Study protocol for evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of an emergency department longitudinal patient monitoring system using a mixed-methods approach.

PubMed

Ward, Marie; McAuliffe, Eilish; Wakai, Abel; Geary, Una; Browne, John; Deasy, Conor; Schull, Michael; Boland, Fiona; McDaid, Fiona; Coughlan, Eoin; O'Sullivan, Ronan

2017-01-23

Early detection of patient deterioration is a key element of patient safety as it allows timely clinical intervention and potential rescue, thus reducing the risks of serious patient safety incidents. Longitudinal patient monitoring systems have been widely recommended for use to detect clinical deterioration. However, there is conflicting evidence on whether they improve patient outcomes. This may in part be related to variation in the rigour with which they are implemented and evaluated. This study aims to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of a longitudinal patient monitoring system designed for adult patients in the unique environment of the Emergency Department (ED). A novel participatory action research (PAR) approach is taken where socio-technical systems (STS) theory and analysis informs the implementation through the improvement methodology of 'Plan Do Study Act' (PDSA) cycles. We hypothesise that conducting an STS analysis of the ED before beginning the PDSA cycles will provide for a much richer understanding of the current situation and possible challenges to implementing the ED-specific longitudinal patient monitoring system. This methodology will enable both a process and an outcome evaluation of implementing the ED-specific longitudinal patient monitoring system. Process evaluations can help distinguish between interventions that have inherent faults and those that are badly executed. Over 1.2 million patients attend EDs annually in Ireland; the successful implementation of an ED-specific longitudinal patient monitoring system has the potential to affect the care of a significant number of such patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study combining PAR, STS and multiple PDSA cycles to evaluate the implementation of an ED-specific longitudinal patient monitoring system and to determine (through process and outcome evaluation) whether this system can significantly improve patient outcomes by early detection and appropriate intervention for patients at risk of clinical deterioration.

DEMONSTRATION OF LOW COST, LOW BURDEN EXPOSURE MONITORING STRATEGIES FOR USE IN LONGITUDINAL COHORT STUDIES

EPA Science Inventory

A large longitudinal cohort study designed to evaluate the association between children's exposures to environmental agents and health outcomes presents many challenges for exposure monitoring. Exposure of the child must be measured for multiple chemicals through multiple path...

Predictive probability methods for interim monitoring in clinical trials with longitudinal outcomes.

PubMed

Zhou, Ming; Tang, Qi; Lang, Lixin; Xing, Jun; Tatsuoka, Kay

2018-04-17

In clinical research and development, interim monitoring is critical for better decision-making and minimizing the risk of exposing patients to possible ineffective therapies. For interim futility or efficacy monitoring, predictive probability methods are widely adopted in practice. Those methods have been well studied for univariate variables. However, for longitudinal studies, predictive probability methods using univariate information from only completers may not be most efficient, and data from on-going subjects can be utilized to improve efficiency. On the other hand, leveraging information from on-going subjects could allow an interim analysis to be potentially conducted once a sufficient number of subjects reach an earlier time point. For longitudinal outcomes, we derive closed-form formulas for predictive probabilities, including Bayesian predictive probability, predictive power, and conditional power and also give closed-form solutions for predictive probability of success in a future trial and the predictive probability of success of the best dose. When predictive probabilities are used for interim monitoring, we study their distributions and discuss their analytical cutoff values or stopping boundaries that have desired operating characteristics. We show that predictive probabilities utilizing all longitudinal information are more efficient for interim monitoring than that using information from completers only. To illustrate their practical application for longitudinal data, we analyze 2 real data examples from clinical trials. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Longitudinal joint treatment.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-03-01

Maine highways have been showing signs of longitudinal joint failure for a number of years. In an effort : to reduce the amount of joint failures the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) is currently : evaluating two projects. One project is mon...

Minority Achievement Gaps in STEM: Findings of a Longitudinal Study of Project Excite

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olszewski-Kubilius, Paula; Steenbergen-Hu, Saiying; Thomson, Dana; Rosen, Rhoda

2017-01-01

This longitudinal study examined the outcomes of Project Excite on reducing minority students' achievement gaps in STEM over 14 years. Project Excite was designed to provide intensive supplemental enrichment and accelerated programming for high-potential, underrepresented minority students from third through eighth grades to better prepare them…

Longitudinal joint treatment : construction report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-05-01

Maine highways have been showing signs of longitudinal joint failure for a number of : years. In an effort to reduce the amount of joint failures the Maine Department of : Transportation (MDOT) is currently evaluating two projects. One project is mon...

A longitudinal, collaborative, practice-based learning and improvement model to improve post-discharge heart failure outcomes.

PubMed

Anagnostou, Valsamo K; Bailey, Grant; Sze, Edward; Hay, Seonaid; Hyson, Anne; Federman, Daniel G

2014-01-01

Practice-based learning and improvement is one of the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education's core competencies fortrainees. Residencyprograms have grappled with how to accomplish this goal. We describe our institution's unique, longitudinal post-graduate year process and project. West Haven, VA Medical Center. Yale University School of Medicine junior residents on ambulatory electives and faculty preceptor. Longitudinal program aimed to decrease re-admissions for hospitalized patients with congestive heart failure. We feel that our longitudinal project is a novel innovation worthy of further study.

Longitudinal joint treatment : first interim report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-11-01

Maine highways have been showing signs of longitudinal joint failure for a number of : years. In an effort to reduce the amount of joint failures the Maine Department of : Transportation (MDOT) is currently evaluating two projects. One project is mon...

Longitudinal joint treatment : second interim report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-09-01

Maine highways have been showing signs of longitudinal joint failure for a : number of years. In an effort to reduce the amount of joint failures the Maine : Department of Transportation (MDOT) is currently evaluating two projects. One : project is m...

Statewide Longitudinal Follow-up Study of Former Secondary Level Vocational Education Students (Project SEE). Report of Accomplishments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Calvin E.; Kim, Yungho

A longitudinal followup study, entitled Project Student Employment Experiences (SEE), examined the long-term employment experiences of former vocational education students, especially special needs population students, and the long-term effects of their training. During the project, researchers collected a 3-year followup information file on their…

The effect of low parental warmth and low monitoring on disordered eating in mid-adolescence: Findings from the Australian Temperament Project.

PubMed

Krug, Isabel; King, Ross M; Youssef, George J; Sorabji, Anisha; Wertheim, Eleanor H; Le Grange, Daniel; Hughes, Elizabeth K; Letcher, Primrose; Olsson, Craig A

2016-10-01

To investigate the interactions between low parental warmth and monitoring at age 13-14 years and disordered eating attitudes and behaviours at age 15-16 years. Data on 1300 (667 females) adolescents and their parents were drawn from The Australian Temperament Project (ATP), a 30 year (15 wave) population based longitudinal study of social-emotional development. Parent participants completed surveys on parenting practices in late childhood, and adolescent participants reported disordered eating using the drive for thinness and bulimia subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and an additional body dissatisfaction scale. Interaction was examined on the additive scale by estimating super-additive risk; i.e., risk in excess of the sum of individual risks. For boys, neither parental warmth or monitoring, nor their interaction, was related to disordered eating. For girls, low parental warmth (alone) was associated with bulimic behaviours. In contrast, exposure to both low monitoring and warmth was associated with ∼3½-fold, ∼4-fold and ∼5-fold increases in the odds of reporting body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness and bulimia, respectively. For body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness, risk associated with joint exposure exceeded the sum of individual risks, suggesting an additive interaction between parenting styles. Further investment in family-level interventions that focus on promoting parental monitoring behaviour and a warm parent-child relationship remain important strategies for preventing a range of disordered eating behaviours in adolescents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal joint treatment, interim report - third year, March 2004.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-03-01

Maine highways have been showing signs of longitudinal joint failure for a number of years. In an effort : to reduce the amount of joint failures the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) is currently : evaluating two projects. One project is mon...

Longitudinal joint treatment, interim report - fourth year, March 2005.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-03-01

Maine highways have been showing signs of longitudinal joint failure for a number of years. In an effort : to reduce the amount of joint failures the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) is currently : evaluating two projects. One project is mon...

Longitudinal cracking in concrete at bridge deck dams on structural rehabilitation projects.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-10-01

The main objective of this project was to identify the causes of longitudinal cracking in newly placed concrete deck segments adjacent to : bridge deck expansion dam rehabilitations within District 3-0 of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation...

Accolades and Recommendations: A Longitudinal Analysis of Monitoring Reports for Two Charter Schools Serving Native American Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Derek L.; Holder, K. C.

2012-01-01

This longitudinal case study examines 10 years' worth of annual monitoring reports for two rural Native American Charter Schools. Using data from multiple sources including interviews, site visits, and document analyses, the authors used provisional coding and constant comparison analysis to categorize the accolades and recommendations embedded in…

The Development of Metacognitive Monitoring and Control in Second Graders: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roebers, Claudia M.; Spiess, Manuela

2017-01-01

Although metacognition is considered a central aspect of self-regulated learning and is often linked to learning outcomes, little is known about the intraindividual development and factors that lead to developmental improvement over time. This longitudinal study investigated 2nd graders' (N = 119, aged 8-9 years) metacognitive monitoring and…

Searching for evidence of curricular effect on the teaching and learning of mathematics: some insights from the LieCal project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Jinfa

2014-12-01

Drawing on evidence from the Longitudinal Investigation of the Effect of Curriculum on Algebra Learning (LieCal) Project, issues related to mathematics curriculum reform and student learning are discussed. The LieCal Project was designed to longitudinally investigate the impact of a reform mathematics curriculum called the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) in the USA on teachers' teaching and students' learning. Using a three-level conceptualization of curriculum (intended, implemented, and attained), a variety of evidence from the LieCal Project is presented to show the impact of mathematics curriculum reform on teachers' teaching and students' learning. This paper synthesizes findings from the two longitudinal studies spanning 7 years of the LieCal Project both to show the kind of impact curriculum has on teachers' teaching and students' learning and to suggest powerful but feasible ways researchers can investigate curriculum effect on both teaching and learning.

The Longitudinal Guttman Simplex: Applications to Health Behavior Data.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Linda M.; Dent, Clyde W.

Because health behavior is often concerned with dynamic constructs, a longitudinal approach to measurement is needed. The Longitudinal Guttman Simplex (LGS) is a measurement model developed especially for dynamic constructs exhibiting cumulative, unitary development measured longitudinally. Data from the Television Smoking Prevention Project, a…

Longitudinal joint study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-09-01

In previous years there has been a problem with longitudinal joint : deterioration, due in part to poor construction techniques. : The degradation of the longitudinal joints has increased the cost of : maintaining these projects and caused unnecessar...

Family Functioning and High Risk Adolescents' Aggressive Behavior: Examining Effects by Ethnicity.

PubMed

Henneberger, Angela K; Varga, Shannon M; Moudy, Alyssa; Tolan, Patrick H

2016-01-01

The relationship between family functioning and adolescents' physical aggression has been well established, but whether these relationships might differ by ethnicity has received less attention. Ethnic variations may be important for targeting prevention programs to specific youth and families. This study examined the longitudinal relationship between family cohesion, parental monitoring, and physical aggression using data from the Multisite Violence Prevention Project sample of high-risk youth (elevated aggression). Participants were 1,232 high-risk middle school students (65% male; 70% African American; 15% Hispanic). Meaningful demographic variations were identified. After controlling for intervention condition and study site, family cohesion was significantly negatively related to physical aggression, more so for Hispanic youth. Parental monitoring was negatively associated with physical aggression for African American youth only. Our findings point to the importance of developing culturally sensitive family interventions to prevent physical aggression in middle school.

Family Functioning and High Risk Adolescents’ Aggressive Behavior: Examining Effects by Ethnicity

PubMed Central

Varga, Shannon M.; Moudy, Alyssa; Tolan, Patrick H.

2014-01-01

The relationship between family functioning and adolescents’ physical aggression has been well established, but whether these relationships might differ by ethnicity has received less attention. Ethnic variations may be important for targeting prevention programs to specific youth and families. This study examined the longitudinal relationship between family cohesion, parental monitoring, and physical aggression using data from the Multisite Violence Prevention Project sample of high-risk youth (elevated aggression). Participants were 1,232 high-risk middle school students (65% male; 70% African American; 15% Hispanic). Meaningful demographic variations were identified. After controlling for intervention condition and study site, family cohesion was significantly negatively related to physical aggression, more so for Hispanic youth. Parental monitoring was negatively associated with physical aggression for African American youth only. Our findings point to the importance of developing culturally sensitive family interventions to prevent physical aggression in middle school. PMID:25416227

Suspended-sediment and turbidity responses to sediment and turbidity reduction projects in the Beaver Kill, Stony Clove Creek, and Warner Creek, Watersheds, New York, 2010–14

USGS Publications Warehouse

Siemion, Jason; McHale, Michael R.; Davis, Wae Danyelle

2016-12-05

Suspended-sediment concentrations (SSCs) and turbidity were monitored within the Beaver Kill, Stony Clove Creek, and Warner Creek tributaries to the upper Esopus Creek in New York, the main source of water to the Ashokan Reservoir, from October 1, 2010, through September 30, 2014. The purpose of the monitoring was to determine the effects of suspended-sediment and turbidity reduction projects (STRPs) on SSC and turbidity in two of the three streams; no STRPs were constructed in the Beaver Kill watershed. During the study period, four STRPs were completed in the Stony Clove Creek and Warner Creek watersheds. Daily mean SSCs decreased significantly for a given streamflow after the STRPs were completed. The most substantial decreases in daily mean SSCs were measured at the highest streamflows. Background SSCs, as measured in water samples collected in upstream reference stream reaches, in all three streams in this study were less than 5 milligrams per liter during low and high streamflows. Longitudinal stream sampling identified stream reaches with failing hillslopes in contact with the stream channel as the primary sediment sources in the Beaver Kill and Stony Clove Creek watersheds.

Predictors of Adolescent Breakfast Consumption: Longitudinal Findings from Project EAT

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruening, Meg; Larson, Nicole; Story, Mary; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; Hannan, Peter

2011-01-01

Objective: To identify predictors of breakfast consumption among adolescents. Methods: Five-year longitudinal study Project EAT (Eating Among Teens). Baseline surveys were completed in Minneapolis-St. Paul schools and by mail at follow-up by youth (n = 800) transitioning from middle to high school. Linear regression models examined associations…

The Roles of Self-Disclosure, Modesty, and Self-Monitoring in the Mentoring Relationship: A Longitudinal Multi-Source Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blickle, Gerhard; Schneider, Paula B.; Perrewe, Pamela L.; Blass, Fred R.; Ferris, Gerald R.

2008-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of protege self-presentation by self-disclosure, modesty, and self-monitoring in mentoring. Design/methodology/approach: This study used three data sources (i.e. employees, peers, and mentors) and a longitudinal design over a period of two years. Findings: Employee self-disclosure and…

Conjugate Magnetic Observations in the Polar Environments by PRIMO and AUTUMNX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chi, P. J.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.; Raymond, C. A.; Connors, M. G.; Wilson, T. J.; Boteler, D. H.; Rowe, K.; Schofield, I.

2014-12-01

While magnetically conjugate observations by ground-based magnetometers are available at both high and low magnetic latitudes, few have been established at auroral latitudes to monitor the hemispheric asymmetry of auroral electric currents and its impact to geospace dynamics. Due to the limitations of global land areas, the only regions where conjugate ground-based magnetic observations can cover the full range of auroral latitudes are between Quebec, Canada and West Antarctica. Funded by the Canadian Space Agency, the AUTUMNX project is currently emplacing 10 ground-based magnetometers in Quebec, Canada, and will provide the magnetic field observations in the Northern Hemisphere. The proposed U.S. Polar Region Interhemispheric Magnetic Observatories (PRIMO) project plans to establish six new ground-based magnetometers in West Antarctica at L-values between 3.9 and 10.1. The instrument is based on the new low-power fluxgate magnetometer system recently developed at UCLA for operation in the polar environments. The PRIMO magnetometers will operate on the power and communications platform well proven by the POLENET project, and the six PRIMO systems will co-locate with existing ANET stations in the region for synergy in logistic support. Focusing on the American longitudinal sector and leveraging infrastructure through international collaborations, PRIMO and AUTUMNX can monitor the intensity and location of auroral electrojets in both hemispheres simultaneously, enabling the first systematic interhemispheric magnetic observations at auroral latitudes.

Kalman Filters in Geotechnical Monitoring of Ground Subsidence Using Data from MEMS Sensors

PubMed Central

Li, Cheng; Azzam, Rafig; Fernández-Steeger, Tomás M.

2016-01-01

The fast development of wireless sensor networks and MEMS make it possible to set up today real-time wireless geotechnical monitoring. To handle interferences and noises from the output data, Kalman filter can be selected as a method to achieve a more realistic estimate of the observations. In this paper, a one-day wireless measurement using accelerometers and inclinometers was deployed on top of a tunnel section under construction in order to monitor ground subsidence. The normal vectors of the sensors were firstly obtained with the help of rotation matrices, and then be projected to the plane of longitudinal section, by which the dip angles over time would be obtained via a trigonometric function. Finally, a centralized Kalman filter was applied to estimate the tilt angles of the sensor nodes based on the data from the embedded accelerometer and the inclinometer. Comparing the results from two sensor nodes deployed away and on the track respectively, the passing of the tunnel boring machine can be identified from unusual performances. Using this method, the ground settlement due to excavation can be measured and a real-time monitoring of ground subsidence can be realized. PMID:27447630

PCA Based Stress Monitoring of Cylindrical Specimens Using PZTs and Guided Waves

PubMed Central

Mujica, Luis; Ruiz, Magda; Camacho, Johanatan

2017-01-01

Since mechanical stress in structures affects issues such as strength, expected operational life and dimensional stability, a continuous stress monitoring scheme is necessary for a complete integrity assessment. Consequently, this paper proposes a stress monitoring scheme for cylindrical specimens, which are widely used in structures such as pipelines, wind turbines or bridges. The approach consists of tracking guided wave variations due to load changes, by comparing wave statistical patterns via Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Each load scenario is projected to the PCA space by means of a baseline model and represented using the Q-statistical indices. Experimental validation of the proposed methodology is conducted on two specimens: (i) a 12.7 mm (1/2″) diameter, 0.4 m length, AISI 1020 steel rod, and (ii) a 25.4 mm (1″) diameter, 6m length, schedule 40, A-106, hollow cylinder. Specimen 1 was subjected to axial loads, meanwhile specimen 2 to flexion. In both cases, simultaneous longitudinal and flexural guided waves were generated via piezoelectric devices (PZTs) in a pitch-catch configuration. Experimental results show the feasibility of the approach and its potential use as in-situ continuous stress monitoring application. PMID:29194384

Design of a tracking device for on-line dose monitoring in hadrontherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battistoni, G.; Collamati, F.; De Lucia, E.; Faccini, R.; Marafini, M.; Mattei, I.; Muraro, S.; Paramatti, R.; Patera, V.; Pinci, D.; Rucinski, A.; Russomando, A.; Sarti, A.; Sciubba, A.; Solfaroli Camillocci, E.; Toppi, M.; Traini, G.; Voena, C.

2017-02-01

Hadrontherapy is a technique for cancer treatment that exploits ion beams (mostly protons and carbons). A critical issue is the accuracy that is achievable when monitoring the dose released by the beam to the tumor and to the surrounding tissues. We present the design of a tracking device, developed in the framework of the INSIDE project [1], capable of monitoring in real time the longitudinal profile of the dose delivered in the patient. This is possible by detecting the secondary particles produced by the interaction of the beam in the tissues. The position of the Bragg peak can be correlated to the charged particles emission point distribution measurement. The tracking device will be able to provide a fast response on the dose pattern by tracking the secondary charged fragments. The tracks are detected using 6 planes of scintillating fibers, providing the 3D coordinates of the track intersection with each plane. The fibers planes are followed by a plastic scintillator and by a small calorimeter built with a pixelated Lutetium Fine Silicate (LFS) crystal. A complete detector simulation, followed by the event reconstruction, has been performed to determine the achievable monitoring spatial resolution.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Project-Based Instruction and Student Achievement in High School Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Summers, Emily J.; Dickinson, Gail

2012-01-01

This longitudinal study focused on how project-based instruction (PBI) influenced secondary social studies students' academic achievement and promoted College and Career Readiness (CCR). We explored and compared student achievement in a PBI high school versus a traditional instruction high school within the same rural school district. While…

Longitudinal Data on the Effectiveness of Mathematics Mini-Games in Primary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bakker, Marjoke; Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Marja; Robitzsch, Alexander

2015-01-01

This paper describes a dataset consisting of longitudinal data gathered in the BRXXX project. The aim of the project was to investigate the effectiveness of online mathematics mini-games in enhancing primary school students' multiplicative reasoning ability (multiplication and division). The dataset includes data of 719 students from 35 primary…

Longitudinal Evaluation of 2 + 2 Career-Vocational Education Articulation Projects. First Year Interim Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evaluation and Training Inst., Los Angeles, CA.

Twenty-one California career-vocational educational articulation projects, commonly referred to as 2 + 2 partnerships, were jointly funded across the 1986-89 funding period and third-party evaluations were conducted in 1988-89. The longitudinal study examined the long-term effects of the original partnerships. Evaluators formed an advisory…

Does Parenting Shield Youth from Exposure to Violence during Adolescence? A 5-Year Longitudinal Test in a High-Poverty Sample of Minority Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spano, Richard; Rivera, Craig; Bolland, John M.

2011-01-01

Five waves of longitudinal data collected from 349 African American youth living in extreme poverty were used to determine if parental monitoring shielded youth from exposure to violence during adolescence. Semiparametric group-based modeling was used to identify trajectories of parental monitoring and exposure to violence from T1 to T5. Results…

Longitudinal Results of the Ypsilanti Perry Preschool Project. Final Report. Volume II of 2 Volumes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weikart, David P.; And Others

The Ypsilanti Perry Preschool Project was an experiment to assess the longitudinal effects of a 2-year preschool program designed to compensate for functional mental retardation found in some children from disadvantaged families. The program consisted of a daily cognitively oriented preschool program and home visits each week to involve mothers in…

Professional Profiles: A Longitudinal Analysis of Three Traditional Female Professions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiren, Eva

This study is part of an ongoing research project examining women in Sweden who work in traditional female professions. The project aims to investigate women's life patterns in a longitudinal perspective--targeting individuals born in 1948 and covering the years 1961 to 1981/82--with focus on their background, education and work experiences.…

Global Space Weather Observational Network: Challenges and China's Contribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, C.

2017-12-01

To understand space weather physical processes and predict space weather accurately, global space-borne and ground-based space weather observational network, making simultaneous observations from the Sun to geo-space (magnetosphere, ionosphere and atmosphere), plays an essential role. In this talk, we will present the advances of the Chinese space weather science missions, including the ASO-S (Advanced Space-borne Solar Observatory), MIT (Magnetosphere - Ionosphere- Thermosphere Coupling Exploration), and the ESA-China joint space weather science mission SMILE (Solar wind - Magnetosphere - Ionosphere Link Explore), a new mission to image the magnetosphere. Compared to satellites, ground-based monitors are cheap, convenient, and provide continuous real-time data. We will also introduce the Chinese Meridian Project (CMP), a ground-based program fully utilizing the geographic location of the Chinese landmass to monitor the geo-space environment. CMP is just one arm of a larger program that Chinese scientists are proposing to the international community. The International Meridian Circle Program (IMCP) for space weather hopes to connect chains of ground-based monitors at the longitudinal meridians 120 deg E and 60 deg W. IMCP takes advantage of the fact that these meridians already have the most monitors of any on Earth, with monitors in Russia, Australia, Brazil, the United States, Canada, and other countries. This data will greatly enhance the ability of scientists to monitor and predict the space weather worldwide.

Longitudinal relations between parental media monitoring and adolescent aggression, prosocial behavior, and externalizing problems.

PubMed

Padilla-Walker, Laura M; Coyne, Sarah M; Collier, Kevin M

2016-01-01

The current study examined longitudinal relations between parental media monitoring and adolescent behavior, and explored indirect effects via sympathy and self-regulation. A sample of adolescents and their mothers from Northwestern and Mountain West cities in the USA participated in a study at three time points, approximately one year apart (N = 681; M age of child at Time 3 = 13.33, SD = 1.06; 51% female; 73% European American, 9% African American, 17% Multi-ethnic). Though findings varied by reporter, results suggested that restrictive and active media monitoring were indirectly associated with adolescents' prosocial behavior, aggression, and externalizing behavior, with restrictive monitoring being somewhat maladaptive and active monitoring adaptive. The discussion focuses on the need to examine multiple aspects of media monitoring, and highlights implications of findings for parents. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Longitudinal Effect of Self-Monitoring and Locus of Control on Social Network Position in Friendship Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-03-01

equally essential to examine the antecedents that bring a person to a particular network location. The previous body of knowledge in social networks...Locus of Control on Social Network Position in Friendship Networks THESIS Gary J. Moore, Captain, USAF AFIT/GEM/ENV/06M-11 DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR...THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF SELF-MONITORING AND LOCUS OF CONTROL ON SOCIAL NETWORK POSITION IN FRIENDSHIP NETWORKS THESIS Presented to the

Monitoring uniform and localized corrosion in reinforced mortar using high-frequency guided longitudinal wages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ervin, Benjamin L.; Reis, Henrique; Bernhard, Jennifer T.; Kuchma, Daniel A.

2008-03-01

High-frequency guided longitudinal waves have been used in a through-transmission arrangement to monitor reinforced mortar specimens undergoing both accelerated uniform and localized corrosion. High-frequency guided longitudinal waves were chosen because they have the fastest propagation velocity and lowest theoretical attenuation for the rebar/mortar system. This makes the modes easily discernible and gives them the ability to travel over long distances. The energy of the high-frequency longitudinal waves is located primarily in the center of the rebar, leading to less leakage into the surrounding mortar. The results indicate that the guided mechanical waves are sensitive to both forms of corrosion attack in the form of attenuation, with less sensitivity at higher frequencies. Also promising is the ability to discern uniform corrosion from localized corrosion in a through-transmission arrangement by examination of the frequency domain.

Beyond Terman: Contemporary Longitudinal Studies of Giftedness and Talent.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Subotnik, Rena F., Ed.; Arnold, Karen D., Ed.

This volume presents 16 papers describing recent longitudinal studies of giftedness. Papers have the following titles and authors: (1) "Longitudinal Study of Giftedness and Talent" (Rena F. Subotnik and Karen D. Arnold); (2) "The Illinois Valedictorian Project: Early Adult Careers of Academically Talented Male High School Students" (Karen D.…

Longitudinal Research with Sexual Assault Survivors: A Methodological Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Rebecca; Sprague, Heather Brown; Cottrill, Sara; Sullivan, Cris M.

2011-01-01

Longitudinal research designs are relatively rare in the academic literature on rape and sexual assault despite their tremendous methodological rigor and scientific utility. In the interest of promoting wider use of such methods, we conducted a methodological review of projects that have used prospective longitudinal designs to study the…

Preschool Affects Longer Term Literacy and Numeracy: Results from a General Population Longitudinal Study in Northern Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melhuish, Edward; Quinn, Louise; Sylva, Kathy; Sammons, Pam; Siraj-Blatchford, Iram; Taggart, Brenda

2013-01-01

The Effective Pre-school Provision in Northern Ireland (EPPNI) project is a longitudinal study of child development from 3 to 11 years. It is one of the first large-scale UK projects to investigate the effects of different kinds of preschool provision, and to relate experience in preschool to child development. In EPPNI, 683 children were randomly…

Relative benefits of on-plot water supply over other 'improved' sources in rural Vietnam.

PubMed

Brown, Joe; Hien, Vo Thi; McMahan, Lanakila; Jenkins, Marion W; Thie, Lauren; Liang, Kaida; Printy, Erin; Sobsey, Mark D

2013-01-01

Access to improved water sources is rapidly expanding in rural central Vietnam. We examined one NGO-led piped water supply programme to assess the drinking water quality and health impacts of piped water systems where access to 'improved' water sources is already good. This longitudinal, prospective cohort study followed 300 households in seven project areas in Da Nang province, Vietnam: 224 households who paid for an on-plot piped water connection and 76 control households from the same areas relying primarily on 'improved' water sources outside the home. The 4-month study was intended to measure the impact of the NGO-led water programmes on households' drinking water quality and health and to evaluate system performance. We found that: (i) households connected to a piped water supply had consistently better drinking water quality than those relying on other sources, including 'improved' sources and (ii) connected households experienced less diarrhoea than households without a piped water connection (adjusted longitudinal prevalence ratio: 0.57 (95% CI 0.39-0.86, P = 0.006) and households using an 'improved' source not piped to the plot: (adjusted longitudinal prevalence ratio: 0.59 (95% CI 0.39-0.91, P = 0.018). Our results suggest that on-plot water service yields benefits over other sources that are considered 'improved' by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Longitudinal impact of the project PATHS on adolescent risk behavior: what happened after five years?

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Yu, Lu

2012-01-01

The present study investigated the longitudinal impact of the Project PATHS, a large-scale curriculum-based positive youth development program in Hong Kong, on the development of adolescents' risk behavior over a period of five years. Using a longitudinal randomized controlled design, eight waves of data were collected from 19 experimental schools in which students participated in the Project PATHS (N = 2,850 at Wave 8) and 24 control schools without joining the Project PATHS (N = 3,640 at Wave 8). At each wave, students responded to measures assessing their current risk behaviors, including delinquency, use of different types of drug, and their intentions of participating in risk behaviors in the future. Results demonstrated that adolescents receiving the program exhibited significantly slower increases in delinquent behaviors and substance use as compared to the control participants. During two years after the completion of the program, differences in youth risk behaviors in the two groups still existed. These results suggest that the Project PATHS has long-term effect in preventing adolescent problem behavior through promoting positive youth development.

Executive Function in Early Childhood: Longitudinal Measurement Invariance and Developmental Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willoughby, Michael T.; Wirth, R. J.; Blair, Clancy B.

2012-01-01

This study tested the longitudinal measurement invariance and developmental changes of a newly developed battery of executive function (EF) tasks for use in early childhood. The battery was administered in the Family Life Project--a prospective longitudinal study (N = 1,292) of families who were oversampled from low-income and African American…

Fears in Czech Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michalcáková, Radka; Lacinová, Lenka; Kyjonková, Hana; Bouša, Ondrej; Jelínek, Martin

2013-01-01

The present study investigates developmental patterns of fear in adolescence. It is based on longitudinal data collected as a part of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC) project. A total of 186 Czech adolescents (43% girls) were assessed repeatedly at the age of 11, 13, and 15 years. The free-response method was…

Means for supporting fuel elements in a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Andrews, Harry N.; Keller, Herbert W.

1980-01-01

A grid structure for a nuclear reactor fuel assembly comprising a plurality of connecting members forming at least one longitudinally extending opening peripheral and inner fuel element openings through each of which openings at least one nuclear fuel element extends, said connecting members forming wall means surrounding said each peripheral and inner fuel element opening, a pair of rigid projections longitudinally spaced from one another extending from a portion of said wall means into said each peripheral and inner opening for rigidly engaging said each fuel element, respectively, yet permit individual longitudinal slippage thereof, and resilient means formed integrally on and from said wall means and positioned in said each peripheral and inner opening in opposed relationship with said projections and located to engage said fuel element to bias the latter into engagement with said rigid projections, respectively

Implementing a statewide outcomes management system for consumers of public mental health services.

PubMed

Clardy, J A; Booth, B M; Smith, L G; Nordquist, C R; Smith, G R

1998-02-01

The authors describe the development and implementation of an outcomes management system designed to measure outcomes and processes of care for public mental health consumers in Arkansas. The public-academic project was implemented in 1995 and is based on the Shewhart-Deming model of continuous quality improvement. All 15 community mental health centers (CMHCs) in the state participate in the project, which prospectively measures longitudinal outcomes of care for the tracer conditions of major depression and schizophrenia. Multiperspective measurement tools are used to measure patients' psychiatric status and general health status at periodic intervals; information is gathered on functioning, symptoms, severity of illness, social factors, demographic characteristics, and quality of life. A problem encountered during implementation was the relatively low rate of referral of patients with the tracer conditions for monitoring. Voluntary rather than mandatory participation in the outcomes management system by the CMHCs as well as clinicians' misperceptions about the system's purpose and concerns about confidentiality may have partly accounted for the low rate.

Teacher training as a behavior change process: principles and results from a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Kealey, K A; Peterson, A V; Gaul, M A; Dinh, K T

2000-02-01

For students to realize the benefits of behavior change curricula for disease prevention, programs must be implemented effectively. However, implementation failure is a common problem documented in the literature. In this article, teacher training is conceptualized as a behavior change process with explicit teacher motivation components included to help effect the intended behavior (i.e., implementation). Using this method, the Hutchinson Smoking Prevention Project, a randomized controlled trial in school-based smoking prevention, conducted 65 in-service programs, training nearly 500 teachers (Grades 3-10) from 72 schools. Implementation was monitored by teacher self-report and classroom observations by project staff. The results were favorable. All eligible teachers received training, virtually all trained teachers implemented the research curriculum, and 89% of observed lessons worked as intended. It is concluded that teacher training conceptualized as a behavior change process and including explicit teacher motivation components can promote effective implementation of behavior change curricula in public school classrooms.

A Longitudinal Study of Vocational Development and Program Evaluation. Implications for Curriculum Planning and Vocational Guidance. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park. Dept. of Vocational Education.

The report is an accounting of activities of the Vocational Development Study (VDS) project during the three-year funding period of July 1971 to July 1974. The longitudinal study, planned to cover a 10-year span, was begun in the fall of 1968. The project was developed to identify the effects of the high school experience on youth in vocational…

Family Support and Development: A Longitudinal, Ecological Study of Families with Children of Pre-School and Junior-Level Age (The FAST-Project).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andersson, Bengt-Erik; Gunnarsson, Lars

1984-01-01

Part of an international joint project involving five countries, this report details a 5-year longitudinal, ecological investigation of Swedish families. The study focused on the circumstances and development of children from the time they were 3.5-year-olds until the end of grade 1. The investigation also included national substudies not having…

Camden active spaces: does the construction of active school playgrounds influence children's physical activity levels? A longitudinal quasi-experiment protocol.

PubMed

Smith, Lee; Kipps, Courtney; Aggio, Daniel; Fox, Paul; Robinson, Nigel; Trend, Verena; Munnery, Suzie; Kelly, Barry; Hamer, Mark

2014-01-01

Physical activity is essential for every facet of children's health. However, physical activity levels in British children are low. The school environment is a promising setting to increase children's physical activity but limited empirical evidence exists on how a change in the outdoor physical school environment influences physical activity behaviour. The London Borough of Camden is redesigning seven existing school playgrounds to engage children to become more physically active. The primary aim of this project is to evaluate the impact of the redesigned playgrounds on children's physical activity, well-being and physical function/fitness. This project will use a longitudinal quasi-experimental design. Seven experimental schools and one control school will take part. One baseline data collection session and two follow-ups will be carried out. Between baseline and follow-up, the experimental school playgrounds will be redesigned. At baseline, a series of fitness tests, anthropometric and questionnaire measurements, and 7-day objective physical activity monitoring (Actigraph accelerometer) will be carried out on children (aged 5–16 years). This will be repeated at follow-up. Changes in overall physical activity levels and levels during different times of the day (eg, school breaks) will be examined. Multilevel regression modelling will be used to analyse the data. The results of this study will be disseminated through peer-review publications and scientific presentations. Ethical approval was obtained through the University College London Research Ethics Committee (Reference number: 4400/002).

Is 2D speckle tracking echocardiography useful for detecting and monitoring myocardial dysfunction in adult m.3243A>G carriers? - a retrospective pilot study.

PubMed

Koene, S; Timmermans, J; Weijers, G; de Laat, P; de Korte, C L; Smeitink, J A M; Janssen, M C H; Kapusta, L

2017-03-01

Cardiomyopathy is a common complication of mitochondrial disorders, associated with increased mortality. Two dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) can be used to quantify myocardial deformation. Here, we aimed to determine the usefulness of 2DSTE in detecting and monitoring subtle changes in myocardial dysfunction in carriers of the 3243A>G mutation in mitochondrial DNA. In this retrospective pilot study, 30 symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers of the mitochondrial 3243A>G mutation of whom two subsequent echocardiograms were available were included. We measured longitudinal, circumferential and radial strain using 2DSTE. Results were compared to published reference values. Speckle tracking was feasible in 90 % of the patients for longitudinal strain. Circumferential and radial strain showed low face validity (low number of images with sufficient quality; suboptimal tracking) and were therefore rejected for further analysis. Global longitudinal strain showed good face validity, and was abnormal in 56-70 % (depending on reference values used) of the carriers (n = 27). Reproducibility was good (mean difference of 0.83 for inter- and 0.40 for intra-rater reproducibility; ICC 0.78 and 0.89, respectively). The difference between the first and the second measurement exceeded the measurement variance in 39 % of the cases (n = 23; feasibility of follow-up 77 %). Even in data collected as part of clinical care, two-dimensional strain echocardiography seems a feasible method to detect and monitor subtle changes in longitudinal myocardial deformation in adult carriers of the mitochondrial 3243A>G mutation. Based on our data and the reported accuracy of global longitudinal strain in other studies, we suggest the use of global longitudinal strain in a prospective follow-up or intervention study.

Anticipating market demand: tracking enrollee satisfaction and health over time.

PubMed

Allen, H

1998-12-01

To assess guidelines, set by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, for the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) 1999 CAHPS 2.0H Survey (formerly the HEDIS 1999 Consumer Survey) in the light of user's needs to monitor health plan performance over time, monitor sick enrollees, and prioritize determinants (drivers) of enrollee experience. A two-wave, cross-sectional/longitudinal panel design, consisting of national surveys mailed to employees of three major USA corporations in 1993 and 1995. Samples included employees selected to represent 23 major managed care and indemnity plans in five regions of the USA. In 1993, 14 587 employees responded and in 1995 9018 employees responded (response rates: 51 and 52%). The longitudinal panel sample included 5729 employees who completed both surveys and stayed in the same plan for both years. STUDY MEASURES: The main 1993 and 1995 surveys consisted of 154 and 116 items, respectively. Panel survey content assessed care delivery, plan administration, functional status, well being, and chronic disease. CAHPS 2.0H's point-in-time, cross-sectional design was unable to detect selection bias and led to an inaccurate view of change in performance. CAHPS 2.0H's use of aggregate samples masked key differences between healthy and sick enrollees; e.g. the sick became less satisfied over time. The association-based, statistical techniques that many survey users will employ to prioritize the 'drivers' of enrollee experience in the absence of CAHPS 2.0H guidelines yielded a less efficient account of change than the multi-method/multi-trait approach developed for this project. Consumer experience of plan performance is best understood when the separate contributions of longitudinal membership and movement in and out of plans are clarified, changes in health are identified, changes for sick and healthy enrollees are compared, and plan performance on satisfaction criteria is probed to give confirmation and detail. Changes to the CAHPS 2.0H approach in HEDIS 1999 will facilitate user application of these principles.

Predicting Family Poverty and Other Disadvantaged Conditions for Child Rearing from Childhood Aggression and Social Withdrawal: A 30-Year Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serbin, Lisa A.; Temcheff, Caroline E.; Cooperman, Jessica M.; Stack, Dale M.; Ledingham, Jane; Schwartzman, Alex E.

2011-01-01

This 30-year longitudinal study examined pathways from problematic childhood behavior patterns to future disadvantaged conditions for family environment and child rearing in adulthood. Participants were mothers (n = 328) and fathers (n = 222) with lower income backgrounds participating in the ongoing Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project. Structural…

Longitudinal monitoring of bottlenose dolphins leukocyte cytokine mRNA responsiveness by qPCR

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Both veterinarians caring for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in managed populations and researchers monitoring wild populations use blood-based diagnostics to monitor bottlenose dolphin health. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) can be used to assess cytokine expression patterns of peripheral blood m...

Longitudinal monitoring of bottlenose dolphin leukocyte cytokine mRNA responsiveness by qPCR

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Both veterinarians caring for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in managed populations and researchers monitoring wild populations use blood-based diagnostics to monitor bottlenose dolphin health. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) can be used to assess cytokine expression patterns of peripheral blood m...

Longitudinal Relations Among Parental Monitoring Strategies, Knowledge, and Adolescent Delinquency in a Racially Diverse At-Risk Sample.

PubMed

Bendezú, Jason J; Pinderhughes, Ellen E; Hurley, Sean M; McMahon, Robert J; Racz, Sarah J

2016-04-04

Parents raising youth in high-risk communities at times rely on active, involved monitoring strategies in order to increase both knowledge about youth activities and the likelihood that adolescents will abstain from problem behavior. Key monitoring literature suggests that some of these active monitoring strategies predict increases in adolescent problem behavior rather than protect against it. However, this literature has studied racially homogenous, low-risk samples, raising questions about generalizability. With a diverse sample of youth (N = 753; 58% male; 46% Black) and families living in high-risk neighborhoods, bidirectional longitudinal relations were examined among three aspects of monitoring (parental discussions of daily activities, parental curfew rules, and adolescent communication with parents), parental knowledge, and youth delinquency. Parental discussion of daily activities was the strongest predictor of parental knowledge, which negatively predicted delinquency. However, these aspects of monitoring did not predict later delinquency. Findings were consistent across gender and race/urbanicity. Results highlight the importance of active and involved parental monitoring strategies in contexts where they are most needed.

Longitudinal versus cross-sectional methodology for estimating the economic burden of breast cancer: a pilot study.

PubMed

Mullins, C Daniel; Wang, Junling; Cooke, Jesse L; Blatt, Lisa; Baquet, Claudia R

2004-01-01

Projecting future breast cancer treatment expenditure is critical for budgeting purposes, medical decision making and the allocation of resources in order to maximise the overall impact on health-related outcomes of care. Currently, both longitudinal and cross-sectional methodologies are used to project the economic burden of cancer. This pilot study examined the differences in estimates that were obtained using these two methods, focusing on Maryland, US Medicaid reimbursement data for chemotherapy and prescription drugs for the years 1999-2000. Two different methodologies for projecting life cycles of cancer expenditure were considered. The first examined expenditure according to chronological time (calendar quarter) for all cancer patients in the database in a given quarter. The second examined only the most recent quarter and constructed a hypothetical expenditure life cycle by taking into consideration the number of quarters since the respective patient had her first claim. We found different average expenditures using the same data and over the same time period. The longitudinal measurement had less extreme peaks and troughs, and yielded average expenditure in the final period that was 60% higher than that produced using the cross-sectional analysis; however, the longitudinal analysis had intermediate periods with significantly lower estimated expenditure than the cross-sectional data. These disparate results signify that each of the methods has merit. The longitudinal method tracks changes over time while the cross-sectional approach reflects more recent data, e.g. current practice patterns. Thus, this study reiterates the importance of considering the methodology when projecting future cancer expenditure.

The influence of parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication on Bahamian adolescent risk involvement: A three-year longitudinal examination

PubMed Central

Wang, Bo; Stanton, Bonita; Li, Xiaoming; Cottrell, Lesley; Deveaux, Lynette; Kaljee, Linda

2014-01-01

The literature suggests that parental monitoring can best be conceptualized and measured through the domains of parental knowledge, youth disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental control. Using longitudinal data on 913 grade-six Bahamian students followed over a period of three years, we examined the unique and independent roles of these domains of parental monitoring and parent–adolescent communication in relation to adolescent involvement in delinquency, substance use, and sexual risk behaviors. The results obtained with mixed-effects models indicate that parental knowledge, youth disclosure, and parental control are negatively associated with both delinquency and substance use. Open parent—adolescent communication was associated with decreased sexual risk behavior, whereas problematic parent–adolescent communication was associated with increased sexual risk behavior. The results obtained with path models indicate that youth disclosure is a significant longitudinal predictor of reduced adolescent delinquency and that parental control during early adolescence predicted reduced substance use in middle adolescence. The findings suggest that parental knowledge, youth disclosure and parental control differ in their impacts on substance use, delinquency and sexual risk behaviors. Problematic parent–adolescent communication is consistently associated with increases in all three types of adolescent risk behaviors. Future parental monitoring interventions should focus on enhancing parents’ interpersonal communication skills and emphasize the differences in and importance of the unique components of parental monitoring. PMID:24161101

The influence of parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication on Bahamian adolescent risk involvement: a three-year longitudinal examination.

PubMed

Wang, Bo; Stanton, Bonita; Li, Xiaoming; Cottrell, Lesley; Deveaux, Lynette; Kaljee, Linda

2013-11-01

The literature suggests that parental monitoring can best be conceptualized and measured through the domains of parental knowledge, youth disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental control. Using longitudinal data on 913 grade-six Bahamian students followed over a period of three years, we examined the unique and independent roles of these domains of parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication in relation to adolescent involvement in delinquency, substance use, and sexual risk behaviors. The results obtained with mixed-effects models indicate that parental knowledge, youth disclosure, and parental control are negatively associated with both delinquency and substance use. Open parent-adolescent communication was associated with decreased sexual risk behavior, whereas problematic parent-adolescent communication was associated with increased sexual risk behavior. The results obtained with path models indicate that youth disclosure is a significant longitudinal predictor of reduced adolescent delinquency and that parental control during early adolescence predicted reduced substance use in middle adolescence. The findings suggest that parental knowledge, youth disclosure and parental control differ in their impacts on substance use, delinquency and sexual risk behaviors. Problematic parent-adolescent communication is consistently associated with increases in all three types of adolescent risk behaviors. Future parental monitoring interventions should focus on enhancing parents' interpersonal communication skills and emphasize the differences in and importance of the unique components of parental monitoring. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

New multi-scale approach to improve explanation of patterns of contemporary morphodynamics in the badland landscapes of Central Italy: the important Quaternary context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vergari, Francesca; Troiani, Francesco; Della Seta, Marta; Faulkner, Hazel; Schwanghart, Wolfgang; Ciccacci, Sirio; Del Monte, Maurizio; Fredi, Paola

2016-04-01

Spatial patterns and magnitudes of short-term erosional processes are often the result of longer-term landscape-wide morphodynamics. Their combined analysis, however, is challenged by different spatial scales, data availability and resolution. Integrating both analyses has thus rarely been done though urgently needed to better understand and manage present day erosional dynamics and land degradation. In this study we aim at overcoming these shortcomings by exploring a multi-scale approach, based on a nested experimental design that integrates the traditional monitoring of erosion processes at local and short time scale, with the longer-term (over the last 103-105 yr) and basin-to-morphostructure scale analysis of landscape morphodynamics. We investigated the geomorphological behaviour of a Mediterranean active badland site located in the Upper Orcia Valley (Southern Tuscany, Italy). This choice is justified by the availability of decadal erosion monitoring datasets at a range of scales, and the rapidity of development of erosion processes. Based on the analysis of drainage network and its longitudinal and planform pattern, we tested the hypothesis that this rejuvenating, actively erosional landscape presents hotspots of denudation processes on hillslope and in channel network that are largely associated with (a) knickpoints on stream longitudinal profiles, (b) sites of strong connectivity, and (c) sites of strong divide competition with adjacent, aggressive and non-aggressive systems. To illustrate and explore this nested approach, we extracted the channel network and analysed stream longitudinal profiles using the MATLAB-based TopoToolbox program, starting from the 27x27 m Aster GDEM. The stream network morphometric analyses involved computing and mapping χ-values, a transformation that normalizes the longitudinal distance by upslope area and which serves as a proxy of the dynamic state of river basins based on the current geometry of the river network. Finally, we projected on the longitudinal profiles of the Orcia River and some of its main tributaries a full range of geomorphic features which are relevant for the interpretation of the landscape morphoevolution, connectivity and erosion/deposition dynamics: i) competitive divides; ii) sites with different degree of connectivity within the drainage system; iii) sites experiencing different erosion rates; iv) sites with in-channel depositional features and landslide deposits; v) remnants of relict geomorphic surfaces. The plano-altimetric distribution of such features, compared with the drainage network evolutionary stage, allowed to better understand the morphodynamics of badland areas and to define future scenarios in the perspective of a better management of hazardous processes.

[Design of longitudinal auto-tracking of the detector on X-ray in digital radiography].

PubMed

Yu, Xiaomin; Jiang, Tianhao; Liu, Zhihong; Zhao, Xu

2018-04-01

One algorithm is designed to implement longitudinal auto-tracking of the the detector on X-ray in the digital radiography system (DR) with manual collimator. In this study, when the longitudinal length of field of view (LFOV) on the detector is coincided with the longitudinal effective imaging size of the detector, the collimator half open angle ( Ψ ), the maximum centric distance ( e max ) between the center of X-ray field of view and the projection center of the focal spot, and the detector moving distance for auto-traking can be calculated automatically. When LFOV is smaller than the longitudinal effective imaging size of the detector by reducing Ψ , the e max can still be used to calculate the detector moving distance. Using this auto-tracking algorithm in DR with manual collimator, the tested results show that the X-ray projection is totally covered by the effective imaging area of the detector, although the center of the field of view is not aligned with the center of the effective imaging area of the detector. As a simple and low-cost design, the algorithm can be used for longitudinal auto-tracking of the detector on X-ray in the manual collimator DR.

A Matter of Perspective: Comparison of the Characteristics of Persons with HIV Infection in the United States from the HIV Outpatient Study, Medical Monitoring Project, and National HIV Surveillance System

PubMed Central

Buchacz, Kate; Frazier, Emma L.; Hall, H. Irene; Hart, Rachel; Huang, Ping; Franklin, Dana; Hu, Xiaohong; Palella, Frank J.; Chmiel, Joan S.; Novak, Richard M.; Wood, Kathy; Yangco, Bienvenido; Armon, Carl; Brooks, John T.; Skarbinski, Jacek

2015-01-01

Comparative analyses of the characteristics of persons living with HIV infection (PLWH) in the United States (US) captured in surveillance and other observational databases are few. To explore potential joint data use to guide HIV treatment and prevention in the US, we examined three CDC-funded data sources in 2012: the HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS), a multisite longitudinal cohort; the Medical Monitoring Project (MMP), a probability sample of PLWH receiving medical care; and the National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS), a surveillance system of all PLWH. Overall, data from 1,697 HOPS, 4,901 MMP, and 865,102 NHSS PLWH were analyzed. Compared with the MMP population, HOPS participants were more likely to be older, non-Hispanic/Latino white, not using injection drugs, insured, diagnosed with HIV before 2009, prescribed antiretroviral therapy, and to have most recent CD4+ T-lymphocyte cell count ≥500 cells/mm3 and most recent viral load test<2 00 copies/mL. The MMP population was demographically similar to all PLWH in NHSS, except it tended to be slightly older, HIV diagnosed more recently, and to have AIDS. Our comparative results provide an essential first step for combined epidemiologic data analyses to inform HIV care and prevention for PLWH in the US. PMID:26793282

Graduation and Persistence Rates: University of Hawaii Community Colleges, Fall 1987-Fall 1995 Cohorts. A Summary of Selected Data from the NCHEMS/University of Hawaii System Longitudinal Database Project. Special Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawaii Univ., Honolulu. Institutional Research Office.

This report details graduation and persistence rates for degree-seeking students at the seven University of Hawaii Community Colleges (UHCC) from Fall 1987-Fall 1995. The data are from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems/University of Hawaii System Longitudinal Database Project. The report focuses on full-time and part-time…

The Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study Pathways to Cannabis Use, Abuse and Dependence Project: Current status, preliminary results and future directions

PubMed Central

Gillespie, NA; Henders, AK; Davenport, TA; Hermens, DF; Wright, MJ; Martin, NG; Hickie, IB

2013-01-01

We describe the data being collected from the Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study (BLTS) in Australia as part of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded project Pathways to Cannabis Use, Abuse and Dependence. The history, recruitment, assessment and retention of twin families in this project are described in detail along with preliminary findings and plans for future research. The goal of this NIDA project is to make a significant contribution to the discovery of quantitative trait loci (QTL) influencing cannabis use disorders. Although the focus is cannabis use, abuse and dependence in young adults, measures of comorbid illicit drug use disorders are also being collected. In addition, a variety of internalizing and externalizing disorders are being assessed, funded by support from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. Because these same twins have participated in numerous twin studies since 1992, future plans will include linking different phenotypes to investigate relationships between drug use, psychiatric disorders and psychological phenotypes within cross-sectional and longitudinal or developmental frameworks. PMID:23187020

The Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study: Pathways to Cannabis Use, Abuse, and Dependence project-current status, preliminary results, and future directions.

PubMed

Gillespie, Nathan A; Henders, Anjali K; Davenport, Tracy A; Hermens, Daniel F; Wright, Margie J; Martin, Nicholas G; Hickie, Ian B

2013-02-01

We describe the data being collected from the Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study in Australia as part of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded project, Pathways to Cannabis Use, Abuse and Dependence. The history, recruitment, assessment, and retention of twin families in this project are described in detail, along with preliminary findings and plans for future research. The goal of this NIDA project is to make a significant contribution to the discovery of quantitative trait loci influencing cannabis use disorders. Although the focus is cannabis use, abuse, and dependence in young adults, measures of comorbid illicit drug use disorders are also being collected. In addition, a variety of internalizing and externalizing disorders are being assessed, funded by support from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. Because these same twins have participated in numerous twin studies since 1992, future plans will include linking different phenotypes to investigate relationships between drug use, psychiatric disorders, and psychological phenotypes within cross-sectional and longitudinal or developmental frameworks.

