysis showed a 3-factor structure that explained 53% of the total variance. The internal consistency of the instrument was 0.91 for the whole instrument. The results indicate that the tool developed is valid and reliable and may be a good instrument to monitor the wellness of university nursing faculty.

Developing leading indicators from OHS management audit data: Determining the measurement properties of audit data from the field.

PubMed

Robson, Lynda S; Ibrahim, Selahadin; Hogg-Johnson, Sheilah; Steenstra, Ivan A; Van Eerd, Dwayne; Amick, Benjamin C

2017-06-01

OHS management audits are one means of obtaining data that may serve as leading indicators. The measurement properties of such data are therefore important. This study used data from Workwell audit program in Ontario, a Canadian province. The audit instrument consisted of 122 items related to 17 OHS management elements. The study sought answers regarding (a) the ability of audit-based scores to predict workers' compensation claims outcomes, (b) structural characteristics of the data in relation to the organization of the audit instrument, and (c) internal consistency of items within audit elements. The sample consisted of audit and claims data from 1240 unique firms that had completed one or two OHS management audits during 2007-2010. Predictors derived from the audit results were used in multivariable negative binomial regression modeling of workers' compensation claims outcomes. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine the instrument's structural characteristics. Kuder-Richardson coefficients of internal consistency were calculated for each audit element. The ability of audit scores to predict subsequent claims data could not be established. Factor analysis supported the audit instrument's element-based structure. KR-20 values were high (≥0.83). The Workwell audit data display structural validity and high internal consistency, but not, to date, construct validity, since the audit scores are generally not predictive of subsequent firm claim experience. Audit scores should not be treated as leading indicators of workplace OHS performance without supporting empirical data. Analyses of the measurement properties of audit data can inform decisionmakers about the operation of an audit program, possible future directions in audit instrument development, and the appropriate use of audit data. In particular, decision-makers should be cautious in their use of audit scores as leading indicators, in the absence of supporting empirical data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

Video-Based Method of Quantifying Performance and Instrument Motion During Simulated Phonosurgery

PubMed Central

Conroy, Ellen; Surender, Ketan; Geng, Zhixian; Chen, Ting; Dailey, Seth; Jiang, Jack

2015-01-01

Objectives/Hypothesis To investigate the use of the Video-Based Phonomicrosurgery Instrument Tracking System to collect instrument position data during simulated phonomicrosurgery and calculate motion metrics using these data. We used this system to determine if novice subject motion metrics improved over 1 week of training. Study Design Prospective cohort study. Methods Ten subjects performed simulated surgical tasks once per day for 5 days. Instrument position data were collected and used to compute motion metrics (path length, depth perception, and motion smoothness). Data were analyzed to determine if motion metrics improved with practice time. Task outcome was also determined each day, and relationships between task outcome and motion metrics were used to evaluate the validity of motion metrics as indicators of surgical performance. Results Significant decreases over time were observed for path length (P <.001), depth perception (P <.001), and task outcome (P <.001). No significant change was observed for motion smoothness. Significant relationships were observed between task outcome and path length (P <.001), depth perception (P <.001), and motion smoothness (P <.001). Conclusions Our system can estimate instrument trajectory and provide quantitative descriptions of surgical performance. It may be useful for evaluating phonomicrosurgery performance. Path length and depth perception may be particularly useful indicators. PMID:24737286

Cultural adaptation of an instrument to assess physical fitness in cardiac patients.

PubMed

Domingues, Gabriela de Barros Leite; Gallani, Maria Cecília; Gobatto, Claudio Alexandre; Miura, Cinthya Tamie Passos; Rodrigues, Roberta Cunha Matheus; Myers, Jonathan

2011-04-01

To validate the content and to evaluate the reliability of the Veterans Specific Activity Questionnaire instrument, culturally adapted for use in the Brazilian population of cardiac patients. The instrument was translated and back-translated and subsequently analyzed by a committee of judges to evaluate its semantic-idiomatic and cultural equivalences. Physical activities were replaced when indicated in the instrument, but uncommon in the daily life of the target population. Another committee of specialists analyzed the metabolic equivalence of replaced activities. The proportion of agreement of evaluation of the judges was quantified by the Content Validity Index. The pre-test was performed in two stages (n1 and n2=15). Reliability was assessed using the test-retest (interval of 7-15 days, n = 50). In the evaluation of semantic-idiomatic and cultural equivalences, items with a Content Validity Index < 1 were reviewed until consensus among the judges was obtained. The second committee found 100% of agreement in the analysis of metabolic equivalence between original and replaced activities. Test-retest analysis indicated a Kappa coefficient of agreement (k = 0.86; (p<0.001), suggesting temporal stability of the instrument. The Brazilian version of the Veterans Specific Activity Questionnaire showed evidence of reliability, according to the temporal stability criterion and adequate cultural content.

A review of sterilization, packaging and storage considerations for orthodontic pliers.

PubMed

Papaioannou, Angeliki

2013-01-01

Wrapping dental instruments along with a chemical indicator is considered an essential step of a reliable infection control protocol. Hinged instruments, such as orthodontic pliers, are particular because they must be sterilized in an open position. Different methods to sterilize, package and store orthodontic pliers are reviewed and discussed.

Choosing Assessment Instruments for Bulimia Practice and Outcome Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandberg, Katie; Erford, Bradley T.

2013-01-01

Six commonly used instruments for assessment of eating disorders were analyzed. Effect size results from Erford et al.'s (2013) meta-analysis for the treatment of bulimia nervosa were used to compare each scale's ability to measure treatment outcomes for bulimia nervosa. Effect size comparisons indicated higher overall effect sizes using the…

Gender and Musical Instrument Stereotypes in Middle School Children: Have Trends Changed?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wrape, Elizabeth R.; Dittloff, Alexandra L.; Callahan, Jennifer L.

2016-01-01

Previous studies have established that gender stereotypes are associated with children's choice of musical instrument. Though some have suggested that these gender stereotypes may be trending toward change, other studies have indicated that gender stereotypes are long-standing and still very much at issue. This descriptive study of middle school…

Malaysian English: An Instrumental Analysis of Vowel Contrasts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pillai, Stefanie; Don, Zuraidah Mohd.; Knowles, Gerald; Tang, Jennifer

2010-01-01

This paper makes an instrumental analysis of English vowel monophthongs produced by 47 female Malaysian speakers. The focus is on the distribution of Malaysian English vowels in the vowel space, and the extent to which there is phonetic contrast between traditionally paired vowels. The results indicate that, like neighbouring varieties of English,…

Student Evaluation of Teaching: A Study Exploring Student Rating Instrument Free-Form Text Comments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stupans, Ieva; McGuren, Therese; Babey, Anna Marie

2016-01-01

Student rating instruments are recognised to be valid indicators of effective instruction, providing a valuable tool to improve teaching. However, free-form text comments obtained from the open-ended question component of such surveys are only infrequently analysed comprehensively. We employed an innovative, systematic approach to the analysis of…

The Reliability and Validity of a Performance Task for Evaluating Science Process Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Cheryll M.; Callahan, Carolyn M.

1995-01-01

The Diet Cola Test was designed as a process assessment of science aptitude in intermediate grade students. Investigations of the instrument's reliability and validity indicated that data did not support use of the instrument for identifying individual students' aptitude. However, results suggested the test's appropriateness for evaluating…

Teacher Observation in El Salvador. Research Report Number Five.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayo, Judith A.

An instrument to help teacher supervisors in El Salvador to identify and measure good teaching was developed and tested. Because the supervisors were not trained as researchers, they needed an instrument that was simple to use as well as reliable. Several indicators were defined to distinguish between modern and traditional teaching methods, for…

Expectations for Visual Function: An Initial Evaluation of a New Clinical Instrument.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corn, Anne L.; Webne, Steve L.

2001-01-01

A study explored the internal consistency of items in a visual screening instrument developed by Project PAVE: Expectations for Visual Functioning (EVF). The test includes 20 items that evaluate a child's functional use of vision. A pilot test involving 129 teachers indicates the EFV is internally consistent. (Contains three references.) (CR)

Factors of Spatial Visualization: An Analysis of the PSVT:R

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ernst, Jeremy V.; Willams, Thomas O.; Clark, Aaron C.; Kelly, Daniel P.

2017-01-01

The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (PVST:R) is among the most commonly used measurement instruments to assess spatial ability among engineering students. Previous analysis that explores the factor structure of the PSVT:R indicates a single-factor measure of the instrument. With this as a basis, this research seeks to…

40 CFR 86.111-90 - Exhaust gas analytical system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., or indicating silica gel to remove water vapor and containing ascarite to remove carbon dioxide from the CO analysis stream. (i) If CO instruments which are essentially free of CO2 and water vapor... instrument will be considered to be essentially free of CO2 and water vapor interference if its response to a...

40 CFR 86.111-90 - Exhaust gas analytical system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., or indicating silica gel to remove water vapor and containing ascarite to remove carbon dioxide from the CO analysis stream. (i) If CO instruments which are essentially free of CO2 and water vapor... instrument will be considered to be essentially free of CO2 and water vapor interference if its response to a...

Development of "Task Value" Instrument for Biology as a School Subject

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Köksal, Mustafa Serdar; Yaman, Süleyman

2013-01-01

The expectancy-value model of motivation states that individuals' choice, persistence and performances are related to their beliefs about how much they value task. Despite the importance of "task value" in learning biology, lack of the instruments on task value for high school biology courses for practical use indicated requirement to…

17 CFR 240.3b-13 - Definition of eligible OTC derivative instrument.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... interest in, one or more commodities, securities, currencies, interest or other rates, indices... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Definition of eligible OTC derivative instrument. 240.3b-13 Section 240.3b-13 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE...

17 CFR 240.3b-13 - Definition of eligible OTC derivative instrument.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... interest in, one or more commodities, securities, currencies, interest or other rates, indices... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Definition of eligible OTC derivative instrument. 240.3b-13 Section 240.3b-13 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE...

A Comparison of the Basic Song Repertoire of Vocal/Choral and Instrumental Music Education Majors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prickett, Carol A.; Bridges, Madeline S.

2000-01-01

Explores whether the basic song repertoire of vocal/choral music education majors is significantly better than instrumental music education majors. Participants attempted to identify 25 standard songs. Reveals no significant difference between the two groups, indicating that neither had developed a strong repertoire of songs. (CMK)

Labour Universities: Physical Education and the Indoctrination of the Working Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delgado-Granados, Patricia; Ramírez-Macías, Gonzalo

2014-01-01

This paper explores the role of physical education in Labour Universities (1955-1978) during Franco's regime as an instrument of indoctrination and declassing of the working class. The conclusions obtained after the study and the analysis of various primary sources indicate that, initially, physical education was used as an instrument of…

Psychosocial Assessment of Self-Harm Patients and Risk of Repeat Presentation: An Instrumental Variable Analysis Using Time of Hospital Presentation.

PubMed

Carroll, Robert; Metcalfe, Chris; Steeg, Sarah; Davies, Neil M; Cooper, Jayne; Kapur, Nav; Gunnell, David

2016-01-01

Clinical guidelines have recommended psychosocial assessment of self-harm patients for years, yet estimates of its impact on the risk of repeat self-harm vary. Assessing the association of psychosocial assessment with risk of repeat self-harm is challenging due to the effects of confounding by indication. We analysed data from a cohort study of 15,113 patients presenting to the emergency departments of three UK hospitals to investigate the association of psychosocial assessment with risk of repeat hospital presentation for self-harm. Time of day of hospital presentation was used as an instrument for psychosocial assessment, attempting to control for confounding by indication. Conventional regression analysis suggested psychosocial assessment was not associated with risk of repeat self-harm within 12 months (Risk Difference (RD) 0.00 95% confidence interval (95%CI) -0.01 to 0.02). In contrast, IV analysis suggested risk of repeat self-harm was reduced by 18% (RD -0.18, 95%CI -0.32 to -0.03) in those patients receiving a psychosocial assessment. However, the instrument of time of day did not remove all potential effects of confounding by indication, suggesting the IV effect estimate may be biased. We found that psychosocial assessments reduce risk of repeat self-harm. This is in-line with other non-randomised studies based on populations in which allocation to assessment was less subject to confounding by indication. However, as our instrument did not fully balance important confounders across time of day, the IV effect estimate should be interpreted with caution.

An Instrument to Measure Maturity of Integrated Care: A First Validation Study

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Introduction: Lessons captured from interviews with 12 European regions are represented in a new instrument, the B3-Maturity Model (B3-MM). B3-MM aims to assess maturity along 12 dimensions reflecting the various aspects that need to be managed in order to deliver integrated care. The objective of the study was to test the content validity of B3-MM as part of SCIROCCO (Scaling Integrated Care into Context), a European Union funded project. Methods: A literature review was conducted to compare B3-MM’s 12 dimensions and their measurement scales with existing measures and instruments that focus on assessing the development of integrated care. Subsequently, a three-round survey conducted through a Delphi study with international experts in the field of integrated care was performed to test the relevance of: 1) the dimensions, 2) the maturity indicators and 3) the assessment scale used in B3-MM. Results: The 11 articles included in the literature review confirmed all the dimensions described in the original version of B3-MM. The Delphi study rounds resulted in various phrasing amendments of indicators and assessment scale. Full agreement among the experts on the relevance of the 12 B3-MM dimensions, their indicators, and assessment scale was reached after the third Delphi round. Conclusion and discussion: The B3-MM dimensions, maturity indicators and assessment scale showed satisfactory content validity. While the B3-MM is a unique instrument based on existing knowledge and experiences of regions in integrated care, further testing is needed to explore other measurement properties of B3-MM. PMID:29588644

Developing and testing the CHORDS: Characteristics of Responsible Drinking Survey.

PubMed

Barry, Adam E; Goodson, Patricia

2011-01-01

Report on the development and psychometric testing of a theoretically and evidence-grounded instrument, the Characteristics of Responsible Drinking Survey (CHORDS). Instrument subjected to four phases of pretesting (cognitive validity, cognitive and motivational qualities, pilot test, and item evaluation) and a final posttest implementation. Large public university in Texas. Randomly selected convenience sample (n  =  729) of currently enrolled students. This 78-item questionnaire measures individuals' responsible drinking beliefs, motivations, intentions, and behaviors. Cronbach α, split-half reliability, principal components analysis and Spearman ρ were conducted to investigate reliability, stability, and validity. Measures in the CHORDS exhibited high internal consistency reliability and strong correlations of split-half reliability. Factor analyses indicated five distinct scales were present, as proposed in the theoretical model. Subscale composite scores also exhibited a correlation to alcohol consumption behaviors, indicating concurrent validity. The CHORDS represents the first instrument specifically designed to assess responsible drinking beliefs and behaviors. It was found to elicit valid and reliable data among a college student sample. This instrument holds much promise for practitioners who desire to empirically investigate dimensions of responsible drinking.

Development and validation of climate change system thinking instrument (CCSTI) for measuring system thinking on climate change content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meilinda; Rustaman, N. Y.; Firman, H.; Tjasyono, B.

2018-05-01

The Climate Change System Thinking Instrument (CCSTI) is developed to measure a system thinking ability in the concept of climate change. CCSTI is developed in four phase’s development including instrument draft development, validation and evaluation including readable material test, expert validation, and field test. The result of field test is analyzed by looking at the readability score in Cronbach’s alpha test. Draft instrument is tested on college students majoring in Biology Education, Physics Education, and Chemistry Education randomly with a total number of 80 college students. Score of Content Validation Index at 0.86, which means that the CCSTI developed are categorized as very appropriate with question indicators and Cronbach’s alpha about 0.605 which mean categorized undesirable to minimal acceptable. From 45 questions of system thinking, there are 37 valid questions spread in four indicators of system thinking, which are system thinking phase I (pre-requirement), system thinking phase II (basic), system thinking phase III (intermediate), and system thinking phase IV (coherent expert).

14 CFR 135.158 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 135.158... Equipment § 135.158 Pitot heat indication systems. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section... instrument pitot heating system unless the airplane is also equipped with an operable pitot heat indication...

14 CFR 135.158 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 135.158... Equipment § 135.158 Pitot heat indication systems. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section... instrument pitot heating system unless the airplane is also equipped with an operable pitot heat indication...

14 CFR 135.158 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 135.158... Equipment § 135.158 Pitot heat indication systems. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section... instrument pitot heating system unless the airplane is also equipped with an operable pitot heat indication...

14 CFR 135.158 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 135.158... Equipment § 135.158 Pitot heat indication systems. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section... instrument pitot heating system unless the airplane is also equipped with an operable pitot heat indication...

14 CFR 135.158 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 135.158... Equipment § 135.158 Pitot heat indication systems. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section... instrument pitot heating system unless the airplane is also equipped with an operable pitot heat indication...

14 CFR 25.1326 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 25.1326 Section 25.1326 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION....1326 Pitot heat indication systems. If a flight instrument pitot heating system is installed, an...

14 CFR 25.1326 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 25.1326 Section 25.1326 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION....1326 Pitot heat indication systems. If a flight instrument pitot heating system is installed, an...

14 CFR 25.1326 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 25.1326 Section 25.1326 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION....1326 Pitot heat indication systems. If a flight instrument pitot heating system is installed, an...

14 CFR 25.1326 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 25.1326 Section 25.1326 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION....1326 Pitot heat indication systems. If a flight instrument pitot heating system is installed, an...

14 CFR 25.1326 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 25.1326 Section 25.1326 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION....1326 Pitot heat indication systems. If a flight instrument pitot heating system is installed, an...

Measurement of predictive validity in violence risk assessment studies: a second-order systematic review.

PubMed

Singh, Jay P; Desmarais, Sarah L; Van Dorn, Richard A

2013-01-01

The objective of the present review was to examine how predictive validity is analyzed and reported in studies of instruments used to assess violence risk. We reviewed 47 predictive validity studies published between 1990 and 2011 of 25 instruments that were included in two recent systematic reviews. Although all studies reported receiver operating characteristic curve analyses and the area under the curve (AUC) performance indicator, this methodology was defined inconsistently and findings often were misinterpreted. In addition, there was between-study variation in benchmarks used to determine whether AUCs were small, moderate, or large in magnitude. Though virtually all of the included instruments were designed to produce categorical estimates of risk - through the use of either actuarial risk bins or structured professional judgments - only a minority of studies calculated performance indicators for these categorical estimates. In addition to AUCs, other performance indicators, such as correlation coefficients, were reported in 60% of studies, but were infrequently defined or interpreted. An investigation of sources of heterogeneity did not reveal significant variation in reporting practices as a function of risk assessment approach (actuarial vs. structured professional judgment), study authorship, geographic location, type of journal (general vs. specialized audience), sample size, or year of publication. Findings suggest a need for standardization of predictive validity reporting to improve comparison across studies and instruments. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An instrument measuring prospective mathematics teacher self-regulated learning: validity and reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nugroho, A. A.; Juniati, D.; Siswono, T. Y. E.

2018-03-01

Self Regulated Learning (SRL) is an individual's ability to achieve academic goals by controlling behavior, motivate yourself and use cognitive in learning, so it is important for a teacher especially teachers of mathematics related to the ability of management, design, implementation of learning and evaluation of learning outcomes. The purpose of the research is to develop an instrument to describe the SRL of a prospective mathematics teacher. Data were collected by (1) the study of the theory of SRL produced the indicator SRL used to design the questionnaire SRL; (2) analysis of the questionnaire SRL obtained from several References; and (3) development stage of the SRL questionnaire through validity test of content and empirical validation. The study involved 2 content experts in mathematics, 1 linguist, and 92 prospective mathematics teachers. The results of the research on content validity test based on Indonesian expert and 2 content experts indicate that the content can assess the indicator of the SRL and feasible to be used, in the test of legibility of two prospective mathematics teacher concluded that the instrument has a language that can be understood by the prospective teacher of mathematics and on empirical validation involving 92 prospective mathematics teacher generate data that of 65 statements there are 3 invalid statements. Reliability calculation shows high category that values 0,93. The conclusion is the SRL instrument developed for the prospective mathematics teacher.

Effects of Music Listening on Cortisol Levels and Propofol Consumption during Spinal Anesthesia

PubMed Central

Koelsch, Stefan; Fuermetz, Julian; Sack, Ulrich; Bauer, Katrin; Hohenadel, Maximilian; Wiegel, Martin; Kaisers, Udo X.; Heinke, Wolfgang

2011-01-01

Background: This study explores effects of instrumental music on the hormonal system (as indicated by serum cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone), the immune system (as indicated by immunoglobulin A) and sedative drug requirements during surgery (elective total hip joint replacement under spinal anesthesia with light sedation). This is the first study investigating this issue with a double-blind design using instrumental music. Methodology/Principal Findings: Patients (n = 40) were randomly assigned either to a music group (listening to instrumental music), or to a control group (listening to a non-musical placebo stimulus). Both groups listened to the auditory stimulus about 2 h before, and during the entire intra-operative period (during the intra-operative light sedation, subjects were able to respond lethargically to verbal commands). Results indicate that, during surgery, patients of the music group had a lower propofol consumption, and lower cortisol levels, compared to the control group. Conclusion/Significance: Our data show that listening to music during surgery under regional anesthesia has effects on cortisol levels (reflecting stress-reducing effects) and reduces sedative requirements to reach light sedation. PMID:21716581

[Assessing work-related stress: an Italian adaptation of the HSE Management Standards Work-Related Stress Indicator Tool].

PubMed

Marcatto, Francesco; D'Errico, Giuseppe; Di Blas, Lisa; Ferrante, Donatella

2011-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present a preliminary validation of an Italian adaptation of the HSE Management Standards Work-Related Stress Indicator Tool (IT), an instrument for assessing work-related stress at the organizational level, originally developed in Britain by the Health and Safety Executive. A scale that assesses the physical work environment has been added to the original version of the IT. 190 employees of the University of Trieste have been enrolled in the study. A confirmatory analysis showed a satisfactory fit of the eight-factors structure of the instrument. Further psychometric analysis showed adequate internal consistency of the IT scales and good criterion validity, as evidenced by the correlations with self-perception of stress, work satisfaction and motivation. In conclusion, the Indicator Tool proved to be a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of work-related stress at the organizational level, and it is also compatible with the instructions provided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (Circular letter 18/11/2010).

Comparison of apical transportation between ProFile and ProTaper NiTi rotary instruments.

PubMed

Iqbal, M K; Firic, S; Tulcan, J; Karabucak, B; Kim, S

2004-06-01

To use a newly developed radiographic technique to compare apical transportation and loss of working length (WL) between.06 taper ProFile Series 29 and ProTaper nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments in vitro. Mesio-buccal canals of 40 extracted mandibular molars were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 was instrumented with ProFile and group 2 with ProTaper instruments according to the manufacturers' directions. A specially constructed radiographic jig with a Schick digital radiographic system (Schick Technologies Inc., Long Island City, NY, USA) was used to take pre- and postoperative radiographs of the samples at predetermined angulations. Using AutoCAD 2000 (Autodesk Inc., San Rafael, CA, USA), the central axes of initial and final instruments were radiographically superimposed to determine the loss of WL and degree of transportation at D(0), D(1), D(2) and D(4) from the WL. Data were analysed using repeated-measures anova. A statistically significant difference in apical transportation was found at the D(4) level between the two groups (P = 0.05). There was no statistical significance regarding postinstrumentation change in WL between groups. Spearman's Bivariate Correlation analysis indicated no statistically significant relationship between the radius of curvature and transportation. The results indicate that both ProTaper and ProFile instruments are comparable to each other in regards to their ability to optimally enlarge root canal with minimal transportation and loss of WL in vitro.

Vehicle energy conservation indicating device and process for use

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

Crump, J.M.

A vehicle energy conservation indicating device comprises an integrated instrument cluster functioning basically as a nomographic computing mechanism. The odometer distance traveled indicator computing mechanism is linked with the fuel indicating gauge mechanism such that a three variable equation computing mechanism is obtained. The three variables are distance traveled, quantity of fuel consumed and distance traveled per unit of fuel consumed. Energy conservation is achieved by operating the vehicle under such performance conditions as to produce the highest possible value for distance traveled per unit of fuel consumed. The instrument panel cluster brings the operator's attention to focus upon andmore » continuously stimulated to conserving energy. Furthermore, the vehicle energy conservation indicating device can be adapted for recording these performance variables on tape type print out. The speedometer advises the vehicle operator when he is obeying or breaking the speed laws which are enforced and monitored by the police with specific punishment prescribed for violations of the law. At this time there is no comparable procedure for enforcing vehicle energy conservation. Thus, this direct read out of distance traveled per unit of energy will moderate the operation in an analogous manner similar to subliminal advertising. This device becomes the focal point of the instrument panel along with the speedometer, thereby providing constant motivation to obey both the speed and energy conservation laws.« less

An overview of self-administered health literacy instruments.

PubMed

O Neill, Braden; Gonçalves, Daniela; Ricci-Cabello, Ignacio; Ziebland, Sue; Valderas, Jose

2014-01-01

With the increasing recognition of health literacy as a worldwide research priority, the development and refinement of indices to measure the construct is an important area of inquiry. Furthermore, the proliferation of online resources and research means that there is a growing need for self-administered instruments. We undertook a systematic overview to identify all published self-administered health literacy assessment indices to report their content and considerations associated with their administration. A primary aim of this study was to assist those seeking to employ a self-reported health literacy index to select one that has been developed and validated for an appropriate context, as well as with desired administration characteristics. Systematic searches were carried out in four electronic databases, and studies were included if they reported the development and/or validation of a novel health literacy assessment measure. Data were systematically extracted on key characteristics of the instruments: breadth of construct ("generic" vs. "content- or context- specific" health literacy), whether it was an original instrument or a derivative, country of origin, administration characteristics, age of target population (adult vs. pediatric), and evidence for validity. 35 articles met the inclusion criteria. There were 27 original instruments (27/35; 77.1%) and 8 derivative instruments (8/35; 22.9%). 22 indices measured "general" health literacy (22/35; 62.9%) while the remainder measured condition- or context- specific health literacy (13/35; 37.1%). Most health literacy measures were developed in the United States (22/35; 62.9%), and about half had adequate face, content, and construct validity (16/35; 45.7%). Given the number of measures available for many specific conditions and contexts, and that several have acceptable validity, our findings suggest that the research agenda should shift towards the investigation and elaboration of health literacy as a construct itself, in order for research in health literacy measurement to progress.

Biomechanical risk factors for proximal junctional kyphosis: a detailed numerical analysis of surgical instrumentation variables.

PubMed

Cammarata, Marco; Aubin, Carl-Éric; Wang, Xiaoyu; Mac-Thiong, Jean-Marc

2014-04-15

Biomechanical analysis of proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) through computer simulations and sensitivity analysis. To gain biomechanical knowledge on the risk of PJK and find surgical solutions to reduce the risks. PJK is a pathological kyphotic deformity adjacent to the instrumentation. Clinical studies have documented its risk factors, but still little is known on how it is correlated with various individual instrumentation variables. Biomechanical spine models of 6 patients with adult scoliosis were developed, validated, and then used to perform 576 simulations, varying the proximal dissection procedure, the implant type at the upper instrumented vertebra, the sagittal rod curvature, and the proximal diameter of the proximal transition rods. Four biomechanical indices--the proximal junctional kyphotic angle, thoracic kyphosis, proximal flexion force, and proximal flexion moment--were assessed. The bilateral complete facetectomy, the posterior ligaments resection, and the combination of both increased the proximal junctional kyphotic angle (respectively, by 10%, 28% and 53%) and the proximal flexion force (4%, 12%, and 22%) and moment (16%, 44%, and 83%). Compared with pedicle screws at upper instrumented vertebra, proximal transverse process hooks reduced the 3 biomechanical indices by approximately 26%. The use of proximal transition rods with reduced proximal diameter from 5.5 mm to 4 mm decreased the proximal junctional kyphotic angle (by 6%) and the proximal flexion force (4%) and moment (8%). The increase of the sagittal rod curvature from 10° to 20°, 30°, and 40° increased the proximal junctional kyphotic angle (by 6%, 13%, and 19%) and the proximal flexion force (3%, 7%, and 10%) and moment (9%, 18%, and 27%). Preserving more posterior proximal intervertebral elements, the use of transition rods and transverse process hooks at upper instrumented vertebra, and reducing the global sagittal rod curvature each decreased the 4 biomechanical indices that may be involved in PJK. N/A.

Comparison of washer-disinfector cleaning indicators: impact of temperature and cleaning cycle parameters.

PubMed

Alfa, Michelle J; Olson, Nancy

2014-02-01

Because automated instrument washer-disinfectors (WD) are widely used in health care to reprocess a variety of medical instruments, we developed a study to compare 3 cleaning indicators to determine whether they detected suboptimal temperature, time, enzymatic detergent, and fluid action in a washer-disinfector. The Miele WD was used for this comparison. One optimal cycle and 14 cycles with suboptimal enzymatic detergent, cleaning time, temperature, or inactive spray arms were evaluated. The cleaning indicators evaluated included the following: Pinnacle Monitor for Automated Enzymatic Cleaning Process (PNCL), Wash-Checks (WC), and TOSI. The scoring system for all 3 indicators was harmonized to a common scale. Soiled tweezers were included in each cycle evaluated. The PNCL, TOSI, and WC cleaning indicators showed significantly more failures at 40°C compared with 60°C (100% vs 0% for PNCL, 17% vs 0% for TOSI, and 60% vs 22% for WC, respectively). There were significantly more failures at suboptimal temperatures with a 2- versus 4-minute cycle (100% vs 0% for PNCL, 17% vs 0% for TOSI, and 17% vs 0% for WC, respectively, for 40°C cycles). Despite suboptimal cleaning cycles, all soiled tweezers looked clean. All 3 cleaning indicators responded to suboptimal WD conditions; however, the PNCL was the most affected by alterations in the cycle conditions evaluated. In simulated use testing, cleaning indicators provided a more sensitive audit tool compared with visual inspection of soiled instruments after automated cleaning. Copyright © 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Predicting child maltreatment: A meta-analysis of the predictive validity of risk assessment instruments.

PubMed

van der Put, Claudia E; Assink, Mark; Boekhout van Solinge, Noëlle F

2017-11-01

Risk assessment is crucial in preventing child maltreatment since it can identify high-risk cases in need of child protection intervention. Despite widespread use of risk assessment instruments in child welfare, it is unknown how well these instruments predict maltreatment and what instrument characteristics are associated with higher levels of predictive validity. Therefore, a multilevel meta-analysis was conducted to examine the predictive accuracy of (characteristics of) risk assessment instruments. A literature search yielded 30 independent studies (N=87,329) examining the predictive validity of 27 different risk assessment instruments. From these studies, 67 effect sizes could be extracted. Overall, a medium significant effect was found (AUC=0.681), indicating a moderate predictive accuracy. Moderator analyses revealed that onset of maltreatment can be better predicted than recurrence of maltreatment, which is a promising finding for early detection and prevention of child maltreatment. In addition, actuarial instruments were found to outperform clinical instruments. To bring risk and needs assessment in child welfare to a higher level, actuarial instruments should be further developed and strengthened by distinguishing risk assessment from needs assessment and by integrating risk assessment with case management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-Care Behaviors in Heart Failure.

PubMed

Cavalcante, Agueda Maria Ruiz Zimmer; Lopes, Camila Takao; Brunori, Evelise Fadini Reis; Swanson, Elizabeth; Moorhead, Sue Ann; Bachion, Maria Márcia; de Barros, Alba Lucia Bottura Leite

2017-05-18

To identify self-care behaviors, instruments, techniques, parameters for the assessment of self-care behaviors in people with heart failure, compare these behaviors with the indicators of the Nursing Outcomes Classification outcome, Self Management: Cardiac Disease. Integrative literature review performed in Lilacs, Medline, CINAHL, and Cochrane, including publications from 2009 to 2015. One thousand six hundred ninety-one articles were retrieved from the search, of which 165 were selected for analysis. Ten self-care behaviors and several different assessment instruments, techniques, and parameters were identified. The addition and removal of some indicators are proposed, based on this review. The data provide substrate for the development of conceptual and operational definitions of the indicators, making the outcome more applicable for use in clinical practice. © 2017 NANDA International, Inc.

The Global Sustainability Index: An Instrument For Assessing The Progress Towards The Sustainable Organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grecu, Valentin

2015-09-01

There is rarely an optimal solution in sustainable development but most frequently a need to build compromises between conflicting aspects such as economic, social and environmental ones and different expectations of stakeholders. Moreover, information is rarely available and precise. This paper will focus on how to use indicators to monitor sustainable development, integrating the information provided by many of them into a complex general sustainability index. Having this general indicator is essential for decision makers as it is very complicated to evaluate the performance of the organization based on multiple indicators. The objective of this paper is to find mathematical algorithms for simplifying the decision-making process by offering an instrument for the evaluation of the sustainability progress.

Reliability of patient specific instrumentation in total knee arthroplasty.

PubMed

Jennart, Harold; Ngo Yamben, Marie-Ange; Kyriakidis, Theofylaktos; Zorman, David

2015-12-01

The aim of this study was to compare the precision between Patient Specific Instrumentation (PSI) and Conventional Instrumentation (CI) as determined intra-operatively by a pinless navigation system. Eighty patients were included in this prospective comparative study and they were divided into two homogeneous groups. We defined an original score from 6 to 30 points to evaluate the accuracy of the position of the cutting guides. This score is based on 6 objective criteria. The analysis indicated that PSI was not superior to conventional instrumentation in the overall score (p = 0.949). Moreover, no statistically significant difference was observed for any individual criteria of our score. Level of evidence II.

An approach to instrument qualified visual range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Courtade, Benoît; Bonnet, Jordan; Woodruff, Chris; Larson, Josiah; Giles, Andrew; Sonde, Nikhil; Moore, C. J.; Schimon, David; Harris, David Money; Pond, Duane; Way, Scott

2008-04-01

This paper describes a system that calculates aircraft visual range with instrumentation alone. A unique message is encoded using modified binary phase shift keying and continuously flashed at high speed by ALSF-II runway approach lights. The message is sampled at 400 frames per second by an aircraft borne high-speed camera. The encoding is designed to avoid visible flicker and minimize frame rate. Instrument qualified visual range is identified as the largest distance at which the aircraft system can acquire and verify the correct, runway-specific signal. Scaled testing indicates that if the system were implemented on one full ALSF-II fixture, instrument qualified range could be established at 5 miles in clear weather conditions.

The effects of cyclical axial motion on rotary endodontic instrument fatigue.

PubMed

Dederich, D N; Zakariasen, K L

1986-02-01

A potential problem with the use of rotary engine-driven files to flare canals is metal fatigue and subsequent breakage. This study analyzes the effects of cyclical axial motion on instrument failure by fatigue testing of endodontic files with and without cyclical axial motion. Eighteen new instruments, sizes 15 to 45, were mounted in a lathe and turned at 1650 rpm in the lubricated lumen of a curved Pyrex capillary tube until failure occurred. Nine instruments of each size were turned with cyclical axial motion and nine were turned without it. The results indicated that cyclical axial motion can significantly extend the life span of rotary engine files. Torsional forces were not considered in this study.

The instruments of higher order thinking skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, S.; Prahmana, R. C. I.; Kenedi, A. K.; Helsa, Y.; Arianil, Y.; Zainil, M.

2017-12-01

This research developed the standard of instrument for measuring the High Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) ability of PGSD students. The research method used is development research with eight steps namely theoretical studies, operational definition, designation construct, dimensions and indicators, the preparation of the lattice, the preparation of grain, an analysis of legibility and Social desirability, field trials, and data analysis. In accordance with the type of data to be obtained in this study, the research instrument using validation sheet, implementation observation, and questionnaire. The results show that the instruments are valid and feasible to be used by expert and have been tested on PGSD students with 60% of PGSD students with low categorization.

Impact of and correction for instrument sensitivity drift on nanoparticle size measurements by single-particle ICP-MS

PubMed Central

El Hadri, Hind; Petersen, Elijah J.; Winchester, Michael R.

2016-01-01

The effect of ICP-MS instrument sensitivity drift on the accuracy of NP size measurements using single particle (sp)ICP-MS is investigated. Theoretical modeling and experimental measurements of the impact of instrument sensitivity drift are in agreement and indicate that drift can impact the measured size of spherical NPs by up to 25 %. Given this substantial bias in the measured size, a method was developed using an internal standard to correct for the impact of drift and was shown to accurately correct for a decrease in instrument sensitivity of up to 50 % for 30 nm and 60 nm gold nanoparticles. PMID:26894759

The Development of a Clinical Screening Instrument For Tumour Predisposition Syndromes In Childhood Cancer Patients

PubMed Central

Hopman, Saskia M. J.; Merks, Johannes H. M.; de Borgie, Corianne A. J. M.; Aalfs, C. M.; Biesecker, Leslie G.; Cole, Trevor; Eng, Charis; Legius, Eric; Maher, Eamonn R.; van Noesel, Max M.; Verloes, Alain; Viskochil, David H.; Wagner, Anja; Weksberg, Rosanna; Caron, Huib N.; Hennekam, Raoul C. M.

2014-01-01

Background Identification of tumour predisposition syndromes in patients who have cancer in childhood is paramount for optimal care. A screening instrument that can help to identify such patients will facilitate physicians caring for children with cancer. The complete screening instrument should consist of a standardized series of pictures and a screening form for manifestations not visible in the pictures. Here we describe the development of such a screening form based on an international two-stage Delphi process and an initial validation of the complete instrument. Patients and Methods We identified manifestations that may contribute to the diagnosis of a tumour predisposition syndrome through the Winter-Baraitser Dysmorphology Database and the textbook “Gorlin's Syndromes of the Head and Neck”. In a two-round Delphi process, eight international content-experts scored the contribution of each of these manifestations. We performed a clinical validation of the instrument in a selected cohort of ten paediatric cancer patients from another centre. Results In total, 49 manifestations were found to contribute to the diagnosis of a tumour predisposition syndrome and were included in the screening form. The pilot validation study showed that patients suspect for having a tumour predisposition syndrome were recognized. Excellent correlation for indication for referral of a patient between the screening instrument and the reference standard (personal evaluation by an experienced clinical geneticist) was found.). Conclusions The Delphi process performed by international specialists with a function as opinion leaders in their field of expertise has led to a screening form and instrument with which those childhood cancer patients can be identified who may have a tumour predisposition syndrome and thus have an indication to be referred for further genetic analysis. PMID:23855994

Laser Doppler imaging of genital blood flow: a direct measure of female sexual arousal.

PubMed

Waxman, Samantha E; Pukall, Caroline F

2009-08-01

Female sexual arousal is a challenging construct to measure, partly because of the subtle nature of its indicators, vaginal lubrication and genital swelling. As a result, many instruments have been used in an attempt to accurately measure it; however, problems are associated with each. Furthermore, the relationship between subjective and physiological indicators of arousal appears to be influenced by the instrument used to measure physiological arousal. Specifically, instruments measuring physiological arousal internally yield lower correlations between measures of physiological and subjective arousal than instruments examining the external genitals. Laser Doppler imaging (LDI) is a direct measure of external genital blood flow. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of LDI for measuring genital blood flow in women in response to erotic visual stimuli, and to explore the relationship between physiological and subjective sexual arousal. Sixty-five participants watched three 15-minute films during LDI scanning. Two nature films (measuring acclimatization and baseline blood flow levels) and one randomly assigned experimental film (erotic, anxiety, humor, or neutral) were used. Participants rated their level of subjective arousal following the third film. Results indicated a significant effect of film condition on genital blood flow, P < 0.001, with the erotic condition differing significantly from the other three conditions. In terms of the relationship between physiological and subjective sexual arousal, physiological arousal was significantly predicted by subjective ratings of sexual arousal (P < 0.001). LDI appears to be able to differentiate blood flow during erotic and nonerotic conditions. In addition, physiological sexual arousal was significantly predicted by women's reported subjective sexual arousal. These findings suggest that LDI is a useful instrument for measuring female sexual arousal, and that women may be more aware of their level of physiological arousal than previously assumed.

Quantification of pilot workload via instrument scan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tole, J. R.; Stephens, A. T.; Harris, R. L., Sr.; Ephrath, A.

1982-01-01

The use of visual scanning behavior as an indicator of pilot workload is described. The relationship between level of performance on a constant piloting task under simulated IFR conditions, the skill of the pilot the level of mental workload induced by an additional verbal task imposed on the basic control task, and visual scanning behavior is investigated. An increase in fixation dwell times, especially on the primary instrument with increased mental loading is indicated. Skilled subjects 'stared' less under increased loading than did novice pilots. Sequences of instrument fixations were also examined. The percentage occurrence of the subject's most used sequences decreased with increased task difficulty for novice subjects but not for highly skilled subjects. Entropy rate (bits/sec) of the sequence of fixations was also used to quantify the scan pattern. It consistently decreased for most subjects as the four loading levels used increased.

47 CFR 73.1215 - Specifications for indicating instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... used by broadcast stations: (a) Linear scale instruments: (1) Length of scale shall not be less than 2.3 inches (5.8 cm). (2) Accuracy shall be at least 2 percent of the full scale reading. (3) The maximum rating of the meter shall be such that it does not read off scale during modulation or normal...

Teachers' and Students' Perceptions of Students' Problem-Solving Difficulties in Physics: Implications for Remediation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogunleye, Ayodele O.

2009-01-01

In recent times, science education researchers have identified a lot of instruments for evaluating conceptual understanding as well as students' attitudes and beliefs about physics; unfortunately however, there are no broad based evaluation instruments in the field of problem-solving in physics. This missing tool is an indication of the complexity…

The Influence of Instrumentality Beliefs on Intrinsic Motivation: A Study of High-Achieving Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kover, David J.; Worrell, Frank C.

2010-01-01

For many students, school is a forward-looking endeavor, with implications for future educational opportunity, job prospects, and financial success. How does believing that school is linked to a desired future outcome--known as an instrumentality belief--influence motivation? A number of studies have indicated that rewards, or other concerns that…

Multibeam collimator uses prism stack

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minott, P. O.

1981-01-01

Optical instrument creates many divergent light beams for surveying and machine element alignment applications. Angles and refractive indices of stack of prisms are selected to divert incoming laser beam by small increments, different for each prism. Angles of emerging beams thus differ by small, precisely-controlled amounts. Instrument is nearly immune to vibration, changes in gravitational force, temperature variations, and mechanical distortion.

Instrumentation, methods of flood-data collection and transmission, and evaluation of streamflow-gaging network in Indiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Glatfelter, D.R.; Butch, G.K.

1994-01-01

The study results indicate that installation of streamflow-gaging stations at 15 new sites would improve collection of flood data. Instrumenting the 15 new sites plus 26 existing streamflow-gaging stations with telemetry, preferably data-collection platforms with satellite transmitters, would improve transmission of data to users of the information.

A Preliminary Language Validity Analysis of the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mason, Michael J.

1995-01-01

The Problem Oriented Screening Inventory for Teenagers (POSIT) was analyzed in a Hispanic majority school district to determine the test/retest correlation of the English and Spanish versions of the instrument. Data analysis indicated fairly weak agreement between the English and Spanish POSIT version results for this sample of bilingual…

Examination of Cognitive and Instrumental Functional Performance as Indicators for Driving Cessation Risk across 3 Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ackerman, Michelle L.; Edwards, Jerri D.; Ross, Lesley A.; Ball, Karlene K.; Lunsman, Melissa

2008-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine the role of cognitive and instrumental functional performance in driving cessation while simultaneously accounting for any contributions of demographics, vision, physical performance, and health among a sample of older adults without dementia. Design and Methods: Included in the…

On Studying Common Factor Dominance and Approximate Unidimensionality in Multicomponent Measuring Instruments with Discrete Items

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raykov, Tenko; Marcoulides, George A.

2018-01-01

This article outlines a procedure for examining the degree to which a common factor may be dominating additional factors in a multicomponent measuring instrument consisting of binary items. The procedure rests on an application of the latent variable modeling methodology and accounts for the discrete nature of the manifest indicators. The method…

Validity and Psychometric Properties of the Early Development Instrument in Canada, Australia, United States, and Jamaica

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janus, Magdalena; Brinkman, Sally A.; Duku, Eric K.

2011-01-01

There is an increasing support from international organizations and the research community for stepping beyond infant or child mortality as the most common child level social indicator and progressing towards an international measure of child development. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a teacher-completed measure of children's…

[Pars plana vitrectomy with the vitreous stripper].

PubMed

Klöti, R

1975-01-01

We report on the construction and the function of a new microsurgical instrument for vitrectomy. The instrument is introduced into the vitreous cavity through a small scleral incision in the pars plana area. Microscope observation with slit-lamp illumination and a specially designed contact lens are used for this surgical procedure. Our clinical experiences and the indications are discussed.

Study of the true performance limits of the Astrometric Multiplexing Area Scanner (AMAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frederick, L. W.; Mcalister, H. A.

1975-01-01

The Astrometric Multiplexing Area Scanner (AMAS) is an instrument designed to perform photoelectric long focus astrometry of small fields. Modulation of a telescope focal plane with a rotating Ronchi ruling produces a frequency modulated signal from which relative positions and magnitudes can be extracted. Evaluation instrumental precision, accuracy and resolution characteristics with respect to a variety of instrumental and cosmical parameters indicates 1.5 micron precision and accuracy for single stars under specific conditions. This value decreases for increased number of field stars, particularly for fainter stars.

Mapping products of Titan's surface: Chapter 19

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stephan, Katrin; Jaumann, Ralf; Karkoschka, Erich; Kirk, Randolph L.; Barnes, Jason W.; Tomasko, Martin G.; Turtle, Elizabeth P.; Le Corre, Lucille; Langhans, Mirjam; Le Mouélic, Stéphane; Lorenz, Ralph D.; Perry, Jason; Brown, Robert; Lebreton, Jean-Pierre; Waite, J. Hunter

2010-01-01

Remote sensing instruments aboard the Cassini spacecraft have been observed the surface of Titan globally in the infrared and radar wavelength ranges as well as locally by the Huygens instruments revealing a wealth of new morphological features indicating a geologically active surface. We present a summary of mapping products of Titan's surface derived from data of the remote sensing instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft (ISS, VIMS, RADAR) as well as the Huygens probe (DISR) that were achieved during the nominal Cassini mission including an overview of Titan's recent nomenclature.

14 CFR 125.206 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 125.206... Equipment Requirements § 125.206 Pitot heat indication systems. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of... flight instrument pitot heating system unless the airplane is equipped with an operable pitot heat...

14 CFR 125.206 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 125.206... Equipment Requirements § 125.206 Pitot heat indication systems. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of... flight instrument pitot heating system unless the airplane is equipped with an operable pitot heat...

14 CFR 125.206 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 125.206... Equipment Requirements § 125.206 Pitot heat indication systems. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of... flight instrument pitot heating system unless the airplane is equipped with an operable pitot heat...

14 CFR 125.206 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 125.206... Equipment Requirements § 125.206 Pitot heat indication systems. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of... flight instrument pitot heating system unless the airplane is equipped with an operable pitot heat...

14 CFR 125.206 - Pitot heat indication systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Pitot heat indication systems. 125.206... Equipment Requirements § 125.206 Pitot heat indication systems. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of... flight instrument pitot heating system unless the airplane is equipped with an operable pitot heat...

14 CFR 27.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... with § 27.955. (n) A gas temperature indicator for each turbine engine. (o) Means to enable the pilot... temperature indicator, for each— (1) Air cooled engine; (2) Rotorcraft with cooling shutters; and (3... condition with respect to cooling. (c) A fuel pressure indicator, for each pump-fed engine. (d) A fuel...

14 CFR 27.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... with § 27.955. (n) A gas temperature indicator for each turbine engine. (o) Means to enable the pilot... temperature indicator, for each— (1) Air cooled engine; (2) Rotorcraft with cooling shutters; and (3... condition with respect to cooling. (c) A fuel pressure indicator, for each pump-fed engine. (d) A fuel...

14 CFR 27.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... with § 27.955. (n) A gas temperature indicator for each turbine engine. (o) Means to enable the pilot... temperature indicator, for each— (1) Air cooled engine; (2) Rotorcraft with cooling shutters; and (3... condition with respect to cooling. (c) A fuel pressure indicator, for each pump-fed engine. (d) A fuel...

14 CFR 27.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... with § 27.955. (n) A gas temperature indicator for each turbine engine. (o) Means to enable the pilot... temperature indicator, for each— (1) Air cooled engine; (2) Rotorcraft with cooling shutters; and (3... condition with respect to cooling. (c) A fuel pressure indicator, for each pump-fed engine. (d) A fuel...

Radargrams Indicating Ice-Rich Subsurface Deposit

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-11-22

These two images show data acquired by the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) instrument while passing over two ground tracks in a part of Mars' Utopia Planitia region where the orbiting, ground-penetrating radar detected subsurface deposits rich in water ice. The instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter emits radio waves and times their echo off of radio-reflective surfaces and interfaces on Mars. The white arrows indicate a subsurface reflector interpreted as the bottom of the ice-rich deposit. The deposit is about as large in area as the state of New Mexico and contains about as much water as Lake Superior. The horizontal scale bar indicates 40 kilometers (25 miles) along the ground track of the radar, as flown by the orbiter overhead. The vertical scale bar indicates a return time of one microsecond for the reflected radio signal, equivalent to a distance of about 90 meters (295 feet). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21137

Effects of fungal species, cultivation time, growth substrate, and air exposure velocity on the fluorescence properties of airborne fungal spores.

PubMed

Saari, S; Mensah-Attipoe, J; Reponen, T; Veijalainen, A M; Salmela, A; Pasanen, P; Keskinen, J

2015-12-01

Real-time bioaerosol monitoring is possible with fluorescence based instruments. This study provides information on major factors that can affect the fluorescence properties of airborne fungal spores. Two fluorescence-based bioaerosol detectors, BioScout, and ultraviolet aerodynamic particle sizer (UVAPS), were used to study fluorescent particle fractions (FPFs) of released spores of three fungal species (Aspergillus versicolor, Cladosporium cladosporioides, and Penicillium brevicompactum). Two culture media (agar and gypsum board), three ages of the culture (one week, one month, and four months), and three aerosolization air velocities (5, 15, and 27 m/s) were tested. The results showed that the FPF values for spores released from gypsum were typically lower than for those released from agar indicating that poor nutrient substrate produces spores with lower amounts of fluorescent compounds. The results also showed higher FPF values with lower air velocities in aerosolization. This indicates that easily released fully developed spores have more fluorescent compounds compared to forcibly extracted non-matured spores. The FPFs typically were lower with older samples. The FPF results between the two instruments were similar, except with four-month-old samples. The results can be utilized in field measurements of fungal spores to estimate actual concentrations and compare different instruments with fluorescence-based devices as well as in instrument calibration and testing in laboratory conditions. Fluorescence-based instruments are the only choice for real-time detection of fungal spores at the moment. In general, all fluorescence-based bioaerosol instruments are tested against known bacterial and fungal spores in laboratory conditions. This study showed that fungal species, growth substrate, age of culture, and air current exposure rate have an effect on detection efficiency of fungal spores in the fluorescence-based instruments. Therefore, these factors should be considered in the instrument calibration process. The results are also important when interpreting results of fluorescence-based field measurements of fungal spores. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Using the Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire to identify obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in a sleep clinic population.

PubMed

Westerlund, Anna; Brandt, Lena; Harlid, Richard; Åkerstedt, Torbjörn; Lagerros, Ylva Trolle

2014-10-01

In Scandinavia, portable monitoring has virtually replaced standard polysomnography for diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Because waiting times for specialized OSAS care remain long, an accurate screening tool to exclude low-risk patients from diagnostic testing would be valuable. To examine the diagnostic accuracy of the Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire (KSQ) for OSAS. Consecutive patients, 30–66 years old, attending a large sleep clinic in Sweden for OSAS evaluation completed the KSQ and underwent in-home portable monitoring and medical history evaluation. OSAS was defined as apnea-hypopnea index ≥5 with symptoms of disease. We calculated sensitivity and specificity of apnea/snoring and sleepiness indices of the KSQ. Retrospectively, we combined six KSQ items (snoring, breathing cessations, disturbed sleep, etc.) and four clinical variables (age, sex, body mass index, smoking status) predictive of OSAS into a new instrument, which we also evaluated. Instrument score ranged between 0 and 21; a higher score indicated more severe symptoms. Of 103 patients, 62 were diagnosed with OSAS. Sensitivity and specificity of the indices were 0.56 and 0.68 (apnea/snoring), and 0.37 and 0.71 (sleepiness). The new instrument performed optimally at a score of 9. Sensitivity was 0.76 (95% confidence interval 0.63–0.86) and specificity 0.88 (0.74–0.96). Between 19.4% and 50.5% of patients were unaware of having apnea/snoring symptoms. Diagnostic accuracy of the apnea/snoring and sleepiness indices for OSAS was poor but could be improved by combining clinical and KSQ items. The usefulness of the apnea/snoring index and the combined instrument was questionable because of extensive symptom unawareness.

Adaptation of a nursing home culture change research instrument for frontline staff quality improvement use.

PubMed

Hartmann, Christine W; Palmer, Jennifer A; Mills, Whitney L; Pimentel, Camilla B; Allen, Rebecca S; Wewiorski, Nancy J; Dillon, Kristen R; Snow, A Lynn

2017-08-01

Enhanced interpersonal relationships and meaningful resident engagement in daily life are central to nursing home cultural transformation, yet these critical components of person-centered care may be difficult for frontline staff to measure using traditional research instruments. To address the need for easy-to-use instruments to help nursing home staff members evaluate and improve person-centered care, the psychometric method of cognitive-based interviewing was used to adapt a structured observation instrument originally developed for researchers and nursing home surveyors. Twenty-eight staff members from 2 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) nursing homes participated in 1 of 3 rounds of cognitive-based interviews, using the instrument in real-life situations. Modifications to the original instrument were guided by a cognitive processing model of instrument refinement. Following 2 rounds of cognitive interviews, pretesting of the revised instrument, and another round of cognitive interviews, the resulting set of 3 short instruments mirrored the concepts of the original longer instrument but were significantly easier for frontline staff to understand and use. Final results indicated frontline staff found the revised instruments feasible to use and clinically relevant in measuring and improving the lived experience of a changing culture. This article provides a framework for developing or adapting other measurement tools for frontline culture change efforts in nursing homes, in addition to reporting on a practical set of instruments to measure aspects of person-centered care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Surgical instrument similarity metrics and tray analysis for multi-sensor instrument identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glaser, Bernhard; Schellenberg, Tobias; Franke, Stefan; Dänzer, Stefan; Neumuth, Thomas

2015-03-01

A robust identification of the instrument currently used by the surgeon is crucial for the automatic modeling and analysis of surgical procedures. Various approaches for intra-operative surgical instrument identification have been presented, mostly based on radio-frequency identification (RFID) or endoscopic video analysis. A novel approach is to identify the instruments on the instrument table of the scrub nurse with a combination of video and weight information. In a previous article, we successfully followed this approach and applied it to multiple instances of an ear, nose and throat (ENT) procedure and the surgical tray used therein. In this article, we present a metric for the suitability of the instruments of a surgical tray for identification by video and weight analysis and apply it to twelve trays of four different surgical domains (abdominal surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedics and urology). The used trays were digitized at the central sterile services department of the hospital. The results illustrate that surgical trays differ in their suitability for the approach. In general, additional weight information can significantly contribute to the successful identification of surgical instruments. Additionally, for ten different surgical instruments, ten exemplars of each instrument were tested for their weight differences. The samples indicate high weight variability in instruments with identical brand and model number. The results present a new metric for approaches aiming towards intra-operative surgical instrument detection and imply consequences for algorithms exploiting video and weight information for identification purposes.

Sensory and instrumental texture measurements for assessing grape seed parameters during fruit development.

PubMed

Letaief, Hend; Maury, Chantal; Symoneaux, Ronan; Siret, René

2013-08-15

The evolution of the sensory and instrumental properties of grape seeds was investigated during berry development, with a focus on the effects of the harvest season and growing location. The sensory and instrumental texture analyses gave a consistent description of the ripening process. Moreover, the effect of maturation on the seed sensory descriptors was clearly influenced by the harvest season, and astringency was the most appropriate sensory attribute for the assessment of grape seed ripening. Except for seed cracking, which was positively correlated with fracturability (R = 0.69) and toughness (R = 0.68) in 2006, the compression parameters were generally not correlated with the sensory textural attributes but were more likely correlated with other sensory attributes such as astringency and vegetal aroma. The compression indices showed a logarithmic behaviour pattern during grape development, and seed stiffness was shown to be the most valuable textural index for parcel discrimination and identification of the optimal grape harvesting date. This research showed that both seed sensory attributes and instrumental texture properties are indicators of grape ripening. However, these properties could be affected by the harvest season and growing location. As no clear correlation was found between the seed sensory attributes and instrumental texture parameters, a revision of the sensory method available in the literature could be suggested. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Eponymous Instruments in Orthopaedic Surgery

PubMed Central

Buraimoh, M. Ayodele; Liu, Jane Z.; Sundberg, Stephen B.; Mott, Michael P.

2017-01-01

Abstract Every day surgeons call for instruments devised by surgeon trailblazers. This article aims to give an account of commonly used eponymous instruments in orthopaedic surgery, focusing on the original intent of their designers in order to inform how we use them today. We searched PubMed, the archives of longstanding medical journals, Google, the Internet Archive, and the HathiTrust Digital Library for information regarding the inventors and the developments of 7 instruments: the Steinmann pin, Bovie electrocautery, Metzenbaum scissors, Freer elevator, Cobb periosteal elevator, Kocher clamp, and Verbrugge bone holding forceps. A combination of ingenuity, necessity, circumstance and collaboration produced the inventions of the surgical tools numbered in our review. In some cases, surgical instruments were improvements of already existing technologies. The indications and applications of the orthopaedic devices have changed little. Meanwhile, instruments originally developed for other specialties have been adapted for our use. Although some argue for a transition from eponymous to descriptive terms in medicine, there is value in recognizing those who revolutionized surgical techniques and instrumentation. Through history, we have an opportunity to be inspired and to better understand our tools. PMID:28852360

Systematic review of meaning in life assessment instruments.

PubMed

Brandstätter, Monika; Baumann, Urs; Borasio, Gian Domenico; Fegg, Martin Johannes

2012-10-01

The construct of "meaning in life" (MiL) has raised the interest of clinicians working in psycho-oncology and end-of-life care. It has become a topic of scientific investigation where diverse assessment approaches have been applied. We present a comprehensive systematic review of existing MiL assessment instruments. Electronic searches of articles published in English peer-reviewed journals were performed in Psycinfo, Medline, Embase and Cinahl. Instruments are appraised with regard to ten measurement properties. In total, 59 nomothetic and idiographic MiL instruments were identified. Most instruments were developed in North America and meet basic psychometric criteria. They assess presence of and search for MiL, crisis and sources of MiL, meaning making, meaningful activity, MiL in the context of illness, breadth, depth, and other structural indicators. These aspects are largely consistent with existing MiL definitions. Nine out of 59 instruments included cancer populations in test development. This overview of available instruments underscores the complexity of the construct and might assist researchers to select an appropriate instrument for their research needs. Finally, it points to the need for more integrative theorizing and research on MiL. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Measuring Primary Teachers' Attitudes Toward Teaching Science: Development of the Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science (DAS) Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra; Walma van der Molen, Juliette

2013-03-01

In this article, we present a valid and reliable instrument which measures the attitude of in-service and pre-service primary teachers toward teaching science, called the Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science (DAS) Instrument. Attention to the attitudes of primary teachers toward teaching science is of fundamental importance to the professionalization of these teachers in the field of primary science education. With the development of this instrument, we sought to fulfill the need for a statistically and theoretically valid and reliable instrument to measure pre-service and in-service teachers' attitudes. The DAS Instrument is based on a comprehensive theoretical framework for attitude toward (teaching) science. After pilot testing, the DAS was revised and subsequently validated using a large group of respondents (pre-service and in-service primary teachers) (N = 556). The theoretical underpinning of the DAS combined with the statistical data indicate that the DAS possesses good construct validity and that it proves to be a promising instrument that can be utilized for research purposes, and also as a teacher training and coaching tool. This instrument can therefore make a valuable contribution to progress within the field of science education.

Status of calibration and data evaluation of AMSR on board ADEOS-II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imaoka, Keiji; Fujimoto, Yasuhiro; Kachi, Misako; Takeshima, Toshiaki; Igarashi, Tamotsu; Kawanishi, Toneo; Shibata, Akira

2004-02-01

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) is the multi-frequency, passive microwave radiometer on board the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II), currently called Midori-II. The instrument has eight-frequency channels with dual polarization (except 50-GHz band) covering frequencies between 6.925 and 89.0 GHz. Measurement of 50-GHz channels is the first attempt by this kind of conically scanning microwave radiometers. Basic concept of the instrument including hardware configuration and calibration method is almost the same as that of ASMR for EOS (AMSR-E), the modified version of AMSR. Its swath width of 1,600 km is wider than that of AMSR-E. In parallel with the calibration and data evaluation of AMSR-E instrument, almost identical calibration activities have been made for AMSR instrument. After finished the initial checkout phase, the instrument has been continuously obtaining the data in global basis. Time series of radiometer sensitivities and automatic gain control telemetry indicate the stable instrument performance. For the radiometric calibration, we are now trying to apply the same procedure that is being used for AMSR-E. This paper provides an overview of the instrument characteristics, instrument status, and preliminary results of calibration and data evaluation activities.

The Dutch Consumer Quality Index: an example of stakeholder involvement in indicator development

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Like in several other Western countries, in the Dutch health care system regulated competition has been introduced. In order to make this work, comparable information is required about the performance of health care providers in terms of effectiveness, safety and patient experiences. Without further coordination, external actors will all try to force health care providers to be transparent. For health care providers this might result in a situation in which they have to deliver data for several sets of indicators, defined by different actors. Therefore, in the Netherlands an effort is made to define national sets of performance indicators and related measuring instruments. In this article, the following questions are addressed, using patient experiences as an example: - When and how are stakeholders involved in the development of indicators and instruments that measure the patients' experiences with health care providers? - Does this involvement lead to indicators and instruments that match stakeholders' information needs? Discussion The Dutch experiences show that it is possible to implement national indicator sets and to reach consensus about what needs to be measured. Preliminary evaluations show that for health care providers and health insurers the benefits of standardization outweigh the possible loss of tailor-made information. However, it has also become clear that particular attention should be given to the participation of patient/consumer organisations. Summary Stakeholder involvement is complex and time-consuming. However, it is the only way to balance the information needs of all the parties that ask for and benefit from transparency, without frustrating the health care system. PMID:20370925

Force sensing of multiple-DOF cable-driven instruments for minimally invasive robotic surgery.

PubMed

He, Chao; Wang, Shuxin; Sang, Hongqiang; Li, Jinhua; Zhang, Linan

2014-09-01

Force sensing for robotic surgery is limited by the size of the instrument, friction and sterilization requirements. This paper presents a force-sensing instrument to avoid these restrictions. Operating forces were calculated according to cable tension. Mathematical models of the force-sensing system were established. A force-sensing instrument was designed and fabricated. A signal collection and processing system was constructed. The presented approach can avoid the constraints of space limits, sterilization requirements and friction introduced by the transmission parts behind the instrument wrist. Test results showed that the developed instrument has a 0.03 N signal noise, a 0.05 N drift, a 0.04 N resolution and a maximum error of 0.4 N. The validation experiment indicated that the operating and grasping forces can be effectively sensed. The developed force-sensing system can be used in minimally invasive robotic surgery to construct a force-feedback system. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analysis of defects in ProTaper hand-operated instruments after clinical use.

PubMed

Shen, Ya; Bian, Zhuan; Cheung, Gary Shun-pan; Peng, Bin

2007-03-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the type and location of defects observed in ProTaper for Hand Use (PHU) instruments after routine clinical use. We analyzed a total of 401 PHUs discarded from an endodontic clinic over a 17-month period. Those failed instruments were examined on the lateral and fractographic surface by scanning electron microscope. Of the 86 PHUs that showed discernible defects, 28 were intact but partially unwound, and 58 were fractured (36 because of shear and 22 from fatigue failure). The primary characteristic of shear failure was the presence of a skewed dimple and/or tear ridge, a typical pattern developed because of a combination of various loads. Nearly 74% of the instruments with defects exhibited shear damage. About three-quarters of the instrument fractures occurred in the apical one-third of the canal, mostly in molars. The results of this study indicated that most PHU instruments fail because of either shear or fatigue.

A field instrument for quantitative determination of beryllium by activation analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vaughn, William W.; Wilson, E.E.; Ohm, J.M.

1960-01-01

A low-cost instrument has been developed for quantitative determinations of beryllium in the field by activation analysis. The instrument makes use of the gamma-neutron reaction between gammas emitted by an artificially radioactive source (Sb124) and beryllium as it occurs in nature. The instrument and power source are mounted in a panel-type vehicle. Samples are prepared by hand-crushing the rock to approximately ?-inch mesh size and smaller. Sample volumes are kept constant by means of a standard measuring cup. Instrument calibration, made by using standards of known BeO content, indicates the analyses are reproducible and accurate to within ? 0.25 percent BeO in the range from 1 to 20 percent BeO with a sample counting time of 5 minutes. Sensitivity of the instrument maybe increased somewhat by increasing the source size, the sample size, or by enlarging the cross-sectional area of the neutron-sensitive phosphor normal to the neutron flux.

Field comparison of portable and stationary instruments for outdoor urban air exposure assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viana, M.; Rivas, I.; Reche, C.; Fonseca, A. S.; Pérez, N.; Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Álvarez-Pedrerol, M.; Sunyer, J.

2015-12-01

The performance of three portable monitors (micro-aethalometer AE51, DiscMini, Dusttrak DRX) was assessed for outdoor air exposure assessment in a representative Southern European urban environment. The parameters evaluated were black carbon, particle number concentration, alveolar lung-deposited surface area, mean particle diameter, PM10, PM2.5 and PM1. The performance was tested by comparison with widely used stationary instruments (MAAP, CPC, SMPS, NSAM, GRIMM aerosol spectrometer). Results evidenced a good agreement between most portable and stationary instruments, with R2 values mostly >0.80. Relative differences between portable and stationary instruments were mostly <20%, and <10% between different units of the same instrument. The only exception was found for the Dusttrak DRX measurements, for which occasional concentration jumps in the time series were detected. Our results validate the performance of the black carbon, particle number concentration, particle surface area and mean particle diameter monitors as indicative instruments (tier 2) for outdoor air exposure assessment studies.

Surface Layer turbulence profiling with the SL-SLODAR and LUSCI at ESO Paranal Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lombardi, G.; Sarazin, M.; Char, F.; González Ávila, C.; Navarrete, J.; Tokovinin, A.; Wilson, R. W.; Butterley, T.

2014-10-01

In the context of the Surface Layer investigation at ESO Paranal Observatory, a Surface Layer Slope Detection And Ranging (SL-SLODAR) instrument prototype has been used at Paranal during 2012, while Lunar Scintillometer (LuSci) measurements campaigns are being carried out since 2008. Simultaneous Surface Layer profiling data from the two instruments are analysed in order to compare the two instruments to enforce their reliability and finely characterize the Paranal Surface Layer profile. BETA is the slope of the turbulence power spectrum delivered by the SL-SLODAR. It is intended purely as a diagnostic tool to indicate whether the Cn2 profile can be trusted. When BETA is significantly less than 3.667 (Kolmogorov law value) this generally indicates that the wind speed is low and the data sets are too short to fully sample the low frequency components of the turbulence. Around the Kolmogorov value, the integrals form the SL-SLODAR and LuSci are pretty much the same. This is valid also in the first 20 m above ground only (SL). Both instruments agree very well when the wind speed on the Paranal platform is higher than 3 m/s. This last result suggests that wind speed higher than 3 m/s allow to have more reliable turbulence profile measurements from both instruments for further analyses of the Surface Layer. Furthermore, the disagreement of the two instruments in connection with wind speed lower than 3 m/s also suggests that the wind speed is a critical parameter to be taken into account before the treatment of the data.

Student perceptions of their biology teacher's interpersonal teaching behaviors and student achievement and affective learning outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Wade Clay, Jr.

The primary goals of this dissertation were to determine the relationships between interpersonal teaching behaviors and student achievement and affective learning outcomes. The instrument used to collect student perceptions of teacher interpersonal teaching behaviors was the Questionnaire on Teacher Interactions (QTI). The instrument used to assess student affective learning outcomes was the Biology Student Affective Instrument (BSAI). The interpersonal teaching behavior data were collected using students as the observers. 111 students in an urban influenced, rural high school answered the QTI and BSAI in September 1997 and again in April 1998. At the same time students were pre and post tested using the Biology End of Course Examination (BECE). The QTI has been used primarily in European and Oceanic areas. The instrument was also primarily used in educational stratified environment. This was the first time the BSAI was used to assess student affective learning outcomes. The BECE is a Texas normed cognitive assessment test and it is used by Texas schools districts as the end of course examination in biology. The interpersonal teaching behaviors model was tested to ascertain if predictive power in the USA and in a non-stratified educational environment. Findings indicate that the QTI is an adequate predictor of student achievement in biology. The results were not congruent with the non-USA data and results, this indicates that the QTI is a society/culturally sensitive instrument and the instrument needs to be normed to a particular society/culture before it is used to affect teachers' and students' educational environments.

Validation of a French version of the Sleep Condition Indicator: a clinical screening tool for insomnia disorder according to DSM-5 criteria.

PubMed

Bayard, Sophie; Lebrun, Cindy; Maudarbocus, Khaalid Hassan; Schellaert, Vanessa; Joffre, Alicia; Ferrante, Esther; Le Louedec, Marie; Cournoulat, Alice; Gely-Nargeot, Marie-Christine; Luik, Annemarie I

2017-12-01

Insomnia disorder is frequent in the population, yet there is no French screening instrument available that is based on the updated DSM-5 criteria. We evaluated the validity and reliability of the French version of an insomnia screening instrument based on DSM-5 criteria, the Sleep Condition Indicator, in a population-based sample of adults. A total of 366 community-dwelling participants completed a face-to-face clinical interview to determine insomnia disorder against DSM-5 criteria and several questionnaires including the French Sleep Condition Indicator version. Three-hundred and twenty-nine participants completed the Sleep Condition Indicator again after 1 month. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the reliability, construct validity, divergent validity and temporal stability of the French translation of the Sleep Condition Indicator. In addition, an explanatory factor analysis was performed to assess the underlying structure. The internal consistency (α = 0.87) and temporal stability (r = 0.86, P < 0.001) of the French Sleep Condition Indicator were high. When using the previously defined cut-off value of ≤ 16, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.93 with a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 75%. Additionally, good construct and divergent validity were demonstrated. The factor analyses showed a two-factor structure with a focus on sleep and daytime effects. The French version of the Sleep Condition Indicator demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties while being a useful instrument in detecting cases of insomnia disorder, consistent with features of DSM-5, in the general population. © 2017 European Sleep Research Society.

Comparison of non-invasive tear film stability measurement techniques.

PubMed

Wang, Michael Tm; Murphy, Paul J; Blades, Kenneth J; Craig, Jennifer P

2018-01-01

Measurement of tear film stability is commonly used to give an indication of tear film quality but a number of non-invasive techniques exists within the clinical setting. This study sought to compare three non-invasive tear film stability measurement techniques: instrument-mounted wide-field white light clinical interferometry, instrument-mounted keratoscopy and hand-held keratoscopy. Twenty-two subjects were recruited in a prospective, randomised, masked, cross-over study. Tear film break-up or thinning time was measured non-invasively by independent experienced examiners, with each of the three devices, in a randomised order, within an hour. Significant correlation was observed between instrument-mounted interferometric and keratoscopic measurements (p < 0.001) but not between the hand-held device and the instrument-mounted techniques (all p > 0.05). Tear film stability values obtained from the hand-held device were significantly shorter and demonstrated narrower spread than the other two instruments (all p < 0.05), while no significant differences were observed between the two instrument-mounted devices (all p > 0.05). Good clinical agreement exists between the instrument-mounted interferometric and keratoscopic measurements but not between the hand-held device and either of the instrument-mounted techniques. The results highlight the importance of specifying the instrument employed to record non-invasive tear film stability. © 2017 Optometry Australia.

Construct validity test of evaluation tool for professional behaviors of entry-level occupational therapy students in the United States.

PubMed

Yuen, Hon K; Azuero, Andres; Lackey, Kaitlin W; Brown, Nicole S; Shrestha, Sangita

2016-01-01

This study aimed to test the construct validity of an instrument to measure student professional behaviors in entry-level occupational therapy (OT) students in the academic setting. A total of 718 students from 37 OT programs across the United States answered a self-assessment survey of professional behavior that we developed. The survey consisted of ranking 28 attributes, each on a 5-point Likert scale. A split-sample approach was used for exploratory and then confirmatory factor analysis. A three-factor solution with nine items was extracted using exploratory factor analysis [EFA] (n=430, 60%). The factors were 'Commitment to Learning' (2 items), 'Skills for Learning' (4 items), and 'Cultural Competence' (3 items). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the validation split (n=288, 40%) indicated fair fit for this three-factor model (fit indices: CFI=0.96, RMSEA=0.06, and SRMR=0.05). Internal consistency reliability estimates of each factor and the instrument ranged from 0.63 to 0.79. Results of the CFA in a separate validation dataset provided robust measures of goodness-of-fit for the three-factor solution developed in the EFA, and indicated that the three-factor model fitted the data well enough. Therefore, we can conclude that this student professional behavior evaluation instrument is a structurally validated tool to measure professional behaviors reported by entry-level OT students. The internal consistency reliability of each individual factor and the whole instrument was considered to be adequate to good.