But I Trust My Teen: Parents' Attitudes and Response to a Parental Monitoring Intervention

PubMed Central

Metzger, Aaron; Ice, Christa; Cottrell, Lesley

2012-01-01

Parental knowledge gained from monitoring activities protects against adolescent risk involvement. Parental monitoring approaches are varied and may be modified with successful interventions but not all parents or adolescents respond to monitoring programs the same way. 339 parent-adolescent dyads randomized to receive a parental monitoring intervention and 169 parent-adolescent dyads in the control group were followed for one year over four measurement periods. Parent attitudes about the usefulness of monitoring, the importance of trust and respecting their teens' privacy, and the appropriateness of adolescent risk-taking behavior and experimentation were examined as predictors of longitudinal change in parental monitoring and open communication. Similar effects were found in both the intervention and control group models regarding open communication. Parental attitudes impacted longitudinal patterns of teen-reported parent monitoring, and these patterns differed across experimental groups. In the intervention group, parents' beliefs about the importance of trust and privacy were associated with a steeper decline in monitoring across time. Finally, parents' attitudes about the normative nature of teen experimentation were associated with a quadratic parental monitoring time trend in the intervention but not the control group. These findings suggest that parental attitudes may impact how families respond to an adolescent risk intervention. PMID:22720144

Development of bunch shape monitor for high-intensity beam on the China ADS proton LINAC Injector II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Guangyu; Wu, Junxia; Du, Ze; Zhang, Yong; Xue, Zongheng; Xie, Hongming; Wei, Yuan; Jing, Long; Jia, Huan

2018-05-01

The development, performance, and testing of the longitudinal bunch shape monitor, namely, the Fast Faraday Cup (FFC), are presented in this paper. The FFC is an invasive instrument controlled by a stepper motor, and its principle of operation is based on a strip line structure. The longitudinal bunch shape was determined by sampling a small part of the beam hitting the strip line through a 1-mm hole. The rise time of the detector reached 24 ps. To accommodate experiments that utilize high-intensity beams, the materials of the bunch shape monitor were chosen to sustain high temperatures. Water cooling was also integrated in the detector system to enhance heat transfer and prevent thermal damage. We also present an analysis of the heating caused by the beam. The bunch shape monitor has been installed and commissioned at the China ADS proton LINAC Injector II.

A Computer-Aided Analysis Method of SPECT Brain Images for Quantitative Treatment Monitoring: Performance Evaluations and Clinical Applications.

PubMed

Zheng, Xiujuan; Wei, Wentao; Huang, Qiu; Song, Shaoli; Wan, Jieqing; Huang, Gang

2017-01-01

The objective and quantitative analysis of longitudinal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images are significant for the treatment monitoring of brain disorders. Therefore, a computer aided analysis (CAA) method is introduced to extract a change-rate map (CRM) as a parametric image for quantifying the changes of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in longitudinal SPECT brain images. The performances of the CAA-CRM approach in treatment monitoring are evaluated by the computer simulations and clinical applications. The results of computer simulations show that the derived CRMs have high similarities with their ground truths when the lesion size is larger than system spatial resolution and the change rate is higher than 20%. In clinical applications, the CAA-CRM approach is used to assess the treatment of 50 patients with brain ischemia. The results demonstrate that CAA-CRM approach has a 93.4% accuracy of recovered region's localization. Moreover, the quantitative indexes of recovered regions derived from CRM are all significantly different among the groups and highly correlated with the experienced clinical diagnosis. In conclusion, the proposed CAA-CRM approach provides a convenient solution to generate a parametric image and derive the quantitative indexes from the longitudinal SPECT brain images for treatment monitoring.

Longitudinal expandable shelter for medical response during disasters.

PubMed

Miniati, Roberto; Dori, Fabrizio; Iadanza, Ernesto; Lo Sardo, Marco; Boncinelli, Sergio

2010-01-01

During medical emergencies, hospitals represent the final point of the whole rescue process. Therefore, effective health mobile structures have to be inserted between hospitals and the place of the event with the aim of giving the best of cures (using appropriate and easy to use equipment) for a safer and faster evacuation to hospitals. Literature review and national and international disaster medicine standards were the basis for this study to provide clinical, hygienical, and organizational needs to satisfy for the medical structure design. Project requirements have been obtained by analyzing structural, organizational, and clinical process necessities. Structural requirements respond to the possibility of installation on every ground type, resistance to every weather condition, and necessity of easy and fast transportation. Technological equipment is obtained from clinical evaluation for patient stabilization. The designed structure results to be a longitudinal expandable shelter (LES) for medical emergencies response organized in three internal functional areas. Possibility of automatic expandability allows rapid transportation and easy deployment. The functional internal organization provides three areas: "Diagnostic," "Therapeutic," and "Pre-evacuation monitoring." Further, longitudinal expandability supports the basic hygienical rules in healthcare processes allowing the unidirectional flow of casualties from dirtier to cleaner areas of the structure. LES represents the answer to expressed requisites by disaster medicine standards and guidelines. It aims to provide an efficient and effective support for sanitary aid in response to disasters or emergencies, by improving aspects related to effectiveness, hygiene, and quality of clinical performances especially for highest critical cases.

Longitudinal Beam Diagnostics for the ILC Injectors and Bunch Compressors

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

Piot, Philippe; Bracke, Adam; Demir, Veysel

2010-12-01

We present a diagnostics suite and analyze techniques for setting up the longitudinal beam dynamics in ILC e⁻ injectors and e⁺ and e⁻ bunch compressors. Techniques to measure the first order moments and recover the first order longitudinal transfer map of the injector's intricate bunching scheme are presented. Coherent transition radiation diagnostics needed to measure and monitor the bunch length downstream of the ~5 GeV bunch compressor are investigated using a vector diffraction model.

A Reinterpretation of Parental Monitoring in Longitudinal Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerr, Margaret; Stattin, Hakan; Burk, William J.

2010-01-01

A commonly used measure of parental monitoring is parents' knowledge of adolescents' daily activities. This measure has been criticized on the grounds that parents get more knowledge about teenagers' daily activities through willing youth disclosure than through their own active monitoring efforts, but this claim was based on cross-sectional data.…

Perceived Parental Monitoring, Adolescent Disclosure, and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamza, Chloe A.; Willoughby, Teena

2011-01-01

Parental monitoring has long been stressed as an important parenting practice in reducing adolescents' susceptibility to depressive symptoms. Reviews have revealed, however, that measures of monitoring have been confounded with parental knowledge, and that the role of adolescent disclosure has been neglected. In the present study, adolescents (N =…

Father–Child Longitudinal Relationship: Parental Monitoring and Internet Gaming Disorder in Chinese Adolescents

PubMed Central

Su, Binyuan; Yu, Chengfu; Zhang, Wei; Su, Qin; Zhu, Jianjun; Jiang, Yanping

2018-01-01

Although empirical studies have indicated that parents have an important role in preventing Internet gaming disorder in adolescents, longitudinal research on the parental predictors of Internet gaming disorder is lacking. We used a three-wave cross-lagged panel model to explore the reciprocal association between parental monitoring and Internet gaming disorder, and examined the different impacts of mother– and father–child relationships on this association. A sample of 1490 adolescents aged 10–15 years (M = 12.03, SD = 1.59; 45.4% female) completed assessments at all three points. The cross-lagged model revealed that (a) parental monitoring at T1 predicted lower Internet gaming disorder at T2, and greater Internet gaming disorder at T2 predicted lower parental monitoring at T3; (b) father–child relationship had a reciprocal, indirect effect on the relationship between parental monitoring and Internet gaming disorder, while mother–child relationship did not. These findings suggest that the parental effects (e.g., higher parental monitoring and better father–child relationship) might play a vital role in preventing Internet gaming disorder in adolescents. PMID:29467704

Father-Child Longitudinal Relationship: Parental Monitoring and Internet Gaming Disorder in Chinese Adolescents.

PubMed

Su, Binyuan; Yu, Chengfu; Zhang, Wei; Su, Qin; Zhu, Jianjun; Jiang, Yanping

2018-01-01

Although empirical studies have indicated that parents have an important role in preventing Internet gaming disorder in adolescents, longitudinal research on the parental predictors of Internet gaming disorder is lacking. We used a three-wave cross-lagged panel model to explore the reciprocal association between parental monitoring and Internet gaming disorder, and examined the different impacts of mother- and father-child relationships on this association. A sample of 1490 adolescents aged 10-15 years ( M = 12.03, SD = 1.59; 45.4% female) completed assessments at all three points. The cross-lagged model revealed that (a) parental monitoring at T1 predicted lower Internet gaming disorder at T2, and greater Internet gaming disorder at T2 predicted lower parental monitoring at T3; (b) father-child relationship had a reciprocal, indirect effect on the relationship between parental monitoring and Internet gaming disorder, while mother-child relationship did not. These findings suggest that the parental effects (e.g., higher parental monitoring and better father-child relationship) might play a vital role in preventing Internet gaming disorder in adolescents.

Longitudinal Trajectories of Parental Involvement in Type 1 Diabetes and Adolescents’ Adherence

PubMed Central

King, Pamela S.; Berg, Cynthia A.; Butner, Jonathan; Butler, Jorie M.; Wiebe, Deborah J.

2016-01-01

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal trajectories of parental involvement and adolescent adherence to the Type 1 diabetes regimen, to determine whether changes in multiple facets of parental involvement over time predicted subsequent changes in adolescents’ adherence, and to examine whether adolescent self-efficacy mediated the effect of parental involvement on adherence. Method Two hundred fifty-two adolescents (M age = 12.49 years, SD = 1.53; 53.6% females) diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes mellitus, their mothers, and 188 fathers were enrolled in a 2.5-year longitudinal study. Across 5 time points, up to 252 adolescents and their parents completed measures of adherence, parental involvement (diabetes monitoring, behavioral involvement in diabetes management, and acceptance), and adolescent diabetes self-efficacy. Results Using multilevel modeling, analyses indicated significant average declines over time in adherence and most indicators of parental involvement. Lagged multilevel models indicated that declines in mothers’ and fathers’ acceptance and diabetes monitoring predicted subsequent declines in adolescents’ adherence. Additional analyses revealed that longitudinal associations between both maternal acceptance and diabetes monitoring and subsequent adolescent adherence were mediated by adolescents’ self-efficacy. Conclusions Results of this study, which were largely consistent across reporters, highlight the importance of maintaining parental involvement in diabetes across adolescence and suggest that parental involvement is beneficial for adolescents’ adherence, in part, because it contributes to higher self-efficacy for diabetes management among adolescents. PMID:23795709

Literature review on monitoring technologies and their outcomes in independently living elderly people.

PubMed

Peetoom, Kirsten K B; Lexis, Monique A S; Joore, Manuela; Dirksen, Carmen D; De Witte, Luc P

2015-07-01

To obtain insight into what kind of monitoring technologies exist to monitor activity in-home, what the characteristics and aims of applying these technologies are, what kind of research has been conducted on their effects and what kind of outcomes are reported. A systematic document search was conducted within the scientific databases Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, PsycINFO and Cinahl, complemented by Google Scholar. Documents were included in this review if they reported on monitoring technologies that detect activities of daily living (ADL) or significant events, e.g. falls, of elderly people in-home, with the aim of prolonging independent living. Five main types of monitoring technologies were identified: PIR motion sensors, body-worn sensors, pressure sensors, video monitoring and sound recognition. In addition, multicomponent technologies and smart home technologies were identified. Research into the use of monitoring technologies is widespread, but in its infancy, consisting mainly of small-scale studies and including few longitudinal studies. Monitoring technology is a promising field, with applications to the long-term care of elderly persons. However, monitoring technologies have to be brought to the next level, with longitudinal studies that evaluate their (cost-) effectiveness to demonstrate the potential to prolong independent living of elderly persons. [Box: see text].

The arrangement of deformation monitoring project and analysis of monitoring data of a hydropower engineering safety monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wanshun; Chen, Zhuo; Li, Xiuwen

2018-03-01

The safety monitoring is very important in the operation and management of water resources and hydropower projects. It is the important means to understand the dam running status, to ensure the dam safety, to safeguard people’s life and property security, and to make full use of engineering benefits. This paper introduces the arrangement of engineering safety monitoring system based on the example of a water resource control project. The monitoring results of each monitoring project are analyzed intensively to show the operating status of the monitoring system and to provide useful reference for similar projects.

1982 Maths Investigation: Technical Report. Mt. Druitt Longitudinal Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houghton, Karen; Low, Brian

Aims of this phase of a longitudinal mathematics achievement investigation were to (1) detect individual and group differences in math achievement among a sample of fourth-year children, (2) monitor changes in math skills since a 1981 math investigation, and (3) identify limits of children's understanding of mathematical concepts. (The math test…

Automatic Rejection Of Multimode Laser Pulses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tratt, David M.; Menzies, Robert T.; Esproles, Carlos

1991-01-01

Characteristic modulation detected, enabling rejection of multimode signals. Monitoring circuit senses multiple longitudinal mode oscillation of transversely excited, atmospheric-pressure (TEA) CO2 laser. Facility developed for inclusion into coherent detection laser radar (LIDAR) system. However, circuit described of use in any experiment where desireable to record data only when laser operates in single longitudinal mode.

Temperament, Parenting, and South Korean Early Adolescents' Physical Aggression: A Five-Wave Longitudinal Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Julie

2014-01-01

Objective: This study examined the growth pattern in physical aggression over a five-year period among South Korean early adolescents and the effects of temperament (anger/frustration and emotion regulation) and parenting (harsh parenting and parental monitoring) on early adolescents' physical aggression. Design: A five-year longitudinal design…

Signal Detection and Monitoring Based on Longitudinal Healthcare Data

PubMed Central

Suling, Marc; Pigeot, Iris

2012-01-01

Post-marketing detection and surveillance of potential safety hazards are crucial tasks in pharmacovigilance. To uncover such safety risks, a wide set of techniques has been developed for spontaneous reporting data and, more recently, for longitudinal data. This paper gives a broad overview of the signal detection process and introduces some types of data sources typically used. The most commonly applied signal detection algorithms are presented, covering simple frequentistic methods like the proportional reporting rate or the reporting odds ratio, more advanced Bayesian techniques for spontaneous and longitudinal data, e.g., the Bayesian Confidence Propagation Neural Network or the Multi-item Gamma-Poisson Shrinker and methods developed for longitudinal data only, like the IC temporal pattern detection. Additionally, the problem of adjustment for underlying confounding is discussed and the most common strategies to automatically identify false-positive signals are addressed. A drug monitoring technique based on Wald’s sequential probability ratio test is presented. For each method, a real-life application is given, and a wide set of literature for further reading is referenced. PMID:24300373

Dynamic thresholds and a summary ROC curve: Assessing prognostic accuracy of longitudinal markers.

PubMed

Saha-Chaudhuri, P; Heagerty, P J

2018-04-19

Cancer patients, chronic kidney disease patients, and subjects infected with HIV are routinely monitored over time using biomarkers that represent key health status indicators. Furthermore, biomarkers are frequently used to guide initiation of new treatments or to inform changes in intervention strategies. Since key medical decisions can be made on the basis of a longitudinal biomarker, it is important to evaluate the potential accuracy associated with longitudinal monitoring. To characterize the overall accuracy of a time-dependent marker, we introduce a summary ROC curve that displays the overall sensitivity associated with a time-dependent threshold that controls time-varying specificity. The proposed statistical methods are similar to concepts considered in disease screening, yet our methods are novel in choosing a potentially time-dependent threshold to define a positive test, and our methods allow time-specific control of the false-positive rate. The proposed summary ROC curve is a natural averaging of time-dependent incident/dynamic ROC curves and therefore provides a single summary of net error rates that can be achieved in the longitudinal setting. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Camden active spaces: Does the construction of active school playgrounds influence children's physical activity levels? A longitudinal quasi-experiment protocol

PubMed Central

Smith, Lee; Kipps, Courtney; Aggio, Daniel; Fox, Paul; Robinson, Nigel; Trend, Verena; Munnery, Suzie; Kelly, Barry; Hamer, Mark

2014-01-01

Introduction Physical activity is essential for every facet of children's health. However, physical activity levels in British children are low. The school environment is a promising setting to increase children's physical activity but limited empirical evidence exists on how a change in the outdoor physical school environment influences physical activity behaviour. The London Borough of Camden is redesigning seven existing school playgrounds to engage children to become more physically active. The primary aim of this project is to evaluate the impact of the redesigned playgrounds on children's physical activity, well-being and physical function/fitness. Method and analysis This project will use a longitudinal quasi-experimental design. Seven experimental schools and one control school will take part. One baseline data collection session and two follow-ups will be carried out. Between baseline and follow-up, the experimental school playgrounds will be redesigned. At baseline, a series of fitness tests, anthropometric and questionnaire measurements, and 7-day objective physical activity monitoring (Actigraph accelerometer) will be carried out on children (aged 5–16 years). This will be repeated at follow-up. Changes in overall physical activity levels and levels during different times of the day (eg, school breaks) will be examined. Multilevel regression modelling will be used to analyse the data. Ethics and dissemination The results of this study will be disseminated through peer-review publications and scientific presentations. Ethical approval was obtained through the University College London Research Ethics Committee (Reference number: 4400/002). PMID:25232566

Monitoring Bone Health after Spaceflight: Data Mining to Support an Epidemiological Analysis of Age-related Bone Loss in Astronauts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, K. S,; Amin, S.; Sibonga, Jean D.

2009-01-01

Through the epidemiological analysis of bone data, HRP is seeking evidence as to whether the prolonged exposure to microgravity of low earth orbit predisposes crewmembers to an earlier onset of osteoporosis. While this collaborative Epidemiological Project may be currently limited by the number of ISS persons providing relevant spaceflight medical data, a positive note is that it compares medical data of astronauts to data of an age-matched (not elderly) population that is followed longitudinally with similar technologies. The inclusion of data from non-ISS and non-NASA crewmembers is also being pursued. The ultimate goal of this study is to provide critical information for NASA to understand the impact of low physical or minimal weight-bearing activity on the aging process as well as to direct its development of countermeasures and rehabilitation programs to influence skeletal recovery. However, in order to optimize these results NASA needs to better define the requirements for long term monitoring and encourage both active and retired astronauts to contribute to a legacy of data that will define human health risks in space.

What do you do with success? The science of scaling up a health systems strengthening intervention in Ghana.

PubMed

Phillips, James F; Awoonor-Williams, John Koku; Bawah, Ayaga A; Nimako, Belinda Afriyie; Kanlisi, Nicholas S; Sheff, Mallory C; Asuming, Patrick O; Kyei, Pearl E; Biney, Adriana; Jackson, Elizabeth F

2018-06-22

The completion of an implementation research project typically signals the end of research. In contrast, the Ghana Health Service has embraced a continuous process of evidence-based programming, wherein each research episode is followed by action and a new program of research that monitors and guides the utilization of lessons learned. This paper reviews the objectives and design of the most recent phase in this process, known as a National Program for Strengthening the Implementation of the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Initiative in Ghana (CHPS+). A mixed method evaluation strategy has been launched involving: i) baseline and endline randomized sample surveys with 247 clusters dispersed in 14 districts of the Northern and Volta Regions to assess the difference in difference effect of stepped wedge differential cluster exposure to CHPS+ activities on childhood survival, ii) a monitoring system to assess the association of changes in service system readiness with CHPS+ interventions, and iii) a program of qualitative systems appraisal to gauge stakeholder perceptions of systems problems, reactions to interventions, and perceptions of change. Integrated survey and monitoring data will permit multi-level longitudinal models of impact; longitudinal QSA data will provide data on the implementation process. A process of exchanges, team interaction, and catalytic financing has accelerated the expansion of community-based primary health care in Ghana's Upper East Region (UER). Using two Northern and two Volta Region districts, the UER systems learning concept will be transferred to counterpart districts where a program of team-based peer training will be instituted. A mixed method research system will be used to assess the impact of this transfer of innovation in collaboration with national and regional program management. This arrangement will generate embedded science that optimizes prospects that results will contribute to national CHPS reform policies and action.

The ONS Longitudinal Study--a prestigious past and a bright future.

PubMed

Goldring, Shayla; Newman, Jim

2010-01-01

This issue of Population Trends includes a number of articles and reports resulting from research based on the ONS Longitudinal Study (ONS LS). They have been drawn together in one issue to highlight the value of this type of study for demographic research.2009 marked the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the ONS LS. The study now contains data from the last four censuses (1971 to 2001), linked to vital events data since 1971, for a sample of one per cent of the population of England and Wales.More recently, sister studies have been established in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS) started with 1991 Census data and the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study (NILS)started with 2001 Census data.The lead article in this issue comes from an exemplar project that was established to explore how to utilise the three studies to carry out UK-wide longitudinal analysis. Two different methods were used to analyse socio-economic and country level differences in health and mortality across the studies. The article summarises the results of this analysis, reports on the relative strengths of the different methods used, and draws attention to a number of new resources that have been developed by the project researchers as aids to using all three studies.This is an excellent example of collaborative working across the UK, involving researchers from the Centre for Longitudinal Study Information and User Support (CeLSIUS) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Longitudinal Studies Centre - Scotland (LSCS) at the University of St.Andrews and the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study - Research Support Unit (NILS-RSU) at Queen's University Belfast. The project also involved collaboration between ONS, the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) to ensure the secure transfer and handling of data from the three studies so that it could be brought together in one place for analysis.The other ONS LS-based articles and reports in this edition largely focus on research into issues related to families and households, as summarised below: A collaborative project involving Ben Wilson (ONS) and Rachel Stuchbury (CeLSIUS) comparing the stability of partnerships involving marriage and cohabitation.A project looking at transitions in children's experience of living in a workless household and how this varies by ethnic group, submitted by Lucinda Platt (Institute for Social & Economic Research, University of Essex).An article on the effect of a change in the census definition of a child between 1991 and 2001 submitted by Emily Grundy, Rachel Stuchbury and Harriet Young (CeLSIUS).The remainder of this introductory article will focus on the ONS LS, its history and some examples of its use, and gives a summary of planned developments over the coming years. Please refer to the contact details at the end of the article if you require further information on any of the three longitudinal studies.

28 CFR 512.17 - Monitoring approved research projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Monitoring approved research projects... MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH Research § 512.17 Monitoring approved research projects. The BRRB shall monitor all research projects for compliance with Bureau policies. At a minimum, yearly reviews...

28 CFR 512.17 - Monitoring approved research projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Monitoring approved research projects... MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH Research § 512.17 Monitoring approved research projects. The BRRB shall monitor all research projects for compliance with Bureau policies. At a minimum, yearly reviews...

28 CFR 512.17 - Monitoring approved research projects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Monitoring approved research projects... MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH Research § 512.17 Monitoring approved research projects. The BRRB shall monitor all research projects for compliance with Bureau policies. At a minimum, yearly reviews...

Enabling CSPA Operations Through Pilot Involvement in Longitudinal Approach Spacing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Battiste, Vernol (Technical Monitor); Pritchett, Amy

2003-01-01

Several major airports around the United States have, or plan to have, closely-spaced parallel runways. This project complemented current and previous research by examining the pilots ability to control their position longitudinally within their approach stream.This project s results considered spacing for separation from potential positions of wake vortices from the parallel approach. This preventive function could enable CSPA operations to very closely spaced runways. This work also considered how pilot involvement in longitudinal spacing could allow for more efficient traffic flow, by allowing pilots to keep their aircraft within tighter arrival slots then air traffic control (ATC) might be able to establish, and by maintaining space within the arrival stream for corresponding departure slots. To this end, this project conducted several research studies providing an analytic and computational basis for calculating appropriate aircraft spacings, experimental results from a piloted flight simulator test, and an experimental testbed for future simulator tests. The following sections summarize the results of these three efforts.

Developing longitudinal qualitative designs: lessons learned and recommendations for health services research.

PubMed

Calman, Lynn; Brunton, Lisa; Molassiotis, Alex

2013-02-06

Longitudinal qualitative methods are becoming increasingly used in the health service research, but the method and challenges particular to health care settings are not well described in the literature.We reflect on the strategies used in a longitudinal qualitative study to explore the experience of symptoms in cancer patients and their carers, following participants from diagnosis for twelve months; we highlight ethical, practical, theoretical and methodological issues that need to be considered and addressed from the outset of a longitudinal qualitative study. Key considerations in undertaking longitudinal qualitative projects in health research, include the use of theory, utilizing multiple methods of analysis and giving consideration to the practical and ethical issues at an early stage. These can include issues of time and timing; data collection processes; changing the topic guide over time; recruitment considerations; retention of staff; issues around confidentiality; effects of project on staff and patients, and analyzing data within and across time. As longitudinal qualitative methods are becoming increasingly used in health services research, the methodological and practical challenges particular to health care settings need more robust approaches and conceptual improvement. We provide recommendations for the use of such designs. We have a particular focus on cancer patients, so this paper will have particular relevance for researchers interested in chronic and life limiting conditions.

Parental Monitoring during Early Adolescence Deters Adolescent Sexual Initiation: Discrete-Time Survival Mixture Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, David Y. C.; Murphy, Debra A.; Hser, Yih-Ing

2011-01-01

We used discrete-time survival mixture modeling to examine 5,305 adolescents from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth regarding the impact of parental monitoring during early adolescence (ages 14-16) on initiation of sexual intercourse and problem behavior engagement (ages 14-23). Four distinctive parental-monitoring groups were…

Determinants of Parental Monitoring and Preadolescent Sexual Risk Situations among African American Families Living in Urban Public Housing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baptiste, Donna R.; Tolou-Shams, Marina; Miller, Scott R.; Mcbride, Cami K.; Paikoff, Roberta L.

2007-01-01

We investigated determinants of parental monitoring and the association between parental monitoring and preadolescent sexual risk situations among low-income, African American families living in urban public housing. Preadolescents and their parents or caregivers who participated in a longitudinal study of familial and contextual influences on…

The Longitudinal Impact of Distal, Non-Familial Relationships on Parental Monitoring: Implications for Delinquent Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaggers, Jeremiah W.; Bolland, Anneliese C.; Tomek, Sara; Bolland, Kathleen A.; Hooper, Lisa M.; Church, Wesley T., II; Bolland, John M.

2018-01-01

An extensive body of work shows that parental monitoring reduces the likelihood of risky behaviors among youth, yet little attention has been given to the factors compelling parents to engage in monitoring behaviors. The current study examines the association between non-familial, adolescent relationships (i.e., school connectedness, community…

46. LONGITUDINAL SECTION POWER HOUSE S.A.R. NO. 2, EDISON ...

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

46. LONGITUDINAL SECTION - POWER HOUSE S.A.R. NO. 2, EDISON PROJECT, APR. 30, 1945. SCE drawing no. 523198 (sheet no. 8; for filing with Federal Power Commission). - Santa Ana River Hydroelectric System, SAR-2 Powerhouse, Redlands, San Bernardino County, CA

Aeroelastic Sizing for High-Speed Research (HSR) Longitudinal Control Alternatives Project (LCAP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walsh, Joanne L.; Dunn, H. J.; Stroud, W. Jefferson; Barthelemy, J.-F.; Weston, Robert P.; Martin, Carl J.; Bennett, Robert M.

2005-01-01

The Longitudinal Control Alternatives Project (LCAP) compared three high-speed civil transport configurations to determine potential advantages of the three associated longitudinal control concepts. The three aircraft configurations included a conventional configuration with a layout having a horizontal aft tail, a configuration with a forward canard in addition to a horizontal aft tail, and a configuration with only a forward canard. The three configurations were aeroelastically sized and were compared on the basis of operational empty weight (OEW) and longitudinal control characteristics. The sized structure consisted of composite honeycomb sandwich panels on both the wing and the fuselage. Design variables were the core depth of the sandwich and the thicknesses of the composite material which made up the face sheets of the sandwich. Each configuration was sized for minimum structural weight under linear and nonlinear aeroelastic loads subject to strain, buckling, ply-mixture, and subsonic and supersonic flutter constraints. This report describes the methods that were used and the results that were generated for the aeroelastic sizing of the three configurations.

Prevention of adolescent problem behavior: longitudinal impact of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Yu, Lu

2011-03-07

The present study attempts to examine the longitudinal impact of a curriculum-based positive youth development program, entitled the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes), on adolescent problem behavior in Hong Kong. Using a longitudinal randomized group design, six waves of data were collected from 19 experimental schools (n = 3,797 at Wave 1) in which students participated in the Project P.A.T.H.S. and 24 control schools (n = 4,049 at Wave 1). At each wave, students responded to questions asking about their current problem behaviors, including delinquency and use of different types of drugs, and their intentions of engaging in such behaviors in the future. Results based on individual growth curve modeling generally showed that the participants displayed lower levels of substance abuse and delinquent behavior than did the control students. Participants who regarded the program to be helpful also showed lower levels of problem behavior than did the control students. The present findings suggest that the Project P.A.T.H.S. is effective in preventing adolescent problem behavior in the junior secondary school years.

Global antibiotic resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

PubMed

Adam, Dieter

2002-07-01

The last two decades of the 20th century were marked by an increasing resistance rate among several bacteria. Threat of resistance is present in Staphylococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Enterobacteriaceae, which are the major pathogens in nosocomial infections. In the community, too, increasing resistance can be observed and is attributed mainly (but not exclusively) to Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. To scrutinize this trend, resistance surveillance in the community was established about 10 years ago. One of the multinational, longitudinal surveillance programmes in place is the Alexander Project, which was established in 1992 to monitor the susceptibility of the major community-acquired lower respiratory tract pathogens to a range of antibacterial drugs. The Alexander Project has revealed a tendency towards increasing resistance of S. pneumoniae to penicillin and macrolide therapy. Within Europe, the prevalence of penicillin resistance among S. pneumoniae isolates is particularly high in France and Spain. Macrolide resistance in S. pneumoniae is also a growing problem in European countries such as France, Spain, Belgium and Italy, where the extent of macrolide resistance in S. pneumoniae now exceeds that of penicillin resistance.

Assessing health impacts in complex eco-epidemiological settings in the humid tropics: Modular baseline health surveys

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

Winkler, Mirko S., E-mail: mirko.winkler@unibas.ch; University of Basel, P.O. Box, CH-4003 Basel; Divall, Mark J., E-mail: mdivall@shapeconsulting.org

2012-02-15

The quantitative assessment of health impacts has been identified as a crucial feature for realising the full potential of health impact assessment (HIA). In settings where demographic and health data are notoriously scarce, but there is a broad range of ascertainable ecological, environmental, epidemiological and socioeconomic information, a diverse toolkit of data collection strategies becomes relevant for the mainly small-area impacts of interest. We present a modular, cross-sectional baseline health survey study design, which has been developed for HIA of industrial development projects in the humid tropics. The modular nature of our toolkit allows our methodology to be readily adaptedmore » to the prevailing eco-epidemiological characteristics of a given project setting. Central to our design is a broad set of key performance indicators, covering a multiplicity of health outcomes and determinants at different levels and scales. We present experience and key findings from our modular baseline health survey methodology employed in 14 selected sentinel sites within an iron ore mining project in the Republic of Guinea. We argue that our methodology is a generic example of rapid evidence assembly in difficult-to-reach localities, where improvement of the predictive validity of the assessment and establishment of a benchmark for longitudinal monitoring of project impacts and mitigation efforts is needed.« less

Planning an integrated agriculture and health program and designing its evaluation: Experience from Western Kenya.

PubMed

Cole, Donald C; Levin, Carol; Loechl, Cornelia; Thiele, Graham; Grant, Frederick; Girard, Aimee Webb; Sindi, Kirimi; Low, Jan

2016-06-01

Multi-sectoral programs that involve stakeholders in agriculture, nutrition and health care are essential for responding to nutrition problems such as vitamin A deficiency among pregnant and lactating women and their infants in many poor areas of lower income countries. Yet planning such multi-sectoral programs and designing appropriate evaluations, to respond to different disciplinary cultures of evidence, remain a challenge. We describe the context, program development process, and evaluation design of the Mama SASHA project (Sweetpotato Action for Security and Health in Africa) which promoted production and consumption of a bio-fortified, orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). In planning the program we drew upon information from needs assessments, stakeholder consultations, and a first round of the implementation evaluation of a pilot project. The multi-disciplinary team worked with partner organizations to develop a program theory of change and an impact pathway which identified aspects of the program that would be monitored and established evaluation methods. Responding to the growing demand for greater rigour in impact evaluations, we carried out quasi-experimental allocation by health facility catchment area, repeat village surveys for assessment of change in intervention and control areas, and longitudinal tracking of individual mother-child pairs. Mid-course corrections in program implementation were informed by program monitoring, regular feedback from implementers and partners' meetings. To assess economic efficiency and provide evidence for scaling we collected data on resources used and project expenses. Managing the multi-sectoral program and the mixed methods evaluation involved bargaining and trade-offs that were deemed essential to respond to the array of stakeholders, program funders and disciplines involved. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Planning an integrated agriculture and health program and designing its evaluation: Experience from Western Kenya

PubMed Central

Cole, Donald C.; Levin, Carol; Loechl, Cornelia; Thiele, Graham; Grant, Frederick; Girard, Aimee Webb; Sindi, Kirimi; Low, Jan

2016-01-01

Multi-sectoral programs that involve stakeholders in agriculture, nutrition and health care are essential for responding to nutrition problems such as vitamin A deficiency among pregnant and lactating women and their infants in many poor areas of lower income countries. Yet planning such multi-sectoral programs and designing appropriate evaluations, to respond to different disciplinary cultures of evidence, remain a challenge. We describe the context, program development process, and evaluation design of the Mama SASHA project (Sweetpotato Action for Security and Health in Africa) which promoted production and consumption of a bio-fortified, orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). In planning the program we drew upon information from needs assessments, stakeholder consultations, and a first round of the implementation evaluation of a pilot project. The multi-disciplinary team worked with partner organizations to develop a program theory of change and an impact pathway which identified aspects of the program that would be monitored and established evaluation methods. Responding to the growing demand for greater rigour in impact evaluations, we carried out quasi-experimental allocation by health facility catchment area, repeat village surveys for assessment of change in intervention and control areas, and longitudinal tracking of individual mother-child pairs. Mid-course corrections in program implementation were informed by program monitoring, regular feedback from implementers and partners’ meetings. To assess economic efficiency and provide evidence for scaling we collected data on resources used and project expenses. Managing the multi-sectoral program and the mixed methods evaluation involved bargaining and trade-offs that were deemed essential to respond to the array of stakeholders, program funders and disciplines involved. PMID:27003730

Longitudinal Associations between Adolescent Alcohol Use and Parents' Sources of Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stavrinides, Panayiotis; Georgiou, Stelios; Demetriou, Andreas

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to test the direction of effect in the relationship between parents' sources of knowledge (parental monitoring and child disclosure) and adolescent alcohol use. The participants were 215 adolescents and their mothers, randomly selected from urban and rural areas in Cyprus. A 3-month, two-timepoint longitudinal design was…

Latent Variable Regression 4-Level Hierarchical Model Using Multisite Multiple-Cohorts Longitudinal Data. CRESST Report 801

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Kilchan

2011-01-01

This report explores a new latent variable regression 4-level hierarchical model for monitoring school performance over time using multisite multiple-cohorts longitudinal data. This kind of data set has a 4-level hierarchical structure: time-series observation nested within students who are nested within different cohorts of students. These…

[Change settings for visual analyzer of child users of mobile communication: longitudinal study].

PubMed

Khorseva, N I; Grigor'ev, Iu G; Gorbunova, N V

2014-01-01

The paper represents theresults of longitudinal monitoring of the changes in the parameters of simple visual-motor reaction, the visual acuity and the rate of the visual discrimination in the child users of mobile communication, which indicate the multivariability of the possible effects of radiation from mobile phones on the auditory system of children.

A Longitudinal Examination of Risky Sexual Behaviors among Canadian and Italian Adolescents: Considering Individual, Parental, and Friend Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boislard P., Marie-Aude; Poulin, Francois; Kiesner, Jeff; Dishion, Thomas J.

2009-01-01

In this study, two longitudinal models of early adolescent risky sexual behaviors (RSB) were compared using a pooled sample of 267 Canadian and Italian adolescents (55% females; 53% Canadians) assessed yearly from grade 8 to 10. We focused on parenting practices (monitoring, control, limit setting), adolescent problem behaviors (antisocial…

Assessing health impacts in complex eco-epidemiological settings in the humid tropics: The centrality of scoping

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

Winkler, Mirko S., E-mail: mirko.winkler@unibas.c; University of Basel, P.O. Box, CH-4003 Basel; Divall, Mark J., E-mail: mdivall@newfields.co

2011-04-15

Natural resources development projects are - and have been for more than 150 years - located in remote rural areas in developing countries, where local level data on community health is notoriously scarce. Health impact assessment (HIA) aims at identifying potential negative health consequences of such projects and providing the initial evidence-base for prevention and mitigation of diseases, injuries and risk factors, as well as promotion of positive effects. An important, but under-systematised early phase of the HIA process is scoping. It aims at organising diverse, often fragmentary, evidence and identifying potential project-related health impacts and underlying data gaps. Itmore » is also a key element in defining the terms of reference for the entire assessment. We present novel methodological features for the scoping process, emphasising the evaluation of quality of evidence, and illustrate its use in a contemporary HIA of the Simandou iron ore project in the Republic of Guinea. Assessment of data quality is integrated with specific content information via an analytical framework for the systematic identification of health outcomes and determinants of major concern. A subsequent gap analysis is utilised to assess the need for further baseline data collection and to facilitate the specification of a set of potential key performance indicators and strategies to inform the required evidence-base. We argue that scoping also plays a central role in the design of surveillance systems for longitudinal monitoring of health, equity and wellbeing following project implementation.« less

Impact of a competency based curriculum on quality improvement among internal medicine residents.

PubMed

Fok, Mark C; Wong, Roger Y

2014-11-28

Teaching quality improvement (QI) principles during residency is an important component of promoting patient safety and improving quality of care. The literature on QI curricula for internal medicine residents is limited. We sought to evaluate the impact of a competency based curriculum on QI among internal medicine residents. This was a prospective, cohort study over four years (2007-2011) using pre-post curriculum comparison design in an internal medicine residency program in Canada. Overall 175 post-graduate year one internal medicine residents participated. A two-phase, competency based curriculum on QI was developed with didactic workshops and longitudinal, team-based QI projects. The main outcome measures included self-assessment, objective assessment using the Quality Improvement Knowledge Assessment Tool (QIKAT) scores to assess QI knowledge, and performance-based assessment via presentation of longitudinal QI projects. Overall 175 residents participated, with a response rate of 160/175 (91%) post-curriculum and 114/175 (65%) after conducting their longitudinal QI project. Residents' self-reported confidence in making changes to improve health increased and was sustained at twelve months post-curriculum. Self-assessment scores of QI skills improved significantly from pre-curriculum (53.4 to 69.2 percent post-curriculum [p-value 0.002]) and scores were sustained at twelve months after conducting their longitudinal QI projects (53.4 to 72.2 percent [p-value 0.005]). Objective scores using the QIKAT increased post-curriculum from 8.3 to 10.1 out of 15 (p-value for difference <0.001) and this change was sustained at twelve months post-project with average individual scores of 10.7 out of 15 (p-value for difference from pre-curriculum <0.001). Performance-based assessment occurred via presentation of all projects at the annual QI Project Podium Presentation Day. The competency based curriculum on QI improved residents' QI knowledge and skills during residency training. Importantly, residents perceived that their QI knowledge improved after the curriculum and this also correlated to improved QIKAT scores. Experiential QI project work appeared to contribute to sustaining QI knowledge at twelve months.

Pre-clinical longitudinal monitoring of hemodynamic response to anti-vascular chemotherapy by hybrid diffuse optics.

PubMed

Farzam, Parisa; Johansson, Johannes; Mireles, Miguel; Jiménez-Valerio, Gabriela; Martínez-Lozano, Mar; Choe, Regine; Casanovas, Oriol; Durduran, Turgut

2017-05-01

The longitudinal effect of an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) antibody (DC 101) therapy on a xenografted renal cell carcinoma (RCC) mouse model was monitored using hybrid diffuse optics. Two groups of immunosuppressed male nude mice (seven treated, seven controls) were measured. Tumor microvascular blood flow, total hemoglobin concentration and blood oxygenation were investigated as potential biomarkers for the monitoring of the therapy effect twice a week and were related to the final treatment outcome. These hemodynamic biomarkers have shown a clear differentiation between two groups by day four. Moreover, we have observed that pre-treatment values and early changes in hemodynamics are highly correlated with the therapeutic outcome demonstrating the potential of diffuse optics to predict the therapy response at an early time point.

A Study of Longitudinal Joint Construction Techniques in HMA Pavements (Interim Report - Colorado Project)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-02-01

There is a need to identify suitable longitudinal joint construction techniques for multilane hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavements, which can minimize or eliminate cracking at the joint and/or ravelling adjacent to the joint. It is believed that the longi...

Can Routinely Collected Early Intervention Data for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children Be Used for Outcome Monitoring? A Case Example from British Columbia, Canada

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poon, Brenda T.; Simmons, Noreen R.

2016-01-01

Population-based outcome monitoring could provide useful information about factors that differentially influence the developmental trajectories of deaf or hard-of-hearing children. A strong basis for population-based outcome monitoring is a coordinated, longitudinal data collection, and management infrastructure that includes quality local…

DEMONSTRATION OF LOW COST, LOW BURDEN EXPOSURE MONITORING STRATEGIES

EPA Science Inventory

This study is designed to develop and demonstrate relevant, low-cost, low-burden monitoring strategies that could be used in large longitudinal exposure/epidemiological studies, such as the National Children's Study. The focus of this study is on (1) recruiting and retaining p...

Longitudinal Monitoring of Antibody Responses against Tumor Cells Using Magneto-nanosensors with a Nanoliter of Blood.

PubMed

Lee, Jung-Rok; Chan, Carmel T; Ruderman, Daniel; Chuang, Hui-Yen; Gaster, Richard S; Atallah, Michelle; Mallick, Parag; Lowe, Scott W; Gambhir, Sanjiv S; Wang, Shan X

2017-11-08

Each immunoglobulin isotype has unique immune effector functions. The contribution of these functions in the elimination of pathogens and tumors can be determined by monitoring quantitative temporal changes in isotype levels. Here, we developed a novel technique using magneto-nanosensors based on the effect of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) for longitudinal monitoring of total and antigen-specific isotype levels with high precision, using as little as 1 nL of serum. Combining in vitro serologic measurements with in vivo imaging techniques, we investigated the role of the antibody response in the regression of firefly luciferase (FL)-labeled lymphoma cells in spleen, kidney, and lymph nodes in a syngeneic Burkitt's lymphoma mouse model. Regression status was determined by whole body bioluminescent imaging (BLI). The magneto-nanosensors revealed that anti-FL IgG2a and total IgG2a were elevated and sustained in regression mice compared to non-regression mice (p < 0.05). This platform shows promise for monitoring immunotherapy, vaccination, and autoimmunity.

Transformational leadership, initiating structure, and substitutes for leadership: a longitudinal study of research and development project team performance.

PubMed

Keller, Robert T

2006-01-01

Transformational leadership, initiating structure, and selected substitutes for leadership were studied as longitudinal predictors of performance in 118 research and development (R&D) project teams from 5 firms. As hypothesized, transformational leadership predicted 1-year-later technical quality, schedule performance, and cost performance and 5-year-later profitability and speed to market. Initiating structure predicted all the performance measures. The substitutes of subordinate ability and an intrinsically satisfying task each predicted technical quality and profitability, and ability predicted speed to market. Moderator effects for type of R&D work were hypothesized and found whereby transformational leadership was a stronger predictor of technical quality in research projects, whereas initiating structure was a stronger predictor of technical quality in development projects. Implications for leadership theory and research are discussed. (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Quality improvement project in cervical cancer screening: practical measures for monitoring laboratory performance.

PubMed

Tarkkanen, Jussi; Geagea, Antoine; Nieminen, Pekka; Anttila, Ahti

2003-01-01

We conducted a quality improvement project in a cervical cancer screening programme in Helsinki in order to see if detection of precancerous lesions could be influenced by external (participation rate) and internal (laboratory praxis) quality measures. In order to increase the participation rate, a second personal invitation to Pap-test was mailed to nonparticipants of the first call. In order to improve the quality of screening, the cytotechnicians monitored their performance longitudinally by recording the number of slides reviewed per day, the pick-up rate of abnormal smears, the report of the consulting cytopathologist, and the number of histologically verified lesions detected from the cases that they had screened. Regular sessions were held to compare the histological findings with the cytological findings of all cases referred for colposcopy. No pressure was applied on the cytotechnicians to ensure that they felt comfortable with their daily workload. A total of 110 000 smears were screened for cervical cancer at the Helsinki City Hospital during 1996-99. Initially, the overall participation rate increased from 62% to 71%. The number of histologically confirmed precancerous lesions (CIN 1-3) more than doubled and their detection rate increased from 0.32% to 0.72%. Continuous education and feedback from daily work performance were important, yet rather inexpensive means in increasing laboratory performance. Additional measures are needed to further increase the participation rate. Impact of the quality measures on cancer incidence needs to be assessed later on.

Approaches to Data Analysis in Longitudinal Field Investigations of Educational Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jovick, Thomas D.

The federally funded longitudinal field study called Management Implications of Team Teaching (MITT) required a search for an appropriate strategy for analyzing through-time relationships among selected variables. The MITT project used questionnaires and interviews to collect data concerning the work, governance, attitudes, and orientation of…

Operational monitoring of turbidity in rivers: how satellites can contribute

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hucke, Dorothee; Hillebrand, Gudrun; Winterscheid, Axel; Kranz, Susanne; Baschek, Björn

2016-10-01

The applications of remote sensing in hydrology are diverse and offer significant benefits for water monitoring. Up to now, operational river monitoring and sediment management in Germany mainly rely on in-situ measurements and on results obtained from numerical modelling. Remote sensing by satellites has a great potential to supplement existing data with two-dimensional information on near-surface turbidity distributions at greater spatial scales than in-situ measurements can offer. Within the project WasMon-CT (WaterMonitoring-Chlorophyll/Turbidity), the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) aims at the implementation of an operational monitoring of turbidity distributions based on satellite images (esp. Sentinel-2, Landsat7 and 8). Initially, selected federal inland and estuarine waterways will be addressed: Rhine, Elbe, Ems, Weser. WasMon-CT is funded within the German Copernicus activities. Within the project, a database of atmospherically corrected, geo-referenced turbidity data will be assembled. The collected corresponding meta-data will include aspects of satellite data as well as hydrological data, e.g. cloud cover and river run-off. Based on this catalogue of spatially linked meta-data, the satellite data will be selected by e.g. cloud cover or run-off. The permanently updated database will include past as well as recent satellite images. It is designed with a long-term perspective to optimize the existing in-situ measurement network, which will serve partly for calibration and partly as validation data set. The aim is to extend, but not to substitute, the existing frequent point measurements with spatially extensive, satellite-derived data from the near surface part of the water column. Here, turbidity is used as proxy for corresponding suspended sediment concentrations. For this, the relationship between turbidity and suspended sediment concentrations will be investigated. Products as e.g. longitudinal profiles or virtual measurement stations will be developed from an application toolbox to specifically match requirements of operational monitoring tasks and to allow for a better integration into the existing monitoring system. The toolbox demonstrates the benefits of remote sensing by applying the established processing chain to diverse hydrological questions, such as for the investigation of tidal-affected sediment loads or mixing processes at river confluences. This new application will be of great value to assess, evaluate and monitor the status or the change of large-scale sediment processes at the system level. Accordingly, the satellite-derived turbidity data will strongly enhance federal consulting activities and thus ensure a modern river monitoring of Germany's federal water ways.

Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs about Language Teaching and Learning: A Longitudinal Study (Creencias de profesores principiantes acerca de la enseñanza y aprendizaje de lengua: un estudio longitudinal)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cota Grijalva, Sofía D.; Ruiz-Esparza Barajas, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

This paper contains the description of a research project that was carried out in the Bachelor of Arts in English Language Teaching program at a Mexican university. The study was longitudinal and it tracked fourteen students for four semesters of the eight semester program. The aim was to identify pre-service teachers' beliefs about English…

A Longitudinal Study of Post-School Provision for Irish School-Leavers with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McConkey, Roy; Kelly, Fionnola; Craig, Sarah; Keogh, Fiona

2017-01-01

Background: In recent years, efforts have been made to improve the transition of pupils with intellectual disabilities to adult services and to offer a wider range of choices. However, there have been few longitudinal studies to monitor the services provided to young adults post-school. This case study in the Republic of Ireland identified the…

Longitudinal Monitoring of Public Reactions to the U.S

Treesearch

J.D. Absher; A.G. Graefe; R.C. Burns

2008-01-01

Natural resource managers need to better understand the impact of fees on outdoor recreationists. The debate about recreation fees involves both operational issues such as revenue use and social issues such as justice and fairness. The recreation fee program of the US Forest Service is over ten years old and it is now possible to gauge some of the longitudinal effects...

DEMONSTRATION OF LOW COST, LOW BURDEN EXPOSURE MONITORING STRATEGIES - BIRTH COHORT

EPA Science Inventory

This study was designed to develop and demonstrate relevant, low cost, low burden monitoring strategies that can be used in a longitudinal epidemiological study that focuses on pregnant women and young children. The focus of this study was on (1) recruiting and retaining partici...

A Computer Interview for Multivariate Monitoring of Psychiatric Outcome.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevenson, John F.; And Others

Application of computer technology to psychiatric outcome measurement offers the promise of coping with increasing demands for extensive patient interviews repeated longitudinally. Described is the development of a cost-effective multi-dimensional tracking device to monitor psychiatric functioning, building on a previous local computer interview…

75 FR 8036 - Monitor-Hot Creek Rangeland Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-23

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Monitor-Hot Creek Rangeland Project AGENCY: Forest... Rangeland Project area. The analysis will determine if a change in management direction for livestock grazing is needed to move existing resource conditions within the Monitor-Hot Creek Rangeland Project area...

Project Developmental Continuity Evaluation: Final Report. Executive Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bond, James T.; Rosario, Jose

This executive summary presents the major results of the longitudinal evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity (PDC). A Head Start demonstration project initiated by the Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) in 1974, the PDC aimed to stimulate the development and implementation of comprehensive programs linking Head Start…

Young People with Health Conditions and the Inclusive Education Problematic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yates, Lyn

2014-01-01

This article revisits debates about inclusive education from the perspective of the "Keeping Connected" project, a qualitative longitudinal research project focusing on young people with health-related disrupted experiences of schooling. Drawing on findings from this project, three main arguments are advanced and illustrated in relation…

Integrating molecular diagnostic and flow cytometric reporting for improved longitudinal monitoring of HIV patients.

PubMed Central

Asare, A. L.; Huda, H.; Klimczak, J. C.; Caldwell, C. W.

1998-01-01

Studies have shown that monitoring HIV-infected patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy is best represented by combined measurement of plasma HIV-1 RNA and CD4+ T-lymphocytes [1]. This pilot study at the University of Missouri-Columbia integrates molecular diagnostic and flow cytometric data reporting to provide current and historical HIV-1 RNA levels and CD4+ T-cell counts. The development of a single database for storage and retrieval of these values facilitates composite report generation that includes longitudinal HIV-1 RNA levels and CD4+ T-cell counts for all patients. Results are displayed in tables and plotted graphically within a web browser. This method of data presentation converts individual data points to more useful medical information and could provide clinicians with decision support for improved monitoring of HIV patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy. Images Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 PMID:9929359

Project VALOR: design and methods of a longitudinal registry of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat-exposed veterans in the Afghanistan and Iraqi military theaters of operations.

PubMed

Rosen, Raymond C; Marx, Brian P; Maserejian, Nancy N; Holowka, Darren W; Gates, Margaret A; Sleeper, Lynn A; Vasterling, Jennifer J; Kang, Han K; Keane, Terence M

2012-03-01

Few studies have investigated the natural history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Project VALOR (Veterans' After-discharge Longitudinal Registry) was designed as a longitudinal patient registry assessing the course of combat-related PTSD among 1600 male and female Veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Aims of the study include investigating patterns and predictors of progression or remission of PTSD and treatment utilization. The study design was based on recommendations from the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research for longitudinal disease registries and used a pre-specified theoretical model to select the measurement domains for data collection and interpretation of forthcoming results. The registry will include 1200 male and female Veterans with a recent diagnosis of PTSD in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) electronic medical record and a comparison group of 400 Veterans without a medical record-based PTSD diagnosis, to also allow for case-control analyses. Data are collected from administrative databases, electronic medical records, a self-administered questionnaire, and a semi-structured diagnostic telephone interview. Project VALOR is a unique and timely registry study that will evaluate the clinical course of PTSD, psychosocial correlates, and health outcomes in a carefully selected cohort of returning OEF/OIF Veterans. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Brain Health Registry: An internet-based platform for recruitment, assessment, and longitudinal monitoring of participants for neuroscience studies.

PubMed

Weiner, Michael W; Nosheny, Rachel; Camacho, Monica; Truran-Sacrey, Diana; Mackin, R Scott; Flenniken, Derek; Ulbricht, Aaron; Insel, Philip; Finley, Shannon; Fockler, Juliet; Veitch, Dallas

2018-05-08

Recruitment, assessment, and longitudinal monitoring of participants for neuroscience studies and clinical trials limit the development of new treatments. Widespread Internet use allows data capture from participants in an unsupervised setting. The Brain Health Registry, a website and online registry, collects data from participants and their study partners. The Brain Health Registry obtains self and study partner report questionnaires and neuropsychological data, including the Cogstate Brief Battery, Lumos Labs Neurocognitive Performance Test, and MemTrax Memory Test. Participants provide informed consent before participation. Baseline and longitudinal data were obtained from nearly 57,000 and 28,000 participants, respectively. Over 18,800 participants were referred to, and nearly 1800 were enrolled in, clinical Alzheimer's disease and aging studies, including five observational studies and seven intervention trials. Online assessments of participants and study partners provide useful information at relatively low cost for neuroscience studies and clinical trials and may ultimately be used in routine clinical practice. Copyright © 2018 the Alzheimer's Association. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal density monitor for the LHC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeff, A.; Andersen, M.; Boccardi, A.; Bozyigit, S.; Bravin, E.; Lefevre, T.; Rabiller, A.; Roncarolo, F.; Welsch, C. P.; Fisher, A. S.

2012-03-01

The longitudinal density monitor (LDM) is primarily intended for the measurement of the particle population in nominally empty rf buckets. These so-called satellite or ghost bunches can cause problems for machine protection as well as influencing the luminosity calibration of the LHC. The high dynamic range of the system allows measurement of ghost bunches with as little as 0.01% of the main bunch population at the same time as characterization of the main bunches. The LDM is a single-photon counting system using visible synchrotron light. The photon detector is a silicon avalanche photodiode operated in Geiger mode, which allows the longitudinal distribution of the LHC beams to be measured with a resolution of 90 ps. Results from the LDM are presented, including a proposed method for constructing a 3-dimensional beam density map by scanning the LDM sensor in the transverse plane. In addition, we present a scheme to improve the sensitivity of the system by using an optical switching technique.