Sharing the Data along with the Responsibility: Examining an Analytic Scale-Based Model for Assessing School Climate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shindler, John; Taylor, Clint; Cadenas, Herminia; Jones, Albert

This study was a pilot effort to examine the efficacy of an analytic trait scale school climate assessment instrument and democratic change system in two urban high schools. Pilot study results indicate that the instrument shows promising soundness in that it exhibited high levels of validity and reliability. In addition, the analytic trait format…

Norms and Construct Validity of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in Canadian High School Populations: Implications for Counselling.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagley, Christopher; Bolitho, Floyd; Bertrand, Lorne

1997-01-01

Reports on instrument validity regarding self-esteem among high school students (N=2,108) in the Province of Alberta. Results indicate significant variation of mean scores across age-groups within female students even though females had significantly lower self-esteem than males. Findings support the reliability of the self-esteem instrument. (RJM)

Toward Active Control of Noise from Hot Supersonic Jets

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-11-15

Instruments PXIe (PCI extensions for Instrumentation-express) system. The PXIe system has four PXIe-4331 cards (8 channels, 24 bits of resolution...üiüj) _ dxjdx ■j \\ düi düj dxj dxi düi du dii dx ?)■ (7) Our intention is to use (7) as an indicator of sound production in high speed

An Empirical Test of Oklahoma's A-F School Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Curt M.; Forsyth, Patrick B.; Ware, Jordan; Mwavita, Mwarumba; Barnes, Laura L.; Khojasteb, Jam

2016-01-01

Oklahoma is one of 16 states electing to use an A-F letter grade as an indicator of school quality. On the surface, letter grades are an attractive policy instrument for school improvement; they are seemingly clear, simple, and easy to interpret. Evidence, however, on the use of letter grades as an instrument to rank and improve schools is scant…

Curriculum-Based Measurement: Developing a Computer-Based Assessment Instrument for Monitoring Student Reading Progress on Multiple Indicators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forster, Natalie; Souvignier, Elmar

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the technical adequacy of a computer-based assessment instrument which is based on hierarchical models of text comprehension for monitoring student reading progress following the Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) approach. At intervals of two weeks, 120 third-grade students finished eight CBM tests. To…

Long-Term Memory for Instrumental Responses Does Not Undergo Protein Synthesis-Dependent Reconsolidation upon Retrieval

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hernandez, Pepe J.; Kelley, Ann E.

2004-01-01

Recent evidence indicates that certain forms of memory, upon recall, may return to a labile state requiring the synthesis of new proteins in order to preserve or reconsolidate the original memory trace. While the initial consolidation of "instrumental memories" has been shown to require de novo protein synthesis in the nucleus accumbens, it is not…

Practice and Incentive Effects on Learner Performance: Aircraft Instrument Comprehension Task.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tenpas, Barbara G.; Higgins, Norman C.

To study the effects of practice and incentive on learner performance on the aircraft instrument comprehension task, 48 third-year Air Force cadets were chosen as subjects. The subjects were expected to be able to identify which one of four pictures of aircraft in flight most nearly corresponded to the position indicated on a panel of attitude and…

14 CFR 91.205 - Powered civil aircraft with standard category U.S. airworthiness certificates: Instrument and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...: (1) Airspeed indicator. (2) Altimeter. (3) Magnetic direction indicator. (4) Tachometer for each... aircraft is operated for hire, one electric landing light. (5) An adequate source of electrical energy for...

14 CFR 91.205 - Powered civil aircraft with standard category U.S. airworthiness certificates: Instrument and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...: (1) Airspeed indicator. (2) Altimeter. (3) Magnetic direction indicator. (4) Tachometer for each... aircraft is operated for hire, one electric landing light. (5) An adequate source of electrical energy for...

14 CFR 91.205 - Powered civil aircraft with standard category U.S. airworthiness certificates: Instrument and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...: (1) Airspeed indicator. (2) Altimeter. (3) Magnetic direction indicator. (4) Tachometer for each... aircraft is operated for hire, one electric landing light. (5) An adequate source of electrical energy for...

14 CFR 91.205 - Powered civil aircraft with standard category U.S. airworthiness certificates: Instrument and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...: (1) Airspeed indicator. (2) Altimeter. (3) Magnetic direction indicator. (4) Tachometer for each... aircraft is operated for hire, one electric landing light. (5) An adequate source of electrical energy for...

A review of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) and the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) with an emphasis on juvenile justice samples.

PubMed

Baum, Linda J; Archer, Robert P; Forbey, Johnathan D; Handel, Richard W

2009-12-01

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) and Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) are frequently used objective personality self-report measures. Given their widespread use, the purpose of the current study was to examine and compare the literature base for the two instruments. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted between the years 1992 and 2007 using the PsycINFO Database. Results indicate the publication of 277 articles, books, book chapters, monographs, and dissertation abstracts on the MMPI-A. This was compared with the results of a comparable search for the MACI, which yielded 84 citations. The literature was further explored by determining the content of the topic areas addressed for both instruments. A particular focus was placed on the utility of the instruments with juvenile justice populations; scale means, standard deviations, and effect sizes calculated from this literature were examined. Results indicate that the use of the MMPI-A is supported by a substantial literature and a growing research base is also available for the MACI. Both instruments appear to provide useful results in juvenile justice settings.

Contribution of Glyoxal to Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation in Los Angeles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Washenfelder, R. A.; Young, C. J.; Brown, S. S.; Gilman, J. B.; Kuster, W. C.; de Gouw, J. A.

2010-12-01

Glyoxal (CHOCHO) is the simplest alpha-dicarbonyl and one of the most prevalent dicarbonyls in the atmosphere. It is an oxidation product of isoprene, and is also formed from the photooxidation of anthropogenic hydrocarbons, including aromatics and ethyne. In addition to its importance as a source of HOx, previous studies indicate that glyoxal reacts heterogeneously to form secondary organic aerosol. For the CalNex field campaign during summer 2010, we deployed a new glyoxal field instrument in Pasadena, California. This instrument consists of a broadband LED light source coupled to a cavity enhanced absorption spectrometer (IBBCEAS). The effective pathlength of the instrument is approximately 18 km. The measurement precision of the glyoxal instrument allows us to observe diurnal variability and trends. The glyoxal measurements were co-located with a comprehensive set of hydrocarbon measurements. These included the important photochemical precursors for CHOCHO, with measurements of isoprene, ethyne, ethene, monoterpenes, aromatics, and methylbutenol. We use the precursor concentrations to evaluate expected glyoxal concentrations. The difference between the expected gas-phase production of glyoxal and the measured concentrations indicates the contribution that glyoxal makes to secondary organic aerosol formation in Los Angeles.

Application of six sigma and AHP in analysis of variable lead time calibration process instrumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rimantho, Dino; Rahman, Tomy Abdul; Cahyadi, Bambang; Tina Hernawati, S.

2017-02-01

Calibration of instrumentation equipment in the pharmaceutical industry is an important activity to determine the true value of a measurement. Preliminary studies indicated that occur lead-time calibration resulted in disruption of production and laboratory activities. This study aimed to analyze the causes of lead-time calibration. Several methods used in this study such as, Six Sigma in order to determine the capability process of the calibration instrumentation of equipment. Furthermore, the method of brainstorming, Pareto diagrams, and Fishbone diagrams were used to identify and analyze the problems. Then, the method of Hierarchy Analytical Process (AHP) was used to create a hierarchical structure and prioritize problems. The results showed that the value of DPMO around 40769.23 which was equivalent to the level of sigma in calibration equipment approximately 3,24σ. This indicated the need for improvements in the calibration process. Furthermore, the determination of problem-solving strategies Lead Time Calibration such as, shortens the schedule preventive maintenance, increase the number of instrument Calibrators, and train personnel. Test results on the consistency of the whole matrix of pairwise comparisons and consistency test showed the value of hierarchy the CR below 0.1.

Novel approaches to the construction of miniaturized analytical instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, Marc D.; Otoole, Ronald P.; Coldiron, Shelley J.; Deninger, William D.; Deinhammer, Randall S.; Burns, Stanley G.; Bastiaans, Glenn J.; Braymen, Steve D.; Shanks, Howard R.

1992-01-01

This paper focuses on the design, construction, preliminary testing, and potential applications of three forms of miniaturized analytical instrumentation. The first is an optical fiber instrument for monitoring pH and other cations in aqueous solutions. The instrument couples chemically selective indicators that were immobilized at porous polymeric films with a hardware package that provides the excitation light source, required optical components, and detection and data processing hardware. The second is a new form of a piezoelectric mass sensor. The sensor was fabricated by the deposition of a thin (5.5 micron) film of piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AIN). The completed deposition process yields a thin film resonator (TFR) that is shaped as a 400 micron square and supports a standing bulk acoustic wave in a longitudinal mode at frequencies of approx. 1 GHz. Various deposition and vapor sorption studies indicate that the mass sensitivity of the TFR's rival those of the most sensitive mass sensors currently available, though offering such performance in a markedly smaller device. The third couples a novel form of liquid chromatography with microlithographic miniaturization techniques. The status of the miniaturization effort, the goal of which is to achieve chip-scale separations, is briefly discussed.

[Screening for risk of child abuse and neglect. A practicable method?].

PubMed

Kindler, H

2010-10-01

Selective primary prevention programs for child abuse and neglect depend on risk screening instruments that have the goal of systematically identifying families who can profit most from early help. Based on a systematic review of longitudinal studies, a set of established risk factors for early child abuse and neglect is presented. Nearly half of the items included in screening instruments can be seen as validated. Available studies indicate a high sensitivity of risk screening instruments. Positive predictive values, however, are low. Overall, the use of risk screening instruments in the area of primary prevention for families at risk represents a feasible method, as long as stigmatizing effects can be avoided and participating families also benefit beyond preventing endangerment.

A Practitioner's Instrument for Measuring Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs Surrounding Learner-Centered Classroom Practice.

PubMed

Lischka, Alyson E; Garner, Mary

In this paper we present the development and validation of a Mathematics Teaching Pedagogical and Discourse Beliefs Instrument (MTPDBI), a 20 item partial-credit survey designed and analyzed using Rasch measurement theory. Items on the MTPDBI address beliefs about the nature of mathematics, teaching and learning mathematics, and classroom discourse practices. A Rasch partial credit model (Masters, 1982) was estimated from the pilot study data. Results show that item separation reliability is .96 and person separation reliability is .71. Other analyses indicate the instrument is a viable measure of secondary teachers' beliefs about reform-oriented mathematics teaching and learning. This instrument is proposed as a useful measure of teacher beliefs for those working with pre-service and in-service teacher development.

A systematic review of instruments for assessing parent satisfaction with family-centred care in neonatal intensive care units.

PubMed

Dall'Oglio, Immacolata; Mascolo, Rachele; Gawronski, Orsola; Tiozzo, Emanuela; Portanova, Anna; Ragni, Angela; Alvaro, Rosaria; Rocco, Gennaro; Latour, Jos M

2018-03-01

This systematic review synthesised and described instruments measuring parent satisfaction with the increasing standard practice of family-centred care (FCC) in neonatal intensive care units. We evaluated 11 studies published from January 2006 to March 2016: two studies validated a parent satisfaction questionnaire, and nine developed or modified previous questionnaires to use as outcome measures in their local settings. Most instruments were not tested on reliability and validity. Only two validated instruments included all six of the FCC principles and could assess parent satisfaction with FCC in neonatal intensive care units and be considered as outcome indicators for further research. ©2017 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

STEREO SECCHI and S/WAVES Observations of Spacecraft Debris Caused by Micron-Size Interplanetary Dust Impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

St. Cyr, O. C.; Kaiser, M. L.; Meyer-Vernet, N.; Howard, R. A.; Harrison, R. A.; Bale, S. D.; Thompson, W. T.; Goetz, K.; Maksimovic, M.; Bougeret, J.-L.; Wang, D.; Crothers, S.

2009-05-01

Early in the STEREO mission observers noted that the white-light instruments of the SECCHI suite were detecting significantly more spacecraft-related “debris” than any previously flown coronagraphic instruments. Comparison of SECCHI “debris storms” with S/WAVES indicates that almost all are coincident with the most intense transient emissions observed by the radio and plasma waves instrument. We believe the debris is endogenous ( i.e., from the spacecraft thermal blanketing), and the storms appear to be caused by impacts of large interplanetary dust grains that are detected by S/WAVES. Here we report the observations, compare them to interplanetary dust distributions, and document a reminder for future spacebased coronagraphic instrument builders.

Intercomparison of MODIS, MISR, OMI, and CALIPSO aerosol optical depth retrievals for four locations on the Indo-Gangetic plains and validation against AERONET data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bibi, Humera; Alam, Khan; Chishtie, Farrukh; Bibi, Samina; Shahid, Imran; Blaschke, Thomas

2015-06-01

This study provides an intercomparison of aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals from satellite-based Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) instrumentation over Karachi, Lahore, Jaipur, and Kanpur between 2007 and 2013, with validation against AOD observations from the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). Both MODIS Deep Blue (MODISDB) and MODIS Standard (MODISSTD) products were compared with the AERONET products. The MODISSTD-AERONET comparisons revealed a high degree of correlation for the four investigated sites at Karachi, Lahore, Jaipur, and Kanpur, the MODISDB-AERONET comparisons revealed even better correlations, and the MISR-AERONET comparisons also indicated strong correlations, as did the OMI-AERONET comparisons, while the CALIPSO-AERONET comparisons revealed only poor correlations due to the limited number of data points available. We also computed figures for root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean bias (RMB). Using AERONET data to validate MODISSTD, MODISDB, MISR, OMI, and CALIPSO data revealed that MODISSTD data was more accurate over vegetated locations than over un-vegetated locations, while MISR data was more accurate over areas close to the ocean than over other areas. The MISR instrument performed better than the other instruments over Karachi and Kanpur, while the MODISSTD AOD retrievals were better than those from the other instruments over Lahore and Jaipur. We also computed the expected error bounds (EEBs) for both MODIS retrievals and found that MODISSTD consistently outperformed MODISDB in all of the investigated areas. High AOD values were observed by the MODISSTD, MODISDB, MISR, and OMI instruments during the summer months (April-August); these ranged from 0.32 to 0.78, possibly due to human activity and biomass burning. In contrast, high AOD values were observed by the CALIPSO instrument between September and December, due to high concentrations of smoke and soot aerosols. The variable monthly AOD figures obtained with different sensors indicate overestimation by MODISSTD, MODISDB, OMI, and CALIPSO instruments over Karachi, Lahore, Jaipur and Kanpur, relative to the AERONET data, but underestimation by the MISR instrument.

Instrumental motives in negative emotion regulation in daily life: Frequency, consistency, and predictors.

PubMed

Kalokerinos, Elise K; Tamir, Maya; Kuppens, Peter

2017-06-01

People regulate their emotions not only for hedonic reasons but also for instrumental reasons, to attain the potential benefits of emotions beyond pleasure and pain. However, such instrumental motives have rarely been examined outside the laboratory as they naturally unfold in daily life. To assess whether and how instrumental motives operate outside the laboratory, it is necessary to examine them in response to real and personally relevant stimuli in ecologically valid contexts. In this research, we assessed the frequency, consistency, and predictors of instrumental motives in negative emotion regulation in daily life. Participants (N = 114) recalled the most negative event of their day each evening for 7 days and reported their instrumental motives and negative emotion goals in that event. Participants endorsed performance motives in approximately 1 in 3 events and social, eudaimonic, and epistemic motives in approximately 1 in 10 events. Instrumental motives had substantially higher within- than between-person variance, indicating that they were context-dependent. Indeed, although we found few associations between instrumental motives and personality traits, relationships between instrumental motives and contextual variables were more extensive. Performance, social, and epistemic motives were each predicted by a unique pattern of contextual appraisals. Our data demonstrate that instrumental motives play a role in daily negative emotion regulation as people encounter situations that pose unique regulatory demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Instrumenting Beliefs in Threshold Public Goods

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Understanding the causal impact of beliefs on contributions in Threshold Public Goods (TPGs) is particularly important since the social optimum can be supported as a Nash Equilibrium and best-response contributions are a function of beliefs. Unfortunately, investigations of the impact of beliefs on behavior are plagued with endogeneity concerns. We create a set of instruments by cleanly and exogenously manipulating beliefs without deception. Tests indicate that the instruments are valid and relevant. Perhaps surprisingly, we fail to find evidence that beliefs are endogenous in either the one-shot or repeated-decision settings. TPG allocations are determined by a base contribution and beliefs in a one shot-setting. In the repeated-decision environment, once we instrument for first-round allocations, we find that second-round allocations are driven equally by beliefs and history. Moreover, we find that failing to instrument prior decisions overstates their importance. PMID:26859492

Grammatical Gender and Mental Representation of Object: The Case of Musical Instruments.

PubMed

Vuksanović, Jasmina; Bjekić, Jovana; Radivojević, Natalija

2015-08-01

A body of research shows that grammatical gender, although an arbitrary category, is viewed as the system with its own meaning. However, the question remains to what extent does grammatical gender influence shaping our notions about objects when both verbal and visual information are available. Two experiments were conducted. The results obtained in Experiment 1 have shown that grammatical gender as a linguistic property of the pseudo-nouns used as names for musical instruments significantly affects people's representations about these instruments. The purpose of Experiment 2 was to examine how the representation of musical instruments will be shaped in the presence of both language and visual information. The results indicate that the co-existence of linguistic and visual information results in formation of concepts about selected instruments by all available information from both sources, thus suggesting that grammatical gender influences nonverbal concepts' forming, but has no privileged status in the matter.

Costa Rican environmental service payments: The use of a financial instrument in participatory forest management.

PubMed

Miranda, Miriam; Dieperink, Carel; Glasbergen, Pieter

2006-10-01

The core element of the Costa Rican forestry policy is a financial instrument called the environmental service payment. This instrument rewards forest owners for the environmental services (the mitigation of greenhouse gases, the protection of watersheds and scenic beauty, and the development of biodiversity) their forests provide. In this article, the experiences with this new instrument are analyzed by focusing on the way interests are represented and access is granted, the openness of information exchange, whether social learning occurred, and whether decision-making authority is shared. The analysis is based on a survey conducted in the Huetar Norte Region and on in-depth interviews with the major stakeholders. The Costa Rican case indicates that financial instruments can be used to share responsibilities and that stakeholders can successfully cooperate on forest issues. It also shows that such a participatory approach is only promising if certain cultural, economic, organizational, and political conditions are met.

Latest trends in craniomaxillofacial surgical instrumentation.

PubMed

Yim, Michael; Demke, Joshua

2012-08-01

To review the past year's literature regarding recent innovations in surgical instrumentation for craniomaxillofacial surgery. Current advances in surgical instrumentation have led to many improvements in the field, allowing greater visualization and precision both before and during procedures. One of the common goals is to achieve excellent outcomes with minimal complications, while at the same time minimizing invasiveness of surgery. Highlighted innovations include greater capacities for acquisition of data, leading to improved imaging modalities and expansion of computer-assisted surgical techniques; continued developments in biomaterials used in various reconstructions; and novel uses of bone cutting and bone fixation instrumentation. Technology in the field of craniomaxillofacial surgery is developing rapidly, leading to novel instrumentation being utilized across a broad spectrum of areas. Published data have been encouraging to date, indicating an ever increasing adaptation of these innovations in clinical practice. Future efforts need to focus on cost-benefit analysis and constructing larger-scale studies to better understand effectiveness and patient outcomes.

Bacteriological comparison of ultrasonic and hand instrumentation of root canals in dogs.

PubMed

DeNunzio, M S; Hicks, M L; Pelleu, G B; Kingman, A; Sauber, J J

1989-07-01

This study compared the effectiveness of hand and ultrasonic instrumentation for removing a standardized inoculum of pigmented Serratia marcescens from the root canal system of premolars in dogs. Forty-four premolars from nine beagle dogs were divided into two experimental groups of 20 and 24 teeth, respectively. The experimental teeth were inoculated with approximately 10 colony-forming units of S. marcescens. After the bacterial were allowed to colonize for 1 wk, the experimental teeth were instrumented with either hand instruments or the Cavi-Endo device. The teeth were extracted, crushed, and assayed for recoverable colony-forming units of S. marcescens. Statistical comparisons of the ratio of inoculated to recovered colony-forming untis were made. The results indicated that the difference between the positive controls and the experimental groups was significant. There was no significant difference between the two instrumentation groups.

THE RESPONSE OF SOME HEALTH PHYSICS INSTRUMENTS TO SODIUM-24 AND CHLORINE- 38 ACTIVITIES IN POLYTHENE MANPHANTOMS AND THE HUMAN BODY

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

Peabody, C.O.

1963-12-01

Measurements were made of the response of five commonly used health physics instruments when held near polythene man-phantoms filled with aqueous solutions containing sodium-24 and chlorine-38. The ratios of the wholebody chlorine-38 and sodium-24 activities are calculated for various periods of accidental human irradiation by neutrons. These ratios and the phantom results are used to estimate the response of the five instruments when held near the human body at various times after irradiation. Relative contributions of the chlorine-38 and sodium-24 to the instrument indications are listed. The tabulated data enable the instrument readings to be converted to wholebody sodium- 24more » activity at the time of irradiation. This may be used as a quick estimate of the degree of neutron irradiation. (auth)« less

Uterine caliper and depth gauge

DOEpatents

King, Loyd L.; Wheeler, Robert G.; Fish, Thomas M.

1977-01-01

A uterine caliper and sound consisting of an elongated body having outwardly biased resilient caliper wings and a spring-loaded slidable cervical stop. A slide on the body is operatively connected to the wings by a monofilament and operates with respect to a first scale on the body as a width indicator. A rod extending longitudinally on the body is connected to the cervical stop and cooperates with a second scale on the body as a depth indicator. The instrument can be positioned to measure the distance from the outer cervical ostium to the fundus, as read on said second scale. The wings may be allowed to open by moving the slide, and when the wings engage the utero-tubal junctions, the width may be read on said first scale. By adjustment of the caliper wings the instrument may be retracted until the resistance of the inner ostium of the cervix is felt, enabling the length of the cervical canal to be read directly by the position of the longitudinal indicator rod with respect to said second scale. The instrument may be employed to measure the width of the uterine cavity at any position between the inner ostium of the cervix and the fundus.

Walking smoothness is associated with self-reported function after accounting for gait speed.

PubMed

Lowry, Kristin A; Vanswearingen, Jessie M; Perera, Subashan; Studenski, Stephanie A; Brach, Jennifer S

2013-10-01

Gait speed has shown to be an indicator of functional status in older adults; however, there may be aspects of physical function not represented by speed but by the quality of movement. The purpose of this study was to determine the relations between walking smoothness, an indicator of the quality of movement based on trunk accelerations, and physical function. Thirty older adults (mean age, 77.7±5.1 years) participated. Usual gait speed was measured using an instrumented walkway. Walking smoothness was quantified by harmonic ratios derived from anteroposterior, vertical, and mediolateral trunk accelerations recorded during overground walking. Self-reported physical function was recorded using the function subscales of the Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument. Anteroposterior smoothness was positively associated with all function components of the Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument, whereas mediolateral smoothness exhibited negative associations. Adjusting for gait speed, anteroposterior smoothness remained associated with the overall and lower extremity function subscales, whereas mediolateral smoothness remained associated with only the advanced lower extremity subscale. These findings indicate that walking smoothness, particularly the smoothness of forward progression, represents aspects of the motor control of walking important for physical function not represented by gait speed alone.

Quality indicators for hip fracture care, a systematic review.

PubMed

Voeten, S C; Krijnen, P; Voeten, D M; Hegeman, J H; Wouters, M W J M; Schipper, I B

2018-05-17

Quality indicators are used to measure quality of care and enable benchmarking. An overview of all existing hip fracture quality indicators is lacking. The primary aim was to identify quality indicators for hip fracture care reported in literature, hip fracture audits, and guidelines. The secondary aim was to compose a set of methodologically sound quality indicators for the evaluation of hip fracture care in clinical practice. A literature search according to the PRISMA guidelines and an internet search were performed to identify hip fracture quality indicators. The indicators were subdivided into process, structure, and outcome indicators. The methodological quality of the indicators was judged using the Appraisal of Indicators through Research and Evaluation (AIRE) instrument. For structure and process indicators, the construct validity was assessed. Sixteen publications, nine audits and five guidelines were included. In total, 97 unique quality indicators were found: 9 structure, 63 process, and 25 outcome indicators. Since detailed methodological information about the indicators was lacking, the AIRE instrument could not be applied. Seven indicators correlated with an outcome measure. A set of nine quality indicators was extracted from the literature, audits, and guidelines. Many quality indicators are described and used. Not all of them correlate with outcomes of care and have been assessed methodologically. As methodological evidence is lacking, we recommend the extracted set of nine indicators to be used as the starting point for further clinical research. Future research should focus on assessing the clinimetric properties of the existing quality indicators.

Comparing and explaining differences in the magnitude, content, and sensitivity of utilities predicted by the EQ-5D, SF-6D, HUI 3, 15D, QWB, and AQoL-8D multiattribute utility instruments.

PubMed

Richardson, Jeff; Khan, Munir A; Iezzi, Angelo; Maxwell, Aimee

2015-04-01

Cost utility analysis permits the comparison of disparate health services by measuring outcomes in comparable units, namely, quality-adjusted life-years, which equal life-years times the utility of the health state. However, comparability is compromised when different utility instruments predict different utilities for the same health state. The present paper measures the extent of, and reason for, differences between the utilities predicted by the EQ-5D-5L, SF-6D, HUI 3, 15D, QWB, and AQoL-8D. Data were obtained from patients in seven disease areas and members of the healthy public in six countries. Differences between public and patient utilities were estimated using each of the instruments. To explain discrepancies between the estimates, the measurement scales and content of the instruments were compared. The sensitivity of instruments to independently measured health dimensions was measured in pairwise comparisons of all combinations of the instruments. The difference between public and patient utilities varied with the choice of instrument by more than 50% for every disease group and in four of the seven groups by more than 100%. Discrepancies were associated with differences in both the instrument content and their measurement scales. Pairwise comparisons of instruments found that variation in the sensitivity to physical and psychosocial dimensions of health closely reflected the items in the instrument's descriptive systems. Results indicate that instruments measure related but different constructs. They imply that commonly used instruments systematically discriminate against some classes of services, most notably mental health services. Differences in the instrument scales imply the need for transformations between the instruments to increase the comparability of measurement. © The Author(s) 2014.

Flight simulator evaluation of a novel flight instrument display to minimize the risks of spatial disorientation.

PubMed

Braithwaite, M G; Durnford, S J; Groh, S L; Jones, H D; Higdon, A A; Estrada, A; Alvarez, E A

1998-08-01

Spatial disorientation (SD) in flight remains a major source of attrition. Many SD accidents would occur regardless of the instrument display in use, since the aircrew are simply not looking at the instruments. However, there are a number of accidents which might be amenable to improved instrument displays. In an attempt to improve maintenance and reattainment of correct orientation with a reduced cognitive workload, a novel instrument display has been developed. This paper describes an assessment of the display in a UH-60 helicopter flight simulator. This study tested the hypothesis that during instrument flight and recovery from unusual attitudes, the novel display permits a more accurate maintenance and reestablishment of flight parameters than the standard flight instruments. There were 16 male aviators who flew a simulated instrument flight profile and recovery from unusual attitudes using both the standard flight instruments and the novel display. The two display formats were tested both with and without a secondary task. When compared with the standard instruments, both control of flight parameters and recovery from unusual attitudes were significantly improved when using the novel display. Analysis of the secondary task scores showed that cognitive workload was reduced when using the novel display compared with the standard instruments. Results from all aspects of the assessment indicated benefits of the new display. Future testing should be carried out during real flight, and the display should be further developed to be used in a head-up or helmet-mounted device.

Validity and reliability of a health care service evaluation instrument for tuberculosis

PubMed Central

Scatena, Lucia Marina; Wysocki, Anneliese Domingues; Beraldo, Aline Ale; Magnabosco, Gabriela Tavares; Brunello, Maria Eugênia Firmino; Netto, Antonio Ruffino; Nogueira, Jordana de Almeida; Silva, Reinaldo Antonio; Brito, Ewerton William Gomes; Alexandre, Patricia Borges Dias; Monroe, Aline Aparecida; Villa, Tereza Cristina Scatena

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the validity and reliability of an instrument that evaluates the structure of primary health care units for the treatment of tuberculosis. METHODS This cross-sectional study used simple random sampling and evaluated 1,037 health care professionals from five Brazilian municipalities (Natal, state of Rio Grande do Norte; Cabedelo, state of Paraíba; Foz do Iguaçu, state of Parana; Sao José do Rio Preto, state of Sao Paulo, and Uberaba, state of Minas Gerais) in 2011. Structural indicators were identified and validated, considering different methods of organization of the health care system in the municipalities of different population sizes. Each structure represented the organization of health care services and contained the resources available for the execution of health care services: physical resources (equipment, consumables, and facilities); human resources (number and qualification); and resources for maintenance of the existing infrastructure and technology (deemed as the organization of health care services). The statistical analyses used in the validation process included reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS The validation process indicated the retention of five factors, with 85.9% of the total variance explained, internal consistency between 0.6460 and 0.7802, and quality of fit of the confirmatory factor analysis of 0.995 using the goodness-of-fit index. The retained factors comprised five structural indicators: professionals involved in the care of tuberculosis patients, training, access to recording instruments, availability of supplies, and coordination of health care services with other levels of care. Availability of supplies had the best performance and the lowest coefficient of variation among the services evaluated. The indicators of assessment of human resources and coordination with other levels of care had satisfactory performance, but the latter showed the highest coefficient of variation. The performance of the indicators “training” and “access to recording instruments” was inferior to that of other indicators. CONCLUSIONS The instrument showed feasibility of application and potential to assess the structure of primary health care units for the treatment of tuberculosis. PMID:25741651

14 CFR 23.1321 - Arrangement and visibility.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 23.1321 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AIRCRAFT...: Installation § 23.1321 Arrangement and visibility. (a) Each flight, navigation, and powerplant instrument for... most effectively indicates direction of flight, other than the magnetic direction indicator required by...

Better Measurement for Performance Improvement in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI) Experience of Conceptual Framework Development and Indicator Selection.

PubMed

Veillard, Jeremy; Cowling, Krycia; Bitton, Asaf; Ratcliffe, Hannah; Kimball, Meredith; Barkley, Shannon; Mercereau, Laure; Wong, Ethan; Taylor, Chelsea; Hirschhorn, Lisa R; Wang, Hong

2017-12-01

Policy Points: Strengthening accountability through better measurement and reporting is vital to ensure progress in improving quality primary health care (PHC) systems and achieving universal health coverage (UHC). The Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI) provides national decision makers and global stakeholders with opportunities to benchmark and accelerate performance improvement through better performance measurement. Results from the initial PHC performance assessments in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are helping guide PHC reforms and investments and improve the PHCPI's instruments and indicators. Findings from future assessment activities will further amplify cross-country comparisons and peer learning to improve PHC. New indicators and sources of data are needed to better understand PHC system performance in LMICs. The Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI), a collaboration between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The World Bank, and the World Health Organization, in partnership with Ariadne Labs and Results for Development, was launched in 2015 with the aim of catalyzing improvements in primary health care (PHC) systems in 135 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), in order to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage. Through more comprehensive and actionable measurement of quality PHC, the PHCPI stimulates peer learning among LMICs and informs decision makers to guide PHC investments and reforms. Instruments for performance assessment and improvement are in development; to date, a conceptual framework and 2 sets of performance indicators have been released. The PHCPI team developed the conceptual framework through literature reviews and consultations with an advisory committee of international experts. We generated 2 sets of performance indicators selected from a literature review of relevant indicators, cross-referenced against indicators available from international sources, and evaluated through 2 separate modified Delphi processes, consisting of online surveys and in-person facilitated discussions with experts. The PHCPI conceptual framework builds on the current understanding of PHC system performance through an expanded emphasis on the role of service delivery. The first set of performance indicators, 36 Vital Signs, facilitates comparisons across countries and over time. The second set, 56 Diagnostic Indicators, elucidates underlying drivers of performance. Key challenges include a lack of available data for several indicators and a lack of validated indicators for important dimensions of quality PHC. The availability of data is critical to assessing PHC performance, particularly patient experience and quality of care. The PHCPI will continue to develop and test additional performance assessment instruments, including composite indices and national performance dashboards. Through country engagement, the PHCPI will further refine its instruments and engage with governments to better design and finance primary health care reforms. © 2017 Milbank Memorial Fund.

Validity of the Schizophrenia Diagnosis of the Psychopathology Instrument for Mentally Retarded Adults (PIMRA): A Comparison of Schizophrenic Patients with and without Mental Retardation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linaker, Olav M.; Helle, Jon

1994-01-01

This study found that the schizophrenia subscale of the Psychopathology Instrument for Mentally Retarded Adults was a valid quantitative measure of schizophrenia if one item was removed from the scale. Comparison with a nonretarded population indicated that mentally retarded patients had less delusions and more incoherence and flat affect. They…

[Advances in the use of instrumental measurement of colour in the development, production and quality control of drugs, medicinal preparations and pharmaceutical auxiliary substances I ].

PubMed

Subert, Jan; Cižmárik, Jozef

2013-04-01

Colour is one of the important indices of the quality of drugs, medicinal preparations and pharmaceutical auxiliary substances. The paper summarizes the development and use of instrumental measurement of colour in pharmacy in recent ten years focusing on the drugs of synthetic origin and pharmaceutical auxiliary substances including their control.

Can Parental Bonding Be Assessed in Children? Factor Structure and Factorial Invariance of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) between Adults and Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsaousis, Ioannis; Mascha, Katerina; Giovazolias, Theodoros

2012-01-01

This study examined the factorial structure of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) in the Greek population. Using confirmatory factor analysis different proposed models of the basic dimensions of PBI were evaluated. The results indicated that Kendler's three-factor (i.e. care, protectiveness and authoritarianism) solution was found to be more…

12 CFR Appendix C to Part 325 - Risk-Based Capital for State Non-Member Banks: Market Risk

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... instrument is a covered debt instrument that is subject to a non-zero specific risk capital charge. (A) For... indices. (iii) A bank must multiply the absolute value of the current market value of each net long or... conversion. (iii)(A) A bank must multiply the absolute value of the current market value of each net long or...

Analysis of electrical transients created by lightning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nanevicz, J. E.; Vance, E. F.

1980-01-01

A series of flight tests was conducted using a specially-instrumented NASA Learjet to study the electrical transients created on an aircraft by nearby lightning. The instrumentation included provisions for the time-domain and frequency-domain recording of the electrical signals induced in sensors located both on the exterior and on the interior of the aircraft. The design and calibration of the sensors and associated measuring systems is described together with the results of the flight test measurements. The results indicate that the concept of providing instrumentation to follow the lightning signal from propagation field, to aircraft skin current, to current on interior wiring is basically sound. The results of the measurement indicate that the high frequency signals associated with lightning stroke precursor activity are important in generating electromagnetic noise on the interior of the aircraft. Indeed, the signals produced by the precursors are often of higher amplitude and of longer duration that the pulse produced by the main return stroke.

A Compact Reliable Laser Surgery Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Dounan; Yu, Guiqiu; Chen, Taolue

1989-09-01

Now, more and more hospitals and doctors in the world are getting interested in laser medicine, more and more people are getting understanding on laser surgery operations and physical therapy. Following the cotinuous comprehensive investigation of laser medicine, the clinical applications of laser has been further expanded and per a lot of indications have been found. As is well known, CO2 laser is one of the most famous medical lasers. In recent years, we concentrate our at to it, a new minitype CO2 laser surgery instrument has been built after improving repeately, the improvement depends on the experiences of hundreds of doctors in hundreds of hospitals for curing ten thousands cases. Our new laser surgery instrument has been improved in five-main characters: 1) Expanding the range of adjustable power into 3-10 W; 2) Making the laser output flexible, dose from 0.1--105 W/cm2 for different cures; 3) Expanding its applications into about 50 indications of general surgery, dermatology, otolaryngology, and gynecology. Which have been proven effective or very effective.

Effect of nursing home ownership on hospitalization of long-stay residents: an instrumental variables approach

PubMed Central

Grabowski, David C.; Feng, Zhanlian; Rahman, Momotazur; Mor, Vincent

2014-01-01

Hospitalizations among nursing home residents are frequent, expensive, and often associated with further deterioration of resident condition. The literature indicates that a substantial fraction of admissions is potentially preventable and that nonprofit nursing homes are less likely to hospitalize their residents. However, the correlation between ownership and hospitalization might reflect unobserved resident differences rather than a causal relationship. Using national minimum data set assessments linked with Medicare claims, we use a national cohort of long-stay residents who were newly admitted to nursing homes within an 18-month period spanning January 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. After instrumenting for ownership status, we found that IV estimates of the effect of nonprofit ownership on hospitalization are at least as large as the non-instrumented effects, indicating that selection bias does not explain the observed relationship. We also found evidence suggesting the lower rate of hospitalizations among nonprofits was due to a different threshold for transfer. PMID:24234287

Effect of nursing home ownership on hospitalization of long-stay residents: an instrumental variables approach.