Estimating the Effectiveness and Feasibility of a Game-Based Project for Early Foreign Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griva, Eleni; Semoglou, Klio

2012-01-01

This paper outlines the rationale for and the purpose of designing and implementing a project aiming to make very young EFL learners develop their language skills through their involvement in interactive psychomotor activities. The project, which is a part of a broader longitudinal project having introduced EFL in the first primary school grade,…

Exploring the Occurrence of Team Learning Behaviours in Project Teams over Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raes, Elisabeth; Boon, Anne; Kyndt, Eva; Dochy, Filip

2017-01-01

The aim of this qualitative longitudinal study is to create a more in-depth picture of the emergence of team learning behaviours throughout the lifespan of temporary project teams. In order to grasp the emergence of these behaviours, three project teams were followed from the start until the end of their project during a period of three months.…

Understanding ageing in older Australians: The contribution of the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing (DYNOPTA) project to the evidenced base and policy

PubMed Central

Anstey, Kaarin J; Bielak, Allison AM; Birrell, Carole L; Browning, Colette J; Burns, Richard A; Byles, Julie; Kiley, Kim M; Nepal, Binod; Ross, Lesley A; Steel, David; Windsor, Timothy D

2014-01-01

Aim To describe the Dynamic Analyses to Optimise Ageing (DYNOPTA) project and illustrate its contributions to understanding ageing through innovative methodology, and investigations on outcomes based on the project themes. DYNOPTA provides a platform and technical expertise that may be used to combine other national and international datasets. Method The DYNOPTA project has pooled and harmonized data from nine Australian longitudinal studies to create the largest available longitudinal dataset (N=50652) on ageing in Australia. Results A range of findings have resulted from the study to date, including methodological advances, prevalence rates of disease and disability, and mapping trajectories of ageing with and without increasing morbidity. DYNOPTA also forms the basis of a microsimulation model that will provide projections of future costs of disease and disability for the baby boomer cohort. Conclusion DYNOPTA contributes significantly to the Australian evidence-base on ageing to inform key social and health policy domains. PMID:22032767

Longitudinal Associations of Electronic Aggression and Victimization with Social Standing during Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badaly, Daryaneh; Kelly, Brynn M.; Schwartz, David; Dabney-Lieras, Karen

2013-01-01

Prior empirical work has documented that the dynamics of social standing can play a critical role in the perpetration and receipt of aggression during adolescence. Recently, investigators have emphasized the emergence of new, electronic modalities for aggressive acts. Our longitudinal project therefore considered electronic forms of aggression and…

Achievement Emotions and Academic Performance: Longitudinal Models of Reciprocal Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pekrun, Reinhard; Lichtenfeld, Stephanie; Marsh, Herbert W.; Murayama, Kou; Goetz, Thomas

2017-01-01

A reciprocal effects model linking emotion and achievement over time is proposed. The model was tested using five annual waves of the Project for the Analysis of Learning and Achievement in Mathematics (PALMA) longitudinal study, which investigated adolescents' development in mathematics (Grades 5-9; N = 3,425 German students; mean starting…

Conditions for Ubiquitous Computing: What Can Be Learned from a Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lei, Jing

2010-01-01

Based on survey data and interview data collected over four academic years, this longitudinal study examined how a ubiquitous computing project evolved along with the changes in teachers, students, the human infrastructure, and technology infrastructure in the school. This study also investigated what conditions were necessary for successful…

A Study of Learning Strategies in Foreign Language Instruction: Findings of the Longitudinal Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chamot, Anna Uhl; And Others

Part of a larger research project, this longitudinal study analyzed differences between effective and ineffective high school and college language learners and changes in strategy uses over time. Related studies include a descriptive study, which identified learning strategies used in studying foreign languages, and a course development study, in…

A Glimpse beyond State Lines: Student Outcomes from WICHE's Multistate Longitudinal Data Exchange Pilot Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bransberger, Peace

2014-01-01

This report presents findings from Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's (WICHE) "Multistate Longitudinal Data Exchange Pilot" ("MLDE" or "Exchange"), which includes an array of analyses of the combined dataset covering 192,689 students from the four states (Hawai'i, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) that…

Parents, Peers, and Social Withdrawal in Childhood: A Relationship Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubin, Kenneth H.; Root, Amy Kennedy; Bowker, Julie

2010-01-01

In this chapter, the authors review the history of the Waterloo Longitudinal Project (WLP), the first longitudinal study (1980-1992) dedicated to the study of social withdrawal, its correlates, and consequences. Theories underlying the WLP are described, as are its empirical findings. Recent research from other labs that has extended the findings…

Precursors of Language Ability and Academic Performance: An Intergenerational, Longitudinal Study of At-Risk Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campisi, Lisa; Serbin, Lisa A.; Stack, Dale M.; Schwartzman, Alex E.; Ledingham, Jane E.

2009-01-01

The current investigation examined whether inter-generational transfer of risk could be revealed through mothers' and preschool-aged children's expressive language, and whether continuity of risk persisted in these children's academic abilities, 3 years later. Participating families were drawn from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, a…

Ten Years of Longitudinal Research on U.S. Adolescent Sexual Behavior: Developmental Correlates of Sexual Intercourse, and the Importance of Age, Gender and Ethnic Background

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J.; Helfand, Mark

2008-01-01

We integrated findings from 35 recent, longitudinal studies of the onset of heterosexual intercourse. Correlates of adolescent sexual intercourse onset, whether in early (before age 16) or middle (ages 16-18) adolescence, included living with other than two biological parents, being less monitored by parents, having more advanced physical maturity…

Application of optical longitudinal tomography for dental introscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levin, Gennady G.; Burgansky, Alexander A.; Levandovski, Alexei G.

1997-08-01

A new method of dental introscopy in-vitro is suggested by the authors. This method implies the usage of longitudinal tomography techniques and is characterized by non-invasive and non-harmful diagnostics features, as well as interactive regime of image reconstruction which lets an operator (doctor) to control the diagnostics process in real time. He-Ne laser emission is used for obtaining of the projections. By the means of longitudinal tomography, images of different sections of an object (tooth) can be reconstructed. An experiment was held by the authors in which 100 projections of a tooth (premolar) were obtained and images of 10 different sections were reconstructed. These images were later compared to real sections of the tooth. This experiment proved that optical longitudinal tomography can be successfully used for dental introscopy. Authors claim that optical tomographic methods can be used for diagnostics of other biological objects as well. Such objects are characterized by spatial geometrical anisotropy (tubular bones, phalanxes of fingers, penis, etc.). It is especially promising to use this method for children's dentistry. the authors discuss some features of the data acquisition system for optical longitudinal tomography. Reconstruction algorithms are described. The results of experimental reconstruction are presented and advantages of this diagnostics method are discussed.

Turbine assembly containing an inner shroud

DOEpatents

Bagepalli, Bharat Sampathkumaran; Corman, Gregory Scot; Dean, Anthony John; DiMascio, Paul Stephen; Mirdamadi, Massoud

2000-01-01

A turbine assembly having a turbine stator, a ceramic inner shroud, and a first spring. The stator has a longitudinal axis and an outer shroud block with opposing and longitudinally outward facing first and second sides. The first side has a longitudinally outward projecting first ledge and has a first side portion located radially outward of the first ledge. The ceramic inner shroud has a first hook portion longitudinally and radially surrounding the first ledge. The first spring is attached to one of the first side portion and the first hook portion and unattachedly and resiliently contacts the other of the first side portion and the first hook portion.

The Carolina Abecedarian Project: A Longitudinal and Multidisciplinary Approach to the Prevention of Developmental Retardation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramey, Craig T.; And Others

This progress report describes the subjects, program and curriculum development, and collected psychological and medical data of the Carolina Abecedarian Project, an intervention program, begun in 1972. The purpose of this project is to bring together a multidisciplinary team of researchers to demonstrate that the developmental retardation of…

The Graduate Outcome Project: Using Data from the Integrated Data Infrastructure Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rees, Malcolm

2014-01-01

This paper reports on progress to date with a project underway in New Zealand involving the extraction of data from multiple government agencies that is then combined into one comprehensive longitudinal integrated dataset and made available to trial participants in a way never previously thought possible. The dataset includes school leaver…

Parental monitoring and knowledge: Testing bidirectional associations with youths’ antisocial behavior

PubMed Central

Wertz, Jasmin; Nottingham, Kate; Agnew-Blais, Jessica; Matthews, Timothy; Pariante, Carmine M.; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Arseneault, Louise

2017-01-01

In the present study, we used separate measures of parental monitoring and parental knowledge and compared their associations with youths’ antisocial behavior during preadolescence, between the ages of 10 and 12. Parental monitoring and knowledge were reported by mothers, fathers and youths taking part in the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study which follows 1,116 families with twins. Information on youths’ antisocial behavior was obtained from mothers, as well as teachers. We report two main findings: First, longitudinal cross-lagged models revealed that greater parental monitoring did not predict less antisocial behavior later, once family characteristics were taken into account. Second, greater youth antisocial behavior predicted less parental knowledge later. This effect of youths’ behavior on parents’ knowledge was consistent across mothers’, fathers’, youths’, and teachers’ reports, and robust to controls for family confounders. The association was partially genetically-mediated according to a Cholesky decomposition twin model; youths’ genetically-influenced antisocial behavior led to a decrease in parents’ knowledge of youths’ activities. These two findings question the assumption that greater parental monitoring can reduce preadolescents’ antisocial behavior. They also indicate that parents’ knowledge of their children’s activities is influenced by youths’ behavior. PMID:27427796

The longitudinal relationship between peer violence and popularity and delinquency in adolescent boys: examining effects by family functioning.

PubMed

Henneberger, Angela K; Durkee, Myles I; Truong, Nancy; Atkins, Avis; Tolan, Patrick H

2013-11-01

Mapping the relationship of peer influences and parental/family characteristics on delinquency can help expand the understanding of findings that show an interdependence between peer and family predictors. This study explored the longitudinal relationship between two characteristics of peer relationships (violence and perceived popularity) with subsequent individual delinquency and the moderating role of family characteristics (cohesion and parental monitoring) using data from the Chicago Youth Development Study. Participants were 364 inner-city residing adolescent boys (54% African American; 40% Hispanic). After controlling for the effects of age and ethnicity, peer violence is positively related to boys' delinquency. The effect of popularity depends on parental monitoring, such that the relationship between popularity and delinquency is positive when parental monitoring is low, but there is no relationship when parental monitoring is high. Furthermore, parental monitoring contributes to the relationship between peer violence and delinquency such that there is a stronger relationship when parental monitoring is low. Additionally, there is a stronger relationship between peer violence and delinquency for boys from high cohesive families. Findings point to the value of attention to multiple aspects of peer and family relationships in explaining and intervening in the risk for delinquency. Furthermore, findings indicate the importance of family-focused interventions in preventing delinquency.

The Longitudinal Relationship between Peer Violence and Popularity and Delinquency in Adolescent Boys: Examining Effects by Family Functioning

PubMed Central

Henneberger, Angela K.; Durkee, Myles I.; Truong, Nancy; Atkins, Avis; Tolan, Patrick H.

2014-01-01

Mapping the relationship of peer influences and parental/family characteristics on delinquency can help expand the understanding of findings that show an interdependence between peer and family predictors. This study explored the longitudinal relationship between two characteristics of peer relationships (violence and perceived popularity) with subsequent individual delinquency and the moderating role of family characteristics (cohesion and parental monitoring) using data from the Chicago Youth Development Study. Participants were 364 inner-city residing adolescent boys (54% African American; 40% Hispanic). After controlling for the effects of age and ethnicity, peer violence is positively related to boys’ delinquency. The effect of popularity depends on parental monitoring, such that the relationship between popularity and delinquency is positive when parental monitoring is low, but there is no relationship when parental monitoring is high. Furthermore, parental monitoring contributes to the relationship between peer violence and delinquency such that there is a stronger relationship when parental monitoring is low. Additionally, there is a stronger relationship between peer violence and delinquency for boys from high cohesive families. Findings point to the value of attention to multiple aspects of peer and family relationships in explaining and intervening in the risk for delinquency. Furthermore, findings indicate the importance of family-focused interventions in preventing delinquency. PMID:23160661

Current strategies for monitoring men with localised prostate cancer lack a strong evidence base: observational longitudinal study.

PubMed

Metcalfe, C; Tilling, K; Davis, M; Lane, J A; Martin, R M; Kynaston, H; Powell, P; Neal, D E; Hamdy, F; Donovan, J L

2009-08-04

The UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance recommends conservative management of men with 'low-risk' localised prostate cancer, monitoring the disease using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics and re-biopsy. However, there is little evidence of the changes in PSA level that should alert to the need for clinical re-assessment. This study compares the alerts resulting from PSA kinetics and a novel longitudinal reference range approach, which incorporates age-related changes, during the monitoring of 408 men with localised prostate cancer. Men were monitored by regular PSA tests over a mean of 2.9 years, recording when a man's PSA doubling time fell below 2 years, PSA velocity exceeded 2 ng ml(-1) per year, or when his upper 10% reference range was exceeded. Prostate-specific antigen doubling time and PSA velocity alerted a high proportion of men initially but became unresponsive to changes with successive tests. Calculating doubling time using recent PSA measurements reduced the decline in response. The reference range method maintained responsiveness to changes in PSA level throughout the monitoring. The increasing unresponsiveness of PSA kinetics is a consequence of the underlying regression model. Novel methods are needed for evaluation in cohorts currently being managed by monitoring. Meanwhile, the NICE guidance should be cautious.

The Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Prevention Instrument Project: Longitudinal Outcome of Behavioral Measures as Predictors of Cognitive Decline

PubMed Central

Banks, Sarah Jane; Raman, Rema; He, Feng; Salmon, David P.; Ferris, Steven; Aisen, Paul; Cummings, Jeffrey

2014-01-01

Background/Methods The Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Prevention Instrument Project is a longitudinal study that recruited 644 cognitively healthy older subjects (aged between 75 and 93 years, 58% women) at baseline and evaluated their cognitive change over 4 years. The study was structured like a clinical trial to anticipate a prevention trial and to determine the performance of novel trial instruments in a longitudinal non-interventional trial framework. Behavioral symptoms were assessed at baseline. Results The existence of participant-reported behavioral symptoms at baseline predicted conversion to Clinical Dementia Rating scale score ≥0.5 over the 4-year period. Conclusions The results imply that early anxiety and depression may be harbingers of future cognitive decline, and that patients exhibiting such symptoms, even in the absence of co-occurring cognitive symptoms, should be closely followed over time. PMID:25685141

["Healthy cities"--requirements and performance. Questionnaire results and a suggestion on quality monitoring (healthy-cities-barometer)].

PubMed

Plümer, K D; Trojan, A

2004-03-01

The overall goal of the WHO Healthy Cities Project was to translate some key points of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) into reality such as public health policies, creating health-promoting environments, strengthening community action through active public participation (empowerment of communities) and equity in health at the local level. These should be anchored within the local political administrative system (PAS), which means health should be on the agenda of policymakers in all sectors. To figure out how far this has been attained after almost 15 years of "healthy cities" policy in Germany was the focal point of the first questioning of local project coordinators. A written questionnaire containing 128 items has been developed in collaboration with the Healthy Cities Network-Coordinator. The questionnaire consists of 78 standardised questions and some (23) open-ended questions for more specific qualitative information. Also included are 27 ten-point rating scales to evaluate the coordinators' view of some aspects of their healthy cities work and to assess its progress. Based on 30 questions of the questionnaire we generated six quality indices, summarised to a quality index for a monitoring model. 47 (90 %) project-coordinators from a list of 52 took part in the first German Healthy Cities survey in the spring 2002. Selected results of the network questioning concerning the local "healthy cities" offices, work priorities and methods demonstrate differences between East and West Germany and general weakpoints of the "healthy cities" projects. Data analysis based on six quality dimensions of the "Healthy Cities" work, Programme Equipment and Commitment (Structure), Concept Quality and Integration within the Network (Process), Self-reported Success and Integration within the City/Municipality (Outcome), revealed some weak points of the " Healthy Cities" work as follows: Basing on the six quality dimensions we present a monitoring model (Healthy-Cities Barometer) which can also be used for strategic controlling (benchmarking) within the German Healthy Cities Network. Based on the data we identified 13 Cities at an A-level (excellent), 22 Cities at a B-level (satisfactory) and 12 Cities at a C-level (INADEQUATE). The "Healthy-Cities Barometer" provides a surveillance instrument which - if constantly used over several years - could offer data for a longitudinal analysis of the Healthy Cities' development. With its help the Healthy Cities Network-Coordinator could gain more information for a better performance and a continuous quality improvement process of the local Healthy Cities projects.

Project Baiterek: A Patient Access Program to Improve Clinical Outcomes and Quality of Life in Children with Type 1 Diabetes in Kazakhstan.

PubMed

Muratalina, Aigul; Smith-Palmer, Jayne; Nurbekova, Akmaral; Abduakhassova, Gulmira; Zhubandykova, Leila; Roze, Stéphane; Karamalis, Manolis; Shamshatova, Gulzhakhan; Demessinov, Adi; D'Agostino, Nicola Dunne; Lynch, Peter; Yedigarova, Larisa; Klots, Motty; Valentine, William; Welsh, John; Kaufman, Francine

2015-09-01

Diabetes is a key driver in the rise of noncommunicable diseases globally. It causes expensive and burdensome short- and long-term complications, with both an economic and social impact. In many countries, however, access to care and disease management in type 1 diabetes is suboptimal, increasing the risk for complications. In 2011, Project Baiterek was initiated as a collaborative effort between the Kazakhstan Ministry of Health, industry (Medtronic Plc), local physicians, and the Diabetes Association of the Republic of Kazakhstan to enhance patient access to continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy. It was the first countrywide project to provide equity and universal access to insulin pump therapy among children with type 1 diabetes, increasing pump use from zero to two-thirds of this population in less than 3 years. The project also involved instigating longitudinal data collection, and long-term clinical outcomes continue to be monitored. Here, we provide an overview of the clinical, quality-of-life, and economic outcomes to date associated with providing CSII therapy to children with type 1 diabetes in Kazakhstan. Initial clinical data show that CSII therapy improved clinical outcomes and quality of life for patients entered into the program and that CSII therapy was cost-effective relative to multiple daily injection therapy. The positive outcomes of Project Baiterek provide a template for similar patient access programs in other settings, and its framework could be adapted to initiatives to change health care infrastructures and standards of care for other noncommunicable diseases. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Acquiring L2 Sentence Comprehension: A Longitudinal Study of Word Monitoring in Noise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, Georgina; Gullberg, Marianne; Hellwig, Frauke; Mitterer, Holger; Indefrey, Peter

2012-01-01

This study investigated the development of second language online auditory processing with ab initio German learners of Dutch. We assessed the influence of different levels of background noise and different levels of semantic and syntactic target word predictability on word-monitoring latencies. There was evidence of syntactic, but not…

Parent-Adolescent Relations and Adolescent Functioning: Self-Esteem, Substance Abuse, and Delinquency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Jennifer S.; Benson, Mark J.

2004-01-01

The present study examined parental support and monitoring as they relate to adolescent outcomes. It was hypothesized that support and monitoring would be associated with higher self-esteem and less risky behavior during adolescence. The diverse sample included 16,749 adolescents assessed as part of the National Educational Longitudinal Study.…

An introduction to the Emergency Department Adult Clinical Escalation protocol: ED-ACE.

PubMed

Coughlan, Eoin; Geary, Una; Wakai, Abel; O'Sullivan, Ronan; Browne, John; McAuliffe, Eilish; Ward, Marie; McDaid, Fiona; Deasy, Conor

2017-09-01

This study demonstrates how a participatory action research approach was used to address the challenge of the early and effective detection of the deteriorating patient in the ED setting. The approach enabled a systematic approach to patient monitoring and escalation of care to be developed to address the wide-ranging spectrum of undifferentiated presentations and the phases of ED care from triage to patient admission. This paper presents a longitudinal patient monitoring system, which aims to provide monitoring and escalation of care, where necessary, of adult patients from triage to admission to hospital in a manner that is feasible in the unique ED environment. An action research approach was taken to designing a longitudinal patient monitoring system appropriate for the ED. While the first draft protocol for post-triage monitoring and escalation was designed by a core research group, six clinical sites were included in iterative cycles of planning, action, reviewing and further planning. Reasons for refining the system at each site were collated and the protocol was adjusted accordingly before commencing the process at the next site. The ED Adult Clinical Escalation longitudinal patient monitoring system (ED-ACE) evolved through iterative cycles of design and testing to include: (1) a monitoring chart for adult patients; (2) a standardised approach to the monitoring and reassessment of patients after triage until they are assessed by a clinician; (3) the ISBAR (I=Identify, S=Situation, B=Background, A=Assessment, R=Recommendation) tool for interprofessional communication relating to clinical escalation; (4) a template for prescribing a patient-specific monitoring plan to be used by treating clinicians to guide patient monitoring from the time the patient is assessed until when they leave the ED and (5) a protocol for clinical escalation prompted by single physiological triggers and clinical concern. This tool offers a link in the 'Chain of Prevention' between the Manchester Triage System and ward-based early warning scores taking account of the importance of standardisation, while being sufficiently adaptable for the unique working environment and patient population in the ED. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Longitudinal MR cortical thinning of individuals and its correlation with PET metabolic reduction: a measurement consistency and correctness studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Zhongmin S.; Avinash, Gopal; McMillan, Kathryn; Yan, Litao; Minoshima, Satoshi

2014-03-01

Cortical thinning and metabolic reduction can be possible imaging biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis and monitoring. Many techniques have been developed for the cortical measurement and widely used for the clinical statistical studies. However, the measurement consistency of individuals, an essential requirement for a clinically useful technique, requires proper further investigation. Here we leverage our previously developed BSIM technique 1 to measure cortical thickness and thinning and use it with longitudinal MRI from ADNI to investigate measurement consistency and spatial resolution. 10 normal, 10 MCI, and 10 AD subjects in their 70s were selected for the study. Consistent cortical thinning patterns were observed in all baseline and follow up images. Rapid cortical thinning was shown in some MCI and AD cases. To evaluate the correctness of the cortical measurement, we compared longitudinal cortical thinning with clinical diagnosis and longitudinal PET metabolic reduction measured using 3D-SSP technique2 for the same person. Longitudinal MR cortical thinning and corresponding PET metabolic reduction showed high level pattern similarity revealing certain correlations worthy of further studies. Severe cortical thinning that might link to disease conversion from MCI to AD was observed in two cases. In summary, our results suggest that consistent cortical measurements using our technique may provide means for clinical diagnosis and monitoring at individual patient's level and MR cortical thinning measurement can complement PET metabolic reduction measurement.

SES and CHAOS as Environmental Mediators of Cognitive Ability: A Longitudinal Genetic Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, Sara A.; Petrill, Stephen A.; Deckard, Kirby Deater; Thompson, Lee A.

2007-01-01

This study examined shared environmental influences on the longitudinal stability of general cognitive ability, as mediated by socioeconomic status and chaos in the home, using 287 pairs of elementary school-age twins drawn from the Western Reserve Reading Project (WRRP). General cognitive ability was evaluated at two annual assessments using the…

Women in Nontraditional Occupations. Choice and Turnover.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waite, Linda J.; Berryman, Sue E.

A project was designed to identify factors that predispose young women to choose and remain in sex-atypical jobs in the military and in civilian firms. Data were from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Labor Market Behavior, a longitudinal study with annual interviews from 1979 through 1983 of youth between the ages of 14 and 21 in the…

A Longitudinal Study of Microcomputer Usage at the Community College Level in Kansas, Spring/94.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leite, Pedro T.

As part of a longitudinal project to inventory computer equipment and identify current instructional use of microcomputers in Kansas community colleges, surveys were sent to the 19 community colleges in Kansas in spring 1994. The surveys solicited data on student enrollment, which subject areas utilized microcomputers, types of hardware available,…

A Longitudinal Study of Factors Producing High School Dropout among Handicapped and Non-Handicapped Students. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brennan, Tim; Anderson, Frank

This report presents findings from a multi-year project on handicapped and non-handicapped high school dropouts, including a longitudinal study of high school students in five Colorado school districts and a social ecological study to identify community characteristics which predispose a school district to high dropout rates. The longitudinal…

Evaluation of "The First Tee" in Promoting Positive Youth Development: Group Comparisons and Longitudinal Trends

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiss, Maureen R.; Bolter, Nicole D.; Kipp, Lindsay E.

2016-01-01

Purpose: This manuscript represents the 3rd in a series of articles documenting our longitudinal evaluation of "The First Tee," a physical activity-based youth development program that uses golf as a vehicle for teaching life skills and enhancing developmental outcomes. Previous phases of our project: (a) established initial data-based…

Integration of healthcare information: from enterprise PACS to patient centered multimedia health record.

PubMed

Soriano, Enrique; Plazzotta, Fernando; Campos, Fernando; Kaminker, Diego; Cancio, Alfredo; Aguilera Díaz, Jerónimo; Luna, Daniel; Seehaus, Alberto; Carcía Mónaco, Ricardo; de Quirós, Fernán González Bernaldo

2010-01-01

Every single piece of healthcare information should be fully integrated and transparent within the electronic health record. The Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires initiated the project Multimedia Health Record with the goal to achieve this integration while maintaining a holistic view of current structure of the systems of the Hospital, where the axis remains are the patient and longitudinal history, commencing with section Computed Tomography. Was implemented DICOM standard for communication and image storage and bought a PACS. It was necessary adapt our generic reporting system for live up to the commercial RIS. The Computerized Tomography (CT) Scanners of our hospital were easily integrated into the DICOM network and all the CT Scans generated by our radiology service were stored in the PACS, reported using the Structured Reporting System (we installed diagnostic terminals equipped with 3 monitors) and displayed in the EHR at any point of HIBA's healthcare network.

Multivariate longitudinal data analysis with mixed effects hidden Markov models.

PubMed

Raffa, Jesse D; Dubin, Joel A

2015-09-01

Multiple longitudinal responses are often collected as a means to capture relevant features of the true outcome of interest, which is often hidden and not directly measurable. We outline an approach which models these multivariate longitudinal responses as generated from a hidden disease process. We propose a class of models which uses a hidden Markov model with separate but correlated random effects between multiple longitudinal responses. This approach was motivated by a smoking cessation clinical trial, where a bivariate longitudinal response involving both a continuous and a binomial response was collected for each participant to monitor smoking behavior. A Bayesian method using Markov chain Monte Carlo is used. Comparison of separate univariate response models to the bivariate response models was undertaken. Our methods are demonstrated on the smoking cessation clinical trial dataset, and properties of our approach are examined through extensive simulation studies. © 2015, The International Biometric Society.

Longitudinal monitoring adipose-derived stem cell survival by PET imaging hexadecyl-4-{sup 124}I-iodobenzoate in rat myocardial infarction model

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

Kim, Min Hwan; School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul; Woo, Sang-Keun

Highlights: • We developed a safe, simple and appropriate stem cell labeling method with {sup 124}I-HIB. • ADSC survival can be monitored with PET in MI model via direct labeling. • Tracking of ADSC labeled with {sup 124}I-HIB was possible for 3 days in MI model using PET. • ADSC viability and differentiation were not affected by {sup 124}I-HIB labeling. • Survival of ADSC in living bodies can be longitudinally tracked with PET imaging. - Abstract: This study aims to monitor how the change of cell survival of transplanted adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) responds to myocardial infarction (MI) via themore » hexadecyl-4-{sup 124}I-iodobenzoate ({sup 124}I-HIB) mediated direct labeling method in vivo. Stem cells have shown the potential to improve cardiac function after MI. However, monitoring of the fate of transplanted stem cells at target sites is still unclear. Rat ADSCs were labeled with {sup 124}I-HIB, and radiolabeled ADSCs were transplanted into the myocardium of normal and MI model. In the group of {sup 124}I-HIB-labeled ADSC transplantation, in vivo imaging was performed using small-animal positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for 9 days. Twenty-one days post-transplantation, histopathological analysis and apoptosis assay were performed. ADSC viability and differentiation were not affected by {sup 124}I-HIB labeling. In vivo tracking of the {sup 124}I-HIB-labeled ADSCs was possible for 9 and 3 days in normal and MI model, respectively. Apoptosis of transplanted cells increased in the MI model compared than that in normal model. We developed a direct labeling agent, {sup 124}I-HIB, and first tried to longitudinally monitor transplanted stem cell to MI. This approach may provide new insights on the roles of stem cell monitoring in living bodies for stem cell therapy from pre-clinical studies to clinical trials.« less

Lateralization of infant holding by mothers: A longitudinal evaluation of variations over the first 12 weeks.

PubMed

Todd, Brenda K; Banerjee, Robin

2016-01-01

The maternal preference to hold infants on the left rather than right side of the body was examined longitudinally, with attention to 4 explanations: maternal monitoring of infant state, maternal handedness, infant proximity to the mother's heartbeat, and preferred infant head position. The side and site of holding were measured over the first 12 weeks of the lives of 24 infants. Information about group and individual consistency in holding side allowed novel evaluation of the theories. A strong bias to hold on the left dropped below significance when the infants were aged 12 weeks and was limited to specific holding positions. Findings were generally consistent with the monitoring hypothesis, and little support was found for the 3 alternative explanations.

Evaluating success criteria and project monitoring in river enhancement within an adaptive management framework

USGS Publications Warehouse

O'Donnell, T. K.; Galat, D.L.

2008-01-01

Objective setting, performance measures, and accountability are important components of an adaptive-management approach to river-enhancement programs. Few lessons learned by river-enhancement practitioners in the United States have been documented and disseminated relative to the number of projects implemented. We conducted scripted telephone surveys with river-enhancement project managers and practitioners within the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) to determine the extent of setting project success criteria, monitoring, evaluation of monitoring data, and data dissemination. Investigation of these elements enabled a determination of those that inhibited adaptive management. Seventy river enhancement projects were surveyed. Only 34% of projects surveyed incorporated a quantified measure of project success. Managers most often relied on geophysical attributes of rivers when setting project success criteria, followed by biological communities. Ninety-one percent of projects that performed monitoring included biologic variables, but the lack of data collection before and after project completion and lack of field-based reference or control sites will make future assessments of ecologic success difficult. Twenty percent of projects that performed monitoring evaluated ???1 variable but did not disseminate their evaluations outside their organization. Results suggest greater incentives may be required to advance the science of river enhancement. Future river-enhancement programs within the UMRB and elsewhere can increase knowledge gained from individual projects by offering better guidance on setting success criteria before project initiation and evaluation through established monitoring protocols. ?? 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

A Process Evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity. Interim Report VI: Executive Summary. Recommendations for Continuing the Impact Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Granville, Arthur C.; Love, John M.

This brief report summarizes the analysis and conclusions presented in detail in Interim Report VI regarding the feasibility of conducting a longitudinal study of Project Developmental Continuity (PDC). This project is a Head Start demonstration program aimed at providing educational and developmental continuity between children's Head Start and…

Looking for Peace in National Curriculum: The PECA Project in New Zealand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Standish, Katerina

2016-01-01

This is the pilot study for the Peace Education Curricular Analysis Project--a project that seeks to become a longitudinal and global analysis of national curriculum statements for pro-peace values. National education as a system of organized learning can act as a transmission belt--a cultural institution that assigns communal ideals and values…

Research Connections: The San Diego Striving Readers' Project: Building Academic Success for Adolescent Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Trevor; Thornley, Christina; Staley, Rosemary; Moore, David W.

2009-01-01

This Research Connections column describes the background to and the research base for the San Diego Unified School Districts' federally funded Striving Readers Project. The curriculum for the project was developed out of a longitudinal study into the literacy experiences of secondary students in New Zealand and from exploratory work in San Diego…

Validation of Early Detection Ovarian Cancer Biomarkers (Team Project) — EDRN Public Portal

Cancer.gov

Early detection of Ovarian Cancer (OC) is one of the key clinical problems in this disease. We propose a team EDRN project to address the issue of early detection of OC by performing a validation study on candidate protein markers already identified in previous EDRN research or in the literature (e.g. protein products of TCGA identified mutations specific to ovarian cancer). (See appendix for full listing) Biospecimen sources have been identified which include samples obtained at diagnosis and matched controls (Urban, Godwin, Marks, Skates), and longitudinal samples obtained prior to diagnosis (Urban, Skates, Godwin). Bioinformatic filters will be applied to rank the candidates (Diamandis). In order of ranking, candidate proteins for which high quality antibodies are available will be measured by development of ELISAs at JHU (Chan/Zhang) or through NAPPA at DFCI (Anderson/LaBaer), while for other candidates mass spectrometry based selective reaction monitoring (SRM) assays will be developed at PNNL (Rodland). Three milestones are defined. The first two milestones are to assemble the necessary specimens and to develop the qualifying assay(s). The final milestone is to estimate the markers’ sensitivity one year prior to diagnosis at a given high specificity.

I-5/Gilman advanced technology bridge project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lanza di Scalea, Francesco; Karbhari, Vistasp M.; Seible, Frieder

2000-04-01

The UCSD led I-5/Gilman Advanced Technology Bridge Project will design and construct a fully functional traffic bridge of advanced composite materials across Interstate 5 in La Jolla, California. Its objective is to demonstrate the use of advanced composite technologies developed by the aerospace industry in commercial applications to increase the life expectancy of new structures and for the rehabilitation of aging infrastructure components. The structure will be a 450 ft long, 60 ft wide cable-stayed bridge supported by a 150 ft A-frame pylon with two vehicular lanes, two bicycle lanes, pedestrian walkways and utility tunnels. The longitudinal girders and pylon will be carbon fiber shells filled with concrete. The transverse deck system will consist of hollow glass/carbon hybrid tubes and a polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete deck with an arch action. Selected cables will be composite. The bridge's structural behavior will be monitored to determine how advanced composite materials perform in civil infrastructure applications. The bridge will be instrumented to obtain performance and structural health data in real time and, where possible, in a remote fashion. The sensors applied to the bridge will include electrical resistance strain gages, fiberoptic Bragg gratings and accelerometers.

Investigation on location dependent detectability in cone beam CT images with uniform and anatomical backgrounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Minah; Baek, Jongduk

2017-03-01

We investigate location dependent lesion detectability of cone beam computed tomography images for different background types (i.e., uniform and anatomical), image planes (i.e., transverse and longitudinal) and slice thicknesses. Anatomical backgrounds are generated using a power law spectrum of breast anatomy, 1/f3. Spherical object with a 5mm diameter is used as a signal. CT projection data are acquired by the forward projection of uniform and anatomical backgrounds with and without the signal. Then, projection data are reconstructed using the FDK algorithm. Detectability is evaluated by a channelized Hotelling observer with dense difference-of-Gaussian channels. For uniform background, off-centered images yield higher detectability than iso-centered images for the transverse plane, while for the longitudinal plane, detectability of iso-centered and off-centered images are similar. For anatomical background, off-centered images yield higher detectability for the transverse plane, while iso-centered images yield higher detectability for the longitudinal plane, when the slice thickness is smaller than 1.9mm. The optimal slice thickness is 3.8mm for all tasks, and the transverse plane at the off-center (iso-center and off-center) produces the highest detectability for uniform (anatomical) background.

Design of components for the NASA OCEAN project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, Jenna (Editor); Clift, James; Dumais, Bryan; Gardner, Shannon; Hernandez, Juan Carlos; Nolan, Laura; Park, Mia; Peoples, Don; Phillips, Elizabeth; Tillman, Mark

1993-01-01

The goal of the Fall 1993 semester of the EGM 4000 class was to design, fabricate, and test components for the 'Ocean CELSS Experimental Analog NASA' Project (OCEAN Project) and to aid in the future development of NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). The OCEAN project's specific aims are to place a human, Mr. Dennis Chamberland from NASA's Life Science Division of Research, into an underwater habitat off the shore of Key Largo, FL for three months. During his stay, he will monitor the hydroponic growth of food crops and evaluate the conditions necessary to have a successful harvest of edible food. The specific designs chosen to contribute to the OCEAN project by the EGM 4000 class are in the areas of hydroponic habitat monitoring, human health monitoring, and production of blue/green algae. The hydroponic monitoring system focused on monitoring the environment of the plants. This included the continuous sensing of the atmospheric and hydroponic nutrient solution temperatures. Methods for monitoring the continuous flow of the hydroponic nutrient solution across the plants and the continuous supply of power for these sensing devices were also incorporated into the design system. The human health monitoring system concentrated on continuously monitoring various concerns of the occupant in the underwater living habitat of the OCEAN project. These concerns included monitoring the enclosed environment for dangerous levels of carbon monoxide and smoke, high temperatures from fire, and the ceasing of the continuous airflow into the habitat. The blue/green algae project emphasized both the production and harvest of a future source of food. This project did not interact with any part of the OCEAN project. Rather, it was used to show the possibility of growing this kind of algae as a supplemental food source inside a controlled ecological life support system.

Catch and Release: A dense, longitudinal array of water quality sondes reveals spatial and temporal complexities in suspended sediment flux

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guilinger, J. J.; Crosby, B. T.

2017-12-01

Excessive suspended sediment in streams is one of the most common causes for industrial, ecological and recreational stream impairment in the US. Identifying the primary geomorphic or anthropogenic sources of sediment is a key step in the effective mitigation of impairment. This study seeks to identify sources of suspended sediment in an agriculturally impaired watershed, Marsh Creek, in southeast Idaho. We employ thirteen multi-parameter water quality sensors to simultaneously measure stage, turbidity, temperature and conductivity every 15 minutes over a full calendar year. Examined at both the event and annual scale, these data enable mass balance calculations for mainstem and tributary contributions. Revealed in this monitoring is an approximately eight-fold longitudinal increase in sediment flux over 74 km that is largely augmented by eroding mainstem banks in reaches with higher stream power in the lower 30 km, with less than 20% contributed from tributaries. Independent data confirming the bank source were acquired through cost-effective sediment fingerprinting using 15N and C:N signatures from potential soil endmembers. Additionally, Google Street View-type longitudinal imagery of banks was collected via a kayak survey to confirm the spatial extent and magnitude of bank erosion along Marsh Creek. These data converge on bank erosion as the primary source of fine sediment. Sediment load at various hierarchical temporal and spatial scales is impacted by in-stream storage and remobilization, especially over shorter timescales ranging from daily to seasonal periods. Once averaged over the annual scale, local, temporary in-channel storage is overcome and these data reveal source reaches that can be prioritized for restoration and mitigation projects.

Development of a large urban longitudinal HIV clinical cohort using a web-based platform to merge electronically and manually abstracted data from disparate medical record systems: technical challenges and innovative solutions

PubMed Central

Hays, Harlen; Castel, Amanda D; Subramanian, Thilakavathy; Happ, Lindsey Powers; Jaurretche, Maria; Binkley, Jeff; Kalmin, Mariah M; Wood, Kathy; Hart, Rachel

2016-01-01

Objective Electronic medical records (EMRs) are being increasingly utilized to conduct clinical and epidemiologic research in numerous fields. To monitor and improve care of HIV-infected patients in Washington, DC, one of the most severely affected urban areas in the United States, we developed a city-wide database across 13 clinical sites using electronic data abstraction and manual data entry from EMRs. Materials and Methods To develop this unique longitudinal cohort, a web-based electronic data capture system (Discovere®) was used. An Agile software development methodology was implemented across multiple EMR platforms. Clinical informatics staff worked with information technology specialists from each site to abstract data electronically from each respective site’s EMR through an extract, transform, and load process. Results Since enrollment began in 2011, more than 7000 patients have been enrolled, with longitudinal clinical data available on all patients. Data sets are produced for scientific analyses on a quarterly basis, and benchmarking reports are generated semi-annually enabling each site to compare their participants’ clinical status, treatments, and outcomes to the aggregated summaries from all other sites. Discussion Numerous technical challenges were identified and innovative solutions developed to ensure the successful implementation of the DC Cohort. Central to the success of this project was the broad collaboration established between government, academia, clinics, community, information technology staff, and the patients themselves. Conclusions Our experiences may have practical implications for researchers who seek to merge data from diverse clinical databases, and are applicable to the study of health-related issues beyond HIV. PMID:26721732

Recruitment and retention strategies in longitudinal clinical studies with low-income populations.

PubMed

Nicholson, Lisa M; Schwirian, Patricia M; Klein, Elizabeth G; Skybo, Theresa; Murray-Johnson, Lisa; Eneli, Ihuoma; Boettner, Bethany; French, Gina M; Groner, Judith A

2011-05-01

Conducting longitudinal research studies with low-income and/or minority participants present a unique set of challenges and opportunities. To outline the specific strategies employed to successfully recruit and retain participants in a longitudinal study of nutritional anticipatory guidance during early childhood, conducted with a low-income, ethnically diverse, urban population of mothers. We describe recruitment and retention efforts made by the research team for the 'MOMS' Study (Making Our Mealtimes Special). The 'multilayered' approach for recruitment and retention included commitment of research leadership, piloting procedures, frequent team reporting, emphasis on participant convenience, incentives, frequent contact with participants, expanded budget, clinical staff buy-in, a dedicated phone line, and the use of research project branding and logos. Barriers to enrollment were not encountered in this project, despite recruiting from a low-income population with a large proportion of African-American families. Process evaluation with clinic staff demonstrated the perception of the MOMS staff was very positive. Participant retention rate was 75% and 64% at 6 months and 12 months post-recruitment, respectively. We attribute retention success largely to a coordinated effort between the research team and the infrastructure support at the clinical sites, as well as project branding and a dedicated phone line. Successful participant recruitment and retention approaches need to be specific and consistent with clinical staff buy in throughout the project. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Evolution of association between renal and liver functions while awaiting heart transplant: An application using a bivariate multiphase nonlinear mixed effects model.

PubMed

Rajeswaran, Jeevanantham; Blackstone, Eugene H; Barnard, John

2018-07-01

In many longitudinal follow-up studies, we observe more than one longitudinal outcome. Impaired renal and liver functions are indicators of poor clinical outcomes for patients who are on mechanical circulatory support and awaiting heart transplant. Hence, monitoring organ functions while waiting for heart transplant is an integral part of patient management. Longitudinal measurements of bilirubin can be used as a marker for liver function and glomerular filtration rate for renal function. We derive an approximation to evolution of association between these two organ functions using a bivariate nonlinear mixed effects model for continuous longitudinal measurements, where the two submodels are linked by a common distribution of time-dependent latent variables and a common distribution of measurement errors.

The EMPACT Beaches Project Results from a Study on Microbiological Monitoring in Recreational Waters

EPA Science Inventory

The EMPACT (Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking) Beaches project has attempted to define which characteristics are most signifi cant with regard to monitoring approaches. This project examined five beach environments to determine the factors that mos...

Parental monitoring trajectories and gambling among a longitudinal cohort of urban youth

PubMed Central

Lee, Grace P.; Stuart, Elizabeth A.; Ialongo, Nicholas S.; Martins, Silvia S.

2013-01-01

Aim To test the strength of the association between parental monitoring trajectories throughout early adolescence (ages 11–14) and gambling behaviors by young adulthood (age 22). Design Longitudinal cohort design. Setting Baltimore, Maryland. Participants The sample of 514 participants with gambling data between ages 16–22 and parental monitoring data between ages 11–14, were predominantly African American and received subsidized lunches at age 6. Measurements The South Oaks Gambling Screen and South Oaks Gambling Screen-Revised for Adolescents collected self-reports on annual gambling and gambling problems between ages 16–22. The Parental Monitoring Subscale of the Structured Interview of Parent Management Skills and Practices-Youth Version collected self-reports on annual parental monitoring between ages 11–14. Findings General growth mixture modeling identified two parental monitoring trajectories: 1) “Stable” class (84.9%) began with a high level of parental monitoring at age 11 that remained steady through age 14; 2) “Declining” class (15.1%) began with a significantly lower level of parental monitoring at age 11 and experienced a significant decline through age 14. The Declining class had significantly increased unadjusted (OR=1.91; 95% CI=1.59,2.23; p=<.001) and adjusted (aOR=1.57; 95% CI=1.24,1.99; p=.01) odds of problem gambling as compared with nongambling. Conclusion Low and/or declining parental monitoring of children between the ages of 11 and 14 is significantly associated with problem gambling when those children reach young adulthood. PMID:24321006

Estimated and forecasted trends in domain specific time-use and energy expenditure among adults in Russia

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Examination of historical trends and projections in estimated energy expenditure in Russia is important given the country’s economic downturns and growth. Methods Nationally representative data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) from 1995–2011 was used to determine the metabolic equivalents of task (MET)-hours per week from occupational, domestic, travel, and active leisure physical activity (PA) domains, as well as sedentary leisure time (hours per week) among adults 18–60 years. Additionally, we projected what these values would be like in 2020 and 2030 if observed trends continue. Results Among male adults, the largest contributor to total PA was occupational PA followed by travel PA. In contrast, domestic PA followed by occupational PA contributed most to total PA among female adults. Total PA was 282.9 MET-hours per week in 1995 and declined to 231.7 in 2011. Total PA is projected to decrease to 216.5 MET-hours per week in 2020 and to 193.0 MET-hours per week in 2030. The greatest relative declines are occurring in travel PA. Female adults are also exhibiting significant declines in domestic PA. Changes in occupational and active leisure PA are less distinct. Conclusions Policies and initiatives are needed to counteract the long-term decline of overall physical activity linked with a modernizing lifestyle and economy among Russian adults. PMID:24475868

Estimated and forecasted trends in domain specific time-use and energy expenditure among adults in Russia.

PubMed

Dearth-Wesley, Tracy; Popkin, Barry M; Ng, Shu Wen

2014-01-30

Examination of historical trends and projections in estimated energy expenditure in Russia is important given the country's economic downturns and growth. Nationally representative data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) from 1995-2011 was used to determine the metabolic equivalents of task (MET)-hours per week from occupational, domestic, travel, and active leisure physical activity (PA) domains, as well as sedentary leisure time (hours per week) among adults 18-60 years. Additionally, we projected what these values would be like in 2020 and 2030 if observed trends continue. Among male adults, the largest contributor to total PA was occupational PA followed by travel PA. In contrast, domestic PA followed by occupational PA contributed most to total PA among female adults. Total PA was 282.9 MET-hours per week in 1995 and declined to 231.7 in 2011. Total PA is projected to decrease to 216.5 MET-hours per week in 2020 and to 193.0 MET-hours per week in 2030. The greatest relative declines are occurring in travel PA. Female adults are also exhibiting significant declines in domestic PA. Changes in occupational and active leisure PA are less distinct. Policies and initiatives are needed to counteract the long-term decline of overall physical activity linked with a modernizing lifestyle and economy among Russian adults.

Development of Understanding and Self-Confidence in Mathematics; Grades 5-8

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hannula, Markku S.; Maijala, Hanna; Pehkonen, Erkki

2004-01-01

This paper presents some preliminary results of the longitudinal aspect of a research project on self-confidence and understanding in mathematics. We have collected a survey data of 3057 fifth-graders and seventh-graders and a follow-up data of ten classes (191 pupils) one and a half years later. The longitudinal data indicates that the learning…

Are Family Meal Patterns Associated with Overall Diet Quality during the Transition from Early to Middle Adolescence?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burgess-Champoux, Teri L.; Larson, Nicole; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; Hannan, Peter J.; Story, Mary

2009-01-01

Objective: To examine longitudinal associations of participation in regular family meals (greater than or equal to 5 meals/week) with eating habits and dietary intake during adolescence. Design: Population-based, longitudinal study (Project EAT: Eating Among Teens). Surveys were completed in Minnesota classrooms at Time 1 (1998-1999) and by mail…

Contemporary Options for Longitudinal Follow-Up: Lessons Learned from a Cohort of Urban Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tobler, Amy L.; Komro, Kelli A.

2011-01-01

This study reports efforts to locate and survey participants in Project Northland Chicago (PNC), a longitudinal, group-randomized trial of an alcohol preventive intervention for racial/ethnic minority, urban, early-adolescents, 3-4 years following the end of the intervention. Data were collected annually among students from 6th-8th grade and then…

The Effects of Part-Time Work on School Students. Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Lyn

A study examined character and consequences of student part-time work using data from the 1975 birth cohort of the Youth in Transition project of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth program. Findings indicated that most students worked because they liked the independence their job gave, enjoyed the work, and believed the experience would…

Computer Assisted English Language Learning in Costa Rican Elementary Schools: An Experimental Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alvarez-Marinelli, Horacio; Blanco, Marta; Lara-Alecio, Rafael; Irby, Beverly J.; Tong, Fuhui; Stanley, Katherine; Fan, Yinan

2016-01-01

This study presents first-year findings of a 25-week longitudinal project derived from a two-year longitudinal randomized trial study at the elementary school level in Costa Rica on effective computer-assisted language learning (CALL) approaches in an English as a foreign language (EFL) setting. A pre-test-post-test experimental group design was…

DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING AN ESTUARINE WATER QUALITY MONITORING, ASSESSMENT AND OUTREACH PROGRAM/THE MYSOUND PROJECT

EPA Science Inventory

EPA has developed a technology transfer handbook for the EMPACT MYSound Project. The handbook highlights information and monitoring technologies developed from the EMPACT Long Island Sound Marine Monitoring (MYSound) Project. As part of the MYSound effort, telemetering data-buoys...

Idaho Habitat Evaluation for Off-Site Mitigation Record : Annual Report 1988.

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

Idaho. Dept. of Fish and Game.

1990-03-01

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) has been monitoring and evaluating existing and proposed habitat improvement projects for steelhead and chinook in the Clearwater and Salmon subbasins since 1984. Projects included in the monitoring are funded by, or proposed for funding by, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) under the Northwest Power Planning Act as off-site mitigation for downstream hydropower development on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. This monitoring project is also funded under the same authority. A mitigation record is being developed to use actual and potential increases in smolt production as the best measures of benefit frommore » a habitat improvement project. This project is divided into two subprojects: general and intensive monitoring. Primary objectives of the general monitoring subproject are to determine natural production increases due to habitat improvement projects in terms of parr production and to determine natural production status and trends in Idaho. The second objective is accomplished by combining parr density from monitoring and evaluation of BPA habitat projects and from other IDFG management and research activities. The primary objective of the intensive monitoring subproject is to determine the relationships between spawning escapement, parr production, and smolt production in two Idaho streams; the upper Salmon River and Crooked River. Results of the intensive monitoring will be used to estimate mitigation benefits in terms of smolt production and to interpret natural production monitoring in Idaho. 30 refs., 19 figs., 34 tabs.« less

Monitoring software development through dynamic variables

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doerflinger, Carl W.; Basili, Victor R.

1983-01-01

Research conducted by the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) on the use of dynamic variables as a tool to monitor software development is described. Project independent measures which may be used in a management tool for monitoring software development are identified. Several FORTRAN projects with similar profiles are examined. The staff was experienced in developing these types of projects. The projects developed serve similar functions. Because these projects are similar some underlying relationships exist that are invariant between projects. These relationships, once well defined, may be used to compare the development of different projects to determine whether they are evolving the same way previous projects in this environment evolved.

Teachers as Metacognitive Role Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Kate; Hall, Elaine

2016-01-01

This paper draws on data collected during a longitudinal collaborative project with teachers in England from schools and further education colleges. The project investigated "Learning to Learn" in partnership with teacher-researchers with a focus on how metacognitive awareness can be improved by enquiring into creative combinations of…

Durability study of the US-23 aggregate test road and recent JPCP projects with premature joint deterioration.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-12-01

Materials related distress (MRD) characterized by starburst type corner spalling at the longitudinal centerline joint, and occasional transverse joint spalling have developed at a rapid rate in a number of JPCP projects constructed since 1999. ...

Neutral beam monitoring

DOEpatents

Fink, Joel H.

1981-08-18

Method and apparatus for monitoring characteristics of a high energy neutral beam. A neutral beam is generated by passing accelerated ions through a walled cell containing a low energy neutral gas, such that charge exchange neutralizes the high energy ion beam. The neutral beam is monitored by detecting the current flowing through the cell wall produced by low energy ions which drift to the wall after the charge exchange. By segmenting the wall into radial and longitudinal segments various beam conditions are further identified.

Longitudinal Associations Between Parental Monitoring Discrepancy and Delinquency: An Application of the Latent Congruency Model.

PubMed

Ksinan, Albert J; Vazsonyi, Alexander T

2016-12-01

Studies have shown that discrepancies (relative concordance or discordance) between parent and adolescent ratings are predictive of problem behaviors; monitoring, in particular, has been consistently linked to them. The current study tested whether discrepancies in perceptions of maternal monitoring, rated by mothers and youth at age 12, foretold delinquency (rule breaking) at age 15, and whether parental closeness and conflict predicted higher discrepancies, and indirectly, higher delinquency. The final study sample used the NICHD longitudinal dataset with N = 966 youth (50.1 % female) and their mothers (80.1 % European American, 12.9 % African American, 7 % other ethnicity). The analytic approach consisted of an extension and application of the Latent Congruency Model (LCM) to estimate monitoring discrepancies as well as age 15 delinquency scores. Findings showed that age 12 monitoring discrepancy was predictive of age 15 delinquency for both boys and girls based on youth reports, but not for maternal reports. Age 11 closeness predicted age 12 monitoring discrepancy, which served as a mediator for its effect on age 15 adolescent-reported delinquency. Thus, based on the rigorous LCM analytic approach which seeks to minimize the effects by competing explanations and to maximize precision in providing robust estimates, rates of perceived discordance in parenting behaviors during early adolescence matter in understanding variability in adolescent delinquency during middle adolescence.

A Process Evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity: Final Report of the PDC Feasibility Study, 1974-1977.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Love, John M.; And Others

This is the final report of the 3-year feasibility phase of a projected 7-year longitudinal evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity (PDC), a Head Start demonstration program aimed at providing educational and developmental continuity between children's Head Start and primary school experiences. Chapter I gives an overview of the PDC program…

Volunteers for Air Monitoring Project (VAMP).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oak Ridge National Lab., TN.

An education and communication project of the Environment and Technology Assessment Program, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, is described in this report. The project for monitoring air dustfall resulted in the largest citizen-scientist air monitoring effort in the history of our nation. Nearly 21,000 public secondary school students and…

Managing research and surveillance projects in real-time with a novel open-source eManagement tool designed for under-resourced countries.