PubMed

Hirth, Richard A; Grabowski, David C; Feng, Zhanlian; Rahman, Momotazur; Mor, Vincent

2014-03-01

Hospitalizations among nursing home residents are frequent, expensive, and often associated with further deterioration of resident condition. The literature indicates that a substantial fraction of admissions is potentially preventable and that nonprofit nursing homes are less likely to hospitalize their residents. However, the correlation between ownership and hospitalization might reflect unobserved resident differences rather than a causal relationship. Using national minimum data set assessments linked with Medicare claims, we use a national cohort of long-stay residents who were newly admitted to nursing homes within an 18-month period spanning January 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. After instrumenting for ownership status, we found that IV estimates of the effect of nonprofit ownership on hospitalization are at least as large as the non-instrumented effects, indicating that selection bias does not explain the observed relationship. We also found evidence suggesting the lower rate of hospitalizations among nonprofits was due to a different threshold for transfer.

Tilt precursors before earthquakes on the San Andreas fault, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnston, M.J.S.; Mortensen, C.E.

1974-01-01

An array of 14 biaxial shallow-borehole tiltmeters (at 10-7 radian sensitivity) has been installed along 85 kilometers of the San Andreas fault during the past year. Earthquake-related changes in tilt have been simultaneously observed on up to four independent instruments. At earthquake distances greater than 10 earthquake source dimensions, there are few clear indications of tilt change. For the four instruments with the longest records (>10 months), 26 earthquakes have occurred since July 1973 with at least one instrument closer than 10 source dimensions and 8 earthquakes with more than one instrument within that distance. Precursors in tilt direction have been observed before more than 10 earthquakes or groups of earthquakes, and no similar effect has yet been seen without the occurrence of an earthquake.

Low-energy particle experiments-electron analyzer (LEPe) onboard the Arase spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazama, Yoichi; Wang, Bo-Jhou; Wang, Shiang-Yu; Ho, Paul T. P.; Tam, Sunny W. Y.; Chang, Tzu-Fang; Chiang, Chih-Yu; Asamura, Kazushi

2017-12-01

In this report, we describe the low-energy electron instrument LEPe (low-energy particle experiments-electron analyzer) onboard the Arase (ERG) spacecraft. The instrument measures a three-dimensional distribution function of electrons with energies of ˜ 19 eV-19 keV. Electrons in this energy range dominate in the inner magnetosphere, and measurement of such electrons is important in terms of understanding the magnetospheric dynamics and wave-particle interaction. The instrument employs a toroidal tophat electrostatic energy analyzer with a passive 6-mm aluminum shield. To minimize background radiation effects, the analyzer has a background channel, which monitors counts produced by background radiation. Background counts are then subtracted from measured counts. Electronic components are radiation tolerant, and 5-mm-thick shielding of the electronics housing ensures that the total dose is less than 100 kRad for the one-year nominal mission lifetime. The first in-space measurement test was done on February 12, 2017, showing that the instrument functions well. On February 27, the first all-instrument run test was done, and the LEPe instrument measured an energy dispersion event probably related to a substorm injection occurring immediately before the instrument turn-on. These initial results indicate that the instrument works fine in space, and the measurement performance is good for science purposes.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Comparison of working length control consistency between hand K-files and Mtwo NiTi rotary system.

PubMed

Krajczár, Károly; Varga, Enikő; Marada, Gyula; Jeges, Sára; Tóth, Vilmos

2016-04-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the consistency of working length control between hand instrumentation in comparison to engine driven Mtwo nickel-titanium rotary files. Forty extracted maxillary molars were selected and divided onto two parallel groups. The working lengths of the mesiobuccal root canals were estimated. The teeth were fixed in a phantom head. The root canal preparation was carried out group 1 (n=20) with hand K-files, (VDW, Munich, Germany) and group 2 (n=20) with Mtwo instruments (VDW, Munich, Germany). Vestibulo-oral and mesio-distal directional x-ray images were taken before the preparation with #10 K-file, inserted into the mesiobuccal root canal to the working length, and after preparation with #25, #30 and #40 files. Working lenght changes were detected with measurements between the radiological apex and the instrument tips. In the Mtwo group a difference in the working competency (p<0.05) could be noticed only in the vestibulo-oral direction from #10 to #40 file. The hand instrument group showed a significant difference in working length competency for each larger file size (p<0.05) (ANOVA). Regression analysis in the hand instrumentation group indicated a working length decrease with a mean of 0,2 mm after each consecutive file size (p<0.01). The outcome of our trial indicated a high consistency in working length control for root canal preparation under simulated clinical condition using Mtwo rotary files. Mtwo NiTi rotary file did therefore proved to be more accurate in comparison to the conventional hand instrumentation. Working length, Mtwo, nickel-titanium, hand preparation, engine driven preparation.

Comparison of working length control consistency between hand K-files and Mtwo NiTi rotary system

PubMed Central

Krajczár, Károly; Varga, Enikő; Jeges, Sára; Tóth, Vilmos

2016-01-01

Background The purpose of this study was to investigate the consistency of working length control between hand instrumentation in comparison to engine driven Mtwo nickel-titanium rotary files. Material and Methods Forty extracted maxillary molars were selected and divided onto two parallel groups. The working lengths of the mesiobuccal root canals were estimated. The teeth were fixed in a phantom head. The root canal preparation was carried out group 1 (n=20) with hand K-files, (VDW, Munich, Germany) and group 2 (n=20) with Mtwo instruments (VDW, Munich, Germany). Vestibulo-oral and mesio-distal directional x-ray images were taken before the preparation with #10 K-file, inserted into the mesiobuccal root canal to the working length, and after preparation with #25, #30 and #40 files. Working lenght changes were detected with measurements between the radiological apex and the instrument tips. Results In the Mtwo group a difference in the working competency (p<0.05) could be noticed only in the vestibulo-oral direction from #10 to #40 file. The hand instrument group showed a significant difference in working length competency for each larger file size (p<0.05) (ANOVA). Regression analysis in the hand instrumentation group indicated a working length decrease with a mean of 0,2 mm after each consecutive file size (p<0.01). Conclusions The outcome of our trial indicated a high consistency in working length control for root canal preparation under simulated clinical condition using Mtwo rotary files. Mtwo NiTi rotary file did therefore proved to be more accurate in comparison to the conventional hand instrumentation. Key words:Working length, Mtwo, nickel-titanium, hand preparation, engine driven preparation. PMID:27034752

Building the BIKE: Development and Testing of the Biotechnology Instrument for Knowledge Elicitation (BIKE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witzig, Stephen B.; Rebello, Carina M.; Siegel, Marcelle A.; Freyermuth, Sharyn K.; Izci, Kemal; McClure, Bruce

2014-10-01

Identifying students' conceptual scientific understanding is difficult if the appropriate tools are not available for educators. Concept inventories have become a popular tool to assess student understanding; however, traditionally, they are multiple choice tests. International science education standard documents advocate that assessments should be reform based, contain diverse question types, and should align with instructional approaches. To date, no instrument of this type targeting student conceptions in biotechnology has been developed. We report here the development, testing, and validation of a 35-item Biotechnology Instrument for Knowledge Elicitation (BIKE) that includes a mix of question types. The BIKE was designed to elicit student thinking and a variety of conceptual understandings, as opposed to testing closed-ended responses. The design phase contained nine steps including a literature search for content, student interviews, a pilot test, as well as expert review. Data from 175 students over two semesters, including 16 student interviews and six expert reviewers (professors from six different institutions), were used to validate the instrument. Cronbach's alpha on the pre/posttest was 0.664 and 0.668, respectively, indicating the BIKE has internal consistency. Cohen's kappa for inter-rater reliability among the 6,525 total items was 0.684 indicating substantial agreement among scorers. Item analysis demonstrated that the items were challenging, there was discrimination among the individual items, and there was alignment with research-based design principles for construct validity. This study provides a reliable and valid conceptual understanding instrument in the understudied area of biotechnology.

Correlation between polymerization shrinkage stress and C-factor depends upon cavity compliance.

PubMed

Wang, Zhengzhi; Chiang, Martin Y M

2016-03-01

The literature reports inconsistent results regarding using configuration factor (C-factor) as an indicator to reflect the generation of polymerization shrinkage stress (PS) from dental restorative composites due to the constraint of cavity configuration. The current study aimed at unraveling the complex effects of C-factor on PS based on analytical and experimental approaches together, such that the reported inconsistency can be explained and a significance of C-factor in clinic can be comprehensively provided. Analytical models based on linear elasticity were established to predict PS measured in instruments (testing systems) with different compliances, and complex effects of C-factor on PS were derived. The analyses were validated by experiments using a cantilever beam-based instrument and systematic variation of instrumental compliance. For a general trend, PS decreased with increasing C-factor when measured by instruments with high compliance. However, this trend gradually diminished and eventually reversed (PS became increased with increasing C-factor) by decreasing the system compliance. Our study indicates that the correlation between PS and C-factor are highly dependent on the compliance of testing instrument for PS measurement. This suggests that the current concept on the role of C-factor in the stress development and transmission to tooth structures, higher C-factor produces higher PS due to reduced flow capacity of more confined materials, can be misleading. Thus, the compliance of the prepared tooth (cavity) structure should also be considered in the effect of C-factor on PS. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Statistical methods for biodosimetry in the presence of both Berkson and classical measurement error

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Austin

In radiation epidemiology, the true dose received by those exposed cannot be assessed directly. Physical dosimetry uses a deterministic function of the source term, distance and shielding to estimate dose. For the atomic bomb survivors, the physical dosimetry system is well established. The classical measurement errors plaguing the location and shielding inputs to the physical dosimetry system are well known. Adjusting for the associated biases requires an estimate for the classical measurement error variance, for which no data-driven estimate exists. In this case, an instrumental variable solution is the most viable option to overcome the classical measurement error indeterminacy. Biological indicators of dose may serve as instrumental variables. Specification of the biodosimeter dose-response model requires identification of the radiosensitivity variables, for which we develop statistical definitions and variables. More recently, researchers have recognized Berkson error in the dose estimates, introduced by averaging assumptions for many components in the physical dosimetry system. We show that Berkson error induces a bias in the instrumental variable estimate of the dose-response coefficient, and then address the estimation problem. This model is specified by developing an instrumental variable mixed measurement error likelihood function, which is then maximized using a Monte Carlo EM Algorithm. These methods produce dose estimates that incorporate information from both physical and biological indicators of dose, as well as the first instrumental variable based data-driven estimate for the classical measurement error variance.

Validation of the translation of an instrument to measure reliability of written information on treatment choices: a study on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

PubMed

Montoya, A; Llopis, N; Gilaberte, I

2011-12-01

DISCERN is an instrument designed to help patients assess the reliability of written information on treatment choices. Originally created in English, there is no validated Spanish version of this instrument. This study seeks to validate the Spanish translation of the DISCERN instrument used as a primary measure on a multicenter study aimed to assess the reliability of web-based information on treatment choices for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We used a modified version of a method for validating translated instruments in which the original source-language version is formally compared with the back-translated source-language version. Each item was ranked in terms of comparability of language, similarity of interpretability, and degree of understandability. Responses used Likert scales ranging from 1 to 7, where 1 indicates the best interpretability, language and understandability, and 7 indicates the worst. Assessments were performed by 20 raters fluent in the source language. The Spanish translation of DISCERN, based on ratings of comparability, interpretability and degree of understandability (mean score (SD): 1.8 (1.1), 1.4 (0.9) and 1.6 (1.1), respectively), was considered extremely comparable. All items received a score of less than three, therefore no further revision of the translation was needed. The validation process showed that the quality of DISCERN translation was high, validating the comparable language of the tool translated on assessing written information on treatment choices for ADHD.

Cross-Calibration of Ground and Airborne TIR and VSWIR Instruments for NASA's SnowEx 2017 Grand Mesa Campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crawford, C. J.; Chickadel, C. C.; Hall, D. K.; Jennings, D. E.; Jhabvala, M. D.; Kim, E. J.; Jessica, L.; Lunsford, A.

2017-12-01

The NASA Terrestrial Hydrology Program sponsored a ground and airborne snow experiment (SnowEx) to the Grand Mesa area and Senator Beck Basin in western Colorado during February 2017. This communication summarizes efforts to develop traceable instrument calibration requirements for SnowEx Grand Mesa in support of thermal infrared (TIR) and visible-to-shortwave infrared (VSWIR) snow measurement science. Cross-calibration outcomes for TIR instruments (7-10 µm and 8-14 µm response functions) indicate that an at-sensor measurement accuracy of within 1.5 degrees Celsius was achieved across ground and airborne sensors using laboratory and field blackbody sources. A cross-calibration assessment of VSWIR spectrometers (0.35 to 2.5 µm response functions) using a National Institutes of Standard Technology (NIST) traceable source indicates an at-sensor measurement accuracy of within 5% for visible-near infrared spectral radiance (W/cm-2/sr-1/nm) and irradiance (W/m-2/nm), and within 20% for shortwave infrared measurements before a radiometric cross-calibration correction was applied. Additional validation is undertaken to assess the ground and airborne SnowEx Grand Mesa TIR and VSWIR instrument cross-calibration quality by benchmarking against on-orbit image acquisitions of the snow surface on February 14th and 15th, 2017 from Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), and Sentinel-2A Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI).

Lesion to the nigrostriatal dopamine system disrupts stimulus-response habit formation.

PubMed

Faure, Alexis; Haberland, Ulrike; Condé, Françoise; El Massioui, Nicole

2005-03-16

Acquisition and performance of instrumental actions are assumed to require both action-outcome and stimulus-response (S-R) habit processes. Over the course of extended training, control over instrumental performance shifts from goal-directed action-outcome associations to S-R associations that progressively gain domination over behavior. Lesions of the lateral part of the dorsal striatum disrupt this process, and rats with lesions to the lateral striatum showed selective sensitivity to devaluation of the instrumental outcome (Yin et al., 2004), indicating that this area is necessary for habit formation. The present experiment further explored the basis of this dysfunction by examining the ability of rats subjected to bilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway to develop behavioral autonomy with overtraining. Rats were given extended training on two cued instrumental tasks associating a stimulus (a tone or a light) with an instrumental action (lever press or chain pull) and a food reward (pellets or sucrose). Both tasks were run daily in separate sessions. Overtraining was followed by a test of goal sensitivity by satiety-specific devaluation of the reward. In control animals, one action (lever press) was insensitive to reward devaluation, indicating that it became a habit, whereas the second action (chain pull) was still sensitive to goal devaluation. This result provides evidence that the development of habit learning may depend on the characteristics of the response. In dopamine-depleted rats, lever press and chain pull remained sensitive to reward devaluation, evidencing a role of striatal dopamine transmission in habit formation.

Benchmarking network for clinical and humanistic outcomes in diabetes (BENCH-D) study: protocol, tools, and population.

PubMed

Nicolucci, Antonio; Rossi, Maria C; Pellegrini, Fabio; Lucisano, Giuseppe; Pintaudi, Basilio; Gentile, Sandro; Marra, Giampiero; Skovlund, Soren E; Vespasiani, Giacomo

2014-01-01

In the context of the DAWN-2 initiatives, the BENCH-D Study aims to test a model of regional benchmarking to improve not only the quality of diabetes care, but also patient-centred outcomes. As part of the AMD-Annals quality improvement program, 32 diabetes clinics in 4 Italian regions extracted clinical data from electronic databases for measuring process and outcome quality indicators. A random sample of patients with type 2 diabetes filled in a questionnaire including validated instruments to assess patient-centred indicators: SF-12 Health Survey, WHO-5 Well-Being Index, Diabetes Empowerment Scale, Problem Areas in Diabetes, Health Care Climate Questionnaire, Patients Assessment of Chronic Illness Care, Barriers to Medications, Patient Support, Diabetes Self-care Activities, and Global Satisfaction for Diabetes Treatment. Data were discussed with participants in regional meetings. Main problems, obstacles and solutions were identified through a standardized process, and a regional mandate was produced to drive the priority actions. Overall, clinical indicators on 78,854 patients have been measured; additionally, 2,390 patients filled-in the questionnaire. The regional mandates were officially launched in March 2012. Clinical and patient-centred indicators will be evaluated again after 18 months. A final assessment of clinical indicators will take place after 30 months. In the context of the BENCH-D study, a set of instruments has been validated to measure patient well-being and satisfaction with the care. In the four regional meetings, different priorities were identified, reflecting different organizational resources of the different areas. In all the regions, a major challenge was represented by the need of skills and instruments to address psychosocial issues of people with diabetes. The BENCH-D study allows a field testing of benchmarking activities focused on clinical and patient-centred indicators.

Comparative study of root-canal shaping with stainless steel and rotary NiTi files performed by preclinical dental students.

PubMed

Alrahabi, Mothanna

2015-01-01

We evaluated the use of NiTi rotary and stainless steel endodontic instruments for canal shaping by undergraduate students. We also assessed the quality of root canal preparation as well as the occurrence of iatrogenic events during instrumentation. In total, 30 third-year dental students attending Taibah University Dental College prepared 180 simulated canals in resin blocks with NiTi rotary instruments and stainless steel hand files. Superimposed images were prepared to measure the removal of material at different levels from apical termination using the GSA image analysis software. Preparation time, procedural accidents, and canal shape after preparation were analyzed using χ 2 and t-tests. The statistical significance level was set at P < 0.05. There were significant differences in preparation time between NiTi instruments and stainless steel files; the former was associated with shorter preparation time, less ledge formation (1.1% vs. 14.4%), and greater instrument fracture (5.56% vs. 1.1%). These results indicate that NiTi rotary instruments result in better canal geometry and cause less canal transportation. Manual instrumentation using stainless steel files is safer than rotary instrumentation for inexperienced students. Intensive preclinical training is a prerequisite for using NiTi rotary instruments. These results prompted us to reconsider theoretical and practical coursework when teaching endodontics.

Space-borne survey instrument operations: lessons learned and new concepts for the Euclid NISP instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valenziano, L.; Gregorio, A.; Butler, R. C.; Amiaux, J.; Bonoli, C.; Bortoletto, F.; Burigana, C.; Corcione, L.; Ealet, A.; Frailis, M.; Jahnke, K.; Ligori, S.; Maiorano, E.; Morgante, G.; Nicastro, L.; Pasian, F.; Riva, M.; Scaramella, R.; Schiavone, F.; Tavagnacco, D.; Toledo-Moreo, R.; Trifoglio, M.; Zacchei, A.; Zerbi, F. M.; Maciaszek, T.

2012-09-01

Euclid is the future ESA mission, mainly devoted to Cosmology. Like WMAP and Planck, it is a survey mission, to be launched in 2019 and injected in orbit far away from the Earth, for a nominal lifetime of 7 years. Euclid has two instruments on-board, the Visible Imager (VIS) and the Near- Infrared Spectro-Photometer (NISP). The NISP instrument includes cryogenic mechanisms, active thermal control, high-performance Data Processing Unit and requires periodic in-flight calibrations and instrument parameters monitoring. To fully exploit the capability of the NISP, a careful control of systematic effects is required. From previous experiments, we have built the concept of an integrated instrument development and verification approach, where the scientific, instrument and ground-segment expertise have strong interactions from the early phases of the project. In particular, we discuss the strong integration of test and calibration activities with the Ground Segment, starting from early pre-launch verification activities. We want to report here the expertise acquired by the Euclid team in previous missions, only citing the literature for detailed reference, and indicate how it is applied in the Euclid mission framework.

Development of a radiology faculty appraisal instrument by using critical incident interviewing.

PubMed

Collins, J; Albanese, M A; Thakor, S K; Propeck, P A; Scanlan, K A

1997-12-01

To develop a valid and reliable radiology faculty appraisal instrument based on scientific methods. Fifteen radiology residents participated in critical incident interviewing. During a 1-hour interview, a resident was asked to describe five incidents each of effective and ineffective faculty behavior. Two investigators independently listened to the tape-recorded interviews, and two different investigators sorted the incidents into broad categories. A faculty appraisal instrument was developed by listing similar incidents under broad categories. A five-point rating scale was applied to each item. Content validity was assessed by resident and faculty critique of the appraisal instrument. A total of 168 incidents of faculty behavior were generated. The frequency with which similar incidents were reported was recorded. The most common behaviors reported were related to staff expertise and teaching. Interjudge reliability was good, as determined by computing K indices of agreement (overall K = 0.59). There was good agreement regarding instrument content validity among residents but not among faculty. Residents supported the use of the new appraisal instrument, but further tests of validity and reliability and faculty acceptance of the instrument will determine its usefulness as a tool for monitoring faculty teaching performance and making decisions regarding faculty promotion.

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of an HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudinal instrument.

PubMed

Zometa, Carlos S; Dedrick, Robert; Knox, Michael D; Westhoff, Wayne; Siri, Rodrigo Simán; Debaldo, Ann

2007-06-01

An instrument developed in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess HIV/AIDS knowledge and four attitudinal dimensions (Peer Pressure, Abstinence, Drug Use, and Threat of HIV Infection) and an instrument developed by Basen-Engquist et al. (1999) to measure abstinence and condom use were translated, cross-culturally adapted, and validated for use with Spanish-speaking high school students in El Salvador. A back-translation of the English version was cross-culturally adapted using two different review panels and pilot-tested with Salvadorian students. An expert panel established content validity, and confirmatory factor analysis provided support for construct validity. Results indicated that the methodology was successful in cross-culturally adapting the instrument developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the instrument developed by Basen-Engquist et al. The psychometric properties of the knowledge section were acceptable and there was partial support for the four-factor attitudinal model underlying the CDC instrument and the two-factor model underlying the Basen-Engquist et al. instrument. Additional studies with Spanish-speaking populations (either in the United States or Latin America) are needed to evaluate the generalizability of the present results.

Risk factors for supplementary posterior instrumentation after anterolateral decompression and instrumentation in thoracolumbar burst fractures.

PubMed

Hitchon, Patrick W; He, Wenzhuan; Dahdaleh, Nader S; Moritani, Toshio

2014-11-01

In spite of the established benefits of anterolateral decompression and instrumentation (ALDI) for thoracolumbar burst fractures (TLBF), the indications for supplementary posterior instrumentation remain unclear. A retrospective review of clinical and radiographic data of a prospective cohort of 73 patients who underwent ALDI for TLBF from T12 to L4. The mean age of the cohort was 42 ± 15 years, with 49 males and 24 females. Forty-six patients had neurological deficit, and 27 were intact. Owing to symptomatic settling, supplemental posterior instrumentation was performed in 7 out of 73 patients. The age of patients requiring supplemental posterior instrumentation (59 ± 14 years) exceeded that of patients who did not (41 ± 16, p=0.004). Otherwise, the patients who required posterior instrumentation were comparable to those treated with ALDI in terms of body mass index (BMI), American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) scores on admission and follow-up, residual spinal canal, and local kyphosis on admission and follow-up. The posterior ligamentous complex (PLC) integrity was assessed in 38 patients in whom the MRI scans were retrievable, 31 successfully treated with ALDI, and all 7 undergoing supplementary posterior instrumentation. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that there was no difference in the incidence of PLC disruption between the 2 groups (p=0.257). Secondary supplemental posterior instrumentation was deemed necessary in 10% of cases following ALDI. Age was the only significant risk factor predicating supplemental posterior instrumentation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mapping between 6 Multiattribute Utility Instruments.

PubMed

Chen, Gang; Khan, Munir A; Iezzi, Angelo; Ratcliffe, Julie; Richardson, Jeff

2016-02-01

Cost-utility analyses commonly employ a multiattribute utility (MAU) instrument to estimate the health state utilities, which are needed to calculate quality-adjusted life years. Different MAU instruments predict significantly different utilities, which makes comparison of results from different evaluation studies problematical. This article presents mapping functions ("crosswalks") from 6 MAU instruments (EQ-5D-5L, SF-6D, Health Utilities Index 3 [HUI 3], 15D, Quality of Well-Being [QWB], and Assessment of Quality of Life 8D [AQoL-8D]) to each of the other 5 instruments in the study: a total of 30 mapping functions. Data were obtained from a multi-instrument comparison survey of the public and patients in 7 disease areas conducted in 6 countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway, United Kingdom, and United States). The 8022 respondents were administered each of the 6 study instruments. Mapping equations between each instrument pair were estimated using 4 econometric techniques: ordinary least squares, generalized linear model, censored least absolute deviations, and, for the first time, a robust MM-estimator. Goodness-of-fit indicators for each of the results are within the range of published studies. Transformations reduced discrepancies between predicted utilities. Incremental utilities, which determine the value of quality-related health benefits, are almost perfectly aligned at the sample means. Transformations presented here align the measurement scales of MAU instruments. Their use will increase confidence in the comparability of evaluation studies, which have employed different MAU instruments. © The Author(s) 2015.

The psychometric properties of three self-report screening instruments for identifying frail older people in the community

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Frailty is highly prevalent in older people. Its serious adverse consequences, such as disability, are considered to be a public health problem. Therefore, disability prevention in community-dwelling frail older people is considered to be a priority for research and clinical practice in geriatric care. With regard to disability prevention, valid screening instruments are needed to identify frail older people in time. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the psychometric properties of three screening instruments: the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI), the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) and the Sherbrooke Postal Questionnaire (SPQ). For validation purposes the Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS) was added. Methods A questionnaire was sent to 687 community-dwelling older people (≥ 70 years). Agreement between instruments, internal consistency, and construct validity of instruments were evaluated and compared. Results The response rate was 77%. Prevalence estimates of frailty ranged from 40% to 59%. The highest agreement was found between the GFI and the TFI (Cohen's kappa = 0.74). Cronbach's alpha for the GFI, the TFI and the SPQ was 0.73, 0.79 and 0.26, respectively. Scores on the three instruments correlated significantly with each other (GFI - TFI, r = 0.87; GFI - SPQ, r = 0.47; TFI - SPQ, r = 0.42) and with the GARS (GFI - GARS, r = 0.57; TFI - GARS, r = 0.61; SPQ - GARS, r = 0.46). The GFI and the TFI scores were, as expected, significantly related to age, sex, education and income. Conclusions The GFI and the TFI showed high internal consistency and construct validity in contrast to the SPQ. Based on these findings it is not yet possible to conclude whether the GFI or the TFI should be preferred; data on the predictive values of both instruments are needed. The SPQ seems less appropriate for postal screening of frailty among community-dwelling older people. PMID:20353611

Development of Depression Profile: a new psychometric instrument to selectively evaluate depressive symptoms based on the neurocircuitry theory.

PubMed

Faludi, Gábor; Gonda, Xenia; Kliment, Edit; Bekes, Vera; Mészáros, Veronika; Oláh, Attila

2010-06-01

Although we have several self-report instruments available to assess depression, they yield a composite score and thus do not allow for the differential examination of major symptom clusters associated with depression. However, such an instrument would be a useful tool in subtyping depression and selecting the most appropriate pharmacotherapy for each patient. The neurocircuitry theory describes the biochemical and neuroanatomic background associated with the major symptoms of depression. Based on the neurocircuitry theory, our team has developed a new instrument, the Depression Profile, to selectively assess depressive symptom clusters associated with different neurotransmitter systems and neuroanatomic structures. The aim of our study was to investigate the psychometric characteristics of Depression Profile. 339 patients consecutively admitted with DSM-IV major depression in our hospital completed the Depression Profile in the first two weeks of their hospitalisation. 81 patients in an adult outpatient unit also completed the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale. Internal consistency of Depression Profile was tested with item analysis. The external validity of Depression Profile against the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale was tested using Pearson correlations. The internal consistency of Depression Profile proved to be excellent. The Cronbach alpha values of the scales met the expectable minimum level derived from the number of items in the scales. In testing for convergent validity, all Pearson correlation coefficients between Depression profile subscales and the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale were significant and moderate to high which indicates the good external validity of our instrument. The initial psychometric evaluation of Depression Profile indicates that our instrument has good reliability and internal and external validity. The instrument also proved to be useful in clinical work to aid the choice of medications and determine the subtype of depressive episodes. Further studies, possibly with biochemical and neuroimaging methodology are needed to validate the 9 main symptom clusters of the Depression Profile subscales with respect to their neuroanatomical and neurochemical bases.

Clinical composite measures of disease activity and damage used to evaluate patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A systematic literature review.

PubMed

Castrejón, Isabel; Rúa-Figueroa, Iñigo; Rosario, María Piedad; Carmona, Loreto

2014-01-01

To determine the most appropriate indices to evaluate the disease activity and damage in patients with sytemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A systematic literature search was performed to identify validation studies of indices used to evaluate disease activity and damage. We collected information for each instrument on every aspect of validation including feasibility, reliability, validity and sensitivity to change using ad hoc forms. A total of 38 articles were included addressing the validation of 6 composite indices to evaluate disease activity (BILAG, ECLAM, SLAM, SLEDAI, LAI and SLAQ); and 3 indices to evaluate damage (SLICC/ACE-DI, LDIQ and BILD). Only the SLAQ, LIDIQ and the BILD were self-administered. Feasibility and internal consistency was only studied in 3 indices (BILAG, SLAQ and SDI) with a Cronbach's α ranging from 0.35 to 0.87. The intra-observer reliability was examined by the intraclass correlation coefficient for BILAG with a result of 0.48 (95%CI: 0,23-0,81) and using analysis of variance for SLAM-R (0,78), SLEDAI (0,33) and the LAI (0,81). The inter-observer feasibility was evaluated using the correlation coefficient for ECLAM (0,90-0,93), the SLAM (0,86) and MEX-SLEDAI (0,97-0,89). The construct validity was examined by means of convergence with other instruments, specifically with global assessment by the physician, with similar results between indices (0,48-0,75). Lastly, responsiveness was tested in all indices except LAI, SDI and LDIQ, with a standardized response mean ranging from 0.12 to 0.75. Although multiple instruments have been validated for use in SLE it was not possible to find direct evidence of which is the most appropriate. BILAG and SLEDAI, with moderate feasibility and low responsiveness, are the 2 indices with a most complete validation and more extensively used. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The effects of integrating instrumental and affective arguments in rhetorical and testimonial health messages.

PubMed

Keer, Mario; van den Putte, Bas; de Wit, John; Neijens, Peter

2013-01-01

Recent research highlights the superior influence of affect over cognition in health decision making. The present study examined the independent and combined effects of 2 message characteristics that are thought to tap into the cognition-affect distinction: message format (rhetorical vs. testimonial) and argument type (instrumental vs. affective). In this 2 × 2 experiment, 81 college students were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 health messages discouraging binge drinking. The results indicated that messages containing affective arguments were judged more positively and perceived as more effective than were messages containing instrumental arguments. The results further revealed an interaction effect between message format and argument type. Testimonials were more persuasive when they contained affective arguments than when they contained instrumental arguments. Type of arguments did not influence the efficacy of rhetorical messages. Mediation analyses revealed that instrumental arguments reduce the efficacy of testimonials because they prevent individuals from being transported into the story, and increase psychological reactance. In conclusion, testimonial messages more effectively discourage binge drinking among college students when they contain affective, as opposed to instrumental, arguments.

Opportunity integrated assessment facilitating critical thinking and science process skills measurement on acid base matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sari, Anggi Ristiyana Puspita; Suyanta, LFX, Endang Widjajanti; Rohaeti, Eli

2017-05-01

Recognizing the importance of the development of critical thinking and science process skills, the instrument should give attention to the characteristics of chemistry. Therefore, constructing an accurate instrument for measuring those skills is important. However, the integrated instrument assessment is limited in number. The purpose of this study is to validate an integrated assessment instrument for measuring students' critical thinking and science process skills on acid base matter. The development model of the test instrument adapted McIntire model. The sample consisted of 392 second grade high school students in the academic year of 2015/2016 in Yogyakarta. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted to explore construct validity, whereas content validity was substantiated by Aiken's formula. The result shows that the KMO test is 0.714 which indicates sufficient items for each factor and the Bartlett test is significant (a significance value of less than 0.05). Furthermore, content validity coefficient which is based on 8 experts is obtained at 0.85. The findings support the integrated assessment instrument to measure critical thinking and science process skills on acid base matter.

Unobtrusive Indicators of Cultural Change: Neckties, Girdles, Marijuana, Garbage, Magazines, and Urban Sprawl.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Felson, Marcus

1983-01-01

Different types of time-series data sets can be used to identify cultural change and continuity. Indicators, including musical instruments, clothing, sporting goods, drugs, garbage, telephones, and magazines, are used to study social change since World War II. (Author/RM)

Toward a Set of Internationally Applicable Indicators for Measuring University Internationalization Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gao, Yuan

2015-01-01

This article emphasizes the urgent demand for measurements of university internationalization and proposes a new approach to develop a set of internationally applicable indicators for measuring university internationalization performance. The article looks into existing instruments developed for assessing university internationalization,…

Association of Body Mass Index with Depression, Anxiety and Suicide—An Instrumental Variable Analysis of the HUNT Study

PubMed Central

Bjørngaard, Johan Håkon; Carslake, David; Lund Nilsen, Tom Ivar; Linthorst, Astrid C. E.; Davey Smith, George; Gunnell, David; Romundstad, Pål Richard

2015-01-01

Objective While high body mass index is associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety, cumulative evidence indicates that it is a protective factor for suicide. The associations from conventional observational studies of body mass index with mental health outcomes are likely to be influenced by reverse causality or confounding by ill-health. In the present study, we investigated the associations between offspring body mass index and parental anxiety, depression and suicide in order to avoid problems with reverse causality and confounding by ill-health. Methods We used data from 32,457 mother-offspring and 27,753 father-offspring pairs from the Norwegian HUNT-study. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and suicide death from national registers. Associations between offspring and own body mass index and symptoms of anxiety and depression and suicide mortality were estimated using logistic and Cox regression. Causal effect estimates were estimated with a two sample instrument variable approach using offspring body mass index as an instrument for parental body mass index. Results Both own and offspring body mass index were positively associated with depression, while the results did not indicate any substantial association between body mass index and anxiety. Although precision was low, suicide mortality was inversely associated with own body mass index and the results from the analysis using offspring body mass index supported these results. Adjusted odds ratios per standard deviation body mass index from the instrumental variable analysis were 1.22 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.43) for depression, 1.10 (95% CI: 0.95, 1.27) for anxiety, and the instrumental variable estimated hazard ratios for suicide was 0.69 (95% CI: 0.30, 1.63). Conclusion The present study’s results indicate that suicide mortality is inversely associated with body mass index. We also found support for a positive association between body mass index and depression, but not for anxiety. PMID:26167892

Association of Body Mass Index with Depression, Anxiety and Suicide-An Instrumental Variable Analysis of the HUNT Study.

PubMed

Bjørngaard, Johan Håkon; Carslake, David; Lund Nilsen, Tom Ivar; Linthorst, Astrid C E; Davey Smith, George; Gunnell, David; Romundstad, Pål Richard

2015-01-01

While high body mass index is associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety, cumulative evidence indicates that it is a protective factor for suicide. The associations from conventional observational studies of body mass index with mental health outcomes are likely to be influenced by reverse causality or confounding by ill-health. In the present study, we investigated the associations between offspring body mass index and parental anxiety, depression and suicide in order to avoid problems with reverse causality and confounding by ill-health. We used data from 32,457 mother-offspring and 27,753 father-offspring pairs from the Norwegian HUNT-study. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and suicide death from national registers. Associations between offspring and own body mass index and symptoms of anxiety and depression and suicide mortality were estimated using logistic and Cox regression. Causal effect estimates were estimated with a two sample instrument variable approach using offspring body mass index as an instrument for parental body mass index. Both own and offspring body mass index were positively associated with depression, while the results did not indicate any substantial association between body mass index and anxiety. Although precision was low, suicide mortality was inversely associated with own body mass index and the results from the analysis using offspring body mass index supported these results. Adjusted odds ratios per standard deviation body mass index from the instrumental variable analysis were 1.22 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.43) for depression, 1.10 (95% CI: 0.95, 1.27) for anxiety, and the instrumental variable estimated hazard ratios for suicide was 0.69 (95% CI: 0.30, 1.63). The present study's results indicate that suicide mortality is inversely associated with body mass index. We also found support for a positive association between body mass index and depression, but not for anxiety.

Developing a New Instrument for Assessing Acceptance of Change

PubMed Central

Di Fabio, Annamaria; Gori, Alessio

2016-01-01

This article focuses on the usefulness of going beyond the concept of resistance to change and capitalizing on the use of a model that includes positivity and acceptance of change. We first discuss the theoretical background of this new construct in the work and organizational fields and then evaluate the psychometric properties of a new measure for assessing acceptance of change. The results of exploratory factor analysis indicated a factor structure with five principal dimensions; besides confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) goodness of fit indices indicated a good fit of the model to the data. All the dimensions showed good values of internal consistency. The results of the present study indicate that the Acceptance of Change Scale (ACS) is a brief and easily administered instrument with good psychometric properties that can promote the development of clients' strengths and the growth of a sense of Self, thereby helping them choose their own way without losing any opportunities in their lives and their work. PMID:27303356

Measuring outcomes of type 2 diabetes disease management program in an HMO setting.