PubMed

Steiner, Andreas; Hella, Jerry; Grüninger, Servan; Mhalu, Grace; Mhimbira, Francis; Cercamondi, Colin I; Doulla, Basra; Maire, Nicolas; Fenner, Lukas

2016-09-01

A software tool is developed to facilitate data entry and to monitor research projects in under-resourced countries in real-time. The eManagement tool "odk_planner" is written in the scripting languages PHP and Python. The odk_planner is lightweight and uses minimal internet resources. It was designed to be used with the open source software Open Data Kit (ODK). The users can easily configure odk_planner to meet their needs, and the online interface displays data collected from ODK forms in a graphically informative way. The odk_planner also allows users to upload pictures and laboratory results and sends text messages automatically. User-defined access rights protect data and privacy. We present examples from four field applications in Tanzania successfully using the eManagement tool: 1) clinical trial; 2) longitudinal Tuberculosis (TB) Cohort Study with a complex visit schedule, where it was used to graphically display missing case report forms, upload digitalized X-rays, and send text message reminders to patients; 3) intervention study to improve TB case detection, carried out at pharmacies: a tablet-based electronic referral system monitored referred patients, and sent automated messages to remind pharmacy clients to visit a TB Clinic; and 4) TB retreatment case monitoring designed to improve drug resistance surveillance: clinicians at four public TB clinics and lab technicians at the TB reference laboratory used a smartphone-based application that tracked sputum samples, and collected clinical and laboratory data. The user friendly, open source odk_planner is a simple, but multi-functional, Web-based eManagement tool with add-ons that helps researchers conduct studies in under-resourced countries. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Stability and accuracy of metamemory in adulthood and aging: a longitudinal analysis.

PubMed

McDonald-Miszczak, L; Hertzog, C; Hultsch, D F

1995-12-01

The stability and accuracy of memory perceptions in 2 longitudinal samples was examined. Sample 1 consisted of 231 adults (22-78 years) tested twice over 2 years. Sample 2 consisted of 234 adults (55-86 years) tested 3 times over 6 years. Measures of perceived and actual memory change were obtained. A primary focus was whether perceptions of memory change stem from application of an implicit theory about aging and memory or from accurate monitoring of actual changes in performance. Individual differences in metamemory were highly stable over time. Results suggested at least some accurate monitoring of memory in Sample 2, in which actual change was greatest. However the overall pattern of results is largely consistent with predictions derived from an implicit theory hypothesis.

Are Parenting Practices Associated with the Development of Narcissism? Findings from a Longitudinal Study of Mexican-origin Youth

PubMed Central

Wetzel, Eunike; Robins, Richard W.

2016-01-01

Narcissism is an important and consequential aspect of personality, yet we know little about its developmental origins. Using data from a longitudinal study of 674 Mexican-origin families, we examined cross-lagged relations between parenting behaviors (warmth, hostility, monitoring) and narcissism (superiority, exploitativeness). Parental hostility at age 12 was associated with higher levels of exploitativeness at age 14, whereas parental monitoring at age 12 was associated with lower levels of exploitativeness at age 14. These effects replicated across three different parenting measures: child reports, spouse reports, and behavioral coding of parent-child interactions. None of the parenting dimensions was related to superiority, suggesting that parenting practices are more strongly related to the maladaptive than the adaptive component of narcissism. PMID:28042186

Do Project Pedagogies Make a Difference?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simeone, James; Shaw, Greg M.

2017-01-01

Community-based action research (CBAR) encourages students to view internships and other civic-engagement opportunities as the first steps in collaborative projects that build long-term relationships with community partners and model how democracy works. We marshal longitudinal data, qualitative and quantitative, on both attitudes and behaviors to…

78 FR 12066 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-21

... OMB Review; Comment Request Title: Tracking of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSRET) Sample. OMB No.: 0970-0388. Description: The EHSREP is a longitudinal study originally designed.../families who participated in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP) until the...

Daddy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waisanen, Ellen

2004-01-01

The autobiographical essay below was shared by Ms.Waisanen with researchers from the University of Michigan?s Child Bereavement Project when, at age16, Ms. Waisanen was interviewed in a study of the impact of parental death upon families with school-aged children. The Project, a longitudinal, community-based study of parentally bereaved children…

24 CFR 266.520 - Program monitoring and compliance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... AUTHORITIES HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY RISK-SHARING PROGRAM FOR INSURED AFFORDABLE MULTIFAMILY PROJECT LOANS Project Management and Servicing § 266.520 Program monitoring and compliance. HUD will monitor the...

24 CFR 266.520 - Program monitoring and compliance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... AUTHORITIES HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY RISK-SHARING PROGRAM FOR INSURED AFFORDABLE MULTIFAMILY PROJECT LOANS Project Management and Servicing § 266.520 Program monitoring and compliance. HUD will monitor the...

24 CFR 266.520 - Program monitoring and compliance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... AUTHORITIES HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY RISK-SHARING PROGRAM FOR INSURED AFFORDABLE MULTIFAMILY PROJECT LOANS Project Management and Servicing § 266.520 Program monitoring and compliance. HUD will monitor the...

24 CFR 266.520 - Program monitoring and compliance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... AUTHORITIES HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY RISK-SHARING PROGRAM FOR INSURED AFFORDABLE MULTIFAMILY PROJECT LOANS Project Management and Servicing § 266.520 Program monitoring and compliance. HUD will monitor the...

24 CFR 266.520 - Program monitoring and compliance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... AUTHORITIES HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY RISK-SHARING PROGRAM FOR INSURED AFFORDABLE MULTIFAMILY PROJECT LOANS Project Management and Servicing § 266.520 Program monitoring and compliance. HUD will monitor the...

U-tube based near-surface environmental monitoring in the Shenhua carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) project.

PubMed

Li, Qi; Song, Ranran; Shi, Hui; Ma, Jianli; Liu, Xuehao; Li, Xiaochun

2018-04-01

The CO 2 injected into deep formations during implementation of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture and storage (CCS) technology may leak and migrate into shallow aquifers or ground surfaces through a variety of pathways over a long period. The leaked CO 2 can threaten shallow environments as well as human health. Therefore, almost all monitoring programs for CCS projects around the world contain near-surface monitoring. This paper presents a U-tube based near-surface monitoring technology focusing on its first application in the Shenhua CCS demonstration project, located in the Ordos Basin, Inner Mongolia, China. First, background information on the site monitoring program of the Shenhua CCS demonstration project was provided. Then, the principle of fluid sampling and the monitoring methods were summarized for the U-tube sampler system, and the monitoring data were analyzed in detail. The U-tube based monitoring results showed that the U-tube sampler system is accurate, flexible, and representative of the subsurface fluid sampling process. The monitoring indicators for the subsurface water and soil gas at the Shenhua CCS site indicate good stratification characteristics. The concentration level of each monitoring indicator decreases with increasing depth. Finally, the significance of this near-surface environmental monitoring technology for CO 2 leakage assessments was preliminarily confirmed at the Shenhua CCS site. The application potential of the U-tube based monitoring technology was also demonstrated during the subsurface environmental monitoring of other CCS projects.

Long term potentiation, but not depression, in interlamellar hippocampus CA1.

PubMed

Sun, Duk-Gyu; Kang, Hyeri; Tetteh, Hannah; Su, Junfeng; Lee, Jihwan; Park, Sung-Won; He, Jufang; Jo, Jihoon; Yang, Sungchil; Yang, Sunggu

2018-03-26

Synaptic plasticity in the lamellar CA3 to CA1 circuitry has been extensively studied while interlamellar CA1 to CA1 connections have not yet received much attention. One of our earlier studies demonstrated that axons of CA1 pyramidal neurons project to neighboring CA1 neurons, implicating information transfer along a longitudinal interlamellar network. Still, it remains unclear whether long-term synaptic plasticity is present within this longitudinal CA1 network. Here, we investigate long-term synaptic plasticity between CA1 pyramidal cells, using in vitro and in vivo extracellular recordings and 3D holography glutamate uncaging. We found that the CA1-CA1 network exhibits NMDA receptor-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) without direction or layer selectivity. By contrast, we find no significant long-term depression (LTD) under various LTD induction protocols. These results implicate unique synaptic properties in the longitudinal projection suggesting that the interlamellar CA1 network could be a promising structure for hippocampus-related information processing and brain diseases.

Guidelines for designing short-term bird monitoring projects

Treesearch

Jonathan Bart

2005-01-01

The Coordinated Bird Monitoring Program (Bart and Ralph, this volume) program is helping biologists around the country design short-term monitoring projects for birds. We have found that addressing a series of questions (table 1), in a systematic way, helps insure that projects are well planned. The process is being used by several States and...

Vulnerability and Resiliency: A Longitudinal Study of Asian Americans from Birth to Age 30.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werner, Emmy E.

A 30-year longitudinal study was undertaken in order to document the course, and determine the outcome, of all pregnancies in a community of Asian Americans on Kauai, the western most of the Hawaiian Islands and equidistant from the continental United States and Japan. The project's goal was to document both the good and poor outcomes of the…

Face seal assembly for rotating drum

DOEpatents

Morgan, J. Giles; Rennich, Mark J.; Whatley, Marvin E.

1982-01-01

A seal assembly comprises a tube rotatable about its longitudinal axis and having two longitudinally spaced flanges projecting radially outwardly from the outer surface thereof. Slidably positioned against one of the flanges is a seal ring, and disposed between this seal ring and the other flange are two rings that are forced apart by springs, one of the latter rings being attached to a flexible wall.

Assessing the Impact of Research: A Case Study of the LSAY Research Innovation and Expansion Fund. Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. Occasional Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hargreaves, Jo

2012-01-01

The purpose of this project is to apply the framework developed by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) for measuring research impact to assess the outcomes of the research and activities funded under the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) Research Innovation and Expansion Fund (RIEF). LSAY provides a rich…

The Relation between Morphological Awareness and Reading and Spelling in Greek: A Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pittas, Evdokia; Nunes, Terezinha

2014-01-01

The aim of this longitudinal study is to examine the contribution of morphological awareness to the prediction of reading and spelling in Greek. The target group (N = 404) consisted of children, aged 6-9 years at the start of the project, who learn literacy in Cyprus. Because there are no standardized measures of morphological awareness for Greek…

Laser ultrasonic investigations of vertical Bridgman crystal growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Queheillalt, Douglas Ted

The many difficulties associated with the growth of premium quality CdTe and (Cd,Zn)Te alloys has stimulated an interest in the development of a non-invasive ultrasonic approach to monitor critical growth parameters such as the solid-liquid interface position and shape during vertical Bridgman growth. This sensor methodology is based upon the recognition that in most materials, the ultrasonic velocity (and the elastic stiffness constants that control it) of the solid and liquid phases are temperature dependent and an abrupt increase of the longitudinal wave velocity occurs upon solidification. The laser ultrasonic approach has also been used to measure the ultrasonic velocity of solid and liquid Cd0.96Zn0.04Te as a function of temperature up to 1140°C. Using longitudinal and shear wave velocity values together with data for the temperature dependent density allowed a complete evaluation of the temperature dependent single crystal elastic stiffness constants for solid and the adiabatic bulk modulus for liquid Cd0.96Zn0.04 Te. It was found that the ultrasonic velocities exhibited a strong monotonically decreasing function of temperature in the solid and liquid phases and the longitudinal wave indicated an abrupt almost 50% decrease upon melting. Because ray propagation in partially solidified bodies is complex and defines the sensing methodology, a ray tracing algorithm has been developed to analyze two-dimensional wave propagation in the diametral plane of cylindrical solid-liquid interfaces. Ray path, wavefront and time-of-flight (TOF) projections for rays that travel from a source to an arbitrarily positioned receiver on the diametral plane have been calculated and compared to experimentally measured data on a model liquid-solid interface. The simulations and the experimental results reveal that the interfacial region can be identified from transmission TOF data and when used in conjunction with a nonlinear least squares reconstruction algorithm, the interface geometry (i.e. axial location and shape) can be precisely recovered and the ultrasonic velocities of both solid and liquid phases obtained. To gain insight into the melting and solidification process, a single zone VB growth furnace was integrated with the laser ultrasonic sensor system and used to monitor the melting-solidification and directional solidification characteristics of Cd0.96Zn 0.04Te.

Methods of in-vivo mouse lung micro-CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Recheis, Wolfgang A.; Nixon, Earl; Thiesse, Jacqueline; McLennan, Geoffrey; Ross, Alan; Hoffman, Eric

2005-04-01

Micro-CT will have a profound influence on the accumulation of anatomical and physiological phenotypic changes in natural and transgenetic mouse models. Longitudinal studies will be greatly facilitated, allowing for a more complete and accurate description of events if in-vivo studies are accomplished. The purpose of the ongoing project is to establish a feasible and reproducible setup for in-vivo mouse lung micro-computed tomography (μCT). We seek to use in-vivo respiratory-gated μCT to follow mouse models of lung disease with subsequent recovery of the mouse. Methodologies for optimizing scanning parameters and gating for the in-vivo mouse lung are presented. A Scireq flexiVent ventilated the gas-anesthetized mice at 60 breaths/minute, 30 cm H20 PEEP, 30 ml/kg tidal volume and provided a respiratory signal to gate a Skyscan 1076 μCT. Physiologic monitoring allowed the control of vital functions and quality of anesthesia, e.g. via ECG monitoring. In contrary to longer exposure times with ex-vivo scans, scan times for in-vivo were reduced using 35μm pixel size, 158ms exposure time and 18μm pixel size, 316ms exposure time to reduce motion artifacts. Gating via spontaneous breathing was also tested. Optimal contrast resolution was achieved at 50kVp, 200μA, applying an aluminum filter (0.5mm). There were minimal non-cardiac related motion artifacts. Both 35μm and 1μm voxel size images were suitable for evaluation of the airway lumen and parenchymal density. Total scan times were 30 and 65 minutes respectively. The mice recovered following scanning protocols. In-vivo lung scanning with recovery of the mouse delivered reasonable image quality for longitudinal studies, e.g. mouse asthma models. After examining 10 mice, we conclude μCT is a feasible tool evaluating mouse models of lung pathology in longitudinal studies with increasing anatomic detail available for evaluation as one moves from in-vivo to ex-vivo studies. Further developments include automated bronchial tree segmentation and airway wall thickness measurement tools. Improvements in Hounsfield unit calibration have to be performed when the interest of the study lies in determining and quantifying parenchymal changes and rely on estimating partial volume contributions of underlying structures to voxel densities.

An Ultrasonic Testing Technique for Monitoring the Cure and Mechanical Properties of Polymeric Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-08-22

and W. M. Ferrell, "Determination of Modulus of HTPB Solid Rocket Propellant using Longitudinal and Shear Ultrasonic Waves," Annual report for NASA...SMC-TR-93-64 AEROSPACE REPORT NO. TR-93(3935)-12 AD-A274 536 An Ultrasonic Testing Technique for Monitoring the Cure and Mechanical Properties of...TYPE AND DATES COVERED 22 August 1993 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS An Ultrasonic Testing Technique for Monitoring the Cure and Mechanical

Parent-adolescent relations and adolescent functioning: self-esteem, substance abuse, and delinquency.

PubMed

Parker, Jennifer S; Benson, Mark J

2004-01-01

The present study examined parental support and monitoring as they relate to adolescent outcomes. It was hypothesized that support and monitoring would be associated with higher self-esteem and less risky behavior during adolescence. The diverse sample included 16,749 adolescents assessed as part of the National Educational Longitudinal Study. Both high parental support and parental monitoring were related to greater self-esteem and lower risk behaviors. The findings partially confirm, as well as extend, propositions in attachment theory.

Time-dependent efficacy of longitudinal biomarker for clinical endpoint.

PubMed

Kolamunnage-Dona, Ruwanthi; Williamson, Paula R

2018-06-01

Joint modelling of longitudinal biomarker and event-time processes has gained its popularity in recent years as they yield more accurate and precise estimates. Considering this modelling framework, a new methodology for evaluating the time-dependent efficacy of a longitudinal biomarker for clinical endpoint is proposed in this article. In particular, the proposed model assesses how well longitudinally repeated measurements of a biomarker over various time periods (0,t) distinguish between individuals who developed the disease by time t and individuals who remain disease-free beyond time t. The receiver operating characteristic curve is used to provide the corresponding efficacy summaries at various t based on the association between longitudinal biomarker trajectory and risk of clinical endpoint prior to each time point. The model also allows detecting the time period over which a biomarker should be monitored for its best discriminatory value. The proposed approach is evaluated through simulation and illustrated on the motivating dataset from a prospective observational study of biomarkers to diagnose the onset of sepsis.

2009 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

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

C. T. Lindsey; K. A. Gano; R. D. Teel

2009-09-30

This document details the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2009, including 25 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and three bat mitigation projects.

International Service and Public Health Learning Objectives for Medical Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Block, Robert C.; Duron, Vincent; Creigh, Peter; McIntosh, Scott

2013-01-01

Objective: We aimed to improve the education of medical students involved in a longitudinal perinatal health improvement project in Gowa, Malawi. Design: We conducted qualitative interviews with students who participated in the project, reviewed their quantitative reports, and assessed the application of methodologies consonant with the learning…

Enhancing Student Learning through Scaffolded Client Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomlinson, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

This article reports on the current status of client projects (CPs) in business communication courses, provides a scaffolded model for implementing CP, and assesses student learning in CPs. Using a longitudinal mixed method research design, survey data and qualitative materials from six semesters are presented. The instructor survey indicated need…

PRESCHOOL INTERVENTION--A PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE PERRY PRESCHOOL PROJECT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

WEIKART, DAVID P., ED.

THE PERRY PRESCHOOL PROJECT IS AN EXPERIMENT WITH REPLICATIONS DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF A 2-YEAR, COGNITIVELY ORIENTED, COMPENSATORY EDUCATION PROGRAM. SELECTED FROM A POPULATION WHICH IS NEGRO, FUNCTIONALLY RETARDED, AND CULTURALLY DEPRIVED, CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS ARE EQUATED FOR MEAN CULTURAL-DEPRIVATION RATING AND…

Youth Politics and Local Constructions of Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansson, Kristian; Lundahl, Lisbeth

2004-01-01

In the 1990s, temporary youth projects became a common approach to handling youth unemployment and the social integration of young people in Sweden. In a longitudinal, qualitative study, 35 unemployed men and women, attending local youth projects in three Swedish municipalities, were followed over a two-year period. The selected contexts…

Exploring the Effects of Project-Based Learning in Secondary Mathematics Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes, Vicki-Lynn; Hwang, Yooyeun

2016-01-01

This mixed-method, longitudinal study investigated the benefits of project-based learning (PBL) on secondary-mathematics students' academic skill development and motivated strategies for learning (i.e., cognitive, social, and motivational). The focus of this study was academic skill development (algebra- and geometry-assessment scores) and other…

A Longitudinal Study of Student Attitudes toward Computers: Resolving an Attitude Decay Paradox.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKinnon, David H.; Nolan, C. J. Patrick; Sinclair, Kenneth E.

2000-01-01

Describes results of an integrated curriculum project in New Zealand that generated paradoxical results regarding student motivation and attitudes toward computer use during junior high school, where attitudes became less positive. Examines implications for the design and implementation of curriculum projects involving student use of computer…

Augmented Fish Health Monitoring; Volume I of II, Completion Report.

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

Michak, Patty

1991-05-01

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) initiated the Augmented Fish Health Monitoring project in 1986. This project was a five year interagency project involving fish rearing agencies in the Columbia Basin. Historically, all agencies involved with fish health in the Columbia Basin were conducting various levels of fish health monitoring, pathogen screening and collection. The goals of this project were; to identify, develop and implement a standardized level of fish health methodologies, develop a common data collection and reporting format in the area of artificial production, evaluate and monitor water quality, improve communications between agencies and provide annual evaluation of fishmore » health information for production of healthier smolts. This completion report will contain a project evaluation, review of the goals of the project, evaluation of the specific fish health analyses, an overview of highlights of the project and concluding remarks. 8 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs.« less

Monitoring X-Ray Emission from X-Ray Bursters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halpern, Jules P.; Kaaret, Philip

1999-01-01

The scientific goal of this project was to monitor a selected sample of x-ray bursters using data from the All-Sky Monitor (ASM) on the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer together with data from the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory to study the long-term temporal evolution of these sources in the x-ray and hard x-ray bands. The project was closely related to "Long-Term Hard X-Ray Monitoring of X-Ray Bursters", NASA project NAG5-3891, and and "Hard x-ray emission of x-ray bursters", NASA project NAG5-4633, and shares publications in common with both of these. The project involved preparation of software for use in monitoring and then the actual monitoring itself. These efforts have lead to results directly from the ASM data and also from Target of Opportunity Observations (TOO) made with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer based on detection of transient hard x-ray outbursts with the ASM and BATSE.

Monitoring of biological markers indicative of doping: the athlete biological passport.

PubMed

Saugy, Martial; Lundby, Carsten; Robinson, Neil

2014-05-01

The athlete biological passport (ABP) was recently implemented in anti-doping work and is based on the individual and longitudinal monitoring of haematological or urine markers. These may be influenced by illicit procedures performed by some athletes with the intent to improve exercise performance. Hence the ABP is a valuable tool in the fight against doping. Actually, the passport has been defined as an individual and longitudinal observation of markers. These markers need to belong to the biological cascade influenced by the application of forbidden hormones or more generally, affected by biological manipulations which can improve the performance of the athlete. So far, the haematological and steroid profile modules of the ABP have been implemented in major sport organisations, and a further module is under development. The individual and longitudinal monitoring of some blood and urine markers are of interest, because the intraindividual variability is lower than the corresponding interindividual variability. Among the key prerequisites for the implementation of the ABP is its prospect to resist to the legal and scientific challenges. The ABP should be implemented in the most transparent way and with the necessary independence between planning, interpretation and result management of the passport. To ensure this, the Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) was developed and the WADA implemented different technical documents associated to the passport. This was carried out to ensure the correct implementation of a profile which can also stand the challenge of any scientific or legal criticism. This goal can be reached only by following strictly important steps in the chain of production of the results and in the management of the interpretation of the passport. Various technical documents have been then associated to the guidelines which correspond to the requirements for passport operation. The ABP has been completed very recently by the steroid profile module. As for the haematological module, individual and longitudinal monitoring have been applied and the interpretation cascade is also managed by a specific APMU in a similar way as applied in the haematological module. Thus, after exclusion of any possible pathology, specific variation from the individual norms will be then considered as a potential misuse of hormones or other modulators to enhance performance.

The Monitoring the Future Project After Thirty-Two Years: Design and Procedures. Monitoring the Future Occasional Paper 64

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bachman, Jerald G.; Johnston, Lloyd D.; O'Malley, Patrick M.; Schulenberg, John E.

2006-01-01

This occasional paper updates and extends earlier papers in the Monitoring the Future project. It provides a detailed description of the project's design, including sampling design, data collection procedures, measurement content, and questionnaire format. It attempts to include sufficient information for others who wish to evaluate the results,…

Community Air Monitoring Training

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA hosted a training workshop to share tools used to conduct citizen science projects involving Next Generation Air Monitoring (NGAM) technology and to educate interested groups and individuals on best practices for successful air monitoring projects.

Correlates of smoking among youth: the role of parents, friends, attitudes/beliefs, and demographics.

PubMed

Dietz, Noella A; Arheart, Kristopher L; Sly, David F; Lee, David J; McClure, Laura A

2016-01-01

Family engagement has been shown to play a crucial role in youth cigarette use prevention and uptake. We examine cross-sectional and longitudinal data to determine whether changes in parental monitoring factors influence changes in smoking susceptibility. Two cross-sectional surveys of Florida youth (12-17 years) were conducted in 2009, with a follow-up survey in 2010. Multivariable analyses examined demographics, parent characteristics, family engagement, and parental monitoring on youth susceptibility to smoke. Cross-sectional data show eating together 6+ times/week and doing something for fun 5+ times/week were related to an increased likelihood of Very Low and decreased likelihood of High susceptibility, respectively. Parental monitoring factors and parents tell on a friend who smokes was significantly related to having Very Low susceptibility in both surveys. Mother's education, parent smokes, family engagement factors, and parental monitoring were significant in both survey rounds. Longitudinal analyses showed change in eating together did not significantly affect the odds of change in smoking susceptibility; however, change in the frequency of doing things for fun with a parent showed decreased odds of susceptibility (OR = .63 [.49-.82]), opposite of the hypothesized direction. Lastly, as youth aged, they were more likely to experience a greater odds of decreased susceptibility (OR14-15y = 1.47 [1.08-1.99] and OR≥16y = 1.40 [1.05-1.84], respectively) and less likely to experience an increased odds of susceptibility (OR14-15y = .65 [.49-.86] and OR≥16y = .72 [.56-.93], respectively). We found mixed results for family engagement and parental monitoring on changes in youth smoking susceptibility. Cross-sectional data showed general associations in the expected direction; however, longitudinal analyses showed family engagement variables had significance, but in the opposite hypothesized direction.

Plasma ctDNA RAS mutation analysis for the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of metastatic colorectal cancer patients

PubMed Central

Vidal, J; Muinelo, L; Dalmases, A; Jones, F; Edelstein, D; Iglesias, M; Orrillo, M; Abalo, A; Rodríguez, C; Brozos, E; Vidal, Y; Candamio, S; Vázquez, F; Ruiz, J; Guix, M; Visa, L; Sikri, V; Albanell, J; Bellosillo, B; López, R; Montagut, C

2017-01-01

Abstract Background RAS assessment is mandatory for therapy decision in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. This determination is based on tumor tissue, however, genotyping of circulating tumor (ct)DNA offers clear advantages as a minimally invasive method that represents tumor heterogeneity. Our study aims to evaluate the use of ctDNA as an alternative for determining baseline RAS status and subsequent monitoring of RAS mutations during therapy as a component of routine clinical practice. Patients and methods RAS mutational status in plasma was evaluated in mCRC patients by OncoBEAM™ RAS CRC assay. Concordance of results in plasma and tissue was retrospectively evaluated. RAS mutations were also prospectively monitored in longitudinal plasma samples from selected patients. Results Analysis of RAS in tissue and plasma samples from 115 mCRC patients showed a 93% overall agreement. Plasma/tissue RAS discrepancies were mainly explained by spatial and temporal tumor heterogeneity. Analysis of clinico-pathological features showed that the site of metastasis (i.e. peritoneal, lung), the histology of the tumor (i.e. mucinous) and administration of treatment previous to blood collection negatively impacted the detection of RAS in ctDNA. In patients with baseline mutant RAS tumors treated with chemotherapy/antiangiogenic, longitudinal analysis of RAS ctDNA mirrored response to treatment, being an early predictor of response. In patients RAS wt, longitudinal monitoring of RAS ctDNA revealed that OncoBEAM was useful to detect emergence of RAS mutations during anti-EGFR treatment. Conclusion The high overall agreement in RAS mutational assessment between plasma and tissue supports blood-based testing with OncoBEAM™ as a viable alternative for genotyping RAS of mCRC patients in routine clinical practice. Our study describes practical clinico-pathological specifications to optimize RAS ctDNA determination. Moreover, OncoBEAM™ is useful to monitor RAS in patients undergoing systemic therapy to detect resistance and evaluate the efficacy of particular treatments. PMID:28419195

Trail Making Test Elucidates Neural Substrates of Specific Poststroke Executive Dysfunctions.

PubMed

Muir, Ryan T; Lam, Benjamin; Honjo, Kie; Harry, Robin D; McNeely, Alicia A; Gao, Fu-Qiang; Ramirez, Joel; Scott, Christopher J M; Ganda, Anoop; Zhao, Jiali; Zhou, X Joe; Graham, Simon J; Rangwala, Novena; Gibson, Erin; Lobaugh, Nancy J; Kiss, Alex; Stuss, Donald T; Nyenhuis, David L; Lee, Byung-Chul; Kang, Yeonwook; Black, Sandra E

2015-10-01

Poststroke cognitive impairment is typified by prominent deficits in processing speed and executive function. However, the underlying neuroanatomical substrates of executive deficits are not well understood, and further elucidation is needed. There may be utility in fractionating executive functions to delineate neural substrates. One test amenable to fine delineation is the Trail Making Test (TMT), which emphasizes processing speed (TMT-A) and set shifting (TMT-B-A difference, proportion, quotient scores, and TMT-B set-shifting errors). The TMT was administered to 2 overt ischemic stroke cohorts from a multinational study: (1) a chronic stroke cohort (N=61) and (2) an acute-subacute stroke cohort (N=45). Volumetric quantification of ischemic stroke and white matter hyperintensities was done on magnetic resonance imaging, along with ratings of involvement of cholinergic projections, using the previously published cholinergic hyperintensities projections scale. Damage to the superior longitudinal fasciculus, which colocalizes with some cholinergic projections, was also documented. Multiple linear regression analyses were completed. Although larger infarcts (β=0.37, P<0.0001) were associated with slower processing speed, cholinergic hyperintensities projections scale severity (β=0.39, P<0.0001) was associated with all metrics of set shifting. Left superior longitudinal fasciculus damage, however, was only associated with the difference score (β=0.17, P=0.03). These findings were replicated in both cohorts. Patients with ≥2 TMT-B set-shifting errors also had greater cholinergic hyperintensities projections scale severity. In this multinational stroke cohort study, damage to lateral cholinergic pathways and the superior longitudinal fasciculus emerged as significant neuroanatomical correlates for executive deficits in set shifting. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Longitudinal Studies Program: Together or Apart? Report of a Planning Conference (Washington, D.C., December 11, 1986).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, George H.; Faupel, Elizabeth M.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Longitudinal Studies Program (LSP) are major survey projects on educational outcomes performed by the Center for Education Statistics. NAEP is a continuing cross-sectional survey of young Americans' skills, knowledge, and attitudes. The LSP studies follow a sample of students as they…

Traveling through Time: The Forum Guide to Longitudinal Data Systems. Book Three of Four: Effectively Managing LDS Data. NFES 2011-805

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Forum on Education Statistics, 2011

2011-01-01

This document, "Book Three of Four: Effectively Managing LDS Data," is the third installment of this Forum series of guides on longitudinal data systems (LDS). This third book in the guide series discusses organizational issues aimed at moving the project forward and ensuring that the data are of high quality so that users may leverage…

Pediatrics Residents' Confidence and Performance Following a Longitudinal Quality Improvement Curriculum.

PubMed

Courtlandt, Cheryl; Noonan, Laura; Koricke, Maureen Walsh; Zeskind, Philip Sanford; Mabus, Sarah; Feld, Leonard

2016-02-01

Quality improvement (QI) training is an integral part of residents' education. Understanding the educational value of a QI curriculum facilitates understanding of its impact. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a longitudinal QI curriculum on pediatrics residents' confidence and competence in the acquisition and application of QI knowledge and skills. Three successive cohorts of pediatrics residents (N = 36) participated in a longitudinal curriculum designed to increase resident confidence in QI knowledge and skills. Key components were a succession of progressive experiential projects, QI coaching, and resident team membership culminating in leadership of the project. Residents completed precurricular and postcurricular surveys and demonstrated QI competence by performance on the pediatric QI assessment scenario. Residents participating in the Center for Advancing Pediatric Excellence QI curriculum showed significant increases in pre-post measures of confidence in QI knowledge and skills. Coaching and team leadership were ranked by resident participants as having the most educational value among curriculum components. A pediatric QI assessment scenario, which correlated with resident-perceived confidence in acquisition of QI skills but not QI knowledge, is a tool available to test pediatrics residents' QI knowledge. A 3-year longitudinal, multimodal, experiential QI curriculum increased pediatrics residents' confidence in QI knowledge and skills, was feasible with faculty support, and was well-accepted by residents.

Research and Practice of Uav Remote Sensing in the Monitoring and Management of Construction Projects in Riparian Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, J.; Gan, Z.; Zhong, L.; Deng, L.

2018-04-01

The objective of this paper is to investigate the use of UAV remote sensing in the monitoring and management of construction projects in riparian areas through the case study of embankment construction projects' monitoring in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. A three-step approach is proposed to address the problem: data acquisition with UAV, data processing, and monitoring information extraction. The results of the case study demonstrate that UAV remote sensing is capable of providing fast and accurate measurements and calculations for the needs of monitoring of riparian constructions.

Watershed and longitudinal monitoring events

Treesearch

Harold Harbert; Steven Blackburn

2016-01-01

Georgia Adopt-A-Stream partners annually with many organizations, universities and watershed groups to conduct sampling events with volunteers at a watershed level. These monitoring events range from one-day snapshots to week-long paddle trips. One-day sampling events, also called “Blitzs,” River Adventures and River Rendezvous, generally target 20-50 sites within a...

Towards non-invasive characterization of breast cancer and cancer metabolism with diffuse optics

PubMed Central

Busch, David R.; Choe, Regine; Durduran, Turgut; Yodh, Arjun G.

2013-01-01

We review recent developments in diffuse optical imaging and monitoring of breast cancer, i.e. optical mammography. Optical mammography permits non-invasive, safe and frequent measurement of tissue hemodynamics oxygen metabolism and components (lipids, water, etc.), the development of new compound indices indicative of the risk and malignancy, and holds potential for frequent non-invasive longitudinal monitoring of therapy progression. PMID:24244206

A synthesis of evaluation monitoring projects by the forest health monitoring program (1998-2007)

Treesearch

William A. Bechtold; Michael J. Bohne; Barbara L. Conkling; Dana L. Friedman

2012-01-01

The national Forest Health Monitoring Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, has funded over 200 Evaluation Monitoring projects. Evaluation Monitoring is designed to verify and define the extent of deterioration in forest ecosystems where potential problems have been identified. This report is a synthesis of results from over 150 Evaluation...

Mobile-Based Nutrition and Child Health Monitoring to Inform Program Development: An Experience From Liberia.

PubMed

Guyon, Agnes; Bock, Ariella; Buback, Laura; Knittel, Barbara

2016-12-23

Implementing complex nutrition and other public health projects and tracking nutrition interventions, such as women's diet and supplementation and infant and young child feeding practices, requires reliable routine data to identify potential program gaps and to monitor trends in behaviors in real time. However, current monitoring and evaluation practices generally do not create an environment for this real-time tracking. This article describes the development and application of a mobile-based nutrition and health monitoring system, which collected monitoring data on project activities, women's nutrition, and infant and young child feeding practices in real time. The Liberia Agricultural Upgrading Nutrition and Child Health (LAUNCH) project implemented a nutrition and health monitoring system between April 2012 and June 2014. The LAUNCH project analyzed project monitoring and outcome data from the system and shared selected behavioral and programmatic indicators with program managers through a short report, which later evolved into a visual data dashboard, during program-update meetings. The project designed protocols to ensure representativeness of program participants. LAUNCH made programmatic adjustments in response to findings from the monitoring system; these changes were then reflected in subsequent quarterly trends, indicating that the availability of timely data allowed for the project to react quickly to issues and adapt the program appropriately. Such issues included lack of participation in community groups and insufficient numbers of food distribution points. Likewise, the system captured trends in key outcome indicators such as breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, linking them to project activities and external factors including seasonal changes and national health campaigns. Digital data collection platforms can play a vital role in improving routine programmatic functions. Fixed gathering locations such as food distribution points represent an opportunity to easily access program participants and enable managers to identify strengths and weaknesses in project implementation. For programs that track individuals over time, a mobile tool combined with a strong database can greatly improve efficiency and data visibility and reduce resource leakages. © Guyon et al.

Guidelines for evaluating performance of oyster habitat restoration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baggett, Lesley P.; Powers, Sean P.; Brumbaugh, Robert D.; Coen, Loren D.; DeAngelis, Bryan M.; Greene, Jennifer K.; Hancock, Boze T.; Morlock, Summer M.; Allen, Brian L.; Breitburg, Denise L.; Bushek, David; Grabowski, Jonathan H.; Grizzle, Raymond E.; Grosholz, Edwin D.; LaPeyre, Megan K.; Luckenbach, Mark W.; McGraw, Kay A.; Piehler, Michael F.; Westby, Stephanie R.; zu Ermgassen, Philine S. E.

2015-01-01

Restoration of degraded ecosystems is an important societal goal, yet inadequate monitoring and the absence of clear performance metrics are common criticisms of many habitat restoration projects. Funding limitations can prevent adequate monitoring, but we suggest that the lack of accepted metrics to address the diversity of restoration objectives also presents a serious challenge to the monitoring of restoration projects. A working group with experience in designing and monitoring oyster reef projects was used to develop standardized monitoring metrics, units, and performance criteria that would allow for comparison among restoration sites and projects of various construction types. A set of four universal metrics (reef areal dimensions, reef height, oyster density, and oyster size–frequency distribution) and a set of three universal environmental variables (water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen) are recommended to be monitored for all oyster habitat restoration projects regardless of their goal(s). In addition, restoration goal-based metrics specific to four commonly cited ecosystem service-based restoration goals are recommended, along with an optional set of seven supplemental ancillary metrics that could provide information useful to the interpretation of prerestoration and postrestoration monitoring data. Widespread adoption of a common set of metrics with standardized techniques and units to assess well-defined goals not only allows practitioners to gauge the performance of their own projects but also allows for comparison among projects, which is both essential to the advancement of the field of oyster restoration and can provide new knowledge about the structure and ecological function of oyster reef ecosystems.

Tools for Monitoring Social Media: A Marketing Research Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veeck, Ann; Hoger, Beth

2014-01-01

Knowledge of how to effectively monitor social media is an increasingly valued marketing research skill. This study tests an approach for adding social media content to an undergraduate marketing research class team project. The revised project maintains the expected objectives and parameters of a traditional research project, while integrating…

The Essential Role of Curricular Analyses in Comparative Studies of Mathematics Achievement: Developing "Fair" Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chavez, Oscar; Papick, Ira; Ross, Dan J.; Grouws, Douglas A.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to describe the process of development of assessment instruments for the Comparing Options in Secondary Mathematics: Investigating Curriculum (COSMIC) project. The COSMIC project was a three-year longitudinal comparative study focusing on evaluating high school students' mathematics learning from two distinct…

Volunteer Mentors as Informal Educators in a Youth Physical Activity Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandford, Rachel A.; Armour, Kathleen M.; Stanton, Deborah J.

2010-01-01

This discussion reports data from a 4-year longitudinal evaluation of a project from the United Kingdom. The project focused on outdoor activities as a vehicle for enhancing the personal and social development of disaffected youth with the researchers specifically examining the role played by volunteer learning mentors. Following a summary of…

Bioecological Theory, Early Child Development and the Validation of the Population-Level Early Development Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guhn, Martin; Goelman, Hillel

2011-01-01

The Early Development Instrument (EDI; Janus and Offord in "Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science" 39:1-22, 2007) project is a Canadian population-level, longitudinal research project, in which teacher ratings of Kindergarten children's early development and wellbeing are linked to health and academic achievement variables at the…

Longitudinal Evaluation of the Computer Assisted Instruction, Title I Project, 1979-82.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lavin, Richard J.; Sanders, Jean E.

The Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) Project is an alternative, supplementary approach to providing reading, mathematics, and language arts instruction in schools in six northeastern Massachusetts communities. The CAI activities are provided as a supplement to instruction in Title I/Chapter I programs. Beginning in 1979, a 3-year research study…

Telling Tales in and out of School: Youth Performativities with Digital Storytelling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wales, Prue

2012-01-01

This article examines the performativities of three marginalised "at risk" youth who participated in a longitudinal digital storytelling project undertaken in formal and informal settings in Singapore. Seeking to foster young people's agency, identity and multiple literacies, the three and one half year project developed a range of…

Clarity in Teaching and Active Learning in Undergraduate Microbiology Course for Non-Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marbach-Ad, Gili; McGinnis, J. Randy; Pease, Rebecca; Dai, Amy H.; Schalk, Kelly A.; Benson, Spencer

2010-01-01

We investigated a pedagogical innovation in an undergraduate microbiology course (Microbes and Society) for non-majors and education majors. The goals of the curriculum and pedagogical transformation were to promote active learning and concentrate on clarity in teaching. This course was part of a longitudinal project (Project Nexus) which…

The Problem with the Delta Cost Project Database

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaquette, Ozan; Parra, Edna

2016-01-01

The Integrated Postsecondary Education System (IPEDS) collects data on Title IV institutions. The Delta Cost Project (DCP) integrated data from multiple IPEDS survey components into a public-use longitudinal dataset. The DCP Database was the basis for dozens of journal articles and a series of influential policy reports. Unfortunately, a flaw in…

The Role of Facilitators in Project Action Learning Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cao, Rui; Chuah, Kong Bieng; Chao, Yiu Chung; Kwong, Kar Fai; Law, Mo Yin

2012-01-01

Purpose: This paper addresses the importance of a more proactive role of organizational learning (OL) facilitators, learning motivation reinforcer, through a two-part longitudinal study in a case company. The first part of this study aims to investigate and analyze some unexpected challenges in the project action learning-driven (PAL) OL…

An Action Research Project's Impact on Teachers' Leadership Attitudes and Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Nancy; Dillard, Benita R.

2013-01-01

California Lutheran University is a regional site for the California Reading and Literature Project (CRLP). In 2010, CRLP began a two-year longitudinal study to examine the effects of participating in an institute called Reframing Teacher Leadership: Action Research Study Group had on PreK-12 teachers' attitudes and perceptions. The foundation…

Teachers' Professional Autonomy in England: Are Neo-Liberal Approaches Incontestable?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berry, Jon

2012-01-01

This article is informed by a longitudinal research project undertaken with 22 teachers, four head teachers and two other related education professionals in England between May 2010 and April 2011. Drawing on 50 semi-structured interviews and some related email correspondence, the project investigates this cohort's view of teachers' professional…

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

Samet, J.; Gilliland, F.D.

This project incorporates two related research projects directed toward understanding respiratory carcinogenesis in radon-exposed former uranium miners. The first project involved a continuation of the tissue resource of lung cancer cases from former underground uranium miners and comparison cases from non-miners. The second project was a pilot study for a proposed longitudinal study of respiratory carcinogenesis in former uranium miners. The objectives including facilitating the investigation of molecular changes in radon exposed lung cancer cases, developing methods for prospectively studying clinical, cytologic, cytogenetic, and molecular changes in the multi-event process of respiratory carcinogenesis, and assessing the feasibility of recruiting formermore » uranium miners into a longitudinal study that collected multiple biological specimens. A pilot study was conducted to determine whether blood collection, induced sputum, bronchial brushing, washings, and mucosal biopsies from participants at two of the hospitals could be included efficiently. A questionnaire was developed for the extended study and all protocols for specimen collection and tissue handling were completed. Resource utilization is in progress at ITRI and the methods have been developed to study molecular and cellular changes in exfoliated cells contained in sputum as well as susceptibility factors.« less

Impact of Project P.A.T.H.S. on adolescent developmental outcomes in Hong Kong: findings based on seven waves of data.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Ma, Cecilia M S

2012-01-18

The present study examined the longitudinal impact of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) on adolescent developmental outcomes in Hong Kong. Using a longitudinal randomized group design, seven waves of data were collected from 24 experimental schools (n=4049 at wave 1) in which students participated in the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S. and 24 control schools (n=3797 at wave 1). Results based on individual growth curve modeling generally showed that, relative to the control participants, participants in the experimental group had: (a) a higher level of positive development; (b) a lower level of substance abuse; and (c) a lower level of delinquent behavior. Participants who regarded the program to be beneficial also showed higher levels of positive development and lower levels of problem behavior than did the control school students. The present findings suggest that Project P.A.T.H.S. is effective in promoting positive development and preventing adolescent problem behavior in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

Consumer confidence in the safety of food and newspaper coverage of food safety issues: a longitudinal perspective.

PubMed

de Jonge, Janneke; Van Trijp, Hans; Renes, Reint Jan; Frewer, Lynn J

2010-01-01

This study develops a longitudinal perspective on consumer confidence in the safety of food to explore if, how, and why consumer confidence changes over time. In the first study, a theory-based monitoring instrument for consumer confidence in the safety of food was developed and validated. The monitoring instrument assesses consumer confidence together with its determinants. Model and measurement invariance were validated rigorously before developments in consumer confidence in the safety of food and its determinants were investigated over time. The results from the longitudinal analysis show that across four waves of annual data collection (2003-2006), the framework was stable and that the relative importance of the determinants of confidence was, generally, constant over time. Some changes were observed regarding the mean ratings on the latent constructs. The second study explored how newspaper coverage of food safety related issues affects consumer confidence in the safety of food through subjective consumer recall of food safety incidents. The results show that the newspaper coverage on food safety issues is positively associated with consumer recall of food safety incidents, both in terms of intensity and recency of media coverage.

Consistent and reproducible positioning in longitudinal imaging for phenotyping genetically modified swine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond, Emily; Dilger, Samantha K. N.; Stoyles, Nicholas; Judisch, Alexandra; Morgan, John; Sieren, Jessica C.

2015-03-01

Recent growth of genetic disease models in swine has presented the opportunity to advance translation of developed imaging protocols, while characterizing the genotype to phenotype relationship. Repeated imaging with multiple clinical modalities provides non-invasive detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of disease to accomplish these goals; however, longitudinal scanning requires repeatable and reproducible positioning of the animals. A modular positioning unit was designed to provide a fixed, stable base for the anesthetized animal through transit and imaging. Post ventilation and sedation, animals were placed supine in the unit and monitored for consistent vitals. Comprehensive imaging was performed with a computed tomography (CT) chest-abdomen-pelvis scan at each screening time point. Longitudinal images were rigidly registered, accounting for rotation, translation, and anisotropic scaling, and the skeleton was isolated using a basic thresholding algorithm. Assessment of alignment was quantified via eleven pairs of corresponding points on the skeleton with the first time point as the reference. Results were obtained with five animals over five screening time points. The developed unit aided in skeletal alignment within an average of 13.13 +/- 6.7 mm for all five subjects providing a strong foundation for developing qualitative and quantitative methods of disease tracking.

Project Design Concept for Monitoring and Control System

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

MCGREW, D.L.

2000-10-02

This Project Design Concept represents operational requirements established for use in design the tank farm Monitoring and Control System. These upgrades are included within the scope of Project W-314, Tank Farm Restoration and Safe Operations.

Monitoring and Evaluating Nonpoint Source Watershed Projects

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This guide is written primarily for those who develop and implement monitoring plans for watershed management projects. it can also be used evaluate the technical merits of monitoring proposals they might sponsor. It is an update to the 1997 Guide.

Case file coding of child maltreatment: Methods, challenges, and innovations in a longitudinal project of youth in foster care.

PubMed

Huffhines, Lindsay; Tunno, Angela M; Cho, Bridget; Hambrick, Erin P; Campos, Ilse; Lichty, Brittany; Jackson, Yo

2016-08-01

State social service agency case files are a common mechanism for obtaining information about a child's maltreatment history, yet these documents are often challenging for researchers to access, and then to process in a manner consistent with the requirements of social science research designs. Specifically, accessing and navigating case files is an extensive undertaking, and a task that many researchers have had to maneuver with little guidance. Even after the files are in hand and the research questions and relevant variables have been clarified, case file information about a child's maltreatment exposure can be idiosyncratic, vague, inconsistent, and incomplete, making coding such information into useful variables for statistical analyses difficult. The Modified Maltreatment Classification System (MMCS) is a popular tool used to guide the process, and though comprehensive, this coding system cannot cover all idiosyncrasies found in case files. It is not clear from the literature how researchers implement this system while accounting for issues outside of the purview of the MMCS or that arise during MMCS use. Finally, a large yet reliable file coding team is essential to the process, however, the literature lacks training guidelines and methods for establishing reliability between coders. In an effort to move the field toward a common approach, the purpose of the present discussion is to detail the process used by one large-scale study of child maltreatment, the Studying Pathways to Adjustment and Resilience in Kids (SPARK) project, a longitudinal study of resilience in youth in foster care. The article addresses each phase of case file coding, from accessing case files, to identifying how to measure constructs of interest, to dealing with exceptions to the coding system, to coding variables reliably, to training large teams of coders and monitoring for fidelity. Implications for a comprehensive and efficient approach to case file coding are discussed.

Case file coding of child maltreatment: Methods, challenges, and innovations in a longitudinal project of youth in foster care☆

PubMed Central

Huffhines, Lindsay; Tunno, Angela M.; Cho, Bridget; Hambrick, Erin P.; Campos, Ilse; Lichty, Brittany; Jackson, Yo

2016-01-01

State social service agency case files are a common mechanism for obtaining information about a child’s maltreatment history, yet these documents are often challenging for researchers to access, and then to process in a manner consistent with the requirements of social science research designs. Specifically, accessing and navigating case files is an extensive undertaking, and a task that many researchers have had to maneuver with little guidance. Even after the files are in hand and the research questions and relevant variables have been clarified, case file information about a child’s maltreatment exposure can be idiosyncratic, vague, inconsistent, and incomplete, making coding such information into useful variables for statistical analyses difficult. The Modified Maltreatment Classification System (MMCS) is a popular tool used to guide the process, and though comprehensive, this coding system cannot cover all idiosyncrasies found in case files. It is not clear from the literature how researchers implement this system while accounting for issues outside of the purview of the MMCS or that arise during MMCS use. Finally, a large yet reliable file coding team is essential to the process, however, the literature lacks training guidelines and methods for establishing reliability between coders. In an effort to move the field toward a common approach, the purpose of the present discussion is to detail the process used by one large-scale study of child maltreatment, the Studying Pathways to Adjustment and Resilience in Kids (SPARK) project, a longitudinal study of resilience in youth in foster care. The article addresses each phase of case file coding, from accessing case files, to identifying how to measure constructs of interest, to dealing with exceptions to the coding system, to coding variables reliably, to training large teams of coders and monitoring for fidelity. Implications for a comprehensive and efficient approach to case file coding are discussed. PMID:28138207

Parental eating behaviours, home food environment and adolescent intakes of fruits, vegetables and dairy foods: longitudinal findings from Project EAT.

PubMed

Arcan, Chrisa; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; Hannan, Peter; van den Berg, Patricia; Story, Mary; Larson, Nicole

2007-11-01

To examine longitudinal associations of parental report of household food availability and parent intakes of fruits, vegetables and dairy foods with adolescent intakes of the same foods. This study expands upon the limited research of longitudinal studies examining the role of parents and household food availability in adolescent dietary intakes. Longitudinal study. Project EAT-II followed an ethnically and socio-economically diverse sample of adolescents from 1999 (time 1) to 2004 (time 2). In addition to the Project EAT survey, adolescents completed the Youth Adolescent Food-Frequency Questionnaire in both time periods, and parents of adolescents completed a telephone survey at time 1. General linear modelling was used to examine the relationship between parent intake and home availability and adolescent intake, adjusting for time 1 adolescent intakes. Associations were examined separately for the high school and young adult cohorts and separately for males and females in combined cohorts. The sample included 509 pairs of parents/guardians and adolescents. Vegetables served at dinner significantly predicted adolescent intakes of vegetables for males (P = 0.037), females (P = 0.009), high school (P = 0.033) and young adults (P = 0.05) at 5-year follow-up. Among young adults, serving milk at dinner predicted dairy intake (P = 0.002). Time 1 parental intakes significantly predicted intakes of young adults for fruit (P = 0.044), vegetables (P = 0.041) and dairy foods (P = 0.008). Parental intake predicted intake of dairy for females (P = 0.02). The findings suggest the importance of providing parents of adolescents with knowledge and skills to enhance the home food environment and improve their own eating behaviours.

Mathematics Teachers' Views about Teaching as a Profession: Final Results of a Four-Year Longitudinal Study. A Report from the Urban Mathematics Collaborative Documentation Project. Program Report 91-4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Middleton, James A.; And Others

This paper reports the results of a 4-year longitudinal study of approximately 600 urban mathematics teachers who were surveyed to ascertain their attitudes regarding certain attributes of the profession of mathematics teaching, specifically: the use of the professional organization as a major referent, the belief in service to the public, the…

Longitudinal patterns of fish assemblages, aquatic habitat, and water temperature in the Lower Crooked River, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Torgersen, Christian E.; Hockman-Wert, David P.; Bateman, Douglas S.; Leer, David W.; Gresswell, Robert E.

2007-01-01

The goal of this project was to examine longitudinal patterns in fish assemblages, aquatic habitat, and water temperature in the Lower Crooked River during summer conditions. Specific objectives were to (1) characterize the spatial distribution of native and non-native fishes, (2) describe variation in channel morphology, substrate composition, and water temperature, and (3) evaluate the associations between fishes, aquatic habitat, and water temperature.

Commentary on Reading as a Monitor in Writing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Christine J.

1987-01-01

Evaluates Heather Hemming's research project, "Reading as a Monitor in Writing" (this issue). Emphasizes the contribution this project makes to research methodology. Stresses Hemming's conclusion that the type of monitoring strategy used is not important, providing it is effective. (MM)

DELIVERING TIMELY AIR QUALITY, TRAFFIC, AND WEATHER INFORMATION TO YOUR COMMUNITY/THE PASO DEL NORTE ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROJECT

EPA Science Inventory

EPA has developed a technology transfer handbook for the EMPACT Paso del Norte Project. The EMPACT Paso del Norte Environmental Monitoring Project is a mobile vehicle emissions project that involves the international community of El Paso, TX; Sundland Park, NM; and Juarez, Mexico...

On-Line Monitoring and Diagnostics of the Integrity of Nuclear Plant Steam Generators and Heat Exchangers, Volumes 1, 2

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

Upadhyaya, Belle R.; Hines, J. Wesley; Lu, Baofu

2005-06-03

The overall purpose of this Nuclear Engineering Education Research (NEER) project was to integrate new, innovative, and existing technologies to develop a fault diagnostics and characterization system for nuclear plant steam generators (SG) and heat exchangers (HX). Issues related to system level degradation of SG and HX tubing, including tube fouling, performance under reduced heat transfer area, and the damage caused by stress corrosion cracking, are the important factors that influence overall plant operation, maintenance, and economic viability of nuclear power systems. The research at The University of Tennessee focused on the development of techniques for monitoring process and structuralmore » integrity of steam generators and heat exchangers. The objectives of the project were accomplished by the completion of the following tasks. All the objectives were accomplished during the project period. This report summarizes the research and development activities, results, and accomplishments during June 2001 September 2004. Development and testing of a high-fidelity nodal model of a U-tube steam generator (UTSG) to simulate the effects of fouling and to generate a database representing normal and degraded process conditions. Application of the group method of data handling (GMDH) method for process variable prediction. Development of a laboratory test module to simulate particulate fouling of HX tubes and its effect on overall thermal resistance. Application of the GMDH technique to predict HX fluid temperatures, and to compare with the calculated thermal resistance.Development of a hybrid modeling technique for process diagnosis and its evaluation using laboratory heat exchanger test data. Development and testing of a sensor suite using piezo-electric devices for monitoring structural integrity of both flat plates (beams) and tubing. Experiments were performed in air, and in water with and without bubbly flow. Development of advanced signal processing methods using wavelet transforms and image processing techniques for isolating flaw types. Development and implementation of a new nonlinear and non-stationary signal processing method, called the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT), for flaw detection and location. This is a more robust and adaptive approach compared to the wavelet transform.Implementation of a moving-window technique in the time domain for detecting and quantifying flaw types in tubular structures. A window zooming technique was also developed for flaw location in tubes. Theoretical study of elastic wave propagation (longitudinal and shear waves) in metallic flat plates and tubing with and without flaws. Simulation of the Lamb wave propagation using the finite-element code ABAQUS. This enabled the verification of the experimental results. The research tasks included both analytical research and experimental studies. The experimental results helped to enhance the robustness of fault monitoring methods and to provide a systematic verification of the analytical results. The results of this research were disseminated in scientific meetings. The journal manuscript titled, "Structural Integrity Monitoring of Steam generator Tubing Using Transient Acoustic Signal Analysis," was published in IEEE Trasactions on Nuclear Science, Vol. 52, No. 1, February 2005. The new findings of this research have potential applications in aerospace and civil structures. The report contains a complete bibliography that was developed during the course of the project.« less

Patterns of Physical Activity and Overweight among 7-13-Year-Old Russian Children: A 7-Year Nationally Representative Monitoring Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tudor-Locke, Catrine; Ainsworth, Barbara E.; Popkin, B. M.

2008-01-01

This is a repeated cross-sectional study of overweight and physical activity (PA) and inactivity patterns of successive samples of 7-13-year-old Russian children who were surveyed six times between 1995 and 2002 as part of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. This analysis focused on moderate/vigorous (MOD/VIG) PA (e.g., active commuting to…

The Influence of Representations of Attachment, Maternal-Adolescent Relationship Quality, and Maternal Monitoring on Adolescent Substance Use: A 2-Year Longitudinal Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branstetter, Steven A.; Furman, Wyndol; Cottrell, Lesley

2009-01-01

The present study examined the hypotheses that more secure representations of attachments to parents are associated with less adolescent substance use over time and that this link is mediated through relationship quality and monitoring. A sample of 200 adolescents (M = 14-16 years), their mothers, and close friends were assessed over 2 years.…

[Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute].

PubMed

Shimada, Hiroyuki; Kato, Yuichi; Fujii, Hisako; Mori, Hiroshi

2017-07-01

The Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) was established in 2015 after ATRI director, Paul Aisen, and his fellow experts in therapeutic interventions for Alzheimer's disease (AD) moved from the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) at the University of California to the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) decided to commit $14 million to the ATRI via an Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC). The ATRI supports various studies such as the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's study ("A4 study"), Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative 3 (ADNI3), Longitudinal Evaluation of Amyloid Risk and Neurodegeneration (LEARN), and The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative-Depression Project (ADNI-D). The ATRI will share all relevant data and materials with the academic community, corporations, and government organizations. The ATRI is overseen by a Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), which comprises of leading experts in the field of Alzheimer's research and acts independently. The ATRI is slated to play a central role in clinical dementia research in the US in near future.

Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS)

USGS Publications Warehouse

2010-01-01

In 1990, the U.S. Congress enacted the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) in response to growing awareness of a land loss crisis in Louisiana. Projects funded by CWPPRA require monitoring and evaluation of project effectiveness, and there is also a need to assess the cumulative effects of all projects to achieve a sustainable coastal environment. In 2003, the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration (OCPR) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) received approval from the CWPPRA Task Force to implement the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) as a mechanism to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of CWPPRA projects at the project, region, and coastwide levels. The CRMS design implements a multiple reference approach by using aspects of hydrogeomorphic functional assessments and probabilistic sampling. The CRMS program is as dynamic as the coastal habitats it monitors. The program is currently funded through CWPPRA and provides data for a variety of user groups, including resource managers, academics, landowners, and researchers.

EGNOS Monitoring Prepared in Space Research Centre P.A.S. for SPMS Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swiatek, Anna; Jaworski, Leszek; Tomasik, Lukasz

2017-12-01

The European Geostationary Overlay Service (EGNOS) augments Global Positioning System (GPS) by providing correction data and integrity information for improving positioning over Europe. EGNOS Service Performance Monitoring Support (SPMS) project has assumed establishment, maintenance and implementation of an EGNOS performance monitoring network. The paper presents preliminary results of analyses prepared in Space Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw), as one of partners in SPMS project.

L-325 Sagebrush Habitat Mitigation Project: FY2008 Compensation Area Monitoring Report

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

Durham, Robin E.; Sackschewsky, Michael R.

2008-09-30

This document provides a review and status of activities conducted in support of the Fluor Daniel Hanford Company (Fluor) Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) for Project L-325, Electrical Utility Upgrades. It includes time-zero monitoring results for planting activities conducted in January 2008, annual survival monitoring for all planting years (2007 and 2008), and recommendations for the successful completion of DOE habitat mitigation commitments for this project.

Prospects for the Comparative Study of International Migration using quasi-longitudinal micro-data

PubMed Central

Liu, Mao-Mei; Creighton, Mathew J.; Riosmena, Fernando; Baizán Mun͂oz, Pau

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND Longitudinal micro-level data about international migration behavior are notoriously difficult to collect, but data collection efforts have become more frequent in recent years. Comparative research of the patterns and processes of international migration, however, remains quite rare, especially that which compares across regions. OBJECTIVE We highlight the promises and difficulties of comparative international migration research, by offering a detailed comparison of two prominent data collection efforts. METHODS We systematically review existing sources of longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal individual-level and household-level data of international migration. We then compare two widely-used data sources: the Mexican Migration Project (MMP) and the Migration between Africa and Europe project (MAFE). RESULTS Data collection efforts are increasingly diverse, yet public accessibility of data remains limited. Also, comparability of data collected across settings can be complicated. In our MMP-MAFE analysis, we show some ways in which comparability can be achieved. CONCLUSIONS A primary roadblock to international comparative research is that, with some exceptions, the public accessibility of data remains low. Even when data is public and surveys are modeled after one another, comparability is not easy due to necessary trade-offs in adapting surveys to local settings and to developments in the field. CONTRIBUTION We demonstrate that, despite great strides in collecting quasi-longitudinal data of international migration, data accessibility still hinders the study of migration. With regards to comparability, our article provides important lessons for future data collection and analysis efforts that could improve comparability and thus advance understanding of the complex dynamics of international migration. PMID:29276429

Modeling Longitudinal Dynamics in the Fermilab Booster Synchrotron

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

Ostiguy, Jean-Francois; Bhat, Chandra; Lebedev, Valeri

2016-06-01

The PIP-II project will replace the existing 400 MeV linac with a new, CW-capable, 800 MeV superconducting one. With respect to current operations, a 50% increase in beam intensity in the rapid cycling Booster synchrotron is expected. Booster batches are combined in the Recycler ring; this process limits the allowed longitudinal emittance of the extracted Booster beam. To suppress eddy currents, the Booster has no beam pipe; magnets are evacuated, exposing the beam to core laminations and this has a substantial impact on the longitudinal impedance. Noticeable longitudinal emittance growth is already observed at transition crossing. Operation at higher intensitymore » will likely necessitate mitigation measures. We describe systematic efforts to construct a predictive model for current operating conditions. A longitudinal only code including a laminated wall impedance model, space charge effects, and feedback loops is developed. Parameter validation is performed using detailed measurements of relevant beam, rf and control parameters. An attempt is made to benchmark the code at operationally favorable machine settings.« less

Design and Implementation of a Multi-Strategy, Collegewide Program of Evaluation and Planning: The Mercy College Self-Study Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraetzer, Mary C.; And Others

The rationale, strategies, and methods of The Mercy College Self-Study Project are considered, and evaluation instruments are provided. This program of institutional evaluation and planning was initiated in 1980 and consists of: standardized surveys, a 10-year longitudinal (panel) study, and academic department self-studies. Questionnaires…

IPEDS Analytics: Delta Cost Project Database 1987-2010. Data File Documentation. NCES 2012-823

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenihan, Colleen

2012-01-01

The IPEDS Analytics: Delta Cost Project Database was created to make data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) more readily usable for longitudinal analyses. Currently spanning the period from 1987 through 2010, it has a total of 202,800 observations on 932 variables derived from the institutional characteristics,…

An Analysis of Excellent Early Educational Practices: Preliminary Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Burton L.

This document reports the first phase of a longitudinal research project designed to produce information on how to raise children so their basic abilities may develop optimally during the first six years of life. Although this Preschool Project has been in operation five years, the study is not yet completed because statements about the effects of…

Mothers Affected by HIV & AIDS: The "Kgolo Mmogo" Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eloff, Irma

2008-01-01

In this short report, I discuss the way in which an assumption at the outset of a longitudinal study on HIV-positive mothers has been challenged three years into the study. The assumption concerns the employment status of the participants. The "Kgolo Mmogo" project is investigating the resilience factors in mothers (n = 440) and children (n = 440)…

Longitudinal Genetic Analysis of Early Reading: The Western Reserve Reading Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petrill, Stephen A.; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Thompson, Lee Anne; Schatschneider, Chris; DeThorne, Laura S.; Vandenbergh, David J.

2007-01-01

We examined the genetic and environmental contribution to the stability and instability of reading outcomes in early elementary school using a sample of 283 twin pairs drawn from the Western Reserve Reading Project. Twins were assessed across two measurement occasions. In Wave 1, children were either in kindergarten or first grade. Wave 2…

A Longitudinal Evaluation of a Project-Based Learning Initiative in an Engineering Undergraduate Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Wayne; Palmer, Stuart; Bennett, Mitchell

2012-01-01

Project-based learning (PBL) is a well-known student-centred methodology for engineering design education. The methodology claims to offer a number of educational benefits. This paper evaluates the student perceptions of the initial and second offering of a first-year design unit at Griffith University in Australia. It builds on an earlier…

The Cognitive Contribution to the Development of Proficiency in a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Csapo, Beno; Nikolov, Marianne

2009-01-01

The present paper reports results of a longitudinal research project studying the contribution of cognitive skills and other factors to proficiency in a foreign language (L2) in the Hungarian educational context. The larger project aims to describe the levels of L2 proficiency of school-aged populations in order to explore the conditions and…

Electrical engineering support of telemetered traffic monitoring sites : final report, March 2009.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-03-01

"The aim of this project was to provide electrical engineering support for the telemetered traffic monitoring sites (TTMS) operated by the Statistics Office of the Florida Department of Transportation. This project was a companion to project BD-543-1...

PERMEABLE TREATMENT WALL EFFECTIVENESS MONITORING PROJECT, NEVADA STEWART MINE

EPA Science Inventory

This report summarizes the results of Mine Waste Technology Program (MWTP) Activity III, Project 39, Permeable Treatment Wall Effectiveness Monitoring Project, implemented and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and jointly administered by EPA and the U.S. De...

Longitudinal Evaluation of Fatty Acid Metabolism in Normal and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat Hearts with Dynamic MicroSPECT Imaging

DOE PAGES

Reutter, Bryan W.; Huesman, Ronald H.; Brennan, Kathleen M.; ...

2011-01-01

The goal of this project is to develop radionuclide molecular imaging technologies using a clinical pinhole SPECT/CT scanner to quantify changes in cardiac metabolism using the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) as a model of hypertensive-related pathophysiology. This paper quantitatively compares fatty acid metabolism in hearts of SHR and Wistar-Kyoto normal rats as a function of age and thereby tracks physiological changes associated with the onset and progression of heart failure in the SHR model. The fatty acid analog, 123 I-labeled BMIPP, was used in longitudinal metabolic pinhole SPECT imaging studies performed every seven months for 21 months. The uniqueness ofmore » this project is the development of techniques for estimating the blood input function from projection data acquired by a slowly rotating camera that is imaging fast circulation and the quantification of the kinetics of 123 I-BMIPP by fitting compartmental models to the blood and tissue time-activity curves.« less

Impact of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in the junior secondary school years: objective outcome evaluation based on eight waves of longitudinal data.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Ma, Cecilia M S

2012-01-01

To assess the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S., a randomized group trial with eight waves of data collected was carried out. At the fifth year of data collection, 19 experimental schools (n = 2, 662 students) and 24 control schools (n = 3, 272 students) participated in the study. Analyses based on individual growth curve modeling showed that participants in the experimental schools displayed better positive youth development than did participants in the control schools in terms of different indicators derived from the Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale, including moral competence and behavioral competence and cognitive behavioral competencies. Significant results were also found when examining the trajectories of psychological development among control and experimental participants who perceived the program to be beneficial. Findings based on longitudinal objective outcome evaluation strongly suggest that the Project P.A.T.H.S. is effective in promoting positive development in Hong Kong secondary school students.

A framework for assessment and monitoring of small mammals in a lowland tropical forest.

PubMed

Solari, Sergio; Rodriguez, Juan José; Vivar, Elena; Velazco, Paul M

2002-05-01

Development projects in tropical forests can impact biodiversity. Assessment and monitoring programs based on the principles of adaptive management assist managers to identify and reduce such impacts. The small mammal community is one important component of a forest ecosystem that may be impacted by development projects. In 1996, a natural gas exploration project was initiated in a Peruvian rainforest. The Smithsonian Institution's Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity program cooperated with Shell Prospecting and Development Peru to establish an adaptive management program to protect the region's biodiversity. In this article, we discuss the role of assessing and monitoring small mammals in relation to the natural gas project. We outline the conceptual issues involved in establishing an assessment and monitoring program, including setting objectives, evaluating the results and making appropriate decisions. We also summarize the steps taken to implement the small mammal assessment, provide results from the assessment and discuss protocols to identify appropriate species for monitoring.

Monitoring Trends and Burn Severity (MTBS): Monitoring wildfire activity for the past quarter century using landsat data

Treesearch

Mark Finco; Brad Quayle; Yuan Zhang; Jennifer Lecker; Kevin A. Megown; C. Kenneth Brewer

2012-01-01

The Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project is mapping the extent, size, and severity of all large fires greater than 1,000 acres in the west and 500 acres in the east over the conterminous United States (CONUS), Alaska, and Hawaii. In 2012 the project reached a milestone, completing the mapping for all fires between 1984 and 2010. The MTBS project produces...

Helicopter rotor wake geometry and its influence in forward flight. Volume 2: Wake geometry charts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Egolf, T. A.; Landgrebe, A. J.

1983-01-01

Isometric and projection view plots, inflow ratio nomographs, undistorted axial displacement nomographs, undistorted longitudinal and lateral coordinates, generalized axial distortion nomographs, blade/vortex passage charts, blade/vortex intersection angle nomographs, and fore and aft wake boundary charts are discussed. Example condition, in flow ratio, undistorted axial location, longitudinal and lateral coordinates, axial coordinates distortions, blade/tip vortex intersections, angle of intersection, and fore and aft wake boundaries are also discussed.

Displaying chest X-ray by beamer or monitor: comparison of diagnostic accuracy for subtle abnormalities.

PubMed

Kuiper, L M; Thijs, A; Smulders, Y M

2012-01-01

The advent of beamer projection of radiological images raises the issue of whether such projection compromises diagnostic accuracy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether beamer projection of chest X-rays is inferior to monitor display. We selected 53 chest X-rays with subtle abnormalities and 15 normal X-rays. The images were independently judged by a senior radiologist and a senior pulmonologist with a state-of-art computer monitor. We used their unanimous or consensus judgment as the reference test. Subsequently, four observers (one senior pulmonologist, one senior radiologist and one resident from each speciality) judged these X-rays on a standard clinical computer monitor and with beamer projection. We compared the number of correct results for each method. Overall, the sensitivity and specificity did not differ between monitor and beamer projection. Separate analyses in senior and junior examiners suggested that senior examiners had a moderate loss of diagnostic accuracy (8% lower sensitivity, pp<0.05, and 6% lower specificity, p=ns) associated with the use of beamer projection, whereas juniors showed similar performance on both imaging modalities. These initial data suggest that beamer projection may be associated with a small loss of diagnostic accuracy in specific subgroups of physicians. This finding illustrates the need for more extensive studies.

The Ashra Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasaki, M.; Aita, Y.; Aoki, T.; Asaoka, Y.; Browder, T.; Chonan, T.; Dye, S.; Eguchi, M.; Fox, R.; Guillian, G.; Hamilton, J.; Kimura, T.; Kohta, N.; Kuze, H.; Learned, J.; Masuda, M.; Matsuno, S.; Morimoto, Y.; Noda, K.; Ogawa, S.; Okumura, A.; Olsen, S.; Shibuya, H.; Shinomiya, K.; Sugiyama, N.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Yasuda, M.; Varner, G.; Watanabe, Y.; Watanabe, Y.

Ashra (All-sky Survey High Resolution Air-shower detector) is a project to build an unconventional optical telescope complex that images very wide field of view, covering 80% of the sky, yet with the angle pixel resolution of 1.2 arcsin, sensitive to the blue to UV light with the use of image intensifier and CMOS technology. The project primarily aims to observe Cherenkov and fluorescence lights from the lateral and longitudinal developments of very-high energy cosmic rays in the atmosphere. It can also be used to monitor optical transients in the wide field of sky. In 2004 we built prototype telescopes to verify and develop techniques at Haleakala in Hawaii, needed for the development of the full-scale telescopes. Construction of the main detector station has begun at Mauna Loa on the Hawaii Island in the summer of 2005. The pilot observation data have been taken. We will present the project status, and expected scientific impacts on the observational objectives such as optical transients, unidentified TeV gamma- ray and PeV neutrino sources, and the propagation of EeV cosmic rays. The Ashra Collaboration: (a) ICRR, Univ. Tokyo (b) Univ. Hawaii Manoa (c) Univ. Hawaii Hilo (d)Ibaraki Univ. (e) Toho Univ. (f) Chiba Univ. (g) Tokyo Inst. Tech. (h) Nagoya Univ. Y. Aita.^a, T. Aoki^a, Y. Asaoka^a, T. Browder^b, T. Chonan^a, S. Dye^b, M. Eguchi^a, R. Fox^c, G. Guillian^b, J. Hamilton^c, T. Kimura^d, N. Kohta^e, H. Kuze^f, J. Learned^b, M. Masuda^g, S. Matsuno^b, Y. Morimoto^e, K. Noda^a, S. Ogawa^e, A. Okumura^a, S. Olsen^b, M. Sasaki^a, H. Shibuya^e, K. Shinomiya^f, N. Sugiyama^h, Y. Yamaguchi^f, M. Yasuda^g, G. Varner^b, Y. Watanabe^g, Y. Watanabe^e

URBAN SPRAWL MODELING, AIR QUALITY MONITORING AND RISK COMMUNICATION: THE NORTHEAST OHIO PROJECT

EPA Science Inventory

The Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl, Air Quality Monitoring, and Communications Project (hereafter called the Northeast Ohio Project) provides local environmental and health information useful to residents, local officials, community planners, and others in a 15 county region in the ...

The Aviation System Monitoring and Modeling (ASMM) Project: A Documentation of its History and Accomplishments: 1999-2005

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Statler, Irving C. (Editor)

2007-01-01

The Aviation System Monitoring and Modeling (ASMM) Project was one of the projects within NASA s Aviation Safety Program from 1999 through 2005. The objective of the ASMM Project was to develop the technologies to enable the aviation industry to undertake a proactive approach to the management of its system-wide safety risks. The ASMM Project entailed four interdependent elements: (1) Data Analysis Tools Development - develop tools to convert numerical and textual data into information; (2) Intramural Monitoring - test and evaluate the data analysis tools in operational environments; (3) Extramural Monitoring - gain insight into the aviation system performance by surveying its front-line operators; and (4) Modeling and Simulations - provide reliable predictions of the system-wide hazards, their causal factors, and their operational risks that may result from the introduction of new technologies, new procedures, or new operational concepts. This report is a documentation of the history of this highly successful project and of its many accomplishments and contributions to improved safety of the aviation system.

Simultaneous maximum a posteriori longitudinal PET image reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellis, Sam; Reader, Andrew J.

2017-09-01

Positron emission tomography (PET) is frequently used to monitor functional changes that occur over extended time scales, for example in longitudinal oncology PET protocols that include routine clinical follow-up scans to assess the efficacy of a course of treatment. In these contexts PET datasets are currently reconstructed into images using single-dataset reconstruction methods. Inspired by recently proposed joint PET-MR reconstruction methods, we propose to reconstruct longitudinal datasets simultaneously by using a joint penalty term in order to exploit the high degree of similarity between longitudinal images. We achieved this by penalising voxel-wise differences between pairs of longitudinal PET images in a one-step-late maximum a posteriori (MAP) fashion, resulting in the MAP simultaneous longitudinal reconstruction (SLR) method. The proposed method reduced reconstruction errors and visually improved images relative to standard maximum likelihood expectation-maximisation (ML-EM) in simulated 2D longitudinal brain tumour scans. In reconstructions of split real 3D data with inserted simulated tumours, noise across images reconstructed with MAP-SLR was reduced to levels equivalent to doubling the number of detected counts when using ML-EM. Furthermore, quantification of tumour activities was largely preserved over a variety of longitudinal tumour changes, including changes in size and activity, with larger changes inducing larger biases relative to standard ML-EM reconstructions. Similar improvements were observed for a range of counts levels, demonstrating the robustness of the method when used with a single penalty strength. The results suggest that longitudinal regularisation is a simple but effective method of improving reconstructed PET images without using resolution degrading priors.

12 CFR 1291.7 - Monitoring.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...' discretion. (iii) Risk factors and other monitoring—(A) Risk factors; other monitoring. A Bank's written monitoring policies shall take into account risk factors such as the amount of AHP subsidy in the project... reasonable risk-based sampling plan to review the back-up project documentation. (2) Reliance on long-term...

12 CFR 1291.7 - Monitoring.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...' discretion. (iii) Risk factors and other monitoring—(A) Risk factors; other monitoring. A Bank's written monitoring policies shall take into account risk factors such as the amount of AHP subsidy in the project... reasonable risk-based sampling plan to review the back-up project documentation. (2) Reliance on long-term...

Improved Marine Waters Monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palazov, Atanas; Yakushev, Evgeniy; Milkova, Tanya; Slabakova, Violeta; Hristova, Ognyana

2017-04-01

IMAMO - Improved Marine Waters Monitoring is a project under the Programme BG02: Improved monitoring of marine waters, managed by Bulgarian Ministry of environment and waters and co-financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA FM) 2009 - 2014. Project Beneficiary is the Institute of oceanology - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with two partners: Norwegian Institute for Water Research and Bulgarian Black Sea Basin Directorate. The Project aims to improve the monitoring capacity and expertise of the organizations responsible for marine waters monitoring in Bulgaria to meet the requirements of EU and national legislation. The main outcomes are to fill the gaps in information from the Initial assessment of the marine environment and to collect data to assess the current ecological status of marine waters including information as a base for revision of ecological targets established by the monitoring programme prepared in 2014 under Art. 11 of MSFD. Project activities are targeted to ensure data for Descriptors 5, 8 and 9. IMAMO aims to increase the institutional capacity of the Bulgarian partners related to the monitoring and assessment of the Black Sea environment. The main outputs are: establishment of real time monitoring and set up of accredited laboratory facilities for marine waters and sediments chemical analysis to ensure the ability of Bulgarian partners to monitor progress of subsequent measures undertaken.

Developing a monitoring and verification plan with reference to the Australian Otway CO2 pilot project

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

Dodds, K.; Daley, T.; Freifeld, B.

2009-05-01

The Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) is currently injecting 100,000 tons of CO{sub 2} in a large-scale test of storage technology in a pilot project in southeastern Australia called the CO2CRC Otway Project. The Otway Basin, with its natural CO{sub 2} accumulations and many depleted gas fields, offers an appropriate site for such a pilot project. An 80% CO{sub 2} stream is produced from a well (Buttress) near the depleted gas reservoir (Naylor) used for storage (Figure 1). The goal of this project is to demonstrate that CO{sub 2} can be safely transported, stored underground, andmore » its behavior tracked and monitored. The monitoring and verification framework has been developed to monitor for the presence and behavior of CO{sub 2} in the subsurface reservoir, near surface, and atmosphere. This monitoring framework addresses areas, identified by a rigorous risk assessment, to verify conformance to clearly identifiable performance criteria. These criteria have been agreed with the regulatory authorities to manage the project through all phases addressing responsibilities, liabilities, and to assure the public of safe storage.« less

Sleep-wake profiles predict longitudinal changes in manic symptoms and memory in young people with mood disorders.

PubMed

Robillard, Rébecca; Hermens, Daniel F; Lee, Rico S C; Jones, Andrew; Carpenter, Joanne S; White, Django; Naismith, Sharon L; Southan, James; Whitwell, Bradley; Scott, Elizabeth M; Hickie, Ian B

2016-10-01

Mood disorders are characterized by disabling symptoms and cognitive difficulties which may vary in intensity throughout the course of the illness. Sleep-wake cycles and circadian rhythms influence emotional regulation and cognitive functions. However, the relationships between the sleep-wake disturbances experienced commonly by people with mood disorders and the longitudinal changes in their clinical and cognitive profile are not well characterized. This study investigated associations between initial sleep-wake patterns and longitudinal changes in mood symptoms and cognitive functions in 50 young people (aged 13-33 years) with depression or bipolar disorder. Data were based on actigraphy monitoring conducted over approximately 2 weeks and clinical and neuropsychological assessment. As part of a longitudinal cohort study, these assessments were repeated after a mean follow-up interval of 18.9 months. No significant differences in longitudinal clinical changes were found between the participants with depression and those with bipolar disorder. Lower sleep efficiency was predictive of longitudinal worsening in manic symptoms (P = 0.007). Shorter total sleep time (P = 0.043) and poorer circadian rhythmicity (P = 0.045) were predictive of worsening in verbal memory. These findings suggest that some sleep-wake and circadian disturbances in young people with mood disorders may be associated with less favourable longitudinal outcomes, notably for subsequent manic symptoms and memory difficulties. © 2016 European Sleep Research Society.

Context-dependent survival, fecundity and predicted population-level consequences of brucellosis in African buffalo

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gorsich, Erin E.; Ezenwa, Vanessa O.; Cross, Paul C.; Bengis, Roy G.; Jolles, Anna E.

2015-01-01

Our results suggest that brucellosis infection can potentially result in reduced population growth rates, but because these effects varied with demographic and environmental conditions, they may remain unseen without intensive, longitudinal monitoring.

Application of confocal Raman micro-spectroscopy for label-free monitoring of oxidative stress in living bronchial cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Surmacki, Jakub M.; Quirós Gonzalez, Isabel; Bohndiek, Sarah E.

2018-02-01

Oxidative stress in cancer is implicated in tumor progression, being associated with increased therapy resistance and metastasis. Conventional approaches for monitoring oxidative stress in tissue such as high-performance liquid chromatography and immunohistochemistry are bulk measurements and destroy the sample, meaning that longitudinal monitoring of cancer cell heterogeneity remains elusive. Raman spectroscopy has the potential to overcome this challenge, providing a chemically specific, label free readout from single living cells. Here, we applied a standardized protocol for label-free confocal Raman micro-spectroscopy in living cells to monitor oxidative stress in bronchial cells. We used a quartz substrate in a commercial cell chamber contained within a microscope incubator providing culture media for cell maintenance. We studied the effect of a potent reactive oxygen species inducer, tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP), and antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) on living cells from a human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC). We found that the Raman bands corresponding to nucleic acids, proteins and lipids were significantly different (p<0.05) for control, TBHP, and NAC. Encouragingly, partial least squares discriminant analysis applied to our data showed high sensitivity and specificity for identification of control (87.3%, 71.7%), NAC (92.3%, 85.1%) and TBHP (86.9%, 92.9%). These results suggest that confocal Raman micro-spectroscopy may be able to monitor the biological impact of oxidative and reductive processes in cells, hence enabling longitudinal studies of oxidative stress in therapy resistance and metastasis at the single cell level.

The need for complementary hydraulic analysis in post-restoration monitoring of river restoration projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Endreny, T. A.; Soulman, M. M.

2011-03-01

River restoration design methods are incrementally improved by studying and learning from monitoring data in previous projects. In this paper, we report post-restoration monitoring data for a Natural Channel Design (NCD) restoration project along 1600 m (10 channel wavelengths) of the Batavia Kill in the Catskill Mountains, NY, implemented in 2001 and 2002. The NCD project used a reference-reach to determine channel form, empirical relations between the project site and reference site bankfull dimensions to size channel geometry, and hydraulic and sediment computations to test channel capacity and sediment stability. In addition 12 cross-vanes and 48 j-hook vanes used in NCD for river training were installed to protect against bank erosion and maintain scour pools for fish habitat. Changes in pool depths were monitored with surveys from 2002-2004, and then after the channel-altering April 2005 flood. Aggradation in pools was attributed to cross-vane arms not concentrating flow in the center of the channel, which subsequently caused flow splitting and 4 partial point bar avulsions during the 2005 flood. Hydrodynamic simulation at the 18 m3s-1 bankfull flow suggested avulsions occurred where vanes allowed erosive bank scour to initiate the avulsion cut, and once the flow was split, the diminished in-channel flow caused more aggradation in the pools. In this project post-restoration monitoring had detected aggradation and considered it a problem. The lesson for the larger river restoration community is monitoring protocol should include complementary hydraulic and sediment analysis to comprehend potential consequences and develop preventative maintenance. River restoration and monitoring teams should be trained in robust hydraulic and sediment analytical methods that help them extend project restoration goals.

Study protocol for the translating research in elder care (TREC): building context – an organizational monitoring program in long-term care project (project one)

PubMed Central

Estabrooks, Carole A; Squires, Janet E; Cummings, Greta G; Teare, Gary F; Norton, Peter G

2009-01-01

Background While there is a growing awareness of the importance of organizational context (or the work environment/setting) to successful knowledge translation, and successful knowledge translation to better patient, provider (staff), and system outcomes, little empirical evidence supports these assumptions. Further, little is known about the factors that enhance knowledge translation and better outcomes in residential long-term care facilities, where care has been shown to be suboptimal. The project described in this protocol is one of the two main projects of the larger five-year Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) program. Aims The purpose of this project is to establish the magnitude of the effect of organizational context on knowledge translation, and subsequently on resident, staff (unregulated, regulated, and managerial) and system outcomes in long-term care facilities in the three Canadian Prairie Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba). Methods/Design This study protocol describes the details of a multi-level – including provinces, regions, facilities, units within facilities, and individuals who receive care (residents) or work (staff) in facilities – and longitudinal (five-year) research project. A stratified random sample of 36 residential long-term care facilities (30 urban and 6 rural) from the Canadian Prairie Provinces will comprise the sample. Caregivers and care managers within these facilities will be asked to complete the TREC survey – a suite of survey instruments designed to assess organizational context and related factors hypothesized to be important to successful knowledge translation and to achieving better resident, staff, and system outcomes. Facility and unit level data will be collected using standardized data collection forms, and resident outcomes using the Resident Assessment Instrument-Minimum Data Set version 2.0 instrument. A variety of analytic techniques will be employed including descriptive analyses, psychometric analyses, multi-level modeling, and mixed-method analyses. Discussion Three key challenging areas associated with conducting this project are discussed: sampling, participant recruitment, and sample retention; survey administration (with unregulated caregivers); and the provision of a stable set of study definitions to guide the project. PMID:19671166

Solar Wind Monitor--A School Geophysics Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Ian

2018-01-01

Described is an established geophysics project to construct a solar wind monitor based on a nT resolution fluxgate magnetometer. Low-cost and appropriate from school to university level it incorporates elements of astrophysics, geophysics, electronics, programming, computer networking and signal processing. The system monitors the earth's field in…

Efficiency of erosion control practices of the Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation : interim report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-01-01

Stream monitoring stations have been installed on eight construction projects under Phase 1 of this study. Monitoring on four of the projects is complete and monitoring on the remaining four is continuing. On the basis of the limited data, it appears...

The Air Sensor Citizen Science Toolbox: A Collaboration in Community Air Quality Monitoring and Mapping?

EPA Science Inventory

Project GoalDevelop tools Citizen Scientists can use to assist them in conducting environmental monitoringResearch PlanIdentify a citizen science project as a potential pilot study locationEstablish their pollutant monitoring interestsDevelop a sensor package to meet their needs ...

High Resolution Airborne Shallow Water Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steinbacher, F.; Pfennigbauer, M.; Aufleger, M.; Ullrich, A.

2012-07-01

In order to meet the requirements of the European Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD), authorities face the problem of repeatedly performing area-wide surveying of all kinds of inland waters. Especially for mid-sized or small rivers this is a considerable challenge imposing insurmountable logistical efforts and costs. It is therefore investigated if large-scale surveying of a river system on an operational basis is feasible by employing airborne hydrographic laser scanning. In cooperation with the Bavarian Water Authority (WWA Weilheim) a pilot project was initiated by the Unit of Hydraulic Engineering at the University of Innsbruck and RIEGL Laser Measurement Systems exploiting the possibilities of a new LIDAR measurement system with high spatial resolution and high measurement rate to capture about 70 km of riverbed and foreland for the river Loisach in Bavaria/Germany and the estuary and parts of the shoreline (about 40km in length) of lake Ammersee. The entire area surveyed was referenced to classic terrestrial cross-section surveys with the aim to derive products for the monitoring and managing needs of the inland water bodies forced by the EU-WFD. The survey was performed in July 2011 by helicopter and airplane and took 3 days in total. In addition, high resolution areal images were taken to provide an optical reference, offering a wide range of possibilities on further research, monitoring, and managing responsibilities. The operating altitude was about 500 m to maintain eye-safety, even for the aided eye, the airspeed was about 55 kts for the helicopter and 75 kts for the aircraft. The helicopter was used in the alpine regions while the fixed wing aircraft was used in the plains and the urban area, using appropriate scan rates to receive evenly distributed point clouds. The resulting point density ranged from 10 to 25 points per square meter. By carefully selecting days with optimum water quality, satisfactory penetration down to the river bed was achieved throughout the project. During the data processing meshes for multiple purposes like monitoring sediment transport or accumulation and hydro-dynamic numeric modeling were generated. The meshes were professionally conditioned considering the adherence of, both, geometric and physical mesh quality criterions. Whereas the research is focused on the design and implementation of monitoring database structures, the airborne hydrographic data are also made available for classical processing means (cross sections, longitudinal section).

Estimating onset time from longitudinal and cross-sectional data with an application to estimating gestational age from longitudinal maternal anthropometry during pregnancy and neonatal anthropometry at birth.

PubMed

Ortega-Villa, Ana Maria; Grantz, Katherine L; Albert, Paul S

2018-06-01

Determining the date of conception is important for estimating gestational age and monitoring whether the fetus and mother are on track in their development and pregnancy. Various methods based on ultrasound have been proposed for dating a pregnancy in high resource countries. However, such techniques may not be available in under-resourced countries. We develop a shared random parameter model for estimating the date of conception using longitudinal assessment of multiple maternal anthropometry and cross-sectional neonatal anthropometry. The methodology is evaluated with a training-test set paradigm as well as with simulations to examine the robustness of the method to model misspecification. We illustrate this new methodology with data from the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies.

Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Stress in Late Adulthood: A Longitudinal Approach to Measuring Allostatic Load

PubMed Central

Nowakowski, Alexandra C. H.

2017-01-01

Objectives: This study examines how the effects of childhood socioeconomic status (SES) may carry on into late adulthood. Methods: We examine how childhood SES affects both perceived stress and allostatic load, which is a cumulative measure of the body’s biologic response to chronic stress. We use the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, Waves 1 and 2, and suggest a novel method of incorporating a longitudinal allostatic load measure. Results: Individuals who grew up in low SES households have higher allostatic load scores in late adulthood, and this association is mediated mostly by educational attainment. Discussion: The longitudinal allostatic load measure shows similar results to the singular measures and allows us to include 2 time points into one outcome measure. Incorporating 2 separate time points into one measure is important because allostatic load is a measure of cumulative physiological dysregulation, and longitudinal data provide a more comprehensive measure. PMID:29226194

Analysis of in-trail following dynamics of CDTI-equipped aircraft. [Cockpit Displays of Traffic Information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sorensen, J. A.; Goka, T.

1982-01-01

In connection with the necessity to provide greater terminal area capacity, attention is given to approaches in which the required increase in capacity will be obtained by making use of more automation and by involving the pilot to a larger degree in the air traffic control (ATC) process. It was recommended that NASA should make extensive use of its research aircraft and cockpit simulators to assist the FAA in examining the capabilities and limitations of cockpit displays of traffic information (CDTI). A program was organized which utilizes FAA ATC (ground-based) simulators and NASA aircraft and associated cockpit simulators in a research project which explores applications of the CDTI system. The present investigation is concerned with several questions related to the CDTI-based terminal area traffic tactical control concepts. Attention is given to longitudinal separation criteria, a longitudinal following model, longitudinal capture, combined longitudinal/vertical control, and lateral control.

A Fair Go for All? The Impact of Intragroup Diversity and Diversity-Management Skills on Student Experiences and Outcomes in Team-Based Class Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, James B.

2004-01-01

A longitudinal study of 390 students in 64 Practical Organizational Behavior Education (PROBE) project teams was conducted on the effects of intragroup diversity and student diversity-management skills. The impact of gender, age, and nationality variables on student grades, cognitive processes, perceptions of team effectiveness, and satisfaction…

Monopoly vs. Markets: The Empirical Evidence on Private Schools & School Choice. School Choice Issues in Depth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forster, Greg

2007-01-01

This study presents new findings comparing public and private high schools using top-quality data from the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS), a long-term research project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The ELS project tracks individual data on thousands of students, allowing researchers to conduct much better analyses than are…

A Factorial Analysis of Timed and Untimed Measures of Mathematics and Reading Abilities in School Aged Twins

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, Sara A.; Petrill, Stephen A.; Thompson, Lee A.

2010-01-01

The present study examined the phenotypic and genetic relationship between fluency and non-fluency-based measures of reading and mathematics performance. Participants were drawn from the Western Reserve Reading and Math Project, an ongoing longitudinal twin project of same-sex MZ and DZ twins from Ohio. The present analyses are based on…

Tracking and the Effects of School-Related Attitudes on the Language Achievement of Boys and Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van de gaer, Eva; Pustjens, Heidi; Van Damme, Jan; De Munter, Agnes

2006-01-01

In this study we examined whether the underachievement of boys in language at the end of secondary education is related to school-related attitudes. Data were drawn from the LOSO project, a longitudinal research project in secondary education. The results showed that there were gender differences in language achievement in favour of girls in the…

SU-G-IeP2-08: Investigation On Signal Detectability in Volumetric Cone Beam CT Images with Anatomical Background

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

Han, M; Baek, J

2016-06-15

Purpose: To investigate the slice direction dependent detectability in cone beam CT images with anatomical background. Methods: We generated 3D anatomical background images using breast anatomy model. To generate 3D breast anatomy, we filtered 3D Gaussian noise with a square root of 1/f{sup 3}, and then assigned the attenuation coefficient of glandular (0.8cm{sup −1}) and adipose (0.46 cm{sup −1}) tissues based on voxel values. Projections were acquired by forward projection, and quantum noise was added to the projection data. The projection data were reconstructed by FDK algorithm. We compared the detectability of a 3 mm spherical signal in the imagemore » reconstructed from four different backprojection Methods: Hanning weighted ramp filter with linear interpolation (RECON1), Hanning weighted ramp filter with Fourier interpolation (RECON2), ramp filter with linear interpolation (RECON3), and ramp filter with Fourier interpolation (RECON4), respectively. We computed task SNR of the spherical signal in transverse and longitudinal planes using channelized Hotelling observer with Laguerre-Gauss channels. Results: Transverse plane has similar task SNR values for different backprojection methods, while longitudinal plane has a maximum task SNR value in RECON1. For all backprojection methods, longitudinal plane has higher task SNR than transverse plane. Conclusion: In this work, we investigated detectability for different slice direction in cone beam CT images with anatomical background. Longitudinal plane has a higher task SNR than transverse plane, and backprojection with hanning weighted ramp filter with linear interpolation method (i.e., RECON1) produced the highest task SNR among four different backprojection methods. This research was supported by the MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning), Korea, under the IT Consilience Creative Programs(IITP-2015-R0346-15-1008) supervised by the IITP (Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion), Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the MSIP (2015R1C1A1A01052268) and framework of international cooperation program managed by NRF (NRF-2015K2A1A2067635).« less

Dynamic longitudinal investigation of individual nerve endings in the skin of anesthetized mice using in vivo two-photon microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuryev, Mikhail; Khiroug, Leonard

2012-04-01

Visualization of individual cutaneous nerve endings has previously relied on laborious procedures of tissue excision, fixation, sectioning and staining for light or electron microscopy. We present a method for non-invasive, longitudinal two-photon microscopy of single nerve endings within the skin of anesthetized transgenic mice. Besides excellent signal-to-background ratio and nanometer-scale spatial resolution, this method offers time-lapse ``movies'' of pathophysiological changes in nerve fine structure over minutes, hours, days or weeks. Structure of keratinocytes and dermal matrix is visualized simultaneously with nerve endings, providing clear landmarks for longitudinal analysis. We further demonstrate feasibility of dissecting individual nerve fibers with infra-red laser and monitoring their degradation and regeneration. In summary, our excision-free optical biopsy technique is ideal for longitudinal microscopic analysis of animal skin and skin innervations in vivo and can be applied widely in preclinical models of chronic pain, allergies, skin cancers and a variety of dermatological disorders.

LOW COST ORGANIC GAS SENSORS ON PLASTIC FOR DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

EPA Science Inventory

This project focused on the development of low-cost arrayed organic sensors for environmental monitoring applications. All of the major goals of the original project have been achieved in the 3-year period of this grant.

In Year 1 of the project, we successfully deve...

Real-time water quality monitoring and providing water quality ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have initiated the “Village Blue” research project to provide real-time water quality monitoring data to the Baltimore community and increase public awareness about local water quality in Baltimore Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay. The Village Blue demonstration project complements work that a number of state and local organizations are doing to make Baltimore Harbor “swimmable and fishable” 2 by 2020. Village Blue is designed to build upon EPA’s “Village Green” project which provides real-time air quality information to communities in six locations across the country. The presentation, “Real-time water quality monitoring and providing water quality information to the Baltimore Community”, summarizes the Village Blue real-time water quality monitoring project being developed for the Baltimore Harbor.

Longitudinal optical monitoring of blood flow in breast tumors during neoadjuvant chemotherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cochran, J. M.; Chung, S. H.; Leproux, A.; Baker, W. B.; Busch, D. R.; DeMichele, A. M.; Tchou, J.; Tromberg, B. J.; Yodh, A. G.

2017-06-01

We measure tissue blood flow markers in breast tumors during neoadjuvant chemotherapy and investigate their correlation to pathologic complete response in a pilot longitudinal patient study (n  =  4). Tumor blood flow is quantified optically by diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS), and tissue optical properties, blood oxygen saturation, and total hemoglobin concentration are derived from concurrent diffuse optical spectroscopic imaging (DOSI). The study represents the first longitudinal DCS measurement of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in humans over the entire course of treatment; it therefore offers a first correlation between DCS flow indices and pathologic complete response. The use of absolute optical properties measured by DOSI facilitates significant improvement of DCS blood flow calculation, which typically assumes optical properties based on literature values. Additionally, the combination of the DCS blood flow index and the tissue oxygen saturation from DOSI permits investigation of tissue oxygen metabolism. Pilot results from four patients suggest that lower blood flow in the lesion-bearing breast is correlated with pathologic complete response. Both absolute lesion blood flow and lesion flow relative to the contralateral breast exhibit potential for characterization of pathological response. This initial demonstration of the combined optical approach for chemotherapy monitoring provides incentive for more comprehensive studies in the future and can help power those investigations.

Design and testing of integrated Bragg grating sensor systems for advanced grid structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amano, Masataro; Mizutani, Tadahito; Okabe, Yoji; Takeda, Nobuo; Ozaki, Tsuyoshi

2006-03-01

In this research, the authors target on the construction of structural health monitoring system of Advanced Grid Structure (AGS) made of Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). AGS has often been applied to aerospace structures because of the following advantages: (1) Since ribs carry only axial forces, the weakness in the transverse direction of the CFRP unidirectional laminates is negligible. (2) AGS has damage tolerance because the fracture of a rib hardly affects other ribs, namely AGS is a fail-safe structure. In this research, in order to detect existence and regions of rib fractures in AGS, we embedded multiplexed fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors into AGS in rib longitudinal directions for measurement of strains. Monitoring of the change in rib longitudinal strains is the most effective SHM system for AGS. In order to confirm our proposal, we carried out following discussions. First, we analytically revealed that the change in rib longitudinal strains was the most sensitive signal for damage detection because of AGS's structural redundancy. Then, we introduced a statistical outlier analysis technique into the SHM system for damage recognition. Finally, we established AGS with the SHM system and verified experimentally. The result of the test showed that damage existence and regions in AGS could be detected with the proposed SHM system.

Longitudinal study of parasite-induced mortality of a long-lived host: the importance of exposure to non-parasitic stressors.

PubMed

Chin, Hilary M-H; Luong, Lien T; Shostak, Allen W

2017-12-01

Hosts face mortality from parasitic and environmental stressors, but interactions of parasitism with other stressors are not well understood, particularly for long-lived hosts. We monitored survival of flour beetles (Tribolium confusum) in a longitudinal design incorporating cestode (Hymenolepis diminuta) infection, starvation and exposure to the pesticide diatomaceous earth (DE). We found that cestode cysticercoids exhibit increasing morphological damage and decreasing ability to excyst over time, but were never eliminated from the host. In the presence of even mild environmental stressors, host lifespan was reduced sufficiently that extensive degradation of cysticercoids was never realized. Median host lifespan was 200 days in the absence of stressors, and 3-197 days with parasitism, starvation and/or DE. Early survival of parasitized hosts was higher relative to controls in the presence of intermediate concentrations of DE, but reduced under all other conditions tested. Parasitism increased host mortality in the presence of other stressors at times when parasitism alone did not cause mortality, consistent with an interpretation of synergy. Environmental stressors modified the parasite numbers needed to reveal intensity-dependent host mortality, but only rarely masked intensity dependence. The longitudinal approach produced observations that would have been overlooked or misinterpreted if survival had only been monitored at a single time point.

Survey of United States Army Reserve (USAR) Troop Program Unit (TPU) soldiers 1989. Tabulation of Questionnaire Responses: Cross-Sectional Sample: Junior Enlisted (E1-E4)

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-09-30

information for use by readers to interpret the tabulation volumes accompanying the final project report: 1989 Survey of U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) Troop...34stayers" who were used as the sample to generate the first longitudinal Tabulation Volume. Comparing questionnaire response frequencies between the...as described below). Detailed below are the specific crossing variables used for the cross-sectional and longitudinal Tabulation Volumes. Cross

Evaluating the Relationship between Team Performance and Joint Attention with Longitudinal Multivariate Mixed Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-23

Lauren Menke3 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER H0HJ (53290813) 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS...as prior work has demonstrated that friendship can facilitate performance in decision-making and motor tasks (e.g., Shah & Jehn, 1993). However, a...Relationship between Team Performance and Joint Attention with Longitudinal Multivariate Mixed Models 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8650-14-D-6501-0009 5b

Lifetime eating disorder comorbidity associated with delayed depressive recovery in bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Balzafiore, Danielle R; Rasgon, Natalie L; Yuen, Laura D; Shah, Saloni; Kim, Hyun; Goffin, Kathryn C; Miller, Shefali; Wang, Po W; Ketter, Terence A

2017-12-01

Although eating disorders (EDs) are common in bipolar disorder (BD), little is known regarding their longitudinal consequences. We assessed prevalence, clinical correlates, and longitudinal depressive severity in BD patients with vs. without EDs. Outpatients referred to Stanford University BD Clinic during 2000-2011 were assessed with the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for BD (STEP-BD) affective disorders evaluation, and while receiving naturalistic treatment for up to 2 years, were monitored with the STEP-BD clinical monitoring form. Patients with vs. without lifetime EDs were compared with respect to prevalence, demographic and unfavorable illness characteristics/current mood symptoms and psychotropic use, and longitudinal depressive severity. Among 503 BD outpatients, 76 (15.1%) had lifetime EDs, which were associated with female gender, and higher rates of lifetime comorbid anxiety, alcohol/substance use, and personality disorders, childhood BD onset, episode accumulation (≥10 prior mood episodes), prior suicide attempt, current syndromal/subsyndromal depression, sadness, anxiety, and antidepressant use, and earlier BD onset age, and greater current overall BD severity. Among currently depressed patients, 29 with compared to 124 without lifetime EDs had significantly delayed depressive recovery. In contrast, among currently recovered (euthymic ≥8 weeks) patients, 10 with compared to 95 without lifetime EDs had only non-significantly hastened depressive recurrence. Primarily Caucasian, insured, suburban, American specialty clinic-referred sample limits generalizability. Small number of recovered patients with EDs limited statistical power to detect relationships between EDs and depressive recurrence. Further studies are warranted to explore the degree to which EDs impact longitudinal depressive illness burden in BD.

Regression calibration for models with two predictor variables measured with error and their interaction, using instrumental variables and longitudinal data.

PubMed

Strand, Matthew; Sillau, Stefan; Grunwald, Gary K; Rabinovitch, Nathan

2014-02-10

Regression calibration provides a way to obtain unbiased estimators of fixed effects in regression models when one or more predictors are measured with error. Recent development of measurement error methods has focused on models that include interaction terms between measured-with-error predictors, and separately, methods for estimation in models that account for correlated data. In this work, we derive explicit and novel forms of regression calibration estimators and associated asymptotic variances for longitudinal models that include interaction terms, when data from instrumental and unbiased surrogate variables are available but not the actual predictors of interest. The longitudinal data are fit using linear mixed models that contain random intercepts and account for serial correlation and unequally spaced observations. The motivating application involves a longitudinal study of exposure to two pollutants (predictors) - outdoor fine particulate matter and cigarette smoke - and their association in interactive form with levels of a biomarker of inflammation, leukotriene E4 (LTE 4 , outcome) in asthmatic children. Because the exposure concentrations could not be directly observed, we used measurements from a fixed outdoor monitor and urinary cotinine concentrations as instrumental variables, and we used concentrations of fine ambient particulate matter and cigarette smoke measured with error by personal monitors as unbiased surrogate variables. We applied the derived regression calibration methods to estimate coefficients of the unobserved predictors and their interaction, allowing for direct comparison of toxicity of the different pollutants. We used simulations to verify accuracy of inferential methods based on asymptotic theory. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Effects of Magnetic-Field Geometry on Longitudinal Oscillations of Solar Prominences: Cross-Sectional Area Variation for Thin Tubes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luna, M.; Diaz, A. J.; Oliver, R.; Terradas, J.; Karpen, J.

2016-01-01

Solar prominences are subject to both field-aligned (longitudinal) and transverse oscillatory motions, as evidenced by an increasing number of observations. Large-amplitude longitudinal motions provide valuable information on the geometry of the filament channel magnetic structure that supports the cool prominence plasma against gravity. Our pendulum model, in which the restoring force is the gravity projected along the dipped field lines of the magnetic structure, best explains these oscillations. However, several factors can influence the longitudinal oscillations, potentially invalidating the pendulum model. Aims. The aim of this work is to study the influence of large-scale variations in the magnetic field strength along the field lines, i.e., variations of the cross-sectional area along the flux tubes supporting prominence threads. Methods. We studied the normal modes of several flux tube configurations, using linear perturbation analysis, to assess the influence of different geometrical parameters on the oscillation properties. Results. We found that the influence of the symmetric and asymmetric expansion factors on longitudinal oscillations is small.Conclusions. We conclude that the longitudinal oscillations are not significantly influenced by variations of the cross-section of the flux tubes, validating the pendulum model in this context.

Tools for automated acoustic monitoring within the R package monitoR

USGS Publications Warehouse

Katz, Jonathan; Hafner, Sasha D.; Donovan, Therese

2016-01-01

The R package monitoR contains tools for managing an acoustic-monitoring program including survey metadata, template creation and manipulation, automated detection and results management. These tools are scalable for use with small projects as well as larger long-term projects and those with expansive spatial extents. Here, we describe typical workflow when using the tools in monitoR. Typical workflow utilizes a generic sequence of functions, with the option for either binary point matching or spectrogram cross-correlation detectors.

Flood effects on an Alaskan stream restoration project: the value of long-term monitoring

USGS Publications Warehouse

Densmore, Roseann V.; Karle, Kenneth F.

2009-01-01

On a nationwide basis, few stream restoration projects have long-term programs in place to monitor the effects of floods on channel and floodplain configuration and floodplain vegetation, but long-term and event-based monitoring is required to measure the effects of these stochastic events and to use the knowledge for adaptive management and the design of future projects. This paper describes a long-term monitoring effort (15 years) on a stream restoration project in Glen Creek in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The stream channel and floodplain of Glen Creek had been severely degraded over a period of 80 years by placer mining for gold, which left many reaches with unstable and incised streambeds without functioning vegetated floodplains. The objectives of the original project, initiated in 1991, were to develop and test methods for the hydraulic design of channel and floodplain morphology and for floodplain stabilization and riparian habitat recovery, and to conduct research and monitoring to provide information for future projects in similar degraded watersheds. Monitoring methods included surveyed stream cross-sections, vegetation plots, and aerial, ground, and satellite photos. In this paper we address the immediate and outlying effects of a 25-year flood on the stream and floodplain geometry and riparian vegetation. The long-term monitoring revealed that significant channel widening occurred following the flood, likely caused by excessive upstream sediment loading and the fairly slow development of floodplain vegetation in this climate. Our results illustrated design flaws, particularly in regard to identification and analysis of sediment sources and the dominant processes of channel adjustment.

A Monitoring and Assessment Plan for the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Employment and Training Administration (DOL), Washington, DC.

Intended as a general blueprint for monitoring and assessing activities under the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977, this document discusses the expected constraints, evaluation and assessment tools, the analytic framework, and monitoring and review schedule. Five problem areas are recognized as potential constraints in…

Landscape scale ecological monitoring as part of an EIA of major construction activities: experience at the Turkish section of the BTC crude oil pipeline project.

PubMed

Sahin, Sükran; Kurum, Ekrem

2009-09-01

Ecological monitoring is a complementary component of the overall environmental management and monitoring program of any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report. The monitoring method should be developed for each project phase and allow for periodic reporting and assessment of compliance with the environmental conditions and requirements of the EIA. Also, this method should incorporate a variance request program since site-specific conditions can affect construction on a daily basis and require time-critical application of alternative construction scenarios or environmental management methods integrated with alternative mitigation measures. Finally, taking full advantage of the latest information and communication technologies can enhance the quality of, and public involvement in, the environmental management program. In this paper, a landscape-scale ecological monitoring method for major construction projects is described using, as a basis, 20 months of experience on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Crude Oil Pipeline Project, covering Turkish Sections Lot B and Lot C. This analysis presents suggestions for improving ecological monitoring for major construction activities.