PubMed

Ibrahim, Ibrahim Awad; Beich, Jeff; Sidorov, Jaan; Gabbay, Robert; Yu, Lucy

2002-01-01

There is a need to evaluate empirical disease management programs used in managing chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus in managed care settings. We analyzed data from 252 patients with type 2 diabetes before and 1 year after enrollment in a disease management program. We examined clinical indicators such as HbA1C, HDL, LDL, total cholesterol, diastolic blood pressure, and BMI in addition to self-reported health status measured by SF-36 instrument. All clinical indicators showed statistically and clinically significant improvements. Only vitality and mental health showed statistically significant improvements in health status. Weak to moderate significant correlation between clinical indicators and health status was observed. Disease management can be effective at making significant clinical improvements for participants in a mixed-model HMO setting. No strong relationship between clinical indicators and health status was found. Future research is needed using a more specific health status measuring instrument and a randomized clinical trial design.

Manual flying of curved precision approaches to landing with electromechanical instrumentation. A piloted simulation study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knox, Charles E.

1993-01-01

A piloted simulation study was conducted to examine the requirements for using electromechanical flight instrumentation to provide situation information and flight guidance for manually controlled flight along curved precision approach paths to a landing. Six pilots were used as test subjects. The data from these tests indicated that flight director guidance is required for the manually controlled flight of a jet transport airplane on curved approach paths. Acceptable path tracking performance was attained with each of the three situation information algorithms tested. Approach paths with both multiple sequential turns and short final path segments were evaluated. Pilot comments indicated that all the approach paths tested could be used in normal airline operations.

An estimate of the outgassing of space payloads, their internal pressures, contaminations and gaseous influences on the environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scialdone, J. J.

1985-01-01

Experimentally measured outgassing as a function of time is presented for 14 space systems including several spacecraft instruments, spacecraft, the shuttle bay, and a spent solid fuel motor. The weights, volumes, and some of the scientific functions of the instruments involved are indicated. The methods used to obtain the data are briefly described. General indications on how to use the data to obtain the internal pressure versus time for a payload, its self-contamination, the gaseous flow in its vicinity, the column densities in its field of view, and other environmental parameters which are dependent on the outgassing of a payload are provided.

Development and Psychometric Assessment of the Healthcare Provider Cultural Competence Instrument

PubMed Central

Schwarz, Joshua L.; Witte, Raymond; Sellers, Sherrill L.; Luzadis, Rebecca A.; Weiner, Judith L.; Domingo-Snyder, Eloiza; Page, James E.

2015-01-01

This study presents the measurement properties of 5 scales used in the Healthcare Provider Cultural Competence Instrument (HPCCI). The HPCCI measures a health care provider’s cultural competence along 5 primary dimensions: (1) awareness/sensitivity, (2) behaviors, (3) patient-centered communication, (4) practice orientation, and (5) self-assessment. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that the 5 scales were distinct, and within each scale items loaded as expected. Reliability statistics indicated a high level of internal consistency within each scale. The results indicate that the HPCCI effectively measures the cultural competence of health care providers and can provide useful professional feedback for practitioners and organizations seeking to increase a practitioner’s cultural competence. PMID:25911617

The radon indicator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samuelsson, L.

2005-11-01

The radon indicator is an efficient instrument for measuring the radon daughter concentrations in a house or dwelling. Physics or environmental science students could build a radon indicator as a student project. Another possibility would be to use a radon indicator in a student investigation of radon levels in different houses. Finally the radon indicator is an excellent device for producing a radioactive source, free of charge, for the study of α-, β- and γ-radiation. The half-life of the activity collected is approximately 40 min. The radon indicator makes use of an electrostatic method by which charged particles are drawn to a small aluminium plate with a high negative voltage (-5 kV), thus creating a strong electric field between the plate and a surrounding copper wire. The radioactivity on the plate is subsequently measured by a GM-counter and the result calculated in Bq m-3. The collecting time is just 5.5 min and therefore the instrument is only suitable for use in a short-time method for indicating the radon concentration. An improved diagram, ground-radon and/or wall-radon in houses, is presented on the basis of the author's measurements recorded with the radon indicator over many years. This diagram is very useful when discussing how to reduce radiation levels in homes.

On the Validity of Econometric Techniques with Weak Instruments--Inference on Returns to Education Using Compulsory School Attendance Laws

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cruz, Luiz M.; Moreira, Marcelo J.

2005-01-01

The authors evaluate Angrist and Krueger (1991) and Bound, Jaeger, and Baker (1995) by constructing reliable confidence regions around the 2SLS and LIML estimators for returns-to-schooling regardless of the quality of the instruments. The results indicate that the returns-to-schooling were between 8 and 25 percent in 1970 and between 4 and 14…

Brief Report: Development of the Family Perceptions Scale; a Novel Instrument for Evaluating Subjective Functioning in the Families of Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tiffin, Paul A.; Kaplan, Carole; Place, Maurice

2011-01-01

A pool of 75 items relating to family functioning was created and piloted in a sample of 12-18 year olds (N = 673). The responses were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis which indicated the presence of three significant latent traits. The results were then used to inform the development of a rating instrument with five subscales labelled…

Instrumented Glove Measures Positions Of Fingers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr.

1993-01-01

Glove instrumented with flat membrane potentiometers to obtain crude measurements of relative positions of fingers. Resistance of each potentiometer varies with position of associated finger; translator circuit connected to each potentiometer converts analog reading to 1 of 10 digital levels. Digitized outputs from all fingers fed to indicating, recording, and/or data-processing equipment. Gloves and circuits intended for use in biomedical research, training in critical manual tasks, and other specialized applications.

Reliability of a Retail Food Store Survey and Development of an Accompanying Retail Scoring System to Communicate Survey Findings and Identify Vendors for Healthful Food and Marketing Initiatives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghirardelli, Alyssa; Quinn, Valerie; Sugerman, Sharon

2011-01-01

Objective: To develop a retail grocery instrument with weighted scoring to be used as an indicator of the food environment. Participants/Setting: Twenty six retail food stores in low-income areas in California. Intervention: Observational. Main Outcome Measure(s): Inter-rater reliability for grocery store survey instrument. Description of store…

ETR CONTROL BUILDING, TRA647, INTERIOR. CONTROL ROOM, CONTEXTUAL VIEW. INSTRUMENT ...

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

ETR CONTROL BUILDING, TRA-647, INTERIOR. CONTROL ROOM, CONTEXTUAL VIEW. INSTRUMENT PANELS AT REAR OF OPERATOR'S CONSOLE GAVE OPERATOR STATUS OF REACTOR PERFORMANCE, COOLANT-WATER CHARACTERISTICS AND OTHER INDICATORS. WINDOWS AT RIGHT LOOKED INTO ETR BUILDING FIRST FLOOR. CAMERA FACING EAST. INL NEGATIVE NO. HD42-6. Mike Crane, Photographer, 3/2004 - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Test Reactor Area, Materials & Engineering Test Reactors, Scoville, Butte County, ID

Shoulder arthroscopy: the basics.

PubMed

Farmer, Kevin W; Wright, Thomas W

2015-04-01

Shoulder arthroscopy is a commonly performed and accepted procedure for a wide variety of pathologies. Surgeon experience, patient positioning, knowledge of surgical anatomy, proper portal placement, and proper use of instrumentation can improve technical success and minimize complication risks. This article details the surgical anatomy, indications, patient positioning, portal placement, instrumentation, and complications for basic shoulder arthroscopy. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Borehole survey instrument

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

Sharp, H.E.; Lin, J.W. III; Macha, E.S.

1984-12-04

A borehole survey instrument is provided having a meniscus type floating compass member with indicia thereon for indicating azimuth and inclination. A light source is disposed below the indicia for illuminating the indicia upward through the liquid through which the meniscus type floating compass member floats. A lens system is provided for focusing the image of the illuminated compass member upon a film disposed below the compass member. This arrangement permits the centering post for the compass member to be of minimum diameter consistent with rigidity requirements and permits a high angle compass member to indicate angles of inclination approachingmore » ninety degrees. A multiple light bulb light source is utilized and each light bulb is mounted in a manner which permits a single light bulb to illuminate the entire compass member. A hand-held programming and diagnostic unit is provided which may be momentarily electrically mated with the borehole survey tool to input a programmed timed delay and diagnostically test both the condition of the light bulbs utilized as the illumination source and the state of the batteries within the instrument. This hand-held programmable unit eliminates all the mechanical programming switches and permits the instrument to be completely sealed from the pressure, fluids and contaminants normally found in a well bore.« less

Assessing South China (Guangzhou) High School Students' Views on Nature of Science: A Validation Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Feng; Chai, Ching Sing; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Lin, Tzung-Jin

2014-04-01

Research on students' views on nature of science (VNOS) in Asian countries such as China is notably lacking. This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to measure South China high school students' VNOS. Based on the previously acquired qualitative data, the instrument included seven VNOS dimensions which reflect the crucial aspects of NOS indicated by the literature and/or the dominating ideology in China (i.e., Marxism). A sample (N = 604) was randomly divided into two groups used for exploratory analyses and confirmatory analyses. The results indicated that the instrument expressed satisfactory reliability and validity and the seven NOS dimensions could be explained by a higher-order dimension. That is, the data of this study supported the multi-dimensional framework that treats VNOS as comprising several more-or-less correlated dimensions. Two distinct dimensions, namely "Accumulative-Empirical Source" and "Pragmatic Justification" which have not been explicitly specified in the past literature, were found. In addition, the Chinese high school students generally held a constructivist/relativist-oriented view of all seven dimensions. Differences in gender and grade level were hardly observed in any dimension of the instrument. The findings are further discussed through a socio-cultural lens to enrich the current understanding of VNOS.

The Nursing Performance Instrument: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses in Registered Nurses.

PubMed

Sagherian, Knar; Steege, Linsey M; Geiger-Brown, Jeanne; Harrington, Donna

2018-04-01

The optimal performance of nurses in healthcare settings plays a critical role in care quality and patient safety. Despite this importance, few measures are provided in the literature that evaluate nursing performance as an independent construct from competencies. The nine-item Nursing Performance Instrument (NPI) was developed to fill this gap. The aim of this study was to examine and confirm the underlying factor structure of the NPI in registered nurses. The design was cross-sectional, using secondary data collected between February 2008 and April 2009 for the "Fatigue in Nursing Survey" (N = 797). The sample was predominantly dayshift female nurses working in acute care settings. Using Mplus software, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to the NPI data, which were divided into two equal subsamples. Multiple fit indices were used to evaluate the fit of the alternative models. The three-factor model was determined to fit the data adequately. The factors that were labeled as "physical/mental decrements," "consistent practice," and "behavioral change" were moderately to strongly intercorrelated, indicating good convergent validity. The reliability coefficients for the subscales were acceptable. The NPI consists of three latent constructs. This instrument has the potentialto be used as a self-monitoring instrument that addressesnurses' perceptions of performance while providing patient care.

[Integrated health information system based on Resident Assessment Instruments].

PubMed

Frijters, D; Achterberg, W; Hirdes, J P; Fries, B E; Morris, J N; Steel, K

2001-02-01

The paper explores the meaning of Resident Assessment Instruments. It gives a summary of existing RAI instruments and derived applications. It argues how all of these form the basis for an integrated health information system for "chain care" (home care, home for the elderly care, nursing home care, mental health care and acute care). The primary application of RAI systems is the assessment of client care needs, followed by an analysis of the required and administered care with the objective to make an optimal individual care plan. On the basis of RAI, however, applications have been derived for reimbursement systems, quality improvement programs, accreditation, benchmarking, best practice comparison and care eligibility systems. These applications have become possible by the development on the basis of the Minimum Data Set of RAI of outcome measures (item scores, scales and indices), case-mix classifications and quality indicators. To illustrate the possibilities of outcome measures of RAI we present a table and a figure with data of six Dutch nursing homes which shows how social engagement is related to ADL and cognition. We argue that RAI/MDS assessment instruments comprise an integrated health information system because they have consistent terminology, common core items, and a common conceptual basis in a clinical approach that emphasizes the identification of functional problems.

The Mars Phoenix Thermal Evolved-Gas Analysis: The Role of an Organic Free Blank in the Search for Organics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lauer, H. V., Jr.; Ming, Douglas W.; Sutter, B.; Golden, D. C.; Morris, Richard V.; Boynton, W. V.

2008-01-01

The Thermal Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) instrument onboard the 2007 Phoenix Lander will perform differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and evolved-gas analysis of soil samples collected from the surface. Data from the instrument will be compared with Mars analog mineral standards, collected under TEGA Mars-like conditions to identify the volatile-bearing mineral phases [1] (e.g., Fe-oxyhydroxides, phyllosilicates, carbonates, and sulfates) found in the Martian soil. Concurrently, the instrument will be looking for indications of organics that might also be present in the soil. Organic molecules are necessary building blocks for life, although their presence in the ice or soil does not indicate life itself. The spacecraft will certainly bring organic contaminants to Mars even though numerous steps were taken to minimize contamination during the spacecraft assembly and testing. It will be essential to distinguish possible Mars organics from terrestrial contamination when TEGA instrument begins analyzing icy soils. To address the above, an Organic Free Blank (OFB) was designed, built, tested, and mounted on the Phoenix spacecraft providing a baseline for distinguishing Mars organics from terrestrial organic contamination. Our objective in this report is to describe some of the considerations used in selecting the OFB material and then report on the processing and analysis of the final candidate material

Cyclic fatigue resistance of 3 different nickel-titanium reciprocating instruments in artificial canals.

PubMed

Higuera, Oscar; Plotino, Gianluca; Tocci, Luigi; Carrillo, Gabriela; Gambarini, Gianluca; Jaramillo, David E

2015-06-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cyclic fatigue resistance of 3 different nickel-titanium reciprocating instruments. A total of 45 nickel-titanium instruments were tested and divided into 3 experimental groups (n = 15): group 1, WaveOne Primary instruments; group 2, Reciproc R25 instruments; and group 3, Twisted File (TF) Adaptive M-L1 instruments. The instruments were then subjected to cyclic fatigue test on a static model consisting of a metal block with a simulated canal with 60° angle of curvature and a 5-mm radius of curvature. WaveOne Primary, Reciproc R25, and TF Adaptive instruments were activated by using their proprietary movements, WaveOne ALL, Reciproc ALL, and TF Adaptive, respectively. All instruments were activated until fracture occurred, and the time to fracture was recorded visually for each file with a 1/100-second chronometer. Mean number of cycles to failure and standard deviations were calculated for each group, and data were statistically analyzed (P < .05). Instruments were also observed through scanning electron microscopy to evaluate type of fracture. Cyclic fatigue resistance of Reciproc R25 and TF Adaptive M-L1 was significantly higher than that of WaveOne Primary (P = .009 and P = .002, respectively). The results showed no statistically significant difference between TF Adaptive M-L1 and Reciproc R25 (P = .686). Analysis of the fractured portion under scanning electron microscopy indicated that all instruments showed morphologic characteristics of ductile fracture that were due to accumulation of metal fatigue. No statistically significant differences were found between the instruments tested except for WaveOne Primary, which showed the lowest resistance to cyclic fatigue. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The quality of instruments to assess the process of shared decision making: A systematic review.

PubMed

Gärtner, Fania R; Bomhof-Roordink, Hanna; Smith, Ian P; Scholl, Isabelle; Stiggelbout, Anne M; Pieterse, Arwen H

2018-01-01

To inventory instruments assessing the process of shared decision making and appraise their measurement quality, taking into account the methodological quality of their validation studies. In a systematic review we searched seven databases (PubMed, Embase, Emcare, Cochrane, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Academic Search Premier) for studies investigating instruments measuring the process of shared decision making. Per identified instrument, we assessed the level of evidence separately for 10 measurement properties following a three-step procedure: 1) appraisal of the methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist, 2) appraisal of the psychometric quality of the measurement property using three possible quality scores, 3) best-evidence synthesis based on the number of studies, their methodological and psychometrical quality, and the direction and consistency of the results. The study protocol was registered at PROSPERO: CRD42015023397. We included 51 articles describing the development and/or evaluation of 40 shared decision-making process instruments: 16 patient questionnaires, 4 provider questionnaires, 18 coding schemes and 2 instruments measuring multiple perspectives. There is an overall lack of evidence for their measurement quality, either because validation is missing or methods are poor. The best-evidence synthesis indicated positive results for a major part of instruments for content validity (50%) and structural validity (53%) if these were evaluated, but negative results for a major part of instruments when inter-rater reliability (47%) and hypotheses testing (59%) were evaluated. Due to the lack of evidence on measurement quality, the choice for the most appropriate instrument can best be based on the instrument's content and characteristics such as the perspective that they assess. We recommend refinement and validation of existing instruments, and the use of COSMIN-guidelines to help guarantee high-quality evaluations.

Metallurgical characterization of controlled memory wire nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

PubMed

Shen, Ya; Zhou, Hui-Min; Zheng, Yu-Feng; Campbell, Les; Peng, Bin; Haapasalo, Markus

2011-11-01

To improve the fracture resistance of nickel-titanium (NiTi) files, manufacturers have introduced new alloys and developed new manufacturing processes for the fabrication of NiTi files. This study aimed to examine the phase transformation behavior and microstructure of NiTi instruments from a novel controlled memory NiTi wire (CM wire). Instruments of EndoSequence (ES), ProFile (PF), ProFile Vortex (Vortex), Twisted Files (TF), Typhoon (TYP), and Typhoon™ CM (TYP CM), all size 25/.04, were examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Microstructures of etched instruments were observed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with x-ray energy-dispersive spectrometric (EDS) analyses. The DSC analyses showed that each segment of the TYP CM and Vortex instruments had an austenite transformation completion or austenite-finish (A(f)) temperature exceeding 37°C, whereas the NiTi instruments made from conventional superelastic NiTi wire (ES, PF, and TYP) and TF had A(f) temperatures substantially below mouth temperature. The higher A(f) temperature of TYP CM instruments was consistent with a mixture of austenite and martensite structure, which was observed at room temperature with XRD. All NiTi instruments had room temperature martensite microstructures consisting of colonies of lenticular features with substantial twinning. EDS analysis indicated that the precipitates in all NiTi instruments were titanium-rich, with an approximate composition of Ti(2)Ni. The TYP CM and Vortex instruments with heat treatment contribute to increase austenite transformation temperature. The CM instrument has significant changes in the phase transformation behavior, compared with conventional superelastic NiTi instruments. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Field Assessment of a Prototype Meter for Measuring the Wet-Bulb Globe-Thermometer Index

PubMed Central

Walters, J. D.

1968-01-01

A prototype electronic instrument for the direct measurement of the wet-bulb globe-thermometer index is described. An assessment is made of its accuracy, as compared with W.B.G.T. indices calculated from conventional thermometric data, and a comparison is made between W.B.G.T. values read from the meter and effective or corrected effective temperatures derived from separate thermometric and air velocity recording instruments in the same climates. The instrument proved to be reliable and accurate over a wide range of climates and is a useful self-contained device for use in habitability surveys and similar investigations. Images PMID:5663429

Evaluating the Implementation of an Olympic Education Program in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grammatikopoulos, Vasilios; Tsigilis, Nikolaos; Koustelios, Athanasios; Theodorakis, Yannis

2005-11-01

The aim of this study was to develop an instrument for evaluating how an education program has been implemented. Such evaluation can provide insight into the effectiveness of a program. Examined here was the Olympic Education Program used in Greek schools since 2000. In it, students learn the history of the Olympic games and the importance of exercise for health along with the principles and values of sports and volunteerism. The evaluation instrument underlying this study addressed the following six factors: `facilities', `administration', `educational material', `student-teacher relationships', `educational procedures', and `training'. Results indicate that the instrument, while adequate for assessing effectiveness, should be combined with advanced statistical methods.

Hubble Space Telescope COSTAR asphere verification with a modified computer-generated hologram interferometer. [Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feinberg, L.; Wilson, M.

1993-01-01

To correct for the spherical aberration in the Hubble Space Telescope primary mirror, five anamorphic aspheric mirrors representing correction for three scientific instruments have been fabricated as part of the development of the corrective-optics space telescope axial-replacement instrument (COSTAR). During the acceptance tests of these mirrors at the vendor, a quick and simple method for verifying the asphere surface figure was developed. The technique has been used on three of the aspheres relating to the three instrument prescriptions. Results indicate that the three aspheres are correct to the limited accuracy expected of this test.

Assessment of College Students' Understanding of the Equals Relation: Development and Validation of an Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wheeler, Gregory D.

2010-01-01

Research indicates that many elementary students do not comprehend that the equal sign is an indication that an equality relation exists between two structures. Instead, they perceive the equal sign as an indication that a particular procedure is to be performed. As students mature, and as their exposure to the equal sign and equality relations in…

Homogenization of Classification Functions Measurement (HOCFUN): A Method for Measuring the Salience of Emotional Arousal in Thinking.

PubMed

Tonti, Marco; Salvatore, Sergio

2015-01-01

The problem of the measurement of emotion is a widely debated one. In this article we propose an instrument, the Homogenization of Classification Functions Measure (HOCFUN), designed for assessing the influence of emotional arousal on a rating task consisting of the evaluation of a sequence of images. The instrument defines an indicator (κ) that measures the degree of homogenization of the ratings given over 2 rating scales (pleasant-unpleasant and relevant-irrelevant). Such a degree of homogenization is interpreted as the effect of emotional arousal on thinking and therefore lends itself to be used as a marker of emotional arousal. A preliminary study of validation was implemented. The association of the κ indicator with 3 additional indicators was analyzed. Consistent with the hypotheses, the κ indicator proved to be associated, even if weakly and nonlinearly, with a marker of the homogenization of classification functions derived from a separate rating task and with 2 indirect indicators of emotional activation: the speed of performance on the HOCFUN task and an indicator of mood intensity. Taken as a whole, such results provide initial evidence supporting the HOCFUN construct validity.

Quality of anaesthesia for Caesarean sections: a cross-sectional study of a university hospital in a low-income country.

PubMed

Eriksson, Jesper; Baker, Tim; Jörnvall, Henrik; Irestedt, Lars; Mulungu, Moses; Larsson, Emma

2015-10-01

To evaluate the quality of anaesthesia for Caesarean sections at Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We developed an instrument consisting of 40 quality indicators using an expert group process based on the existing literature. Using the instrument, we observed 50 Caesarean sections. Twenty-eight of the indicators were structural indicators, such as essential drugs, oxygen supply and anaesthetic equipment. Twelve were process indicators such as evaluation of airway, blood pressure assessment or insertion of an intravenous line. The median patient age was 28.5 years. A total of 75% (range 61-82%) of the structural indicators were present in the operating theatres, and 55% (range 33-83%) of the process indicators were performed. The neonates' median Apgar score was 9 (range 3-10). Seven babies required ventilation, four babies were stillborn, and all others were alive at follow-up 2 days after partus. All mothers were alive 2 days post-surgery. The low process score suggests that quality improvement initiatives should focus on the processes of anaesthesia for Caesarean sections rather than new drugs and equipment. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A four parameter optimization and troubleshooting of a RPLC - charged aerosol detection stability indicating method for determination of S-lysophosphatidylcholines in a phospholipid formulation.

PubMed

Tam, James; Ahmad, Imad A Haidar; Blasko, Andrei

2018-06-05

A four parameter optimization of a stability indicating method for non-chromophoric degradation products of 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC), 1-stearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and 2-stearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine was achieved using a reverse phase liquid chromatography-charged aerosol detection (RPLC-CAD) technique. Using the hydrophobic subtraction model of selectivity, a core-shell, polar embedded RPLC column was selected followed by gradient-temperature optimization, resulting in ideal relative peak placements for a robust, stability indicating separation. The CAD instrument parameters, power function value (PFV) and evaporator temperature were optimized for lysophosphatidylcholines to give UV absorbance detector-like linearity performance within a defined concentration range. The two lysophosphatidylcholines gave the same response factor in the selected conditions. System specific power function values needed to be set for the two RPLC-CAD instruments used. A custom flow-divert profile, sending only a portion of the column effluent to the detector, was necessary to mitigate detector response drifting effects. The importance of the PFV optimization for each instrument of identical build and how to overcome recovery issues brought on by the matrix effects from the lipid-RP stationary phase interaction is reported. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

14 CFR 25.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... reverse pitch, for each reversing propeller. (c) For turbine engine-powered airplanes. In addition to the... required: (1) A gas temperature indicator for each engine. (2) A fuel flowmeter indicator for each engine... operated continuously but that is neither designed for continuous operation nor designed to prevent hazard...

14 CFR 25.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... reverse pitch, for each reversing propeller. (c) For turbine engine-powered airplanes. In addition to the... required: (1) A gas temperature indicator for each engine. (2) A fuel flowmeter indicator for each engine... operated continuously but that is neither designed for continuous operation nor designed to prevent hazard...

14 CFR 25.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... reverse pitch, for each reversing propeller. (c) For turbine engine-powered airplanes. In addition to the... required: (1) A gas temperature indicator for each engine. (2) A fuel flowmeter indicator for each engine... operated continuously but that is neither designed for continuous operation nor designed to prevent hazard...

14 CFR 25.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... reverse pitch, for each reversing propeller. (c) For turbine engine-powered airplanes. In addition to the... required: (1) A gas temperature indicator for each engine. (2) A fuel flowmeter indicator for each engine... operated continuously but that is neither designed for continuous operation nor designed to prevent hazard...

14 CFR 25.1305 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... reverse pitch, for each reversing propeller. (c) For turbine engine-powered airplanes. In addition to the... required: (1) A gas temperature indicator for each engine. (2) A fuel flowmeter indicator for each engine... operated continuously but that is neither designed for continuous operation nor designed to prevent hazard...

Two Instruments for Measuring Distributions of Low-Energy Charged Particles in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bader, Michel; Fryer, Thomas B.; Witteborn, Fred C.

1961-01-01

Current estimates indicate that the bulk of interplanetary gas consists of protons with energies between 0 and 20 kev and concentrations of 1 to 105 particles/cu cm. Methods and instrumentation for measuring the energy and density distribution of such a gas are considered from the standpoint of suitability for space vehicle payloads. It is concluded that electrostatic analysis of the energy distribution can provide sufficient information in initial experiments. Both magnetic and electrostatic analyzers should eventually be used. Several instruments designed and constructed at the Ames Research Center for space plasma measurements, and the methods of calibration and data reduction are described. In particular, the instrument designed for operation on solar cell power has the following characteristics: weight, 1.1 pounds; size, 2 by 3 by 4 inches; and power consumption, 145 mw. The instrument is designed to yield information on the concentration, energy distribution, and the anisotropy of ion trajectories in the 0.2 to 20 kev range.

Cyclic fatigue resistance of newly manufactured rotary nickel titanium instruments used in different rotational directions.

PubMed

Gambarini, Gianlucca; Gergi, Richard; Grande, Nicola Maria; Osta, Nada; Plotino, Gianluca; Testarelli, Luca

2013-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether cyclic fatigue resistance is increased for nickel titanium instruments manufactured with improved heating processes in clockwise or counterclockwise continuous rotation. The instruments compared were produced either using the R-phase heat treatment (K3XF; SybronEndo, Orange, CA, USA) or the M-wire alloy (ProFile Vortex; DENTSPLY Tulsa Dental Specialties, Tulsa, OK, USA). Tests were performed with a specific cyclic fatigue device that evaluated cycles to failure of rotary instruments in curved artificial canals. Results indicated no significant difference in resistance to cyclic fatigue when rotary nickel titanium instruments are used in clockwise or counterclockwise continuous rotation. In both directions of rotation, size 04-25 K3XF showed a significant increase (P < 0.05) in the mean number of cycles to failure when compared with size 04-25 ProFile Vortex. © 2012 The Authors. Australian Endodontic Journal © 2012 Australian Society of Endodontology.

Predicting violence and recidivism in a large sample of males on probation or parole.

PubMed

Prell, Lettie; Vitacco, Michael J; Zavodny, Denis

This study evaluated the utility of items and scales from the Iowa Violence and Victimization Instrument in a sample of 1961 males from the state of Iowa who were on probation or released from prison to parole supervision. This is the first study to examine the potential of the Iowa Violence and Victimization Instrument to predict criminal offenses. The males were followed for 30months immediately following their admission to probation or parole. AUC analyses indicated fair to good predictive power for the Iowa Violence and Victimization Instrument for charges of violence and victimization, but chance predictive power for drug offenses. Notably, both scales of the instrument performed equally well at the 30-month follow-up. Items on the Iowa Violence and Victimization Instrument not only predicted violence, but are straightforward to score. Violence management strategies are discussed as they relate to the current findings, including the potential to expand the measure to other jurisdictions and populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shaping ability and safety of five different rotary nickel-titanium instruments compared with stainless steel hand instrumentation in simulated curved root canals.

PubMed

Schirrmeister, Jörg F; Strohl, Christian; Altenburger, Markus J; Wrbas, Karl-Thomas; Hellwig, Elmar

2006-06-01

To compare the shaping ability and safety of engine-driven FlexMaster, GT Rotary, ProFile, ProTaper, and RaCe rotary instrumentation and Hedström hand instrumentation in simulated root canals. One hundred fifty simulated colored root canals with a curvature of 20 degrees and a radius of 10 mm were randomly distributed among 6 groups of 25 specimens each. After preparation to apical size 30 the area of remaining color on the canal wall indicating unprepared areas was measured in mm2 using image analyzer software. Specimens treated with RaCe left least areas of remaining color compared to all other groups (P < .001), followed by ProTaper. Preparation with ProFile left behind the highest amount of unprepared areas. The ProFile group revealed significantly more remaining color than ProTaper, GT Rotary, and FlexMaster (P < .05). Four FlexMaster files separated. RaCe rotary files were safe and more effective compared to the other instruments.

The best way to tell you to use a condom: the interplay between message format and individuals' level of need for cognition.

PubMed

Carnaghi, A; Cadinu, M; Castelli, L; Kiesner, J; Bragantini, C

2007-03-01

The present study addressed how individuals in high versus low need for cognition react to a persuasive message (concerning safer sexual conduct) presented either in a written format or in a comic-strip format. A control group that did not receive any persuasive message was also included. With reference to the Theory of Reasoned Action, we analyzed participants' instrumental attitude and instrumental norm toward the use of condoms. Results indicated that, compared to participants in the control group, providing participants with the persuasive message bolstered their instrumental attitude and norm. More importantly, participants high in need for cognition displayed higher levels of both instrumental attitude and norm when the message was in a written, as compared to a comic-strip, format. In contrast, participants low in need for cognition reported a stronger level of both instrumental attitude and norm in reaction to a comic-strip than a written message. Results are discussed with respect to their theoretical and practical implications.

Validation of the knowledge, attitude and perceived practice of asthma instrument among community pharmacists using Rasch analysis.

PubMed

Akram, Waqas; Hussein, Maryam S E; Ahmad, Sohail; Mamat, Mohd N; Ismail, Nahlah E

2015-10-01

There is no instrument which collectively assesses the knowledge, attitude and perceived practice of asthma among community pharmacists. Therefore, this study aimed to validate the instrument which measured the knowledge, attitude and perceived practice of asthma among community pharmacists by producing empirical evidence of validity and reliability of the items using Rasch model (Bond & Fox software®) for dichotomous and polytomous data. This baseline study recruited 33 community pharmacists from Penang, Malaysia. The results showed that all PTMEA Corr were in positive values, where an item was able to distinguish between the ability of respondents. Based on the MNSQ infit and outfit range (0.60-1.40), out of 55 items, 2 items from the instrument were suggested to be removed. The findings indicated that the instrument fitted with Rasch measurement model and showed the acceptable reliability values of 0.88 and 0.83 and 0.79 for knowledge, attitude and perceived practice respectively.

Instrument intercomparison in the high-energy mixed field at the CERN-EU reference field (CERF) facility.

PubMed

Caresana, Marco; Helmecke, Manuela; Kubancak, Jan; Manessi, Giacomo Paolo; Ott, Klaus; Scherpelz, Robert; Silari, Marco

2014-10-01

This paper discusses an intercomparison campaign performed in the mixed radiation field at the CERN-EU (CERF) reference field facility. Various instruments were employed: conventional and extended-range rem counters including a novel instrument called LUPIN, a bubble detector using an active counting system (ABC 1260) and two tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs). The results show that the extended range instruments agree well within their uncertainties and within 1σ with the H*(10) FLUKA value. The conventional rem counters are in good agreement within their uncertainties and underestimate H*(10) as measured by the extended range instruments and as predicted by FLUKA. The TEPCs slightly overestimate the FLUKA value but they are anyhow consistent with it when taking the comparatively large total uncertainties into account, and indicate that the non-neutron part of the stray field accounts for ∼30 % of the total H*(10). © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Social capital, mental health and biomarkers in Chile: Assessing the effects of social capital in a middle-income country

PubMed Central

Riumallo-Herl, Carlos Javier; Kawachi, Ichiro; Avendano, Mauricio

2014-01-01

In high-income countries, higher social capital is associated with better health. However, there is little evidence of this association in low- and middle-income countries. We examine the association between social capital (social support and trust) and both self-rated and biologically assessed health outcomes in Chile, a middle-income country that experienced a major political transformation and welfare state expansion in the last two decades. Based on data from the Chilean National Health Survey (2009–10), we modeled self-rated health, depression, measured diabetes and hypertension as a function of social capital indicators, controlling for socio-economic status and health behavior. We used an instrumental variable approach to examine whether social capital was causally associated with health. We find that correlations between social capital and health observed in high-income countries are also observed in Chile. All social capital indicators are significantly associated with depression at all ages, and at least one social capital indicator is associated with self-rated health, hypertension and diabetes at ages 45 and above. Instrumental variable models suggest that associations for depression may reflect a causal effect from social capital indicators on mental well-being. Using aggregate social capital as instrument, we also find evidence that social capital may be causally associated with hypertension and diabetes, early markers of cardiovascular risk. Our findings highlight the potential role of social capital in the prevention of depression and early cardiovascular disease in middle-income countries. PMID:24495808

Investigation of converging and collimated beam instrument geometry on specular gloss measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwinkels, Joanne C.; Côté, Éric; Morgan, John

2018-02-01

Specular gloss is an important appearance property of a wide variety of manufactured goods. Depending upon the application, e.g. paints, paper, ceramics, etc. different instrument designs and measurement geometries are specified in standard test methods. For a given specular angle, these instrument designs can be broadly classified as converging beam (TAPPI method) and collimated beam (DIN method). In recent comparisons of specular gloss measurements using different glossmeters, very large standard deviations have been reported, well exceeding the manufacturers claims. In this paper, we investigate the effect of instrument beam geometry on gloss measurements. These results indicate that this difference in beam geometry can give the magnitude of gloss differences reported in these comparisons and highlights the importance of educating the user community of best measurement practices and obtaining appropriate traceability for their glossmeters.

A steep peripheral ring in irregular cornea topography, real or an instrument error?

PubMed

Galindo-Ferreiro, Alicia; Galvez-Ruiz, Alberto; Schellini, Silvana A; Galindo-Alonso, Julio

2016-01-01

To demonstrate that the steep peripheral ring (red zone) on corneal topography after myopic laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) could possibly due to instrument error and not always to a real increase in corneal curvature. A spherical model for the corneal surface and modifying topography software was used to analyze the cause of an error due to instrument design. This study involved modification of the software of a commercially available topographer. A small modification of the topography image results in a red zone on the corneal topography color map. Corneal modeling indicates that the red zone could be an artifact due to an instrument-induced error. The steep curvature changes after LASIK, signified by the red zone, could be also an error due to the plotting algorithms of the corneal topographer, besides a steep curvature change.

Laser beam centering and pointing system

DOEpatents

Rushford, Michael Charles

2015-01-13

An optical instrument aligns an optical beam without the need for physical intervention of the instrument within the apparatus or platforms from which the trajectory of the beam to be ascertained. The alignment apparatus and method enable the desired function to be realized without the placement of physical apertures or sensors directly in the path of the beam through the system whose spatial position and slope is to be sought. An image plane provides the observer with a pair of well-defined images that are indicative of the beam centering and pointing alignment parameters. The optical alignment can be realized without the need for referencing to an external or fixed set of coordinates or fiducials. The instrument can therefore service situations where adverse environments would otherwise prohibit the use of such instruments, including regions of high radiation, high temperature, vacuum and/or cryogenic atmospheres.

Pacific and Atlantic influences on Mesoamerican climate over the past millennium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stahle, D. W.; Burnette, D. J.; Diaz, J. Villanueva; Heim, R. R.; Fye, F. K.; Paredes, J. Cerano; Soto, R. Acuna; Cleaveland, M. K.