Continuation of superpave projects monitoring.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-07-01

This study involved the continuous monitoring of material properties and field performance of : twelve Superpave project sections in Florida for the establishment of reasonable and effective mixture : design guidelines and criteria, the identificatio...

New Direction for Enhancing Quality in Diabetes Care: Utilizing Telecommunications and Paraprofessional Outreach Workers Backed by an Expert Medical Team

PubMed Central

Ann Mayes, Penelope; Silvers, Abraham

2010-01-01

Abstract This article assesses the value of using telecommunications with Promatoras (paraprofessional outreach workers) and an expert medical team of registered nurses (RNs) and endocrinologists in an at-risk type 2 diabetic Hispanic population recruited for a telemedicine feasibility project from a free clinic. Nineteen patients agreed to enter the program and 16 completed the program in 3.5 years of study. A Promatoras is the primary educator and the point of communication to patient or medical personnel overseeing each patient's home glucose monitoring, medical records, and medications, regularly communicating by telephone and e-mail with patients and diabetes specialists. Between clinic visits, all routine care, including body weight, blood glucose, and blood pressure monitoring, was shared over the Internet, and each patient was interviewed by audio and camera. The endocrinologist was in his office, while the primary care physician, patient, and Promotora volunteers were at the free clinic. Four variables were considered in this longitudinal study: weight, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and HbA1c. Estimates of means, correlations, t-tests, and slopes of the repeated measures were obtained, and comparisons were made between first and last values. The most important sign of improvement in the patients' situation was the significant decrease in HbA1c to 7.2% from 9.6% (p = 0.001). PMID:20406123

New direction for enhancing quality in diabetes care: utilizing telecommunications and paraprofessional outreach workers backed by an expert medical team.

PubMed

Mayes, Penelope Ann; Silvers, Abraham; Prendergast, J Joseph

2010-04-01

Abstract This article assesses the value of using telecommunications with Promatoras (paraprofessional outreach workers) and an expert medical team of registered nurses (RNs) and endocrinologists in an at-risk type 2 diabetic Hispanic population recruited for a telemedicine feasibility project from a free clinic. Nineteen patients agreed to enter the program and 16 completed the program in 3.5 years of study. A Promatoras is the primary educator and the point of communication to patient or medical personnel overseeing each patient's home glucose monitoring, medical records, and medications, regularly communicating by telephone and e-mail with patients and diabetes specialists. Between clinic visits, all routine care, including body weight, blood glucose, and blood pressure monitoring, was shared over the Internet, and each patient was interviewed by audio and camera. The endocrinologist was in his office, while the primary care physician, patient, and Promotora volunteers were at the free clinic. Four variables were considered in this longitudinal study: weight, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and HbA1c. Estimates of means, correlations, t-tests, and slopes of the repeated measures were obtained, and comparisons were made between first and last values. The most important sign of improvement in the patients' situation was the significant decrease in HbA1c to 7.2% from 9.6% (p = 0.001).

Big data in Parkinson's disease: using smartphones to remotely detect longitudinal disease phenotypes.

PubMed

Prince, John; Arora, Siddharth; de Vos, Maarten

2018-04-26

To better understand the longitudinal characteristics of Parkinson's disease (PD) through the analysis of finger tapping and memory tests collected remotely using smartphones. Using a large cohort (312 PD subjects and 236 controls) of participants in the mPower study, we extract clinically validated features from a finger tapping and memory test to monitor the longitudinal behaviour of study participants. We investigate any discrepancy in learning rates associated with motor and non-motor tasks between PD subjects and healthy controls. The ability of these features to predict self-assigned severity measures is assessed whilst simultaneously inspecting the severity scoring system for floor-ceiling effects. Finally, we study the relationship between motor and non-motor longitudinal behaviour to determine if separate aspects of the disease are dependent on one another. We find that the test performances of the most severe subjects show significant correlations with self-assigned severity measures. Interestingly, less severe subjects do not show significant correlations, which is shown to be a consequence of floor-ceiling effects within the mPower self-reporting severity system. We find that motor performance after practise is a better predictor of severity than baseline performance suggesting that starting performance at a new motor task is less representative of disease severity than the performance after the test has been learnt. We find PD subjects show significant impairments in motor ability as assessed through the alternating finger tapping (AFT) test in both the short- and long-term analyses. In the AFT and memory tests we demonstrate that PD subjects show a larger degree of longitudinal performance variability in addition to requiring more instances of a test to reach a steady state performance than healthy subjects. Our findings pave the way forward for objective assessment and quantification of longitudinal learning rates in PD. This can be particularly useful for symptom monitoring and assessing medication response. This study tries to tackle some of the major challenges associated with self-assessed severity labels by designing and validating features extracted from big datasets in PD, which could help identify digital biomarkers capable of providing measures of disease severity outside of a clinical environment.

Augmented Fish Health Monitoring; Volume II of II, Completion Report.

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

Michak, Patty

1991-12-01

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) initiated the Augmented Fish Health Monitoring project in 1986. This project was a five year interagency project involving fish rearing agencies in the Columbia Basin. Participating agencies included: Washington Department of Fisheries (WDF), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). This is the final data report for the Augmented Fish Health Monitoring project. Data collected and sampling results for 1990 and 1991 are presented within this report. An evaluation of this project can be found in Augmented Fish Health Monitoring, Volume 1,more » Completion Report.'' May, 1991. Pathogen detection methods remained the same from methods described in Augmented Fish Health Monitoring, Annual Report 1989,'' May, 1990. From January 1, 1990 to June 30, 1991 fish health monitoring sampling was conducted. In 1990 21 returning adult stocks were sampled. Juvenile pre-release exams were completed on 20 yearling releases, and 13 sub-yearling releases in 1990. In 1991 17 yearling releases and 11 sub-yearling releases were examined. Midterm sampling was completed on 19 stocks in 1990. Organosomatic analysis was performed at release on index station stocks; Cowlitz spring and fall chinook, Lewis river early coho and Lyons Ferry fall chinook.« less

Continuation of superpave projects monitoring.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-07-01

This study involved the continuous monitoring of material properties and field performance of twelve Superpave project sections in Florida for the establishment of reasonable and effective mixture design guidelines and criteria, the identification an...

A longitudinal dataset of five years of public activity in the Scratch online community.

PubMed

Hill, Benjamin Mako; Monroy-Hernández, Andrés

2017-01-31

Scratch is a programming environment and an online community where young people can create, share, learn, and communicate. In collaboration with the Scratch Team at MIT, we created a longitudinal dataset of public activity in the Scratch online community during its first five years (2007-2012). The dataset comprises 32 tables with information on more than 1 million Scratch users, nearly 2 million Scratch projects, more than 10 million comments, more than 30 million visits to Scratch projects, and more. To help researchers understand this dataset, and to establish the validity of the data, we also include the source code of every version of the software that operated the website, as well as the software used to generate this dataset. We believe this is the largest and most comprehensive downloadable dataset of youth programming artifacts and communication.

Methodological issues in volumetric magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in the Edinburgh High Risk Project.

PubMed

Whalley, H C; Kestelman, J N; Rimmington, J E; Kelso, A; Abukmeil, S S; Best, J J; Johnstone, E C; Lawrie, S M

1999-07-30

The Edinburgh High Risk Project is a longitudinal study of brain structure (and function) in subjects at high risk of developing schizophrenia in the next 5-10 years for genetic reasons. In this article we describe the methods of volumetric analysis of structural magnetic resonance images used in the study. We also consider potential sources of error in these methods: the validity of our image analysis techniques; inter- and intra-rater reliability; possible positional variation; and thresholding criteria used in separating brain from cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF). Investigation with a phantom test object (of similar imaging characteristics to the brain) provided evidence for the validity of our image acquisition and analysis techniques. Both inter- and intra-rater reliability were found to be good in whole brain measures but less so for smaller regions. There were no statistically significant differences in positioning across the three study groups (patients with schizophrenia, high risk subjects and normal volunteers). A new technique for thresholding MRI scans longitudinally is described (the 'rescale' method) and compared with our established method (thresholding by eye). Few differences between the two techniques were seen at 3- and 6-month follow-up. These findings demonstrate the validity and reliability of the structural MRI analysis techniques used in the Edinburgh High Risk Project, and highlight methodological issues of general concern in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of brain structure in healthy control subjects and neuropsychiatric populations.

Two sympatric new species of woodlizards (Hoplocercinae, Enyalioides) from Cordillera Azul National Park in northeastern Peru

PubMed Central

Venegas, Pablo J.; Torres-Carvajal, Omar; Duran, Vilma; de Queiroz, Kevin

2013-01-01

Abstract We report the discovery of two sympatric new species of Enyalioides from a montane rainforest of the Río Huallaga basin in northeastern Peru. Among other characters, the first new species is distinguishable from other Enyalioides by the combination of the following characters: strongly keeled ventral scales, more than 37 longitudinal rows of dorsals in a transverse line between the dorsolateral crests at midbody, low vertebral crest on the neck with vertebrals on neck similar in size to those between hind limbs, projecting scales on body or limbs absent, 96 mm maximum SVL in both sexes, and caudals increasing in size posteriorly within each autotomic segment. The second new species differs from other species of Enyalioides in having strongly keeled ventral scales, scales posterior to the superciliaries forming a longitudinal row of strongly projecting scales across the lateral edge of the skull roof in adults of both sexes, 31 or fewer longitudinal rows of strongly keeled dorsals in a transverse line between the dorsolateral crests at midbody, vertebrals on neck more than five times the size of vertebrals between hind limbs in adult males, projecting scales on body or limbs absent, and caudals increasing in size posteriorly within each autotomic segment. We also present an updated molecular phylogenetic tree of hoplocercines including new samples of Enyalioides rudolfarndti, Enyalioides rubrigularis, both species described in this paper, as well as an updated identification key for species of Hoplocercinae. PMID:23794824

Integrating improvement learning into a family medicine residency curriculum.

PubMed

Pensa, Mellisa; Frew, Patty; Gelmon, Sherril B

2013-06-01

Knowledge of improvement practices is a critical skill for family medicine residents who will lead patient-centered medical homes. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education includes systems-based practice and improvement knowledge as a core competency for residency education. The objective of this report is to describe the 6-year implementation and development of our practice-based improvement curriculum in a family medicine residency. In 2006, Oregon Health and Science University Family Medicine Residency implemented an improvement curriculum that focused on clinic-based improvement and involved longitudinal didactics. Over the course of 6 years, the curriculum has been refined to include longitudinal instruction of improvement principles according to the levels of training and clinic-based didactics and experientials that are team oriented. Residents complete ambulatory improvement projects over the cycle of 12 months and present outcomes each year. Residents evaluated their knowledge, experience, confidence, and satisfaction at the end of the academic year. Ninety percent of residents designed and lead improvement projects upon graduation from residency in 2011. Resident confidence to make a change in local health care settings at the end of the curriculum was high and improved from 2009/2010 to 2010/2011. Upon graduation from the program, 100% of residents reported competence or proficiency in their ability to apply knowledge to an improvement project and present results. We describe a longitudinal, practical, developmental, and clinically based experiential improvement curriculum that has been successfully integrated into a family medicine residency program.

River and riparian restoration in the southwest: Results of the National River Restoration Science Synthesis project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Follstad, Shah J.J.; Dahm, Clifford N.; Gloss, S.P.; Bernhardt, E.S.

2007-01-01

Restoration activity has exponentially increased across the Southwest since 1990. Over 37,000 records were compiled into the National River Restoration Science Synthesis (NRRSS) database to summarize restoration trends and assess project effectiveness. We analyzed data from 576 restoration projects in the Southwest (NRRSS-SW). More than 50% of projects were less than or equal to 3 km in length. The most common restoration project intent categories were riparian management, water quality management, in-stream habitat improvement, and flow modification. Common project activities were well matched to goals. Conservative estimates of total restoration costs exceeded $500 million. Most restoration dollars have been allocated to flow modification and water quality management. Monitoring was linked to 28% of projects across the Southwest, as opposed to just 10% nationwide. Mean costs were statistically similar whether or not projects were monitored. Results from 48 telephone interviews provided validation of NRRSS-SW database analyses but showed that project costs are often underreported within existing datasets. The majority of interviewees considered their projects to be successful, most often based upon observed improvements to biota or positive public reaction rather than evaluation of field data. The efficacy of restoration is difficult to ascertain given the dearth of information contained within most datasets. There is a great need for regional entities that not only track information on project implementation but also maintain and analyze monitoring data associated with restoration. Agencies that fund or regulate restoration should reward projects that emphasize monitoring and evaluation as much as project implementation. ?? 2007 Society for Ecological Restoration International.

Longitudinal Neuroimaging Hippocampal Markers for Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Platero, Carlos; Lin, Lin; Tobar, M Carmen

2018-05-21

Hippocampal atrophy measures from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are powerful tools for monitoring Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression. In this paper, we introduce a longitudinal image analysis framework based on robust registration and simultaneous hippocampal segmentation and longitudinal marker classification of brain MRI of an arbitrary number of time points. The framework comprises two innovative parts: a longitudinal segmentation and a longitudinal classification step. The results show that both steps of the longitudinal pipeline improved the reliability and the accuracy of the discrimination between clinical groups. We introduce a novel approach to the joint segmentation of the hippocampus across multiple time points; this approach is based on graph cuts of longitudinal MRI scans with constraints on hippocampal atrophy and supported by atlases. Furthermore, we use linear mixed effect (LME) modeling for differential diagnosis between clinical groups. The classifiers are trained from the average residue between the longitudinal marker of the subjects and the LME model. In our experiments, we analyzed MRI-derived longitudinal hippocampal markers from two publicly available datasets (Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, ADNI and Minimal Interval Resonance Imaging in Alzheimer's Disease, MIRIAD). In test/retest reliability experiments, the proposed method yielded lower volume errors and significantly higher dice overlaps than the cross-sectional approach (volume errors: 1.55% vs 0.8%; dice overlaps: 0.945 vs 0.975). To diagnose AD, the discrimination ability of our proposal gave an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) [Formula: see text] 0.947 for the control vs AD, AUC [Formula: see text] 0.720 for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) vs AD, and AUC [Formula: see text] 0.805 for the control vs MCI.

Early Parenting and the Development of Externalizing Behavior Problems: Longitudinal Mediation through Children’s Executive Function

PubMed Central

Sulik, Michael J.; Blair, Clancy; Mills-Koonce, Roger; Berry, Daniel; Greenberg, Mark

2015-01-01

Path analysis was used to investigate the longitudinal associations among parenting and children’s executive function and externalizing behavior problems from 36 to 90 months of age in the Family Life Project (N = 1,115), a study of child development in the context of rural poverty. While controlling for stability in the constructs, semi-structured observations of parenting prospectively predicted performance on a battery of executive function tasks and primary caregivers’ reports of externalizing behavior. Furthermore, the association between early parenting and later externalizing behavior was longitudinally mediated by executive function, providing support for a process model in which sensitive parenting promotes children’s self-regulation, which in turn reduces children’s externalizing behavior. PMID:26082032

Experience with an integrated control and monitoring system at the El Segundo generating station

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

Papilla, R.P.; McKinley, J.H.; Blanco, M.A.

1992-01-01

This paper describes the EPRI/Southern California Edison (SCE) El Segundo Integrated Control and Monitoring System (ICMS) project and relates key project experiences. The ICMS project is a cost-shared effort between EPRI and SCE designed to address the issues involved with integrating power plant diagnostic and condition monitoring with control. A digital distributed control system retrofit for SCE's El Segundo Units 3 and 4 provided the case study. although many utilities have retrofitted power plant units with distributed control systems (DCS's) and have applied diagnostics and monitoring programs to improve operations and performance, the approach taken in this project, that is,more » integrating the monitoring function with the control function, is profoundly new and unique. Over the life of the El Segundo ICMS, SCE expects to realize savings form life optimization, increased operating flexibility, improved heat rate, reduced NO{sub x} emissions, and lower maintenance costs. These savings are expected to be significant over the life of the system.« less

Negative reactions to monitoring: Do they undermine the ability of monitoring to protect adolescents?

PubMed

Laird, Robert D; Zeringue, Megan M; Lambert, Emily S

2018-02-01

This study focused on adolescents' negative reactions to parental monitoring to determine whether parents should avoid excessive monitoring because adolescents find monitoring behaviors to be over-controlling and privacy invasive. Adolescents (n = 242, M age = 15.4 years; 51% female) reported monitoring, negative reactions, warmth, antisocial behavior, depressive symptoms, and disclosure. Adolescents additionally reported antisocial behavior, depressive symptoms, and disclosure one to two years later. In cross-sectional analyses, less monitoring but more negative reactions were linked with less disclosure, suggesting that negative reactions can undermine parents' ability to obtain information. Although monitoring behaviors were not related to depressive symptoms, more negative reactions were linked with more depressive symptoms, suggesting that negative reactions also may increase depressive symptoms as a side effect of monitoring behavior. Negative reactions were not linked to antisocial behavior. There were no longitudinal links between negative reactions and changes in disclosure, antisocial behavior, or depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Adult Education and Learning in Europe: Evaluation of the Adult Education Action within the SOCRATES Programme. Final Report of the Project "MOPED--Monitoring of Projects: Evaluation as Dialogue."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nuissl, Ekkehard, Ed.

The SOCRATES Program was conducted in 1995-1999 to increase transnational cooperation between institutions in the field of adult education (AE) and thereby enhance the quality of AE in Europe. In 1997, a project called Monitoring of Projects: Evaluation as Dialogue (MOPED) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of 101 transnational…

Monitoring Conformance and Containment for Geological Carbon Storage: Can Technology Meet Policy and Public Requirements?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawton, D. C.; Osadetz, K.

2014-12-01

The Province of Alberta, Canada identified carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a key element of its 2008 Climate Change strategy. The target is a reduction in CO2 emissions of 139 Mt/year by 2050. To encourage uptake of CCS by industry, the province has provided partial funding to two demonstration scale projects, namely the Quest Project by Shell and partners (CCS), and the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line Project (pipeline and CO2-EOR). Important to commercial scale implementation of CCS will be the requirement to prove conformance and containment of the CO2 plume injected during the lifetime of the CCS project. This will be a challenge for monitoring programs. The Containment and Monitoring Institute (CaMI) is developing a Field Research Station (FRS) to calibrate various monitoring technologies for CO2 detection thresholds at relatively shallow depths. The objective being assessed with the FRS is sensitivity for early detection of loss of containment from a deeper CO2 storage project. In this project, two injection wells will be drilled to sandstone reservoir targets at depths of 300 m and 700 m. Up to four observation wells will be drilled with monitoring instruments installed. Time-lapse surface and borehole monitoring surveys will be undertaken to evaluate the movement and fate of the CO2 plume. These will include seismic, microseismic, cross well, electrical resistivity, electromagnetic, gravity, geodetic and geomechanical surveys. Initial baseline seismic data from the FRS will presented.

Role of GABRA2 in Trajectories of Externalizing Behavior Across Development and Evidence of Moderation by Parental Monitoring

PubMed Central

Dick, Danielle M.; Latendresse, Shawn J.; Lansford, Jennifer E.; Budde, John P.; Goate, Alison; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Pettit, Gregory S.; Bates, John E.

2009-01-01

Context As we identify genes involved in psychiatric disorders, the next step will be to study how the risk associated with susceptibility genes manifests across development and in conjunction with the environment. We describe analyses aimed at characterizing the pathway of risk associated with GABRA2, a gene previously associated with adult alcohol dependence, in a community sample of children followed longitudinally from childhood through young adulthood. Objective To test for an association between GABRA2 and trajectories of externalizing behavior from adolescence to young adulthood and for moderation of genetic effects by parental monitoring. Design Data were analyzed from the Child Development Project, with yearly assessments conducted since that time. A saliva sample was collected for DNA at the 2006 follow-up, with a 93% response rate in the target sample. Growth mixture modeling was conducted using Mplus to identify trajectories of externalizing behavior and to test for effects of GABRA2 sequence variants and parental monitoring. Setting Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee, and Bloomington, Indiana. Participants A community-based sample of families enrolled at 3 sites as children entered kindergarten in 1987 and 1988. Analyses for the white subset of the sample (n=378) are reported here. Main Outcome Measures Parental monitoring measured at 11 years of age; Child Behavior Checklist youth reports of externalizing behavior at ages 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, and 22 years. Results Two classes of externalizing behavior emerged: a stable high externalizing class and a moderate decreasing externalizing behavior class. The GABRA2 gene was associated with class membership, with subjects who showed persistent elevated trajectories of externalizing behavior more likely to carry the genotype previously associated with increased risk of adult alcohol dependence. A significant interaction with parental monitoring emerged; the association of GABRA2 with externalizing trajectories diminished with high levels of parental monitoring. Conclusions These analyses underscore the importance of studying genetic effects across development and of identifying environmental factors that moderate risk. PMID:19487630

A Process Evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity, Interim Report VII, Volume 3: Assessment of Program Impact Through the Head Start Year.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Granville, Arthur C.; And Others

This interim report, part of a series of documents examining the feasibility of the longitudinal evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity (PDC), presents the results of an analysis of PDC impact at the Head Start level, using Spring 1977 data. PDC is a Head Start Demonstration Program aimed at providing educational and developmental…

Assessment of Program Impact Through First Grade, Volume II: Impact on Institutions. An Evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity. Interim Report X.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosario, Jose; And Others

As part of a longitudinal study evaluating program effects, this report, the second in a series of six, describes the impact of Project Developmental Continuity (PDC) on the institutional policies and procedures of participating Head Start centers and elementary schools up to the time the evaluation study's cohort of children had completed grade…

Young Adolescents' Stress in School, Self-Reported Distress, and Academic Achievement: A Longitudinal Study in an Urban Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grannis, Joseph C.

In the 1982-1983 school year, the Public Education Association, an educational advocacy organization in New York City, undertook an action research project on young adolescents' stress in school. The project was located in one inner-city intermediate school for 4 years and is now following graduates of that school in the city's high schools. As…

Going and Passing through Community Colleges: Examining the Effectiveness of Project Lead The Way in STEM Pathways

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Starobin, Soko S.; Schenk, Tom, Jr.; Laanan, Frankie Santos; Rethwisch, David G.; Moeller, Darin

2013-01-01

Project Lead The Way (PLTW), which aims to create a seamless pathway from secondary education to college and career success in STEM fields, was first implemented in the state of Iowa in 2005. As a part of a statewide, longitudinal research in PLTW, this study explores the effectiveness of PLTW in college persistence by analyzing multiple data…

What Works Clearinghouse Quick Review: "Increasing Young Children's Contact with Print during Shared Reading--Longitudinal Effects on Literacy Achievement"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2012

2012-01-01

The study examined the impact of Project STAR (Sit Together and Read) on literacy skills of preschool students. Project STAR is a program in which teachers read books aloud to their students and use instructional techniques designed to encourage children to pay attention to print within storybooks. Eighty-five preschool classrooms were randomly…

Seeking the Balance: Risks, Choices and Life Priorities in the Life-Patterns Project, 1998-1999. Working Paper 19.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dwyer, Peter; Harwood, Aramiha; Tyler, Debra

This paper provides an update on the 1998 findings from an Australian longitudinal study begun in 1991 and titled the Life-Patterns Project. Based on 1,430 returns of the questionnaire and interviews of a sub-sample of 100, it examines implications of patterns beginning to emerge as participants enter their mid-twenties and reassess their…

The Early Enrichment Project in Turkey = Le projet de renforcement precoce des potentialites de l'enfant en Turquie. Notes, Comments...No. 193.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kagiteibasi, Cigdem

This document provides a bilingual (English and French) report on the Turkish Early Enrichment Project, a four-year longitudinal study of the impact of educational day care combined with mother training on child development. This comprehensive approach was compared with custodial day care and home care, both with and without home intervention. The…

A Prussian Blue-Based Core-Shell Hollow-Structured Mesoporous Nanoparticle as a Smart Theranostic Agent with Ultrahigh pH-Responsive Longitudinal Relaxivity.

PubMed

Cai, Xiaojun; Gao, Wei; Ma, Ming; Wu, Meiying; Zhang, Linlin; Zheng, Yuanyi; Chen, Hangrong; Shi, Jianlin

2015-11-04

Novel core-shell hollow mesoporous Prussian blue @ Mn-containing Prussian blue analogue (HMPB@MnPBA) nanoparticles, designated as HMPB-Mn) as an intelligent theranostic nanoagent, are successfully constructed by coating a similarly crystal-structured MnPBA onto HMPB. This can be used as a pH-responsive T1 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent with ultrahigh longitudinal relaxivity (r1 = 7.43 m m(-1) s(-1) ), and achieves the real-time monitoring of drug release. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Early seizures and temporal lobe trauma predict post-traumatic epilepsy: A longitudinal study.

PubMed

Tubi, Meral A; Lutkenhoff, Evan; Blanco, Manuel Buitrago; McArthur, David; Villablanca, Pablo; Ellingson, Benjamin; Diaz-Arrastia, Ramon; Van Ness, Paul; Real, Courtney; Shrestha, Vikesh; Engel, Jerome; Vespa, Paul M; Agoston, Denes; Au, Alicia; Bell, Michael J; Branch, Craig; Buitrago Blanco, Manuel; Bullock, Ross; Claassen, Jan; Clarke, Robert; Cloyd, James; Coles, Lisa; Crawford, Karen; Diaz-Arrastia, Ramon; Duncan, Dominique; Ellingson, Benjamin; Engel, Jerome; Foreman, Brandon; Galanopoulou, Aristea; Gilmore, Emily; Olli, Grohn; Harris, Neil; Hartings, Jed; Lawrence, Hirsch; Hunn, Martin; Jette, Nathalie; Johnston, Leigh; Jones, Nigel; Kanner, Andres; McArthur, David; Monti, Martin; Morokoff, Andrew; Moshe, Solomon; Mowrey, Wenzhu; Naughton, Tomas; O'Brien, Terence; O'Phelan, Kristine; Pitkanen, Asla; Raman, Rema; Robertson, Courtney; Rosenthal, Eric; Shultz, Sandy; Snutch, Terrance; Staba, Richard; Toga, Arthur; Van Horn, Jack; Vespa, Paul; Willyerd, Frederick; Zimmermann, Lara

2018-05-31

Injury severity after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a well-established risk factor for the development of post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE). However, whether lesion location influences the susceptibility of seizures and development of PTE longitudinally has yet to be defined. We hypothesized that lesion location, specifically in the temporal lobe, would be associated with an increased incidence of both early seizures and PTE. As secondary analysis measures, we assessed the degree of brain atrophy and functional recovery, and performed a between-group analysis, comparing patients who developed PTE with those who did not develop PTE. We assessed early seizure incidence (n = 90) and longitudinal development of PTE (n = 46) in a prospective convenience sample of patients with moderate-severe TBI. Acutely, patients were monitored with prospective cEEG and a high-resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan for lesion location classification. Chronically, patients underwent a high-resolution MRI, clinical assessment, and were longitudinally monitored for development of epilepsy for a minimum of 2 years post-injury. Early seizures, occurring within the first week post-injury, occurred in 26.7% of the patients (n = 90). Within the cohort of subjects who had evidence of early seizures (n = 24), 75% had a hemorrhagic temporal lobe injury on admission. For longitudinal analyses (n = 46), 45.7% of patients developed PTE within a minimum of 2 years post-injury. Within the cohort of subjects who developed PTE (n = 21), 85.7% had a hemorrhagic temporal lobe injury on admission and 38.1% had early (convulsive or non-convulsive) seizures on cEEG monitoring during their acute ICU stay. In a between-group analysis, patients with PTE (n = 21) were more likely than patients who did not develop PTE (n = 25) to have a hemorrhagic temporal lobe injury (p < 0.001), worse functional recovery (p = 0.003), and greater temporal lobe atrophy (p = 0.029). Our results indicate that in a cohort of patients with a moderate-severe TBI, 1) lesion location specificity (e.g. the temporal lobe) is related to both a high incidence of early seizures and longitudinal development of PTE, 2) early seizures, whether convulsive or non-convulsive in nature, are associated with an increased risk for PTE development, and 3) patients who develop PTE have greater chronic temporal lobe atrophy and worse functional outcomes, compared to those who do not develop PTE, despite matched injury severity characteristics. This study provides the foundation for a future prospective study focused on elucidating the mechanisms and risk factors for epileptogenesis. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING A REAL-TIME AIR POLLUTION MONITORING AND OUTREACH PROGRAM FOR YOUR COMMUNITY: THE AIRBEAT PROJECT OF ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS

EPA Science Inventory

EPA has developed a technology transfer handbook for the EMPACT Roxbury Air Monitoring (AirBeat) Project. The purpose of AirBeat is to make real-time air quality monitoring information (for ozone, black carbon, and fine particulates) available to the Boston MA community of Roxbur...

Longitudinal structure of the equatorial ionosphere: Time evolution of the four-peaked EIA structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, C. H.; Hsiao, C. C.; Liu, J. Y.; Liu, C. H.

2007-12-01

Longitudinal structure of the equatorial ionosphere during the 24 h local time period is observed by the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (F3/C) satellite constellation. By binning the F3/C radio occultation observations during September and October 2006, global ionospheric total electron content (TEC) maps at a constant local time map (local time TEC map, referred as LT map) can be obtained to monitor the development and subsidence of the four-peaked longitudinal structure of the equatorial ionosphere. From LT maps, the four-peaked structure starts to develop at 0800-1000 LT and becomes most prominent at 1200-1600 LT. The longitudinal structure starts to subside after 2200-2400 LT and becomes indiscernible after 0400-0600 LT. In addition to TEC, ionospheric peak altitude also shows a four-peaked longitudinal structure with variation very similar to TEC during daytime. The four-peaked structure of the ionospheric peak altitude is indiscernible at night. With global local time maps of ionospheric TEC and peak altitude, we compare temporal variations of the longitudinal structure with variations of E × B drift from the empirical model. Our results indicate that the observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the four-peaked longitudinal structure is caused by the equatorial plasma fountain modulated by the E3 nonmigrating tide. Additionally, the four maximum regions show a tendency of moving eastward with propagation velocity of several 10 s m/s.

Longitudinal monitoring of Gaussia and Nano luciferase activities to concurrently assess ER calcium homeostasis and ER stress in vivo.

PubMed

Wires, Emily S; Henderson, Mark J; Yan, Xiaokang; Bäck, Susanne; Trychta, Kathleen A; Lutrey, Molly H; Harvey, Brandon K

2017-01-01

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is essential to many cellular processes including protein processing, lipid metabolism and calcium storage. The ability to longitudinally monitor ER homeostasis in the same organism would offer insight into progressive molecular and cellular adaptations to physiologic or pathologic states, but has been challenging. We recently described the creation of a Gaussia luciferase (GLuc)-based secreted ER calcium-modulated protein (SERCaMP or GLuc-SERCaMP) to longitudinally monitor ER calcium homeostasis. Here we describe a complementary tool to measure the unfolded protein response (UPR), utilizing a UPRE-driven secreted Nano luciferase (UPRE-secNLuc) to examine the activating transcription factor-6 (ATF6) and inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1) pathways of the UPR. We observed an upregulation of endogenous ATF6- and XBP1-regulated genes following pharmacologically-induced ER stress that was consistent with responsiveness of the UPRE sensor. Both GLuc and NLuc-based reporters have favorable properties for in vivo studies, however, they are not easily used in combination due to overlapping substrate activities. We describe a method to measure the enzymatic activities of both reporters from a single sample and validated the approach using culture medium and rat blood samples to measure GLuc-SERCaMP and UPRE-secNLuc. Measuring GLuc and NLuc activities from the same sample allows for the robust and quantitative measurement of two cellular events or cell populations from a single biological sample. This study is the first to describe the in vivo measurement of UPRE activation by sampling blood, using an approach that allows concurrent interrogation of two components of ER homeostasis.

Mass Spectrometry Method to Measure Membrane Proteins in Dried Blood Spots for the Detection of Blood Doping Practices in Sport.

PubMed

Cox, Holly D; Eichner, Daniel

2017-09-19

The dried blood spot (DBS) matrix has significant utility for applications in the field where venous blood collection and timely shipment of labile blood samples is difficult. Unfortunately, protein measurement in DBS is hindered by high abundance proteins and matrix interference that increases with hematocrit. We developed a DBS method to enrich for membrane proteins and remove soluble proteins and matrix interference. Following a wash in a series of buffers, the membrane proteins are digested with trypsin and quantitated by parallel reaction monitoring mass spectrometry methods. The DBS method was applied to the quantification of four cell-specific cluster of differentiation (CD) proteins used to count cells by flow cytometry, band 3 (CD233), CD71, CD45, and CD41. We demonstrate that the DBS method counts low abundance cell types such as immature reticulocytes as well as high abundance cell types such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. When tested in 82 individuals, counts obtained by the DBS method demonstrated good agreement with flow cytometry and automated hematology analyzers. Importantly, the method allows longitudinal monitoring of CD protein concentration and calculation of interindividual variation which is difficult by other methods. Interindividual variation of band 3 and CD45 was low, 6 and 8%, respectively, while variation of CD41 and CD71 was higher, 18 and 78%, respectively. Longitudinal measurement of CD71 concentration in DBS over an 8-week period demonstrated intraindividual variation 17.1-38.7%. Thus, the method may allow stable longitudinal measurement of blood parameters currently monitored to detect blood doping practices.

Modifications of Gait as Predictors of Natural Osteoarthritis Progression in STR/Ort Mice

PubMed Central

Poulet, Blandine; de Souza, Roberto; Knights, Chancie B; Gentry, Clive; Wilson, Alan M; Bevan, Stuart; Chang, Yu-Mei; Pitsillides, Andrew A

2014-01-01

Objective Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic disease for which disease-modifying therapies are not currently available. Studies to seek new targets for slowing the progress of OA rely on mouse models, but these do not allow for longitudinal monitoring of disease development. This study was undertaken to determine whether gait can be used to measure disease severity in the STR/Ort mouse model of spontaneous OA and whether gait changes are related to OA joint pain. Methods Gait was monitored using a treadmill-based video system. Correlations between OA severity and gait at 3 treadmill speeds were assessed in STR/Ort mice. Gait and pain behaviors of STR/Ort mice and control CBA mice were analyzed longitudinally, with monthly assessments. Results The best speed to identify paw area changes associated with OA severity in STR/Ort mice was found to be 17 cm · seconds−1. Paw area was modified with age in CBA and STR/Ort mice, but this began earlier in STR/Ort mice and correlated with the onset of OA at 20 weeks of age. In addition, task noncompliance appeared at 20 weeks. Surprisingly, STR/Ort mice did not show any signs of pain with OA development, even when treated with the opioid antagonist naloxone, but did exhibit normal pain behaviors in response to complete Freund's adjuvant–induced arthritis. Conclusion The present results identify an animal model in which OA severity and OA pain can be studied in isolation from one another. The findings suggest that paw area and treadmill noncompliance may be useful tools to longitudinally monitor nonpainful OA development in STR/Ort mice. This will help in providing a noninvasive means of assessing new therapies to slow the progression of OA. PMID:24623711

A patient self-collection method for longitudinal monitoring of respiratory virus infection in solid organ transplant recipients.

PubMed

Preiksaitis, Carl M; Kuypers, Jane M; Fisher, Cynthia E; Campbell, Angela P; Jerome, Keith R; Huang, Meei-Li; Boeckh, Michael; Limaye, Ajit P

2015-01-01

Methods for the longitudinal study of respiratory virus infections are cumbersome and limit our understanding of the natural history of these infections in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. To assess the feasibility and patient acceptability of self-collected foam nasal swabs for detection of respiratory viruses in SOT recipients and to define the virologic and clinical course. We prospectively monitored the course of symptomatic respiratory virus infection in 18 SOT patients (14 lung, 3 liver, and 1 kidney) using patient self-collected swabs. The initial study sample was positive in 15 patients with the following respiratory viruses: rhinovirus (6), metapneumovirus (1), coronavirus (2), respiratory syncytial virus (2), parainfluenza virus (2), and influenza A virus (2). One hundred four weekly self-collected nasal swabs were obtained, with a median of 4 samples per patient (range 1-17). Median duration of viral detection was 21 days (range 4-77 days). Additional new respiratory viruses detected during follow-up of these 15 patients included rhinovirus (3), metapneumovirus (2), coronavirus (1), respiratory syncytial virus (1), parainfluenza virus (1), and adenovirus (1). Specimen collection compliance was good; 16/18 (89%) patients collected all required specimens and 79/86 (92%) follow-up specimens were obtained within the 7 ± 3 day protocol-defined window. All participants agreed or strongly agreed that the procedure was comfortable, simple, and 13/14 (93%) were willing to participate in future studies using this procedure. Self-collected nasal swabs provide a convenient, feasible, and patient-acceptable methodology for longitudinal monitoring of upper respiratory virus infection in SOT recipients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Longitudinal in vivo microcomputed tomography of mouse lungs: No evidence for radiotoxicity

PubMed Central

Vande Velde, Greetje; De Langhe, Ellen; Poelmans, Jennifer; Bruyndonckx, Peter; d'Agostino, Emiliano; Verbeken, Erik; Bogaerts, Ria; Himmelreich, Uwe

2015-01-01

Before microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) can be exploited to its full potential for longitudinal monitoring of transgenic and experimental mouse models of lung diseases, radiotoxic side effects such as inflammation or fibrosis must be considered. We evaluated dose and potential radiotoxicity to the lungs for long-term respiratory-gated high-resolution micro-CT protocols. Free-breathing C57Bl/6 mice underwent four different retrospectively respiratory gated micro-CT imaging schedules of repeated scans during 5 or 12 wk, followed by ex vivo micro-CT and detailed histological and biochemical assessment of lung damage. Radiation exposure, dose, and absorbed dose were determined by ionization chamber, thermoluminescent dosimeter measurements and Monte Carlo calculations. Despite the relatively large radiation dose delivered per micro-CT acquisition, mice did not show any signs of radiation-induced lung damage or fibrosis when scanned weekly during 5 and up to 12 wk. Doubling the scanning frequency and once tripling the radiation dose as to mimic the instant repetition of a failed scan also stayed without detectable toxicity after 5 wk of scanning. Histological analyses confirmed the absence of radiotoxic damage to the lungs, thereby demonstrating that long-term monitoring of mouse lungs using high-resolution micro-CT is safe. This opens perspectives for longitudinal monitoring of (transgenic) mouse models of lung diseases and therapeutic response on an individual basis with high spatial and temporal resolution, without concerns for radiation toxicity that could potentially influence the readout of micro-CT-derived lung biomarkers. This work further supports the introduction of micro-CT for routine use in the preclinical pulmonary research field where postmortem histological approaches are still the gold standard. PMID:26024893

In Vivo Bioluminescence Imaging for Longitudinal Monitoring of Inflammation in Animal Models of Uveitis.

PubMed

Gutowski, Michal B; Wilson, Leslie; Van Gelder, Russell N; Pepple, Kathryn L

2017-03-01

We develop a quantitative bioluminescence assay for in vivo longitudinal monitoring of inflammation in animal models of uveitis. Three models of experimental uveitis were induced in C57BL/6 albino mice: primed mycobacterial uveitis (PMU), endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU), and experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU). Intraperitoneal injection of luminol sodium salt, which emits light when oxidized, provided the bioluminescence substrate. Bioluminescence images were captured by a PerkinElmer In Vivo Imaging System (IVIS) Spectrum and total bioluminescence was analyzed using Living Image software. Bioluminescence on day zero was compared to bioluminescence on the day of peak inflammation for each model. Longitudinal bioluminescence imaging was performed in EIU and EAU. In the presence of luminol, intraocular inflammation generates detectable bioluminescence in three mouse models of uveitis. Peak bioluminescence in inflamed PMU eyes (1.46 × 105 photons/second [p/s]) was significantly increased over baseline (1.47 × 104 p/s, P = 0.01). Peak bioluminescence in inflamed EIU eyes (3.18 × 104 p/s) also was significantly increased over baseline (1.09 × 104 p/s, P = 0.04), and returned to near baseline levels by 48 hours. In EAU, there was a nonsignificant increase in bioluminescence at peak inflammation. In vivo bioluminescence may be used as a noninvasive, quantitative measure of intraocular inflammation in animal models of uveitis. Primed mycobacterial uveitis and EIU are both acute models with robust anterior inflammation and demonstrated significant changes in bioluminescence corresponding with peak inflammation. Experimental autoimmune uveitis is a more indolent posterior uveitis and generated a more modest bioluminescent signal. In vivo imaging system bioluminescence is a nonlethal, quantifiable assay that can be used for monitoring inflammation in animal models of uveitis.

Elevated preoperative blood pressures in adult surgical patients are highly predictive of elevated home blood pressures.

PubMed

Schonberger, Robert B; Nwozuzu, Adambeke; Zafar, Jill; Chen, Eric; Kigwana, Simon; Monteiro, Miriam M; Charchaflieh, Jean; Sophanphattana, Sophisa; Dai, Feng; Burg, Matthew M

2018-04-01

Blood pressure (BP) measurement during the presurgical assessment has been suggested as a way to improve longitudinal detection and treatment of hypertension. The relationship between BP measured during this assessment and home blood pressure (HBP), a better indicator of hypertension, is unknown. The purpose of the present study was to determine the positive predictive value of presurgical BP for predicting elevated HBP. We prospectively enrolled 200 patients at a presurgical evaluation clinic with clinic blood pressures (CBPs) ≥130/85 mm Hg, as measured using a previously validated automated upper-arm device (Welch Allyn Vital Sign Monitor 6000 Series), to undergo daily HBP monitoring (Omron Model BP742N) between the index clinic visit and their day of surgery. Elevated HBP was defined, per American Heart Association guidelines, as mean systolic HBP ≥135 mm Hg or mean diastolic HBP ≥85 mm Hg. Of the 200 participants, 188 (94%) returned their home blood pressure monitors with valid data. The median number of HBP recordings was 10 (interquartile range, 7-14). Presurgical CBP thresholds of 140/90, 150/95, and 160/100 mm Hg yielded positive predictive values (95% confidence interval) for elevated HBP of 84.1% (0.78-0.89), 87.5% (0.81-0.92), and 94.6% (0.87-0.99), respectively. In contrast, self-reported BP control, antihypertensive treatment, availability of primary care, and preoperative pain scores demonstrated poor agreement with elevated HBP. Elevated preoperative CBP is highly predictive of longitudinally elevated HBP. BP measurement during presurgical assessment may provide a way to improve longitudinal detection and treatment of hypertension. Copyright © 2018 American Heart Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Success in health information exchange projects: solving the implementation puzzle.

PubMed

Sicotte, Claude; Paré, Guy

2010-04-01

Interest in health information exchange (HIE), defined as the use of information technology to support the electronic transfer of clinical information across health care organizations, continues to grow among those pursuing greater patient safety and health care accessibility and efficiency. In this paper, we present the results of a longitudinal multiple-case study of two large-scale HIE implementation projects carried out in real time over 3-year and 2-year periods in Québec, Canada. Data were primarily collected through semi-structured interviews (n=52) with key informants, namely implementation team members and targeted users. These were supplemented with non-participants observation of team meetings and by the analysis of organizational documents. The cross-case comparison was particularly relevant given that project circumstances led to contrasting outcomes: while one project failed, the other was a success. A risk management analysis was performed taking a process view in order to capture the complexity of project implementations as evolving phenomena that are affected by interdependent pre-existing and emergent risks that tend to change over time. The longitudinal case analysis clearly demonstrates that the risk factors were closely intertwined. Systematic ripple effects from one risk factor to another were observed. This risk interdependence evolved dynamically over time, with a snowball effect that rendered a change of path progressively more difficult as time passed. The results of the cross-case analysis demonstrate a direct relationship between the quality of an implementation strategy and project outcomes. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cost-Savings Analysis of the Better Beginnings, Better Futures Community-Based Project for Young Children and Their Families: A 10-Year Follow-up.

PubMed

Peters, Ray DeV; Petrunka, Kelly; Khan, Shahriar; Howell-Moneta, Angela; Nelson, Geoffrey; Pancer, S Mark; Loomis, Colleen

2016-02-01

This study examined the long-term cost-savings of the Better Beginnings, Better Futures (BBBF) initiative, a community-based early intervention project for young children living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods during their transition to primary school. A quasi-experimental, longitudinal two-group design was used to compare costs and outcomes for children and families in three BBBF project neighborhoods (n = 401) and two comparison neighborhoods (n = 225). A cost-savings analysis was conducted using all project costs for providing up to 4 years of BBBF programs when children were in junior kindergarten (JK) (4 years old) to grade 2 (8 years old). Data on 19 government service cost measures were collected from the longitudinal research sample from the time the youth were in JK through to grade 12 (18 years old), 10 years after ending project participation. The average family incremental net savings to government of providing the BBBF project was $6331 in 2014 Canadian dollars. When the BBBF monetary return to government as a ratio of savings to costs was calculated, for every dollar invested by the government, a return of $2.50 per family was saved. Findings from this study have important implications for government investments in early interventions focused on a successful transition to primary school as well as parenting programs and community development initiatives in support of children's development.

Brain stem origins of spinal projections in the lizard Tupinambis nigropunctatus.

PubMed

Cruce, W L; Newman, D B

1981-05-10

In order to study brainstem origins of spinal projections, ten Tegu lizards (Tupinambis nigropunctatus) received complete or partial hemisections of the spinal cord at the first or second cervical segment. Their brains were processed for conventional Nissl staining. The sections were surveyed for the presence or absence of retrograde chromatolysis. Based on analysis and comparison of results from lesions in the various spinal cord funiculi, the following conclusions were reached: The interstitial nucleus projects ipsilaterally to the spinal cord via the medial longitudinal fasciculus, as does the middle reticular field of the metencephalon. The red nucleus and dorsal vagal motor nucleus both project contralaterally to the spinal cord via the dorsal part of the lateral funiculus. The superior reticular field in the rostral metencephalon and the ventrolateral vestibular nucleus project ipsilaterally to the spinal cord via the ventral funiculus. The dorsolateral metencephalic nucleus and the ventral part of the inferior reticular nucleus of the myelencephalon both project ipsilaterally to the spinal cord via the dorsal part of the lateral funiculus. Several brainstem nuclei in Tupinambis project bilaterally to the spinal cord. The ventrolateral metencephalic nucleus, for example, projects ipsilaterally to the cord via the medial longitudinal fasciculus and contralaterally via the dorsal part of the lateral funiculus. The dorsal part of the inferior reticular nucleus projects bilaterally to the spinal cord via the dorsal part of the lateral funiculus. The nucleus solitarius complex projects contralaterally via the dorsal part of the lateral funiculus but ipsilaterally via the middle of the lateral funiculus. The inferior raphe nucleus projects bilaterally to the spinal cord via the middle part of the lateral funiculus. These data suggest that supraspinal projections in reptiles, especially reticulospinal systems, are more highly differentiated than previously thought. On the other hand, recent findings in cat, opossum, and monkey reveal that the organization of supraspinal pathways in the Tegu lizard bears a striking resemblance to that observed in mammals.

Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) Vegetation Volume Index: An assessment tool for marsh habitat focused on the three-dimensional structure at CRMS vegetation monitoring stations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wood, William B.; Visser, Jenneke M.; Piazza, Sarai C.; Sharp, Leigh A.; Hundy, Laura C.; McGinnis, Tommy E.

2015-12-04

The VV and VVI will be used to establish trends, to make comparisons, and to evaluate restoration projects. Assessments that rely on the VVI will be included in appropriate Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) project reports and analyses. Implementation of the VVI will give coastal managers a new tool to design, implement, and monitor coastal restoration projects. A yearly trajectory of site, project, basin, and coastwide VVI will be posted on the CRMS Web site as data are collected. The primary purpose of the tool is to assess CWPPRA restoration project effectiveness, but it will also be useful in identifying areas in need of restoration and in coastwide vegetation assessments.

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

Brown, Carrie; LaRue, Anna; Pigman, Margaret

As more and more zero net energy (ZNE) buildings are built and monitored, we can learn from both careful case studies of individual projects as well as a broader perspective of trends over time. In a forum sponsored by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), eight expert speakers discussed: results and lessons from monitoring occupied ZNE buildings; best practices for setting performance targets and getting actionable performance information, and; things that have surprised them about monitored ZNE buildings. This paper distills the content of the forum by laying out the most common hurdles that are encountered in setting up monitoringmore » projects, frequent performance issues that the monitoring uncovers, and lessons learned that can be applied to future projects.« less

A study protocol for tracking quality of life among U.S. service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan: the Wounded Warrior Recovery Project.

PubMed

Woodruff, Susan I; Galarneau, Michael R; Luu, Bethi N; Sack, Daniel; Han, Peggy

2014-03-01

There is a need for more work to understand the quality of life (QOL) outcomes of survivors of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom combat injury to improve care and treatment, and prevent poor physical, psychological, and social outcomes. We describe the study design and methods of the Wounded Warrior Recovery Project, a study supported by the Department of Defense that will track close to 10,000 military personnel wounded in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The overall objective of the 6-year longitudinal study is to track changes in QOL and describe variations in those changes as they relate to sociodemographic factors, injury characteristics, service-related factors, clinical/diagnostic measures including traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder, and medical procedures and services. The Wounded Warrior Recovery Project study will be among the first longitudinal population-based investigations of QOL outcomes after combat injury and will provide a basis upon which large-scale epidemiological studies can be conducted. Reprint & Copyright © 2014 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

ATEE Interactive Co-ordination and Educational Monitoring of Socrates Comenius Action 3 Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Libotton, Arno; Van Braak, Johan; Garofalo, Mara

2002-01-01

Asserts that although the Comenius Action 3 courses were well-accepted and high quality, there is a need for a structure for easily monitoring and evaluating these projects. This article presents a pilot project designed with this purpose, which may be useful in implementing a system of coordination and communication among the different projects…

Monitoring daily affective symptoms and memory function using interactive voice response in outpatients receiving electroconvulsive therapy.

PubMed

Fazzino, Tera L; Rabinowitz, Terry; Althoff, Robert R; Helzer, John E

2013-12-01

Recently, there has been a gradual shift from inpatient-only electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) toward outpatient administration. Potential advantages include convenience and reduced cost. But providers do not have the same opportunity to monitor treatment response and adverse effects as they do with inpatients. This can obviate some of the potential advantages of outpatient ECT, such as tailoring treatment intervals to clinical response. Scheduling is typically algorithmic rather than empirically based. Daily monitoring through an automated telephone, interactive voice response (IVR), is a potential solution to this quandary. To test feasibility of clinical monitoring via IVR, we recruited 26 patients (69% female; mean age, 51 years) receiving outpatient ECT to make daily IVR reports of affective symptoms and subjective memory for 60 days. The IVR also administered a word recognition task daily to test objective memory. Every seventh day, a longer IVR weekly interview included questions about suicidal ideation. Overall daily call compliance was high (mean, 80%). Most participants (96%) did not consider the calls to be time-consuming. Longitudinal regression analysis using generalized estimating equations revealed that participant objective memory functioning significantly improved during the study (P < 0.05). Of 123 weekly IVR interviews, 41 reports (33%) in 14 patients endorsed suicidal ideation during the previous week. Interactive voice response monitoring of outpatient ECT can provide more detailed clinical information than standard outpatient ECT assessment. Interactive voice response data offer providers a comprehensive, longitudinal picture of patient treatment response and adverse effects as a basis for treatment scheduling and ongoing clinical management.

Parenting Practices and Perceived Social Support: Longitudinal Relations with the Social Competence of Mexican-origin Children.

PubMed

Taylor, Zoe E; Conger, Rand D; Robins, Richard W; Widaman, Keith F

2015-11-01

Social bonds and supportive relationships are widely recognized as being indispensable to healthy psychological functioning and well-being. Social support is a psychological resource that is expected to also contribute positively to parenting practices. The present study longitudinally examined the relations between mothers' ( N = 674) and fathers' ( N = 430) perceived social support and parenting behaviors, and their relations with children's social competence during early adolescence in Mexican-origin single and two-parent families. Our constructs of interest (warm parenting, monitoring, perceived social support, and children's social competence) were significantly correlated at T1, and demonstrated significant stability across time for both parental models. Parental warmth (as reported by the child, and opposite parent) and parental monitoring (self-reported by mothers and fathers) were correlated and also showed bidirectional associations across time. Parental monitoring at T2 positively predicted change in children's social competence at T3 (controlling for T1 social competence) for mothers. Parental warmth at T2 positively predicted change in children's social competence at T3 (controlling for T1 social competence) for fathers. For mothers, the indirect effect of social support at T1 on children's social competence at T3 via parental monitoring at T2 (and controlling for prior levels) was significant. Findings suggest that maternal perceived social support contributes to children's social competence due to its positive relation to maternal monitoring. Results may also suggest that mothers' and fathers' parenting behaviors differentially relate to children's social competence in Latino families, although additional work focused on comparing parenting behaviors in two-parent families is needed.

Maintaining Perioperative Normothermia: Sustaining an Evidence-Based Practice Improvement Project.

PubMed

Levin, Rona F; Wright, Fay; Pecoraro, Kathleen; Kopec, Wendy

2016-02-01

Unintentional perioperative hypothermia has been shown to cause serious patient complications and, thus, to increase health care costs. In 2009, an evidence-based practice improvement project produced a significant decrease in unintentional perioperative hypothermia in colorectal surgical patients through monitoring of OR ambient room temperature. Project leaders engaged all interdisciplinary stakeholders in the original project, which facilitated the sustainability of the intervention method. An important aspect of sustainability is ongoing monitoring and evaluation of a new intervention method. Therefore, continued evaluation of outcomes of the protocol developed in 2009 was scheduled at specific time points after the initial small test of change with colorectal patients. This article focuses on how attention to sustainability factors during implementation of an improvement project led to the sustainability of a protocol for monitoring OR ambient room temperature with all types of surgical patients five years after the initial project. Copyright © 2016 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biomarker monitoring in sports doping control.

PubMed

Pottgiesser, Torben; Schumacher, Yorck Olaf

2012-06-01

Biomarker monitoring can be considered a new era in the effort against doping. Opposed to the old concept in doping control of direct detection of a prohibited substance in a biological sample such as urine or blood, the new paradigm allows a personalized longitudinal monitoring of biomarkers that indicate non-physiological responses independently of the used doping technique or substance, and may cause sanctioning of illicit practices. This review presents the development of biomarker monitoring in sports doping control and focuses on the implementation of the Athlete Biological Passport as the current concept of the World Anti Doping Agency for the detection of blood doping (hematological module). The scope of the article extends to the description of novel biomarkers and future concepts of application.

Validating Future Force Performance Measures (Army Class): End of Training Longitudinal Validation

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

Organization 66 Canal Center Plaza, Suite 700 Alexandria, Virginia 22314 8 . PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING...4 Table B. 8 . Intercorrelations among RBI Scale Scores...12. Intercorrelations among WPA Dimension and Facet Scores ...................................... 8 x xi CONTENTS (continued) Page

Ex vivo and in vivo label-free imaging of lymphatic vessels using OCT lymphangiography (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Peijun; Es'haghian, Shaghayegh; Karnowski, Karol; Rea, Suzanne; Wood, Fiona M.; Yu, Dao-Yi; McLaughlin, Robert A.; Sampson, David D.

2017-02-01

We have been developing an automated method to image lymphatic vessels both ex vivo and in vivo with optical coherence tomography (OCT), using their optical transparency. Our method compensates for the OCT signal attenuation for each A-scan in combination with the correction of the confocal function and sensitivity fall-off, enabling reliable thresholding of lymphatic vessels from the OCT scans. Morphological image processing with a segment-joining algorithm is also incorporated into the method to mitigate partial-volume artifacts, which are particularly evident with small lymphatic vessels. Our method is demonstrated for two different clinical application goals: the monitoring of conjunctival lymphatics for surgical guidance and assessment of glaucoma treatment; and the longitudinal monitoring of human burn scars undergoing laser ablation treatment. We present examples of OCT lymphangiography ex vivo on porcine conjunctivas and in vivo on human burn scars, showing the visualization of the lymphatic vessel network and their longitudinal changes due to treatment.

Performance monitoring pavements with thermal segregation in Texas.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-04-01

This project conducted work to investigate the performance of asphalt surface mixtures that exhibited : thermal segregation during construction. From 2004 to 2009, a total of 14 construction projects were : identified for monitoring. Five of these pr...

Bridging the Gaps.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Netzer, Greg

1995-01-01

Discusses a model water quality monitoring project, Project Bridge, established to train minority girls about to enter eighth grade in scientific procedures followed by hands-on experimentation. Students spent a week monitoring water in an urban stream and analyzing results. (LZ)

Umatilla Basin Natural Production Monitoring and Evaluation; 2003-2004 Annual Report.

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

Schwartz, Jesse D.M.; Contor, Craig C.; Hoverson, Eric

2005-10-01

The Umatilla Basin Natural Production Monitoring and Evaluation Project (UBNPMEP) is funded by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) as directed by section 4(h) of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 (P. L. 96-501). This project is in accordance with and pursuant to measures 4.2A, 4.3C.1, 7.1A.2, 7.1C.3, 7.1C.4 and 7.1D.2 of the Northwest Power Planning Council's (NPPC) Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (NPPC 1994). Work was conducted by the Fisheries Program of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). UBNPMEP is coordinated with two ODFW research projects that also monitor and evaluatemore » the success of the Umatilla Fisheries Restoration Plan. Our project deals with the natural production component of the plan, and the ODFW projects evaluate hatchery operations (project No. 19000500, Umatilla Hatchery M & E) and smolt outmigration (project No. 198902401, Evaluation of Juvenile Salmonid Outmigration and Survival in the Lower Umatilla River). Collectively these three projects comprehensively monitor and evaluate natural and hatchery salmonid production in the Umatilla River Basin. Table 1 outlines relationships with other BPA supported projects. The need for natural production monitoring has been identified in multiple planning documents including Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit Volume I, 5b-13 (CRITFC 1996), the Umatilla Hatchery Master Plan (CTUIR & ODFW 1990), the Umatilla Basin Annual Operation Plan (ODFW and CTUIR 2004), the Umatilla Subbasin Summary (CTUIR & ODFW 2001), the Subbasin Plan (CTUIR & ODFW 2004), and the Comprehensive Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation Plan (Schwartz & Cameron Under Revision). Natural production monitoring and evaluation is also consistent with Section III, Basinwide Provisions, Strategy 9 of the 2000 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (NPPC 1994, NPPC 2004). The need for monitoring the natural production of salmonids in the Umatilla River Basin developed with the efforts to restore natural populations of spring and fall Chinook salmon, (Oncorhynchus tshawytsha) coho salmon and (O. kisutch) and enhance summer steelhead (O. mykiss). The need for restoration began with agricultural development in the early 1900's that extirpated salmon and reduced steelhead runs (BOR 1988). The most notable development was the construction and operation of Three-Mile Falls Dam (3MD) and other irrigation projects that dewatered the Umatilla River during salmon migrations. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) developed the Umatilla Hatchery Master Plan to restore the historical fisheries in the basin. The plan was completed in 1990 and included the following objectives: (1) Establish hatchery and natural runs of Chinook and coho salmon. (2) Enhance existing summer steelhead populations through a hatchery program. (3) Provide sustainable tribal and non-tribal harvest of salmon and steelhead. (4) Maintain the genetic characteristics of salmonids in the Umatilla River Basin. (5) Produce almost 48,000 adult returns to Three-Mile Falls Dam. The goals were reviewed in 1999 and were changed to 31,500 adult salmon and steelhead returns (Table 2). We conduct core long-term monitoring activities each year as well as two and three-year projects that address special needs for adaptive management. Examples of these projects include adult passage evaluations (Contor et al. 1995, Contor et al. 1996, Contor et al. 1997, Contor et al. 1998), genetic monitoring (Currens & Schreck 1995, Narum et al. 2004), and habitat assessment surveys (Contor et al. 1995, Contor et al. 1996, Contor et al. 1997, Contor et al. 1998). Our project goal is to provide quality information to managers and researchers working to restore anadromous salmonids to the Umatilla River Basin. This is the only project that monitors the restoration of naturally producing salmon and steelhead in the basin.« less

A proposed coast-wide reference monitoring system for evaluating Wetland restoration trajectories in Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Steyer, G.D.; Sasser, C.E.; Visser, J.M.; Swenson, E.M.; Nyman, J.A.; Raynie, R.C.

2003-01-01

Wetland restoration efforts conducted in Louisiana under the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act require monitoring the effectiveness of individual projects as well as monitoring the cumulative effects of all projects in restoring, creating, enhancing, and protecting the coastal landscape. The effectiveness of the traditional paired-reference monitoring approach in Louisiana has been limited because of difficulty in finding comparable reference sites. A multiple reference approach is proposed that uses aspects of hydrogeomorphic functional assessments and probabilistic sampling. This approach includes a suite of sites that encompass the range of ecological condition for each stratum, with projects placed on a continuum of conditions found for that stratum. Trajectories in reference sites through time are then compared with project trajectories through time. Plant community zonation complicated selection of indicators, strata, and sample size. The approach proposed could serve as a model for evaluating wetland ecosystems.

A proposed coast-wide reference monitoring system for evaluating wetland restoration trajectories in Louisiana.

PubMed

Steyer, Gregory D; Sasser, Charles E; Visser, Jenneke M; Swenson, Erick M; Nyman, John A; Raynie, Richard C

2003-01-01

Wetland restoration efforts conducted in Louisiana under the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act require monitoring the effectiveness of individual projects as well as monitoring the cumulative effects of all projects in restoring, creating, enhancing, and protecting the coastal landscape. The effectiveness of the traditional paired-reference monitoring approach in Louisiana has been limited because of difficulty in finding comparable reference sites. A multiple reference approach is proposed that uses aspects of hydrogeomorphic functional assessments and probabilistic sampling. This approach includes a suite of sites that encompass the range of ecological condition for each stratum, with projects placed on a continuum of conditions found for that stratum. Trajectories in reference sites through time are then compared with project trajectories through time. Plant community zonation complicated selection of indicators, strata, and sample size. The approach proposed could serve as a model for evaluating wetland ecosystems.

Design and Realization of Online Monitoring System of Distributed New Energy and Renewable Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Yanfen; Zhou, Tao; Li, Mengwen; Zheng, Guotai; Li, Hao

2018-01-01

Aimed at difficult centralized monitoring and management of current distributed new energy and renewable energy generation projects due to great varieties, different communication protocols and large-scale difference, this paper designs a online monitoring system of new energy and renewable energy characterized by distributed deployment, tailorable functions, extendible applications and fault self-healing performance. This system is designed based on international general standard for grid information data model, formulates unified data acquisition and transmission standard for different types of new energy and renewable energy generation projects, and can realize unified data acquisition and real-time monitoring of new energy and renewable energy generation projects, such as solar energy, wind power, biomass energy, etc. within its jurisdiction. This system has applied in Beijing. At present, 576 projects are connected to the system. Good effect is achieved and stability and reliability of the system have been validated.

L-325 Sagebrush Habitat Mitigation Project: FY2009 Compensation Area Monitoring Report

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

Durham, Robin E.; Sackschewsky, Michael R.

2009-09-29

Annual monitoring in support of the Fluor Daniel Hanford Company (Fluor) Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) for Project L-325, Electrical Utility Upgrades was conducted in June 2009. MAP guidelines defined mitigation success for this project as 3000 established sagebrush transplants on a 4.5 ha mitigation site after five monitoring years. Annual monitoring results suggest that an estimated 2130 sagebrush transplants currently grow on the site. Additional activities in support of this project included gathering sagebrush seed and securing a local grower to produce between 2250 and 2500 10-in3 tublings for outplanting during the early winter months of FY2010. If the minimummore » number of seedlings grown for this planting meets quality specifications, and planting conditions are favorable, conservative survival estimates indicate the habitat mitigation goals outlined in the MAP will be met in FY2014.« less

Monitoring of Space and Earth electromagnetic environment by MAGDAS project: Collaboration with IKIR - Introduction to ICSWSE/MAGDAS project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshikawa, Akimasa; Fujimoto, Akiko; Ikeda, Akihiro; Uozumi, Teiji; Abe, Shuji

2017-10-01

For study of coupling processes in the Solar-Terrestrial System, International Center for Space Weather Science and Education (ICSWSE), Kyushu University has developed a real time magnetic data acquisition system (the MAGDAS project) around the world. The number of observational sites is increasing every year with the collaboration of host countries. Now at this time, the MAGDAS Project has installed 78 real time magnetometers - so it is the largest magnetometer array in the world. The history of global observation at Kyushu University is over 30 years and number of developed observational sites is over 140. Especially, Collaboration between IKIR is extended back to 1990's. Now a time, we are operating Flux-gate magnetometer and FM-CW Radar. It is one of most important collaboration for space weather monitoring. By using MAGDAS data, ICSWSE produces many types of space weather index, such as EE-index (for monitoring long tern and shot term variation of equatorial electrojet), Pc5 index (for monitoring solar-wind velocity and high energy electron flux), Sq-index (for monitoring global change of ionospheric low and middle latitudinal current system), and Pc3 index (for monitoring of plasma density variation at low latitudes). In this report, we will introduce recent development of MAGDAS/ICSWSE Indexes project and topics for new open policy for MAGDAS data will be also discussed.

Accelerated Optical Projection Tomography Applied to In Vivo Imaging of Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Correia, Teresa; Yin, Jun; Ramel, Marie-Christine; Andrews, Natalie; Katan, Matilda; Bugeon, Laurence; Dallman, Margaret J.; McGinty, James; Frankel, Paul; French, Paul M. W.; Arridge, Simon

2015-01-01

Optical projection tomography (OPT) provides a non-invasive 3-D imaging modality that can be applied to longitudinal studies of live disease models, including in zebrafish. Current limitations include the requirement of a minimum number of angular projections for reconstruction of reasonable OPT images using filtered back projection (FBP), which is typically several hundred, leading to acquisition times of several minutes. It is highly desirable to decrease the number of required angular projections to decrease both the total acquisition time and the light dose to the sample. This is particularly important to enable longitudinal studies, which involve measurements of the same fish at different time points. In this work, we demonstrate that the use of an iterative algorithm to reconstruct sparsely sampled OPT data sets can provide useful 3-D images with 50 or fewer projections, thereby significantly decreasing the minimum acquisition time and light dose while maintaining image quality. A transgenic zebrafish embryo with fluorescent labelling of the vasculature was imaged to acquire densely sampled (800 projections) and under-sampled data sets of transmitted and fluorescence projection images. The under-sampled OPT data sets were reconstructed using an iterative total variation-based image reconstruction algorithm and compared against FBP reconstructions of the densely sampled data sets. To illustrate the potential for quantitative analysis following rapid OPT data acquisition, a Hessian-based method was applied to automatically segment the reconstructed images to select the vasculature network. Results showed that 3-D images of the zebrafish embryo and its vasculature of sufficient visual quality for quantitative analysis can be reconstructed using the iterative algorithm from only 32 projections—achieving up to 28 times improvement in imaging speed and leading to total acquisition times of a few seconds. PMID:26308086

Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership 2017 Annual Report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Puls, Amy L.; Scully, Rebecca A.; Dethloff, Megan M.; Bayer, Jennifer M.; Olson, Sheryn J.; Cimino, Samuel A.

2018-01-01

The Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership (PNAMP) continued to promote the integration of monitoring resources and development of tools to support monitoring in 2017. Improved coordination and integration of goals, objectives, and activities among Pacific Northwest monitoring programs is essential to improving the quality and consistency of monitoring in the region.PNAMP operates through inter-organizational teams to make progress on a variety of projects identified to support partner needs and PNAMP goals. These teams are largely ad hoc and formed for the specific purpose of achieving the objectives of the identified projects. For each project, the PNAMP Coordination Team identified interested Steering Committee (SC) members and subject matter experts to form the working teams that provide guidance and leadership. In addition, the teams acted as an intermediate between the larger group of interested participants and the SC, thus maintaining the concept of better SC/participant exchange. The PNAMP Coordination Team continued to facilitate dialog among experts to move forward with ongoing and new projects. In addition, the Coordination Team continued their efforts to track in-kind contributions of time from participants at meetings, workshops, and other PNAMP hosted events; in 2017 this estimate amounted to 2,039 hours by 67 organizations.

Management of the Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roman, Monsi; Perry, Jay; Howard, David

2013-01-01

The Advanced Exploration Systems Program's Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM) project is working to further optimize atmosphere revitalization and environmental monitoring system architectures. This paper discusses project management strategies that tap into skill sets across multiple engineering disciplines, projects, field centers, and industry to achieve the project success. It is the project's objective to contribute to system advances that will enable sustained exploration missions beyond Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) and improve affordability by focusing on the primary goals of achieving high reliability, improving efficiency, and reducing dependence on ground-based logistics resupply. Technology demonstrations are achieved by infusing new technologies and concepts with existing developmental hardware and operating in a controlled environment simulating various crewed habitat scenarios. The ARREM project's strengths include access to a vast array of existing developmental hardware that perform all the vital atmosphere revitalization functions, exceptional test facilities to fully evaluate system performance, and a well-coordinated partnering effort among the NASA field centers and industry partners to provide the innovative expertise necessary to succeed.

Development of a novel preclinical pancreatic cancer research model: bioluminescence image-guided focal irradiation and tumor monitoring of orthotopic xenografts.

PubMed

Tuli, Richard; Surmak, Andrew; Reyes, Juvenal; Hacker-Prietz, Amy; Armour, Michael; Leubner, Ashley; Blackford, Amanda; Tryggestad, Erik; Jaffee, Elizabeth M; Wong, John; Deweese, Theodore L; Herman, Joseph M

2012-04-01

We report on a novel preclinical pancreatic cancer research model that uses bioluminescence imaging (BLI)-guided irradiation of orthotopic xenograft tumors, sparing of surrounding normal tissues, and quantitative, noninvasive longitudinal assessment of treatment response. Luciferase-expressing MiaPaCa-2 pancreatic carcinoma cells were orthotopically injected in nude mice. BLI was compared to pathologic tumor volume, and photon emission was assessed over time. BLI was correlated to positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) to estimate tumor dimensions. BLI and cone-beam CT (CBCT) were used to compare tumor centroid location and estimate setup error. BLI and CBCT fusion was performed to guide irradiation of tumors using the small animal radiation research platform (SARRP). DNA damage was assessed by γ-H2Ax staining. BLI was used to longitudinally monitor treatment response. Bioluminescence predicted tumor volume (R = 0.8984) and increased linearly as a function of time up to a 10-fold increase in tumor burden. BLI correlated with PET/CT and necropsy specimen in size (P < .05). Two-dimensional BLI centroid accuracy was 3.5 mm relative to CBCT. BLI-guided irradiated pancreatic tumors stained positively for γ-H2Ax, whereas surrounding normal tissues were spared. Longitudinal assessment of irradiated tumors with BLI revealed significant tumor growth delay of 20 days relative to controls. We have successfully applied the SARRP to a bioluminescent, orthotopic preclinical pancreas cancer model to noninvasively: 1) allow the identification of tumor burden before therapy, 2) facilitate image-guided focal radiation therapy, and 3) allow normalization of tumor burden and longitudinal assessment of treatment response.

Development of a Novel Preclinical Pancreatic Cancer Research Model: Bioluminescence Image-Guided Focal Irradiation and Tumor Monitoring of Orthotopic Xenografts1

PubMed Central

Tuli, Richard; Surmak, Andrew; Reyes, Juvenal; Hacker-Prietz, Amy; Armour, Michael; Leubner, Ashley; Blackford, Amanda; Tryggestad, Erik; Jaffee, Elizabeth M; Wong, John; DeWeese, Theodore L; Herman, Joseph M

2012-01-01

PURPOSE: We report on a novel preclinical pancreatic cancer research model that uses bioluminescence imaging (BLI)-guided irradiation of orthotopic xenograft tumors, sparing of surrounding normal tissues, and quantitative, noninvasive longitudinal assessment of treatment response. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Luciferase-expressing MiaPaCa-2 pancreatic carcinoma cells were orthotopically injected in nude mice. BLI was compared to pathologic tumor volume, and photon emission was assessed over time. BLI was correlated to positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) to estimate tumor dimensions. BLI and cone-beam CT (CBCT) were used to compare tumor centroid location and estimate setup error. BLI and CBCT fusion was performed to guide irradiation of tumors using the small animal radiation research platform (SARRP). DNA damage was assessed by γ-H2Ax staining. BLI was used to longitudinally monitor treatment response. RESULTS: Bioluminescence predicted tumor volume (R = 0.8984) and increased linearly as a function of time up to a 10-fold increase in tumor burden. BLI correlated with PET/CT and necropsy specimen in size (P < .05). Two-dimensional BLI centroid accuracy was 3.5 mm relative to CBCT. BLI-guided irradiated pancreatic tumors stained positively for γ-H2Ax, whereas surrounding normal tissues were spared. Longitudinal assessment of irradiated tumors with BLI revealed significant tumor growth delay of 20 days relative to controls. CONCLUSIONS: We have successfully applied the SARRP to a bioluminescent, orthotopic preclinical pancreas cancer model to noninvasively: 1) allow the identification of tumor burden before therapy, 2) facilitate image-guided focal radiation therapy, and 3) allow normalization of tumor burden and longitudinal assessment of treatment response. PMID:22496923

Climate-driven longitudinal trends in pasture-borne helminth infections of dairy cattle.

PubMed

Charlier, Johannes; Ghebretinsae, Aklilu H; Levecke, Bruno; Ducheyne, Els; Claerebout, Edwin; Vercruysse, Jozef

2016-12-01

Helminth parasites of grazing ruminants are highly prevalent globally and impact negatively on animal productivity and food security. There is a growing concern that climate change increases helminth disease frequency and intensity. In Europe, these concerns stem from case reports and theoretical life cycle models assessing the effects of climate change scenarios on helminth epidemiology. We believe this study is the first to investigate climate-driven trends in helminth infections of cattle on a cohort of randomly selected farms. One thousand, six hundred and eighty dairy farms were monitored over an 8year period for the two major helminth infections in temperate climate regions and climate-driven trends were investigated by multivariable linear mixed models. The general levels of exposure to Fasciola hepatica decreased over the study period while those to Ostertagia ostertagi increased, and this could at least be partially explained by meteorological factors (i.e. the number of rainy (precipitation >1mm) and warm days (average daily temperature >10°C) in a year). The longitudinal trends varied according to the altitude and the agricultural region of the farm. This study shows that longitudinal epidemiological data from sentinel farms combined with meteorological datasets can significantly contribute to understanding the effects of climate on infectious disease dynamics. When local environmental conditions are taken into account, the effects of climate change on disease dynamics can also be understood at more local scales. We recommend setting up a longitudinal sampling strategy across Europe in order to monitor climate-driven changes in helminth disease risk to inform adaptation strategies to promote animal health and productivity. Copyright © 2016 Australian Society for Parasitology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

77 FR 63317 - Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection; Comment Request Proposed Projects

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-16

... in achieving sustainable, systemic change that results in greater safety, permanency, and well-being... agreements. The cross-site evaluation uses a mixed-method, longitudinal approach to examine the ICs (funded...

PMIS Project. Planning & Management Information System. A Project To Develop a Data Processing System for Support of the Planning and Management Needs of Local School Districts. Final Report, Year 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Council of the Great City Schools, Washington, DC.

This document examines the design and structure of PMIS (Planning and Management Information System), an information system that supports the decisionmaking process of executive management in local school districts. The system is designed around a comprehensive, longitudinal, and interrelated data base. It utilizes a powerful real-time,…

Integrated Application of Active Controls (IAAC) technology to an advanced subsonic transport project: Test act system description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The engineering and fabrication of the test ACT system, produced in the third program element of the IAAC Project is documented. The system incorporates pitch-augmented stability and wing-load alleviation, plus full authority fly-by-wire control of the elevators. The pitch-augmented stability is designed to have reliability sufficient to allow flight with neutral or negative inherent longitudinal stability.

Students with Special Educational Needs--Social Inclusion or Marginalisation? Factors of Risk and Resilience in the Transition between School and Early Adult Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kvalsund, Rune; Bele, Irene Velsvik

2010-01-01

This article is based on data from two national research projects in Norway dealing with upper secondary educational reforms that began in 1994. Together, the research projects represent a longitudinal study of prospective life course data from 1995 to 2003, covering approximately 500 students from the time they were receiving special education in…

2008 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

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

C. T. Lindsey; K. A. Gano

2008-09-30

The purpose of this report is to document the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts that have been conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report documents the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2008 and includes 22 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and two bat habitat mitigation projects.

Constellation Stick Figures Convey Information about Gravity and Neutrinos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mc Leod, David Matthew; Mc Leod, Roger David

2008-10-01

12/21/98, at America's Stonehenge, DMM detected, and drew, the full stick-figure equivalent of Canis Major, CM, as depicted by our Wolf Clan leaders, and many others. Profound, foundational physics is implied, since this occurred in the Watch House there, hours before the ``model rose.'' Similar configurations like Orion, Osiris of ancient Egypt, show that such figures are projected through solid parts of the Earth, as two-dimensional equivalents of the three-dimensional star constellations. Such ``sticks'' indicate that ``line equivalents'' connect the stars, and the physical mechanism projects outlines detectable by traditional cultures. We had discussed this ``flashlight'' effect, and recognized some of its implications. RDM states that the flashlight is a strong, distant neutrino source; the lines represent neutrinos longitudinally aligned in gravitational excitation, opaque, to earthbound, transient, transversely excited neutrinos. ``Sticks'' represent ``graviton'' detection. Neutrinos' longitudinal alignment accounts for the weakness of gravitational force.

Floristic Quality Index of Restored Wetlands in Coastal Louisiana

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-08-01

been used to monitor and assess project performance, resilience, and adaptive management needs. An emerging tool for performing bioassessments in...condition have been used to monitor and assess project performance, resilience, and adaptive management needs. There are three basic levels of wetland...result of saltwater intrusion and rapid subsidence; nevertheless, multiple hydrologic restoration projects (Naomi Outfall Management BA-03c and

Distribution and abundance of stream fishes in relation to barriers: implications for monitoring stream recovery after barrier removal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zydlewski, Joseph D.; Coghlan, Stephen M.; Gardner, C.; Saunders, R.

2011-01-01

Dams are ubiquitous in coastal regions and have altered stream habitats and the distribution and abundance of stream fishes in those habitats by disrupting hydrology, temperature regime and habitat connectivity. Dam removal is a common restoration tool, but often the response of the fish assemblage is not monitored rigorously. Sedgeunkedunk Stream, a small tributary to the Penobscot River (Maine, USA), has been the focus of a restoration effort that includes the removal of two low-head dams. In this study, we quantified fish assemblage metrics along a longitudinal gradient in Sedgeunkedunk Stream and also in a nearby reference stream. By establishing pre-removal baseline conditions and associated variability and the conditions and variability immediately following removal, we can characterize future changes in the system associated with dam removal. Over 2 years prior to dam removal, species richness and abundance in Sedgeunkedunk Stream were highest downstream of the lowest dam, lowest immediately upstream of that dam and intermediate farther upstream; patterns were similar in the reference stream. Although seasonal and annual variation in metrics within each site was substantial, the overall upstream-to-downstream pattern along the stream gradient was remarkably consistent prior to dam removal. Immediately after dam removal, we saw significant decreases in richness and abundance downstream of the former dam site and a corresponding increase in fish abundance upstream of the former dam site. No such changes occurred in reference sites. Our results show that by quantifying baseline conditions in a small stream before restoration, the effects of stream restoration efforts on fish assemblages can be monitored successfully. These data set the stage for the long-term assessment of Sedgeunkedunk Stream and provide a simple methodology for assessment in other restoration projects.

Early Parenting and the Development of Externalizing Behavior Problems: Longitudinal Mediation Through Children's Executive Function.

PubMed

Sulik, Michael J; Blair, Clancy; Mills-Koonce, Roger; Berry, Daniel; Greenberg, Mark

2015-01-01

Path analysis was used to investigate the longitudinal associations among parenting and children's executive function and externalizing behavior problems from 36 to 90 months of age in the Family Life Project (N = 1,115), a study of child development in the context of rural poverty. While controlling for stability in the constructs, semistructured observations of parenting prospectively predicted performance on a battery of executive function tasks and primary caregivers' reports of externalizing behavior. Furthermore, the association between early parenting and later externalizing behavior was longitudinally mediated by executive function, providing support for a process model in which sensitive parenting promotes children's self-regulation, which in turn reduces children's externalizing behavior. © 2015 The Authors. Child Development © 2015 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

IBS and possible luminosity improvement for RHIC operation below transition energy

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

Fedotov,A.V.

There is a strong interest in low-energy RHIC collisions in the energy range below present RHIC transition energy. These collisions win help to answer one of the key questions in the field of QCD about the existence and location of a critical point on the QCD phase diagram. For such low-energy RHIC operation, particle losses from the RF bucket are of particular concern since the longitudinal beam size is comparable to the existing RF bucket at low energies. In this paper, we explore an Intrabeam Scattering (IBS) feature below transition energy that drives the transverse and longitudinal beam temperatures towardsmore » equilibrium to see whether we can minimize longitudinal diffusion due to IBS and predict some luminosity improvement for the low-energy RHIC project.« less

EVALUATION OF A REMOTE EXPOSURE MONITORING STRATEGY FOR USE IN LONGITUDINAL COHORT STUDIES

EPA Science Inventory

The Federal Government is currently planning a large, prospective birth cohort study known as the National Children's Study that will potentially involve 100,000 children and their families. The observation period will start as close to conception as possible and will continue...

ACT Aspire™. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2017

2017-01-01

The "ACT Aspire"™ system provides a longitudinal, systematic approach for assessing and monitoring students' preparation for high school studies and readiness for college and career. "ACT Aspire"™ includes assessments for students from grade 3 through early high school in five subject areas: English, mathematics, reading,…

Longitudinal Analysis of the Environmental Attitudes of University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shephard, Kerry; Harraway, John; Jowett, Tim; Lovelock, Brent; Skeaff, Sheila; Slooten, Liz; Strack, Mick; Furnari, Mary

2015-01-01

This article addresses the important questions that higher education institutions ask concerning their impact on their students' sustainability-related attributes "How do our students" worldviews change as they experience higher education with us?" The process of monitoring such a dynamic entity is fraught with statistical…

SUMMARY FINDINGS FROM THE U.S. EPA'S PARTICULATE MATTER PANEL STUDIES

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. EPA's Particulate Matter Panel Studies were a series of longitudinal human exposure studies used to characterize personal exposures to particulate matter (PM) and related co-pollutants to that of pollutants of ambient origin. Participants were monitored over time (28 d...

Longitudinal monitoring of whole body counter NaI(TI) detector efficiency

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Assessing accuracy of radiation counting systems over time is critical. We examined long-term WBC performance in detail. Efficiency factors for 54 detectors were updated annually over several years. Newer efficiency values were compared with baseline and with annual values. Overall system efficiency...

Longitudinal, transcranial measurement of functional activation in the rat brain by diffuse correlation spectroscopy.

PubMed

Blanco, Igor; Zirak, Peyman; Dragojević, Tanja; Castellvi, Clara; Durduran, Turgut; Justicia, Carles

2017-10-01

Neural activity is an important biomarker for the presence of neurodegenerative diseases, cerebrovascular alterations, and brain trauma; furthermore, it is a surrogate marker for treatment effects. These pathologies may occur and evolve in a long time-period, thus, noninvasive, transcutaneous techniques are necessary to allow a longitudinal follow-up. In the present work, we have customized noninvasive, transcutaneous, diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) to localize changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) induced by neural activity. We were able to detect changes in CBF in the somatosensory cortex by using a model of electrical forepaw stimulation in rats. The suitability of DCS measurements for longitudinal monitoring was demonstrated by performing multiple sessions with the same animals at different ages (from 6 to 18 months). In addition, functional DCS has been cross-validated by comparison with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the same animals in a subset of the time-points. The overall results obtained with transcutaneous DCS demonstrates that it can be utilized in longitudinal studies safely and reproducibly to locate changes in CBF induced by neural activity in the small animal brain.

Collection methods, data compilation, and lessons learned from a study of stream geomorphology associated with riparian cattle grazing along the Fever River, University of Wisconsin- Platteville Pioneer Farm, Wisconsin, 2004–11

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peppler, Marie C.; Fitzpatrick, Faith A.

2018-03-09

Stream geomorphic characteristics were monitored along a 0.8-mile reach of the Fever River in the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin from 2004 to 2011 where cattle grazed in paddocks along the riverbank at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Pioneer Farm. The study reach encompassed seven paddocks that covered a total of 30 acres on both sides of the river. Monitoring data included channel crosssection surveys, eroding bank measurements and photograph points, erosion-pin measurements, longitudinal profile surveys, measurements of the volume of soft sediment in the channel, and repeated time-lapse photographs. Characteristics were summarized into subreaches by use of a geographic information system. From 2004 to 2007, baseline monitoring was done to identify geomorphic conditions prior to evaluating the effects of management alternatives for riparian grazing. Subsequent to the full-scale baseline monitoring, additional data were collected from 2007 to 2011. Samples of eroding bank and in-channel soft sediment were collected and analyzed for dry bulk density in 2008 for use in a sediment budget. One of the pastures was excluded from cattle grazing in the fall of 2007; in 2009 channel cross sections, longitudinal profiles, erosion-pin measurements, photographs, and a soft sediment survey were again collected along the full 0.8-mile reach for a comparison to baseline monitoring data. Channel cross sections were surveyed a final time in 2011. Lessons learned from bank monitoring with erosion pins were most numerous and included the need for consistent tracking of each pin and whether there was deposition or erosion, timing of measurements and bank conditions during measurements (frozen, postflood), and awareness of pins loosening in place. Repeated freezing and thawing of banks and consequential mass wasting and jointing enhance fluvial erosion. Monitoring equipment in the paddocks was kept flush to the ground or located high on posts to avoid injuring the cattle.

Explaining the Relationship between Employment and Juvenile Delinquency.

PubMed

Staff, Jeremy; Osgood, D Wayne; Schulenberg, John E; Bachman, Jerald G; Messersmith, Emily E

2010-11-28

Most criminological theories predict an inverse relationship between employment and crime, but teenagers' involvement in paid work during the school year is positively correlated with delinquency and substance use. Whether the work-delinquency association is causal or spurious has long been debated. This study estimates the effect of paid work on juvenile delinquency using longitudinal data from the national Monitoring the Future project. We address issues of spuriousness by using a two-level hierarchical model to estimate the relationships of within-individual changes in juvenile delinquency and substance use to those in paid work and other explanatory variables. We also disentangle effects of actual employment from preferences for employment to provide insight about the likely role of time-varying selection factors tied to employment, delinquency, school engagement, and leisure activities. Whereas causal effects of employment would produce differences based on whether and how many hours respondents worked, we found significantly higher rates of crime and substance use among non-employed youth who preferred intensive versus moderate work. Our findings suggest the relationship between high-intensity work and delinquency results from preexisting factors that lead youth to desire varying levels of employment.

Paediatric hearing aid management: a demonstration project for using virtual visits to enhance parent support.

PubMed

Muñoz, Karen; Kibbe, Kristin; Preston, Elizabeth; Caballero, Ana; Nelson, Lauri; White, Karl; Twohig, Michael

2017-02-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of virtual visits to monitor hearing aid use with data logging measurements and provide parent support for hearing aid management. A 6-month longitudinal case study design was used. Four families and two providers participated. Average hours of daily hearing aid use increased 3.5 h from the beginning to the end of the study period. Prior to receiving virtual visits, the parents and the clinicians generally indicated they were hopeful about the benefits of virtual visits including the frequency and convenience of the appointments but had some concerns about technical difficulties. These concerns diminished at the conclusion of the study. Virtual visits provided benefits to families including flexibility and timely access to support. The ability to collect data logging information more frequently was important for effective problem-solving to increase hearing aid use. Both parents and clinicians were accepting of tele-support. Parents and professionals would benefit from technology that allows them to access data logging information more easily and frequently.

Developing a Deep Brain Stimulation Neuromodulation Network for Parkinson Disease, Essential Tremor, and Dystonia: Report of a Quality Improvement Project

PubMed Central

O’Suilleabhain, Padraig E.; Sanghera, Manjit; Patel, Neepa; Khemani, Pravin; Lacritz, Laura H.; Chitnis, Shilpa; Whitworth, Louis A.; Dewey, Richard B.

2016-01-01

Objective To develop a process to improve patient outcomes from deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for Parkinson disease (PD), essential tremor (ET), and dystonia. Methods We employed standard quality improvement methodology using the Plan-Do-Study-Act process to improve patient selection, surgical DBS lead implantation, postoperative programming, and ongoing assessment of patient outcomes. Results The result of this quality improvement process was the development of a neuromodulation network. The key aspect of this program is rigorous patient assessment of both motor and non-motor outcomes tracked longitudinally using a REDCap database. We describe how this information is used to identify problems and to initiate Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to address them. Preliminary outcomes data is presented for the cohort of PD and ET patients who have received surgery since the creation of the neuromodulation network. Conclusions Careful outcomes tracking is essential to ensure quality in a complex therapeutic endeavor like DBS surgery for movement disorders. The REDCap database system is well suited to store outcomes data for the purpose of ongoing quality assurance monitoring. PMID:27711133

Developing a Deep Brain Stimulation Neuromodulation Network for Parkinson Disease, Essential Tremor, and Dystonia: Report of a Quality Improvement Project.

PubMed

Dewey, Richard B; O'Suilleabhain, Padraig E; Sanghera, Manjit; Patel, Neepa; Khemani, Pravin; Lacritz, Laura H; Chitnis, Shilpa; Whitworth, Louis A; Dewey, Richard B

2016-01-01

To develop a process to improve patient outcomes from deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for Parkinson disease (PD), essential tremor (ET), and dystonia. We employed standard quality improvement methodology using the Plan-Do-Study-Act process to improve patient selection, surgical DBS lead implantation, postoperative programming, and ongoing assessment of patient outcomes. The result of this quality improvement process was the development of a neuromodulation network. The key aspect of this program is rigorous patient assessment of both motor and non-motor outcomes tracked longitudinally using a REDCap database. We describe how this information is used to identify problems and to initiate Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to address them. Preliminary outcomes data is presented for the cohort of PD and ET patients who have received surgery since the creation of the neuromodulation network. Careful outcomes tracking is essential to ensure quality in a complex therapeutic endeavor like DBS surgery for movement disorders. The REDCap database system is well suited to store outcomes data for the purpose of ongoing quality assurance monitoring.

Monitoring and modeling of runoff from a natural and an urbanized part of a small stream catchment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalicz, P.; Kucsara, M.; Gribovszki, Z.; Erős, M.; Csáfordi, P.

2012-04-01

Runoff processes in natural catchments are significantly different compared to urbanized areas. Human impacts are manifested in high amount of paved surfaces like roofs, roads, parking plots and the compacted soils of quasi natural areas like public gardens and parks. Decay of permeability and storage capacity both induce higher amount of runoff. The common practice to treat the increased volume of runoff is to collect in pipes and drain to a stream as soon as possible. These interventions induce flash floods with smaller time of concentration and higher flood peaks as normal food waves therefore strongly load discharge capacity of stream channel. Streams in urban areas are strongly modified and regulated. Sometimes the stream channel are dredged out to increase the discharge capacity. In worst case some smaller brooks are crowded with lid to increase urbanized habitat. Many climate change scenarios predict higher probability of heavy storm events, therefore increasing volume of runoff induces higher demands of strongly modified and enormous concrete channels. This study presents one year monitoring of a small stream comparing runoff from natural, rural and urban sections. In this paper we also introduce the process of a model setup and an evaluation to investigate the weak points of a stream section in urbanized areas. The pilot area of this research is the Rák Brook which is the second largest stream of city Sopron (western Hungary). The natural headwater catchment is long-term research area of Hidegvíz Valley Project, therefore we had a good basis to extend the research catchment monitoring in the direction of urbanized lower part of the stream. Seven monitoring points are established along the longitudinal section of the stream. In each point the water stage is recorded continuously beside several other water quality parameters. These data sets help the later validation of the hydrodynamic model.

Longitudinal weight differences, gene expression, and blood biomarkers in BMI discordant identical twins

PubMed Central

van Dongen, Jenny; Willemsen, Gonneke; Heijmans, Bastiaan T.; Neuteboom, Jacoline; Kluft, Cornelis; Jansen, Rick; Penninx, Brenda W.J.; Slagboom, P. Eline; de Geus, Eco J.C.; Boomsma, Dorret I.

2015-01-01

Background BMI discordant monozygotic (MZ) twins allows an examination of the causes and consequences of adiposity in a genetically controlled design. Few studies have examined longitudinal BMI discordance in MZ pairs. Objectives To study the development over time of BMI discordance in adolescent and adult MZ twin pairs, and to examine lifestyle, metabolic, inflammatory, and gene expression differences associated with concurrent and long-term BMI discordance in MZ pairs. Subjects/Methods BMI data from 2775 MZ twin pairs, collected in eight longitudinal surveys and a biobank project between 1991 and 2011, were analyzed to characterize longitudinal discordance. Lifestyle characteristics were compared within discordant pairs (ΔBMI ≥ 3 kg/m2) and biomarkers (lipids, glucose, insulin, CRP, fibrinogen, IL-6, TNF-α and sIL-6R and liver enzymes AST, ALT and GGT) and gene expression were compared in peripheral blood from discordant pairs who participated in the NTR biobank project. Results The prevalence of discordance ranged from 3.2% in 1991 (mean age=17, SD=2.4) to 17.4% (N=202 pairs) in 2009 (mean age=35, SD=15), and was 16.5% (N=174) among pairs participating in the biobank project (mean age=35, SD=12). Of 699 MZ with BMI data from 3-5 time points, 17 pairs (2.4%) were long-term discordant (at all available time points; mean follow-up range=6.4 years). Concurrently discordant pairs showed significant differences in self-ratings of which twin eats most (p=2.3×10−13), but not in leisure time exercise activity (p=0.28) and smoking (p>0.05). Ten out of 14 biomarkers showed significantly more unfavorable levels in the heavier of twin of the discordant pairs (p-values < 0.001); most of these biomarker differences were largest in longitudinally discordant pairs. No significant gene expression differences were identified, although high ranking genes were enriched for Gene Ontology (GO) terms highlighting metabolic gene regulation and inflammation pathways. Conclusions BMI discordance is uncommon in adolescent identical pairs but increases with higher pair-mean of BMI at older ages, although long-term BMI discordance is rare. In discordant pairs, the heavier twin had a more unfavorable blood biomarker profile than the genetically matched leaner twin, in support of causal effects of obesity. PMID:25765203

Transport infrastructure surveillance and monitoring by electromagnetic sensing: the ISTIMES project.

PubMed

Proto, Monica; Bavusi, Massimo; Bernini, Romeo; Bigagli, Lorenzo; Bost, Marie; Bourquin, Frédrèric; Cottineau, Louis-Marie; Cuomo, Vincenzo; Della Vecchia, Pietro; Dolce, Mauro; Dumoulin, Jean; Eppelbaum, Lev; Fornaro, Gianfranco; Gustafsson, Mats; Hugenschmidt, Johannes; Kaspersen, Peter; Kim, Hyunwook; Lapenna, Vincenzo; Leggio, Mario; Loperte, Antonio; Mazzetti, Paolo; Moroni, Claudio; Nativi, Stefano; Nordebo, Sven; Pacini, Fabrizio; Palombo, Angelo; Pascucci, Simone; Perrone, Angela; Pignatti, Stefano; Ponzo, Felice Carlo; Rizzo, Enzo; Soldovieri, Francesco; Taillade, Fédrèric

2010-01-01

The ISTIMES project, funded by the European Commission in the frame of a joint Call "ICT and Security" of the Seventh Framework Programme, is presented and preliminary research results are discussed. The main objective of the ISTIMES project is to design, assess and promote an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)-based system, exploiting distributed and local sensors, for non-destructive electromagnetic monitoring of critical transport infrastructures. The integration of electromagnetic technologies with new ICT information and telecommunications systems enables remotely controlled monitoring and surveillance and real time data imaging of the critical transport infrastructures. The project exploits different non-invasive imaging technologies based on electromagnetic sensing (optic fiber sensors, Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite platform based, hyperspectral spectroscopy, Infrared thermography, Ground Penetrating Radar-, low-frequency geophysical techniques, Ground based systems for displacement monitoring). In this paper, we show the preliminary results arising from the GPR and infrared thermographic measurements carried out on the Musmeci bridge in Potenza, located in a highly seismic area of the Apennine chain (Southern Italy) and representing one of the test beds of the project.

Project monitoring and evaluation: an enhancing method for health research system management.

PubMed

Djalalinia, Shirin; Owlia, Parviz; Malekafzali, Hossein; Ghanei, Mostafa; Babamahmoodi, Abdolreza; Peykari, Niloofar

2014-04-01

Planning, organizing, staffing, leading and monitoring are the basic functional component of management. In present article, we aim to define the project monitoring and evaluation in health research system (HRS) considering its success and challenges based on our national experience. IN THIS STUDY BASED ON THE INFORMATION OF ANNUAL MEDICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITIES EVALUATION DURING THE LAST DECADE THE HRS INDICATORS HAVE BEEN SCORED IN THREE AXES BASED ON HRS FUNCTIONS: Stewardship, capacity building and knowledge production. In this article, we will focus on the results of HRS evaluation from 2002 to 2010, also on its success and challenges. In an overall view, the main results are the experiences of the designing and implantation of such process after pre-project preparation, all parts followed under the whole supervision of the aims of the HRS evaluation. Project management light the way of practical application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques for better HRS evaluation and management. We concluded that; although monitoring and evaluation as an essential part of HRS Management light the improvement ahead way but we still need to advantage of the new project management advances.

Transport Infrastructure Surveillance and Monitoring by Electromagnetic Sensing: The ISTIMES Project

PubMed Central

Proto, Monica; Bavusi, Massimo; Bernini, Romeo; Bigagli, Lorenzo; Bost, Marie; Bourquin, Frédrèric.; Cottineau, Louis-Marie; Cuomo, Vincenzo; Vecchia, Pietro Della; Dolce, Mauro; Dumoulin, Jean; Eppelbaum, Lev; Fornaro, Gianfranco; Gustafsson, Mats; Hugenschmidt, Johannes; Kaspersen, Peter; Kim, Hyunwook; Lapenna, Vincenzo; Leggio, Mario; Loperte, Antonio; Mazzetti, Paolo; Moroni, Claudio; Nativi, Stefano; Nordebo, Sven; Pacini, Fabrizio; Palombo, Angelo; Pascucci, Simone; Perrone, Angela; Pignatti, Stefano; Ponzo, Felice Carlo; Rizzo, Enzo; Soldovieri, Francesco; Taillade, Fédrèric

2010-01-01

The ISTIMES project, funded by the European Commission in the frame of a joint Call “ICT and Security” of the Seventh Framework Programme, is presented and preliminary research results are discussed. The main objective of the ISTIMES project is to design, assess and promote an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)-based system, exploiting distributed and local sensors, for non-destructive electromagnetic monitoring of critical transport infrastructures. The integration of electromagnetic technologies with new ICT information and telecommunications systems enables remotely controlled monitoring and surveillance and real time data imaging of the critical transport infrastructures. The project exploits different non-invasive imaging technologies based on electromagnetic sensing (optic fiber sensors, Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite platform based, hyperspectral spectroscopy, Infrared thermography, Ground Penetrating Radar-, low-frequency geophysical techniques, Ground based systems for displacement monitoring). In this paper, we show the preliminary results arising from the GPR and infrared thermographic measurements carried out on the Musmeci bridge in Potenza, located in a highly seismic area of the Apennine chain (Southern Italy) and representing one of the test beds of the project. PMID:22163489

Physical habitat monitoring strategy (PHAMS) for reach-scale restoration effectiveness monitoring

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, Krista L.; O'Daniel, Scott J.; Beechie, Tim J.; Zakrajsek, John; Webster, John G.

2015-04-14

Habitat restoration efforts by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) have shifted from the site scale (1-10 meters) to the reach scale (100-1,000 meters). This shift was in response to the growing scientific emphasis on process-based restoration and to support from the 2007 Accords Agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration. With the increased size of restoration projects, the CTUIR and other agencies are in need of applicable monitoring methods for assessing large-scale changes in river and floodplain habitats following restoration. The goal of the Physical Habitat Monitoring Strategy is to outline methods that are useful for capturing reach-scale changes in surface and groundwater hydrology, geomorphology, hydrologic connectivity, and riparian vegetation at restoration projects. The Physical Habitat Monitoring Strategy aims to avoid duplication with existing regional effectiveness monitoring protocols by identifying complimentary reach-scale metrics and methods that may improve the ability of CTUIR and others to detect instream and riparian changes at large restoration projects.

Project YOURLIFE (What Young People Think and Feel about Relationships, Love, Sexuality, and Related Risk Behavior): Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Protocol.

PubMed

Carlos, Silvia; Osorio, Alfonso; Calatrava, María; Lopez-Del Burgo, Cristina; Ruiz-Canela, Miguel; de Irala, Jokin

2016-01-01

Sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies affect adolescent sexual health and are serious public health concerns. They result from sexual intercourse in adolescence, which is usually associated with multiple partners, unprotected sex, and condom misuse. This behavior is related to socio-ecological factors that influence lifestyles. The YOURLIFE project aims to find out what young people think and feel about relationships, love, and sexuality, and to assess the associations between these thoughts and attitudes, adolescents' social factors, and sexual health. An international school-based study with a cross-sectional and optional subsequent longitudinal design. Three online questionnaires designed for adolescents aged 13/14, 15/16, and 17/18, respectively, will be used. A matching coding system will allow longitudinal follow-up when adolescents reply to follow-up surveys. Questionnaires will include questions related to sociodemographic data; information/communication technologies; leisure time; parental supervision; influences of parents/friends; information sources; messages perceived; and sexuality-related knowledge, attitudes, and opinions. The second and third questionnaires for participants aged 15/16 and 17/18 will also contain variables concerning sexual behavior. Schools will be able to use their results to tailor educational approaches targeting the needs of their students. Multivariate analyses will be performed using the larger international dataset. The YOURLIFE project will collect comprehensive information about the socio-ecological determinants of the sexual risk-taking of schooled adolescents worldwide. Effective preventive programs could be subsequently designed and tailored to the specific determinants of adolescents from different schools and settings, and also, when analyzed globally, to public health professionals.

Patient safety in the clinical laboratory: a longitudinal analysis of specimen identification errors.

PubMed

Wagar, Elizabeth A; Tamashiro, Lorraine; Yasin, Bushra; Hilborne, Lee; Bruckner, David A

2006-11-01

Patient safety is an increasingly visible and important mission for clinical laboratories. Attention to improving processes related to patient identification and specimen labeling is being paid by accreditation and regulatory organizations because errors in these areas that jeopardize patient safety are common and avoidable through improvement in the total testing process. To assess patient identification and specimen labeling improvement after multiple implementation projects using longitudinal statistical tools. Specimen errors were categorized by a multidisciplinary health care team. Patient identification errors were grouped into 3 categories: (1) specimen/requisition mismatch, (2) unlabeled specimens, and (3) mislabeled specimens. Specimens with these types of identification errors were compared preimplementation and postimplementation for 3 patient safety projects: (1) reorganization of phlebotomy (4 months); (2) introduction of an electronic event reporting system (10 months); and (3) activation of an automated processing system (14 months) for a 24-month period, using trend analysis and Student t test statistics. Of 16,632 total specimen errors, mislabeled specimens, requisition mismatches, and unlabeled specimens represented 1.0%, 6.3%, and 4.6% of errors, respectively. Student t test showed a significant decrease in the most serious error, mislabeled specimens (P < .001) when compared to before implementation of the 3 patient safety projects. Trend analysis demonstrated decreases in all 3 error types for 26 months. Applying performance-improvement strategies that focus longitudinally on specimen labeling errors can significantly reduce errors, therefore improving patient safety. This is an important area in which laboratory professionals, working in interdisciplinary teams, can improve safety and outcomes of care.

Monitoring the Status and Trends of Tropical Forest Terrestrial Vertebrate Communities from Camera Trap Data: A Tool for Conservation

PubMed Central

Ahumada, Jorge A.; Hurtado, Johanna; Lizcano, Diego

2013-01-01

Reducing the loss of biodiversity is key to ensure the future well being of the planet. Indicators to measure the state of biodiversity should come from primary data that are collected using consistent field methods across several sites, longitudinal, and derived using sound statistical methods that correct for observation/detection bias. In this paper we analyze camera trap data collected between 2008 and 2012 at a site in Costa Rica (Volcan Barva transect) as part of an ongoing tropical forest global monitoring network (Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network). We estimated occupancy dynamics for 13 species of mammals, using a hierarchical modeling approach. We calculated detection-corrected species richness and the Wildlife Picture Index, a promising new indicator derived from camera trap data that measures changes in biodiversity from the occupancy estimates of individual species. Our results show that 3 out of 13 species showed significant declines in occupancy over 5 years (lowland paca, Central American agouti, nine-banded armadillo). We hypothesize that hunting, competition and/or increased predation for paca and agouti might explain these patterns. Species richness and the Wildlife Picture Index are relatively stable at the site, but small herbivores that are hunted showed a decline in diversity of about 25%. We demonstrate the usefulness of longitudinal camera trap deployments coupled with modern statistical methods and advocate for the use of this approach in monitoring and developing global and national indicators for biodiversity change. PMID:24023898

Longitudinal in vivo coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering imaging of demyelination and remyelination in injured spinal cord

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Yunzhou; Zhang, Delong; Huff, Terry B.; Wang, Xiaofei; Shi, Riyi; Xu, Xiao-Ming; Cheng, Ji-Xin

2011-10-01

In vivo imaging of white matter is important for the mechanistic understanding of demyelination and evaluation of remyelination therapies. Although white matter can be visualized by a strong coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) signal from axonal myelin, in vivo repetitive CARS imaging of the spinal cord remains a challenge due to complexities induced by the laminectomy surgery. We present a careful experimental design that enabled longitudinal CARS imaging of de- and remyelination at single axon level in live rats. In vivo CARS imaging of secretory phospholipase A2 induced myelin vesiculation, macrophage uptake of myelin debris, and spontaneous remyelination by Schwann cells are sequentially monitored over a 3 week period. Longitudinal visualization of de- and remyelination at a single axon level provides a novel platform for rational design of therapies aimed at promoting myelin plasticity and repair.

Design, Development, Test, and Evaluation of Atmosphere Revitalization and Environmental Monitoring Systems for Long Duration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roman, Monsi C.; Perry, Jay L.; Jan, Darrell L.

2012-01-01

The Advanced Exploration Systems Program's Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM) project is working to mature optimum atmosphere revitalization and environmental monitoring system architectures. It is the project's objective to enable exploration beyond Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) and improve affordability by focusing on three primary goals: 1) achieving high reliability, 2) reducing dependence on a ground-based logistics resupply model, and 3) maximizing commonality between atmosphere revitalization subsystem components and those needed to support other exploration elements. The ARREM project's strengths include using existing developmental hardware and testing facilities, when possible, and and a well-coordinated effort among the NASA field centers that contributed to past ARS and EMS technology development projects.

Eighth year projects and activities of the Environmental Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory (ERSAL). [Oregon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, A. J.; Isaacson, D. L.; Schrumpf, B. J. (Principal Investigator)

1980-01-01

Projects completed for the NASA Office of University Affairs include the application of remote sensing data in support of rehabilitation of wild fire damaged areas and the use of LANDSAT 3 return beam vidicon in forestry mapping applications. Continuing projects for that office include monitoring western Oregon timber clearcut; detecting and monitoring wheat disease; land use monitoring for tax assessment in Umatilla, Lake, and Morrow Counties; and the use of Oregon Air National Guard thermal infrared scanning data. Projects funded through other agencies include the remote sensing inventory of elk in the Blue Mountains; the estimation of burned agricultural acreage in the Willamette Valley; a resource inventory of Deschutes County; and hosting a LANDSAT digital workshop.

Geomorphic influences of the Little Ice Age glacial advance on selected hillslope systems in Nordfjord, Western Norway (Erdalen and Bødalen valleys)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laute, Katja; Beylich, Achim A.