2012-09-01

A new tree-ring reconstruction of the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for Mesoamerica from AD 771 to 2008 identifies megadroughts more severe and sustained than any witnessed during the twentieth century. Correlation analyses indicate strong forcing of instrumental and reconstructed June PDSI over Mesoamerica from the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Spectral analyses of the 1,238-year reconstruction indicate significant concentrations of variance at ENSO, sub-decadal, bi-decadal, and multidecadal timescales. Instrumental and model-based analyses indicate that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation is important to warm season climate variability over Mexico. Ocean-atmospheric variability in the Atlantic is not strongly correlated with the June PDSI reconstruction during the instrumental era, but may be responsible for the strong multidecadal variance detected in the reconstruction episodically over the past millennium. June drought indices in Mesoamerica are negatively correlated with gridded June PDSI over the United States from 1950 to 2005, based on both instrumental and reconstructed data. Interannual variability in this latitudinal moisture gradient is due in part to ENSO forcing, where warm events favor wet June PDSI conditions over the southern US and northern Mexico, but dryness over central and southern Mexico (Mesoamerica). Strong anti-phasing between multidecadal regimes of tree-ring reconstructed June PDSI over Mesoamerica and reconstructed summer (JJA) PDSI over the Southwest has also been detected episodically over the past millennium, including the 1950-1960s when La Niña and warm Atlantic SSTs prevailed, and the 1980-1990s when El Niño and cold Atlantic SSTs prevailed. Several Mesoamerican megadroughts are reconstructed when wetness prevailed over the Southwest, including the early tenth century Terminal Classic Drought, implicating El Niño and Atlantic SSTs in this intense and widespread drought that may have contributed to social changes in ancient Mexico.

Quality Measurement Recommendations Relevant to Clinical Guidelines in Germany and the United Kingdom: (What) Can We Learn From Each Other?

PubMed Central

Petzold, Thomas; Deckert, Stefanie; Williamson, Paula R.; Schmitt, Jochen

2018-01-01

We conducted a systematic review of clinical guidelines (CGs) to examine the methodological approaches of quality indicator derivation in CGs, the frequency of quality indicators to check CG recommendations in routine care, and clinimetric properties of quality indicators. We analyzed the publicly available CG databases of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Data on the methodology of subsequent quality indicator derivation, the content and definition of recommended quality indicators, and clinimetric properties of measurement instruments were extracted. In Germany, no explicit methodological guidance exists, but 3 different approaches are used. For NICE, a general approach is used for the derivation of quality indicators out of quality standards. Quality indicators were defined in 34 out of 87 CGs (39%) in Germany and for 58 out of 133 (43%) NICE CGs. Statements regarding measurement properties of instruments for quality indicator assessment were missing in German and NICE documents. Thirteen pairs of CGs (32%) have associated quality indicators. Thirty-four quality indicators refer to the same aspect of the quality of care, which corresponds to 27% of the German and 7% of NICE quality indicators. The development of a standardized and internationally accepted methodology for the derivation of quality indicators relevant to CGs is needed to measure and compare quality of care in health care systems. PMID:29591538

Instruments to assess patient comfort during hospitalization: A psychometric review.

PubMed

Lorente, Sonia; Losilla, Josep-Maria; Vives, Jaume

2018-05-01

To analyse the psychometric properties and the utility of instruments used to measure patient comfort, physical, social, psychospiritual and/or environmental, during hospitalization. There are no systematic reviews nor psychometric reviews of instruments used to measure comfort, which is considered an indicator of quality in health care associated with quicker discharges, increased patient satisfaction and better cost-benefit ratios for the institution. Psychometric review. MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge, ProQuest Thesis&Dissertations, Google. We limited our search to studies published between 1990-2015. The psychometric analysis was performed using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN), along with the Quality Criteria for Measurement Properties. The utility of the instruments was assessed according to their cost-efficiency, acceptability and educational impact. Protocol registration in PROSPERO, CRD42016036290. Instruments reviewed showed moderate methodological quality and their utility was poorly reported. Thus, we cannot recommend any questionnaire without reservations, but the Comfort Scale, the General Comfort Questionnaire and their adaptations in adults and older patients, the Psychosocial Comfort Scale and the Incomfort des Patients de Reanimation are the most recommendable instruments to measure comfort. The methodology of the studies should be more rigorous and authors should adequately report the utility of instruments. This review provides a strategy to select the most suitable instrument to assess patient comfort according to their psychometric properties and utility, which is crucial for nurses, clinicians, researchers and institutions. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Construct Validity of Science Motivation and Beliefs Instrument (SLA-MB): A Case study in Sumedang, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rachmatullah, A.; Octavianda, R. P.; Ha, M.; Rustaman, N. Y.; Diana, S.

2017-02-01

Along with numerous instruments developed and used in science education researches, some of those instruments have been translated to local language in the country where the instruments were used. Most of researchers that used those translated instruments did not report the quality of those translated instruments. One of the instruments is the Scientific Literacy Assessment (SLA) including the Science Motivation and Beliefs (SLA-MB) as part of the SLA. In this study, the SLA-MB has been translated into Indonesian Language (Bahasa). The purpose of this study is to investigate the SLA-MB instrument that has been translated to Indonesian language from the view of dimensionality, reliability, item quality and differential item functioning (DIF) based on IRT-Rasch analysis. We used Conquest and Winstep as the program for IRT-Rasch analysis. We employed quantitative research method with school-survey on this study. Research subjects are 223 Indonesian Middle school students (age 13-16), with 64 boys and 159 girls. IRT-Rasch analysis of the SLA-MB Indonesian version indicated that a three-dimensional model fit significantly better than one-dimension model, and the reliability of each dimensions are about 0.60 to 0.82. As well as those findings, fit values of all items are acceptable, moreover we found no DIF for all of the SLA-MB items. Overall, our study suggests that Indonesian version of SLA-MB is acceptable to be implemented as research instrument conducted in Indonesia.

Experimental evaluation of cyclic fatigue resistance of four different nickel-titanium instruments after immersion in sodium hypochlorite and/or sterilization

PubMed Central

BULEM, Üreyen Kaya; KECECI, Ayse Diljin; GULDAS, Hilmi Egemen

2013-01-01

NiTi instruments have a high risk of separation due to torsional or flexural fatigue (cyclic fatigue). Chemomechanical preparation, cleaning procedures, chemical disinfection and sterilization cause the corrosion of endodontic instruments that may weaken the fracture resistance of the instruments. Objective To assess the effects of NaOCl immersion and autoclave sterilization on the cyclic fatigue resistance of ProFile, FlexMaster, Mtwo and TwistedFiles NiTi instruments (tip size 25, 0.06 taper, n=160). Material and Methods The instruments (n=10 for each subgroup) were dynamically immersed in NaOCl; immersed in NaOCl and sterilized in one autoclave cycle; 5 cycles immersed in NaOCl and sterilized in autoclave and not immersed in NaOCl and not sterilized (control group). Dynamic cyclic fatigue resistance was tested. The number of cycles to failure (NCF) were statistically analyzed (P<0.05). Results Kruskall-Wallis test indicated significant differences among the tested instruments in terms of NCF (P=0.000). The mean NCF of Mtwo (556.75) was higher than that of the Twisted File, Flexmaster and ProFile, 483.1, 376.12, 365.25, respectively. NaOCl immersion and autoclave sterilization have no effect on the NCF values of the tested instruments (P>.05). Conclusions Cyclic fatigue resistance of the tested NiTi instruments cannot be adversely affected by NaOCl immersion and autoclave sterilization. Production process (TwistedFiles) or design (Twisted Files, FlexMaster, Mtwo and ProFile) of the instruments can influence their cyclic fatigue resistance. PMID:24473715

Development and testing of an assessment instrument for the formative peer review of significant event analyses.

PubMed

McKay, J; Murphy, D J; Bowie, P; Schmuck, M-L; Lough, M; Eva, K W

2007-04-01

To establish the content validity and specific aspects of reliability for an assessment instrument designed to provide formative feedback to general practitioners (GPs) on the quality of their written analysis of a significant event. Content validity was quantified by application of a content validity index. Reliability testing involved a nested design, with 5 cells, each containing 4 assessors, rating 20 unique significant event analysis (SEA) reports (10 each from experienced GPs and GPs in training) using the assessment instrument. The variance attributable to each identified variable in the study was established by analysis of variance. Generalisability theory was then used to investigate the instrument's ability to discriminate among SEA reports. Content validity was demonstrated with at least 8 of 10 experts endorsing all 10 items of the assessment instrument. The overall G coefficient for the instrument was moderate to good (G>0.70), indicating that the instrument can provide consistent information on the standard achieved by the SEA report. There was moderate inter-rater reliability (G>0.60) when four raters were used to judge the quality of the SEA. This study provides the first steps towards validating an instrument that can provide educational feedback to GPs on their analysis of significant events. The key area identified to improve instrument reliability is variation among peer assessors in their assessment of SEA reports. Further validity and reliability testing should be carried out to provide GPs, their appraisers and contractual bodies with a validated feedback instrument on this aspect of the general practice quality agenda.

Design and Implementation Content Validity Study: Development of an instrument for measuring Patient-Centered Communication

PubMed Central

Zamanzadeh, Vahid; Ghahramanian, Akram; Rassouli, Maryam; Abbaszadeh, Abbas; Alavi-Majd, Hamid; Nikanfar, Ali-Reza

2015-01-01

Introduction: The importance of content validity in the instrument psychometric and its relevance with reliability, have made it an essential step in the instrument development. This article attempts to give an overview of the content validity process and to explain the complexity of this process by introducing an example. Methods: We carried out a methodological study conducted to examine the content validity of the patient-centered communication instrument through a two-step process (development and judgment). At the first step, domain determination, sampling (item generation) and instrument formation and at the second step, content validity ratio, content validity index and modified kappa statistic was performed. Suggestions of expert panel and item impact scores are used to examine the instrument face validity. Results: From a set of 188 items, content validity process identified seven dimensions includes trust building (eight items), informational support (seven items), emotional support (five items), problem solving (seven items), patient activation (10 items), intimacy/friendship (six items) and spirituality strengthening (14 items). Content validity study revealed that this instrument enjoys an appropriate level of content validity. The overall content validity index of the instrument using universal agreement approach was low; however, it can be advocated with respect to the high number of content experts that makes consensus difficult and high value of the S-CVI with the average approach, which was equal to 0.93. Conclusion: This article illustrates acceptable quantities indices for content validity a new instrument and outlines them during design and psychometrics of patient-centered communication measuring instrument. PMID:26161370

Monitoring Instrument Performance in Regional Broadband Seismic Network Using Ambient Seismic Noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, F.; Lyu, S.; Lin, J.

2017-12-01

In the past ten years, the number of seismic stations has increased significantly, and regional seismic networks with advanced technology have been gradually developed all over the world. The resulting broadband data help to improve the seismological research. It is important to monitor the performance of broadband instruments in a new network in a long period of time to ensure the accuracy of seismic records. Here, we propose a method that uses ambient noise data in the period range 5-25 s to monitor instrument performance and check data quality in situ. The method is based on an analysis of amplitude and phase index parameters calculated from pairwise cross-correlations of three stations, which provides multiple references for reliable error estimates. Index parameters calculated daily during a two-year observation period are evaluated to identify stations with instrument response errors in near real time. During data processing, initial instrument responses are used in place of available instrument responses to simulate instrument response errors, which are then used to verify our results. We also examine feasibility of the tailing noise using data from stations selected from USArray in different locations and analyze the possible instrumental errors resulting in time-shifts used to verify the method. Additionally, we show an application that effects of instrument response errors that experience pole-zeros variations on monitoring temporal variations in crustal properties appear statistically significant velocity perturbation larger than the standard deviation. The results indicate that monitoring seismic instrument performance helps eliminate data pollution before analysis begins.

Cyclic fatigue of endodontic nickel titanium rotary instruments: static and dynamic tests.

PubMed

Li, Uei-Ming; Lee, Bor-Shiunn; Shih, Chin-Tsai; Lan, Wan-Hong; Lin, Chun-Pin

2002-06-01

Endodontic instruments upon rotation are subjected to both tensile and compressive stress in curved canals. This stress is localized at the point of curvature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cyclic fatigue of 0.04 ProFile nickel titanium rotary instruments operating at different rotational speeds and varied distances of pecking motion in metal blocks that simulated curved canals. A total of 150 ProFile instruments were made to rotate freely in sloped metal blocks at speeds of 200, 300, or 400 rpm by a contra-angle handpiece mounted on an Instron machine. The electric motor and Instron machine were activated until the instruments were broken in two different modes, static and dynamic pecking-motion. The fractured surfaces of separated instruments were examined under a scanning electron microscope. All data obtained were analyzed by a stepwise multiple regression method using a 95% confidence interval. The results demonstrated that the time to failure significantly decreased as the angles of curvature or the rotational speeds increased. However, as pecking distances increased, the time to failure increased. This is because a longer pecking distance gives the instrument a longer time interval before it once again passes through the highest stress area. Microscopic evaluation indicated that ductile fracture was the major cyclic failure mode. To prevent breakage of a NiTi rotary instrument, appropriate rotational speeds and continuous pecking motion in the root canals are recommended.

An Assessment of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlyn, Marcia

1977-01-01

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator is a self-report inventory developed to measure variables in Carl Jung's personality typology. The four personality scales measured by the instrument, and the scoring process are described, and an extensive review of the intercorrelation, reliability, and validity research is presented. (Author/MV)

14 CFR 25.1337 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... supplying reciprocating engines, at a point downstream of any fuel pump except fuel injection pumps. In... hazard. (b) Fuel quantity indicator. There must be means to indicate to the flight crewmembers, the quantity, in gallons or equivalent units, of usable fuel in each tank during flight. In addition— (1) Each...

14 CFR 25.1337 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... supplying reciprocating engines, at a point downstream of any fuel pump except fuel injection pumps. In... hazard. (b) Fuel quantity indicator. There must be means to indicate to the flight crewmembers, the quantity, in gallons or equivalent units, of usable fuel in each tank during flight. In addition— (1) Each...

14 CFR 25.1337 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... supplying reciprocating engines, at a point downstream of any fuel pump except fuel injection pumps. In... hazard. (b) Fuel quantity indicator. There must be means to indicate to the flight crewmembers, the quantity, in gallons or equivalent units, of usable fuel in each tank during flight. In addition— (1) Each...

14 CFR 25.1337 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... supplying reciprocating engines, at a point downstream of any fuel pump except fuel injection pumps. In... hazard. (b) Fuel quantity indicator. There must be means to indicate to the flight crewmembers, the quantity, in gallons or equivalent units, of usable fuel in each tank during flight. In addition— (1) Each...

14 CFR 25.1337 - Powerplant instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... supplying reciprocating engines, at a point downstream of any fuel pump except fuel injection pumps. In... hazard. (b) Fuel quantity indicator. There must be means to indicate to the flight crewmembers, the quantity, in gallons or equivalent units, of usable fuel in each tank during flight. In addition— (1) Each...

Effective Factors in Enhancing School Manager's Job Motivation

PubMed Central

Mirzamani, S. Mahmoud; Esfahani, Hamideh Darb

2011-01-01

Objective This study examines the effective factors in enhancing school manager's job motivation from viewpoint of school mangers, teachers, education department managerial and staff experts in teaching, and also identifies and prioritizes each of these factors and indicators. Method For selecting a representative sample and increasing measurement precision, 587 people were selected using classified random sampling. The measurement tool was a 79-questionnaire made by the researcher. The questionnaire was collected using motivation theories and observing the findings of previous researches. Then, according to the three-stage Delphi technique, the questionnaire was sent to experts in education. The reliability of instruments was measured by calculating Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, and total reliability of the test was 0.99; the validity of the instrument was assessed by factor analysis (Construct Validity) and its load factor was 0.4 which was high. Results The results from factor analysis shows that the effective factors in enhancing manager's job motivation are as follows: self- actualization (51%) including 28 indices; social factor (7/9%) including 22 indices; self-esteem (3.2%) including 17 indices; job desirable features (2.2%) including 4 indices; physiologic (1.8%) including 4 indices; and job richness (1.6%) including 4 indices. Conclusions The results show that the six mentioned factors determine 68% of the total variance of manager's motivation. PMID:22952541

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Instrument: Attitudes Towards Organ Donor Advocacy Scale (ATODAS)

PubMed Central

Flodén, Anne; Lennerling, Annette; Fridh, Isabell; Rizell, Magnus; Forsberg, Anna

2011-01-01

The consequences of advocacy in nursing are critical when caring for a potential organ donor. No specific instrument has been available to measure attitudes toward organ donor advocacy. The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an instrument for measuring intensive and critical care (ICU) nurses’ attitudes toward organ donor advocacy. The study was conducted in two stages: instrument development and instrument evaluation and refinement. A questionnaire was developed (Attitude Toward Organ Donor Advocacy Scale (ATODAS)), which was sent to half of all nurses working in ICUs (general-, neuro-, thoracic- or paediatric-) in Sweden (n=1180). The final response rate was 42.5% (n=502). In order to explore validity and reliability, the expected scale dimensionality of the questionnaire was examined both by explorative principal component analysis (with oblique, varimax rotation) and by confirmatory multi-trait analysis. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the ATODAS could best be explained by five factors; Attitudes toward championing organ donation at a structural hospital level; Attitudes toward championing organ donation at a political and research level; Attitudes toward actively and personally safeguarding the will and wishes of the potential organ donor, Attitudes toward safeguarding the potential donor’s will and wishes by a professional approach and Attitudes toward safeguarding the will and wishes of the relatives. This initial testing indicated that the ATODAS has good psychometric properties and can be used in future research to explore if interventions may influence attitudes and behaviors related to organ donor advocacy. PMID:22046210

Construction of a survey to assess workload and fatigue among AMT operators in Mexico.

PubMed

Hernández Arellano, Juan Luis; Ibarra Mejía, Gabriel; Serratos Pérez, J Nieves; García Alcaraz, Jorge Luis; Brunette, María Julia

2012-01-01

Operators of machinery classified as Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) are exposed to high levels of workload and fatigue. However, only few studies have been conducted on this topic in Hispanic-American countries workers. Several instruments be used to assess workload and fatigue; however, only few of them have been adapted to Spanish language. This paper reports on the development and validity testing of a survey instrument in Spanish, aiming to subjectively assess workload and fatigue among AMT operators in Mexico. After an exhaustive literature review in search of already available measurement instruments, they were adapted for content and later translated into Spanish; a pilot test was conducted to evaluate validity and reliability; afterwards appropriate modifications were made to the testing instruments. Final version of the instrument was applied to a group of 121 operators of CNC lathes. Reliability was analyzed using KMO and Cronbach alpha indices. For the assessment of workload, both NASA-TLX and ISTAS 21 methods were incorporated to the survey instrument. As for fatigue assessment tools, these were SOFI-S, FAS and OFER questionnaires. RESULTS show KMO value and Cronbach alpha above 0.6.Conclusions. The survey instrument as designed, allows the collection of reliable and valid data regarding workload and fatigue among AMT operators in Mexico.

Genetic influences on musical specialization: a twin study on choice of instrument and music genre.

PubMed

Mosing, Miriam A; Ullén, Fredrik

2018-05-09

Though several studies show that genetic factors influence individual differences in musical engagement, aptitude, and achievement, no study to date has investigated whether specialization among musically active individuals in terms of choice of instrument and genre is heritable. Using a large twin cohort, we explored whether individual differences in instrument choice, instrument category, and the type of music individuals engage in can entirely be explained by the environment or are partly due to genetic influences. About 10,000 Swedish twins answered an extensive questionnaire about music-related traits, including information on the instrument and genre they played. Of those, 1259 same-sex twin pairs reported to either play an instrument or sing. We calculated the odds ratios (ORs) for concordance in music choices (if both twins played) comparing identical and nonidentical twin pairs, with significant ORs indicating that identical twins are more likely to engage in the same type of music-related behavior than are nonidentical twins. The results showed that for almost all music-related variables, the odds were significantly higher for identical twins to play the same musical instrument or music genre, suggesting significant genetic influences on such music specialization. Possible interpretations and implications of the findings are discussed. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

Fluorescence calibration method for single-particle aerosol fluorescence instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shipley Robinson, Ellis; Gao, Ru-Shan; Schwarz, Joshua P.; Fahey, David W.; Perring, Anne E.

2017-05-01

Real-time, single-particle fluorescence instruments used to detect atmospheric bioaerosol particles are increasingly common, yet no standard fluorescence calibration method exists for this technique. This gap limits the utility of these instruments as quantitative tools and complicates comparisons between different measurement campaigns. To address this need, we have developed a method to produce size-selected particles with a known mass of fluorophore, which we use to calibrate the fluorescence detection of a Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS-4A). We use mixed tryptophan-ammonium sulfate particles to calibrate one detector (FL1; excitation = 280 nm, emission = 310-400 nm) and pure quinine particles to calibrate the other (FL2; excitation = 280 nm, emission = 420-650 nm). The relationship between fluorescence and mass for the mixed tryptophan-ammonium sulfate particles is linear, while that for the pure quinine particles is nonlinear, likely indicating that not all of the quinine mass contributes to the observed fluorescence. Nonetheless, both materials produce a repeatable response between observed fluorescence and particle mass. This procedure allows users to set the detector gains to achieve a known absolute response, calculate the limits of detection for a given instrument, improve the repeatability of the instrumental setup, and facilitate intercomparisons between different instruments. We recommend calibration of single-particle fluorescence instruments using these methods.

Batteryless magneto-driven portable radiac

DOEpatents

Waechter, D.A.; Bjarke, G.O.; Trujillo, F.; Wolf, M.A.; Umbarger, C.J.

1984-10-19

A hand-powerd alternator for generating an alternating voltage provides same through a rectifier to a high capacity capacitor which stores the resultant dc voltage and drives a voltage regulator to provide a constant low voltage output for a portable radiation detection instrument. The instrument includes a Geiger-Mueller detector tube whose output is fed to a pulse detector and then through an event counter and LCD driver circuit to an LCD bar graph for visual display. An audio driver and an audio output is also provided. All circuitry used is low power so that the capacitor can be readily charged to a sufficient level to provide power for at least 30 minutes. A low voltage indicator is provided on the LCD display to indicate the need for manual recharging.

Regolith Properties of Asteroid 21 Lutetia Constrained by Combined Data Sets of the MIRO and VIRTIS Instruments During the Rosetta Spacecraft Flyby

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keihm, S.; Tosi, F.; Kamp, L.; Capaccioni, F.; Grassi, D.; Gulkis, S.; Coradini, A.

2011-01-01

During the July 10, 2010 flyby of Asteroid 21 Lutetia by the Rosetta spacecraft, maps of surface and subsurface temperatures were derived from the VIRTIS and MIRO instruments respectively. Both data sets indicated a porous surface layer with an extremely low, lunar-like thermal inertia. However, comparisons of the VIRTIS-measured and MIRO-modelled surface temperatures revealed offsets of 10- 30 K, indicative of self-heating or "beaming" effects that were not taken into account in the MIRO thermal modeling. Inclusion of a model of hemispherical craters at all scales 1 cm and larger, covering 50% of the surface, removes most of the offsets in the VIRTIS, MIRO surface temperature determinations.

Batteryless magneto-driven portable radiac

DOEpatents

Waechter, David A.; Bjarke, George O.; Trujillo, Faustin; Wolf, Michael A.; Umbarger, C. John

1986-01-01

A hand-powered alternator for generating an alternating voltage provides same through a rectifier to a high capacity capacitor which stores the resultant dc voltage and drives a voltage regulator to provide a constant low voltage output for a portable radiation detection instrument. The instrument includes a Geiger-Muller detector tube whose output is fed to a pulse detector and then through an event counter and LCD driver circuit to an LCD bar graph for visual display. An audio driver and an audio output is also provided. All circuitry used is low power so that the capacitor can be readily charged to a sufficient level to provide power for at least 30 minutes. A low voltage indicator is provided on the LCD display to indicate the need for manual recharging.

Validation of the Physician Teaching Motivation Questionnaire (PTMQ).

PubMed

Dybowski, Christoph; Harendza, Sigrid

2015-10-02

Physicians play a major role as teachers in undergraduate medical education. Studies indicate that different forms and degrees of motivation can influence work performance in general and that teachers' motivation to teach can influence students' academic achievements in particular. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and to validate an instrument measuring teaching motivations in hospital-based physicians. We chose self-determination theory as a theoretical framework for item and scale development. It distinguishes between different dimensions of motivation depending on the amount of self-regulation and autonomy involved and its empirical evidence has been demonstrated in other areas of research. To validate the new instrument (PTMQ = Physician Teaching Motivation Questionnaire), we used data from a sample of 247 physicians from internal medicine and surgery at six German medical faculties. Structural equation modelling was conducted to confirm the factorial structure, correlation analyses and linear regressions were performed to examine concurrent and incremental validity. Structural equation modelling confirmed a good global fit for the factorial structure of the final instrument (RMSEA = .050, TLI = .957, SRMR = .055, CFI = .966). Cronbach's alphas indicated good internal consistencies for all scales (α = .75 - .89) except for the identified teaching motivation subscale with an acceptable internal consistency (α = .65). Tests of concurrent validity with global work motivation, perceived teaching competence, perceived teaching involvement and voluntariness of lesson allocation delivered theory-consistent results with slight deviations for some scales. Incremental validity over global work motivation in predicting perceived teaching involvement was also confirmed. Our results indicate that the PTMQ is a reliable, valid and therefore suitable instrument for assessing physicians' teaching motivation.

German translation, cross-cultural adaptation and diagnostic test accuracy of three frailty screening tools : PRISMA-7, FRAIL scale and Groningen Frailty Indicator.

PubMed

Braun, Tobias; Grüneberg, Christian; Thiel, Christian

2018-04-01

Routine screening for frailty could be used to timely identify older people with increased vulnerability und corresponding medical needs. The aim of this study was the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the PRISMA-7 questionnaire, the FRAIL scale and the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI) into the German language as well as a preliminary analysis of the diagnostic test accuracy of these instruments used to screen for frailty. A diagnostic cross-sectional study was performed. The instrument translation into German followed a standardized process. Prefinal versions were clinically tested on older adults who gave structured in-depth feedback on the scales in order to compile a final revision of the German language scale versions. For the analysis of diagnostic test accuracy (criterion validity), PRISMA-7, FRAIL scale and GFI were considered the index tests. Two reference tests were applied to assess frailty, either based on Fried's model of a Physical Frailty Phenotype or on the model of deficit accumulation, expressed in a Frailty Index. Prefinal versions of the German translations of each instrument were produced and completed by 52 older participants (mean age: 73 ± 6 years). Some minor issues concerning comprehensibility and semantics of the scales were identified and resolved. Using the Physical Frailty Phenotype (frailty prevalence: 4%) criteria as a reference standard, the accuracy of the instruments was excellent (area under the curve AUC >0.90). Taking the Frailty Index (frailty prevalence: 23%) as the reference standard, the accuracy was good (AUC between 0.73 and 0.88). German language versions of PRISMA-7, FRAIL scale and GFI have been established and preliminary results indicate sufficient diagnostic test accuracy that needs to be further established.

Can one simple questionnaire assess substance-related and behavioural addiction problems? Results of a proposed new screener for community epidemiology.

PubMed

Schluter, Magdalen G; Hodgins, David C; Wolfe, Jody; Wild, T Cameron

2018-01-22

There is currently no well-validated measure that assesses a broad spectrum of substance-related and behavioural addictions in general populations. This study aimed to develop a brief self-attribution Screener for Substance and Behavioural Addictions (SSBA) to screen for four substances and six behaviours, and to compare its performance with established individual-behaviour screening instruments. A small, psychometrically optimal set of items to assess self-attributed indicators of addiction across alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, gambling, shopping, videogaming, overeating, sexual activity and overworking were identified from a broader pool that was developed using a lay epidemiology qualitative approach. The suitability of the four-item single-factor solution was tested for each behaviour and scores were compared with those obtained from the sample using individual-behaviour screening instruments. Participants (n = 6000), broadly representative of the Canadian English-speaking adult population, were recruited through the Ipsos Reid Canadian Online Panel. Participants completed an item pool of 15 indicators of addiction for each target behaviour and a validation instrument for one randomly assigned behaviour. A set of four items identified using principal component and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated good fit and excellent internal consistency (α = 0.87-0.95) across behaviours, and good convergent validity (rs = 0.44-0.8) with extant instruments measuring similar constructs, with only one exception (r = 0.26). The proposed Screener for Substance and Behavioural Addiction is a reliable and valid measure assessing the lay public's self-attributed indicators of addiction across 10 substances and behaviours. © 2018 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Evaluation of Immunoassays and General Biological Indicator Tests for Field Screening of Bacillus anthracis and Ricin

PubMed Central

Bartholomew, Rachel A.; Ozanich, Richard M.; Arce, Jennifer S.; Engelmann, Heather E.; Heredia-Langner, Alejandro; Hofstad, Beth A.; Hutchison, Janine R.; Jarman, Kristin; Melville, Angela M.; Victry, Kristin D.

2017-01-01

There is little published data on the performance of biological indicator tests and immunoassays that could be used by first responders to determine if a suspicious powder contains a potential biothreat agent. We evaluated a range of biological indicator tests, including 3 protein tests, 2 ATP tests, 1 DNA test, and 1 FTIR spectroscopy instrument for their ability to screen suspicious powders for Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis) spores and ricin. We also evaluated 12 immunoassays (mostly lateral flow immunoassays) for their ability to screen for B. anthracis and ricin. We used a cost-effective, statistically based test plan that allows instruments to be evaluated at performance levels ranging from 0.85 to 0.95 lower confidence bound of the probability of detection at confidence levels of 80% to 95%. We also assessed interference with 22 common suspicious powders encountered in the field. The detection reproducibility for the biological indicators was evaluated at 108 B. anthracis spores and 62.5 μg ricin, and the immunoassay detection reproducibility was evaluated at 107 spores/mL (B. anthracis) and 0.1 μg/mL (ricin). Seven out of 12 immunoassays met our most stringent criteria for B. anthracis detection, while 9 out of 12 met our most stringent test criteria for ricin detection. Most of the immunoassays also detected ricin in 3 different crude castor seed preparations. Our testing results varied across products and sample preparations, indicating the importance of reviewing performance data for specific instruments and sample types of interest for the application in order to make informed decisions regarding the selection of biodetection equipment for field use. PMID:28192054

Evaluation of Immunoassays and General Biological Indicator Tests for Field Screening of Bacillus anthracis and Ricin.

PubMed

Bartholomew, Rachel A; Ozanich, Richard M; Arce, Jennifer S; Engelmann, Heather E; Heredia-Langner, Alejandro; Hofstad, Beth A; Hutchison, Janine R; Jarman, Kristin; Melville, Angela M; Victry, Kristin D; Bruckner-Lea, Cynthia J

There is little published data on the performance of biological indicator tests and immunoassays that could be used by first responders to determine if a suspicious powder contains a potential biothreat agent. We evaluated a range of biological indicator tests, including 3 protein tests, 2 ATP tests, 1 DNA test, and 1 FTIR spectroscopy instrument for their ability to screen suspicious powders for Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis) spores and ricin. We also evaluated 12 immunoassays (mostly lateral flow immunoassays) for their ability to screen for B. anthracis and ricin. We used a cost-effective, statistically based test plan that allows instruments to be evaluated at performance levels ranging from 0.85 to 0.95 lower confidence bound of the probability of detection at confidence levels of 80% to 95%. We also assessed interference with 22 common suspicious powders encountered in the field. The detection reproducibility for the biological indicators was evaluated at 10 8 B. anthracis spores and 62.5 μg ricin, and the immunoassay detection reproducibility was evaluated at 10 7 spores/mL (B. anthracis) and 0.1 μg/mL (ricin). Seven out of 12 immunoassays met our most stringent criteria for B. anthracis detection, while 9 out of 12 met our most stringent test criteria for ricin detection. Most of the immunoassays also detected ricin in 3 different crude castor seed preparations. Our testing results varied across products and sample preparations, indicating the importance of reviewing performance data for specific instruments and sample types of interest for the application in order to make informed decisions regarding the selection of biodetection equipment for field use.

A systematic review of instruments to assess organizational readiness for knowledge translation in health care.

PubMed

Gagnon, Marie-Pierre; Attieh, Randa; Ghandour, El Kebir; Légaré, France; Ouimet, Mathieu; Estabrooks, Carole A; Grimshaw, Jeremy

2014-01-01

The translation of research into practices has been incomplete. Organizational readiness for change (ORC) is a potential facilitator of effective knowledge translation (KT). However we know little about the best way to assess ORC. Therefore, we sought to systematically review ORC measurement instruments. We searched for published studies in bibliographic databases (Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Web of Science, etc.) up to November 1st, 2012. We included publications that developed ORC measures and/or empirically assessed ORC using an instrument at the organizational level in the health care context. We excluded articles if they did not refer specifically to ORC, did not concern the health care domain or were limited to individual-level change readiness. We focused on identifying the psychometric properties of instruments that were developed to assess readiness in an organization prior to implementing KT interventions in health care. We used the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing to assess the psychometric properties of identified ORC measurement instruments. We found 26 eligible instruments described in 39 publications. According to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, 18 (69%) of a total of 26 measurement instruments presented both validity and reliability criteria. The Texas Christian University -ORC (TCU-ORC) scale reported the highest instrument validity with a score of 4 out of 4. Only one instrument, namely the Modified Texas Christian University - Director version (TCU-ORC-D), reported a reliability score of 2 out of 3. No information was provided regarding the reliability and validity of five (19%) instruments. Our findings indicate that there are few valid and reliable ORC measurement instruments that could be applied to KT in the health care sector. The TCU-ORC instrument presents the best evidence in terms of validity testing. Future studies using this instrument could provide more knowledge on its relevance to diverse clinical contexts.

A Systematic Review of Instruments to Assess Organizational Readiness for Knowledge Translation in Health Care

PubMed Central

Gagnon, Marie-Pierre; Attieh, Randa; Ghandour, El Kebir; Légaré, France; Ouimet, Mathieu; Estabrooks, Carole A.; Grimshaw, Jeremy

2014-01-01

Background The translation of research into practices has been incomplete. Organizational readiness for change (ORC) is a potential facilitator of effective knowledge translation (KT). However we know little about the best way to assess ORC. Therefore, we sought to systematically review ORC measurement instruments. Methods We searched for published studies in bibliographic databases (Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Web of Science, etc.) up to November 1st, 2012. We included publications that developed ORC measures and/or empirically assessed ORC using an instrument at the organizational level in the health care context. We excluded articles if they did not refer specifically to ORC, did not concern the health care domain or were limited to individual-level change readiness. We focused on identifying the psychometric properties of instruments that were developed to assess readiness in an organization prior to implementing KT interventions in health care. We used the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing to assess the psychometric properties of identified ORC measurement instruments. Findings We found 26 eligible instruments described in 39 publications. According to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, 18 (69%) of a total of 26 measurement instruments presented both validity and reliability criteria. The Texas Christian University –ORC (TCU-ORC) scale reported the highest instrument validity with a score of 4 out of 4. Only one instrument, namely the Modified Texas Christian University – Director version (TCU-ORC-D), reported a reliability score of 2 out of 3. No information was provided regarding the reliability and validity of five (19%) instruments. Conclusion Our findings indicate that there are few valid and reliable ORC measurement instruments that could be applied to KT in the health care sector. The TCU-ORC instrument presents the best evidence in terms of validity testing. Future studies using this instrument could provide more knowledge on its relevance to diverse clinical contexts. PMID:25474622

Validation of the force and frequency characteristics of the activator adjusting instrument: effectiveness as a mechanical impedance measurement tool.

PubMed

Keller, T S; Colloca, C J; Fuhr, A W

1999-02-01

To determine the dynamic force-time and force-frequency characteristics of the Activator Adjusting Instrument and to validate its effectiveness as a mechanical impedance measurement device; in addition, to refine or optimize the force-frequency characteristics of the Activator Adjusting Instrument to provide enhanced dynamic structural measurement reliability and accuracy. An idealized test structure consisting of a rectangular steel beam with a static stiffness similar to that of the human thoracolumbar spine was used for validation of a method to determine the dynamic mechanical response of the spine. The Activator Adjusting Instrument equipped with a load cell and accelerometer was used to measure forces and accelerations during mechanical excitation of the steel beam. Driving point and transfer mechanical impedance and resonant frequency of the beam were determined by use of a frequency spectrum analysis for different force settings, stylus masses, and stylus tips. Results were compared with beam theory and transfer impedance measurements obtained by use of a commercial electronic PCB impact hammer. The Activator Adjusting Instrument imparted a very complex dynamic impact comprising an initial high force (116 to 140 N), short duration pulse (<0.1 ms) followed by several lower force (30 to 100 N), longer duration impulses (1 to 5 ms). The force profile was highly reproducible in terms of the peak impulse forces delivered to the beam structure (<8% variance). Spectrum analysis of the Activator Adjusting Instrument impulse indicated that the Activator Adjusting Instrument has a variable force spectrum and delivers its peak energy at a frequency of 20 Hz. Added masses and different durometer stylus tips had very little influence on the Activator Adjusting Instrument force spectrum. The resonant frequency of the beam was accurately predicted by both the Activator Adjusting Instrument and electronic PCB impact hammer, but variations in the magnitude of the driving point impedance at the resonant frequency were high (67%) compared with the transfer impedance measurements obtained with the electronic PCB impact hammer, which had a more uniform force spectrum and was more repeatable (<10% variation). The addition of a preload-control frame to the Activator Adjusting Instrument improved the characteristics of the force frequency spectrum and repeatability of the driving point impedance measurements. These findings indicate that the Activator Adjusting Instrument combined with an integral load cell and accelerometer was able to obtain an accurate description of a steel beam with readily identifiable geometric and dynamic mechanical properties. These findings support the rationale for using the device to assess the dynamic mechanical behavior of the vertebral column. Such information would be useful for SMT and may ultimately be used to evaluate the [corrected] biomechanical effectiveness of various manipulative, surgical, and rehabilitative spinal procedures.