2010-05-01

Hillslopes in glacially formed landscapes are typically characterized by talus cones developed beneath free rock faces. Studying hillslopes as sedimentary source, storage and transfer zones as well as surface processes acting on hillslopes since the end of the deglaciation is of importance in order to gain a better understanding of the complex sedimentary source-to-sink fluxes in cold climate environments. Hillslopes function as a key component within the geomorphic process response system. Large areas of the Norwegian fjord landscapes are covered by hillslopes and are characterized by the influences of the glacial inheritance. This PhD project is part of the NFR funded SedyMONT-Norway project within the ESF TOPO-EUROPE SedyMONT (Timescales of sediment dynamics, climate and topographic change in mountain landscapes) programme. The focus of this study is on geomorphic influences of the Little Ice Age glacial advance on postglacial hillslope systems in four distinct headwater areas of the Erdalen and Bødalen valleys in the Nordfjord valley-fjord system (inner Nordfjord, Western Norway). Both valleys can be described as steep, U-shaped and glacier-fed, subarctic tributary valleys. Approximately 14% of the 49 km2 large headwater areas of Erdalen are occupied by hillslope deposits and 41% by rock surfaces; in Bødalen hillslope deposits occupy 12% and rock surfaces occupy 38% of the 42 km2 large headwater areas. The main aims of this study are (i) to analyze and compare the morphometric characteristics as well as the composition of hillslope systems inside and outside of the Little Ice Age glacial limit, (ii) to detect possible changes within the mass balances of these hillslope systems, (iii) to identify the type and intensity of currently acting hillslope processes as well as (iv) to determine possible sediment sources and delivery pathways within the headwater areas of the catchments. The process-based approach includes orthophoto- and topographical map interpretation, hillslope profile surveying, photo monitoring, geomorphological mapping as well as GIS and DEM computing. Two appropriate hillslope test sites within each headwater area are selected in order to follow the main aims of this study. The designed monitoring instrumentation of the slope test sites includes nets for collecting freshly accumulated rockfall debris, stone tracer lines for measuring surface movements, wooden sticks for monitoring of slow surface creep movements and peg lines for depth-integrated measurements of slow mass movements. In addition, remote site cameras for monitoring rapid mass movement events (avalanches, slush- and debris flows) and slope wash traps for analyzing slope wash denudation are installed and measurements of solute concentrations at small hillslope drainage creeks for investigating the role of chemical denudation are conducted. Measurements of morphometric characteristics and longitudinal profiles along the main axis of the talus cones are carried out at each test site. The manually obtained longitudinal profile data are combined with data derived from a DEM in order to generate complete longitudinal hillslope profiles reaching from the apex until the slope foot. Preliminary results show a steepening trend of the talus cones located inside the Little Ice Age glacier limit which is due to erosion during the Little Ice Age glacial advance. In addition, some of these talus cones are characterized by a recognizable more complex talus cone morphometry and composition, resulting from implementation of Little Ice Age glacier side moraines. The combination of (i) steepened talus cones and (ii) complex composition seems to increase currently acting hillslope processes which leads to a higher sediment delivery from these slopes as compared to hillslopes outside the Little Ice Age glacier limit. The implementation of moraine material but also the increased intensity of denudative processes has a recognizable influence on the mass balance of the hillslope systems inside the Little Ice Age glacier limit. Research on the complex development of hillslope systems from a postglacial to contemporary time perspective in combination with analyses of contemporary sedimentary fluxes contributes to a better understanding of hillslopes acting as source, storage and transfer zones in cold climate environments (paraglacial systems).

2007 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

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

K. A. Gano; C. T. Lindsey

2007-09-27

The purpose of this report is to document the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts that have been conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report documents the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2007 and includes 11 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and 3 bat habitat mitigation projects.

A matter of interpretation: developing primary pupils' enquiry skills using position-linked datalogging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Daniel John; Collier, Christopher; Howe, Alan

2012-11-01

Background: This article reports on an evaluation study of a project seeking to develop the use of position-linked datalogging with primary pupils in environmental science contexts. Purpose: The study sought to find out the extent to which the project had developed: (1) participant teachers' confidence in using datalogging as an everyday part of their science teaching; (2) pupils' abilities to collect and interpret relevant environmental monitoring data; and (3) the use of scientific data within environmental education in the project schools. Programme description: The project used software which integrates data from Global Positioning System (GPS) with sensor data collected outdoors to produce Google Earth visualisations of environmental quality in each school's locality. Sample: Phase 1 involved 10 primary schools in the South West of England (2008-9), and phase 2 was implemented in six primary schools in Greater London during 2010. All pupils in the 9-10-year-old age range participated to some extent (N ≈ 450) and each school identified a focus group of between two and four pupils (n = 38) together with two members of staff (n = 32) to be more closely involved in the project. Design and methods: The evaluation adopted a multi-method approach, drawing upon documentary sources (n = 40); observations of continuing professional development (CPD) cluster days (n = 8) and dissemination events (June 2009 and January 2011): baseline pupil assessment tasks (n = 291) and teachers' baseline questionnaire (n = 25) in September 2008 and March 2010; classroom observations; samples of pupil work (n = 31); end-of-project pupil assessment (n = 38) and teachers' and pupils' responses to the project (n ≈ 180) in June 2009 and December 2010; and a longitudinal evaluation in February 2012. Results: Datalogging had become a regular feature of practical science in nearly all project schools up to 30 months after the end of the project, but the use of position-linked logging had not been sustained. While there is evidence of pupils developing a range of scientific enquiry skills through the project, the extent to which their interpretation of data improved is unclear. All participating schools made greater use of scientific data than before the project to develop their environmental education. Conclusions: The project has demonstrated the potential of combining datalogging with GPS technology to support challenging, motivating and relevant scientific enquiry. Primary teachers require targeted technical and pedagogical support to maximise learning benefits for pupils.

Evaluation of asphalt pavement interface conditions for enhanced bond performance.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-05-01

This project describes a comprehensive modeling effort aimed at examining the potential impact of interface debonding on near-surface longitudinal cracking in the wheelpath of asphalt pavements. A critical zone defined by high shear stress coupled wi...

Evaluation of asphalt pavement interface conditions for enhanced bond performance : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-05-01

In this project, University of Florida researchers conducted a comprehensive program of modeling to understand interface debonding and near-surface longitudinal cracking in the wheel path of asphalt pavements. : To understand the interaction of debon...

Theoretical and field experimental evaluation of skewed modular slab bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-12-01

As a result of longitudinal cracking discovered in the concrete overlays of some recently-built skewed : bridges, the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) requested that this research project be : conducted for two purposes: (1) to determine t...

Cooperative Monitoring Center Occasional Paper/11: Cooperative Environmental Monitoring in the Coastal Regions of India and Pakistan

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

Rajen, Gauray

1999-06-01

The cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan is an immediate need and of global concern, as these countries have tested nuclear devices, and have the capability to deploy nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles. Cooperative monitoring projects among neighboring countries in South Asia could build regional confidence, and, through gradual improvements in relations, reduce the threat of war and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This paper discusses monitoring the trans-border movement of flow and sediment in the Indian and Pakistani coastal areas. Through such a project, India and Pakistan could initiate greater cooperation, and engender movement towardsmore » the resolution of the Sir Creek territorial dispute in their coastal region. The Joint Working Groups dialogue being conducted by India and Pakistan provides a mechanism for promoting such a project. The proposed project also falls within a regional framework of cooperation agreed to by several South Asian countries. This framework has been codified in the South Asian Seas Action Plan, developed by Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This framework provides a useful starting point for Indian and Pakistani cooperative monitoring in their trans-border coastal area. The project discussed in this paper involves computer modeling, the placement of in situ sensors for remote data acquisition, and the development of joint reports. Preliminary computer modeling studies are presented in the paper. These results illustrate the cross-flow connections between Indian and Pakistani coastal regions and strengthen the argument for cooperation. Technologies and actions similar to those suggested for the coastal project are likely to be applied in future arms control and treaty verification agreements. The project, therefore, serves as a demonstration of cooperative monitoring technologies. The project will also increase people-to-people contacts among Indian and Pakistani policy makers and scientists. In the perceptions of the general public, the project will crystallize the idea that the two countries share ecosystems and natural resources, and have a vested interest in increased collaboration.« less

Direct Satellite Data Acquisition and its Application for Large -scale Monitoring Projects in Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gershenzon, O.

2011-12-01

ScanEx RDC created an infrastructure (ground stations network) to acquire and process remote sensing data from different satellites: Terra, Aqua, Landsat, IRS-P5/P6, SPOT 4/5, FORMOSAT-2, EROS A/B, RADARSAT-1/2, ENVISAT-1. It owns image archives from these satellites as well as from SPOT-2 and CARTOSAT-2. ScanEx RDC builds and delivers remote sensing ground stations (working with up to 15 satellites); and owns the ground stations network to acquire data for Russia and surrounding territory. ScanEx stations are the basic component in departmental networks of remote sensing data acquisition for different state authorities (Roshydromet, Ministry of Natural Recourses, Emercom) and University- based remote sensing data acquisition and processing centers in Russia and abroad. ScanEx performs large-scale projects in collaboration with government agencies to monitor forests, floods, fires, sea surface pollution, and ice situation in Northern Russia. During 2010-2011 ScanEx conducted daily monitoring of wild fires in Russia detecting and registering thermal anomalies using data from Terra, Aqua, Landsat and SPOT satellites. Detailed SPOT 4/5 data is used to analyze burnt areas and to assess damage caused by fire. Satellite data along with other information about fire situation in Russia was daily updated and published via free-access Internet geoportal. A few projects ScanEx conducted together with environmental NGO. Project "Satellite monitoring of Especially Protected Natural Areas of Russia and its results visualization on geoportal was conducted in cooperation with NGO "Transparent World". The project's goal was to observe natural phenomena and economical activity, including illegal, by means of Earth remote sensing data. Monitoring is based on multi-temporal optical space imagery of different spatial resolution. Project results include detection of anthropogenic objects that appeared in the vicinity or even within the border of natural territories, that have never been touched by civilization before. "Satellite based technology for monitoring ship ice navigation and its influence on seal population in the White Sea" project was conducted in cooperation with IFAW. Results of the near real-time satellite monitoring were published on specially designed open web source. This allows project team to put image interpretation results in near real-time mode for on-line access to all interesting external stakeholders. During project realization Envisat, Radarsat, SPOT, EROS space images were used. In addition the methodology to locate seal population using EROS space images was developed. This methodology is based on detection of vital functions and displacement traces. Environmental satellite monitoring of Northern Russian territory and Arctic seas projects where the results are published via free-access Internet geoportal has a significant social importance.

The effects of stream channelization on bottom dwelling organisms : phase 2 report : 1975 construction season.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1976-01-01

Three construction projects affecting streams are being monitored. On two of the projects, those affecting Meadow Run and Moores Creek, the streams are being monitored for flow, suspended solids, rainfall, and benthic populations. Construction has be...

Civil engineering support for the traffic monitoring program : final report, January 2010.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-01-01

This project was aimed at providing various civil engineering support services for the telemetered traffic monitoring sites operated by the Statistics Office of the Florida Department of Transportation. This was a companion project to the one that pr...

Longitudinal Mercury Monitoring Within the Japanese and Korean Communities (United States): Implications for Exposure Determination and Public Health Protection

EPA Science Inventory

Background: Estimates of exposure to toxicants are predominantly obtained from single timepoint data. Fishconsumption guidance based on these data may be incomplete as recommendations are unlikely to consider impact from factors such as intraindividual variability, seasonal dif...

Longitudinal associations between BMI, waist circumference, and cardiometabolic risk in US youth: Monitoring implications

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study examined whether change in body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC)is associated with change in cardiometabolic risk factors and differences between cardiovascular disease specific and diabetes specific risk factors among adolescents. We also sought to examine any differences by ...

What Do Upper Secondary School Teachers Want to Know from Research on the Use of ICT and How Does This Inform a Research Design?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olofsson, Anders D.; Lindberg, J. Ola; Fransson, Göran

2017-01-01

This study investigates what teachers taking part in a longitudinal research project on the use of ICT for teaching and learning in three upper secondary schools in Sweden want to learn more about. At the beginning of the project eighty-four teachers were invited to respond to a questionnaire relating to what teachers wanted to learn more about…

A brief overview of channel monitoring in land management: Five case studies. Case study #1

Treesearch

Leslie Reid

1999-01-01

Yesterday we heard about some successful monitoring programs,but today I would like to share some findings from a study I did, which was basically a post-mortem of failed monitoring programs.There were about 30 projects,and I wanted to know why did they fail,and were there patterns of why they failed.The projects ranged from university studies,land management,and...

The dorsal tectal longitudinal column (TLCd): a second longitudinal column in the paramedian region of the midbrain tectum.

PubMed

Aparicio, M-Auxiliadora; Saldaña, Enrique

2014-03-01

The tectal longitudinal column (TLC) is a longitudinally oriented, long and narrow nucleus that spans the paramedian region of the midbrain tectum of a large variety of mammals (Saldaña et al. in J Neurosci 27:13108-13116, 2007). Recent analysis of the organization of this region revealed another novel nucleus located immediately dorsal, and parallel, to the TLC. Because the name "tectal longitudinal column" also seems appropriate for this novel nucleus, we suggest the TLC described in 2007 be renamed the "ventral tectal longitudinal column (TLCv)", and the newly discovered nucleus termed the "dorsal tectal longitudinal column (TLCd)". This work represents the first characterization of the rat TLCd. A constellation of anatomical techniques was used to demonstrate that the TLCd differs from its surrounding structures (TLCv and superior colliculus) cytoarchitecturally, myeloarchitecturally, neurochemically and hodologically. The distinct expression of vesicular amino acid transporters suggests that TLCd neurons are GABAergic. The TLCd receives major projections from various areas of the cerebral cortex (secondary visual mediomedial area, and granular and dysgranular retrosplenial cortices) and from the medial pretectal nucleus. It densely innervates the ipsilateral lateral posterior and laterodorsal nuclei of the thalamus. Thus, the TLCd is connected with vision-related neural centers. The TLCd may be unique as it constitutes the only known nucleus made of GABAergic neurons dedicated to providing massive inhibition to higher order thalamic nuclei of a specific sensory modality.

Web Based GIS System For Monitoring the Implementation of County Integrated Development Plan a Case Study of Nandi County, Kenya.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurui, P. K.; Mutua, F.

2016-12-01

The paper seek to propose a conceptual framework of a way of monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the projects listed in the county integrated development plan by applying the use of the geospatial technologies with the focus being developing a web based GIS system in which the public can be able to track and monitor the progress of implementation of the projects in various parts of the county , although the guidelines developed by the ministry of devolution provides for the inclusion of the implementation monitoring and evaluation framework specifying projects to be implemented during the plan period and specification of veriable indicators it does not provide mechanisms for public participation during implementation and monitoring stage. This calls for a system that the public can interact with. The web based GIS system has been developed using the free open source softwares. Development projects have been categorized into; ongoing, completed and planned It can also be shown that a web based GIS system can be used as an important tool for monitoring the implementation of the CIDP due to its easy to use nature and supported by the fact that internet is easily accessed by the majority of the public making it a powerful tool for public participation.

Integrating a project monitoring system into a public health network: experiences from Alive & Thrive Vietnam.

PubMed

Tuan, Nguyen Thanh; Alayon, Silvia; Do, Tran Thanh; Ngan, Tran Thi; Hajeebhoy, Nemat

2015-01-01

Little information is available about how to build a monitoring system to measure the output of preventive nutrition interventions, such as counselling on infant and young child feeding. This paper describes the Alive & Thrive Vietnam (A&T) project experience in nesting a large-scale project monitoring system into the existing public health information system (e.g. using the system and resources), and in using monitoring data to strengthen service delivery in 15 provinces with A&T franchises. From January 2012 to April 2014, the 780 A&T franchises provided 1,700,000 counselling contacts (~3/4 by commune franchises). In commune franchises in April 2014, 80% of mothers who were pregnant or with children under two years old had been to the counselling service at least one time, and 87% of clients had been to the service earlier. Monitoring data are used to track the progress of the project, make decisions, provide background for a costing study and advocate for the integration of nutrition counselling indicators into the health information system nationwide. With careful attention to the needs of stakeholders at multiple levels, clear data quality assurance measures and strategic feedback mechanisms, it is feasible to monitor the scale-up of nutrition programmes through the existing routine health information system.

On the Longitudinal Morphology of Zonal Irregularity Drift Measured using Networks of GPS Scintillation Monitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrano, C. S.; Groves, K. M.; Valladares, C. E.; Delay, S. H.

2014-12-01

A complete characterization of field-aligned ionospheric irregularities responsible for the scintillation of satellite signals includes not only their spectral properties (power spectral strength, spectral index, anisotropy ratio, and outer-scale) but also their horizontal drift velocity. From a system impacts perspective, the horizontal drift velocity is important in that it dictates the rate of signal fading and also, to an extent, the level of phase fluctuations encountered by the receiver. From a physics perspective, studying the longitudinal morphology of zonal irregularity may lead to an improved understanding of the F region dynamo and regional electrodynamics at low latitudes. The irregularity drift at low latitudes is predominantly zonal and is most commonly measured by cross-correlating observations of satellite signals made by a pair of closely-spaced antennas. The AFRL-SCINDA network operates a small number of VHF spaced-antenna systems at low latitude stations for this purpose. A far greater number of GPS scintillation monitors are operated by AFRL-SCINDA (25-30) and the Low Latitude Ionospheric Sensor Network (35-50), but the receivers are situated too far apart to monitor the drift using cross-correlation techniques. In this paper, we present an alternative approach that leverages the weak scatter scintillation theory (Rino, Radio Sci., 1979) to infer the zonal irregularity drift from single-station GPS measurements of S4, sigma-phi, and the propagation geometry alone. Unlike the spaced-receiver technique, this technique requires assumptions for the height of the scattering layer (which introduces a bias in the drift estimates) and the spectral index of the irregularities (which affects the spread of the drift estimates about the mean). Nevertheless, theory and experiment show that the ratio of sigma-phi to S4 is less sensitive to these parameters than it is to the zonal drift, and hence the zonal drift can be estimated with reasonable accuracy. In this talk, we first validate the technique using spaced VHF-antenna measurements of zonal irregularity drift from the AFRL-SCINDA network. Next, we discuss preliminary results from our investigation into the longitudinal morphology of zonal irregularity drift using the AFRL-SCINDA and LISN networks of GPS scintillation monitors.

The Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong: Work Done and Lessons Learned in a Decade.

PubMed

Shek, Daniel T L; Wu, Florence K Y

2016-02-01

The Project Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programs is a positive youth development program initiated and financially supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. Since 2005, the project has gone through several phases, including the initial phase (2005-2012), school-based extension phase (2009-2016), and community-based extension phase (2013-2017). In the initial phase, with the involvement of academics from 5 universities in Hong Kong, the research team developed youth enhancement programs for junior secondary school students (20 hours per grade), trained the program implementers (20 hours per grade), assisted in the implementation in more than 250 schools, and evaluated the program using multiple evaluation strategies, including a 5-year longitudinal experimental study. In the school-based extension phase, the project was implemented for another cycle (2009-2010 and 2011-2012 school years) and a 6-year longitudinal study was conducted to understand the psychosocial development of Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. In the community-based extension phase, the programs were administered by social workers in the community settings. Generally speaking, different evaluation findings showed that the programs in Project Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programs promoted positive development and reduced risk behavior in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Positive youth development attributes and family functioning also have positive contributions to adolescent developmental outcomes over time. Copyright © 2016 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Scholarly Project Initiative: introducing scholarship in medicine through a longitudinal, mentored curricular program.

PubMed

Schor, Nina Felice; Troen, Philip; Kanter, Steven L; Levine, Arthur S

2005-09-01

Many U.S. medical schools offer students the opportunity to undertake laboratory or clinical research or another form of scholarly project over the summer months, yet few require this as a prerequisite for graduation, and even fewer provide comprehensive didactic material in preparation for the performance of such a project as an integrated component of their curricula. The authors describe the Scholarly Project Initiative of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, a novel, longitudinal, and required program. The program will aim to provide all students with structured preparatory coursework, foster critical analytical and communication skills, and introduce the breadth and depth of the research and scholarly enterprise engendered by modern academic medicine in the contexts of both the classroom and an individual, mentored experience. The initiative has two goals: encouraging an interest in academic medicine in an era marked by the continuing decline in the number of physician-investigators, and fostering the development of physicians who have confidence in their abilities to practice medicine with creativity, original and analytical thought, and relentless attention to the scientific method. Planning for the Scholarly Project Initiative began officially at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Curriculum Colloquium in May 2003. The initiative was implemented with the first-year class of July 2004 as part of the new "Scientific Reasoning and Medicine" block of the School of Medicine's curriculum. The block as a whole includes traditional lectures, small-group laboratory and problem-based sessions, and mentored independent study components.

The Imo State (Nigeria) Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Project, 2. Impact on dracunculiasis, diarrhoea and nutritional status.

PubMed

Huttly, S R; Blum, D; Kirkwood, B R; Emeh, R N; Okeke, N; Ajala, M; Smith, G S; Carson, D C; Dosunmu-Ogunbi, O; Feachem, R G

1990-01-01

Morbidity due to dracunculiasis (guinea worm disease) and diarrhoea in persons of all ages, and nutritional status of young children, were used as health impact indicators in the evaluation of the Imo State Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Project in south-eastern Nigeria. Data were collected using repeated cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal follow-up. The study area was found to have a low level of endemicity of dracunculiasis. While no impact could be demonstrated on overall period or point prevalence rates in the cross-sectional surveys, a prospective longitudinal survey showed a significant reduction in the percentage of person-fortnights positive for dracunculiasis in areas served by the project, while the control areas showed no such change. In the cross-sectional surveys it was found that, in the project villages, those persons drinking only borehole water had significantly lower period prevalence rates one year later than others. Moreover, those living further from the nearest borehole had higher rates of dracunculiasis. An impact of the project on diarrhoea morbidity was found only in limited sub-groups of the population. A greater association with water availability rather than quality was suggested for rates in young children. The prevalence of wasting (less than 80% weight-for-height) among children aged less than 3 years decreased significantly over time in all 3 intervention villages; there was no such decline in the control villages.

Interventions to delay institutionalization of frail older persons: design of a longitudinal study in the home care setting.

PubMed

De Almeida Mello, Johanna; Van Durme, Therese; Macq, Jean; Declercq, Anja

2012-08-06

Older people usually prefer staying at home rather than going into residential care. The Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance wishes to invest in home care by financing innovative projects that effectively help older people to stay at home longer. In this study protocol we describe the evaluation of 34 home care projects. These projects are clustered according to the type of their main intervention such as case management, night care, occupational therapy at home and psychological/psychosocial support. The main goal of this study is to identify which types of projects have the most effect in delaying institutionalization of frail older persons. This is a longitudinal intervention study based on a quasi-experimental design. Researchers use three comparison strategies to evaluate intervention--comparison among different types of projects, comparisons between older persons in the projects and older persons not benefiting from a project but who are still at home and between older persons in the projects and older persons who are already institutionalized. Projects are asked to include clients who are frail and at risk of institutionalization. In the study we use internationally validated instruments such as the interRAI Home Care instrument, the WHO-QOL-8 and the Zarit Burden Interview-12. These instruments are filled out at baseline, at exit from the project and 6 months after baseline. Additionally, caregivers have to do a follow-up every 6 months until exit from the project. Criteria to exit the cohort will be institutionalization longer than 3 months and death. The main analysis in the study consists of the calculation of incidence rates, cumulative incidence rates and hazard rates of definitive institutionalization through survival analyses for each type of project. This research will provide knowledge on the functional status of frail older persons who are still living at home. This is important information to identify determinants of risk for institutionalization. The identification of effective home care projects in delaying institutionalization will be useful to inform and empower home care providers, policy and related decision makers to manage and improve home care services.

A Citizen Science and Government Collaboration: Developing Tools to Facilitate Community Air Monitoring

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is actively involved in supporting citizen science projects and providing communities with information and assistance for conducting their own air pollution monitoring. As part of a Regional Applied Research Effort (RARE) project, EP...

Validation and refinement of mixture volumetric material properties identified in superpave monitoring project II : phase II.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-02-01

This study was initiated to validate and refine mixture volumetric material properties identified in the : Superpave Monitoring Project II. It has been found that differences in performance are primarily controlled : by differences in gradation and r...

International Energy Agency (IEA) Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Weyburn-Midale CO₂ Monitoring and Storage Project

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

Sacuta, Norm; Young, Aleana; Worth, Kyle

2015-12-22

The IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO₂ Monitoring and Storage Project (WMP) began in 2000 with the first four years of research that confirmed the suitability of the containment complex of the Weyburn oil field in southeastern Saskatchewan as a storage location for CO₂ injected as part of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations. The first half of this report covers research conducted from 2010 to 2012, under the funding of the United States Department of Energy (contract DEFE0002697), the Government of Canada, and various other governmental and industry sponsors. The work includes more in-depth analysis of various components of a measurement, monitoring andmore » verification (MMV) program through investigation of data on site characterization and geological integrity, wellbore integrity, storage monitoring (geophysical and geochemical), and performance/risk assessment. These results then led to the development of a Best Practices Manual (BPM) providing oilfield and project operators with guidance on CO₂ storage and CO₂-EOR. In 2013, the USDOE and Government of Saskatchewan exercised an optional phase of the same project to further develop and deploy applied research tools, technologies, and methodologies to the data and research at Weyburn with the aim of assisting regulators and operators in transitioning CO₂-EOR operations into permanent storage. This work, detailed in the second half of this report, involves seven targeted research projects – evaluating the minimum dataset for confirming secure storage; additional overburden monitoring; passive seismic monitoring; history-matched modelling; developing proper wellbore design; casing corrosion evaluation; and assessment of post CO₂-injected core samples. The results from the final and optional phases of the Weyburn-Midale Project confirm the suitability of CO₂-EOR fields for the injection of CO₂, and further, highlight the necessary MMV and follow-up monitoring required for these operations to be considered permanent storage.« less

Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Monitoring Report for FY 2009

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

Brenda R. Pace; Julie B. Braun

2009-10-01

This report describes the cultural resource monitoring activities of the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Office during fiscal year 2009 (FY 2009). Throughout the year, thirty-eight cultural resource localities were revisited including: two locations with Native American human remains, one of which is a cave, two additional caves, twenty-two prehistoric archaeological sites, six historic homesteads, two historic stage stations, two historic trails, and two nuclear resources, including Experimental Breeder Reactor-I, which is a designated National Historic Landmark. Several INL project areas were also monitored in FY 2009 to assess project compliance with cultural resource recommendations and monitormore » the effects of ongoing project activities. Although impacts were documented at a few locations and trespassing citations were issued in one instance, no significant adverse effects that would threaten the National Register eligibility of any resources were observed. Monitoring also demonstrated that several INL projects generally remain in compliance with recommendations to protect cultural resources.« less

Environmental surveillance master sampling schedule

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

Bisping, L.E.

This document contains the planned 1994 schedules for routine collection of samples for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP), Drinking Water Project, and Ground-Water Surveillance Project. Samples are routinely collected for the SESP and analyzed to determine the quality of air, surface water, soil, sediment, wildlife, vegetation, foodstuffs, and farm products at Hanford Site and surrounding communities. The responsibility for monitoring the onsite drinking water falls outside the scope of the SESP. The Hanford Environmental Health Foundation is responsible for monitoring the nonradiological parameters as defined in the National Drinking Water Standards while PNL conducts the radiological monitoring of themore » onsite drinking water. PNL conducts the drinking water monitoring project concurrent with the SESP to promote efficiency and consistency, utilize the expertise developed over the years, and reduce costs associated with management, procedure development, data management, quality control and reporting. The ground-water sampling schedule identifies ground-water sampling events used by PNL for environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site.« less

Assessing Chronic Stress, Coping Skills, and Mood Disorders through Speech Analysis: A Self-Assessment 'Voice App' for Laptops, Tablets, and Smartphones.

PubMed

Braun, Silke; Annovazzi, Chiara; Botella, Cristina; Bridler, René; Camussi, Elisabetta; Delfino, Juan P; Mohr, Christine; Moragrega, Ines; Papagno, Costanza; Pisoni, Alberto; Soler, Carla; Seifritz, Erich; Stassen, Hans H

2016-01-01

Computerized speech analysis (CSA) is a powerful method that allows one to assess stress-induced mood disturbances and affective disorders through repeated measurements of speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics. Over the past decades CSA has been successfully used in the clinical context to monitor the transition from 'affectively disturbed' to 'normal' among psychiatric patients under treatment. This project, by contrast, aimed to extend the CSA method in such a way that the transition from 'normal' to 'affected' can be detected among subjects of the general population through 10-20 self-assessments. Central to the project was a normative speech study of 5 major languages (English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish). Each language comprised 120 subjects stratified according to gender, age, and education with repeated assessments at 14-day intervals (total n = 697). In a first step, we developed a multivariate model to assess affective state and stress-induced bodily reactions through speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics. Secondly, we determined language-, gender-, and age-specific thresholds that draw a line between 'natural fluctuations' and 'significant changes'. Thirdly, we implemented the model along with the underlying methods and normative data in a self-assessment 'voice app' for laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Finally, a longitudinal self-assessment study of 36 subjects was carried out over 14 days to test the performance of the CSA method in home environments. The data showed that speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics can be quantified in a reproducible and language-independent way. Gender and age explained 15-35% of the observed variance, whereas the educational level had a relatively small effect in the range of 1-3%. The self-assessment 'voice app' was realized in modular form so that additional languages can simply be 'plugged in' once the respective normative data become available. Results of the longitudinal self-assessment study in home environments demonstrated that CSA methods work well under most circumstances. We have successfully developed and tested a self-assessment CSA method that can monitor transitions from 'normal' to 'affected' in subjects of the general population in the broader context of mood disorders. Our easy-to-use 'voice app' evaluates sequences of 10-20 repeated assessments and watches for affect- and stress-induced deviations from baseline that exceed language-, gender-, and age-specific thresholds. Specifically, the 'voice app' provides users with stress-related 'biofeedback' and can help to identify that 10-15% subgroup of the general population that exhibits insufficient coping skills under chronic stress and may benefit from early detection and intervention prior to developing clinically relevant symptoms. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The role of maternal affect attunement in dyadic and triadic communication.

PubMed

Legerstee, Maria; Markova, Gabriela; Fisher, Tamara

2007-05-01

The influence of maternal affect attunement on the relationship between gaze monitoring during dyadic communication at 3 months and coordinated attention during triadic communication at 5, 7 and 10 months was examined in a longitudinal study. Although most infants engaged in gaze monitoring at 3 months and in coordinated attention at 5, 7 and 10 months, a regression analysis revealed that gaze monitoring at 3 months significantly predicted coordinated attention at 10 months only when maternal affect attunement was high. These findings are discussed in terms of theories that emphasize the role of social interaction in the development of meaningful communication and continuity in mental state awareness during the first year of life.

In Situ Monitoring of Chemical Reactions at a Solid-Water Interface by Femtosecond Acoustics.

PubMed

Shen, Chih-Chiang; Weng, Meng-Yu; Sheu, Jinn-Kong; Yao, Yi-Ting; Sun, Chi-Kuang

2017-11-02

Chemical reactions at a solid-liquid interface are of fundamental importance. Interfacial chemical reactions occur not only at the very interface but also in the subsurface area, while existing monitoring techniques either provide limited spatial resolution or are applicable only for the outmost atomic layer. Here, with the aid of the time-domain analysis with femtosecond acoustics, we demonstrate a subatomic-level-resolution technique to longitudinally monitor chemical reactions at solid-water interfaces, capable of in situ monitoring even the subsurface area under atmospheric conditions. Our work was proven by monitoring the already-known anode oxidation process occurring during photoelectrochemical water splitting. Furthermore, whenever the oxide layer thickness equals an integer  number of the effective atomic layer thickness, the measured acoustic echo will show higher signal-to-noise ratios with reduced speckle noise, indicating the quantum-like behavior of this coherent-phonon-based technique.

Designing a National Longitudinal Faculty Development Curriculum Focused on Educational Scholarship: Process, Outcomes, and Lessons Learned.

PubMed

Chandran, Latha; Gusic, Maryellen E; Lane, J Lindsey; Baldwin, Constance D

2017-01-01

Clinical educators at U.S. academic health centers are frequently disadvantaged in the academic promotion system, lacking needed faculty development, mentoring, and networking support. In 2006, we implemented the national Educational Scholars Program to offer faculty development in educational scholarship for early career educators in pediatrics. We aimed to provide them with skills, experience, and initial success in educational scholarship and dissemination. The 3-year curriculum is delivered in interactive sessions at the annual pediatric academic meetings and online intersession modules. Curriculum content progresses from educational scholarship and implementing scholarly projects to dissemination and professional networking. Intersession modules address project planning, building an educator portfolio, reviewing the literature, using technology, authorship, and peer review. Concurrently, all scholars must complete a mentored educational project and demonstrate national dissemination of a peer-reviewed product to obtain a Certificate of Excellence in Educational Scholarship. The setting of this study was a national, longitudinal, cohort-based faculty development program built within the Academic Pediatric Association, a 2,000-member professional organization. In 10 years, the Educational Scholars Program has enrolled 172 scholars in 8 cohorts; 94 have graduated so far. We describe how formative evaluation guided curriculum refinement and process improvement. Summative evaluations show that faculty and scholars were satisfied with the program. Participant outcomes from Cohort 1, assessed at Kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation, demonstrate increases in scholarly productivity, leadership activities, and academic promotions. Curriculum building is a dynamic process of ongoing evaluation and modification. Our program benefited from designing an integrated and focused curriculum, developing educational principles to guide program improvements, creating curricular tools to help learners organize and document their efforts, supporting project-based learning with expert mentoring, and facilitating peer and faculty networking and collaboration. A national, longitudinal faculty development program can support growth in academic knowledge and skills, promote professional networking, and thereby enrich educators' career opportunities.

Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Genetic Studies; Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 2005-2006 Annual Report.

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

Busack, Craig A.; Fritts, Anthony L.; Kassler, Todd

2006-05-01

This report covers one of many topics under the Yakima/Klickitat Fisheries Project's Monitoring and Evaluation Program (YKFPME). The YKFPME is funded under two BPA contracts, one for the Yakama Nation and the other for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (Contract number 22370, Project Number 1995-063-25). A comprehensive summary report for all of the monitoring and evaluation topics will be submitted after all of the topical reports are completed. This approach to reporting enhances the ability of people to get the information they want, enhances timely reporting of results, and provides a condensed synthesis of the whole YKFPME. Themore » current report was completed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.« less

Calibration of the Auger Fluorescence Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klages, H.; Pierre Auger Observatory Collaboration

Thirty fluorescence telescopes in four stations will overlook the detector array of the southern hemisphere experiment of the Pierre Auger project. The main aim of these telescopes is tracking of EHE air showers, measurement of the longitudinal shower development (Xmax) and determination of the absolute energy of EHE events. A telescope camera contains 440 PMTs each covering a 1.5 x 1.5 degree pixel of the sky. The response of every pixel is converted into the number of charged particles at the observed part of the shower. This reconstruction includes the shower/observer geometry and the details of the atmospheric photon production and transport. The remaining experimental task is to convert the ADC counts of the camera pixel electronics into the light flux entering the Schmidt aperture. Three types of calibration and control are necessary : a) Monitoring of time dependent variations has to be performed for all parts of the optics and for all pixels frequently. Common illumination for all pixels of a camera allows the detection of individual deviations. Properties of windows, filters and mirrors have to be measured separately. b) Differences in pixel-to-pixel efficiency are mainly due to PMT gain and to differences in effective area (camera shadow, mirror size limits). Homogeneous and isotropic illumination will enable cross calibration. c) An absolute calibration has to be performed once in a while using trusted light monitors. The calibration methods used for the Pierre Auger FD telescopes in Argentina are discussed.

Local media monitoring in process evaluation. Experiences from the Stockholm Diabetes Prevention Programme.

PubMed

Andersson, Camilla Maria; Bjärås, Gunilla; Tillgren, Per; Ostenson, Claes-Göran

2007-01-01

We present a rationale and approach for longitudinal analyses of media coverage and content, and illustrate how media monitoring can be used in process evaluations. Within a community-based diabetes prevention project, the Stockholm Diabetes Prevention Program, we analyzed the frequency, prominence, and framing of physical activity in local newspapers of three intervention and two control municipalities. In total, 2,128 stories and advertisements related to physical activity were identified between the years 1997 and 2002. Although stories about physical activity were relatively few (n = 224), they were prominently located in all five local newspapers. Physical activity was framed rather similarly in the municipalities. Health aspects, however, were expressed to a greater extent in stories in two of the intervention municipalities. A limited portion (14%) of the articles could be linked directly to the program. It is not possible to assess to what extent the program has had a disseminating effect on the newspapers' health-related content in general, due to weaknesses of the process tracking system and limitations of the study design. Implications for the design is that an evaluative framework should be preplanned and include data collection about media relationships, media's interest in public health, media coverage prior to the program and coverage in other media for comparisons of general trends in the reporting. The material and the current database, however, provide a good basis for quantitative content analysis and qualitative discourse analysis to yield information on the type, frequency, and content of health reporting in local newspapers.

Achieving desired images while avoiding undesired images: exploring the role of self-monitoring in impression management.

PubMed

Turnley, W H; Bolino, M C

2001-04-01

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that high self-monitors more effectively manage impressions than low self-monitors do. Students in work groups indicated the extent to which they used 5 impression-management tactics over the course of a semester-long project. At the project's conclusion, students provided their perceptions of the other members of their group. The relationship between impression management and image favorability was then examined across 339 student-student dyads. The results generally suggest that high self-monitors can use impression-management tactics more effectively than can low self-monitors. In particular, high self-monitors appear to be more adept than low self-monitors at using ingratiation, self-promotion, and exemplification to achieve favorable images among their colleagues.

A longitudinal study of the sociosexual dynamics in a captive family group of wolves: the University of Connecticut wolf project.

PubMed

Jenks, Susan M

2011-11-01

An interest in the role of the social environment on the evolution of behavior led Professor Benson Ginsburg to studies of wolf social behavior. He initiated the University of Connecticut wolf project with a family group of wolves housed in a protected enclosure in an isolated area of campus. One aim of this project was to conduct a longitudinal study of a family group of wolves in order to understand the proximate behavioral mechanisms underlying mating dynamics with a degree of control and opportunistic observation that could not be achieved through field studies. The development of social relationships and the dynamics of mating were observed for 9 years. As in nature, agonistic relationships strongly influenced reproductive success, successful breeding was limited to a single pair each season, and the behavioral dynamics included status transitions with breeder rotations. Our work, when combined with the results of other captive wolf studies, has contributed valuable information to the general understanding of wolf social behavior, especially regarding the proximate behavior patterns underlying group social interactions and reproduction. This understanding has broadened perspectives on the dynamic interplay between social behavior and evolutionary processes.

A successful model for longitudinal community-engaged health research: the 2040 Partners for Health Student Program.

PubMed

Redman, Romany M; Reinsvold, Magdalena C; Reddy, Anireddy; Bennett, Paige E; Hoerauf, Janine M; Puls, Kristina M; Ovrutsky, Alida R; Ly, Alexandra R; White, Gregory; McNeil, Owetta; Meredith, Janet J

2017-06-01

Community-based participatory research [CBPR] is an emerging approach to collaborative research aimed at creating locally effective and sustainable interventions. The 2040 Partners for Health student program was developed as a unique model of longitudinal CBPR. Analysis of this program and its components illuminates both the challenges and the opportunities inherent in community engagement. The program rests on a foundation of a community-based, non-profit organization and a supportive academic university centre. Inter-professional health students and community members of underserved populations work together on different health projects by employing an adapted CBPR methodology. Three successful examples of sustainable CBPR projects are briefly described. The three projects are presented as primary outcomes resulting from this model. Benefits and challenges of the model as an approach to community-engaged research are discussed as well as secondary benefits of student participation. The 2040 Partners for Health student program represents a successful model of CBPR, illuminating common challenges and reiterating the profound value of community-engaged research. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Coal mining and the resource community cycle: A longitudinal assessment of the social impacts of the Coppabella coal mine

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

Lockie, S.; Franettovich, M.; Petkova-Timmer, V.

Two social impact assessment (SIA) studies of Central Queensland's Coppabella coal mine were undertaken in 2002-2003 and 2006-2007. As ex post studies of actual change, these provide a reference point for predictive assessments of proposed resource extraction projects at other sites, while the longitudinal element added by the second study illustrates how impacts associated with one mine may vary over time due to changing economic and social conditions. It was found that the traditional coupling of local economic vitality and community development to the life cycle of resource projects - the resource community cycle - was mediated by labour recruitmentmore » and social infrastructure policies that reduced the emphasis on localised employment and investment strategies. and by the cumulative impacts of multiple mining projects within relative proximity to each other. The resource community cycle was accelerated and local communities forced to consider ways of attracting secondary investment and/or alternative industries early in the operational life of the Coppabella mine in order to secure significant economic benefits and to guard against the erosion of social capital and the ability to cope with future downturns in the mining sector.« less

18 CFR 12.41 - Monitoring instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Monitoring instruments. 12.41 Section 12.41 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REGULATIONS UNDER THE FEDERAL POWER ACT SAFETY OF WATER POWER PROJECTS AND PROJECT WORKS...

18 CFR 12.41 - Monitoring instruments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Monitoring instruments. 12.41 Section 12.41 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REGULATIONS UNDER THE FEDERAL POWER ACT SAFETY OF WATER POWER PROJECTS AND PROJECT WORKS...

The Macintosh Lab Monitor, Numbers 1-4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wanderman, Richard; And Others

1987-01-01

Four issues of the "Macintosh Lab Monitor" document the Computer-Aided Writing Project at the Forman School (Connecticut) which is a college preparatory school for bright dyslexic adolescents. The project uses Macintosh computers to teach outlining, writing, organizational and thinking skills. Sample articles have the following titles:…

Development of an Intelligent Monitoring System for Geological Carbon Sequestration (GCS) Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, A. Y.; Jeong, H.; Xu, W.; Hovorka, S. D.; Zhu, T.; Templeton, T.; Arctur, D. K.

2016-12-01

To provide stakeholders timely evidence that GCS repositories are operating safely and efficiently requires integrated monitoring to assess the performance of the storage reservoir as the CO2 plume moves within it. As a result, GCS projects can be data intensive, as a result of proliferation of digital instrumentation and smart-sensing technologies. GCS projects are also resource intensive, often requiring multidisciplinary teams performing different monitoring, verification, and accounting (MVA) tasks throughout the lifecycle of a project to ensure secure containment of injected CO2. How to correlate anomaly detected by a certain sensor to events observed by other devices to verify leakage incidents? How to optimally allocate resources for task-oriented monitoring if reservoir integrity is in question? These are issues that warrant further investigation before real integration can take place. In this work, we are building a web-based, data integration, assimilation, and learning framework for geologic carbon sequestration projects (DIAL-GCS). DIAL-GCS will be an intelligent monitoring system (IMS) for automating GCS closed-loop management by leveraging recent developments in high-throughput database, complex event processing, data assimilation, and machine learning technologies. Results will be demonstrated using realistic data and model derived from a GCS site.

IDF Sagebrush Habitat Mitigation Project: FY2008 Compensation Area Monitoring Report

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

Durham, Robin E.; Sackschewsky, Michael R.

This document provides a review and status of activities conducted in support of the CH2MHill Hanford Group (CHG) Compensatory Mitigation Implementation Plan (MIP) for the Integrated Disposal Facility (IDF). It includes time-zero monitoring results for planting activities conducted in December 2007, annual survival monitoring for all planting years, a summary of artificial burrow observations, and recommendations for the successful completion of DOE mitigation commitments for this project.

Soil compaction monitoring of the Pool Timber Sale, Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado, 16 years after logging

Treesearch

John J. Rawinski; Deborah S. Page-Dumroese

2008-01-01

We conducted a soil monitoring project in 1992 after a shelterwood harvest. One year after harvesting, we determined that 21.32 percent of the area in Unit 5 of the Pool Timber Sale was considered to have detrimental soil compaction. In 2007, we conducted another monitoring project on the same stand by the same person to determine the degree of soil compaction recovery...

QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL OF A PROJECT INVOLVING COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, INTRA-AGENCY AGREEMENTS, AGENCY STAFF AND CONTRACTS TO CONDUCT RESEARCH: ECOLOGICAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT OF THE GREAT RIVERS ECOSYSTEMS IN THE CENTRAL BASIN OF THE UNITED STATES (EMAP-GRE)

EPA Science Inventory

While condition reports are useful to managers, demonstrating how to implement a monitoring and assessment program in the future is also an important project goal. Better monitoring methods will make more information more widely available to better manage the nation's great rive...

Environmental monitoring for public access and community tracking (EMPACT): Discussion of the program

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

Engel-Cox, J.A.

1999-07-01

The Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) program is a unique initiative to provide time-relevant environmental information that is easily accessible and clearly communicated to residents in 86 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. EMPACT is a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program to use innovative and time-relevant monitoring and communication technologies. President Clinton articulated his vision for right-to-know programs when he directed the EPA to provide local environmental information to communities. EPA Administrator Carol Browner created EMPACT and other programs to meet this vision, giving EMPACT the goal of providing timely, useful and accurate environmental andmore » public health information to all Americans. This paper is an analysis of the status of the EMPACT program during its first 2 years. EMPACT has launched 27 environmental monitoring and communication projects, including metropolitan grants, EPA Headquarter and Regional projects, and research activities. These projects are located in 37 states and 68 cities throughout the United States, and represent significant progress towards EMPACT's goal of reaching 86 major metropolitan areas throughout all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico by 2001. These projects focus on five principles established by EPA Administrator Browner: using advanced technology and science, establishing partnerships, increasing public access to data, communicating useful action-oriented information, and establishing a framework for sharing monitoring techniques and data between projects.« less

On-site monitoring of construction of Terror Lake hydroelectric project, Kodiak, Alaska. Final report

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

Hosking, H.

The report describes the effort by the Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor the construction of the first hydroelectric project built on national wildlife refuge lands under license by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Recommendations are offered for use in planning other projects. Fish and wildlife species of concern included brown bears, Sitka black-tailed deer, mountain goats, raptors (including bald eagles), and several species of salmonid fish. Construction practices relating to erosion control, contaminant management, culvert placement, and siting of project structures are covered.

Mountaineer Commercial Scale Carbon Capture and Storage Project Topical Report: Preliminary Public Design Report

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

Guy Cerimele

2011-09-30

This Preliminary Public Design Report consolidates for public use nonproprietary design information on the Mountaineer Commercial Scale Carbon Capture & Storage project. The report is based on the preliminary design information developed during the Phase I - Project Definition Phase, spanning the time period of February 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. The report includes descriptions and/or discussions for: (1) DOE's Clean Coal Power Initiative, overall project & Phase I objectives, and the historical evolution of DOE and American Electric Power (AEP) sponsored projects leading to the current project; (2) Alstom's Chilled Ammonia Process (CAP) carbon capture retrofit technology andmore » the carbon storage and monitoring system; (3) AEP's retrofit approach in terms of plant operational and integration philosophy; (4) The process island equipment and balance of plant systems for the CAP technology; (5) The carbon storage system, addressing injection wells, monitoring wells, system monitoring and controls logic philosophy; (6) Overall project estimate that includes the overnight cost estimate, cost escalation for future year expenditures, and major project risks that factored into the development of the risk based contingency; and (7) AEP's decision to suspend further work on the project at the end of Phase I, notwithstanding its assessment that the Alstom CAP technology is ready for commercial demonstration at the intended scale.« less

Lessons Learned from the Development and Implementation of the Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roman, Monsi C.; Perry, Jay L.; Howard, David F.

2014-01-01

The Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Program's Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM) Project have been developing atmosphere revitalization and environmental monitoring subsystem architectures suitable for enabling sustained crewed exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). Using the International Space Station state-of-the-art (SOA) as the technical basis, the ARREM Project has contributed to technical advances that improve affordability, reliability, and functional efficiency while reducing dependence on a ground-based logistics resupply model. Functional demonstrations have merged new process technologies and concepts with existing ISS developmental hardware and operate them in a controlled environment simulating various crew metabolic loads. The ARREM Project's strengths include access to a full complement of existing developmental hardware that perform all the core atmosphere revitalization functions, unique testing facilities to evaluate subsystem performance, and a coordinated partnering effort among six NASA field centers and industry partners to provide the innovative expertise necessary to succeed. A project overview is provided and the project management strategies that have enabled a multidiscipinary engineering team to work efficiently across project, NASA field center, and industry boundaries to achieve the project's technical goals are discussed. Lessons learned and best practices relating to the project are presented and discussed.

FutureGen 2.0 Monitoring Program: An Overview of the Monitoring Approach and Technologies Selected for Implementation

DOE PAGES

Vermeul, Vince R.; Strickland, Chris E.; Thorne, Paul D.; ...

2014-12-31

The FutureGen 2.0 Project will design and build a first-of-its-kind, near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant with carbon capture and storage (CCS). To assess storage site performance and meet the regulatory requirements of the Class VI Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program for CO2 Geologic Sequestration, the FutureGen 2.0 project will implement a suite of monitoring technologies designed to 1) evaluate CO2 mass balance and 2) detect any unforeseen loss in CO2 containment. The monitoring program will include direct monitoring of the injection stream and reservoir, and early-leak-detection monitoring directly above the primary confining zone. It will also implement an adaptive monitoringmore » strategy whereby monitoring results are continually evaluated and the monitoring network is modified as required, including the option to drill additional wells in out-years. Wells will be monitored for changes in CO2 concentration and formation pressure, and other geochemical/isotopic signatures that provide indication of CO2 or brine leakage. Indirect geophysical monitoring technologies that were selected for implementation include passive seismic, integrated surface deformation, time-lapse gravity, and pulsed neutron capture logging. Near-surface monitoring approaches that have been initiated include surficial aquifer and surface- water monitoring, soil-gas monitoring, atmospheric monitoring, and hyperspectral data acquisition for assessment of vegetation conditions. Initially, only the collection of baseline data sets is planned; the need for additional near- surface monitoring will be continually evaluated throughout the design and operational phases of the project, and selected approaches may be reinstituted if conditions warrant. Given the current conceptual understanding of the subsurface environment, early and appreciable impacts to near-surface environments are not expected.« less

ESTIMATING OWNERSHIP AND USE OF OLDER CARS

EPA Science Inventory

This research project examines the factors affecting owners' valuations of their old vehicles using a unique longitudinal dataset that documents the actual decisions of owners of pre-1980 vehicles in Delaware. An equation is developed that explains the value of a vehicle to...

Children's Comprehension of Informational Text: Reading, Engaging, and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Linda; Dreher, Mariam Jean; Shiplet, Angela Katenkamp; Beall, Lisa Carter; Voelker, Anita N.; Garrett, Adia J.; Schugar, Heather R.; Finger-Elam, Maria

2011-01-01

The Reading, Engaging, and Learning project (REAL) investigated whether a classroom intervention that enhanced young children's experience with informational books would increase reading achievement and engagement. Participants attended schools serving low income neighborhoods with 86% African American enrollment. The longitudinal study spanned…

A blended approach to analyze staple and high-value crops using remote sensing with radiative transfer and crop models.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davitt, A. W. D.; Winter, J.; McDonald, K. C.; Escobar, V. M.; Steiner, N.

2017-12-01

The monitoring of staple and high-value crops is important for maintaining food security. The recent launch of numerous remote sensing satellites has created the ability to monitor vast amounts of crop lands, continuously and in a timely manner. This monitoring provides users with a wealth of information on various crop types over different regions of the world. However, a challenge still remains on how to best quantify and interpret the crop and surface characteristics that are measured by visible, near-infrared, and active and passive microwave radar. Currently, two NASA funded projects are examining the ability to monitor different types of crops in California with different remote sensing platforms. The goal of both projects is to develop a cost-effective monitoring tool for use by vineyard and crop managers. The first project is designed to examine the capability to monitor vineyard water management and soil moisture in Sonoma County using Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), Sentinel-1A and -2, and Landsat-8. The combined mission products create thorough and robust measurements of surface and vineyard characteristics that can potentially improve the ability to monitor vineyard health. Incorporating the Michigan Microwave Canopy Scattering (MIMICS), a radiative transfer model, enables us to better understand surface and vineyard features that influence radar measurements from Sentinel-1A. The second project is a blended approach to analyze corn, rice, and wheat growth using Sentinel-1A products with Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) and MIMICS models. This project aims to characterize the crop structures that influence Sentinel-1A radar measurements. Preliminary results have revealed the corn, rice, and wheat structures that influence radar measurements during a growing season. The potential of this monitoring tool can be used for maintaining food security. This includes supporting sustainable irrigation practices, identifying crop health and yield across and within fields, and improving the identification of crop areas ready for harvest.

NIMH Project Accept (HPTN 043): results from in-depth interviews with a longitudinal cohort of community members.

PubMed

Maman, Suzanne; van Rooyen, Heidi; Stankard, Petra; Chingono, Alfred; Muravha, Tshifhiwa; Ntogwisangu, Jacob; Phakathi, Zipho; Srirak, Namtip; F Morin, Stephen

2014-01-01

NIMH Project Accept (HPTN 043) is a community- randomized trial to test the safety and efficacy of a community-level intervention designed to increase testing and lower HIV incidence in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Thailand. The evaluation design included a longitudinal study with community members to assess attitudinal and behavioral changes in study outcomes including HIV testing norms, HIV-related discussions, and HIV-related stigma. A cohort of 657 individuals across all sites was selected to participate in a qualitative study that involved 4 interviews during the study period. Baseline and 30-month data were summarized according to each outcome, and a qualitative assessment of changes was made at the community level over time. Members from intervention communities described fewer barriers and greater motivation for testing than those from comparison communities. HIV-related discussions in intervention communities were more grounded in personal testing experiences. A change in HIV-related stigma over time was most pronounced in Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Participants in the intervention communities from these two sites attributed community-level changes in attitudes to project specific activities. The Project Accept intervention was associated with more favorable social norms regarding HIV testing, more personal content in HIV discussions in all study sites, and qualitative changes in HIV-related stigma in two of five sites.

Youth Monitoring and Self-Evaluation Services. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenton, Calvin W.

Youth monitoring and self evaluation services were developed for fourteen youth programs in the Eastern Region, the mid-Western Region and the Western Region of the United States. The concept of youth involvement is central to these fourteen projects. Youth involvement is defined as "initial participation by project beneficiaries in the…