Flight investigation of a vertical-velocity command system for VTOL aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, J. R.; Niessen, F. R.; Yenni, K. R.; Person, L. H., Jr.

1977-01-01

A flight investigation was undertaken to assess the potential benefits afforded by a vertical-velocity command system (VVCS) for VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft. This augmentation system was conceived primarily as a means of lowering pilot workload during decelerating approaches to a hover and/or landing under category III instrument meteorological conditions. The scope of the investigation included a determination of acceptable system parameters, a visual flight evaluation, and an instrument flight evaluation which employed a 10 deg, decelerating, simulated instrument approach task. The results indicated that the VVCS, which decouples the pitch and vertical degrees of freedom, provides more accurate glide-path tracking and a lower pilot workload than does the unaugmented system.

Constraining the Global, Cloud-Free Reflected Solar Radiation Flux (RSRF) with Earth Observing System (EOS) Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahn, Ralph

1999-01-01

Variations in the top-of-atmosphere reflected solar radiation flux, and in the factors that determine its value, are among the most important diagnostic indicators of changes in Earth's energy balance. Data from the MISR (Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer), MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), SAGE-3 (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment), and CERES (Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System), all of which are spacecraft instruments scheduled for launch in 1999, will each constrain pieces of the RSRF budget. Prior to launch, we are performing studies to determine the sensitivity of these instruments to key factors that influence the cloud-free RSRF: aerosol optical depth, aerosol scattering properties, and surface visible bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). We are also assessing the ability of the aggregate of instruments to constrain the overall RSRF budget under natural conditions over the globe. Consider the MISR retrieval of aerosols: according to simulations over cloud-free, calm ocean, for pure particles with natural ranges of optical depth, particle size, and indices of refraction, MISR can retrieve column aerosol optical depth for all but the darkest particles, to an uncertainty of at most 0.05 or 20%, whichever is larger, even if the particle properties are poorly known. For one common particle type, soot, constraints on the optical depth over dark ocean are very poor. The simulated measurements also allow us to distinguish spherical from non-spherical particles, to separate two to four compositional groups based on indices of refraction, and to identify three to four distinct size groups between 0. 1 and 2.0 microns characteristic radius at most latitudes. Based on these results, we expect to distinguish air masses containing different aerosol types, routinely and globally, with multiangle remote sensing data. Such results far exceed current satellite aerosol retrieval capabilities, which provide only total optical depth for assumed particle properties; the new information will complement in situ data, which give details about aerosol size and composition locally. In addition, our team is using climatologies that reflect the constraints each instrument is expected to provide, along with ERBE (Earth Radiation Budget Experiment) data and a radiative transfer code, to study overall sensitivity to RSRF, helping us prepare for similar studies with new data from the EOS-era instruments.

The effectiveness of incorporating a real-time oculometer system in a commercial flight training program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, D. H.; Coates, G. D.; Kirby, R. H.

1983-01-01

The effectiveness of incroporating a real-time oculometer system into a Boeing 737 commercial flight training program was studied. The study combined a specialized oculometer system with sophisticated video equipment that would allow instructor pilots (IPs) to monitor pilot and copilot trainees' instrument scan behavior in real-time, and provide each trainee with video tapes of his/her instrument scanning behavior for each training session. The IPs' performance ratings and trainees' self-ratings were compared to the performance ratings by IPs and trainees in a control group. The results indicate no difference in IP ratings or trainees' self-ratings for the control and experimental groups. The results indicated that the major beneficial role of a real-time oculometer system for pilots and copilots having a significant amount of flight experience would be for problem solving or refinement of instrument scanning behavior rather than a general instructional scheme. It is suggested that this line of research be continued with the incorporation of objective data (e.g., state of the aircraft data), measures of cost effectiveness and with trainees having less flight experience.

Development of a Wearable Instrumented Vest for Posture Monitoring and System Usability Verification Based on the Technology Acceptance Model.

PubMed

Lin, Wen-Yen; Chou, Wen-Cheng; Tsai, Tsai-Hsuan; Lin, Chung-Chih; Lee, Ming-Yih

2016-12-17

Body posture and activity are important indices for assessing health and quality of life, especially for elderly people. Therefore, an easily wearable device or instrumented garment would be valuable for monitoring elderly people's postures and activities to facilitate healthy aging. In particular, such devices should be accepted by elderly people so that they are willing to wear it all the time. This paper presents the design and development of a novel, textile-based, intelligent wearable vest for real-time posture monitoring and emergency warnings. The vest provides a highly portable and low-cost solution that can be used both indoors and outdoors in order to provide long-term care at home, including health promotion, healthy aging assessments, and health abnormality alerts. The usability of the system was verified using a technology acceptance model-based study of 50 elderly people. The results indicated that although elderly people are anxious about some newly developed wearable technologies, they look forward to wearing this instrumented posture-monitoring vest in the future.

Simulated Performance of the Orbiting Wide-angle Light Collectors (OWL) Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krizmanic, J. F.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The Orbiting Wide-angle Light collectors (OWL) experiment is in NASA's mid-term strategic plan and will stereoscopically image, from equatorial orbit, the air fluorescence signal generated by airshowers induced by the ultrahigh energy (E greater than few x 10(exp 19) eV) component of the cosmic radiation. The use of a space-based platform enables an extremely large event acceptance aperture and thus will allow a high statistics measurement of these rare events. Detailed Monte Carlo simulations are required to quantify the physics potential of the mission as well as optimize the instrumental parameters. This paper reports on the results of the GSFC Monte Carlo simulation for two different, OWL instrument baseline designs. These results indicate that, assuming a continuation of the cosmic ray spectrum (theta approximately E(exp -2.75), OWL could have an event rate of 4000 events/year with E greater than or equal to 10(exp 20) eV. Preliminary results, based upon these Monte Carlo simulations, indicate that events can be accurately reconstructed in the detector focal plane arrays for the OWL instrument baseline designs under consideration.

Development of a Wearable Instrumented Vest for Posture Monitoring and System Usability Verification Based on the Technology Acceptance Model

PubMed Central

Lin, Wen-Yen; Chou, Wen-Cheng; Tsai, Tsai-Hsuan; Lin, Chung-Chih; Lee, Ming-Yih

2016-01-01

Body posture and activity are important indices for assessing health and quality of life, especially for elderly people. Therefore, an easily wearable device or instrumented garment would be valuable for monitoring elderly people’s postures and activities to facilitate healthy aging. In particular, such devices should be accepted by elderly people so that they are willing to wear it all the time. This paper presents the design and development of a novel, textile-based, intelligent wearable vest for real-time posture monitoring and emergency warnings. The vest provides a highly portable and low-cost solution that can be used both indoors and outdoors in order to provide long-term care at home, including health promotion, healthy aging assessments, and health abnormality alerts. The usability of the system was verified using a technology acceptance model-based study of 50 elderly people. The results indicated that although elderly people are anxious about some newly developed wearable technologies, they look forward to wearing this instrumented posture-monitoring vest in the future. PMID:27999324

[Achieving an educative strategy in undergraduate medical interns with respect to patients with diabetes].

PubMed

Medina-Figueroa, Alda María; Espinosa-Alarcón, Patricia Atzimba

2007-01-01

To estimate the achievement of an educative strategy that promoted participation of the development of the clinical aptitude of undergraduate medical students with regard to patients with diabetes. We conducted a quasi-experimental study with two groups of undergraduate medical students. We validated an instrument to explore clinical attitude concerning diabetes mellitus (ACDIME) with 30 items for each of six indicators. The instrument was applied at two general hospitals, before and after carrying out the educative strategies. In the experimental group, we conducted an educative strategy that promotes participation in developing clinical aptitude, while the customary strategy was developed in the control group. ACDIME consistency was 0.80. Both study groups were similar before the educative strategies (p = 0.165). Statistically significant differences existed after the strategies in all indicators were evaluated, in favor of the experimental group. The tendency to change, with a criterion of 50% or more, was only statistically significant in the experimental group (p < 0.0001). The ACDIME instrument is valid and reliable. The educative strategy that promoted participation is clearly superior to the customary strategy with regard to achievement.

High resolution X- and gamma-ray spectroscopy of solar flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, R. P.

1984-01-01

A balloon-borne X- and gamma-ray instrument was developed, fabricated, and flown. This instrument has the highest energy resolution of any instrument flown to date for measurements of solar and cosmic X-ray and gamma-ray emission in the 13 to 600 keV energy range. The purpose of the solar measurements was to study electron acceleration and solar flare energy release processes. The cosmic observations were to search for cyclotron line features from neutron stars and for low energy gamma-ray lines from nucleosynthesis. The instrument consists of four 4 cm diameter, 1.3 cm thick, planar intrinsic germanium detectors cooled by liquid nitrogen and surrounded by CsI and NaI anti-coincidence scintillation crystals. A graded z collimator limited the field of view to 3 deg x 6 deg and a gondola pointing system provided 0.3 deg pointing accuracy. A total of four flights were made with this instrument. Additional funding was obtained from NSF for the last three flights, which had primarily solar objectives. A detailed instrument description is given. The main scientific results and the data analysis are discussed. Current work and indications for future work are summarized. A bibliography of publications resulting from this work is given.

Quantitative Comparison of Tandem Mass Spectra Obtained on Various Instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazsó, Fanni Laura; Ozohanics, Oliver; Schlosser, Gitta; Ludányi, Krisztina; Vékey, Károly; Drahos, László

2016-08-01

The similarity between two tandem mass spectra, which were measured on different instruments, was compared quantitatively using the similarity index (SI), defined as the dot product of the square root of peak intensities in the respective spectra. This function was found to be useful for comparing energy-dependent tandem mass spectra obtained on various instruments. Spectral comparisons show the similarity index in a 2D "heat map", indicating which collision energy combinations result in similar spectra, and how good this agreement is. The results and methodology can be used in the pharma industry to design experiments and equipment well suited for good reproducibility. We suggest that to get good long-term reproducibility, it is best to adjust the collision energy to yield a spectrum very similar to a reference spectrum. It is likely to yield better results than using the same tuning file, which, for example, does not take into account that contamination of the ion source due to extended use may influence instrument tuning. The methodology may be used to characterize energy dependence on various instrument types, to optimize instrumentation, and to study the influence or correlation between various experimental parameters.

The development of an instrument for evaluating clinical teachers: involving stakeholders to determine content validity.

PubMed

Stalmeijer, Renée E; Dolmans, Diana H J M; Wolfhagen, Ineke H A P; Muijtjens, Arno M M; Scherpbier, Albert J J A

2008-01-01

Research indicates that the quality of supervision strongly influences the learning of medical students in clinical practice. Clinical teachers need feedback to improve their supervisory skills. The available instruments either lack a clear theoretical framework or are not suitable for providing feedback to individual teachers. We developed an evaluation instrument based on the 'cognitive apprenticeship model'. The aim was to estimate the content validity of the developed instrument. Item relevance was rated on a five-point scale (1 = highly irrelevant, 5 = highly relevant) by three groups of stakeholders in undergraduate clinical teaching: educationalists (N = 12), doctors (N = 16) and students (N = 12). Additionally, stakeholders commented on content, wording and omission of items. The items were generally rated as very relevant (Mean = 4.3, SD = 0.38, response = 95%) and any differences between the stakeholder groups were small. The results led to elimination of 4 items, rewording of 13 items and addition of 1 item. The cognitive apprenticeship model appears to offer a useful framework for the development of an evaluation instrument aimed at providing feedback to individual clinical teachers on the quality of student supervision. Further studies in larger populations will have to establish the instrument's statistical validity and generalizability.

Does the Removal of Spinal Implants Reduce Back Pain?

PubMed Central

Ak, Hakan; Gulsen, Ismail; Atalay, Tugay; Gencer, Muzaffer

2015-01-01

Background The importance of the removal of spinal implants is known in the presence of infection. However, the benefits and/or risks of the removal of spinal implant for the management of back pain are not clear. Methods In this retrospective study, we aimed to evaluate the beneficial effects of the removal of spinal implants for back pain. Study included 25 patients with thoracolumbar instrumentation. Results Seventeen (68%) of them were male. Indications for spinal instrumentation were vertebra fracture (n = 9), iatrogenic instability due to multiple segment laminectomy (n = 12), and instrumentation after recurrent disk herniations (n = 4). Mean visual analog score (VAS) before the removal was 8.08. Mean VAS was 3.36 after the removal. Spinal instruments were removed after the observance of the presence of fusion. All patients were prescribed analgesics and muscle relaxants for 3 weeks before removal. Back pain did not decrease in five (20%) patients in total. Four of them had been instrumented due to recurrent lumbar disk herniation. None of the patients reported the complete relief of pain. Conclusion In conclusion, patients should be cautioned that their back pain might not decrease after a successful removal of their instruments. PMID:25883710

The Energetic Trans-Iron Composition Experiment (ENTICE) on the Heavy Nuclei Explorer (HNX)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Israel, M. H.; Adams, J. H.; Barbier, L. M.; Binns, W. R.; Christian, E. R.; Cummings, A. C.; Cummings, J. R.; Doke, T.; Hasebe, N.; Hayashi, T.;

Preliminary Results From a Heavily Instrumented Engine Ice Crystal Icing Test in a Ground Based Altitude Test Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flegel, Ashlie B.; Oliver, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Preliminary results from the Heavily Instrumented ALF503R-5 Engine test conducted in the NASA Glenn Research Center Propulsion Systems Laboratory will be discussed. The effects of ice crystal icing on a full scale engine is examined and documented. This model engine, serial number LF01, was used during the inaugural icing test in the PSL facility. The reduction of thrust (rollback) events experienced by this engine in flight were replicated in the facility. Limited instrumentation was used to detect icing. Metal temperature on the exit guide vanes and outer shroud and the load measurement were the only indicators of ice formation. The current study features a similar engine, serial number LF11, which is instrumented to characterize the cloud entering the engine, detect characterize ice accretion, and visualize the ice accretion in the region of interest.

Comparison of effects of ProTaper, HeroShaper, and Gates Glidden Burs on cervical dentin thickness and root canal volume by using multislice computed tomography.

PubMed

Mahran, Abeer H; AboEl-Fotouh, Mona M

2008-10-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 3 different instruments used to prepare curved root canals on the remaining cervical dentin thickness and total amount of dentin removed from root canals during instrumentation by using multislice computed tomography. Mesiobuccal canals of 45 mandibular first molars with curvature between 30-40 degrees were divided into 3 equal groups: ProTaper, Hero Shaper, and Gates Glidden Bur with Flex-R hand file. Cervical dentin thickness and canal volume were measured before and after instrumentation by using multislice computed tomography and image analysis software. The results indicated that ProTaper removed significantly less cervical dentin from distal wall of the root (dangerous zone) than HeroShaper and Gates Glidden Bur (P < .05). The total dentin removed during canal instrumentation was significantly more with ProTaper system (P < .05).

Helmet-Mounted Display Of Clouds Of Harmful Gases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diner, Daniel B.; Barengoltz, Jack B.; Schober, Wayne R.

1995-01-01

Proposed helmet-mounted opto-electronic instrument provides real-time stereoscopic views of clouds of otherwise invisible toxic, explosive, and/or corrosive gas. Display semitransparent: images of clouds superimposed on scene ordinarily visible to wearer. Images give indications on sizes and concentrations of gas clouds and their locations in relation to other objects in scene. Instruments serve as safety devices for astronauts, emergency response crews, fire fighters, people cleaning up chemical spills, or anyone working near invisible hazardous gases. Similar instruments used as sensors in automated emergency response systems that activate safety equipment and emergency procedures. Both helmet-mounted and automated-sensor versions used at industrial sites, chemical plants, or anywhere dangerous and invisible or difficult-to-see gases present. In addition to helmet-mounted and automated-sensor versions, there could be hand-held version. In some industrial applications, desirable to mount instruments and use them similarly to parking-lot surveillance cameras.

Older adult mistreatment risk screening: contribution to the validation of a screening tool in a domestic setting.

PubMed

Lindenbach, Jeannette M; Larocque, Sylvie; Lavoie, Anne-Marise; Garceau, Marie-Luce

2012-06-01

ABSTRACTThe hidden nature of older adult mistreatment renders its detection in the domestic setting particularly challenging. A validated screening instrument that can provide a systematic assessment of risk factors can facilitate this detection. One such instrument, the "expanded Indicators of Abuse" tool, has been previously validated in the Hebrew language in a hospital setting. The present study has contributed to the validation of the "e-IOA" in an English-speaking community setting in Ontario, Canada. It consisted of two phases: (a) a content validity review and adaptation of the instrument by experts throughout Ontario, and (b) an inter-rater reliability assessment by home visiting nurses. The adaptation, the "Mistreatment of Older Adult Risk Factors" tool, offers a comprehensive tool for screening in the home setting. This instrument is significant to professional practice as practitioners working with older adults will be better equipped to assess for risk of mistreatment.

Airline pilot scan patterns during simulated ILS approaches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spady, A. A., Jr.

1978-01-01

A series of instrument landing system approaches were conducted using seven airline-rated Boeing 737 pilots in a Federal Aviation Administration qualified simulator. The test matrix included both manual and coupled approaches with and without atmospheric turbulence in Category II visibility conditions. A nonintrusive oculometer system was used to track the pilot eye-point-of-regard throughout the approach. The results indicate that, in general, the pilots use different scan techniques for the manual and coupled conditions and that the introduction of atmospheric turbulence does not greatly affect the scan behavior in either case. The pilots consistently ranked the instruments in terms of most used to least used. The ranking obtained from the oculometer data agrees with the pilot ranking for the flight director and airspeed, the most important instruments. However, the pilots apparently ranked the other instruments in terms of their concern for information rather than according to their actual scanning behavior.

Structural flexibility of laparoscopic instruments: implication for the design of virtual reality simulators.

PubMed

Shang, D; Carnahan, H; Dubrowski, A

2006-01-01

Laparoscopic training, under simulated settings, benefits from high fidelity models of the actual environment. This study was aimed at reducing uncertainty in the displacement and loads experienced by a laparoscopic instrument during surgical training. Infrared tracking of laparoscopic instruments is ineffective when real tissues attenuate the infrared signals. Incorporating the use of strain gauges for tip deflection measurements allows for online motion and load tracking during a procedure. Strain gauge voltages and infrared markers indicating displacement were both linear with respect to loads up to 700 grams. The resultant strain gauge voltage was equated to deflection values with a calibration constant. The results serve two purposes. First, it may enable the tracking and analysis of the skill level of novice surgeons using bench models. Second, the mechanical model of each instrument can be quantified and incorporated into virtual simulations, thus increasing model fidelity, effectively leading to better learning.

Development and validation of the computer technology literacy self-assessment scale for Taiwanese elementary school students.

PubMed

Chang, Chiung-Sui

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the development and validation of an instrument to identify various dimensions of the computer technology literacy self-assessment scale (CTLS) for elementary school students. The instrument included five CTLS dimensions (subscales): the technology operation skills, the computer usages concepts, the attitudes toward computer technology, the learning with technology, and the Internet operation skills. Participants were 1,539 elementary school students in Taiwan. Data analysis indicated that the instrument developed in the study had satisfactory validity and reliability. Correlations analysis supported the legitimacy of using multiple dimensions in representing students' computer technology literacy. Significant differences were found between male and female students, and between grades on some CTLS dimensions. Suggestions are made for use of the instrument to examine complicated interplays between students' computer behaviors and their computer technology literacy.

Emotional support, instrumental support, and gambling participation among Filipino Americans.

PubMed

Kim, Isok; Kim, Wooksoo; Nochajski, Thomas H

2014-08-01

Using representative survey data of Filipino Americans in Honolulu and San Francisco (SF) (N = 2,259), we examined the roles of emotional support and instrumental support on gambling participation. With considerable difference in gambling environments between two regions, we conducted two sets of hierarchical regression analyses for Honolulu sample, which has restricted gambling laws, and SF sample, which has legal gambling environment, and compared the effects of two types of social support on gambling participation. The results indicated that emotional support was positively and instrumental support was negatively associated with gambling participation among Filipino Americans in Honolulu. However, neither type of social support was significantly associated with gambling participation among Filipino Americans living in SF. This study highlights the differing roles and effects of instrumental and emotional support on gambling where gambling is restricted. It also suggests that gambling behaviors of Filipino Americans are subject to situation- and environment-specific factors.

Development of an embedded instrument for autofocus and polarization alignment of polarization maintaining fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Di; Fang, Qimeng; Huang, Huaibo; Zhao, Zhengqi; Song, Ningfang

2017-12-01

The development and implementation of a practical instrument based on an embedded technique for autofocus and polarization alignment of polarization maintaining fiber is presented. For focusing efficiency and stability, an image-based focusing algorithm fully considering the image definition evaluation and the focusing search strategy was used to accomplish autofocus. For improving the alignment accuracy, various image-based algorithms of alignment detection were developed with high calculation speed and strong robustness. The instrument can be operated as a standalone device with real-time processing and convenience operations. The hardware construction, software interface, and image-based algorithms of main modules are described. Additionally, several image simulation experiments were also carried out to analyze the accuracy of the above alignment detection algorithms. Both the simulation results and experiment results indicate that the instrument can achieve the accuracy of polarization alignment <±0.1 deg.

Comparison of the effects of two handpiece locations on dental team performance.

PubMed

Kwasman, R; Handelman, S L; MacIntyre, B; Barrett, G

1975-12-01

Using audiovisual tapes of 150 actual dental treatment sessions, five dental teams working with handpieces positioned in the 8-o'clock location were compared with five dental teams working with hand pieces positioned in the 12-o'clock location. Criteria used for analysis were frequency and duration of instrument transfer, critical incidents that interfered with instrument movements, and subjective responses of the dental team members. The data showed that the handpiece transfers were faster and more frequent in the 12-o'clock location where they were done via the assistant. However, the reverse was true for transfers of the three-way syringe. Most critical incidents occurred with equal frequency and were common to both rooms, but some were related to instrument location. The subjective responses indicated that the assistant working with the 12-o'clock instrument location had many more tasks and must be more highly trained.

Analysis of a spacecraft instrument ball bearing assembly lubricated by a perfluoroalkylether

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morales, W.; Jones, W. R., Jr.; Buckley, D. H.

1986-01-01

An analysis of a spacecraft instrument ball bearing assembly, subjected to a scanning life test, was performed to determine the possible case of rotational problems involving these units aboard several satellites. The analysis indicated an ineffective transfer of a fluorinated liquid lubricant from a phenolic retainer to the bearing balls. Part of the analysis led to a novel HPLC separation method employing a fluorinated mobile phase in conjunction with silica based size exclusion columns.

Assessing performance outcomes of new graduates utilizing simulation in a military transition program.

PubMed

Hughes, Robie V; Smith, Sherrill J; Sheffield, Clair M; Wier, Grady

2013-01-01

This multi-site, quasi-experimental study examined the performance outcomes of nurses (n = 152) in a military nurse transition program. A modified-performance instrument was used to assess participants in two high-fidelity simulation scenarios. Although results indicated a significant increase in scores posttraining, only moderate interrater reliability results were found for the new instrument. These findings have implications for nurse educators assessing performance-based outcomes of new nurses completing transition programs.

A low cost instrumentation system to analyze different types of milk adulteration.

PubMed

Das, Siuli; Sivaramakrishna, Mulinti; Biswas, Karabi; Goswami, Bhaswati

2015-05-01

In this paper, the design of a complete instrumentation system to detect different types of milk adulteration has been reported. A simple to use indicator type readout device is reported which can be used by milk community people. A low cost microcontroller based automatic sensing system is also reported to detect 'synthetic milk', which has been reconstructed after adulterating the milk with 'liquid-whey'. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Beating time: How ensemble musicians' cueing gestures communicate beat position and tempo.

PubMed

Bishop, Laura; Goebl, Werner

2018-01-01

Ensemble musicians typically exchange visual cues to coordinate piece entrances. "Cueing-in" gestures indicate when to begin playing and at what tempo. This study investigated how timing information is encoded in musicians' cueing-in gestures. Gesture acceleration patterns were expected to indicate beat position, while gesture periodicity, duration, and peak gesture velocity were expected to indicate tempo. Same-instrument ensembles (e.g., piano-piano) were expected to synchronize more successfully than mixed-instrument ensembles (e.g., piano-violin). Duos performed short passages as their head and (for violinists) bowing hand movements were tracked with accelerometers and Kinect sensors. Performers alternated between leader/follower roles; leaders heard a tempo via headphones and cued their partner in nonverbally. Violin duos synchronized more successfully than either piano duos or piano-violin duos, possibly because violinists were more experienced in ensemble playing than pianists. Peak acceleration indicated beat position in leaders' head-nodding gestures. Gesture duration and periodicity in leaders' head and bowing hand gestures indicated tempo. The results show that the spatio-temporal characteristics of cueing-in gestures guide beat perception, enabling synchronization with visual gestures that follow a range of spatial trajectories.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Personality Profiling and General Weighted Average (GWA) of Nursing Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mallari, Shedy Dee C.; Pelayo, Jose Maria G., III

2017-01-01

The study focused on the investigation of the existing dynamics between the Myers Briggs Type Indicator personality profiling (MBTI), and General Weighted Average (GWA) of nursing students. The participants were 48 college students in Angeles City, Philippines. All the students were administered with the MBTI instrument. Descriptive…

Reboot: Revisiting Factors Influencing Female Selection of the CIS Major

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodges, Darin; Corley, Ken

2017-01-01

A concern among many universities, this study reflects and continues research on the changing attitude and intent of selecting a Computer Information Systems major. Focusing on the gender gap for selection of major for women in this field, studies indicate instrumental beliefs and subjective norms can influence behavior and indicate how selection…

MONITORING FECAL INDICATOR BACTERIA WITH ALTERNATIVE REAL-TIME PCR INSTRUMENTS TO ASSESS HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH RECREATIONAL WATER USE

EPA Science Inventory

U.S. EPA guidance on the safety of surface waters for recreational use is currently based on epidemiological studies conducted in the 1980?s that demonstrated a strong positive correlation between bathing-associated illness rates and concentrations of culturable fecal indicator b...

Intuition as a Brain Skill in Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agor, Weston H.

1985-01-01

Over 2,900 managers were studied to test their ability to use intuition. The intuition portion of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was the test instrument. Results indicate that ability to use intuition does vary by management level, by level of government service, by sex, by occupational speciality, and to some degree by ethnic background.…

The Construction of an Environmental Management Model Based on Sustainability Indicators on a Higher Education Institution in Mexico

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nieblas-Ortiz, Efrain C.; Arcos-Vega, José L.; Sevilla-García, Juan J.

2017-01-01

Without depreciating the importance of environmental regulations directed to university environmental managements systems in this country, nowadays, the instruments of international importance like the Sustainable Development Goals or ONU's 2030 Agenda; as well as those of domestic nature, like sustainability indicators proposed by the Mexican…

Parental Relations, Mental Health, and Delinquency in Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pederson, Willy

1994-01-01

A shortened version of the Parental Bonding Instrument, used in a sample of Norwegian adolescents, aged 15-19, indicated that adolescents' perceptions of mothers' and fathers' care and control/overprotection were related to measures of both depression/anxiety and delinquency. Scores may indicate risks in a broad range of psychosocial problems.…

Effect of autoclaving on the surfaces of TiN -coated and conventional nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

PubMed

Spagnuolo, G; Ametrano, G; D'Antò, V; Rengo, C; Simeone, M; Riccitiello, F; Amato, M

2012-12-01

To evaluate the effects of repeated autoclave sterilization cycles on surface topography of conventional nickel-titanium ( NiTi ) and titanium nitride ( TiN )-coated rotary instruments. A total of 60 NiTi rotary instruments, 30 ProTaper (Dentsply Maillefer) and 30 TiN -coated AlphaKite (Komet/Gebr. Brasseler), were analysed. Instruments were evaluated in the as-received condition and after 1, 5 and 10 sterilization cycles. After sterilization, the samples were observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM), and surface chemical analysis was performed on each instrument with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Moreover, the samples were analysed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and roughness average (Ra) and the root mean square value (RMS) of the scanned surface profiles were recorded. Data were analysed by means of anova followed by Tukey's test. Scanning electron microscope observations revealed the presence of pitting and deep milling marks in all instruments. EDS analysis confirmed that both types of instruments were composed mainly of nickel and titanium, whilst AlphaKite had additional nitride. After multiple autoclave sterilization cycles, SEM examinations revealed an increase in surface alterations, and EDS values indicated changes in chemical surface composition in all instruments. Ra and RMS values of ProTaper significantly increased after 5 (P = 0.006) and 10 cycles (P = 0.002) with respect to the as-received instruments, whilst AlphaKite showed significant differences compared with the controls after 10 cycles (P = 0.03). Multiple autoclave sterilization cycles modified the surface topography and chemical composition of conventional and TiN -coated NiTi rotary instruments. © 2012 International Endodontic Journal.

Custom ultrasonic instrumentation for flow measurement and real-time binary gas analysis in the CERN ATLAS experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alhroob, M.; Battistin, M.; Berry, S.; Bitadze, A.; Bonneau, P.; Boyd, G.; Crespo-Lopez, O.; Degeorge, C.; Deterre, C.; Di Girolamo, B.; Doubek, M.; Favre, G.; Hallewell, G.; Katunin, S.; Lombard, D.; Madsen, A.; McMahon, S.; Nagai, K.; O'Rourke, A.; Pearson, B.; Robinson, D.; Rossi, C.; Rozanov, A.; Stanecka, E.; Strauss, M.; Vacek, V.; Vaglio, R.; Young, J.; Zwalinski, L.

2017-01-01

The development of custom ultrasonic instrumentation was motivated by the need for continuous real-time monitoring of possible leaks and mass flow measurement in the evaporative cooling systems of the ATLAS silicon trackers. The instruments use pairs of ultrasonic transducers transmitting sound bursts and measuring transit times in opposite directions. The gas flow rate is calculated from the difference in transit times, while the sound velocity is deduced from their average. The gas composition is then evaluated by comparison with a molar composition vs. sound velocity database, based on the direct dependence between sound velocity and component molar concentration in a gas mixture at a known temperature and pressure. The instrumentation has been developed in several geometries, with five instruments now integrated and in continuous operation within the ATLAS Detector Control System (DCS) and its finite state machine. One instrument monitors C3F8 coolant leaks into the Pixel detector N2 envelope with a molar resolution better than 2ṡ 10-5, and has indicated a level of 0.14 % when all the cooling loops of the recently re-installed Pixel detector are operational. Another instrument monitors air ingress into the C3F8 condenser of the new C3F8 thermosiphon coolant recirculator, with sub-percent precision. The recent effect of the introduction of a small quantity of N2 volume into the 9.5 m3 total volume of the thermosiphon system was clearly seen with this instrument. Custom microcontroller-based readout has been developed for the instruments, allowing readout into the ATLAS DCS via Modbus TCP/IP on Ethernet. The instrumentation has many potential applications where continuous binary gas composition is required, including in hydrocarbon and anaesthetic gas mixtures.

Instruments for measuring meaningful learning in healthcare students: a systematic psychometric review.

PubMed

Cadorin, Lucia; Bagnasco, Annamaria; Tolotti, Angela; Pagnucci, Nicola; Sasso, Loredana

2016-09-01

To identify, evaluate and describe the psychometric properties of instruments that measure learning outcomes in healthcare students. Meaningful learning is an active process that enables a wider and deeper understanding of concepts. It is the result of an interaction between new and prior knowledge and produces a long-standing change in knowledge and skills. In the field of education, validated and reliable instruments for assessing meaningful learning are needed. A psychometric systematic review. MEDLINE CINAHL, SCOPUS, ERIC, Cochrane Library, Psychology & Behavioural Sciences Collection Database from 1990-December 2013. Using pre-determined inclusion criteria, three reviewers independently identified studies for full-text review. Then they extracted data for quality appraisal and graded instrument validity using the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of the health status Measurement INstruments checklist and the Psychometric Grading Framework. Of the 57 studies identified for full-text review, 16 met the inclusion criteria and 13 different instruments were assessed. Following quality assessment, only one instrument was considered of good quality but it measured meaningful learning only in part; the others were either fair or poor. The Psychometric Grading Framework indicated that one instrument was weak, while the others were very weak. No instrument displayed adequate validity. The systematic review produced a synthesis of the psychometric properties of tools that measure learning outcomes in students of healthcare disciplines. Measuring learning outcomes is very important when educating health professionals. The identified tools may constitute a starting point for the development of other assessment tools. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Exploring the applicability and limitations of selected optical scattering instruments for PM mass measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jie; Marto, Joseph P.; Schwab, James J.

2018-05-01

Two optical scattering instruments for particle mass measurement, the Thermo Personal Data RAM (PDR-1500) and the TSI Environmental DustTrak DRX (Model 8543) were evaluated by (1) using poly- and mono-disperse test aerosol in the laboratory, and (2) sampling ambient aerosol. The responses of these optical scattering instruments to different particle characteristics (size, composition, concentration) were compared with responses from reference instruments. A Mie scattering calculation was used to explain the dependence of the optical instruments' response to aerosol size and composition. Concurrently, the detection efficiency of one Alphasense Optical Particle Counter (OPC-N2) was evaluated in the laboratory as well. The relationship between aerosol mass concentration and optical scattering was determined to be strongly dependent on aerosol size and to a lesser extent on aerosol composition (as reflected in the refractive indices of the materials tested) based on ambient measurements. This confirms that there is no simple way to use optical scattering instruments over a wide range of conditions without adjustments based on knowledge of aerosol size and composition. In particular, a test period measuring ambient aerosol with optical scattering instruments and a mass based method (an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer) determined that roughly two thirds of the variance (R2 = 0.64) of the optical to mass signal ratio is explained by the aerosol mass median diameter alone. These observations and calculations help evaluate the applicability and limitations of these optical scattering instruments, and provide guidance to designing suitable applications for each instrument by considering aerosol sources and aerosol size.

Supporting elementary science education for English learners: An evaluation instrument to promote constructivist teaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibbons, Beatrice Lowney

2002-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop an evaluation instrument to be used by elementary school administrators in the promotion of constructivist teaching of elementary science for English Learners using a qualitative and quantitative design that identified effective instructional strategies to be included on the evaluation instrument. This study was conducted in fifth grade classrooms of predominately English Learners whose teachers are CLAD-certified, tenured teachers with at least three years of teaching experience. The classroom observations took place within a multicultural school district with predominantly Hispanic and Filipino students in the Southern San Joaquin Valley of California. The evaluation instrument was used to observe these teachers teach elementary science lessons to classrooms of predominately English Learners. The frequency of the use of the ELD/SDAIE instructional strategies were noted on the evaluation instrument with a check mark, indicating the fact that an instructional technique was employed by the teacher. These observation visits revealed what type of instructional strategies were being utilized in the teaching of science to fifth grade English Learners, whether these CLAD-certified teachers were using ELD strategies, and whether the incidence of ELD/SDAIE constructivist instructional techniques increased with the repeated use of the evaluation instrument. As a result of this study, an evaluation instrument to be utilized by school administrators in the evaluation of elementary science instruction to English Learners was developed. The repeated use of this evaluation instrument coupled with preobservation and postobservation conferences may result in the increase in frequency of ELD/SDAIE methodology and constructivist strategies listed on the evaluation instrument in the elementary science classroom.

Quality of prenatal care questionnaire: instrument development and testing.

PubMed

Heaman, Maureen I; Sword, Wendy A; Akhtar-Danesh, Noori; Bradford, Amanda; Tough, Suzanne; Janssen, Patricia A; Young, David C; Kingston, Dawn A; Hutton, Eileen K; Helewa, Michael E

2014-06-03

Utilization indices exist to measure quantity of prenatal care, but currently there is no published instrument to assess quality of prenatal care. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a new instrument, the Quality of Prenatal Care Questionnaire (QPCQ). Data for this instrument development study were collected in five Canadian cities. Items for the QPCQ were generated through interviews with 40 pregnant women and 40 health care providers and a review of prenatal care guidelines, followed by assessment of content validity and rating of importance of items. The preliminary 100-item QPCQ was administered to 422 postpartum women to conduct item reduction using exploratory factor analysis. The final 46-item version of the QPCQ was then administered to another 422 postpartum women to establish its construct validity, and internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Exploratory factor analysis reduced the QPCQ to 46 items, factored into 6 subscales, which subsequently were validated by confirmatory factor analysis. Construct validity was also demonstrated using a hypothesis testing approach; there was a significant positive association between women's ratings of the quality of prenatal care and their satisfaction with care (r = 0.81). Convergent validity was demonstrated by a significant positive correlation (r = 0.63) between the "Support and Respect" subscale of the QPCQ and the "Respectfulness/Emotional Support" subscale of the Prenatal Interpersonal Processes of Care instrument. The overall QPCQ had acceptable internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.96), as did each of the subscales. The test-retest reliability result (Intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.88) indicated stability of the instrument on repeat administration approximately one week later. Temporal stability testing confirmed that women's ratings of their quality of prenatal care did not change as a result of giving birth or between the early postpartum period and 4 to 6 weeks postpartum. The QPCQ is a valid and reliable instrument that will be useful in future research as an outcome measure to compare quality of care across geographic regions, populations, and service delivery models, and to assess the relationship between quality of care and maternal and infant health outcomes.

Nurses' Empowerment Scale for ICU patients' families: an instrument development study.

PubMed

Li, Hong; Liu, Ya-Lan; Qiu, Li; Chen, Qiao-Ling; Wu, Jing-Bing; Chen, Li-Li; Li, Na

2016-09-01

Family members provide essential support for ICU patients, contributing to their mental and physical recovery. Empowering ICU patients' families may help them overcome inadequacies and meet their own and patients' acknowledged needs. Nursing should understand and address patients' families' empowerment status. To develop a tool, the Nurses' Empowerment Scale for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Patients' Families (NESIPF), to help ICU nursing staff assess the empowerment status of patients' families. Four-phase instrument development study. A 19-item instrument was initially generated based on literature review and interviews with family members of ICU patients. The Delphi research method was applied to gain expert opinion and consensus via rounds of questionnaires. A panel of 27 experts experienced in critical care medicine, nursing and psychology participated in two Delphi rounds and their input helped formulate an 18-item pretest instrument. Families of 20 patients were recruited to examine instrument readability. After a 2-week interval, another 20 patients' families were recruited to examine test-retest reliability. Two hundred questionnaires were then administered and analysed to examine the instrument's construct validity, criterion-related validity and internal consistency. Expert authority coefficients of two Delphi rounds reached 0·89 and 0·91. Kendall' W coefficients of 0·113 (P < 0·001) in round 1 and 0·220 (P < 0·001) in round 2 indicated slight to fair agreement among experts. Content validity index (CVI) reached 1·0 for 12 items; the CVI for item 13 was <0·7 so it was excluded. Cronbach's α coefficient was 0·92, indicating acceptable internal consistency reliability. The coefficient of internal consistency of each dimension was 0·717-0·921. The Pearson correlation coefficient >0·9 (P < 0·05) showed an acceptable test-retest reliability. The instrument has acceptable reliability and validity and can assess the empowerment status of families of critically ill patients. Knowledge of families' empowerment status may help to address their psychological needs and their ability to provide family support. © 2014 British Association of Critical Care Nurses.

Relative validation of Block Kids Food Screener for dietary assessment in children and adolescents.

PubMed

Hunsberger, Monica; O'Malley, Jean; Block, Torin; Norris, Jean C

2015-04-01

Food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) are less time consuming and inexpensive instruments for collecting dietary intake when compared with 24-h dietary recalls or double-labelled water; however, the validation of FFQ is important as incorrect information may lead to biased conclusions about associations. Therefore, the relative validity of the Block Kids Food Screener (BKFS) developed for use with children was examined in a convenience sample of 99 youth recruited from the Portland, OR metropolitan area. Three 24-h dietary recalls served as the reference. The relative validity was analysed after natural log transformation of all variables except glycaemic index prior to correlation analysis. Daily cup equivalent totals from the BKFS and 'servings' from 24-h recalls were used to compute average daily intake of fruits, vegetables, potatoes, whole grains, legumes, meat/fish/poultry and dairy. Protein grams (g), total kcalories, glycaemic index (glucose reference), glycaemic load (glucose reference), total saturated fat (g) and added sugar (g) were also calculated by each instrument. The correlation between data obtained from the two instruments was corrected for the within-subject variation in food intake reported by the 24-h recalls using standard nutritional assessment methodology. The de-attenuated correlations in nutritional intake between the two dietary assessment instruments ranged from 0.526 for vegetables, to 0.878 for potatoes. The 24-h recall estimated higher levels of saturated fat and added sugar consumption, higher glycaemic loads and glycaemic indices; the de-attenuatted correlations of these measures ranged from 0.478 to 0.768. Assessment of Bland-Altman plots indicated no systematic difference between the two instruments for vegetable, dairy and meat/fish/poultry fat consumption. BKFS is a useful dietary assessment instrument for the nutrients and food groups it was designed to assess in children age 10-17 years. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Calculated and Measured Performance Characteristics of a Heated-Wire Liquid-Water-Content Meter for Measuring Icing Severity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neel, Carr B.; Steinmetz, Charles P.

1952-01-01

Ground tests have been made of an instrument which, when assembled in a more compact form for flight installation, could be used to obtain statistical flight data on the liquid-water content of icing clouds and to provide an indication of icing severity. The sensing element of the instrument consists of an electrically heated wire which is mounted in the air stream. The degree of cooling of the wire resulting from evaporation of the impinging water droplets is a measure. of the liquid-water content of the cloud. Determination of the value of the liquid-water content from the wire temperature at any instant requires a knowledge of the airspeed, altitude, and air temperature. An analysis was made of the temperature response of a heated wire exposed to an air stream containing water drops. Comparisons were made of the liquid-water content as measured with several heated wires and absorbent cylinders in an artificially produced cloud. For one of the wires, comparative tests were made with a rotating-disk icing-rate meter in an icing wind tunnel. From the test results, it was shown that an instrument for measuring the concentration of liquid water in an air stream can be built using an electrically heated wire of known temperatureresistance characteristics, and that the performance of such a device can be predicted using appropriate theory. Although an instrument in a form suitable for gathering statistical data in flight was not built, the practicability of constructing such an instrument was illustrated. The ground-test results indicated that a flight heated-wire instrument would be simple and durable, would respond rapidly to variations in liquid-water content, and could be used for the measurement of water content in clouds which are above freezing temperature, as well as in icing clouds.

Efficacy of Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring for Pediatric Cervical Spine Surgery.

PubMed

Tobert, Daniel G; Glotzbecker, Michael P; Hresko, Michael Timothy; Karlin, Lawrence I; Proctor, Mark R; Emans, John B; Miller, Patricia E; Hedequist, Daniel J

2017-07-01

Clinical case series. To investigate the efficacy of intraoperative neuromonitoring in pediatric cervical spine surgery. Intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) consisting of somatosensory-evoked potentials (SSEP) and transcranial motor-evoked potentials (tcMEP) has been shown to effectively prevent permaneny neurologic injury in deformity surgery. The role of IONM during pediatric cervical spine surgery is not well documented. Advances in cervical spine instrumentation have expanded the surgical options in pediatric populations. The goal of this study is to report the ability of IONM to detect neurologic injury during pediatric cervical spine instrumentation. A single institution database was queried for pediatric-aged patients who underwent cervical spine instrumentation and fusion between 2011 and 2014. Age, diagnosis, surgical indication, number of instrumented levels, and a complete IONM were extracted. Sensitivity and specificity for the detection of neurologic deficits were calculated with exact 95% confidence intervals. Positive and negative predictive values were calculated with estimated 95% confidence intervals. Sixty-seven patients who underwent cervical spine instrumentation were identified with a mean age of 11.6 years (range 1-18). Diagnoses included instability (27), congenital (11), kyphosis (8), fracture (7), tumor (7), arthritis (4), and basilar invagination (3). Mean number of vertebral levels fused was 4 (range 2-7). All patients underwent cervical instrumentation with SSEP and tcMEP monitoring. A significant change in tcMEP monitoring was observed in 7 subjects (10%). There were no corresponding SSEP changes in these patients. The sensitivity of combined IONM was 75% [95% CI = 24.9, 98.7] and the specificity was 98.5% [92.7, 99.9]. tcMEP is a more sensitive indicator to spinal cord injury than SSEP, which is consistent with previous studies. IONM changes in 10% of a patient population are significant enough to warrant intraoperative determination if true SCI has occurred or is underway and intervene accordingly. 4.

Toward a consensus definition of pathological video-gaming: a systematic review of psychometric assessment tools.

PubMed

King, Daniel L; Haagsma, Maria C; Delfabbro, Paul H; Gradisar, Michael; Griffiths, Mark D

2013-04-01

Pathological video-gaming, or its proposed DSM-V classification of "Internet Use Disorder", is of increasing interest to scholars and practitioners in allied health disciplines. This systematic review was designed to evaluate the standards in pathological video-gaming instrumentation, according to Cicchetti (1994) and Groth-Marnat's (2009) criteria and guidelines for sound psychometric assessment. A total of 63 quantitative studies, including eighteen instruments and representing 58,415 participants, were evaluated. Results indicated that reviewed instrumentation may be broadly characterized as inconsistent. Strengths of available measures include: (i) short length and ease of scoring, (ii) excellent internal consistency and convergent validity, and (iii) potentially adequate data for development of standardized norms for adolescent populations. However, key limitations included: (a) inconsistent coverage of core addiction indicators, (b) varying cut-off scores to indicate clinical status, (c) a lack of a temporal dimension, (d) untested or inconsistent dimensionality, and (e) inadequate data on predictive validity and inter-rater reliability. An emerging consensus suggests that pathological video-gaming is commonly defined by (1) withdrawal, (2) loss of control, and (3) conflict. It is concluded that a unified approach to assessment of pathological video-gaming is needed. A synthesis of extant research efforts by meta-analysis may be difficult in the context of several divergent approaches to assessment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social capital, mental health and biomarkers in Chile: assessing the effects of social capital in a middle-income country.

PubMed

Riumallo-Herl, Carlos Javier; Kawachi, Ichiro; Avendano, Mauricio

2014-03-01

In high-income countries, higher social capital is associated with better health. However, there is little evidence of this association in low- and middle-income countries. We examine the association between social capital (social support and trust) and both self-rated and biologically assessed health outcomes in Chile, a middle-income country that experienced a major political transformation and welfare state expansion in the last two decades. Based on data from the Chilean National Health Survey (2009-10), we modeled self-rated health, depression, measured diabetes and hypertension as a function of social capital indicators, controlling for socio-economic status and health behavior. We used an instrumental variable approach to examine whether social capital was causally associated with health. We find that correlations between social capital and health observed in high-income countries are also observed in Chile. All social capital indicators are significantly associated with depression at all ages, and at least one social capital indicator is associated with self-rated health, hypertension and diabetes at ages 45 and above. Instrumental variable models suggest that associations for depression may reflect a causal effect from social capital indicators on mental well-being. Using aggregate social capital as instrument, we also find evidence that social capital may be causally associated with hypertension and diabetes, early markers of cardiovascular risk. Our findings highlight the potential role of social capital in the prevention of depression and early cardiovascular disease in middle-income countries. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What do you mean you can't sterilize it? The reusable medical device matrix.

PubMed

Stephens, Anne; Assang, AnnMarie

2010-12-01

Health Canada recommends that hospitals should have procedures in place to ensure Reusable Medical Devices (RMD) are cleaned, disinfected and sterilized according to the manufacturer's instructions. For the purpose of this paper, reusable medical devices will be referred to as RMDs and include all instrumentation and devices that the Central Processing Department (CPD) resterilizes for use in the hospital. Patient safety in surgery begins in CPD. Manufacturer recommendations for the decontamination and sterilization of surgical instrumentation are of utmost importance to Operating Room (OR) and CPD staff. With recommendations that are unclear, nonspecific or unattainable there was a need to define what it means institutionally to meet standards and provide safe patient care while continuing to support the advancement of surgical technology. The purpose of this paper is to describe the challenges faced by one multisite organization (The University Health Network) in managing the sterilization of surgical instrumentation. The development of The Guidance Matrix by the network's inter-professional Reusable Medical Device (RMD) Committee, will be discussed along with information about the elements of this tool and an illustration of how it is used. The key benefits of The Guidance Matrix, including how its use has facilitated transparent decision-making, communication and collaboration regarding sterilization issues across the sites, will be described. Sterilization processes in Central Processing Departments (CPD) include chemical indicators, dated load indicators, and tamperproof locks and filters. The lack of an indicator of sterilization can be a frustrating experience for an OR Nurse. But do we really understand the critical importance of all these indicators? The foundation of sterilizing reusable medical devices (RMDs) begins with proper processes, standards and subsequent scientific validation from the vendors. According to AORN, patient safety is vital and it begins with proper cleaning and processing of the surgical instruments. Surgical site infections can increase the length of stay and the cost of the patients' hospitalization, as well as increased risk, morbidity and even mortality. 1 Today's patients are far more informed than they were in the past. They can gather information from the internet as well as from television, radio, and print media. This knowledge empowers the patient to expect that their healthcare providers are practicing due diligence. It is the ethical duty and responsibility of nurses to provide safe, competent care while protecting the rights of the patient and being accountable to the professional governing bodies. In other words, we are advocates for both our patients and the healthcare system.2 Using both new and innovative instruments in the OR was, in the past, as simple as a surgeon requesting an instrument, the perioperative nurse ordering the instrument and CPD processing it for use in the OR. That is no longer the case. With a wide range of more complex instrumentation and an increasing focus on sterilization strategies, healthcare facilities have had to adopt a more rigorous approach. There are many challenges in the world of sterile processing. A common one, faced on a regular basis, is the provision of vague, inaccurate reprocessing recommendations from the medical device manufacturer. Canadian centres are not able to meet European standards for reprocessing. European cycles, often referred to as "Fractionated Steam Cycles", are different than the pre-vacuum steam cycles run in Canada.

Using Instruments to Understand Argument Structure: Evidence for Gradient Representation

PubMed Central

Rissman, Lilia; Rawlins, Kyle; Landau, Barbara

2015-01-01

The arguments of a verb are commonly assumed to correspond to the event participants specified by the verb. That is, drink has two arguments because drink specifies two participants: someone who drinks and something that gets drunk. This correspondence does not appear to hold, however, in the case of instrumental participants, e.g. John drank the soda with a straw. Verbs such as slice and write have been argued to specify an instrumental participant, even though instruments do not pattern like arguments given other criteria. In this paper, we investigated how instrumental verbs are represented, testing the hypothesis that verbs such as slice encode three participants in the same way that dative verbs such as lend encode three participants. In two experiments English-speakers reported their judgments about the number of participants specified by a verb, e.g. that drink specifies two participants. These judgments indicate that slice does not encode three distinct arguments. Nonetheless, some verbs were systematically more likely to elicit the judgment that the instrument is specified by the verb, a pattern that held across individual subjects. To account for these findings, we propose that instruments are not independent verbal arguments but are represented in a gradient away: an instrument may be a more or less salient part of the force exerted by an agent. These results inform our understanding of the relationship between argument structure and event representation, raising questions concerning the role of arguments in language processing and learning. PMID:26057832

From air to rubber: New techniques for measuring and replicating mouthpieces, bocals, and bores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuks, Leonardo

2002-11-01

The history of musical instruments comprises a long genealogy of models and prototypes that results from a combination of copying existing specimens with the change in constructive parameters, and the addition of new devices. In making wind instruments, several techniques have been traditionally employed for extracting the external and internal dimensions of toneholes, air columns, bells, and mouthpieces. In the twentieth century, methods such as pulse reflectometry, x-ray, magnetic resonance, and ultrasound imaging have been made available for bore measurement. Advantages and drawbacks of the existing methods are discussed and a new method is presented that makes use of the injection and coating of silicon rubber, for accurate molding of the instrument. This technique is harmless to all traditional materials, being indicated also for measurements of historical instruments. The paper presents dimensional data obtained from clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces. A set of replicas of top quality clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces, trombone bocals, and flute headjoints is shown, with comparative acoustical and performance analyses. The application of such techniques for historical and modern instrument analysis, restoration, and manufacturing is proposed.

Twenty-Five Years of Landsat Thermal Band Calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barsi, Julia A.; Markham, Brian L.; Schoff, John R.; Hook, Simon J.; Raqueno, Nina G.

2010-01-01

Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper+ (ETM+), launched in April 1999, and Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM), launched in 1984, both have a single thermal band. Both instruments thermal band calibrations have been updated previously: ETM+ in 2001 for a pre-launch calibration error and TM in 2007 for data acquired since the current era of vicarious calibration has been in place (1999). Vicarious calibration teams at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have been working to validate the instrument calibration since 1999. Recent developments in their techniques and sites have expanded the temperature and temporal range of the validation. The new data indicate that the calibration of both instruments had errors: the ETM+ calibration contained a gain error of 5.8% since launch; the TM calibration contained a gain error of 5% and an additional offset error between 1997 and 1999. Both instruments required adjustments in their thermal calibration coefficients in order to correct for the errors. The new coefficients were calculated and added to the Landsat operational processing system in early 2010. With the corrections, both instruments are calibrated to within +/-0.7K.

Reinforcement and substitution in humans: a multiple-response analysis1

PubMed Central

Bernstein, Daniel J.; Ebbesen, Ebbe B.

1978-01-01

Three adult human subjects engaged in activities such as reading, sewing, artwork, and candlemaking while living alone in a laboratory apartment 24 hours per day for several weeks. After a baseline period in which the activities were fully available, access to a particular activity (contingent response) was made dependent on engaging in another less-preferred activity (instrumental response). The contingencies produced substantial increases in instrumental responding, and responding decreased toward baseline levels when the dependency was removed. Under the contingent conditions, time earned for the concurrent activity was always less than the baseline level. To determine the contribution of this reduction to the instrumental increase, access to the contingent activity was restricted in the absence of any dependency. The results indicated that increases among responses that filled the newly available time could be selective, e.g., artwork increased when reading was restricted but candlemaking did not. It was concluded that the reductions in the contingent response that accompany contingencies usually do not exclusively determine instrumental increases, but selective increases can contribute to the increase in time devoted to the instrumental response. PMID:16812105

[Validating an instrument for measuring the perceived quality of services received by people using hospitals in Colombia].

PubMed

Cabrera-Arana, Gustavo A; Londoño-Pimienta, Jaime L; Bello-Parías, León D

2008-01-01

Validating an instrument for measuring the perceived quality of services received by people using hospitals forming part of the Colombian Ministry of Social Protection's restructuring, redesigning and modernisation programme for health-service providing networks. Sánchez and Echeverri's guidelines for validating health quality measurement scales were followed due to the lack of a valid instrument for doing this in Colombia. Conceptual synthesis led to identifying a structure of constituent indicators, domains and sub-domains regarding the perception of health service quality. A list of reactions (having a scale for categorising the replies) was analysed according to the validity of appearance, construct, criteria and utility as criteria for sensitivity and usefulness. Successive revisions and three rounds of field-trials led to producing PECASUSS, an acronym given to the instrument for measuring users' perception of health service quality (Percepción de Calidad Según Usuarios de Servicios de Salud). The guidelines effectively orientated the validation of the instrument required for measuring the perceived quality of health services received by people using hospitals forming part of the programme.

Health state utility instruments compared: inquiring into nonlinearity across EQ-5D-5L, SF-6D, HUI-3 and 15D.

PubMed

Gamst-Klaussen, Thor; Chen, Gang; Lamu, Admassu N; Olsen, Jan Abel

2016-07-01

Different health state utility (HSU) instruments produce different utilities for the same individuals, thereby compromising the intended comparability of economic evaluations of health care interventions. When developing crosswalks, previous studies have indicated nonlinear relationships. This paper inquires into the degree of nonlinearity across the four most widely used HSU-instruments and proposes exchange rates that differ depending on the severity levels of the health state utility scale. Overall, 7933 respondents from six countries, 1760 in a non-diagnosed healthy group and 6173 in seven disease groups, reported their health states using four different instruments: EQ-5D-5L, SF-6D, HUI-3 and 15D. Quantile regressions investigate the degree of nonlinear relationships between these instruments. To compare the instruments across different disease severities, we split the health state utility scale into utility intervals with 0.2 successive decrements in utility starting from perfect health at 1.00. Exchange rates (ERs) are calculated as the mean utility difference between two utility intervals on one HSU-instrument divided by the difference in mean utility on another HSU-instrument. Quantile regressions reveal significant nonlinear relationships across all four HSU-instruments. The degrees of nonlinearities differ, with a maximum degree of difference in the coefficients along the health state utility scale of 3.34 when SF-6D is regressed on EQ-5D. At the lower end of the health state utility scale, the exchange rate from SF-6D to EQ-5D is 2.11, whilst at the upper end it is 0.38. Comparisons at different utility levels illustrate the fallacy of using linear functions as crosswalks between HSU-instruments. The existence of nonlinear relationships between different HSU-instruments suggests that level-specific exchange rates should be used when converting a change in utility on the instrument used, onto a corresponding utility change had another instrument been used. Accounting for nonlinearities will increase the validity of the comparison for decision makers when faced with a choice between interventions whose calculations of QALY gains have been based on different HSU-instruments.

Landsat-7 ETM+ radiometric stability and absolute calibration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Markham, B.L.; Barker, J.L.; Barsi, J.A.; Kaita, E.; Thome, K.J.; Helder, D.L.; Palluconi, Frank Don; Schott, J.R.; Scaramuzza, Pat; ,

2002-01-01

Launched in April 1999, the Landsat-7 ETM+ instrument is in its fourth year of operation. The quality of the acquired calibrated imagery continues to be high, especially with respect to its three most important radiometric performance parameters: reflective band instrument stability to better than ??1%, reflective band absolute calibration to better than ??5%, and thermal band absolute calibration to better than ??0.6 K. The ETM+ instrument has been the most stable of any of the Landsat instruments, in both the reflective and thermal channels. To date, the best on-board calibration source for the reflective bands has been the Full Aperture Solar Calibrator, which has indicated changes of at most -1.8% to -2.0% (95% C.I.) change per year in the ETM+ gain (band 4). However, this change is believed to be caused by changes in the solar diffuser panel, as opposed to a change in the instrument's gain. This belief is based partially on ground observations, which bound the changes in gain in band 4 at -0.7% to +1.5%. Also, ETM+ stability is indicated by the monitoring of desert targets. These image-based results for four Saharan and Arabian sites, for a collection of 35 scenes over the three years since launch, bound the gain change at -0.7% to +0.5% in band 4. Thermal calibration from ground observations revealed an offset error of +0.31 W/m 2 sr um soon after launch. This offset was corrected within the U. S. ground processing system at EROS Data Center on 21-Dec-00, and since then, the band 6 on-board calibration has indicated changes of at most +0.02% to +0.04% (95% C.I.) per year. The latest ground observations have detected no remaining offset error with an RMS error of ??0.6 K. The stability and absolute calibration of the Landsat-7 ETM+ sensor make it an ideal candidate to be used as a reference source for radiometric cross-calibrating to other land remote sensing satellite systems.

Field testing, refinement, and psychometric evaluation of a new measure of quality of care for assisted living.

PubMed

Rantz, Marilyn J; Aud, Myra A; Zwygart-Stauffacher, Mary; Mehr, David R; Petroski, Gregory F; Owen, Steven V; Madsen, Richard W; Flesner, Marcia; Conn, Vicki; Maas, Meridean

2008-01-01

Field test results are reported for the Observable Indicators of Nursing Home Care Quality Instrument-Assisted Living Version, an instrument designed to measure the quality of care in assisted living facilities after a brief 30-minute walk-through. The OIQ-AL was tested in 207 assisted-living facilities in two states using classical test theory, generalizability theory, and exploratory factor analysis. The 34-item scale has a coherent six-factor structure that conceptually describes the multidimensional concept of care quality in assisted living. The six factors can be logically clustered into process (Homelike and Caring, 21 items) and structure (Access and Choice; Lighting; Plants and Pets; Outdoor Spaces) subscales and for a total quality score. Classical test theory results indicate most subscales and the total quality score from the OIQ-AL have acceptable interrater, test-retest, and strong internal consistency reliabilities. Generalizability theory analyses reveal that dependability of scores from the instrument are strong, particularly by including a second observer who conducts a site visit and independently completes an instrument, or by a single observer conducting two site visits and completing instruments during each visit. Scoring guidelines based on the total sample of observations (N = 358) help guide those who want to use the measure to interpret both subscale and total scores. Content validity was supported by two expert panels of people experienced in the assisted-living field, and a content validity index calculated for the first version of the scale is high (3.43 on a four-point scale). The OIQ-AL gives reliable and valid scores for researchers, and may be useful for consumers, providers, and others interested in measuring quality of care in assisted-living facilities.

Preventing Molecular and Particulate Infiltration in a Confined Volume

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scialdone, John J.

1999-01-01

Contaminants from an instrument's self-generated sources or from sources external to the instrument may degrade its critical surfaces and/or create an environment which limits the instrument's intended performance. Analyses have been carried out on a method to investigate the required purging flow of clean, dry gas to prevent the ingestion of external contaminants into the instrument container volume. The pressure to be maintained and the required flow are examined in terms of their effectiveness in preventing gaseous and particulate contaminant ingestion and abatement of self-generated contaminants in the volume. The required venting area or the existing volume venting area is correlated to the volume to be purged, the allowable pressure differential across the volume, the external contaminant partial pressure, and the sizes of the ambient particulates. The diffusion of external water vapor into the volume while it was being purged was experimentally obtained in terms of an infiltration time constant. That data and the acceptable fraction of the outside pressure into the volume indicate the required flow of purge gas expressed in terms of volume change per unit time. The exclusion of particulates is based on the incoming velocity of the particles and the exit flow speed and density of the purge gas. The purging flow pressures needed to maintain the required flows through the vent passages are indicated. The purge gas must prevent or limit the entrance of the external contaminants to the critical locations of the instrument. It should also prevent self- contamination from surfaces, reduce material outgassing, and sweep out the outgassed products. Systems and facilities that can benefit from purging may be optical equipment, clinical facilities, manufacturing facilities, clean rooms, and other systems requiring clean environments.

[Social support versus chosen health status indicators in primary care patients].

PubMed

Kurpas, Donata; Piotrowski, Patryk; Marciniak, Doininik; Kasprzak, Maja; MroczekS, Bożena; Nitsch-Osuchi, Aneta; Kasssolik, Krzysztof; Karakiewicz, Beata; Bielska, Dorota; Kiejna, Andrzej

2014-01-01

The purposes of our study were to determine the level of total social support, informational support, instrumental support, appraisal support and emotional support received by patients of primary care as well as factors related to this level with reference to health status and sociodemographic variables. The sample for current analysis included 516 patients of primary care clinics in Poland cooperating with medical universities. Questionnaires: STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), SCL-90 (Symptom Checklist-90), EPQ-R (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised), GHQ (General Health Questionnaire)and SSS (Social Support Scale)were used in the study. Results from last two questionnaires are presented in the paper. The highest mean levels were obtained for instrumental support, while the lowest levels were observed for emotional support. The highest means were indicated in the GHQ-28-social dysfunction, the lowest-GHQ-severe depression. Statistically significant relation was found between the level of social support and gender. Less subjectively evaluated total social support as well as instrumental and appraisal support were obtained by women. The highest Spearman score was found in the case of total GHQ-28 score, somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, severe depression and total support. Taking into account the ANOVA findings, it was observed that an increasing GHQ score was associated with intensively increasing emotional support, informative support, appraisal support and the most- instrumental support. The results display the underestimated role of emotional, informational and appraisal support and the overestimated role of instrumental support in primary care. The consequence may be a more frequent using health care accompanied by low level of patients' satisfaction, severity of social dysfunction disorders, particularly in patients with chronic diseases, who constitute an increasingly large group of primary health care.

Instrument for analysis of electric motors based on slip-poles component

DOEpatents

Haynes, Howard D.; Ayers, Curtis W.; Casada, Donald A.

1996-01-01

A new instrument for monitoring the condition and speed of an operating electric motor from a remote location. The slip-poles component is derived from a motor current signal. The magnitude of the slip-poles component provides the basis for a motor condition monitor, while the frequency of the slip-poles component provides the basis for a motor speed monitor. The result is a simple-to-understand motor health monitor in an easy-to-use package. Straightforward indications of motor speed, motor running current, motor condition (e.g., rotor bar condition) and synthesized motor sound (audible indication of motor condition) are provided. With the device, a relatively untrained worker can diagnose electric motors in the field without requiring the presence of a trained engineer or technician.

Instrument for analysis of electric motors based on slip-poles component

DOEpatents

Haynes, H.D.; Ayers, C.W.; Casada, D.A.

1996-11-26

A new instrument is described for monitoring the condition and speed of an operating electric motor from a remote location. The slip-poles component is derived from a motor current signal. The magnitude of the slip-poles component provides the basis for a motor condition monitor, while the frequency of the slip-poles component provides the basis for a motor speed monitor. The result is a simple-to-understand motor health monitor in an easy-to-use package. Straightforward indications of motor speed, motor running current, motor condition (e.g., rotor bar condition) and synthesized motor sound (audible indication of motor condition) are provided. With the device, a relatively untrained worker can diagnose electric motors in the field without requiring the presence of a trained engineer or technician. 4 figs.

Ultraviolet spectrophotometry of comet Giacobini-Zinner during the ICE encounter. [International Cometary Explorer (ICE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ahearn, Michael F.; Mcfadden, Lucy A.; Feldman, Paul D.; Boehnhardt, Hermann; Rahe, Juergen; Festou, Michael; Brandt, John C.; Maran, Stephen P.; Niedner, Malcom B.; Smith, Andrew M.

1986-01-01

The IUE spectrophotometry of Comet P/Giacobini-Zinner was acquired in support of the International Cometary Explorer (ICE) mission. The abundances (or upper limits) of UV-active species were calculated. During the ICE encounter the H2O production rate was 3 times 10 to the 28th power/sec, + or - 50%, consistent with values derived from the ICE experiments. Comparison of the abundance of CO2(+) ions with the total electron density measured by the plasma electron experiment on ICE indicates a deficiency of ions relative to electrons indicating a population of ions not detected by remote sensing. The absence of detectable Mg(+) rules out this species as a possible ion of M/Q = 24 detected by the Ion Composition Instrument, part of the ICE complement of instruments.

Spark-Timing Control Based on Correlation of Maximum-Economy Spark Timing, Flame-front Travel, and Cylinder-Pressure Rise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, Harvey A; Heinicke, Orville H; Haynie, William H

1947-01-01

An investigation was conducted on a full-scale air-cooled cylinder in order to establish an effective means of maintaining maximum-economy spark timing with varying engine operating conditions. Variable fuel-air-ratio runs were conducted in which relations were determined between the spark travel, and cylinder-pressure rise. An instrument for controlling spark timing was developed that automatically maintained maximum-economy spark timing with varying engine operating conditions. The instrument also indicated the occurrence of preignition.

Music psychopathology. V. Objective features of instrumental performance and psychopathology.

PubMed

Steinberg, R; Fani, M; Raith, L

1992-01-01

Mental disease systematically impairs musical expression according to nosologic classification. This was demonstrated with a polarity profile of the instrumental performances of 60 inpatients and 14 controls matched for musical aptitude. Objective performance characteristics such as irregularities and playing faults were analyzed too. No meaningful correlation between these features and psychopathology resulted. This indicates that even in severe psychopathologic alterations performance features, which depend mainly on education and actual training, are not altered in a systematic manner, in contrast to expressive qualities.

The design and instrumentation of the Purdue annular cascade facility with initial data acquisition and analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stauter, R. C.; Fleeter, S.

1982-01-01

Three dimensional aerodynamic data, required to validate and/or indicate necessary refinements to inviscid and viscous analyses of the flow through turbomachine blade rows, are discussed. Instrumentation and capabilities for pressure measurement, probe insertion and traversing, and flow visualization are reviewed. Advanced measurement techniques including Laser Doppler Anemometers, are considered. Data processing is reviewed. Predictions were correlated with the experimental data. A flow visualization technique using helium filled soap bubbles was demonstrated.

Wind shear detection using measurement of aircraft total energy change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Joppa, R. G.

1976-01-01

Encounters with wind shears are of concern and have caused major accidents, particularly during landing approaches. Changes in the longitudinal component of the wind affect the aircraft by changing its kinetic energy with respect to the air. It is shown that an instrument which will measure and display the rate of change of total energy of the aircraft with respect to the air will give a leading indication of wind shear problems. The concept is outlined and some instrumentation and display considerations are discussed.

Evaluation of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler measurements of river discharge

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morlock, S.E.

1996-01-01

The standard deviations of the ADCP measurements ranged from approximately 1 to 6 percent and were generally higher than the measurement errors predicted by error-propagation analysis of ADCP instrument performance. These error-prediction methods assume that the largest component of ADCP discharge measurement error is instrument related. The larger standard deviations indicate that substantial portions of measurement error may be attributable to sources unrelated to ADCP electronics or signal processing and are functions of the field environment.

Cockpit simulation study of use of flight path angle for instrument approaches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanisch, B.; Ernst, H.; Johnston, R.

1981-01-01

The results of a piloted simulation experiment to evaluate the effect of integrating flight path angle information into a typical transport electronic attitude director indicator display format for flight director instrument landing system approaches are presented. Three electronic display formats are evaluated during 3 deg straight-in approaches with wind shear and turbulence conditions. Flight path tracking data and pilot subjective comments are analyzed with regard to the pilot's tracking performance and workload for all three display formats.

Validation of the Efficacy of a Solar-Thermal Powered Autoclave System for Off-Grid Medical Instrument Wet Sterilization

PubMed Central

Kaseman, Tremayne; Boubour, Jean; Schuler, Douglas A.

2012-01-01

This work describes the efficacy of a solar-thermal powered autoclave used for the wet sterilization of medical instruments in off-grid settings where electrical power is not readily available. Twenty-seven trials of the solar-thermal powered system were run using an unmodified non-electric autoclave loaded with a simulated bundle of medical instruments and biological test agents. Results showed that in 100% of the trials the autoclave achieved temperatures in excess of 121°C for 30 minutes, indicator tape displayed visible reactions to steam sterilization, and biological tests showed that microbial agents had been eliminated, in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requirements for efficacious wet sterilization. PMID:22848098

Validation of the efficacy of a solar-thermal powered autoclave system for off-grid medical instrument wet sterilization.

PubMed

Kaseman, Tremayne; Boubour, Jean; Schuler, Douglas A

2012-10-01

This work describes the efficacy of a solar-thermal powered autoclave used for the wet sterilization of medical instruments in off-grid settings where electrical power is not readily available. Twenty-seven trials of the solar-thermal powered system were run using an unmodified non-electric autoclave loaded with a simulated bundle of medical instruments and biological test agents. Results showed that in 100% of the trials the autoclave achieved temperatures in excess of 121°C for 30 minutes, indicator tape displayed visible reactions to steam sterilization, and biological tests showed that microbial agents had been eliminated, in compliance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requirements for efficacious wet sterilization.

Instrumentation for remote sensing solar radiation from light aircraft.

PubMed

Howard, J A; Barton, I J

1973-10-01

The paper outlines the instrumentation needed to study, from a light aircraft, the solar radiation reflected by ground surfaces and the incoming solar radiation. A global shortwave radiometer was mounted on the roof of the aircraft and a specially designed mount was used to support a downward pointing 70-mm aerial camera, a downward pointing narrow-beam pyranometer, and, sometimes, a downward pointing global shortwave pyranometer. Calibration factors were determined for the three pyranometers by comparison with a standard Angstrom compensation pyrheliometer. Results have indicated trends in the albedos of major plant communities and have shown that the calculated albedo values vary according to whether the downward pointing instrument is narrow-beam or global. Comparisons were also made with albedos measured on the ground.

Experimental analysis of IMEP in a rotary combustion engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schock, H. J.; Rice, W. J.; Meng, P. R.

1981-01-01

A real time indicated mean effective pressure measurement system is described which is used to judge proposed improvements in cycle efficiency of a rotary combustion engine. This is the first self-contained instrument that is capable of making real time measurements of IMEP in a rotary engine. Previous methods used require data recording and later processing using a digital computer. The unique features of this instrumentation include its ability to measure IMEP on a cycle by cycle, real time basis and the elimination of the need to differentiate volume function in real time. Measurements at two engine speeds (2000 and 3000 rpm) and a full range of loads are presented, although the instrument was designed to operate to speeds of 9000 rpm.

Location of Sites Within 'Cryptic Terrain'

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

A regional landscape near Mars' south pole is called 'cryptic terrain' because it once defied explanation, but new observations bolster and refine interpretations of how springtime outbursts of carbon-dioxide gas there sculpt intricate patterns and paint seasonal splotches. This map indicates locations of three sites that have been examined within the area of cryptic terrain, informally designated 'Manhattan,' 'Giza' and 'Ithaca.'

The underlying map offers context of brightness measurements from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer instrument draped over a shaded relief map based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument. Cool colors are areas with a low albedo (dark) and warm colors are areas which have high albedo (bright). Both of those instruments flew on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter.